# Gibson: Feds Want Guitar Woodwork Done by Foreign Labor



## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

Just read this as I was drinking my morning coffee. Our governments way of creating jobs.

Read the article


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i guess if we move to india or china

we can get jobs

for $1 a day

funny how the people in our govt.
that have secure jobs with benefits
don't want to help the rest of us

in the past 
you couldn't get these blobs to do anything

now they are meddling in everything


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## MikeGo (Jul 19, 2011)

sad!


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Well see, here is the problem. If the Justice department does not enforce Indian laws, then the next time you call for customer service on your computer, tv, blender, etc. Them Indians won't help you…. 

Gibson should open a warehouse across the border in Mexico, we don't give a rat's ass about Indian laws…or ours for that matter…hahahaha…


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

The headline is misleading. The CEO says "that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department's interpretation of a law in India." He doesn't explain why the shipment of "illegal wood" was "falsely declared" as something legal. Hard to defend "The FED" these days, but the CEO at Gibson and Fox news seem to be having trouble with "false declarations". -Jack


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

From the Teneseen article for those who don't trust Fox.

This is a bit more in depth and the govt is just plain wrong. Do a search for Ebony and all these suppliers would be in the wrong.


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

A good woodworker is always easy to spot. They can hit the nail on the head every time. Patron, you hit the nail on the head.


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

Why import illegal wood they should know better, Your right I would not trust Fox News.


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

Fender has been doing the Mexican thing for years and to this day, the Mexican Strats and Teles are about 1/3 of what the made in USA models sell for. Often they have identical construction and materials. Sometimes the Mexican models are tricked out with features you can't even get on a USA model.

Gibson already has their Epiphone cousin making the far cheaper (imported) versions for them. It would hurt them badly to move to Mexico.

Les Paul Customs only ever have ebony fretboards. It's part of the list of features that make it a custom. So with no ebony they can't build the flagship model at all. Some of the Les Paul Studios do as well… and others.


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## RobWoodCutter (Jul 22, 2009)

So is this about saving endangered trees or about jobs?

From what I am reading, if someone in India cuts down the tree and processes it into a finished product (like a guitar) it is legal to import into the USA, but if someone in India cuts down the same tree and exports it as an unfinished product, then it is illegal to import into the USA. Don't you still end up with a dead tree (unsaved) in both cases? How is that saving endangered trees???? Shouldn't the Indian Government be the ones monitoring exports and arresting and prosecuting those that cut down the endangered trees?

If the wood physically in the shipment are legal and it is just a paperwork thing, then why ran-sack the office computers, records, files, guitars (especially if some of the guitars where made previously from wood that had proper paperwork.) Why not just give them 30 days to provide proper/corrected paperwork. NUTS.

Perhaps Gibson should just take a lesson from the other major US corporation….. Layoff all USA employees, except upper management, close the USA plant, build a new plant in India, Hire Indian employees, make the guitars in India and then import the finished guitars into the USA.

Rob


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

The US needs a law like that. The loggers here in the NW refer to logs as "exports" ;-(( Down at Longview, WA, both side of the Columbia have giant log yards loading #1 peelers on ships bound to??? They should be loading milled lumber. The excuse it is imperial is BS, if we can put a man on the moon, we can mill either dimension. Only 3rd world nations export exploited resources.


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

I remember a few years back when Canada had exported their maximum of common dimensional lumber, so they actually bored two holes in all the fir 2×4's bound for the US and stamped that it was a construction component (instead of a board of wood) to side step the issue completely. Only happened that one year that I experienced.

The great thing was that the holes were bored just right for using to run the wire through the interior walls. lol


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

The problem the way I see it, is that Gibson is being targeted for something. If what the article says is true about ebony being exported from India now and Madagascar back then would make some lumber dealers now criminals. If what the article saids is true that it has to be a veneer according to the lacey law then we would not be able to buy ebony boards from suppliers. If you do quick web search the ebony that I found comes from Madagascar.

I personally think that Gibson is being targeted that they must have upset someone and it is payback time. If we are supposed to be trying to keep jobs and build the economy why would the DOJ be going after a company that has been in business for 117 years? I can only speculate but think about all that is going on now with really stupid government lawsuits against certain companies for doing what is right for business and creating jobs but the far left is upset about. Just my 2 cents.


