At 06:17 PM 8/17/96 +0600, you wrote:
In the case of Coke, I can understand the government not wanting to spend precious foreign exchange on sugared water in a country where there is a serious shortage of drinking water. Tim made the perfectly valid point that such decisions cost the country in reputation, but the Indian government doesn't mind loss of reputation in matters it firmly believes in, as in the current CTBT discussion.
There is a central point here that you are missing. Many of us here believe in the absolute, sovereign freedom of the individual. Governments should only be minimally involved with the earning of individuals. Control over the distribution of currency abroad, (i.e. foreign exchange controls) is definitely not one of them. As I understand the story of Coke in India, New Delhi was bent, among other things, on stealing proprietary information, (i.e. the formula for Coke) from the company. In short, they told Coke that they could stay only on condition that the formula was turned over to New Delhi. Yes, they cloaked their proposed theft in high sound nationalistic tripe, however it was nothing but a blatant attempt to steal what was not theirs. I do not claim a complete knowledge about the availability of fresh water on the Indian Sub-Continent. But I would be willing to wager that lack of progress in this area was severely hampered due to the typical, Statist meddling of the Indian government in the lives of its own people. It is immoral for any government to interfere in the personal choices of free men and women. If any person wishes to partake of a high quality, and probably locally expensive soft drink in preference to either local brands or water, scare or not, such a choice should be left to them, not to an Collectivist cabal of bureaucrats. What the Socialist Governments of India have never comprehended is that a government intent on doing you good is capable of doing you out of everything you own! Simplistic? Yes......simplicity is one of freedom's chief virtues. Regards, VINCENT L. DIAZ U-SAVE COMMUNICATIONS Business Line: 619-277-2411 Fax Line: 619-277-0298 http://www.cognigen.com/agencies/