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Volume 71, Issue 118,
Monday, April 3, 2006
News Diplomat sees global picture by ZACH HAVERKAMP
On Friday, U.S. Ambassador Charles Ray, UH's diplomat in residence, stressed the crucial role international affairs play in day-to-day American life in a speech, "Sneaker Diplomacy: The Everyday Impact of Foreign Policy." The political science department and the Political Science Graduate School Association hosted the presentation in Phillip Guthrie Hoffman Hall. Ray introduced his sentiment by citing the world economy's relationship to foreign-made, U.S. worn shoes. Based on his visits to Nike and Reebok factories in Southeast Asia, Ray said the sneaker market is dependent on an unexpected industry. "There (are around) 32 separate components that they get to (manufacture the shoes). About half of those 32 components are made from polyurethane products — polyurethane is a petroleum-based product. "If you consider that, and consider that the factories and machines in the factories run on energy … even electricity comes from petroleum generators — most countries in the third world don't have nuclear energy," he said. "Trucks that take them from the factory to the seaport, the forklifts that bring them to the ships, the ships that bring them to the U.S.; all use petroleum or petroleum-based products. The effect of the price (of oil and) the effect of the availability (could create a situation where) you have no shoes," Ray said. Ray went on to emphasize how America's oil use extends to a wider range of industries than most realize. Petroleum-based products are involved in the production of products as diverse as hair gel, wood varnish, synthetic plastics, car seats, surfboards and condoms, Ray said. "When we talk about dependency on foreign oil, we tend to just look at developing (alternatives) for cars. What about all those plastic products that we use and throw away on a daily basis?" Ray said. The U.S. domestic economy's well being is beholden to a wide variety of issues, including the effect of diseases like the HIV/AIDS virus on foreign U.S. manufacturing plants' workforces, and U.S. economic repercussions from conflicts in countries such as Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. Understanding these issues is integral to having a proper perspective on world events, Ray said. "What it amounts to is what we drive, what we wear, what we eat, what we play with; our safety and security, the amount of money we have in our paycheck … they're all impacted by events often half a world or more away," Ray said. Ray has more than twenty years of experience working for the U.S. State Department. After leaving a twenty-year military career in 1982, he held a number of diplomatic posts, including U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China. He was the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and deputy chief of mission in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Before coming to UH in late 2005, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia from 2002 to 2005. Ray attended the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. from 1996 to 1997. As the UH Diplomat in Residence, his primary job is recruiting foreign students for jobs in the U.S. foreign services or State Department. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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