Posted on 09/01/2011 4:47:56 AM PDT by blueyon
Gibson CEO: Obama Administration Told Us Our Problems Would Go Away If We Used Madagascar Labor (Audio).......KMJ Radio host Chris Daniel interviewed Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz on Wednesday. Juszkiewicz told Chris that the Obama Administration told them, “Your problems would go away if you used Madagascar labor instead of our labor.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
I just Googled it. It's electromagnetic radiation. And it's electric guitar amps.
Peavey makes electric guitars and amplifiers. It sued Behringer, who makes amps (Behringer's parent company is MUSIC Group), for patent infringement on amps.
Behringer then filed papers in court alleging that independent tests of several of Peavey's amps showed that they emitted more electromagnetic radiation than allowed.
I doubt Peavey's amps are cooking people like a microwave, or creating sparks, or causing burns, or causing the problems people claim to get from electromagnetic radiation when living under high-voltage lines, but that's what is being emitted that the government is regulating. I had no idea this stuff was being regulated for the makers of electric guitar amps.
As a conservative with a libertarian leaning, that's the solution I would prefer. In a constitutional law class once, I got into an argument with a very liberal teacher who said that the Supreme Court "had" to prohibit child labor in North Carolina because everybody in the country was against it and there was no other way to stop it.
My response was: "Umm. If everybody is against it, and they simply quit buying products made by kids in North Carolina, wouldn't that stop the problem?"
She was a big supporter of Caesar Chavez and his produce boycotts, but didn't understand how other boycotts could work.
In this case, I'm not certain it's that easy. In the guitar world, a lot of buyers won't touch a guitar made of Madagascar Rosewood for ethical reasons. Others are willing to pay the extra $2,000+ simply to have the base grade Madagascar Rosewood (or $4,000+ for better grade, and, no, I didn't make up those amounts) because (a) of how it looks, (b) of how it sounds, (c) it may be worth a lot of money someday because it's likely to become completely illegal to get, or (d) "I'm not hurting anything because the Madagascar rosewood has already been cut down".
In part, they're right. It's a chicken and the egg situation. If Americans stop buying Madagascar Rosewood, the armed bandits will still cut down trees in Madagascar. Somebody, somewhere, will buy it. Especially the Chinese. Americans will still buy musical instruments with it on the grounds that the wood's already been cut.
It's likely a losing battle, despite the fact that so many world-wide organizations have gotten involved in trying to stop illegal logging in Madagascar.
yeah I have asked for a citation to the pleading.
Thank you. Appreciate the info.
Thanks for all of your research on this. I feel enlightened.
More than just amplifiers, it's also the finishing process used in guitars. That's why most manufacturers don't use nitrocellulose lacquer anymore; it's nasty, dangerous stuff that's hazardous and environmentally sensitive. So now, most all the guitar manufacturers use polyurethane.
And in the case of Behringer, I think Peavey is right to sue them. Their subsidiary company, Bugera, makes budget-oriented amps that are based on other company's designs. They take another company's design, reverse-engineer it and make a few cosmetic changes, and release it as their own. Their 333 amp is a direct ripoff of the Peavey JSX, right down to the design of the faceplate. They've also copied Mesa/Boogie, Matchless, and Marshall.
Far, far from it. The government is unstable. It's likely as corrupt as most African governments. It was a semi-democratic republic of sorts, until the current leader, Andry Rajoelina, took over by military coup. He's now a self-declared leader.
The "legal" sources for Madagascar rosewood and ebony products are corrupt and 'legal' only because they're corrupt and greasing the palms of the current leader, would be my guess.
I share your distrust of Obama and the Obama DOJ. However, the fact that I distrust Obama doesn't mean that I automatically trust what Gibson's CEO says.
Most acoustic luthiers of high-end guitars still use nitrocellulose lacquer. The big exception is Taylor Guitars. Using nitrocellulose lacquer would be too expensive for Bob Taylor because of California's state EPA regulations, so he uses a catalyzed polymer finish. Martin uses a rub-on poly on a few of its entry level guitars, and NCL on the rest of its line. Gibson uses NCL on its acoustics.
The catalyzed polymer is a harder finish that can be sanded the same day it's sprayed, so some smaller luthiers are using it now.
Electric guitars are another matter, because the finish isn't as important to the sound 'purists'. Fender (in California) actually started its production in Mexico so it could spray NCL. It would build guitars in California and run them through Mexico simply for NCL finishing. Now, it makes entire lines of its guitars in Mexico.
