Posted on 08/27/2011 11:58:48 AM PDT by DFG
On Thursday, the iconic Gibson Guitar Corporation issued a press release stating that government officials raided their Tennessee manufacturing facility over warrants concerning the legality of the importation of wood purchased from India that they use in their world famous guitars. The wood–which is certified and regulated by the Forest Stewardship Council–is not illegal, but rather subject to a domestic law in India frowns upon the processing of this wood by non-Indians. (Gibson uses American labor for the processing.)
(Excerpt) Read more at landmarkreport.com ...
Maybe they could hire some American Indians.
I’m a U.S. lumberjack in India and I’m not OK? Call me timberswoggled.
India has no reason to give a hoot about the consumer of their product, except as an artificial trade barrier.
I wouldnt advertise that Henry J is a Republican. He’s one of the most disliked CEOs in America.
I think they should arrest those that decided on this illegal raid...now!
...The Gibson facility wasn’t raided over allegations of tax evasion, charges of embezzlement, or even something as drab as child labor. Not even close. It was raided over what the DOJ deems an inability to follow a vague domestic trade law in India (one that apparently the Indian government didn’t seem too concerned about enforcing) regarding a specific type of wood. Not illegal wood, just wood with obscenely specific procedural guidelines.
Lemme guess: somebody from Takamine was the subject matter expert.
This cannot stand - it appears to be pure harassment.
Figures.
I hope people still remember all of the car lots run by republican donors forced into closing after Obama bought GM.
bump
Corrupt Federal prosecutors use the Lacey Act to put innocent Americans in prison for a few headlines.
It seems the Lacey act, in its strenuous effort to care more about an exporting country’s laws than that country may care itself, invites every curious jot and tittle to be freshly interpreted by US courts. It is a trap at the beck and call of any administration for any reason. This isn’t the only time this has happened. I’d be pretty sure that China is overlooking a lot of bureaucratic minutia in the process of expediting the export of megatons of junk to the US, and nobody seems to be caring about applying Lacey to China.
It seems that Gibson was guilty of two things:
Click through to this article. The "East Indian Rosewood" is also used by C.F. Martin & Company to make instruments. However, Mr. Martin is a big Democrat contributor. Strangely, his business was not raided/searched this week for using this wood.
If India has the offending law, then Gibson should stop importing from India. Can’t rosewood be grown elsewhere, like in Hawaii or on U.S. possessions in the Caribbean?
To paraphrase BB King (one of Gibson’s most famous fans), “Nobody loves me but Obama. And he could be jivin’ me too.”
What counts as finished, anyhow. Maybe Martin only has the pieces cut in India, then sends them elsewhere for expert assembly. Or Martin could be doing the exact same thing Gibson has been doing.
maybe an Onion joke, but I read that some of the guitars ended up in Mexico
Here’s another thread on the topic:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2769621/posts
The DOJ is giving an interpretation of law in India that even India does not give. This is simply MORE evidence of a Department of Justice that serves anything BUT justice.
Holder should not simply be fired. He needs to be tried in court.....for several things. Add in all his radical hires and any appointees as well.
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