On 8/7/2012 10:21 PM, tiredofspam wrote:
What gets me is that the DOJ will probably burn the ebony.
So not only did it not go to product, but it was wasted, and Gibson will
still have to get more to make more product.

Apparently the wood seized in the last raid was indeed returned to
Gibson, but you won't read about it in the press.

There is a common misconception, even here, that the Lacey Act is all
about protecting an endangered species, and that is certainly NOT the
case in this instance as the product in question was _legally_ harvested
by the country of origin.

The Lacey Act, in its current iteration, is designed to enforce the laws
of other countries, ... in this case, insuring that the job of
dimensioning the product remains in the country or origin.

This is about selective enforcement and using buzzword topics to further
what amounts to government extortion and example making by an
administration directing lawyers (DOJ) in an exercise of gaming the
legal system ... the only hot button terminology that wasn't used, by
both the government and pres, in this entire episode was "save the
children" ... but "save the rainforest", and "endangered species" were
both implied and used in abundance, although that was actually never at
issue.

What it all proves, once again, is that you can indeed fool most of the
people ALL the time; that it is almost impossible to protect yourself
when operating in a confusing array of federal and foreign laws; and
that the government has no limits when using subterfuge in attempts to
criminalize what was not a criminal matter to start with.

Once again ... if Gibson were to move their operation overseas, or even
outsource that particular process to any other location in the world,
there would never have been an incident ... that is an inarguable FACT.

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