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 This just blows my mind. It's like the Federal Government is purposely trying to send all American jobs overseas. See if You agree.

 

They are among the most sought-after musical instruments in the world. Everyone from Chet Atkins to Les Paul to Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to Slash of Guns n’ Roses played them. A vintage 1959 Les Paul guitar can go for as much as $400,000. Almost every kid who has dreams of music stardom wants a Gibson guitars. Gibson is also a company that is proud to put the “Made in the USA” label on its instruments. While the company has lower-end lines that are made overseas, every guitar that bears the “Gibson” label is made in the U.S. by American workers. On August 24, armed agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Homeland Security raided the corporate headquarters and two factories of the Gibson Guitar company. The agencies took away 24 pallets of Indian rosewood and ebony, as well as a number of guitars and computer files. The federal agents’ contention is that Gibson had illegally imported the exotic wood, which is used to make fretboards and bridges for their high-end instruments. Under the 1900 Lacey Act, which was amended in 2008 to include wood products, American companies must abide by the laws of source countries when importing products. The intent of the law is to protect endangered species of wildlife and plants. U.S. Fish and Wildlife claims that the Gibson wood – in the form of fingerboard ‘blanks’ -- was illegal to export from India and therefore illegal to import into the United States. Now here’s the rub. While the feds say the wood – as imported – is illegal, had it been ‘finished’ by workers in India, it would have been perfectly legal to import. The wood itself was not banned, just the manufacturing process – or lack of it. “I think they’re taking the position that we should be shifting these jobs overseas,” says Bruce Mitchell, the chief legal counsel for Gibson. “We have – probably 40 people in our factory here just at USA who are doing the inlays into the fingerboard … that are putting the fret on. If all that was to be done over in India, then …. those jobs would be lost. What’s most puzzling about this case is that India is perfectly happy to ship the fingerboard ‘blanks’ to the United States. In a letter dated July 13, the deputy director general of foreign trade for India confirmed that “fingerboards made of rosewood and ebony is (sic) freely exportable.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife offered no comment about the discrepancy. But people involved in the import and export of musical instruments and parts believe the US Department of Justice offered its own interpretation of Indian law. Even though India saw no reason for an enforcement action, the U.S. did. “It is such an outrageous position – it has hurt Gibson tremendously – has criminalized Gibson and its workplace and its workers. It is an unsustainable position that they’re taking,” Mitchell says. Something else to consider in all of this: Gibson uses the same wood, from many of the same suppliers and importers that nearly every other guitar company in America does. And they have not been targeted. You might ask – why? Rewind the clock two years. Gibson was raided in 2009 and a shipment of rosewood and ebony from Madagascar was seized. Gibson argued that the wood was obtained through proper channels, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife argued that Gibson could not adequately prove that the wood came from legitimate sources. Again, the issue of ‘finishing’ the wood came into play. Had Gibson imported finished parts from Madagascar instead of ‘blanks,’ it would have been perfectly legal. No charges have been filed as of yet, and Gibson is fighting in court to get its wood back. It could be that the Madagascar issue put Gibson front and center on the Department of Justice's radar screen. There was a discrepancy in the import of this latest shipment of wood. It was listed with an improper tariff code, which the importer, Luthiers Mercantile International of Windsor, Calif., claimed was a clerical error by a junior employee and tried to clear up. But rather than talk to the importer and Gibson about it, the Justice Department dispatched U.S. Fish and Wildlife and DHS agents to raid the Gibson compounds. Gibson feels it has been unfairly targeted. “We are being singled out. Very much so,” says Mitchell. “Every music instrument company in the United States uses rosewood fingerboards. Period. And they’re in the same state – they’re buying from the same suppliers, they’re using the same shippers.” Gibson has also been working hard to maintain proper sources of wood, working with the Forest Stewardship Council to insure its suppliers are certified. Gibson also works closely with the Rainforest Alliance on sustainable supplies of exotic woods. It’s a no-brainer for Gibson and other guitar manufacturers. If they can’t get the highly sought-after tone woods that artists crave, they just might go out of business. Outside observers see a more sinister possibility in all of this. Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s CEO, is a Republican, who has contributed to Republican candidates (as well as some Democratic candidates). Other guitar companies, which have not been targeted, are led by Democrats. Is there a political motivation to all of this? Neither Mitchell, nor Juszkiewicz will offer an opinion, but consider what Juszkiewicz told Neil Cavuto on "Your World." “You know we've been pretty low key. We're a guitar company. We've been manufacturing guitars. We've been involved in the environmental movement. We’ve been trying to do the right thing in terms of sourcing. We really don’t know why they are picking on us.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/#ixzz1XIHCLomY

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Skippy

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It's okay if you donate to the DimoKKKrats...

