We’re back from vacation and we’re back with a grab bag of things:

• University of Tennessee Professor J. Reece Roth was convicted on eighteen counts, including violations of the Arms Export Control Act for permitting foreign graduate students to have access to information relating to an Air Force project on the use of plasma technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the report on the Knoxville News Sentinel‘s website, a key piece of evidence proving that Roth had knowledge that his conduct was illegal was a set of notes that divided the work between an American graduate student and the Chinese graduate student in order to keep export-controlled technical data away from the graduate student. When this arrangement impeded progress on the project, the students were allowed to share data. Roth claimed that he didn’t believe the information was export-controlled until the project netted an actual military product, a claim that would appear inconsistent with his initial division of work on the project between the American and the Chinese graduate student.
• The Denver Business Journal supplies more information on the Platte River Associates prosecution for allegedly violating the Cuba embargo. The attorney for Platte River told the Denver Business Journal that the prosecution arises from training that the company gave to an employee of a Spanish company, Repsol, that had previously purchased geological modeling software used for oil exploration. The employee arrived with seismic data that appeared to relate to the western Caribbean and possibly to Cuba. There is apparently no allegation that Platte River dealt with any Cubans or the Cuban Government, nor any allegation that Repsol actually used the software in connection with a Cuban project. Instead, it now appears that the government’s case is based not on the sale of the software but the training of the Repsol employee. It’s still a tenuous connection without proof that Repsol used the software in connection with dealings with the Cuban government.
• Someone has made a broad-ranging Freedom of Information Act request at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), apparently seeking copies of all applications for licenses to export agricultural and medical products to Iran. This has prompted OFAC to send letters to licensees requiring the licensees to assert in writing any claims that information in these licenses is proprietary or confidential to the licensee. Does anyone have any information on who may be seeking this information and why? Please let me know in the comments section.