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mucifer

(23,374 posts)
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 07:41 AM Oct 2015

Feds Investigate Hobby Lobby CEO For Artifacts Possibly Looted From The Middle East

One of America’s most famously Christian businesses is amassing a vast collection of Biblical antiquities. The problem is some of them may have been looted from the Middle East.

In 2011, a shipment of somewhere between 200 to 300 small clay tablets on their way to Oklahoma City from Israel was seized by U.S. Customs agents in Memphis. The tablets were inscribed in cuneiform—the script of ancient Assyria and Babylonia, present-day Iraq—and were thousands of years old. Their destination was the compound of the Hobby Lobby corporation, which became famous last year for winning a landmark Supreme Court case on religious freedom and government mandates. A senior law enforcement source with extensive knowledge of antiquities smuggling confirmed that these ancient artifacts had been purchased and were being imported by the deeply-religious owners of the crafting giant, the Green family of Oklahoma City. For the last four years, law enforcement sources tell The Daily Beast, the Greens have been under federal investigation for the illicit importation of cultural heritage from Iraq.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/26/exclusive-feds-investigate-hobby-lobby-boss-for-illicit-artifacts.html

Wow!
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Feds Investigate Hobby Lobby CEO For Artifacts Possibly Looted From The Middle East (Original Post) mucifer Oct 2015 OP
So many times madokie Oct 2015 #1
Exactly! They use it as a cover for their nefarious activities! And the stupid believe all of RKP5637 Oct 2015 #11
Fundie religion = egotism AlbertCat Oct 2015 #26
sounds like karma is starting to direct itself at this creep. hlthe2b Oct 2015 #2
WTF??? atreides1 Oct 2015 #3
religious fanatics supporting another group of religious fanatics? AlbertCat Oct 2015 #27
Good. Maybe he can "spread the word" in the big house. Vinca Oct 2015 #4
Instead homegirl Oct 2015 #18
On the one hand, disgusting that historical objects should be stolen away into private hands. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Oct 2015 #5
Maybe the connection is closer than that nuxvomica Oct 2015 #7
Absolutely - Read many articles, heard it on the news many times packman Oct 2015 #8
Yes! kenfrequed Oct 2015 #6
I grew suspicous of the Greens when they announced the Bible Museum packman Oct 2015 #9
Good! Hope they are charged and have to return the relics. sinkingfeeling Oct 2015 #10
All those treasures that disappeared..... dawnie51 Oct 2015 #12
That's my guess too. Bush Inc. did NOT even TRY to guard Iraq's museums lostnfound Oct 2015 #23
Jail him. For a long time. marble falls Oct 2015 #13
Want to make him really mad? A Simple Game Oct 2015 #30
It w-o-u-l-d make it harder to take cash or text while driving, but a marble falls Oct 2015 #34
There's stuff in HL that wasn't injection-molded in China?! NT Jerry442 Oct 2015 #14
The CEO's personal collection. mucifer Oct 2015 #29
And this investigation will be labeled a witch hunt by the same people tanyev Oct 2015 #15
ISIS robert3 Oct 2015 #16
religious conservative hypocrisy? Skittles Oct 2015 #35
Return the perps to the Middle East for justice. /nt NCjack Oct 2015 #17
Im sure they will claim its their religious right workinclasszero Oct 2015 #19
Another corrupt lot that Francis the Pope touts and confers with, the Greens had a private Bluenorthwest Oct 2015 #20
Looting is transition to freedom ToxMarz Oct 2015 #21
Super Christians feel entitled to break the law in the name of the Lord librechik Oct 2015 #22
Everything's ok mountain grammy Oct 2015 #24
Let us all bow our heads and pray that this is true. randome Oct 2015 #25
Good... Although... Xyzse Oct 2015 #28
ISIS profits from destruction of antiquities by selling relics to dealers herding cats Oct 2015 #31
A fundy scumbag showing himself to be a fundy scumbag. Stinky The Clown Oct 2015 #32
Why is it every fundie you ever meet, has done something immoral/evil? Rex Oct 2015 #33
I read this story and I keep thinking of this: Warren DeMontague Oct 2015 #36

madokie

(51,076 posts)
1. So many times
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 07:45 AM
Oct 2015

scratch the surface of a deeply religious person and you will find all kinds of dishonesty and out right criminal behavior

RKP5637

(67,032 posts)
11. Exactly! They use it as a cover for their nefarious activities! And the stupid believe all of
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:54 AM
Oct 2015

their crap. Anyone tells me they've got religion and they go immediately onto my do not trust list.