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## usnret (Jul 14, 2011)

So our own Gov will enforce a law from India in the US, but when contractors empoloyed by the Federal Gov commit crimes overseas like in Bosnia, Iraq, or Afghanistan the Gov does nothing saying they are out of our jurisdiction. The Gov also covers up the crimes by having the contracts in such a manner that they are free from prosecution in the country the crime is committed in. Our own Government will be our demise.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

The "FALSELY DECLARED" import shipments issue should be explained before Gibson gets much sympathy from me. Sounds like the CEO doesn't think he needs to obey the law. Could that be why he is being targeted? -Jack


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

*"The search warrants alleged that the intercepted shipment was "falsely declared" as veneer, something that would have been legal. However, the documents said the ebony was in fact unfinished "sawn wood," supposedly illegal." * - Fox News


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## BobTheFish (May 31, 2011)

1. it's fox news.

2. the tenessean article isn't there. (which, also, if gibson is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR employer in the area, they aren't exactly going to be unbiased. Much like if the government were to raid the pharmaceutical companies here in central NJ, I doubt that the local papers are going to be dissuaded that Pfizer was doing horribly wrong things)

3. it's gibson's op-ed piece right after they get nailed, so of course they're going to be resentful towards the government that busted them (any hating the government is in vogue these days)

4. The regulations on finished products and raw products are different. They're ALWAYS different, and always have been. Remember that post a few months ago on the forum about shipping local woods internationally so that woodworkers in other countries might get to play with some nearly impossible to find woods in their area? remember how people who tried it said if the wood was finished or if it was finished in such a way it was a solid block with no bark, etc. it was fine, but otherwise nigh impossible to get through customs due to the possibility of foreign species or disease being carried? It's probably not much different, and gibson is "interpreting" laws in order to make them look good and the government look like a bunch of bastards….

Which fine, whatever. Just remember the frogs in Australia, the crocodile eating burmese pythons in the south, (as well as the kudzu taking over buildings nearly overnight that was from China), the foriegn barnacles and mussels that clog up the water treatment plants that catch a ride from sea freighters, and the many other headaches caused by invasive species.

I didn't read completely through, but for "fair and balanced", did they ever get the government's side to the story? did they even check to see how old these laws had been put into place? What sort of serious reporting had been done, or did they just get a phone call from gibson to stop by and listen to them rant?

Sorry, I just don't think that gibson is being honest here.


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## SCR0LL3R (May 28, 2010)

"Falsely Declared" can mean a lot of things though. Really, at what point is it "finished enough" to import and what difference does it make… The tree is already dead

You better think twice about bringing anything containing endangered wood or material across the border. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530520471223268.html

If you don't have the complete paperwork for every endangered material on your instrument, or proving the age if the instrument itself, or if you improperly identify any of the materials, they can confiscate it from you and issue big fines.


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## SCR0LL3R (May 28, 2010)

So veneer is ok but "sawn wood" isn't… How thick can it still be called veneer??? and again, what difference does it really make? I can buy 50 boards 1mm thick but I can't buy 5 boards 10mm thick?


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## BobTheFish (May 31, 2011)

Veneer is typically 1/32" or 1/64" thick, and above that, is commercially thin woods. My guess is that because veneers generate MUCH more usage from the same amount of wood, typically are used in different applications that boards, and because of that, your usage will be different for those 50 boards at 1mm than your 5 boards at 10mm, that they can in fact, create a different classification.

Now, technically, there's nothing stopping you from regluing those 50 boards back into 5, but you won't, and you know it.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Nothing new about the government supporting outsourced jobs replacing local ones.


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## bubbyboy (Jan 10, 2011)

I just bought $300.00 of Madagascar Ebony as labeled from Woodcraft today. How is it that they can sell rough cut, but Gibson cannot import it. I just don't get it. We should be doing everything possible to create jobs here in the USA. I don't give a damn where the lumber comes from, there are to many people here hurting and our government needs to get out of the way.


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

Bobthefish the Teneseene article I found via google it was the first one on the list.

