Reposted from the Times of India

About 140 years after a British archaeologist discovered a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus at Pallavaram, the six-feet long artifact has been found smashed at Government Museum in Egmore.

The ancient earthen tomb with 10 legs was one of the first major discoveries made by British archaeologist Alexander Rea in 1888, which revealed the existence of a megalithic culture in Pallavaram on the outskirts of Chennai. 

The country's second oldest museum has no record of the sarcophagus, though the transportation of the antique piece from hillocks of Pallavaram to the Government Museum was documented by Alexander Rea. Museum sources told TOI that the sarcophagus was broken more than ten years ago. 

A museum curator said, “Once during a visit to the museum strong room, I found shreds of terracotta which appeared to be broken legs of a sarcophagus. After some inquiries I found the piece broke when someone tried to lift it.”In the absence of any record of the sarcophagus, the museum made no attempt to repair the broken piece or to ascertain the object. “We do not have a sarcophagus of this size in our inventory of prehistory artifacts,” said the curator.

The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal narrates how the first superintendent of the southern circle of ASI, Alexander Rea, moved the sarcophagus from Pallavaram to the Egmore museum by rail and cart in 1888, when modern transportation was a rarity in the country. “We have no record of the sarcophagus from Pallavaram,” said the curator. The museum, however, has a sarcophagus that, as records show, was discovered by Alexander Rea at Perumbarai of Kancheepuram district.

Mystery shrouds past in sealed strongrooms of govt museum

That the government museum in Egmore has a jaw-dropping array of about 11,000 ancient and priceless artifacts on display is a given. But what is not known is that the building sits over nearly 1 lakh items of civilizational and cultural importance, and that all of them are kept in strongrooms, a senior museum official not willing to be named said.

The museum administration has kept every small and big ageless curio relating to Tamil civilization – ranging from stone tools used during prehistoric period to iconic bronze idols of the Cholas – in these sealed rooms.

While the collection is an archaeologist’s dream, the way they are kept away from neutral scrutiny must be a conservationist’s nightmare.

Recently, museum managers had smashed a more than 2,300-year-old sarcophagus inside one of the strongrooms. The incident came to light only after TOI shot probing queries to authorities.

When TOI visited the museum two weeks ago, several stone idols and wood carvings — some from the Pallava period — were found kept in a small shed behind the museum galleries, shrouded in a thick blanket of dust. Besides this, more than 200 antique pieces of different sizes were seen bundled over each other in a dingy room.

Drawing inferences from all these facts it cannot be said with certainty that the artifacts in the strongrooms are well-preserved.

Museum authorities, however, said every effort was being made to conserve the artifacts in three strongrooms. The claim does not cut ice with heritage enthusiasts.

S Vijaykumar, co-founder of Singapore-based India Pride Project, an organisation working towards retrieval of stolen idols from India, said as per media reports, there were at least seven theft attempts at the museum in the last 20 years.

“Despite these break-ins, museum authorities said nothing was lost except for a replica of a Roman coin from the numismatic section. (The robbers exited via the bronze gallery). A recent theft was related to meteorite stones kept on display. A thorough audit of the acquisition register and physical tallying have to be done,” he said.

Just two armed policemen guard the museum’s bronze gallery. Sources said the museum is under the surveillance of 122 CCTV cameras, adding it has a minimal presence of private security guards after the visiting hours.

Though museum curators claim an annual audit is conducted to ensure artefacts are intact, former archaeology officer and secretary of Madurai-based Pandya Nadu Centre for Historical Research C Santhalingam wondered why the audit report has never been made public. “It is a government museum and the list of entire collection at the strongrooms should be in the public domain,” he said.

When contacted, Pinky Jowel, the director (in-charge) of the museum, said an app was being developed to promote the facility globally. “It will have security features to count the number of times a person visits the gallery. This would give a clue on the purpose of their visit,” she added. 

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Reposted from CNN

At first they thought it was a false alarm, but when staff at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum discovered vandals had flooded their new education center, they didn't know how to pay for the estimated $500,000 repairs.

Fast forward two months and the Kansas City, Missouri, museum has received donations from across the country.

"We've gotten a lot of love," museum President Bob Kendrick said. "I think it speaks to people's understanding and embracing of what this history represents."

