[meteorite-list] Oman

[Michael L Blood]

Hi all,
        Wile I do not mean in any way to minimize the trauma
and outrageousness of this escapade, I cannot help but wonder
if it was inspired by the US "Homeland Security Act" by which
our government has declared it will (and has) do exactly the
same thing at any time and to any one.
        Don¹t take my word for it - just take the time to read a few
of the more terrifying paragraphs, then take note that it states,
and has acted on the premise, that anyone engaged in any behavior
deemed supportive of terrorism INCLUDES POT SMOKERS (and
a WIDE array of other equally ridiculous behaviors) - (pot "users"
spend money on drugs & drug dealing has been one way terrorists
have used to raise money for terrorist acts - you even see it on
TV commercials). 
        I wish I were making all this up.
        We have all heard about John & Ivan's (as well
as others I do not know as well) horror story - They are educated,
connected and internationally known - even if it is a relatively
"small" world wide community. But this kind of thing is happening
in the US - you just don't hear about it much - and even if it is
relatively rare - it marks a very clear suspension, if not end, to our
constitutional rights.
        I was not going to bring this up at all for fear it would look like
I were minimizing the outrageousness of the Oman episode. I certainly
would not go to Oman - unfortunately, the high ranking officials in
the US I cannot be so easily rid of. On the other hand,
meteorite hunting does not YET seem to be high on their list for
an excuse to relieve you of your constitutional right to trial,
representation, property, etc. Apparently, in Oman, it is.
        I laud John for creating this web site and hope he has notified
his senator and representative of this reprehensible act (knowing
John, I suspect he has). While such notification is very unlikely to
result in the recovery of stolen property - and nothing can replace
the time in custody and the anxiety that must have been involved
in being in the hands of people proving themselves capable of such
outrageous behavior (if they would hold a US citizen without access
to the US counsel, steel his possessions, deny access to representation,
etc, are they not also capable of deciding to simply take him out of
the picture altogether to insure anonymity?)
        Best wishes, Michael




on 6/23/05 6:52 AM, Gerald Flaherty at grf2 at verizon.net wrote:

