Guys, It certainly looks as if the Kentucky All-Terrain Rider "Chase" is stripping the woods. If so, I hope some of you guys close to KY can burn both him and his operation .. good luck to you.
What is puzzling me about this is the response on OGD. There is something missing ... actually, some people missing .... failing to have their usually-vociferous say on the matter. If these reports were describing asset-stripping in Peru, Vietnam, Outer-Mongolia, or other places where the stars don't surmount the stripes, certain OGD readers (we know who you are, guys) would have been treated to all of the following bullshit justifications: 1a) The plants are wasted in the woods. They ought to be brought into the safety of my greenhouse. 1b) Only the lucky few can get to enjoy them in the woods. If they're in my greenhouse, more people can enjoy their beauty. 1c) They don't really like growing in the woods. Its a tough, dangerous life out there. They're so much better-off in my greenhouse where they get everything they need ... light, water, fertilizer, music on demand, pollinia from a wide range of exotics, etc. 1d) Hey, they're endangered. They should be collected and grown in nurseries, where the professionals can propogate them and make them available to us, thus eliminating the need to collect them from the wild. 2a) God gave Man Dominion over Plants and Animals. I have the RIGHT to take those plants. 2b) God gave me the right to take what I need from the world. I NEED those plants for my ******* program (fill in the missing word yourself). 3a) The plants are endangered in the woods. For their own safety they need to be brought into my greenhouse. 3b) Everyone knows that habitat destruction is everywhere. It is only a matter of time before they turn the Kentucky Woodlands into a carpark. We should save the plants now while we can. 3c) It is salvage. How can anyone be opposed to salvaging plants that are going to die anyway ? 4a) If Chase doesn't take them now, someone else will next year. He's a local, so why shouldn't locals profit from their flora ? After all, it belongs to them. 4b) If Chase doesn't take them now, the Outer Mongolians will come and steal the lot. Who has more right to the plants ? 5a) I can afford it. No-one has the right to stop me spending my money however I want to. 5b) I'm a citizen of Outer Mongolia. No foreigner has the right to tell me what I can and cannot do. 6) Kentucky has no right to keep these plants. People in Outer-Mongolia are being unjustly deprived of their share of these plants by the oppressive KY/US-Federal conservation laws, which were foistered on us by an International conspiracy. Everyone should write to G.W.Bush, demanding that he (a) rescinds the KY/US-Federal conservation laws, (b) pulls the USA out of CITES, (c) declares sanctions on KY, (d) tells those **** (fill in your own expletive) bastards in KY where to get off. 7) KY is a poor state. They can't afford to protect their own flora properly. Since the plants are getting no protection in KY, they should be sent to other states that can do the job properly. 8) It is all CITES fault. They are supposed to be conserving orchids. Can anyone tell me a single orchid species that has been saved by CITES ? 9) (Yawn), it is all CITES fault (again). 10) Hey, audience-participation time. Fill in your own favorite excuse and post it on OGD. So come on, all you right-wing bullshitters. Why have you gone so quiet ? You're missing a great chance to show us how multilateral and even-handed you really are. Or is it different when its happening in your own backwood patch ? Peter O'Byrne Singapore PS .... My apologies to anyone from Outer Mongolia for my misuse of your name. You have a truly beautiful country. _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
