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METAL ROKKZ
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 230 Location: BLOOD ALLEY
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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if "rokket" rick perry
can keep his eye on the goal,
stay focused with that
"hang em high" persona,
and brush up on
his fast response wit for the
bottom feeders that wanna take snippets at him
he can be the next president |
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HardRocker Site Admin
Joined: 06 Nov 1998 Posts: 1765 Location: Dallas, TX.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 11:03 am Post subject: |
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The Associated Press reports:
Owners of GIBSON musical instruments made with illegally imported wood don’t face prosecution, two federal agencies say in a letter that addresses fears stirred up after a major Tennessee guitar-maker was raided.
“The federal government focuses its enforcement efforts on those who are removing protected species from the wild and making a profit by trafficking in them,” the US Justice Department and the Interior Department wrote to US Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Blackburn and other congressional Republicans have been pressing the federal agencies to meet with them about August 24th raids on Gibson Guitar Corp. factories in Memphis and Nashville where agents seized pallets of wood, guitars and computer hard drives. Gibson chief executive Henry Juszkiewicz has publicly blasted the raids as an example of the federal government risking US jobs with over-zealous regulation.
After the raid, Juszkiewicz attended a speech by President Barack Obama as a guest of Blackburn and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
The letter from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich and Christopher J. Mansour, director of legislative affairs at Interior, said those who “unknowingly possess” an instrument made from illegally imported materials don’t have a criminal problem.
“I am glad to see administration officials stating on the record that they won’t treat unsuspecting musicians as criminals,” Blackburn said in a statement.
But Blackburn added that she doesn’t understand why the same “unknowing” standard isn’t applied to instrument makers like Gibson.
An affidavit supporting the search warrant for the recent raids alleged that shipments of imported Indian ebony and rosewood were given false labels to circumvent import restrictions. Juszkiewicz has denied wrongdoing and complained that the federal government has implicated Gibson, which also manufacturer Baldwin pianos, without filing charges.
A meeting between Juszkiewicz and federal prosecutors scheduled for Wednesday was delayed, and the company also canceled a press conference the same day that was to announce a new mahogany deal with Fiji.
The letter to Blackburn said the federal agencies can’t provide specifics of an ongoing investigation to Congress.
“I will continue to hold the Obama Administration’s feet to the fire until we receive more adequate answers,” Blackburn said.
US Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee was the chief Republican co-sponsor of the 2008 measure to add illegally harvested wood to the existing Lacey Act covering fish, wildlife and plants.
“This bill rewards US producers – like those in the Southeast where we have large paper companies – for harvesting the right way,” Alexander said at the time.
Alexander has cited Senate ethics rules in declining to comment on the Gibson case, but said he would consider changes to the statute.
“I’m reviewing the Lacey Act to see if it requires changes or improvement so that Gibson and other musical-instrument companies can get the wood they need to make their instruments while at the same time preventing illegal logging,” he said in statement Wednesday.
Gibson had been the subject of a similar raid in 2009 over ebony imported from Madagascar through a German firm called Theodor Nagel GmbH, and has been fighting that seizure in federal court. Federal authorities say in court filings that the wood was exported illegally from Madagascar. Gibson and Nagel dispute that.
The company’s fierce condemnation of the raids led to a conference call Tuesday by others in the industry who defended the Lacey Act.
“If you’ve been under investigation for bringing in illegal ebony from Madagascar from a German importer called Nagel who was clearly doing illegal wood, why would you keep buying from that same importer?” said Jameson French, CEO of Kingston, N.H.-based Northland Forest Products.
French, who also serves on the board of The Hardwood Federation, said 2008 changes to the Lacey Act to include wood products have protected the American lumber industry from unfair competition. He said allegations that the import restrictions hurt American jobs are false.
“Perhaps they didn’t do the research before they jumped on the bandwagon,” he said. “Because I can assure you that the large number of 13,000 small family companies that are represented by the Hardwood Federation have had positive benefits from the Lacey Act amendment.”
Charlie Redden, supply chain manager for El Cajon, Calif.-based Taylor Guitars, said his business hasn’t seen much disturbance.
“We travel to these places and meet with the woodcutters and we ask some of those tough questions about where they’re getting their wood from, and physically see where the wood comes from,” Redden said.
Mark Barford, executive director of the Memphis-based National Hardwood Lumber Association, said the limits on illegal wood sales in the United States and in other countries help maintain both the domestic and export markets.
“There are many hundreds and hundreds of small operators, even in the state of Tennessee, that count on fair trade and honest trade in order to stay competitive on the world market,” Barford said.
Andrea Johnson, Forest Campaign Director for the Environmental Investigation Agency, a research and advocacy group, said although the industry uses the rarest and most endangered species – including wood, ivory and mother of pearl – fears about instruments being seized are misguided.
“Let’s be very clear here: No one is coming to take your Les Paul guitar,” Johnson said. |
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METAL ROKKZ
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 230 Location: BLOOD ALLEY
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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what a way to D-V-8
from the fact that the u.s. govt.
did in fact steal over 1 million dollars
worth of fret board wood and are still holding it as hostage?
instead they respond by saying
all you guitar owners, your okay
were just strong arming the company,
not you.
my guitars are protected by deadly force,
gibson needs to get with the program !!! |
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METAL ROKKZ
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 230 Location: BLOOD ALLEY
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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tenn.(R) sen. lamar alexander
is the fukkin prick who started this shit.
and now he is talking if it is hurting musicians or the industry he will
look into re tweeking the law?
n.a.m.m. and the whole music community will be holding a rally this sat. in nashville tenn.
in support of gibson and the rest of the companys who still have there own fretboard wood
lamar alexander----adios gringo !!! |
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METAL ROKKZ
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 230 Location: BLOOD ALLEY
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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[img]http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k40/ROKKZ/therecoming.jpg[/img] |
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metalwarrior
Joined: 12 Oct 2011 Posts: 4
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:18 pm Post subject: gibson raid- funny! |
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saw this in the newspaper- funny stuff!! just shows how clever the government is, nothing better to do so hassle gibson, the economy is wrecked the us is headed for collapse and these clowns are wasting time and money doing this. most rare wood is prob. used in the housing industry to make fancy kitchen cabinets for senators!! |
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