STATE DEPARTMENT THINKS AGAIN

The Orrefors contract worth over $5 million for U.S. embassy glassware (mentioned in Kovels' Komments, April 14, 2010) brought over 70 blog comments, almost all outraged at the idea of Swedish glass being used to represent America overseas. And even more questioned the need for the glassware, the expense, the loss of U.S. jobs, and the no-bid contract. Many asked what they could do and many others suggested you write or email your senators and representatives to make your thoughts known. Fortunately, the two senators from New York and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio were able to push the State Department to "relook at the contract." The first year will be unchanged, but the next four years of the contracts will be re-bid. We will report any future developments.

BEST OF LAST WEEK'S BLOG

Here's the best of the comments on the State Department glassware purchase mentioned above (go to ezine, April 14, 2010). Few of our bloggers approved of the sale:
Kristen, NY said ...

I searched online: NY Senators Schumer and Gillebrand and Sen. Brown of Ohio are addressing this outrageous no-bid contract. American glass companies will be able to bid, but evidently not until fall 2010. Former NY Sen. Clinton should have done much better on this as 1) she knows well the economic problems in the state and 2) outsourcing production goes against what she has said about the U.S. needing to manufacture goods to remain strong. The State Dept. acknowledges an "error" in not ascertaining that Steuben does make the lead-free glass they need. Ridiculous!

And a warning from a blogger about the Chinese silver story:

I am a jeweler and it (Chinese silver) has taken over the silver market in jewelry. They plate it in copper, then nickel and then sometimes in rhodium; it looks great at first, but when heated for repairs the copper bubbles up and the plating cracks off and looks horrible. It is hard to detect in a lot of instances.

MOON ROCK IN RIJKSMUSEUMN IS PETRIFIED WOOD

Watch out for fakes. Even museums are fooled. The famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has a "moon rock" that isn't from the moon. The U.S. ambassador had given the rock to the Dutch prime minister when the Apollo 11 astronauts visited the Netherlands in 1969. The former ambassador says he got it from the U.S. State Department and thought it was authentic. When the museum was given the rock in 1988, officials there called NASA and were told that the rock could be real. Now we know it's just a piece of petrified wood. It will stay on display as a "curiosity."