Spanish Inquisition at Digikey

[Frank Bemelman]

Dear Mr. Bemelmann,

Thank you for your interest in Digi-Key. Because of the export law of
the USA you answered 5 export questions. We have 2 little questions
about that.

One is about the specific application because you wrote "hobby kits".
Please describe it cleanlier or please send us more information about
that. (for example some examples).

The second request is about the end user. Please fill in at least the
target group.

Thank you.

After we received your information about that we will transfer it to our
head office which will send your order.

Thank you.
Kind regards,
Kerstin Langer

Tel.: 0800-020-3710
Fax: 0031-53-484-9583
nl.digikey.com <http://www.digikey.com/>
----------------------------------

Dear Kirsten,

While you probably have no other choice than to conform
to these these silly laws, I have no intention to change
my views on the latest policies of your deluded government.

That leaves you two options, ship the merchandise or cancel the
order.

I am not going to comply with any further spanish inquisition.

Best regards,
Frank Bemelman

 

[Norm Dresner]

Dear Mr. Bemelmann,

Thank you for your interest in Digi-Key. Because of the export law of
the USA you answered 5 export questions. We have 2 little questions
about that.

One is about the specific application because you wrote "hobby kits".
Please describe it cleanlier or please send us more information about
that. (for example some examples).

The second request is about the end user. Please fill in at least the
target group.

Thank you.

After we received your information about that we will transfer it to our
head office which will send your order.

Thank you.
Kind regards,
Kerstin Langer

Tel.: 0800-020-3710
Fax: 0031-53-484-9583
nl.digikey.com <http://www.digikey.com/>
----------------------------------

Duh! You'd think that someone at DigiKey could figure out that the end
users of "hobby kits" were electronic hobbyists, wouldn't you?

I suppose that "hobby kits" covers a very wire range of technologies from
nuclear device detonators to time delay fuses for car bombs to radar
jammers. What's their problem?

;-))

Norm

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Duh! You'd think that someone at DigiKey could figure out that the end
users of "hobby kits" were electronic hobbyists, wouldn't you?

I suppose that "hobby kits" covers a very wire range of technologies from
nuclear device detonators to time delay fuses for car bombs to radar
jammers. What's their problem?

;-))

Norm

"Target" group? ;-)



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Tim Wescott]

Duh! You'd think that someone at DigiKey could figure out that the end
users of "hobby kits" were electronic hobbyists, wouldn't you?

I suppose that "hobby kits" covers a very wire range of technologies from
nuclear device detonators to time delay fuses for car bombs to radar
jammers. What's their problem?

;-))

Norm

Their problem is that their export control officer can go to jail if the
State Department isn't satisfied with their diligence. Export control
officers will be the first to tell you the rules are stupid, but they're
also a jumpy bunch, because their cost benefit equation is going to jail
vs. losing a bit of profit for their company.

 

[Frank Bemelman]

Their problem is that their export control officer can go to jail if the
State Department isn't satisfied with their diligence. Export control
officers will be the first to tell you the rules are stupid, but they're
also a jumpy bunch, because their cost benefit equation is going to jail
vs. losing a bit of profit for their company.

What a beautiful country where people *fear* being sent to prison for
shipping a handful of tubes of Atmega8515.

 

[Chris Carlen]

What a beautiful country where people *fear* being sent to prison for
shipping a handful of tubes of Atmega8515.

Imported, of course.


--
_______________________________________________________________________
Christopher R. Carlen
Principal Laser/Optical Technologist
Sandia National Laboratories CA USA
[email protected] -- NOTE: Remove "BOGUS" from email address to reply.

 

[Rich Grise]

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:49:08 +0100, Frank Bemelman wrote:

....

I am not going to comply with any further spanish inquisition.

Best regards,
Frank Bemelman

Uh-oh! Looks like you got on somebody's list! I'd start watching my back.
Maybe put up a picture of Our Beloved Leader in your office or something
- you know, look loyal.