It just seems nuts that a company would be importing illegal wood. It is also nuts that the govt would rather put people out of work at this point in the game with our economy the way it is. Now the company sending the shipment may have been doing this for a long time and it went unquestioned. The inda company should be investigated.

Bubbyboy that is my point exactly. How is that when you are not supposed to be able to buy the stuff according to the law.


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## vernonator (Feb 21, 2011)

This is all part of PBO's new jobs program to be debuted on Thursday….more work for gov't employee's and corporate lawyers - while they FORCE companies to leave due to these absurd regulations. Jan 2013 CANNOT come soon enough…..


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Just nuts, looks like they have been doing the same work for years. Only after some meeting the PBO group had with India about jobs, this happens


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

As I understand it, they are not importing illegal wood, the wood is legally harvested. Apparently the Indian law makes it illegal to export unfinished wood e.i wood boards. Seems to me that the broker who sold Gibson the wood and exported it is at fault, not the guitar maker. But what do I know, I am a business owner and have to earn my money, not a gov. employee…..


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

The founders gave us a government that was run from the bottom up - now we have a government that is run from the top down. The founders gave us a republic - now I don't know what we have anymore.


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## bubbyboy (Jan 10, 2011)

I agree Helluvawreck well said.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I hope the folks who voted this administration into power have had enough of "Hopenchange" and don't give us another term. I don't think I will live through it.


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## BobTheFish (May 31, 2011)

Oh for the love of…..

For god's sake people!

What about BP???

B### about the oil spill, then BP says the government's making them pay for it, and all the sudden everyone's too harsh to business and the government (which is of the people, and for the people) is THE BIG BAD GUY that wants everyone to suffer.

Give me a f###ing break.

How many of you are the same people that posted two weeks ago about how importing endangered woods was SOOOO BAD!!!

Blah.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

I claim hypocrisy for anyone using an essentially coal powered computer to complain about other's use of Earth's resources.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

NPR  WSJ USN

The information is mostly one sided. The Justice Dept isn't commenting on the case. Read about it, or read into it , the evidence against Gibson must have been compelling enough for judges to okay the raids. -Jack


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## newbiewoodworker (Aug 29, 2010)

A minor infraction such as the importation of unfinished wood should be overlooked inorder to keep American jobs. Sometimes inorder to succeed in life, one must bend the rules for the greater good. Do you really think that industrial giants such as Rockefeller and Ford, were able to operate successfully and to help stimulate the economy back in the early 1900s, without bending some of the rules? I know personally that I would rather see such rules bent in the area of illegal importations more so than cutting employee training, inorder for that company to stay in America.

I seem to have lost all respect for this President; To put it politely, he has his head up his tookus… I really do hope he is a one-termer, since he is running this country into the ground. Sure, he inherited some problems from Bush, however he certainly hasn't solved very many of them. I think its time we get a "Newer Deal" and perhaps World War III to pull us from this downward spiral.


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## greg48 (Nov 7, 2010)

We can all grouse and complain, or we can make better choices in Nov. '12.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

According to my music industry sources, the agents raided the facilities armed to the hilt. Their warrant stated they were looking for illegally imported, protected hardwoods from rainforrests.

The 2009 raid has not resulted in any charges being filed, but the $79,000 worth of Madagascar manufactured ebony fingerboards that were confiscated have not been returned either.

I have two things to say.
1. The CEO and other officials of Gibson are GOP contributors.
2. The CEO of Martin Guitars, a competetor using the exact same wood from the same source, is a big Dem contributor.

Would you care to guess which of these two companies is being harrasesd?

Sorry, I do have one more thing to say. If I ever have the money to afford it, my next guitar will be a Gibson.
It has to be the best instrument out there, after all, Michelle Obama gave one as a gift to one of their snotty wealthy european friends a couple years ago.

Hey! Maybe our agents ought to go confiscate that one. Does that mean Mrs PBO is trafficing in illegal wood products? I think it might be so.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

First - there were no laws broken about the import of this wood.
The question is was Indian Law broken by *exporting* it

So Question 1 - ONLY our gov't is investigating, and NOT at the behest of India.
I think we should focus on US laws for our limited justice department, at least until the Indians file some kind of grievance.

