UK Declares Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Group, Obama is furious…

British Prime Minister David Cameron (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images)

By Todd Beamon  

The United Kingdom declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after an 18-month study ordered by British Prime Minister David Cameron — and the Obama administration slammed the document as flying in the face of the Brotherhood’s history as a “nonviolent Islamist group.”

The report, which Cameron presented to the House of Commons on Thursday, described the Muslim Brotherhood as anti-democratic, openly supportive of terrorism, dedicated to establishing an Islamist government — and opposed to the rule of law, individual liberty, and equality.

“Aspects of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and activities … run counter to British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, equality and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs,”Cameron said in a statement with the report’s release. “The Muslim Brotherhood is not the only movement that promotes values which appear intolerant of equality and freedom of faith and belief.”

“Nor is it the only movement or group dedicated in theory to revolutionizing societies and changing existing ways of life,” he continued. “But I have made clear this government’s determination to reject intolerance, and to counter not just violent Islamist extremism, but also to tackle those who create the conditions for it to flourish.”

“The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism,” Cameron said.

As a result, the prime minister said that the U.K. government would continue to refuse visas to Muslim Brotherhood members and associates and take other steps that included increasing surveillance on the group’s activities and whether these actions could be prosecuted.

Britain also will continue to uphold the European Community’s freeze on the assets of Hamas, another terrorist group with ties to the Brotherhood, Cameron said.

The Obama administration quickly condemned the report in a statement to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, saying that the Muslim Brotherhood had a history of nonviolence and that opposing the group could lead some members to become radicalized.

The “political repression of nonviolent Islamist groups has historically contributed to the radicalization of the minority of their members who would consider violence,” the administration said. “The de-legitimization of non-violent political groups does not promote stability, and instead advances the very outcomes that such measures are intended to prevent.”

President Barack Obama has long embraced the Muslim Brotherhood and has defended and promoted Islam in an effort to fight Islamophobia.

In 2011, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress that the Muslim Brotherhood has “pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt.”

“In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally.”

And in a 2009 interview with Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-based television network, Obama said: “My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives.”

“My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.”

Here are some key statements from Cameron’s report:

• “The founder and first Supreme Guide (spiritual leader), Hassan al Banna, called for the religious reformation of individual Muslims, the progressive moral purification of Muslim societies and their eventual political unification in a caliphate under sharia law.”
• “There is little evidence that the experience of power in Egypt … has caused a rethinking in the Muslim Brotherhood of its ideology or conduct. U.K. official engagement with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood produced no discernible change in their thinking. Indeed even by mid-2014, statements from Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood-linked media platforms seem to have deliberately incited violence.”
• “Literature in the Muslim Brotherhood movement in this country continues to reflect some of the concerns of the foundational Muslim Brotherhood ideology, notably that Western society is inherently hostile to Muslim faith and interests and that Muslims must respond by maintaining their distance and autonomy.”
• “Material still being promoted by UKIM [U.K. Islamic Mission] as of July 2014 continued to explicitly claim that it is not possible for an observant Muslim to live under a non-Islamic system of government.”

 

Parrot laughs like a super villain…

Gravedigger finds ‘Roman child’s coffin’ with metal detector….

A child’s coffin believed to date back to the 3rd Century AD is being examined by archaeologists in Warwickshire.

It was found beneath a Leicestershire field by two men, one of whom is a Nottingham gravedigger, using metal detectors.

JRR Tolkien ring goes on display at The Vyne exhibition…..

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An ancient gold ring thought to have inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Hobbit is on display at a Tudor house.

The ring, which is inscribed in Latin and has been linked to a Roman curse tablet, is being exhibited for the first time at The Vyne, in Hampshire.

Archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler is believed to have discussed the ring with Tolkien after realising its connection to the curse.

It was found in a farmer’s field in Silchester in 1785.

The ancient artefact is also inset with an image of the goddess Venus, and lay forgotten in the library of the National Trust property for several years.

‘Incredible story’

It is believed Sir Mortimer asked for Tolkien’s expertise in 1929. Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University.

The ring has been linked to a curse tablet found at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to the god Nodens in Gloucestershire.

