If ever there was a nonsensical piece of legislation addressing a farcically trivial issue it is the introduction of the "Team USA Made in America Act". If ever there was proof that US senators and congressmen do nothing useful, here it is.
A hullabaloo started when it was discovered that the US Olympic Team's uniforms for the London Olympics were actually made in China. Senators clambered over each other in expressing righteous indignation at this outrage. They are now passing a law that seeks to mandate that future olympic team uniforms have to be made in the US of A.
This triggered some admittedly nostalgic memories of my first ever post when I took up blogging three plus years ago. My very first post addressed precisely this issue; so much so that I couldn't resist dredging it up.
Has much changed in three years ?
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13 comments:
These congressmen are so funny - seriously. I totally didn't understand all the uproar that happened because of such a trivial thing.
On the other side of the pond, ASLEF is going to strike during the Olympics....such a shame!
I'm just going to ignore all these things and focus on enjoying the games - my leave from work starts in a couple weeks - yippie :)!
Enjoyed Re-reading your first blog post and that is so true. One instance where nationality of a company is clear is when it is Govt owned. Otherwise it is all pretty "grey". Quest for economic benefit transcends borders and politics..
Goes on to prove that politicians all over the world are running out of ideas to run for election..but never to ruin the nation. Itha pathi 3 yearsku munnadiye postina neenga oru deergadarishi thala :)
As long as they bangalore their work. else many indian families will go jobless.
But i too have wondered why there are so less "Made in USA" products . ( agree about the cost of labor though).
These politicians seem to have been inspired by our own fanatical heroes vatal nagrajs, thackereys and karunanidhis.
Darn, where is the fun when you and I are in agreement almost all the time! :)
Here is my op-ed column from May 2009.
Stupid populism is a price we perhaps have to pay for democracy :(
@Shachi - Hey perfect timing :)
@Excalibur - Yes , except government owned companies, you can hardly define nationality. Perhaps that's also why government owned companies rarely do well.
@Gils - True - all this chest beating is for posturing for elections. Aha - that is high praise.
@Asha - Oh, we have own home grown fanatics as well. Narrow minds and rather suffering from shortage in the brains department.
@sriram - One of these days we'll find something to heartily disagree about :):)
While I agree that it is hard to define an American made product, there are times when the sentimental appeal of "made in America" (or made in X - fill in country of choice) has a place and the Olympics might just be such an occasion. Of course the political exploitation of this is too predictable and cheap. Loved reading your first post - And yes things don't change do they?
Ramesh, Your posts to me are not just entertaining but also informative and educative.
Having said that, let me tell me also tell you, have been loitering around your blog posts without leaving a comment till date.
Thanks also for introducing some other good bloggers in this place.
@J - Of course, the Olympics is all about nationalism, but surely it can't extend to clothes. Many foreign athletes live and train in the US - that doesn't seem to raise any objections. Enough of controversy - lets enjoy the sport. Hopefully we'll have many great moments
@Vincy - Thanks for your comment and welcome to this space. Thanks for your kind words.
Hmmm ... regarding nationalism .... Here is yet another way to look at the intersection of nationalism and internationalism at the Olympics--by looking at how many Olympians from different countries are/were at American universities!
the world is one crazy place, and politicians are fascinated by "false nationalism" by scanning the name of the country on the label of uniforms!!!
USC, the university where I earned my graduate degrees has a press release on it:
http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/37543/aiming-for-the-gold/
"If USC were its own nation in the Olympics, it would rank tied for eighth in the world in total gold medals earned."
American universities not only train scientists but they also train athletes.
Hey, I am not sure whether Ramesh was planning to blog an intro to lead up to ....
Ramesh's thoughts on the Chinese Communist Party are at my blog, and the post URL is:
http://sriramkhe.blogspot.com/2012/07/chinas-various-shades-of-red.html
I hope that he will keep writing related to China ...
I had read today morning that all IT companies in India are setting up offices in the US of A hiring thousands of people maybe to meet the "Buy American" norms. The best thing about business is that it always finds a way out.
And for non business people like me, i guess, this just remains a good weekend read.
a completely deviated topic, this somehow is becoming the world of today globally. we are losing leaders who put down their head, think long term and do things that are necessary for the future and these are being taken over by politicians who are more "TRP driven", prefer to stick to short term high emotional quotient issues which are absolutely inconsequent and many times unnecessary in the larger context.
Maybe the bane of more awareness in the nation and the awereness however being restricted to what they are made to hear and see.
anyways, i think i should stop my arbid thought flows here and wait eagerly for your sunday post tommorrow :-)
Trust our parliamentarians to do the same. Politics will be politics.
If there is no change such as your blog (as refreshing and as insightful as it was three years ago), I can't ask for more.
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