Hobby Lobby to pay $3 million fine, forfeit ancient artifacts

Source: CNN

(CNN)Hobby Lobby agreed to forfeit thousands of artifacts from modern-day Iraq and pay a $3 million fine to resolve a civil action the Justice Department brought against the company, according to court documents.

The DOJ said the company received the falsely labeled artifacts from a United Arab Emirates-based supplier.

The artifacts, ancient cuneiform tablets and clay bullae, were smuggled into the United States through the United Arab Emirates and Israel, Justice officials said. Cuneiform is an ancient system of writing on clay tablets that was used in Mesopotamia, and clay bullae are balls of clay on which seals have been imprinted.

The dealers working with Hobby Lobby falsely labeled the shipments as "ceramics" and "samples" and illegally shipped them to Hobby Lobby stores and two corporate offices, according to the DOJ.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/05/us/hobby-lobby-ancient-artifacts-trnd/index.html

The company you keep

The company you keep installment three in the series

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1172203296

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12103320


Hobby Lobby is too virtuous to give women birth control because it “values life” so it gives cash to ISIS that will be used to kill people.
https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/882738596058456064

Hobby Lobby to pay $3 million fine, forfeit ancient artifacts
(CNN)Hobby Lobby agreed to forfeit thousands of artifacts from modern-day Iraq and pay a $3 million fine to resolve a civil action the Justice Department brought against the company, according to court documents.

The DOJ said the company received the falsely labeled artifacts from a United Arab Emirates-based supplier.

The artifacts, ancient cuneiform tablets and clay bullae, were smuggled into the United States through the United Arab Emirates and Israel, Justice officials said. Cuneiform is an ancient system of writing on clay tablets that was used in Mesopotamia, and clay bullae are balls of clay on which seals have been imprinted.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/05/us/hobby-lobby-ancient-artifacts-trnd/index.html

School districts gird for impact of Florida's new 'religious expression' law

In world history lessons, as Pinellas County social studies specialist Matthew Blum knows well, religion is key.

The trick can be not letting it get out of hand.

Parents might challenge what's being taught, as they've done in Brevard and Collier counties. And students might assert one world view over another.

But strong teachers "have a great understanding of religious freedom and religious expression," Blum said, and know how to handle such situations. They allow room for discussion and include information from any variety of sources, but they insist that students meet the course standards and expectations when doing so.

It's nothing personal.

Florida's new law governing such matters, though, has some educators worried.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/school-districts-gird-for-impact-of-floridas-new-religious-expression-law/2329355

Sing along on the 4th: Impeach the POTUS

Freeze-Dried Placenta Pills Linked to Newborns Dangerous Bacterial Infection

Some celebrities take such therapies, claiming health benefits

In a certain corner of the alternative health movement, fueled by celebrity buzz, it’s become en vogue for new mothers to consume their placentas after giving birth. Companies have sprouted up offering to turn placentas into smoothies, truffles, and freeze-dried pills, claiming that placental eating—practiced by many mammal species—can give recovering moms a boost of vitamins and nutrients, and help prevent postpartum depression.

Evidence, however, is lacking that it has any health benefit for human moms or babies. And a new case report reveals that it can be incredibly dangerous.

The case report describes an infant born in Oregon in fall 2016 who was soon after diagnosed with a strep infection that was causing breathing difficulties. After a course of antibiotics, the baby was immediately hospitalized again, and tested positive for strep a second time. Doctors, searching for the source of the infection, eventually realized that the mother was taking daily dried placenta capsules. Testing of the capsules confirmed that they were strep positive.
The report, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, states that the pills likely increased the strep bacteria in the mom’s intestines and skin, from which the baby picked up the bacteria.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/freeze-dried-placenta-pills-linked-to-newborn-rsquo-s-dangerous-bacterial-infection/?WT.mc_id=SA_TW_HLTH_NEWS&sf95152056=1

Why I gave up watching pro football, by Daniel Ruth

Part of my "The company you keep" series, installment two ( https://www.democraticunderground.com/1172203296 )


SNIP

It is also certainly true that no organization is better at marketing its product than the National Football League. (With the exception of the NRA*) It sells brutality masked as entertainment. It sells a vicious, crippling sport as an American tradition. It's sells family values while abandoning its employees for the sake of a dollar. And there is no shortage of customers eager to be served up young men willing to risk having their brains turned into tapioca.