> Martin, This episode with John, like the one described by Mike Farmer on
> this list a couple of months ago, seems more a revolutionary rather than an
> evolutionary change in Oman policy. That does not give one sufficient time
> to acclimate and tailor one's choices. If people have enjoyed the
> hospitality of a region for some time one should expect that same
> hospitality on their planned trip. John's site warns the would-be tourist
> that this is no longer the case and I for omne will not venture there based
> upon his experience.
> John also refers to high ranking officials involved in his misadventure.
> This becomes a rather general inditment of a coutry's intent and seems
> rather important to advise against travel based upon personal experience.
> Again , I for one will take John's advise in this case.
> Jerry Flaherty
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin Altmann" <Altmann at Meteorite-Martin.de>
> To: "JKGwilliam" <h3chondrite at cox.net>;
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 7:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fwd: To all interested Parties
> 
> 
>> Hiho,
>> 
>> that, what is positive on that homepage, is that it settles all the
>> rumours
>> about that incident,
>> but the conclusions drawn, in my opinion at least, are somewhat strange.
>> My regret is to John Blennert, who obviously blames with this homepage a
>> whole country for him having been unable to inform himself accurately
>> before
>> he was going there.
>> To me it seems like travelling to a tropical country, returning ill from
>> malaria and afterwards blaming a whole nation, because one didn't care for
>> a
>> prophylaxis.
>> 
>> Some points:
>> 
>> Can't see, why normal travellers, who will visit Oman for tourism, should
>> ever come in a situation like you was in, to get in conflict with written
>> or
>> unwritten laws, as they are going there not for hunting minerals, rocks,
>> meteorites.
>> 
>> In my humble opinion, I'd say, if you were able to organize and to plan
>> the
>> logistics of that trip, a part of these preparations should have comprised
>> to check, whether there are any legal obstacles to hunt or to remove
>> meteorites from there.
>> At those times, it already was known by several hunters, that a license
>> for hunting and a permission for export is necessary, some already were
>> avoiding Oman, because
>> of the difficulties to get one.
>> That other hunters were not prosecuted, is no argument. You should have
>> spoken to them before.
>> 
>> To rely on a 4 years old book (Guba: Stone Treasures) regarding the actual
>> laws is naive.
>> A very important sentence I find on the top of your homepage:
>> "Do not trust tourist information about Oman that you may have received
>> from
>> official sources."
>> In reading the rest of your site, I suggest, that you should modify it to
>> "...official US-sources".
>> You enquired at the American embassy in Muscat, they gave you the
>> information, that they are "unaware" of any laws restricting rock hunting
>> or
>> exporting. I recommend for retrieving your property, which was confiscated
>> by the Omani, to file a lawsuit against them.
>> As at the US-embassy they were obviously not informed about the laws in
>> Oman
>> ("unaware" means not, that there do not exist any laws, only that they
>> don't
>> know it) it would have been necessary to enquire an embassy of Oman or
>> even
>> better to address to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Muscat,
>> whether a permission for mineral prospection and exportation is necessary
>> and how to apply for.
>> 
>> As undelightful the treatment you had to experience there has been and as
>> glad we are, that you're all back at good health, to blame the whole Omani
>> people for your insufficient preparations for the trip and you incomplete
>> knowledge,
>> is ridicolous.
>> 
>> "Tourists.....without being charged with any crime or misdemeanor."
>> Besides the incorrect treatment, that you were not allowed to contact your
>> consulates, that you were not told the reasons for your arrest ect.
>> is this assertion contradictory to that, what one can read on your
>> homepage
>> in the official Omani document, you present on your site, where it's said,
>> that you violated those laws:  Article 279 of the Penal Code; articles
>> (3/2 - 10/1 - 21/A) of Law 27 of 2003 on mining; articles (9/1 - 30 - 54)
>> of
>> law 30 of 2002 on regulation of communications.
>> The consequences you had to suffer, happened according:  Article (101) of
>> the Criminal Procedures Law, Article (29) of the Foreigners Residence Law,
>> Article (125) of the same mentioned law.
>> I guess those laws exist somewhere in written form. That you didn't know
>> them before, is not the fault of the Omani officials. Whether your case
>> was
>> correctly subdued under this laws, is another question,
>> but be assured, that you'll get also problems in democratic countries,
>> let's
>> say - if you remove a column from the Akropolis in Athens, it won't help
>> you
>> neither, if you'll state, that you didn't found in a book any hint, that
>> it
>> might be illegal, nor that your embassy was "unaware" about that being a
>> not
>> so good idea.
>> 
>> - terrorism. I can't find any clue on your webpage, that could lead
>> someone
>> to the opinion, Oman could be a terroristic country.
>> 
>> John, your site is very helpful for those, who planned a hunting trip to
>> Oman and can now avoid to come into similar troubles, you were in.
>> Therefore my thanks,
>> but to claim that tourist travels to Oman are extremely dangerous,
>> is so silly like it would be to cry for a boycot for travels to U.S. as
>> it's
>> to dangerous, because the human rights are not respected in Guantanamo or
>> that
>> underage and mentally ill persons were sentenced to death.
>> 
>> My 2 buckleboos.
>> Martin
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "JKGwilliam" <h3chondrite at cox.net>
>> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 2:57 AM
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Fwd: To all interested Parties
>> 
>> 
>>> Hello List members,
>>> My good friend John Blennert has asked me to post the following to the
>> List
>>> as he has been unable to post it successfully himself.  Any comments
>> should
>>> be directed to John Blennert at:
>>> 
>>> goldmaster at gci-net.com
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> JKGwilliam
>>> 
>>>> From: "John Blennert" <goldmaster at gci-net.com>
>>>> To: "John K. Gwilliam" <jkg2 at cox.net>
>>>> Subject: To all interested Parties
>>>> Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:07:15 -0700
>>>> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
>>>> 
>>>> Hi Johnny Q
>>>> 
>>>> I again cannot post on the list ?? Can you forward this letter with
>>>> links
>>>> to the meteorite list !! Please don't change anything !!
>>>> Thanks
>>>> John
>>>> 
>>>> To All Interested Parties
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I would like to announce the first of several web pages that is up and
>>>> running. The address is www.dontvisitoman.com . We still have work to do
>>>> on it to get the translators fully functioning and many more
>>>> countries/languages to add. I also have lots of work to do on priority
>>>> placement of certain key words (tourist, tourism, travel, traveling,
>>>> sights, sightseeing, bird watching, diving, fishing, business, boating,
>>>> hotels, off road, car rentals, swimming and of course rock hunting and
>>>> geology in conjunction with Oman) on the various internet search
>>>> engines.
>>>> If anyone has any additional ideas as to where to link this sight for
>>>> maximum tourist exposure I would welcome any and all suggestions!! I
>>>> take
>>>> full responsibility for this web sights accuracy and content. We kept
>>>> meticulous logs of the daily events while being detained in Oman. Only
>> the
>>>> pertinent information was used to develop this page and it's all 100%
>>>> true. There was also a $50,000.00 US payoff that was paid to an Omani
>>>> government official to release us from prison that was reported. But I
>>>> have no first hand knowledge of that since it didn't originate in the
>>>> US.
>>>> My only regret is to the honest and friendly citizens of Oman that will
>> be
>>>> affected by the loss of tourist dollars caused by this sight and the
>> other
>>>> web sights I'm working on. I welcome any and all comments good, bad or
>>>> indifferent and suggestions and can be reached through email
>>>> at   goldmaster at gci-net.com . Please take this travel warning serious
>> this
>>>> is not meant as a joke or to be humorous.
>>>> 
>>>> It's great to be home!!
>>>> 
>>>> Warmest Regards
>>>> 
>>>> John B.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>> 
>> ______________________________________________
>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> 
> ______________________________________________
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

 
--
"You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are."
     -Herb Cohen
--
If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.