Xiphactinus Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 http://newsandguide.pressmart.com/PUBLICATIONS/JHNG/JHNG/2012/11/28/ArticleHtmls/Tyrannosaurus-skull-seized-from-Jackson-28112012009003.shtml?Mode=undefined I'm not a fan of illegally importing fossils, but Dept. of Homeland Security involvement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) strange indeed. Edited December 3, 2012 by jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Something sounds a little fishy with this article. I don't think we are getting the whole story. Why would Homeland Security investagated this matter, why wouldn't it be Customs? "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 A terrorist tarbosaur perhaps......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Weird and I do not feel more secure either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clfossils Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 This is interesting, the only thing that could possibly make sense, is looking back to the origin of the fossil. Coming from an asian country and some of their strict rules related to exporting fossils, Homeland Security is brought in under customes. According to their website Homeland does have some jurisdictions over customs. Examining foreign relations, something as minor as a fossil head could be one of those catalysts that lead to a big dispute. Always found it fascinating that some countries and even some provinces here have such strict regulations with regards to fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 When the head of the organization (Homeland Security) is from the one state in the US with the least secure borders, one of the highest international crime rates, one of the most the international illegal drug imports, kidnappings, etc. This doesn't suprise me. Gotta love the Feds! Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 U.S. Customs and Border Protection is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) U.S. Customs and Border Protection is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Ahhhh....should have known that. "Fossil seized by US Customs" makes a lot more sense than "Fossil seized by Homeland Security." Edited December 3, 2012 by Xiphactinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clfossils Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Ahhhh....should have known that. "Fossil seized by US Customs" makes a lot more sense than "Fossil seized by Homeland Security." Ya that would make sense but it would not make for as intense of a article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 They can have my fossils when they pry them from my cold dead fingers. Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFossilHunter Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I remember seeing the skeleton they are talking about at the nyc metro show in nj being sold there. I even took a picture of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 They can have my fossils when they pry them from my cold dead fingers. Remember what happened to Edgar...* *("Your proposition is acceptable!") "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Remember what happened to Edgar...* *("Your proposition is acceptable!") Ha! I enjoyed this very much. "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 A terrorist tarbosaur perhaps......... Well, 'Tarbosaurus' can be translated as 'terror lizard'. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinus Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 The University of Michigan just recently received 40 flats if invertebrate fossils from "Homeland Security" aka Customs. They were seized at the Detroit/Windsor border. My understanding was that a couple of Canadians were going to MAPS to sell these fossils. The problem was they did not declare them at the border and got searched. They never came back to claim them and eventually Customs donated them to the university. I went through the the flats and there was some really nice stuff. Stuff I would have been glad to add to my collection. Unfortunately all the specimen had no labels and therefore these fossil will not become part of the universities collection. They will be used for teaching. Even though I recognize where a number of them came from, the collection manager does not want to make them part of the collection without 100% certainty and I can't provide that. Does someone out there have the cheat sheet that will link the fossil number to the label information. A lot of the fossils had numbers on them or in the box. I suspect that the seller had a reference sheet which is something the Customs did not get. crinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_ed Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Rules for the sake of rules.. Man has too much time on his hands.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 When are they going to start realizing these Tarbosaurs are just coming to the US for economic reasons! If I were a Tarbosaur I would much rather be worth $1 million in New York than languishing in some farmer's field in Mongolia. Why the economic opportunity for Cretaceous predators are much better here than in almost any other country. Now if only our fossil immigration laws could be changed to let in the best and brightest fossils, we would all win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I don't think the Tarbosaur even knew he was Mongolian. Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 .. Man has too much time on his hands... Roger that, which is why rules are generally a good thing! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_ed Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Roger that, which is why rules are generally a good thing! They are where peoples welfare and safety are involved.. Making rules as to what rocks that I find that I can keep is akin to telling me what I can eat or what berries I can pick or what wild flowers I can pick .... the rules are why fossils are becoming worth money on the black market.. if they could be taken and owned and sold anywhere they would never really be worth much.. as soon as someone makes out that something needs protecting it goes up iin price and demand..allo of a sudden everyone wants one.. Fossils are a renewable resource..they were made since the earth was and are being made as we speak and all the present fossil beds will be decimated in the next big worldly catastostropic happening.. is that what we are saving them for.. let's enjoy them .. it make more sense to me.. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I think it's a good thing that the rules prohibit picking berries that belong to someone else, and the same goes for rocks and fossils. All that is a little beside the point, though; the border confiscation that Crinus brought up was because of a failure to declare them. This is not arbitrary, it is customs law, and the confiscated goods (with value, they were going to be sold, yes?) were being smuggled, probably in an effort to avoid duties. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I don't think the Tarbosaur even knew he was Mongolian. well said, Mike Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonesnbones Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I remember when there was the legal issue over the Trex "Sue." The federal government confiscated fossils, some not even related to "Sue", and stored them improperly causing hundreds of thousands in damage and loss of scientific data. Sometimes I think that individuals get so caught up in the "monetary" value that they forget the scientific value that might be lost. I just hope they have stored the fossils correctly until the issue is settled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 ...The federal government confiscated fossils, some not even related to "Sue", and stored them improperly causing hundreds of thousands in damage and loss of scientific data... Actually, this is a popular misconception. The claim by the defendants that the fossils should be returned to their expert care, pending the outcome of the litigation, was based on the fear that they would suffer damage where they were impounded. The claim was denied, and the confiscated materials were fine in the end. It is true that Pete Larsen, BHI, & et al, while not squeeky-clean, were mauled by the system. Pete did serve time, but not for any of the charges stemming from Sue! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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