SNIP

The sports bars will be packed. The stadiums will be sold out. The television ratings will be high as the public eagerly awaits another year of literal gladiatorial combat. There will be blood, enough for our dining and dancing pleasure.

But I can't do it anymore. Perhaps you see incredibly gifted and superbly conditioned young men performing on the gridiron. I did too, once. Now I see guys who won't remember their kids' names when they are 50. I see Darryl Stingley and Warren Sapp.

I used to be a rabid fan. Now I feel like a recovering enabler. No more.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/ruth-why-i-gave-up-watching-pro-football/2329228

*note by HAB911

head of Fox Sports programming, fired in sexual harassment probe

Amid a probe of sexual harassment at Fox Sports, the company announced Monday that it had fired its controversial head of sports programming, Jamie Horowitz.

Horowitz’s dismissal came less than a week after 21st Century Fox began investigating allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace at Fox Sports. The company hired a law firm, which began interviewing women at Fox Sports about Horowitz’s behavior, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to publicly discuss it.

Several women, including prominent on-air personalities, have already been interviewed about their treatment at Fox Sports, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

“Everyone at FOX Sports, no matter what role we play, or what business, function or show we contribute to — should act with respect and adhere to professional conduct at all times,” Fox Sports President Eric Shanks said in an email to staff members, announcing Horowitz’s departure.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-fox-sports-jamie-horowitz-sex-harassment-20170703-story.html

Former Pres. Bill Clinton, former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton cheered while attending theater perf

Asian stars of 'Hawaii Five-0' quit

the show after CBS refused to pay them as much as their white costars

(Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park.Frazer Harrison/Getty)
"Hawaii Five-0" stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have left the CBS show after the network refused to pay them as much as their white costars, Variety reports.

Sources told the outlet that Kim and Park were seeking salaries equal to those of stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but they were unable to reach a deal with the show's producer, CBS Television Studios.

CBS's final offer to the two actors was reportedly "10-15% lower" than the salaries of their two white costars.

A representative for the network told Variety in a statement: "We are so appreciative of Daniel and Grace's enormous talents, professional excellence, and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They've helped us build an exciting new Hawaii Five-0, and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters. Mahalo and a hui hou."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stars-hawaii-five-0-144142868.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

Florida Bar's smart effort to reduce gender bias

The Florida Bar is taking seriously the undeniable problem of gender bias in the legal profession. Last year, the Bar learned from surveying its members just how pervasive discrimination remains against women, regardless of whether it is subtle or overt. Rather than shrinking from that disturbing reality, the Bar tackled the issue head-on and has released a substantive list of recommendations to improve the situation.

In 2015, the Bar sent out a survey on women in the legal profession to a random sample of 3,000 young female lawyers. Some 43 percent reported experiencing gender bias in their career, including harassment. They also cited a lack of advancement opportunities, unequal pay and a continuing struggle to balance work and home life. Those findings prompted Bar president William J. Schifino Jr. of Tampa to appoint a committee last year to study gender and diversity issues. The group sent out a larger survey to 6,000 lawyers (both male and female), sought advice and input from an array of experts on the legal profession and gender bias, and came up with recommendations that could help begin to change a culture where women are still called "sweetheart" in the courtroom.

The recommendations could apply broadly to most any professional organization or workplace but are smartly tailored to the Bar and its members.

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-the-florida-bars-smart-effort-to-reduce-gender-bias/2329028