2) as keith pointed out - how finished is finished. Gibson is not bringing in raw logs - so there is confusion regarding* how thick can veneer be and be called veneer instead of lumber?* I can buy 1/8 VENEER from Certainly Woods….when is it lumber 3/16? 1/4?

Crank nailed the source and as the OP article had - Martin guitars also have the same ebony fretboard, but there is no investigation, bot they are Dem contributors.

3) the tree is still dead - - it is either protected or it is not - So Bob the Fish - yes most LJ oppose the taking of protected species - - - which is different than saying *"As long as a local will cut it up it is OK"*


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## GregD (Oct 24, 2009)

I'm with BobTheFish.
I'd prefer to see both sides of the argument before drawing conclusions.
I suspect the DOJ's concern is that a company operating in the US is bribing officials in India.
The US isn't the only western nation that has laws against engaging in corruption outside its borders.
I work for a company that was fined last year because a subcontractor was bribing Nigerian officials…
...so that otherwise legal shipments would clear customs more quickly than otherwise.
Personally, I think those laws are a good idea.

But with regard to this Gibson issue, the devil is in the details, and for now too many details are still hiding.


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## NathanAllen (Oct 16, 2009)

Shame on the news agencies and individuals who want to try to politicize this issue. Gibson appears to be in the wrong; it appears that they knowingly imported unfinished Ebony and Rosewood.
Now people want us to believe that they were justified, because why?

Proper classification of imported goods is critical, not only to proect endangered resources but to also protect American consumers. Can you remember how you felt back in 2007 when ChemNutra was sourcing Chinese whey protein that was laden with melamine? Dozens of sick and dead family pets was the result of that little excursion into bending trade restrictions.

If European demand for Sequoia wood suddenly sky-rocketed and people were poaching one of our national treasures would you feel the same way? Would you let politics get in the way of right and wrong?


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## Rob_G (Mar 25, 2011)

Basically, the Feds are saying that the wood's "poached" and can't come into the U.S. It was illegally exported from India.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Nathan - the difference in your example is that the Indians have decided that poaching the trees is just dandy.

This has ZIP to do with protecting resources, and is in essence a labor dispute.

Gibson imported material that was too thick….and not that (like the sequoia) it should'nt have been cut down and sold.

The Politicizing is in regards to_ unequal application of the law - Martin guitar imports the same material from India, yet there are no investigations but they donate heavily to the democrats - - Gibson donates to the republicans so our democrat DOJ goes after them.

If indeed you cannot import the fretboard unless it is below X thickness (nobody knows what X is) then compliance and penalties should apply to all parties involved regardless of political alignment. That doesn't seem to be the case


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

From the Economic Times

6 SEP, 2011, 05.14AM IST, SHAILESH MENON,ET BUREAU 
Gibson guitars set to miss Indian notes as raids in US and Europe on Gibson's facilities continue

StoryComments

Read more on »Timber Exporters' Association|Gibson guitars|Gibson Guitar Corp|Federal Department of Justice|Department of Foreign Trade and Chemical

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MUMBAI: Strummers around the world will soon miss the popular string note - the bassy twang - that makes the famed Gibson guitars a rage, thanks to a concerted effort in the US and Europe to silence the unmistakable pitch of the acoustic instruments made from Indian rosewood sourced from the southern foothills of the Sahyadris.

It is the texture and sweet smell of wood when treated with lemon oil and lacquer that had prompted Tennessee-based maker of string musical instruments, Gibson Guitar Corp, to buy Indian rosewood. Last week, US federal agents raided Gibson's facilities in Nashville and Memphis and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars, acting on a Federal Department of Justice decree that said the use of wood from India that is not "finished" is illegal. Finished wood refers to timber that is logged, planed and tapered for final use.

This is the second time in two years that the Justice Department has searched Gibson's premises. But Indian wood exporters see these raids as the handiwork of European luthiers-makers of stringed instruments-and wood brokers who sell "inferior quality" rosewood and ebony from Madagascar and other African countries.

