Upgrade Blues
In upgrading to WordPress 2.9.1 today, I had a bit of a problem and lost some of the files that control how this blog looks. I’ve recreated most of them, but the blog is still looking a little odd and…
A Metaphysical Question
ABOVE: The ADE-651 On Tuesday my colleague in our London Office, Anita Esslinger, forwarded to me a directive from British export authorities adding “electro-statically powered explosive detectors” to its list of export-controlled items, otherwise known as the 2008 Export Control…
This Isn’t the Transparency You Were Hoping For?
My colleague Stan Marcuss points out that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) appears to have changed course in treating Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests and has decided to hand out OFAC license applications willy-nilly to anyone who…
BIS Is from Mars and DDTC Is from Venus
There has never been a seriously-advocated rational reason for the U.S., unlike most other countries, to have one export agency regulating exports of weapons and a separate export agency regulating exports of dual use items. A new regulation adopted by…
DDTC Updates Firearms and Ammunition Export Guideline
On Tuesday, the website of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls announced that it had updated its “Guidelines for the Permanent Export, Temporary Export and Temporary Import of Firearms and Ammunitions.” Although DDTC did not identify or explain the changes…