In June, vandals cut a water pipe at the museum's site in the former Paseo YMCA, the building where the Negro National League was founded in 1920. By the time the pipe was discovered, water had been running for more than 12 hours and the bottom floor of the newly renovated building had been severely damaged. 

"It was one of the darkest days in recent memory for me personally and professionally," Kendrick said. "Once I realized that someone had very deliberately, maliciously done that damage, it was just so disheartening."

Kendrick said repairing the damage will cost around $500,000. The money is needed to cover demolition, cleanup and restoration costs. Although the museum is still talking with its insurance company, its initial claim was denied.

Still under construction when the vandalism occurred, the Buck O'Neil Research and Education Center is a planned expansion of the museum, created in honor of John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil, a baseball player and the first African-American coach in Major League Baseball history.

The Negro National League is where many famous players got their start in a time when professional baseball was a segregated sport. Kendrick said many people who come to the museum don't know that legendary player Jackie Robinson got his start with the Kansas City Monarchs, a team in the Negro National League.

"It's a very powerful, triumphant story of courageous athletes who overcame tremendous social adversity to go on to greatness," Kendrick said. "The job at hand is to make sure that all those heroes of the Negro League are never forgotten. That's what we are trying to do."

While the damage has set the education center's expected opening date back many months, Kendrick said he has been blown away by the support the museum has received. "Small contributions are coming from virtually every corner of the country," Kendrick said. "It's lifted everybody's spirits."

In Chicago, a fan of the museum organized a fundraiser at the Nisei Lounge to raise money for repairs. In New Hampshire, one of Kendrick's Twitter followers, Tim Burnell, put together a fundraiser on Facebook that he said raised $365. He also got his workmates involved.

Monday our charitable fund at the office voted to donate $1K from our emergency fund. And Mrs. gave me thumbs up for a personal donation. So ... progress. C'mon," he posted on Twitter.

Back in Kansas City, Boulevard Brewing Co., a local brewery, hosted a "Bingo for Buck" night to raise funds for the museum. Kendrick said he has also been contacted by Little League teams and an elementary school that want to get involved in the effort.

"This groundswell of support has just been tremendous," Kendrick said. "As we've started going through looking at donations and seeing where they're coming from, they are coming from all over the country and they're coming in amounts whether its $5 or $5,000."

The support doesn't end there. Claudia Williams and the board of directors of the Ted Williams Museum in Florida pledged $100,000 to help repair the vandalism. According to Kendrick, Buck O'Neil and baseball player Ted Williams "were very close" back in the day.

The Kansas City Star reported that Hy-Vee, a supermarket chain, recently presented the museum with a $20,000 check, and the Royals donated $26,000 from proceeds of game-worn uniforms from the Negro Leagues salute in May.

Kendrick said the outpouring of support has energized his team to remain in good spirits and stay focused on repairing the education center.

"Even though we know we've got a task at hand, there are so many wonderful people who are stepping up to assist us that I have no doubt that this project will be right back on track and Buck's dream will be fulfilled," Kendrick said. "We're going to keep on keeping on."

According to Kendrick, if O'Neil was still here, he would say: "People will do bad things, but good people will fix them."

"And at this stage, good people are helping us fix this," Kendrick said.  

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Reposted from Campus Safety Magazine

The active shooter phenomenon is one that is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Active shooter incidents have become all too frequent in our society, especially in our schools. What was once unthinkable is now today’s reality. While the root causes of the uptick in these incidents are debatable, the fact that armed response must be rapid and overwhelming is not.

To ensure a rapid response aimed at quickly neutralizing the threat, first responders, both armed security and law enforcement personnel, must engage in dynamic training so that that they are prepared to respond appropriately and effectively. When preventive and predictive measures to deter a shooting have failed, armed responders must be prepared to act quickly and decisively.

