1890 Out Source

I read a disturbing article in an online news source recently. Wow. I just noticed how natural that was to say. I used to say, I read an interesting article in the newspaper recently. But I never do that anymore. At least read them on paper. It's always an online news source these days. Or electronic anyhow, whether it's from the web, or a mobile device, or radio.
The times they have a-changed. That's what got me about this story. Change. Seems Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturers of a generic brand of Lipitor, have had to recall some tablets. Because they contained bits of glass.
Youch.
Great slogan though. "Generic Lipitor, now with added glass."
In one way it might be good, those little bits of glass floating around slicing cholesterol build-up off your arteries. But probably not.
The article I read tried to clarify the dimensions of the glass particles and said they were about the same size as grains of sand. Wait a minute. Aren't grains of sand silica? And isn't that what they use to make glass?
So isn't it possible that instead of adding chalk or other inactive mineral to inertly mold them into pills, they added sand instead? Sounds like some non-thought out, unregulated, third world substitution. Like adding melamine to baby formula in China.
But that wouldn't happen to a U.S. drug, right?
Well, actually, the generic Lipitor was made in India. Home of political corruption, bribed safety inspectors, and offshore computer tech support.
We all know how well that's worked out.
So what if some enemy decided to add LSD instead of glass? I'm thinking outsourcing our drugs is not a good national security move.
Then again, that may be because the imported generic drugs I take for my paranoia aren't working right.
America, ya gotta love it.