ClydeR
07-23-2012, 09:54 PM
Madeleine Albright's circa 2008 book, "Memo to the President Elect," offers this nugget about her own experience seeing the 2002 Olympics uniforms were made in Burma, which she says she brought to Mitt Romney's attention at the time. Albright was one of the Olympic torch carriers. From the book:
This episode is worth recounting because every prospective torch carrier was given, courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee, a special uniform consisting of a nylon sports jacket and matching pants. When my uniform arrived, I glanced at the label, which read “Made in Myanmar,” that is, Burma, a country that suffers under one of the most repressive governments on Earth. It was not yet illegal to import clothing from Burma, but public pressure had induced most U.S. retailers to stop doing business there. I had my own grounds for revulsion, having visited the country to pledge support for its courageous democratic leader, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. I was furious about the uniform but knew it was too late to reorder all the clothing, though I did go out and buy my own shirt and pants (Made in America). When I arrived in Salt Lake City, I informed Mitt Romney, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, about the gaffe; he thanked me kindly for keeping my mouth shut. The following year, Congress approved a ban on all imports from Burma.
More... (http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/07/albright-recalls-romney-thanks-for-keeping-my-mouth-129818.html)
When Romney refused to comment (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7414808n) on the USOC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Olympic_Committee) decision to order the 2012 US Olympic uniforms from China, I figure it was just because he had a record of outsourcing American jobs and didn't want to raise that issue again. But now I realize it was because he made the same decision in 2002 when he was in a position to affect the selection of uniforms.
In case you didn't figure it out, Madeleine Albright was one of the torch bearers in 2002.
This episode is worth recounting because every prospective torch carrier was given, courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee, a special uniform consisting of a nylon sports jacket and matching pants. When my uniform arrived, I glanced at the label, which read “Made in Myanmar,” that is, Burma, a country that suffers under one of the most repressive governments on Earth. It was not yet illegal to import clothing from Burma, but public pressure had induced most U.S. retailers to stop doing business there. I had my own grounds for revulsion, having visited the country to pledge support for its courageous democratic leader, the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. I was furious about the uniform but knew it was too late to reorder all the clothing, though I did go out and buy my own shirt and pants (Made in America). When I arrived in Salt Lake City, I informed Mitt Romney, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, about the gaffe; he thanked me kindly for keeping my mouth shut. The following year, Congress approved a ban on all imports from Burma.
More... (http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/07/albright-recalls-romney-thanks-for-keeping-my-mouth-129818.html)
When Romney refused to comment (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7414808n) on the USOC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Olympic_Committee) decision to order the 2012 US Olympic uniforms from China, I figure it was just because he had a record of outsourcing American jobs and didn't want to raise that issue again. But now I realize it was because he made the same decision in 2002 when he was in a position to affect the selection of uniforms.
In case you didn't figure it out, Madeleine Albright was one of the torch bearers in 2002.