8 Training Program Musts

Conducting dynamic active shooter scenario training for armed responders will ensure a rapid response that minimizes casualties. Training must be realistic to provide responders with the skill-set needed to quickly neutralize an active shooter threat. A good training program starts with a number of musts:

1. Secure buy-in from both upper management/administrators and your officers. Proper training is time-consuming and can be expensive. Management and officers alike must see the need for training to ensure that it is performed effectively.
2. Maximize the training time and resources that you have available. If overtime is a problem, conduct training on shift. Be sure to have a training plan in place so that the training time allotted is used most efficiently.
3. Train as you want your officers to perform. Officers must take training seriously so that they can perform effectively under stress. Officers will react as they have been trained to react.
4. Train for overwhelming response. The sooner multiple officers engage the active shooter, the better the outcome will be. The goal should be to overwhelm the active shooter so that he/she stops engaging innocent victims.
5. Keep it simple. Our brains are like computers- we only have so much RAM (working memory). The fewer response options that officers have to sort through before taking action, the better.
6. Train consistently. Weapon manipulation and shooting skills are highly perishable. Without frequent reinforcement, those skills can degrade leading to inefficient response.
7. Get on the move. Active shooter response requires officers to rapidly move towards the threat and engage. Officers must be taught how to effectively fire their weapons on the move. You must throw out the old model of static shooting on the firing range, and replace it with drills that force engaging threats while on the move.
8. Know your facilities. You must know the layouts of all of your facilities and practice in each building frequently. Pre-plan entry points, map out trouble areas, and practice movement techniques within each building to improve response.

Add Realism to Active Shooter Training

Armed response training is truly effective when it “feels real.” Trainers must find a way to simulate the extreme stress of an active shooter incident in training scenarios. This will help responders function at a higher level during an actual active shooter incident, because training has taught them to cope with stress. There are a number of ways that you can add realism to training scenarios, including:

• Force on force training. Nothing adds realism to armed response training like having a living, breathing “bad guy” simulating an active shooter incident. Responding officers are forced to adapt to the movements and unpredictability of a live “threat.”
• Extra role players. Training scenarios should incorporate as many extra role players as possible to simulate innocent people caught in the situation. Officers should be forced to engage these role players and provide them with some type of direction (i.e. “lock yourself inside the room”). If possible, incorporate untrained role players who do not know response methods or techniques.
• Realistic “bad guys.” Nothing hampers training more than a first responder playing the “bad guy” who knows every response technique and sets out to ambush first responders. Provide instructions to each “bad guy” role player that will add realism to the scenario instead of setting up an “active camper” situation (someone actively seeking ways to engage first responders in an ambush situation or using tactical techniques to gain the upper hand on responders).
• Training aids. Training aids, such as the use of starter pistols, can provide a high level of realism to active shooter response training. Other aids include the use of paintball, air soft equipment, or simunition to provide realistic engagement scenarios.
• Low light training. You must incorporate low-light scenarios into your active shooter response training program. Even if the active shooter incident occurs during the day time, responders may still encounter darkened rooms or other areas that necessitate use of a flashlight.

Other Considerations

Active shooter situations are stressful and chaotic. You must do your best to anticipate potential issues and problems and address them in training before an incident occurs. These issues include:

• Communications issues. You must ensure that officers have effective means of communication with each other as well as with other responding agencies. Various methods of communication should be tested on a periodic basis to ensure that each method is effective. Communication can include two-way radios, cell phones, or in-person communication. It is crucial to ensure that responding officers have accurate information regarding the location of not only the shooter, but also, other responding officers to avoid friendly fire incidents.
• Find equipment that works for you. Every security and law enforcement department is on a budget. You must concentrate on equipping officers with necessary, useful equipment and should forgo buying the latest “bells and whistles.” Each piece of equipment should be chosen for practicality, durability and cost.
• Department issued weapons and equipment. Every armed department should carefully consider whether they will issue all weapons, ammunition, and equipment, or whether they will allow officers to supply their own. While it costs more money for departments to issue all weapons and equipment, it provides continuity and ease of training. Allowing officers to provide their own equipment can cause multiple issues and may lead to liability issues.

A quality training program for armed response to an active shooter must ensure that security and law enforcement officers are equipped to rapidly and effectively neutralize the threat. Training must be as realistic as possible to allow officers to learn to function through the overwhelming stress of an active shooter situation. Officers will respond as they are trained, so you must make that training count.

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Reposted from StaySafeOnline

TED Talks are excellent resources if you want to learn from an expert and spark your curiosity. Although they’re available on almost any subject imaginable, these speakers and their talks are among the best concerning cybersecurity.

