This is one for the books. Have you ever wondered how to innocent reports, originating at two different countries or places, have a habit of coming together to ring a bell? Today is such a day.
One hand we learn that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has procured by deceit 485 grams of sodium-thiopental, which is enough to kill 166 Americans who have been awarded death sentence, from India.
Now I am not willing to get into an argument whether death sentence is moral or not. My personal view is that as long as death sentence is in the books, and as long as it has been awarded and confirmed by the Judiciary of a country, it should be carried out at the earliest. I don’t care whether it is by hanging them with a rope as is the practice back home or by injecting drugs like sodium thiopental or electric chair like in the US, or decapitation by sword as practised in Arab world.
What this post is about is that an arm of US Government (as far as a foreign entity is concerned, a State Government is part and parcel of US executive) does not mind procuring a drug to executed convicted Americans, from India, even resorting to falsehood and outright lies to do so.
OTOH, we have the self same US Government berating the Iraqis for buying Rice from India to feed its millions of citizens. It seems 12 legislators from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, have written a letter to the Iraqi Trade Representative asking him to buy long-grain rice from the US instead of the basmati from India.
Now I am not willing to get into an argument whether the long-grain rice from the USA is superior in content to Indian basmati or whether the basmati does boast a better aroma and flavour than the US long-grain variety.
What this post is about is that representatives of the US Government do not mind blatantly saying that if we (the US) give you aid, support and succour, then we expect you to be beholden to us and trade exclusively with us. Even if such exclusive trade doesn’t make economic sense as better quality, lower priced alternatives may be available.
Matter of fact there is an ongoing dispute on whether the long-grain rice grown in Texas and Kansas can be called Texmati and Kasmati respectively or whether it infringes the traditional basmati identification. The dispute is complex. Complex because of the way the Intellectual Property laws have been framed and not because of any justifiable reason. Come on! Who has ever heard of anything called ‘mati’ relating to rice or wheat in America? Isn’t using of ‘mati’ suffix, which is not a native English one, itself is an immoral, dishonest act?
(image courtesy RiceSelect)
My Wicked half whispers, ‘Isn’t it funny? Indian drugs to kill Americans is all right, but Indian rice to feed Iraqis is not good!’
One hand we learn that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has procured by deceit 485 grams of sodium-thiopental, which is enough to kill 166 Americans who have been awarded death sentence, from India.
Now I am not willing to get into an argument whether death sentence is moral or not. My personal view is that as long as death sentence is in the books, and as long as it has been awarded and confirmed by the Judiciary of a country, it should be carried out at the earliest. I don’t care whether it is by hanging them with a rope as is the practice back home or by injecting drugs like sodium thiopental or electric chair like in the US, or decapitation by sword as practised in Arab world.
What this post is about is that an arm of US Government (as far as a foreign entity is concerned, a State Government is part and parcel of US executive) does not mind procuring a drug to executed convicted Americans, from India, even resorting to falsehood and outright lies to do so.
OTOH, we have the self same US Government berating the Iraqis for buying Rice from India to feed its millions of citizens. It seems 12 legislators from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, have written a letter to the Iraqi Trade Representative asking him to buy long-grain rice from the US instead of the basmati from India.
Now I am not willing to get into an argument whether the long-grain rice from the USA is superior in content to Indian basmati or whether the basmati does boast a better aroma and flavour than the US long-grain variety.
What this post is about is that representatives of the US Government do not mind blatantly saying that if we (the US) give you aid, support and succour, then we expect you to be beholden to us and trade exclusively with us. Even if such exclusive trade doesn’t make economic sense as better quality, lower priced alternatives may be available.
Matter of fact there is an ongoing dispute on whether the long-grain rice grown in Texas and Kansas can be called Texmati and Kasmati respectively or whether it infringes the traditional basmati identification. The dispute is complex. Complex because of the way the Intellectual Property laws have been framed and not because of any justifiable reason. Come on! Who has ever heard of anything called ‘mati’ relating to rice or wheat in America? Isn’t using of ‘mati’ suffix, which is not a native English one, itself is an immoral, dishonest act?
(image courtesy RiceSelect)
My Wicked half whispers, ‘Isn’t it funny? Indian drugs to kill Americans is all right, but Indian rice to feed Iraqis is not good!’
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