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[John Larkin]

What a beautiful country where people *fear* being sent to prison for
shipping a handful of tubes of Atmega8515.

The real fear, in theory, is of being nuked. We can't, for example,
ship anything that will put 5 volts or more into 50 ohms in under 1
ns, without checking for an allowed destination and end-use. That made
a little sense 20 years ago, but a 20 cent TinyLogic gate will do it
with ease nowadays.

Some guys I sometime work with messed up a couple of years ago, and
shipped a NIM module to the wrong party in India. They were raided by
big guys in flak jackets with automatic weapons, arrested, and
criminally indicted. They wound up not doing time, eventually, but the
fines and legal fees easily exceeded $500K.


John

 

[Active8]

The real fear, in theory, is of being nuked. We can't, for example,
ship anything that will put 5 volts or more into 50 ohms in under 1
ns, without checking for an allowed destination and end-use. That made
a little sense 20 years ago, but a 20 cent TinyLogic gate will do it
with ease nowadays.

Some guys I sometime work with messed up a couple of years ago, and
shipped a NIM module to the wrong party in India. They were raided by
big guys in flak jackets with automatic weapons, arrested, and
criminally indicted. They wound up not doing time, eventually, but the
fines and legal fees easily exceeded $500K.

Near Philly, an Isreali company, Quality FR (goes by some magnetics
related name out west) got fined around $600k for selling dual use
technology to China. They make antenna test equip.

.... and they program in MFC, so they suck.

 

[John Larkin]

... and they program in MFC, so they suck.

Right. They deserved it. Snared in the .NET of the law.

John

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

Imported, of course.

That's why companies like Boeing are pushing all their engineering and
s/w development offshore. If you want to export something to a
particular country, you've got to jump through all the hoops. If one of
your partners (wholly owned, of course) in China, India or Russia
develops it, the restrictions are less onerous. Then they are lobbying
for permission to purchase equipment for defense department contracts
from foreign firms where such equipment can be found at a better price
overseas. Although current restricted technology can't be exported, by
funneling the money out of the US and into these firms, eventually their
R&D will catch up. And what they develop will be beyond the reach of
ITAR. If it is outside of ITAR authority, the market for the products is
worldwide.

 

[Active8]

Right. They deserved it. Snared in the .NET of the law.

<grin> good one!

 

[Winfield Hill]

Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote...

That's why companies like Boeing are pushing all their engineering and
s/w development offshore. If you want to export something to a
particular country, you've got to jump through all the hoops. If one of
your partners (wholly owned, of course) in China, India or Russia
develops it, the restrictions are less onerous. Then they are lobbying
for permission to purchase equipment for defense department contracts
from foreign firms where such equipment can be found at a better price
overseas. Although current restricted technology can't be exported, by
funneling the money out of the US and into these firms, eventually their
R&D will catch up. And what they develop will be beyond the reach of
ITAR. If it is outside of ITAR authority, the market for the products is
worldwide.

Read it and weep. I struggled with this stupidity 25 years ago with my
company's exports, but then it was merely a painful inconvenience, with
a financial hit against me. Now it's a financial suicide for our country.

 

[Jonathan Kirwan]

Read it and weep. I struggled with this stupidity 25 years ago with my
company's exports, but then it was merely a painful inconvenience, with
a financial hit against me. Now it's a financial suicide for our country.

Scary!

Jon

 

[Terry Given]

Dear Mr. Bemelmann,

Thank you for your interest in Digi-Key. Because of the export law of
the USA you answered 5 export questions. We have 2 little questions
about that.

One is about the specific application because you wrote "hobby kits".
Please describe it cleanlier or please send us more information about
that. (for example some examples).

The second request is about the end user. Please fill in at least the
target group.

Thank you.

After we received your information about that we will transfer it to our
head office which will send your order.

Thank you.
Kind regards,
Kerstin Langer

Tel.: 0800-020-3710
Fax: 0031-53-484-9583
nl.digikey.com <http://www.digikey.com/>
----------------------------------

Dear Kirsten,

While you probably have no other choice than to conform
to these these silly laws, I have no intention to change
my views on the latest policies of your deluded government.