1. Keren Elazari: Hackers: The Internet’s Immune System

Keren Elazari is an Israel-born independent cybersecurity researcher who has had work featured on CNN, Wired and more.

In addition to the nearly two decades of insights she’s given to security firms, organizations and Fortune 500 companies, Elazari has authored books related to her knowledge.

In her TED Talk, Elazari opens by saying she thinks the internet needs hackers, because without the ethical ones who find vulnerabilities and make them public — a practice known in the hacker community as “full disclosure” — people wouldn’t be sufficiently motivated to fix those identified issues.

She continues by clarifying that hackers have significant power because of the capabilities at their fingertips and should use it responsibly.

Another point Elazari raises is that hackers can bring people together to raise collective awareness about issues. She uses Anonymous as an example in the talk for that first point, then brings up how even major companies have a complex relationship with hackers and sometimes don’t appreciate them, even when they bring flaws to light.

She ends by emphasizing how hackers have positively impacted innovation, civil liberties and internet freedoms because they can’t ignore the problems they find — they must either fix them or exploit them.

This TED Talk may make you think a little differently about hackers than you have in the past.

Watch Now

2.  Chris Domas: The 1s and 0s Behind Cyberwarfare

As a cybersecurity researcher specializing in embedded systems reverse engineering, the manipulation of electronic devices and vulnerability analysis, Chris Domas works at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH.

Domas graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in computer science and joined the Battelle team soon afterward. Due to the high quality of his work in 2013, he received the organization’s Emerging Scientist Award and Technical Achievement Award.

In his TED Talk, Domas provides the audience with details about how pattern recognition and reverse engineering help cybersecurity researchers discover things about pieces of binary code. He opens by explaining what binary code is, how it relates to computers and why it broadened his understanding of cybersecurity.

He points out we’re in an age of cyberwarfare and that requires not only defending things in the online realm but, sometimes, knowing how to attack the world’s evildoers. To emphasize his point, Domas uses the example of a terrorist who wants to use their mobile phone as a remote detonator.

The talk continues by addressing the painstaking but worthwhile task of figuring out how to translate binary information into visual representations so our brains can understand them. Then, it becomes significantly simpler to recognize patterns within binary information.

Beyond the analysis of visual representations of binary code, the next step is to look for similar pieces of information. By using elimination, it becomes possible to find the desired pieces of code, then finally understand how they work with each other. This entire process can happen in a matter of hours, when it would have previously taken months.

This talk fills you in on the often complicated ways cybersecurity experts work to achieve their goals, so it deserves less than 20 minutes of your time.

Watch Now

3. James Lyne: Everyday Cybercrime and What You Can Do About It

One thing cybersecurity researcher James Lyne is passionate about is making the topics in the field accessible. He’s the founder of cybersecurity research firm Helical Levity, head of research and development at SANS Institute and a global research adviser at Sophos.

His TED Talk reminds people of the typical online activities they perform without second thought, often putting them at risk for attacks by cybercriminals.

He warns that, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of new individual computer viruses that emerge by the day, cybercriminals have made business enterprises out of their dirty deeds, such as by offering services that allow a client to take down a competitor’s site.

Lyne demonstrates how easy it is for criminals to insert malware code on a website and sometimes even make it look like something innocent and supposedly helpful, such as anti-virus software. He talks about the creation of fake public Wi-Fi networks and goes over some other ways cybercriminals can quickly take advantage of people.

Lyne concludes by saying we need to keep adding to the cybersecurity talent pool by ensuring graduates have the information they need to understand new types of malware. He also urges everyone to learn best practices against cybercrime and implement them for self-protection purposes.

His easy-to-understand content reveals the specifics on an essential topic in today’s heavily connected world.

Watch Now

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Reposted from The Sydney Morning Herald

Thieves have made off with priceless Swedish crown jewels, in a daring heist reminiscent of a Hollywood movie.

According to Swedish radio the offenders took two crowns and a royal orb known as a ‘riksapple’ from the ancient cathedral in Strangnas, west of Stockholm, around lunchtime on Tuesday.

They were the funeral crowns of Karl IX and his wife Queen Kristina, who died in the early 17th century.

Two men were seen to jump into a motor boat moored just below the church.

Police quickly mobilised and pursued the thieves by sea, on land, in helicopters and planes.

