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Were people harmed in the exporting country manufacturing this item? Can it be proved with something other than junk science that they were harmed?

In the case of the East Indian Rosewood, no.

The Madagascar Ebony's another matter.

Madagascar is an extraordinary place. It's that giant island off the southeast coast of Africa. Some biologists will tell you that there are eight continents instead of seven - they count Madagascar as a separate continent.

Why?

80% of the plants and animals found on Madagascar are found nowhere else on earth. All the unique animals in Madagascar are the reason why Disney picked Madagascar as the site for its animated movies called, well, "Madagascar." You know, all the lemurs and stuff.

9,000 species of plants are found only on Madagascar. Seven entire families of plant are found only on Madagascar. All of the lemurs in the world. Every single species of lemur. Six of the world's baobob species - only on Madagascar. Approximately 750 orchid species, found only on Madagascar. 165 types of palm trees are found only on Madgascar (the rest of Africa only has about 60 species in total). I could go on, but the deal is that Madagascar is the most unique place on earth.

Environmentalists talk about destroying the "rainforest" (it's jungle, folks) in Brazil, yet a zillion acres of rainforest still exist. In Madagascar, 90% of the jungle has been destroyed.

Rosewood and ebony trees don't grow in groves; you have to tear down a bunch of the jungle to get to the trees. The government has made logging essentially illegal for years and years, but armed rebels log in national forests. The logs are illegally loaded onto French ships, routed through a couple of known ports in other countries, then taken to China or Germany and "laundered" with false paperwork. You see, you can take rosewood or ebony out of Madgascar if the Minister personally authorizes that one, single shipment. And if it's logged in a special record book. But once you get the wood illegally out of Madagascar on a French boat and headed to China or Germany through a foreign port or two, with forged paperwork from the "Minister", who's going to know if there's a record in the official Madagascar book, or if the paperwork is genuine?

And we haven't mentioned the 2009 military coup of the government yet and how that affected illegal logging. Or how there's so much money to be made in removing forest that Madagascar ebony and rosewood are referred to as the new "blood diamonds' of Africa.

So, Indian Rosewood - doesn't hurt anything. It's just a policy decision. Madagascar ebony and rosewood? I'm not worried much about snail darters and spotted owls. Those are single species. In Madagascar, you're talking about wiping out thousands of unique plant and animal species.