Chinese poison

[Twitch]

Ok it's been going like crazy- 1st poison pet food, a myriad of lead painted toys, poison toothpaste and today baby bibs full of lead. One guy was executed already and another commited suicide over there.

So what's you take on all this crazyness?:eusa_doh:

 

[PA Dancer]

...and people think I'm crazy for buying products made in the USA.

I honestly don't know what to think about it.
I have seen news reports about a lack of quality control...
I just don't know, (sigh) but it is very depressing to think that this can happen today with everything that has been going on since 911.

The thing that scared me the most was seeing the report that said that grain that was used in the pet food could have just as easily been human food.

 

[LocktownDog]

It all comes down to money. Look what corporations here are doing to save a buck. Everything, including labor, goes overseas now. I called customer service for my satellite dish hook-up and got a Pakistani named "Frank" trying to help me. But I couldn't understand him and he couldn't understand me, so after 45 minutes I was finally connected with an operator here in the States. The government needs to get a tighter control on regulations for these corporations. No more tax breaks.

Richard

 

[Gilbey]

But I still like Chinese food. Always will ... lol

 

[Hondo]

Decline of western civilization, due in part or all by the U.S. being lazy, having too much money, buy buy buy. Land grab, greed.
Look no further than farms in the U.S. You what to know why milk prices are so high? Farms being sold to make way for new homes, import all goods, products from China. The American way? :rage:
One day unless we (western USA) change, will owe everything, lock stock and barrel to China. What would happen if China cashes in her chips? “Give us California” Why make war when you can over a period of time silently over take the whole country?

 

[Rick Blaine]

When you turn over regulatory authority to what are, in effect ancillaries of the very industries they are meant to be regulating, this is what results. The last 25 yrs. have seen a wholesale dismantling of US consumer protection. Every agency from the FCC to Food & Drug to Transportation has been gutted. The foxes are watching the henhouse, as we say 'round hyer. When EVERYTHING has a price NOTHING has value.

 

[LaMedicine]

They are exporting air pollution to neighboring countries for free...no export/import taxes required

It's a country with a population of over 1.3 billion people. Even if the recent ecomomic affluence is enjoyed by 10% of the population, that means that over 1 billion people are still left behind in the dusts of the rich getting richer in the cities, are left seriously undereducated, and being exploited by the rougue enterprenuers who exploit their lack of knowledge about industrial standards and safety to make more money--for themselves.

I recently saw a TV report on a Chinese village where people made their living by recovering precious metals from discarded computers. They collected these metals by boiling computer parts in oil drums containing cyanide solutions in dilapidated sheds. These people had know knowledge whatsoever of how dangerous cyanide is. They were doing it for the money, and it was so scary.

Until all the workers and employers alike are educated and understand why safety standards are necessary, the consumers have to be on their toes.

 

[Smyat]

When you turn over regulatory authority to what are, in effect ancillaries of the very industries they are meant to be regulating, this is what results.

Yah, I don't disagree with you, Rick. My wife works in an industry strongly affected by the power of big Pharma and it's appalling how much interbreeding there is between the drug makers and their supposed regulators. It's damn near left-hand, right-hand in some cases. We have got to restore strong regulation in the industries that have people's health and lives in their hands.

Not quite sure how this applies to the Chinese product situation, though. I don't know if we can inspect everything they produce for us down to the relatively subtle problems that have been cropping up lately. We need to force them to police their own industry to global standards or stop buying from them... and I don't see how to do either very well.

I'm not too sure I buy the "America is fat and lazy and just wants to buy everything" argument advanced in this thread, either. Not entirely. A high standard of living and strong economy means we want to buy stuff and that fewer people want to work on assembly lines to build it. It's a natural consequence of the situation and I'd hesitate before calling it a national character flaw or moral lapse.

Simple example: I don't think any cel phones are made in the US any more. Are you willing to give up yours because it was made overseas? If no, does that make you a greedy, lazy 'Murrican who's sold out and is weak in the moral fiber department?

 

[Smyat]

Ok it's been going like crazy- 1st poison pet food, a myriad of lead painted toys, poison toothpaste and today baby bibs full of lead. One guy was executed already and another commited suicide over there.

