Posted on 09/28/2011 10:28:00 AM PDT by Taxophobic
What: A Rally and Free Concert to show our support for Gibson Guitar
When: Saturday Oct 8 2-4PM
Where: Parking Lot of the Scoreboard Restaurant, Nashville (See website for MAP)
Website: http://GibsonRally.com
Why: Federal agents raided two Gibson factories in August and confiscated part of the production inventory of this 100 year old American Manufacturer and Employer. This abuse of federal power must not go unanswered. We, the citizenswho grant government its power and authority, MUST act to hold government accountable when that power is abused. Please join us on Oct 8 in Nashville and Stand with Gibson.
Gibson ping.
Awesome!
Very cool — bet it’ll be jampacked.
Wood is illegal but apparently a foreigner as POTUS is not.
Yea, they might want to rethink the location
I’d love to see the demographics of the participants. I am sure the diversity will be astounding.
Before issuing that ruling, the District Court Judge reviewed sealed evidence concerning an ongoing criminal investigation. The evidence was presented by a federal enforcement team other than the civil forfeiture team pursuing the civil action against Gibson.
That explanation's a little simplistic, but the civil action has been stayed on the grounds that it's compromising a criminal investigation. Remember that other parties - particularly Theodor Nagel Gmbh - may be targets of the criminal investigation.
The government has also filed a civil forfeiture action (Case No. 3-11-CV-00913, Middle District of Tennessee) with respect to the 2011 raids as well - but the East Indian rosewood that's been in every blog, news article, and Gibson interview isn't part of it. The forfeiture action only concerns ebony. The documents are of public record. I'm still reading them. The details are a little different than what's been reported in the media, so I'm trying to differentiate between what I thought I knew from the search warrant affidavit and media reports, and what the forfeiture complaint and underlying affidavits state.
Sign me up.
(Even though I don’t care for Gibson guitars).
What about Martin Guitars? They use Rosewood necks on their products too. Wonder if they support Democrat causes.
Yes, a real “Made In USA” Rally! Imported guitars are a dime a dozen, in fact, the local pawn had several on clearance, and I thought about offering $10 each for 8 of them, but that was even too much.
Next election....Obama and his cronies........
Yeah, we are gonna “give em the wood “!
I admit it. The Diet Coke didn't quite make it out of my nose, but it's still burning in there.
The U.S. District Court Judge presiding over the Indian ebony forfeiture case (United States of America v. 25 Bundles of Indian Ebony Wood, Case No. 3-11-CV-00913 (U.S. District Court, Mid. Dist. Tenn.) (Sept. 27, 2011)), is the Honorable Aleta Arthur Trauger. She was appointed by Bill Clinton, which will give the conspiracy people another piece of kindling for the witch-burning fire. She's a Cornell ('68)/Vandy graduate with experience as a U.S. Attorney.
Of course, if there's any partiality shown, then facing a Clinton-appointed judge should help Gibson.
Gibson was an early, very public, and current member of the Clinton Global Initiative. When Clinton was President and the Lincoln bedroom and every broom closet in the White House had a price tag on it, Gibson rented out the entire White House for its 100th Anniversary celebration, providing a Gibson concert for Bill and HIllary. And Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz was a presenter at the 2005 MTV Rock the Vote Awards. 2005 is when Bill Clinton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Rock the Vote (and Barack Obama was also honored).
There may not be any direct ties between Gibson/Juszkiewicz and Obama, but Juszkiewicz and Bill Clinton are comrades.
Bumpin’ To The Top, this today!
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which is the major trade organization for the industry, has created a twenty-person task force on the Lacey Act. Gibson Guitars was invited to place a representative on the task force but declined. Taylor, Martin, PRS, Collings, and a few other guitar industry manufacturers and suppliers are on the task force, as well as some experts in other areas of the Lacey Act.
As I continue to speak with friends in the industry (one of whom is on the NAMM Lacey Act task force), I don't believe the government's legal position in the second Gibson raid is workable. India has exported these unfinished fingerboards as a HS 9902 item for years; the importers have changed the HS code to HS 4407 in accordance with U.S. law for years. Trying to enforce the Lacey Act by requiring that Indian HS export codes match U.S. import HS codes doesn't mesh with the way the industry has operated.
Anyway, as an updated on the existing litigation: On October 13, 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Haynes ordered that both the Affidavit and Declaration of Lana N. Pettus, Trial Attorney of the Environmental Crimes Section of the United States Department of Justice, be filed under seal in civil forfeiture case, to support the government's motion for a stay in the case. The government's argument is that permitting civil discovery in this case "will adversely affect the ability of the Government to conduct a related criminal investigation or the prosecution of a related criminal case."
The civil forfeiture case resulting from the 2009 Madagascar ebony raid was stayed on the same basis after Gibson failed to cooperate in discovery requests first served in November 2010.
What's curious about the motion for a stay is that is was not only served on Gibson Guitars and Luthier Mercantile International - it was also served on Theodor Nagel GMBH & Co KG, the Germany company involved in the 2009 importation of the Madagascar ebony. I still believe that Nagel is a major target, if not the primary target, of the government's criminal investigation.
The answers of Gibson and Luthier Mercantile were not available online until yesterday. Gibson and LMI both address the HS code for export from India, but neither answer addresses LMI's changing of the code, changing the description of the contents, or using a false consignee. It appears that Gibson and LMI may have resigned themselves to this civil forfeiture case being stayed in the same manner as the Madagascar ebony forfeiture case has been stayed.
This makes me wish I owned a Gibson.
1982 Peavey T-40 (American Made)
2000 Music Man Stingray 5 (American Made)
2006 Fender Precision Highway One (American Made)
My "upstairs" electric Gibson right now is a 2010 Custom Shop ES-339 in Pelham Blue. Incredibly versatile guitar and truly Custom Shop-quality.
And, yes, that's an East Indian rosewood fretboard.
Oh, that is gorgeous!
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