Rocket Surgeon
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Le Saboteur said:Irony is a dead scene. And has been since at least the eighties.
How incongruous...got to get a hold of your 2011 Rule Book!Le Saboteur said:I use the archaic definition of lightness of weight.
I guess unless we know more, emotions will continue to rule our decisions, antiquities be damned!Le Saboteur said:The way I understand it, this began well before you and I were conscious of anything outside of Saturday Morning Cartoons. Dr. Hawass requested a loan of the Rosetta Stone and the Bust of Nefertiti. For various reasons, the British and the Germans refused. It has since escalated into a demand for full repatriation, one that isn't hard to sympathize with.
My impression is that security is the prime factor, to which Hawass has only supplied rhetoric.Le Saboteur said:The primary reasons seem to be security and fragility. I find them specious at best.
Sure, the Stone is currently in PERFECT shape...and complete! But before discussing it's propensity for chipping/cracking, what measures does Hawass have in place to prevent the entire stone from sprouting legs and walking away? Wait, according to Stoo, the Rosetta Stone is aready IN The Egyptian Museum! Well, that's what Museum employees SAY on the tour...hmmm. So much for rhetoric.Le Saboteur said:The Rosetta Stone is a 1,700 pound rock. It's weight virtually guarantees it's security, and a good crate combined with quality packing material takes of care of the (laughable) fragility concerns.
I wouldn't argue that these artifacts CAN be transported safely.Le Saboteur said:I agree that the Bust of Nefertiti is fragile, but not nearly enough that it can't take a five hour plane ride. If the Terracotta Warriors (an arguably more significant discovery) can circumnavigate the globe for two years without incident, I fail to see why similar precautions cannot be made for a single transfer between museums.
But the question remains, HOW secure is the Egyptian Museum? So far these priceless works of "art" are safe.Le Saboteur said:No museum is totally secure.
WOW! Now here is a topic worthy of more discussion! "Semi-routinely." Please tell me more...that's an interesting point!Le Saboteur said:Hell, European thieves semi-routinely walk into European art museums and walk off with the paintings from the wall.
"If all the ifs and buts were candy and nuts, what a wonderful Christmas it would be..."Le Saboteur said:If this country was in open revolt against the government, I can guarantee any number of opportunists would be breaking into the Smithsonian, the Met, AMNH, the Field Museum, etc.
Silly premise for what Museum "security" is or should be, not to mention thin rhetoric for a guarantee and "repatriation"...another hollow term adopted to elicit your base emotions instead of facts.
Let's not forget the BILLIONS the United States GIVES to Egypt every year to keep it stable...Le Saboteur said:Let's not forget that Egypt has had the contents of King Tutankhamen's tomb for roughly eighty years, including the gold funerary mask, without incident.
You're right! Let's take their word for it. Your impassioned defense of their intentions are enough! Send it all back. Give the child his crayons! Maybe it will shut him up!Le Saboteur said:And given that approximately 11% of Egypt's GDP comes from tourism, I would suspect that they have a healthy respect for the antiquities on hand. Without that respect, we wouldn't have heard these stories of ordinary citizens going out of their way to do what they can to protect the Cairo Museum.
Words are cheap. What plan has Hawass provided that ensures their continued well being?
Originally Posted by Zahi Hawass
It seems that the thieves simply threw these five objects in the desert...
To date, 293 objects have been returned to the Qantara East Magazine, but as I have previously stated, we will not be able to know the exact number of the stolen objects until the current situation calms down. A committee will be formed in order to inventory the contents of the magazine. I believe that it will be impossible for the people who stole the objects to sell them. No museum or private collector will buy Egyptian antiquities now, they will be too scared. I am very happy that my calls for the return of these objects on television and in newspapers were successful.
Thrown in the desert...
They can't even perform an inventory?
He saved those antiquities with his words!
All praise and honor to Hahi's Zan-ass!
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