Tolkien worked on the etymology of the name Nodens and repeatedly visited the temple.

His fantasy novel The Hobbit was published in 1937. The “One Ring”, which plays a central role in Lord of the Rings, is also gold and contains an inscription in a fictional language called the “Black Speech of Mordor”.

A “Ring Room” has been created at The Vyne in association with the Tolkien Society.

A spokesman said it told the “incredible story of this ring, the Roman tablet inscribed with a curse on the man who stole it, and its fascinating connections with Tolkien.”

Finders Keepers? Not Always in Treasure Hunting……

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Digging into archaeology law in the U.K. and U.S.

In September 2009, David Booth, a park ranger in Stirling, Scotland, packed up his brand-new metal detector (“I practiced at home picking up nails and bits”), drove to a field, walked seven yards (six meters) from his parked car, and scored big. His first sweep with a metal detector yielded a spectacular find: four gold torques, or neck bands, from the first century B.C.—the most important hoard of Iron Age gold found in Scotland to date.

Several days later, Stuart Campbell of the National Museum of Scotland, the man in charge of “treasure trove” finds, as they are known in the United Kingdom, arrived at his Edinburgh office, opened his email to find a message with the subject “gold jewelry” and thought, “Oh, no, not another Victorian watch chain.” Then he saw the images.

Thanks to laws in England and Scotland that encourage artifact hunters to cooperate with archaeologists, Booth was paid the current market price for the cache, about $650,000, set by the queen’s and lord treasurer’s remembrancer (the British crown’s representative in Scotland). He split the sum with the landowner.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Treasure Act of 1996 defines gold or silver finds older than 300 years as treasure and claims them for the crown. Finds must be reported within 14 days. Scotland’s laws are broader: Treasure does not have to be gold or silver and can be less than 300 years old, but in both jurisdictions, a significant find will be offered to museums to bid on.

The spectacular hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold, silver, and garnet objects discovered in 2009 by Terry Herbert, an unemployed metal-detector enthusiast, was acquired by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke on Trent. The assessed value of $5.3 million was split between Herbert and the owner of the Staffordshire field where it was found. (In December, about 90 more pieces of gold and silver were recovered from the same area.)

Britain’s Amateur Treasure Hunters Strike Gold

Nearly 90 percent of archaeological artifacts in the U.K. are found by amateur treasure hunters with metal detectors. Michael Lewis, deputy head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum in London, calls it “land fishing,” adding that the law encourages treasure hunters to adopt best practices in metal detecting, such as recording the location of finds.

A related program, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, is a voluntary project, managed by the British Museum, to record archaeological objects—not necessarily treasure—found by members of the public. So far, the British Museum has documented 800,000 finds, everything from gold and silver artifacts to bits of pottery and iron. Taken in context and seen together, they give a picture of where and how people lived in the past.

The relationship between archaeologists and metal detector hunters is, for the most part, downright amiable. Each year, the British Museum reaches out to some 177 metal-detecting clubs and judges the year’s “best” find.

U.S. Treasure Laws Lag

How do laws in the United States stack up? Fred Limp, president of the Society for American Archaeology, summed it up: “Basically, except for materials on federal land, state law applies and, with some exceptions, objects are the property of the land owner.” There is no standard rule; it varies state to state.

Federal laws are strict. “A stone tool is property of the federal government in perpetuity,” said Limp. “Its digging up is a violation of law and can be a felony.” Depending on the state, the same object found on private land may or may not have protection.

In other words, “private landowners can dig up all the sites they want and sell on eBay,” said Tom Green, director of the Arkansas Archeological Survey. A notable exception is burial sites. Nearly all states have laws forbidding the digging up of burial sites (where most of the best material is found—”like the good, fancy pots,” explained Green).

What about exporting the British scheme to the United States?

“It wouldn’t work here,” said Chris Espenshade, a consulting archaeologist for Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group in Michigan. “It’s contrary to our culture.” It’s the mindset of “It’s my property and I’ll do what I want” and an American individualism that expresses itself in “no trespassing” signs.

Furthermore, said Espenshade, “We don’t have that kind of treasure in the United States. Most of the people out metal detecting aren’t finding big money items. It’s not a Celtic gold broach. It’s a lead minie ball [an old bullet].”