“We are on land, in the water and in the air,” a police spokesman said.

But the pair somehow evaded pursuit and vanished.

The spokesman said they could have left the motorboat and jumped in a getaway car heading west into the hinterlands, or east to Stockholm.

“We are spreading out in all directions.”

Police chief spokesman Thomas Agnevik told Swedish TV the lost objects were “invaluable objects of national interest”.

By 9:30pm there had still been no arrest.

The royal regalia were originally buried with the couple but were later exhumed and put on display.

At the time of the theft the church was open and staff were on duty. A spokesman said no-one had been injured “physically or mentally”, but they had decided to keep the church closed for the rest of the day.

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Reposted from Campus Safety Magazine

Business leaders’ and organizations’ interaction with digital technology is growing exponentially. Its adoption and integration will continue to climb in the security industry and rapidly evolve around solutions that were impossible to comprehend just a few short years ago.

With that being said, there are many issues and challenges that arise when integrating this technology, and perhaps no better illustration than the convergence of building automation systems (BAS) and physical security systems.

The core functionalities of BAS are to keep the indoor climate within a specific range; address lighting needs based on a schedule or occupancy; adjust monitoring when devices within the system are malfunctioning; and, provide customized alarm reporting.

Controlling mechanical, electrical, energy management, climate control and plumbing from one dashboard or platform has led to breakthrough technology while delivering the promise of convenience and customization.

Here’s a typical scenario: It’s 6 a.m. on Monday morning and the building’s automated scheduling activates the HVAC system, turns on lighting in specific areas, runs several systems checks to ensure comfort during business hours.

Then, at 6 p.m., the BAS programming ensures the building runs efficiently during nontraditional hours. At any given time, the various systems can be audited and addressed via the BAS dashboard. The IT department and budget has slowly absorbed this aspect.

Building a Bundle to Manage Convenience, Raise ROI

The physical security space has had its own version of convergence for many years. Here’s a typical security system scenario: It’s 7 a.m. and the building front doors automatically unlock; the intrusion system is automatically set to a “disarmed “state; the video surveillance continues to run, providing recorded events upon specific alerts, while the fire alarm system continues to monitor the entire building in the background.

At 7 p.m., the building perimeter locks down, the intrusion system sets to an “armed” state, and the surveillance system becomes more active using video analytics and perimeter detection.

The internal facilities department, the security department, and the security integrator have all been key in addressing this convergence. These days security integrators are successfully tying together BAS and physical security systems in project applications.

No longer is there a “wait and see” mentality with respect to these two worlds meeting. Efficient operation of building systems, reduction in energy consumption, lower operating costs, and improved life-cycle of utilities are now being written into project specifications.

A few proactive measures will help address some common integration missteps.

Understand Budget Impacts

There are new and unique costs when deploying physical devices that enable this solution, as well as cost savings from integrating the various disparate entities.

Total systems convergence is easiest when designed into new construction projects. ROI from properly installed IoT sensors, switches, and rule-based analytics can occur in as little as six months.

Additional benefits related to fewer service tickets and truck rolls, sustainability, and environmental stewardship can also be realized, with detailed data to support them.

Ownership

A second factor for a successful deployment is end-to-end ownership from a usability perspective, as well as yearly budget ownership. This solution is never “complete” once it is installed; in fact ROI is enhanced with each integration.

Understanding Interoperability

The largest challenge in deploying integrated security and BAS is understanding the various existing and/or modern technologies. Transitioning to newer technology is never easy, but today’s solutions are well tested and can significantly simplify the adoption process.

Looking for those that are “open source” in nature help interoperability. Open standards have enabled end-user convenience, efficiencies in services, lower utility costs, employee adoption and greater scalability.

In the building automation industry, the two major standard protocols — BACnet and LONWorks — allow for real-time, remote interface between systems and controls.

The security industry is notably slow to adopt open architecture, but most leading security equipment manufacturers are developing or have on their short-term roadmap an open architecture design.

Develop an Effective Communication Rhythm

With innovative technology and new system implementations, many are resistant to change. A good example is the IT director may not be aware of the functionality of the security system and will have legitimate concerns about placing specific data or processes on the network.

When there is a critical failure on the HVAC system, it may not be fully understood how that failure affects the security system. Creating a systematic and step-by-step approach to implementation and how each system works as a standalone unit will enable greater knowledge across the organization.

