Re: NANFA-L-- Interesting news article

ichthos-in-comcast.net
Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:13:51 +0000

> Help me out a little. Koi are carp, _Cyprinus carpio_. Has this fish
> only now become a problem in Maine? Why the new law? Is the fish any
> worse in its Koi form than in its more typical wild form? Are Koi a
> source of pathogens for wild fish (other than carp)? What do Koi do
> in the wild. Do they revert in a short number of generations to wild
> type carp?

That's the problem with the newspaper story -- it was written to enflame rather than illuminate. In order to give the story "drama" and "human appeal," the reporter focused on the anguish of the restaurant owner-in-the expense of pertinent facts about the legislation that led to the confiscation. That's bad, unbalanced reporting, in my opinion. But then, most American news media -- the "infotainment industry" -- is that way. (Have you noticed how shouting has replaced rational debate and analsyis on talk radio and TV news commentary shows?) Sure, we can blame the media conglomerates for this. But the blame really rests on the American public, who keep demanding the lowest common demoninator in everything.

Chris Scharpf
Baltimore
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