Still, he admitted, the compensation afforded by the United Kingdom’s laws mitigates the idea that a finder should give away a treasure and not get anything in return.

Limitations to the U.K. Treasure Act

The U.K. laws aren’t perfect. Important finds have slipped through the cracks—notably a magnificent bronze Roman helmet found in Cumbria and auctioned off by Christie’s in 2010 for $3.6 million to a private collector. (Because it was a single object and made of bronze, it didn’t technically qualify as “treasure.”)

But the laws seem to function well enough. Said Michael Lewis of the British Museum: “The Treasure Act works well because it ensures that important finds end up in museums for all to enjoy and that finders are rewarded. They are encouraged to do the right thing.”

And Booth, the finder of the Iron Age hoard in Scotland? “It was nice to pay off the Ford Focus,” he told a local newspaper. He’s still hunting.

The Detecting Corner…Sunday 7:00PM Eastern Time

THE DETECTING CORNER WITH KENNY BRIGGS AND ED CROPSKI.

Kenny and Ed will be discussing the various types of metal detectors, how to use them, what you can find and much more. Callers can ask questions and get answers from two of the foremost people in the detecting hobby…over 60 years of combined experience will be at your finger tips to help you with the greatest hobby in the world.

Click the link below for how to join in and listen or call into the Radio show.

http://thedetectinglifestyle.com/

Boy Finds WWII Bomb With Metal Detector………….

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A metal detector received as a Christmas gift led a young boy to find a WWII bomb buried in a British field.

Parents do not typically expect a stocking stuffer, this one a metal detector from National Geographic, to make the headlines. This holiday present is worthy of attention for leading to the discovery of a WWII bomb buried in a field in Norfolk, England.
During his first jaunt with the detector, seven-year-old Sonny Cater was scanning a field near his home when he discovered the metal capsule. The boy, accompanied by his parents and brother, was alerted to the buried object when the metal detector began beeping.

According to an article by The Daily Mirror, the family had no idea what the mud covered object was until they brought it home for closer inspection. The boy’s mother, 39-year-old Tracey Wood, said the following:

“It was a big muddy lump when it came to the surface so we stupidly thought, ‘Let’s take it home’. We feel a bit silly now we know it could have potentially been dangerous but its not often you go exploring and end up with a bomb.”

Bringing the object to their home and washing the mud away, the boy’s father became concerned and placed a call to authorities. Bomb experts from RAF Wittering quickly converged on the family’s Kings Lynn residence.

The Telegraph reports that the device was identified as a “10lb British practice bomb from WWII” before it was taken away for safe disposal. Thought to have been used for British practice runs during the war, the bomb still contained internal wiring. Fortunately, the device was not found to hold any explosive material.

Flight Lieutenant Donald Earl, an RAF Wittering spokesman, urges the public to alert authorities to any such objects found rather than trying to move them. He points out that this particular finding is a bit unusual:

“We find a lot of bombs in Afghanistan with metal detectors but we don’t tend to find them in the UK.”

England….Iron Age bronze helmet found on Canterbury farmland

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A rare Iron Age helmet unearthed by a metal detector enthusiast on farmland near Canterbury has been described as a significant find by the British Museum.

The bronze helmet was found with bone fragments, and had been used to hold human remains after a cremation, Canterbury Archaeological Trust said.

The finder contacted archaeologists because he was confident he had made a significant discovery, the trust said.

University of Kent experts have found it dates back to the 1st Century BC.

Andrew Richardson, finds manager at the trust, said the person who found the helmet wanted to remain anonymous
A brooch that would have fastened a bag holding the cremated bone was also unearthed, he said.

Julia Farley, Iron Age curator at the British Museum, said it was one of a handful of Iron Age helmets found in Britain.

She said it was not unusual to bury cremated remains in a bag fastened with a brooch in late Iron Age Kent.

But she said: “No other cremation has ever been found accompanied by a helmet.”
She added: “The owner of this helmet, or the people who placed it in the grave, may have lived through the very beginning of the story of Roman Britain.”

Dr Steven Willis, senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Kent, said laser-scanning technology had been used to analyse the helmet and establish details of its manufacture, decoration and use.