 

AlbertCat

(17,505 posts)
26. Fundie religion = egotism
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 10:22 AM
Oct 2015

....and not so fundie too. Anyone who thinks some entity that could create a universe is looking after them personally.... pu-leez.

atreides1

(16,046 posts)
3. WTF???
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 07:46 AM
Oct 2015

Makes you wonder if the feds will be able to trace any of this to areas that are controlled by ISIL? Just think of it...one group of religious fanatics supporting another group of religious fanatics?

 

AlbertCat

(17,505 posts)
27. religious fanatics supporting another group of religious fanatics?
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 10:24 AM
Oct 2015

More like stuff looted from museums while the us invaded Iraq and guarded the oil refineries.

Erich Bloodaxe BSN

(14,733 posts)
5. On the one hand, disgusting that historical objects should be stolen away into private hands.
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 07:51 AM
Oct 2015

On the other hand, given ISIS destruction of historical and heritage sites in the Middle East, those same historical objects NOT being kept in Iraq might just have saved them from complete destruction.

nuxvomica

(12,362 posts)
7. Maybe the connection is closer than that
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:20 AM
Oct 2015

Your post got me thinking: what if ISIS is actually selling these antiquities? I found this article from September, entitled:
"Isis profits from destruction of antiquities by selling relics to dealers – and then blowing up the buildings they come from to conceal the evidence of looting"

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/isis-profits-from-destruction-of-antiquities-by-selling-relics-to-dealers-and-then-blowing-up-the-10483421.html

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
8. Absolutely - Read many articles, heard it on the news many times
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:34 AM
Oct 2015

ISIS does sell antiquities to fund their activities. But they aren't making a secret of it by blowing up the buildings , that they do for their twisted religious reasons.

 

packman

(16,296 posts)
9. I grew suspicous of the Greens when they announced the Bible Museum
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:38 AM
Oct 2015

Last edited Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:25 AM - Edit history (1)

"the Greens are “building a huge museum dedicated to the Bible a few blocks from the Mall in Washington, D.C., with as much public space as the National Museum of American History.”

In fact, the Green Collection, according to the Green Scholars Initiative website, “is among the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. Scholars have scoured the world to assemble the more than 40,000 biblical antiquities that today comprise the collection.”

The Green Collection, which had its debut in 2011, features items such as pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls and rare illuminated manuscripts. As reported by Fox News, one manuscript, which was copied in 1156, contains the Gospels, Eusebian Canon Tables, and portraits of the Evangelists.


You aren't going to get that type and amount of quality without doing something shady-- Artist sketch of Green's Bible Museum

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]


http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/06/16/hobby-lobby-s-green-family-building-biblical-museum/

dawnie51

(959 posts)
12. All those treasures that disappeared.....
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:58 AM
Oct 2015

from Iraq in 2003 and 2004 had to go somewhere. I have often wondered when and where they would turn up, but there was no doubt that they were spirited out of the country and were going to wind up in some rich assholes private collection, like the many famous paintings and sculptures that have before them.

lostnfound

(16,138 posts)
23. That's my guess too. Bush Inc. did NOT even TRY to guard Iraq's museums
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:51 AM
Oct 2015

The Iraqi people were quite upset at the "looting" of the museum that was happening at the time. I thought it was orchestrated and someone connected to the Bushies was being allowed to loot.

marble falls

(56,358 posts)
34. It w-o-u-l-d make it harder to take cash or text while driving, but a
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 01:50 PM
Oct 2015

fine jailing would settle it for me. Say a minimum 3 or 5 years

tanyev

(42,359 posts)
15. And this investigation will be labeled a witch hunt by the same people
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:20 AM
Oct 2015

who want Planned Parenthood investigated and shut down on the basis of deceptively obtained and heavily edited videos.

robert3

(1 post)
16. ISIS
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:29 AM
Oct 2015

You realize the only place they can get the antiquity’s from is ISIS, apparently that doesn’t bother them.

