Gibson Gives In

Gibson Guitar Settles Claim Over Imported Ebony

Gibson Guitar Corporation has agreed to pay $350,000 in penalties to settle federal charges that it illegally imported ebony Madagascar to use for fret boards, ending a criminal investigation that had drawn fire from conservatives as an example of over-reaching by the government, the Justice Department announced on Monday.

The guitar maker agreed to pay a $300,000 fine and to donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the protection of endangered hardwood trees, like ebony and rosewood. In return, the government deferred prosecution of the company for criminal violations of the Lacey Act, which since May 2008 has made it illegal to import wood that was harvested and exported illegally under another country’s laws... 

Orlianthi with Gibson Les Paul

Bear in mind the policy is not about saving endangered species, but rather "social justice", the notion that the job of finishing the wood that's already been harvested should be done by the native labor.

Gibson said the shipments were legal and disputed the government’s interpretation of Indian and Madagascar laws, which the company maintains allow the exportation of “fingerboard blanks,” which are in essence a piece of hardwood cut to the dimensions of a guitar fret board. But federal officials defended the raids, saying the company had failed to comply with the Lacey Act and its officials had willfully turned a blind eye to evidence the exports were in fact illegal.

The settlement announced on Monday is a compromise that frees Gibson from the criminal charges as long as the company doesn’t violate the agreement over the next year and a half. As part of the deal, Gibson agreed to withdraw a suit seeking to recover about $261,000 worth of ebony and rosewood that was seized during the investigation.

Allison Robertson - Gibson Les Paul

The cost of fighting such actions by the feds could rapidly exceed the settlement costs, so it only makes sense to

So the administration drives a few hundred more jobs overseas, and, oh so coincidentally, hurts a company that contributes to the GOP, and helps it's competition (Martin Guitars), who just happens to donate to the Democrats.


Previous posts on Gibson's problems with the feds:

Sheryl Crow - Gibson Hummingbird?

Feds Raid Gibson Guitars

Update on Gibson Guitar Grab

The Rally for Gibson

Tennesse Lawmakers Propose "Gibson Owners Protection"

Are You Resigned to the Mexi Paul?

Feds Promise Not to Persecute Guitar Owners 

Two masters of the guitar, Les Paul, the inventor of the electric guitar, for which the Les Paul guitar line is named, and Chet Atkins. I appreciate the "spat" about guitar brands at the end..

If I Shaved

...I'd use these

Mars Airspace Overcrowded

Curiosity Spotted on Parachute by Orbiter

NASA's Curiosity rover and its parachute were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as Curiosity descended to the surface on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image of Curiosity while the orbiter was listening to transmissions from the rover. Curiosity and its parachute are in the center of the white box; the inset image is a cutout of the rover stretched to avoid saturation. The rover is descending toward the etched plains just north of the sand dunes that fringe "Mt. Sharp." From the perspective of the orbiter, the parachute and Curiosity are flying at an angle relative to the surface, so the landing site does not appear directly below the rover.

The parachute appears fully inflated and performing perfectly. Details in the parachute, such as the band gap at the edges and the central hole, are clearly seen. The cords connecting the parachute to the back shell cannot be seen, although they were seen in the image of NASA's Phoenix lander descending, perhaps due to the difference in lighting angles. The bright spot on the back shell containing Curiosity might be a specular reflection off of a shiny area. Curiosity was released from the back shell sometime after this image was acquired.

That's pretty remarkable.