With all its benefits, it’s easy to see why building automation is the way of the future. And, it can be customized to meet clients’ specific needs, allowing efficient running of a business and property.

Building owners, facility managers, security directors and IT professionals see the value of converging potentially dozens of systems onto one network with a single control point. Security integrators and their customers both stand to capitalize.

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Reposted from The ABC (Australia)

In a video posted by tourism organisation VisitFlanders, two "social media inspectors" wearing uniforms emblazoned with something like the Facebook logo approach people in the gallery to ask if they have social media accounts.

If they answer yes, the bemused tourists are steered away to non-nude paintings.

"It's for your own protection," the actors tell visitors as they block their view of a painting of Adam and Eve at the Rubens House Museum in Antwerp.

Most of the art lovers take the ban on paintings "focused on individual body parts such as abs, buttocks or cleavage" in good spirits, but one woman ushered away from the gallery protests by lifting up her shirt to show the security guard her own chest.

Rubens, famed for his paintings of voluptuous female nudes, is one of the most acclaimed painters of the baroque tradition.

But Facebook's policy of blocking advertisements that depict nudity meant that VisitFlanders' ads for the Rubens House Museum were treated in the same way as pornography.

The policy only applies to adverts, and the paintings are allowed to be uploaded as normal posts.

"Advertisers follow more extensive rules than regular users, because these messages are proactively pushed instead of you, as a user, for example, deliberately decide to follow the Facebook page of the Rubens House," a Facebook spokeswoman said.

VisitFlanders said it was in touch with the platform to seek to resolve the issue.

In 2016, Facebook reversed its decision to remove a famous Vietnam War photograph of a naked girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, running away after a napalm attack.

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Reposted from CNN

What began with a quick grab-and-go theft Saturday at the San Antonio Aquarium -- the suspect leaving a trail of water drops as he hurried away with his dripping prize of a small but very much alive shark -- ended Monday with the safe return of "Miss Helen" to her tank at the aquarium.

The 16-inch female horn shark was taken during a heist that aquarium officials said was no spur-of-the-moment, let's-steal-a-shark thing.

"The suspects staked out the pool for more than an hour" to wait for the right moment, the aquarium said in a statement.

The search for the young female shark, known to aquarium staff as Miss Helen, led police Monday to the home of a man who maintains an extensive collection of marine life, according to the police chief of the San Antonio suburb where the aquarium is located.

"When we got into the garage and into the house it looked like almost a mock up of (the San Antonio Aquarium)," said Leon Valley Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio. "He knew very much what he was doing and kept that animal alive."

The great shark heist

Surveillance video, which the aquarium posted on its Facebook page, caught the heist as it happened. Two men and a woman with a infant wandered through the facility with a baby stroller in tow. The trio is seen on the video hanging around the tank where visitors can feed the fish and reach in the water and pet various sea life.

One of the men quickly bends over and pulls something from the tank, using a net that aquarium officials said he'd brought with him. The man then disappears out of camera range with his male companion following him as the woman walks around with the baby.

"After grabbing the shark they entered into one of our filter rooms where they poured (a) bucket of bleach solution that employees used for the disinfection of tools into our cold water exhibit filtration system, causing harm to other wildlife," the aquarium statement said. The men put the shark in the bucket and stashed it on the stroller to make their getaway.

Fast-acting staff, realizing what had happened, were able to prevent the bleach from doing more damage.

And from there, the shark hunt was on.

"When we first got the call, we thought it was kind of a hoax, being that it was Shark Week last week," Police Chief Salvaggio, referring to the Discovery Channel's week of shark-related programming, told CNN affiliate KSAT.

Bringing Miss Helen home

On Monday night, police successfully rescued the shark and returned her to the aquarium. Staff applauded and cheered as Miss Helen made her homecoming.

Police don't believe the shark was taken to sell but to be added to the suspect's collection.

"It was something he wanted, he had one of these in the past," said Salvaggio. "He had one that passed away."

One man has been charged with theft and charges for two other individuals are pending, according to Salvaggio.

Miss Helen is now being held in quarantine as staff tests the water she was held in and acclimates her back into the aquarium environment.