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
20. Another corrupt lot that Francis the Pope touts and confers with, the Greens had a private
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:44 AM
Oct 2015

audience with Francis about artifacts and exhibits and of course the ACA:
Hobby Lobby’s Green family meets with Pope Francis
The Greens are in Rome for the launch of one of their traveling exhibits, “Verbum Domini II” (Latin for “The Word of the Lord”).

“The purpose of the meeting was to thank the pope for the loan of items to the exhibit from the Vatican museum and library,” said Jennifer Sheran of DeMoss, the Atlanta public relations firm that represents the Greens. “The pope did ask how the (Hobby Lobby) case was progressing.”

Eighteen members of the Green family met with the pope, Sheran said, as well as 10 members from the American Bible Society. The meeting lasted 30 minutes."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/hobby-lobbys-green-family-meets-with-pope-francis/2014/03/31/4dfbe22c-b913-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html


Six Degrees of Politics....

ToxMarz

(2,154 posts)
21. Looting is transition to freedom
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:46 AM
Oct 2015

Freedom's untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things. They're also free to live their lives and do wonderful things. And that's what's going to happen here...

librechik

(30,663 posts)
22. Super Christians feel entitled to break the law in the name of the Lord
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 09:46 AM
Oct 2015

cuz they're better than all those brown folks in the Fertile Crescent.

mountain grammy

(26,569 posts)
24. Everything's ok
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 10:01 AM
Oct 2015

if it's in the name of jesus! Green uses his billions to support suppression of women.. Can't imagine how much that supreme court decision cost him. Now he's supporting terrorists.
Just another unelected corporate goon shaping America his way, for god and jesus.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
25. Let us all bow our heads and pray that this is true.
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 10:10 AM
Oct 2015
Pray really loud, too!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

Xyzse

(8,217 posts)
28. Good... Although...
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 10:25 AM
Oct 2015

I don't think this was done by them in any sort of altruistic motive, however years back there was a movement to destroy relics from that area by extremists, and I consider historic preservation as important.

Perhaps in the litigation, whatever is won can be used to house those antiquities for future generations. I would think that would be the best possible outcome.

herding cats

(19,549 posts)
31. ISIS profits from destruction of antiquities by selling relics to dealers
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 12:08 PM
Oct 2015
Isis profits from destruction of antiquities by selling relics to dealers – and then blowing up the buildings they come from to conceal the evidence of looting

So why is Isis blowing to pieces the greatest artefacts of ancient history in Syria and Iraq? The archeologist Joanne Farchakh has a unique answer to a unique crime. First, Isis sells the statues, stone faces and frescoes that international dealers demand. It takes the money, hands over the relics – and blows up the temples and buildings they come from to conceal the evidence of what has been looted.

“Antiquities from Palmyra are already on sale in London,” the Lebanese-French archaeologist Ms Farchakh says. “There are Syrian and Iraqi objects taken by Isis that are already in Europe. They are no longer still in Turkey where they first went – they left Turkey long ago. This destruction hides the income of Daesh [Isis] and it is selling these things before it is destroying the temples that housed them.

“It has something priceless to sell and then afterwards it destroys the site and the destruction is meant to hide the level of theft. It destroys the evidence. So no one knows what was taken beforehand – nor what was destroyed.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/isis-profits-from-destruction-of-antiquities-by-selling-relics-to-dealers-and-then-blowing-up-the-10483421.html


Which means, if they are buying these artifacts, the Green Family is funding ISIS. Which I'm sure they don't feel the least bit of moral conflict. It helps expedite the Rapture and Armageddon in their minds.

Stinky The Clown

(67,677 posts)
32. A fundy scumbag showing himself to be a fundy scumbag.
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 12:34 PM
Oct 2015

Gittin' hiz piece o the bahble, praise JEEEEEEEBUS

 

Rex

(65,616 posts)
33. Why is it every fundie you ever meet, has done something immoral/evil?
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 01:04 PM
Oct 2015

They were stealing artifacts from a destroyed country. I hope they get thrown in prison along with Hobby Lobby! Since corporations are people now!

Off to prison with the fam/HL!

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