 

August 28, 2011

Fretful practices

Rosslyn Smith

 

Last week the Department of Justice raided the iconic Gibson Guitar Corporation, confiscating materials and records. The reason?   Gibson was allegedly violating the laws of the sovereign nation of India regarding certain imported hardwoods it uses on its acoustic guitars. The Indian government wants these woods to be processed by Indian labor while Gibson prefers to use its own craftsman. 

If enforcing a foreign law to the determent of an American manufacturing business isn't enough, we now learn that Gibson's CEO is a Republican donor and that Feds seem to have given a pass to a rival operation following the same practice that is owned by a Democrat donor

One of Gibson's leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Company. The C.E.O., Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the DNC over the past couple of election cycles. According to C.F. Martin's catalog, several of their guitars contain "East Indian Rosewood." In case you were wondering, that is the exact same woodin at least ten of Gibson's guitars. 


Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com...etful_practices.html at September 07, 2011 - 03:16:41 PM CDT

Skippy, Gibson has a long history of dealing in illegal wood. Brazilian rosewood, mahogany from Madigasgar, you name it. The MARTIN company, on the other hand, has a storeroom full of these same woods that they got a LONG time ago (they only build custom orders out of these woods), but every stick of it is DOCUMENTED.

 

And Henry is just plain crazy. He will demand that a certain number of X model be done by tomorrow, and when his workers tell him they can't make them because they don't have the materials in yet, he just FIRES everyone! The guy is certifiably nuts! Here is an article explaining WHY Gibson Guitars was voted the WORST PLACE TO WORK in America in 2009. Henry is still there so it is even worse now than it was a couple of years ago. Please read the whole article.

 

http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/...ikes-cord-employees/

O No! you say,

"Skippy, Gibson has a long history of dealing in illegal wood. Brazilian rosewood, mahogany from Madigasgar, you name it."

 

In the artical it states the following,

"Gibson was raided in 2009 and a shipment of rosewood and ebony from Madagascar was seized. Gibson argued that the wood was obtained through proper channels, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife argued that Gibson could not adequately prove that the wood came from legitimate sources. Again, the issue of ‘finishing’ the wood came into play. Had Gibson imported finished parts from Madagascar instead of ‘blanks,’ it would have been perfectly legal. No charges have been filed as of yet, and Gibson is fighting in court to get its wood back."

And as far as Henry is concerned, if he is crazy and fires everybody weekly, it's his business and he can do what he wants. I believe if a person doesn't like the place they work for they can quit.

Skippy

Unstable people are more likely to braek the law, then try to blame their transgressions on unfair persecution which of course the RepubTeaCons believe without any evidence just because it helps with their obstructionist policies. 

 

The guy had 4 years to figure out to operate within the law.

Make it easy for him: Revoke his business license permanently and he wont have to ever worry about being raided again.

Originally Posted by Mr.Dittohead:

Unstable people are more likely to braek the law, then try to blame their transgressions on unfair persecution which of course the RepubTeaCons believe without any evidence just because it helps with their obstructionist policies. 

 

The guy had 4 years to figure out to operate within the law.

Make it easy for him: Revoke his business license permanently and he wont have to ever worry about being raided again.

Sure, sure then the gov. can seize and sell off his assets to say... Martin! Yeah that's the ticket! Frak'n looters!

Originally Posted by marksw59:
Originally Posted by Mr.Dittohead:

Unstable people are more likely to braek the law, then try to blame their transgressions on unfair persecution which of course the RepubTeaCons believe without any evidence just because it helps with their obstructionist policies. 

 

The guy had 4 years to figure out to operate within the law.

Make it easy for him: Revoke his business license permanently and he wont have to ever worry about being raided again.

Sure, sure then the gov. can seize and sell off his assets to say... Martin! Yeah that's the ticket! Frak'n looters!


He could fight them in court, but then instead of looking for a new job he would be looking at 5-15 years for conspiracy to traffic in illegal imports.

Originally Posted by Contendah:
Originally Posted by O No!:

OK, this is really long, but it shows CLEARLY that Gibson broke the law. Of you take the time to read it, you will see that.

 

http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com.../GibsonAffidavit.pdf

****

Good information, but unlikely to impress the wingnut conspiracy theorists who want to blame the Obama administration for allegedly singling out this violator.

That is alleged violator, unless we're throwing "innocent until proven guilty" out the window. Isn't it great to know that the law enforcement agencies are taking this threat to national security so seriously?

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