"I'm so so happy that we got her back and she appears very healthy," Jamie Shank with the San Antonio Aquarium told KSAT as the shark arrived. "I can't believe what she's been through, she's a little fighter. She's a survivor."

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Reposted from CTV News

Police are searching for a “bold” thief who stole an oil painting from a Calgary art gallery in the middle of the day.

Yves Trepanier, co-owner of the Trepanier Baer Gallery, said a well-dressed man came in and toured the gallery at around noon on Wednesday. He said the suspect spoke with several staff members who explained the exhibit to him and showed him around.

“It’s very bold,” Trepanier told CTV Calgary on Friday. “I mean this is broad daylight, this is over the lunch hour, this is three people talking to the person – the suspect – and he somehow managed to fool us.”

The gallery owner said they believe the suspect took the painting from the wall between 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. that day.

The small oil painting by Kingston, Ont. artist Mike Bayne was titled “TP, Headphones, Laptop, Brushes” and portrayed the artist’s workspace. Trepanier said the piece is worth $12,000.

“It was a small little intimate painting measuring four by six inches in black and white,” he said. “[It was an] absolutely wonderful little thing.”

Trepanier said he is shocked and disappointed they didn’t see the theft and intervene. He said staff called police as soon as they noticed the painting was missing.

The gallery also notified the Art Dealers Association of Canada so the organization could alert the art community, which includes sellers, appraisers, and auction houses.

“We're hoping it will be harder for this person to sell the painting if that’s the intent,” Trepanier said. “Selling artwork, stolen artwork, is not an easy thing to do.”

Trepanier said he gave the gallery’s surveillance video to police to help the investigation.

The gallery had insurance on the stolen painting and the artist has also been informed of the theft, Trepanier said.

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Reposted from WLRN Miami - South Florida

The two men responsible for stealing a gold bar from a Key West treasure museum were sentenced Monday at the federal courthouse in Key West.

Richard Johnson received five years and three months in federal prison, while Jarred Goldman was ordered to serve three years and four months.

The two drove to Key West from Palm Beach County in August of 2010. Security video from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum shows them both hanging around the museum near closing time and returning repeatedly to the museum's most popular exhibit — a gold bar in a clear case with a hole in front. Museum visitors were encouraged to reach in to touch and lift the gold bar, which came from the Santa Margarita, a Spanish treasure galleon that wrecked off the Keys in 1622.

Johnson and Goldman got away with the theft for more than seven years, until the FBI received an anonymous tip. They were indicted in January. Johnson pled guilty, while Goldman went to trial and was convicted in May.

Both men apologized in court Monday, to the museum and to the Key West community.

The pair was also ordered to pay $580,195.43 in restitution to the museum, which displays treasure and other historical artifacts from the days of sailing trade between Europe and the Americas.

The museum was founded by treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who was famous for discovering the mother lode of Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the treasure galleon that also sank in the 1622 hurricane.

While the insurance company paid the museum about $100,000 for the loss of the gold bar, the museum's executive director insisted in court Monday that it was worth far more — if not priceless.

Melissa Kendrick said establishing a fair market value for the bar by comparing it to sales of other shipwreck gold wasn't fair.

"Those bars do not have a pedigree that the bar stolen from the museum had. Those bars were ordinary shipwreck bars," she said. "This bar was iconic."

The "lift-a-gold-bar" exhibit was the museum's centerpiece, and featured heavily in their marketing.

"Probably about 3 to 4 million people lifted that bar," Kendrick said. "Even if you have the insurance money for it, you can't replace it. There's not another."

The defense attorneys argued that the bar's historic value was included in the comparable sales and insurance payout.

But Kendrick said the bar was worth more than the value of the gold.

"The cultural community doesn't value a Rembrandt for the cost of the canvas and the paint," she said.

U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez appeared to agree, setting the value at $556,000 and ordering the restitution — even as he doubted whether it would ever be paid.

"That's a bad crime. It's not like they stole a tank full of gasoline," he said. "It resulted in the destruction of an artifact that was priceless — I really believe it was priceless."

Martinez compared the value of the stolen and destroyed gold bar to Magna Carta, the document from 1215 that established rights of different parts of English society.

"It's worth, what, 12 cents in scrap paper?" Martinez said. "But it's not."

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