He said: “The secrets of this helmet are only just beginning to emerge but we will know much more as the work progresses.”

Dr Willis also said more or less intact helmets of the era were very rare finds.

He said one was known of in Belgium that had also been used as a cremation container.

The objects have been registered as treasure, reported to the coroner, and will remain at the British Museum, the university said.

But academics said it was hoped Canterbury Museum would be able to acquire the finds so they could be permanently displayed in Kent.

History-changing coin or a 15C forgery?……..

Debate over ‘Roman’ artefact found in field by metal-detecting friends

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After 30 years of metal detecting, pair get lucky by finding Roman coin
Only the second found featuring Emperor Proculus, it could fetch £80,000
Some experts say it will rewrite the history books, others think it is a 15C forgery

It is the size of a fingernail with battered edges to match.

But this silver coin, discovered in a field, could be worth up to £80,000 if proved to be a genuine Roman antique.

Colin Popplewell, 58, and Mark Hildreth, 38, say the coin – which is the size and weight of a penny – is only the second one in history to be found featuring the short-lived Emperor Proculus.
A metal detecting expert, Julian Evan-Hart, certainly believes the coin is genuine and that it was minted to mark the brief rise to power of Proculus in 280AD.

Father-of-two Mr Popplewell, who made the find in a field near Stamford Bridge, East Yorkshire, on November 7, said: ‘The first coin with Proculus was found in a collection in Germany in the 1980s. It sold in 1991 for £40,000.

‘It was in a private collection that dated back a century so there was no way of validating whether the coin was authentic or a contemporary forgery, made in the Roman times.
‘Our find is ground-breaking because it validates the first coin and gives weight to the history of Proculus – it really will change the history books.’

But coin specialist and renowned academic Roger Bland, who is Keeper of the Prehistory and Europe Department of the British Museum, disagrees that the coin is genuine.’

He said: ‘I don’t believe any coins of Proculus were ever made and this one is probably a 15th century forgery.

‘The only source for our knowledge of him is a controversial history book, written at the end of the 4th century AD, much of which was made up.
‘It says that there were 30 tyrants who all vied for control of the Roman Empire when things got a bit messy in the late 3rd century AD and lots of people were declared Emperor.

‘Many of these 30 tyrants never had coins made, which is a sign of a true Emperor.

‘But in the Renaissance, when coin collecting was fashionable, people thought these men should have had coins so they made them.

‘This coin has been made from the same dye, or mould, as another in the Munich Museum, which is widely believed to be fake.
‘There is no context to this find either – only single coins, not hoards, have been found so their provenance is difficult to assess.

‘Unless someone finds a hoard of these coins, I’m going to remain very sceptical that there were ever any coins made for Proculus.’

Mr Popplewell, a body shop manager, said that when the duo found the coin they didn’t recognise the emperor’s features.

He and Mr Hildreth photographed the coin out in the field and put the image on a Facebook site used by metal detector specialists.

‘We started getting messages back from people telling us that we really should take it to be valued properly. All these figures started coming at us and they’re constantly changing, even now.’

Mr Hildreth, a self-employed joiner, added that they would give a proportion of the proceeds to the farmer who owns the field and gave them permission to go detecting.

The lucky duo, of York, will then share the remainder between them 50/50, as they had always agreed.

He explained that a single coin was not considered treasure trove and therefore did not need to go to an inquest, but it had been recorded by the finds liaison officer at the Yorkshire Museum.
Mr Evan-Hart said the find ‘made an astounding contribution to world numismatics by this find of a single debased silver coin’.

Christopher Webb, of specialist auctioneers and valuers of coins, Dix Noonan Webb, said it was an ‘extremely rare and valuable coin, possibly the second known’.

He said that at auction, it could fetch up to £50,000, but this estimate was later raised to between £60,000 and £80,000.

Mr Popplewell added: ‘I probably will be a bit sad to say goodbye to the coin but to be honest it’s become a bit of a burden – I’m looking forward to someone taking it off my hands.

‘This has definitely whet my appetite for metal detecting – in fact Mark and I were back out with our detectors just after we found the coin.’

England….Wokingham City Hall