Friday, July 07, 2017

Hobby Lobby forced to return illegally obtained "Biblical" artifacts and pay 5 million dollar fine.

Courtesy of NPR:

Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based chain of arts and crafts retail stores, has agreed to pay a $3 million fine and forfeit thousands of ancient clay tablets and clay bullae that were smuggled into the United States with improper labels. 

The announcement by the Justice Department says Hobby Lobby bought over 5,500 artifacts, such as clay tablets and blocks with cuneiform writing, and cylinder seals for $1.6 million. The artifacts, originally from Iraq, were shipped to the company from the United Arab Emirates and Israel with labels that described them as "ceramic tiles" or "clay tiles (sample)." 

In a statement, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green said the company "was new to the world of acquiring these items, and did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process. This resulted in some regrettable mistakes." 

"We should have exercised more oversight and carefully questioned how the acquisitions were handled," he said. 

But the Justice Department prosecutors say the company should have realized that its acquisition of the artifacts "was fraught with red flags."

As it turns out Hobby Lobby was warned about these "red flags" by their own expert.

Courtesy of CNN: 

"In October 2010, an expert on cultural property law retained by Hobby Lobby warned the company that the acquisition of cultural property likely from Iraq, including cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, carries a risk that such objects may have been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq," the DOJ said. 

"The expert also advised Hobby Lobby to review its collection of antiquities for any objects of Iraqi origin and to verify that their country of origin was properly declared at the time of importation into the United States. "

But hey, why listen to THAT guy?

As if all of this were not embarrassing enough to Hobby Lobby, there is also the fact that they may inadvertently be funding ISIS.

Courtesy of Newsweek:

Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq are netting between $150 million and $200 million a year from illicit trade in plundered antiquities, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter released on Wednesday. 

"Around 100,000 cultural objects of global importance, including 4,500 archaeological sites, nine of which are included in the World Heritage List of ... UNESCO, are under the control of the Islamic State ... in Syria and Iraq," Ambassador Vitaly Churkin wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council. 

"The profit derived by the Islamists from the illicit trade in antiquities and archaeological treasures is estimated at U.S. $150-200 million per year," he said.

These artifacts were scheduled to be displayed at the Hobby Lobby's Museum of the Bible.

But here's the thing, MOST so called "biblical artifacts" turn out to be bullshit, and are either actual ancient artifacts unrelated to events in the Bible or outright fabrications of pottery and cuneiform tablets that sell like hot cakes to Christians desperate to prove that the Bible is accurate.

In fact Archeological finds rarely support events occurring in the Bible, though that often does not stop charlatans from offering them up as proof.

I think the only thing that one could learn by visiting this "Museum of the Bible" is that the folks who own Hobby Lobby have money to burn, and that it would undoubtedly be better spent helping the poor, building a REAL museum, or at the very least not wasted fighting against having to provide access to contraception in their employee's health care plan.

27 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:33 AM

    "Thou shalt not steal", unless you reaalllly want to, and then it's ok as long as no 'borshuns and no gays!
    Right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:10 AM

      exactally!
      Holier than thou from drinking the Jesus juice. Hell they probably mainlined it!

      Delete
    2. "Thou shalt not lie" unless you get caught stealing.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous8:57 AM

    "didn't know," my tuchus. Green belongs in jail for intentional fraud and his "museum" shoudl be shut down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:55 AM

      Right, SURRRRE they "didn't know"--their whole business is built on importing stuff from China, and they don't know how importing works?!?! Puh-leeze.

      Delete
  3. A. J. Billings8:59 AM

    How FUCKING CONVENIENT for the holier-than-thou CHristian billionaires to try and say "we didn't know these could be artifacts".

    100% bullshit

    Just like confessing your sins on Sunday, and going right back to lies, racism, cheating, and other bullshit on Monday.

    Hobby Bullshit is just another bunch of grifting assholes pretending to be so in love with Jeebus instead of money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:07 AM

      Why aren't they on trial for funding ISIS?

      Delete
  4. Anonymous9:01 AM

    I think somebody from Hobby Lobby should spend some time in prison for this remarkable theft.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous9:03 AM

    Contraception is one of the biggest technological marvels of the modern age.
    An unwanted baby is overwhelmingly subjected to every form of abuse you can think of. this is how you make a serial killer.
    Every baby born should be wanted. Every pregnancy should be a wanted experience. With access to safe & effective contraception, that's all possible.
    I was an unwanted child. I can tell you, it would have been better for me if I'd never been born. Life for an unwanted child is HELL, and it doesn't stop even if you managed to escape your hellish family of origin with people you'd never have chosen to be around. You never get over it. No matter how much counseling you receive. It stays with you, like eye color. I just LOOOOVE the folks who tell me I should " get over it". Did you have to live thru the various forms of abuse I did?!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:48 PM

      I look back at the dynamics in my Catholic family and am disgusted. So many teenage pregnancies and so many young women’s lives ruined bringing up children they never wanted and couldn’t afford while being entirely unprepared for parenthood. Some of my cousins were parented so poorly and without any sense of their worth or potential and it was heartbreaking to watch. My parents used birth control but were always on the outside when it came to being “true” Catholics in their families. What is it with suffering and religiosity? I used to wonder about this a lot as a child, as so many religious people seemed entirely miserable. And as I became an adult it seemed like they wore this anger and rage as a badge of honor.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous9:05 AM

    I made a clay tablet with Sarah riding a dinosaur and will try to sell it to Hobby Lobby for three million dollars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:34 PM

      LOL! Queen Esther rides again!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:35 AM

      There you go! Hahaha

      Delete
  7. Anonymous9:10 AM

    So they are directly funding ISIS.

    Wahabbi Lobby

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:33 AM

    Dear Hobby Lobby,

    What type of sealer do you recommend for adding the new cuneiform tablets to my 3 year old daughter's scrapbook? Also, do these tablets come with a Sarin-free guarantee?

    Signed,

    Maree
    Nazareth, AL

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:44 AM

    Well if corporations are people, their business should be shuttered and their sanctimonious asses thrown in jail.

    GeorgiaPeach

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous9:53 AM

    Russia Scandal Fires Grow As Trump Holds Two Hour Plus Putin Meeting With Staff Kept Out

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/07/russia-scandal-fires-grow-trump-holds-hour-putin-meeting-staff.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:36 AM

      I am going to release the Pee tapes! Oh dont do that!
      Here you can have America.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:06 AM

    I won't pay for your birth control BUT I will donate to ISIS.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:36 AM

    Gryph - see Sister Sarah's tweet about the 14 words. Dimbulb or dogwhistle? -sjp

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous1:33 PM

    Most archaeologists think biblical archaeology is a scam perpetrated by a pile of wanna-believe nut jobs running about with trowels. Hobby Lobby’s behavior is just a symptom of this mental incompetence.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5:11 PM

    There's a commercial on TV here in Portland where they are trying to sell a small, encased piece from Jesus' tomb in necklace form.

    "You TOO can share in this," or whatever the wording. Give me a break already! Know how protected his "proposed" burial site is?

    People will buy into ANYTHING.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I guess Steve Green only believes in 8 commandments since he has no trouble stealing or lying about it.

    Sorta like Trump and his Deplorables only in favor of the 2nd and 5th amendments and ignoring the rest.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous8:06 PM

    Stupidity and ignorance of the law is NEVER a defense!!!!

    But they knew exactly what they were doing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous8:11 PM

    Gosh funding a terrorist organization, isn’t that illegal :)

    However I have lost faith in our DOJ to do anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:38 AM

      Yeah foxes sure took over the henhouse. Hu Dave?

      Delete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.