That leaves you two options, ship the merchandise or cancel the
order.

I am not going to comply with any further spanish inquisition.

Best regards,
Frank Bemelman

Hi Frank,

that annoyed me too. Then I recalled an article in IEEE spectrum by R.W.
Lucky, in which he railed against the intrusive demands for information
we constantly face. His epiphany was realising he doesnt have to tell
the truth; that set him free. And me too. I now positively look forward
to on-line interrogations, my aim being to identify the least useful
demographic, and supply the most contradictory information.

They seemed to accept my "crippled, deformed and retarded people" for my
target market. Next time I might try "stupid paranoid people" or perhaps
"lesbian amputees". Sex toys of course make for great product
descriptions, as does anything medical - colostomy bag sterilisers anyone?

Its rather like the announcements at airports. What, do they expect
terrorists to go up to the security desk and hand themselves in for arrest?

Apart from that, Digikey are great.

I get pissed off with stores asking for personal information too. I
found the practice to be rife in Boston, only to discover it had reared
its ugly head when I got back home. I had an interesting argument with a
guy at Radio Shack once, who demanded my phone number and zip code (cash
sale of an AAA battery) and got snotty when I said no.

After a few months of being hassled when I said no, I took to spouting
random digits - if ya cant beat 'em, shit in their database.

Cheers
Terry

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

If the US military establishment is smart and they want to keep
sensitive technology here at home, they need their own engineering and
manufacturing capability. That would solve a lot of their contracting
problems with missles as well.

And, of course, make them so expensive that it would be unthinkable to
actually use them except in the most dire emergency. NTTATWWT.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote...

Read it and weep. I struggled with this stupidity 25 years ago with my
company's exports, but then it was merely a painful inconvenience, with
a financial hit against me. Now it's a financial suicide for our country.

If the US military establishment is smart and they want to keep
sensitive technology here at home, they need their own engineering and
manufacturing capability. That would solve a lot of their contracting
problems with missles as well.

 

[Pooh Bear]

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:49:08 +0100, Frank Bemelman wrote:

...

Uh-oh! Looks like you got on somebody's list! I'd start watching my back.
Maybe put up a picture of Our Beloved Leader in your office or something

You mean *your* beloved leader I suspect. Beloved by half of the population
at least.

You'd surely get lynched for that in the Netherlands ?

- you know, look loyal.

Loyal to whom or what ?

I think the Dutch Royal family are pretty cool actually.
http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/UK/welcome.html

Graham

 

[Pooh Bear]

Hi Frank,

that annoyed me too. Then I recalled an article in IEEE spectrum by R.W.
Lucky, in which he railed against the intrusive demands for information
we constantly face. His epiphany was realising he doesnt have to tell
the truth; that set him free. And me too. I now positively look forward
to on-line interrogations, my aim being to identify the least useful
demographic, and supply the most contradictory information.

They seemed to accept my "crippled, deformed and retarded people" for my
target market. Next time I might try "stupid paranoid people" or perhaps
"lesbian amputees". Sex toys of course make for great product
descriptions, as does anything medical - colostomy bag sterilisers anyone?

Its rather like the announcements at airports. What, do they expect
terrorists to go up to the security desk and hand themselves in for arrest?

Apart from that, Digikey are great.

I get pissed off with stores asking for personal information too. I
found the practice to be rife in Boston, only to discover it had reared
its ugly head when I got back home. I had an interesting argument with a
guy at Radio Shack once, who demanded my phone number and zip code (cash
sale of an AAA battery) and got snotty when I said no.

After a few months of being hassled when I said no, I took to spouting
random digits - if ya cant beat 'em, shit in their database.

Did you give a 555 area code ?


Graham

 

[Pooh Bear]

What a beautiful country where people *fear* being sent to prison for
shipping a handful of tubes of Atmega8515.

I guess that's 'Constitutional Freedom' for you ?

Graham