Gibson's troubles began in 2009 with the inclusion of wood under an amended US law called the Lacey Act, which requires importing firms to buy legally harvested wood and follow the environmental laws of the producing countries. In the first round of raids in 2009, Gibson was accused of buying unfinished ebony sourced from Madagascar, which prohibits export of that wood. Last week's raids focused on rare wood imported from India.

Gibson officials and Indian exporters rubbished the order, saying that the notice wrongly interpreted Indian laws and wood cannot be exported without approvals and certification from the Indian forest and customs departments. Also, the seized wood boards were certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a US industry body that promotes responsible management of the world's forests, they said.

"The wood seized by US government is FSC-controlleda¦ Given that the wood complies with FSC standards and was allowed in by US customs, Gibson's understanding is that the wood complies with all laws," Henry Juszkiewicz, CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp, told ET.

Exports of fingerboards, headstock, pickups and string-bridges made of rosewood and ebony are freely allowed under Indian laws, especially in the case of string musical instruments. Further, India allows exports of processed timber-sawn, planed and tapered wood boards.

"It's a strong European wood broking lobby that is fomenting trouble," said BH Patel of Mumbai-based Patel Wood Syndicate. "Indian exporters, unlike their foreign counterparts, do not sell wood through European brokers. We deal with foreign companies directly. European wood brokers have always disapproved our way of cutting deals directly."

Indian timber boards, plywood and teak veneers are of great value in the US, Europe and the Gulf. India shipped processed wood and wood products worth 2,000 crore last fiscal, government data show.

Indian wood exporters, led by Timber Exporters' Association, have sprung into action to resolve the issue. "The Justice Department has a problem with incorrect declaration of wood classification. The exporters' association is in contact with the Indian government to settle the classification issue," said Gulab Gidwani, promoter of US-based timber exporter Exotic Woods.

India's Timber Exporters' Association members say they will seek the intervention of Department of Foreign Trade and Chemical and Allied Export Promotion Council of India (CAPEXIL) to settle the issue. Association members are also planning to take up the issue with the Indian Embassy in the US.

Almost all foreign manufacturers of musical instruments import premium Indian rosewood and ebony because of their colour and texture. Besides, experts say, notes like the 'bassy twang', 'string thump' and 'hollow thump' are better played on string instruments made from Indian rosewood.

US accounts for over two-fifths of the global guitar sales at over 2,000 units a week. A normal instrument retails between $100 and $300 while a premium guitar is priced at over $2000.

The 120-year-old company, which own brands such as Baldwin and Epiphone, buys 2.75- to 3-inch-wide fingerboard stocks - usually 5,000-10,000 boards at a time - from Indian wood exporters. Fingerboards are the part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the string to vary the pitch.

As of now, Gibson Corp is manufacturing instruments from its old stock. "If the crisis is not resolved, we'll have to look for alternative sources from where the wood could be legally purchased," Mr Juszkiewicz said. Last week's raids have caused a loss of $1 million to Gibson Corp.


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

According to the article above India's Timber Export Association said that the wood that Gibson bought is LEGAL.

So you decide. Is it another case like Boeing?


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm not deciding. That's why we have courts and judges. They determine the facts and make a judgement. Judges have decided the evidence against Gibson was compelling enough to approve the raids. The Justice Dept. can't talk about the case. The defense can and seems to be burying us in BS.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

gah….how often are the courts right anymore?
Lindsey Lohan?
Casey Anthony?
OJ?
Perhaps deciding that eminent domain applies to strip malls and real estate developers to take your property?

Federal judges with lifetime appointments are not going to convince me to " ignore that man behind the curtain" 
I'll decide based on the information out there - both Gibson and Martin use Rosewood fingerboards.
It is troubling that only 1 is under investigation….
They will make a determination but something stinks here…if it is illegal how did it get certified?
I would feel differently if the Indian consullate filed a complaint under the Lacey Act - or like most criminal cases why doesn't our government ask India if it wishes to press charges?


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## BobTheFish (May 31, 2011)

It also says "finished" wood is cut and sized, meaning Gibson is making a statement about jobs milliing wood, or making a big stink about getiing raided.

granted, the government's wrong because of a technicality in interpretion too, but who's the one riling up the people to serve one's own gains?