You and I agree that the federal government must NOT tell a manufacturer that they have to have a good finished in another country, Madagascar, or suffer penalties. The federal government must not direct the domestic economic gains of an American company to a foreign country and the penalize domestic producers if they don’t. You and I agree this violates authority bestowed by the Constitution and the people of the United States, to the federal government.
That said, what do you think gives the federal government the authority to direct economic activity to Madagascar? Enquiring minds want to know.
Peavey has been a staple brand in country and Southern rock while Gibsons are too expensive for jobless hippies. I'd say both these brands have "conservative" clientele.
Why, that’s protectionism! And the certain tradesmen? How do they get that privilege?
Wild Madagascar.org(take it with whatever grain of salt you will) says
“The outbreak of logging in the rainforests of northeastern Madagascar followed rangers’ abandonment of park posts during last month’s military coup in Madagascar. Chinese timber traders took advantage of the opportunity, paying armed bands to raid Marojejy and Masoala National Parks — both of which are considered jewels in Madagascar’s protected area system for their astounding biological richness. The loggers’ primary target was rosewood, ebonies, and other hardwoods. It is unclear how much timber has been cut from protected forests since the political crisis began, but photos provided by another confidential source show substantial stockpiles of contraband wood in local towns. “
People are starving so they lead unscrupulous chinese loggers to the rosewood trees.
The environmentalists want the Madagascar economy to be based on ‘tourism’. That is the new world order term for making a private playground out of madagascar for the global elites while restricting the ability of the citizens of the country to earn a lawful and productive living with their own hands and resources.
The globalists have done this around the world, using environmentalism and ‘diversity protection’ to stop all resource use by native citizens in the areas the globalists prize.
Now, Gibson doesn’t use much rosewood, forests aren’t being decimated supplying Gibson with fingerboards. Madagascar citizens could log the rosewood themselves, I hate to use the word sustainably, but there it is, and make a better living for themselves. However, that defeats the global agenda, and apparently someone appreciates what the illegal chinese timbermen are doing because no one is stopping them.
Powers that they pull out of their ass basically.
Scoutmaster is all over FR, feverishly defending this Obama’s tyrannical intrusion and punishment of a U.S. company.
>>Isn’t Madagascar a Muslim country?<<
Yes. I thought the same thing, and checked it out.
Look my concern is for God’s honest truth.
If a good straight company is being victimized, I want to know about it.
If a good straight company has turned rotten in a difficult economy, I want to know about it.
There are elements of the appearance that because Gibson still employs Americans to do its work, an untrustworthy government is crushing it. If so, this is treason.
I never underestimate the ability of the bad guys to assault the good guys.
I still believe the truth will out and good will triumph over evil but maybe not without a fight.
The bad guys apparently don’t realize that the head of the snake has already been severed and writhe around for quite some time before they die.
Obviously you are a lawyer.
Obviously you know all about this case and about Madagascar.
Are you involved in the case?
My guess? Through government corruption.
Short answers: Yes and no (went to law school; not working as a lawyer). I was never a trial or import/export attorney. Since 1986, the only times I've been in a courtroom have been for jury duty.
No, I don't have an interest in this case. I don't work for any federal or state government (have never been a government employee or contractor), have never worked for anyone in the music industry as an employee or contractor, and don't have a financial interest in the case.
I knew a little about the Madagascar ebony case because I've been a guitar collector for exactly forty years this year - long enough to have friends and contacts in the guitar/mandolin/banjo industry. I've met Henry Juszkiewicz, Bob Taylor (Taylor guitars), Chris Martin IV (Martin guitars), Bill Collings (Collings guitars and mandolins), Bruce Weber (Weber mandolins and guitars), and many others in the industry. I've been able to attend the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show four times thanks to friends in the industry getting me a pass.
None of that makes me special in any way. However, it does mean that I knew something about the 2009 Madagascar ebony raid and the exiting litigation.
I don't trust Obama and the Holder DOJ. I don't trust the government to be truthful. I don't trust all government agents to be absolutely truthful. I find it scary that the government would raid a guitar manufacturer with a SWAT team over wood.
On the other hand, I don't trust companies to be truthful when they are in trouble and they issue press releases. I consider Gibson's press releases and Henry Juszkiewicz's statements to be misleading.
I think the truth lies between Gibson and the government, yet Obama has poisoned the water so much that people aren't willing to step back and consider that maybe, just maybe, all of the facts aren't contained in Gibson's press releases.
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