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

*"the government's wrong because of a technicality in interpretion"*

That* is* what Gibson and their trade associations seem to be trumpeting. I'm not sure that's what this case is about. Perhaps the folks repeating this can *post a link with some factual information* that backs up their assertions.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Interesting Wall Street Journal article about the reach of the lacey act - link + paste *even if you have a finished antique guitar*!

Also good that enforcement isn't Customs - it is US Fish and Wildlife Service
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530520471223268.html

The tangled intersection of international laws is enforced through a thicket of paperwork. Recent revisions to 1900's Lacey Act require that anyone crossing the U.S. border declare every bit of flora or fauna being brought into the country. One is under "strict liability" to fill out the paperwork-and without any mistakes.

It's not enough to know that the body of your old guitar is made of spruce and maple: What's the bridge made of? If it's ebony, do you have the paperwork to show when and where that wood was harvested and when and where it was made into a bridge? Is the nut holding the strings at the guitar's headstock bone, or could it be ivory? "Even if you have no knowledge-despite Herculean efforts to obtain it-that some piece of your guitar, no matter how small, was obtained illegally, you lose your guitar forever," Prof. Thomas has written. "Oh, and you'll be fined $250 for that false (or missing) information in your Lacey Act Import Declaration."

Seems like a it of a waste of resources - checking if the lead guitarist's 30 year old Les Paul guitar travelling back to the states from a concert in Toronto can prove the source of raw materials on antique instruments….but hey unemployment and high debt isn't a worthy problem - lets have our Fish and Wildlife focus on this instead of poaching as well !


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Lest someone think* "the law wouldn't work that way"* Same article

Consider the recent experience of Pascal Vieillard, whose Atlanta-area company, A-440 Pianos, imported several antique Bösendorfers. Mr. Vieillard asked officials at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species how to fill out the correct paperwork-which simply encouraged them to alert U.S. Customs to give his shipment added scrutiny.

There was never any question that the instruments were old enough to have grandfathered ivory keys. But Mr. Vieillard didn't have his paperwork straight when two-dozen federal agents came calling.

Facing criminal charges that might have put him in prison for years, Mr. Vieillard pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Lacey Act, and was handed a $17,500 fine and three years probation.

Feeling all warm and cuddly with Öbama's "Federal Family" (coined for Irene - on how the government is just here to help!) should be the "Feral Family" instead


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

This is more government undermining of American manufacturing. Maybe somebody in India is contributing to the presidential campaign. We are being sold out by the politicians. It is sad that we can't enforce our own laws and we have to worry about laws in India.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

*OUTRAGOUS!!!* Fines and the threat of serious jail time just for filling out a form incorrectly. -*It's not true*.-
Pascal was importing pianos with ivory keyboards. He knew about the laws and even asked what he needed to do to comply. He decided instead to claim the pianos didn't have ivory keys when he imported them. Then he removed the ivory keys and keyboards and *HID THEM* under other things that were shipped. *He deliberately lied on the forms* and tried to smuggle ivory into the country. I think he deserved a harder kick in the ass than he got.
Please look a little harder for the truth. It should be important to you. -Jack


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Well Jack - wouldn't have expected the Wall street Journal to spin that our of control especially with the case (sentencing part) being 6 months old and the A440 owner entering his guilty plea on smuggling last December.

But yeah I believed wsj was representing the history of the case correctly…Goes to show the reliability of the media. Not like this was Huffington or Fox or Mother Earth News, who you really expect the hard line from.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Fox News owns WSJ now. Oh.., the writers full time job seems to be Cocktail Guru so they probably give him a bit of leeway. But probable truth was easy to find in this topic and yet the frothing gossip and nonsense was stunning. IMHO a few of the posters above should feel a little foolish. -Jack


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Yeah Murdoch owns WSJ…. but it always seemed they would make a better effort from the editorial side not to print complete BS. It is one thing to report as others had that Gibson was targetted, but to claim the A440 piano guy who pled guilty to smuggling and the outcomes posted on the DOJ website…was a big reach -

It is reported though (on FOX) that the Gibson CEO is going to attend the Obama Jobs address in DC tonight.
That has the potential to be interesting - wonder if he will be called out as a member in the gallery during the speech?


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