So what's you take on all this crazyness?:eusa_doh:

I think that "Russian Officer Syndrome" might be a fine thing for US top managers who fail on this scale to consider sometimes. lol

 

[staggerwing]

Decline of western civilization, due in part or all by the U.S. being lazy, having too much money, buy buy buy. Land grab, greed.
Look no further than farms in the U.S. You what to know why milk prices are so high? Farms being sold to make way for new homes, import all goods, products from China. The American way? :rage:
One day unless we (western USA) change, will owe everything, lock stock and barrel to China. What would happen if China cashes in her chips? “Give us California” Why make war when you can over a period of time silently over take the whole country?

I respectfully disagree Hondo. Americans as people are not lazy, nor do we as individuals have "too much money." In fact, the standard of living in the US has been falling for years. Much of the reason for that is big corporations and government have sold us out. Big corporations close down their US plants and buy crud from places like China to cut costs. And remember, the reason for the cost cutting is not the "greedy American workers." These companies can be profitable and still pay a living American wage. However, corporate CEOs and other top executives now receive the bulk of their compensation in the form of stock options and related incentives. Cutting costs is a sure fire way to boost the stock price. A couple of points up and our CEO has made hundreds of millions! So, for the short term personal gain, they sell us out.

I suppose this sounds like one of those banned political rants, but it is the truth.

 

[RondoHatton]

Where's Sinclair Lewis when you need him?

Current situation reminds me of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Look_Up
John Brunner had seen the future and it is here?
The USA had early experience with poison foodstuffs -
Jamaica ginger...“jake”.
See:
http://www.ibiblio.org/moonshine/drink/jake.html
See:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/26/messages/10.html
JAKE LEG - Paralysis brought on by drinking jake, Jamaican ginger extract, a patent medicine. It is believed that the malady was first discovered in Oklahoma City by Dr. Ephraim Goldfain in February 1930...What had turned the harmless patent medicine into a crippler was the addition of tri-ortho-cresyl-phosphate, TOCP, a "plasticizer" used to keep synthetic materials from becoming brittle. This was during Prohibition and the Treasury Department tackled "the problem of people getting too much pleasure from patent-medicine tippling by ordering that the solids in fluid extracts be doubled." TOCP was believed to be harmless and was used to "boost the solids."

 

[Hondo]

You made a point, thats O.K. Opinons are welcome, no bickering, I'm not looking for a fight, cool? I suppose not all Americans are greedy, lazy, I’m probably one of them myself, I mean capitalist, and who isn't? also don’t mean to imply just China, we can add a few more countries, like India, you know out sourcing work to save costs but at what risks to the future? You see less and less farming, then import/export of goods, more imports, there is (in my opinion) a silent take over being done, I’m too old to worry but the future generations have something to deal with. Discussions have been making the rounds if America is the new Rome, Raise and Fall.

Now if (heaven forbid) U.S. military starts taking control by force over its own citizens what happens to the constitution, civil rights of all?
Something to ponder.

About pollution in China, has any one seen where the Olympics will be? Its so smoggy, I doubt seriously China will clear the air for Olympic games next year, if recent pictures are any indication its smog-ville worse than in Los Angeles, CA.

I respectfully disagree Hondo. Americans as people are not lazy, nor do we as individuals have "too much money." In fact, the standard of living in the US has been falling for years. Much of the reason for that is big corporations and government have sold us out. Big corporations close down their US plants and buy crud from places like China to cut costs. And remember, the reason for the cost cutting is not the "greedy American workers." These companies can be profitable and still pay a living American wage. However, corporate CEOs and other top executives now receive the bulk of their compensation in the form of stock options and related incentives. Cutting costs is a sure fire way to boost the stock price. A couple of points up and our CEO has made hundreds of millions! So, for the short term personal gain, they sell us out.

I suppose this sounds like one of those banned political rants, but it is the truth.

 

[Undertow]

I suppose you can sum this all up with "you get what you pay for".

That and prepare for this in the future when we start buying even more from overseas. If it's cheaper, capatilism recommends cutting costs! [huh]

 

[Rick Blaine]

Where's Sinclair Lewis when you need him?

Or Upton Sinclair, for that matter.
This thread started me to thinking Sinclair’s The Jungle & Fast Food Nation are bookends that bracket a century of worker abuse & food adulteration. It is profoundly disheartening that 100 yrs. after The Jungle we would be able to still see a book like FFN. Some pinko commie-symp once said "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."

 

[Ben]

This is a complicated question, but I think that everyone in this thread has mentioned at least part of the problem.

The good thing is that most of the people on this board are part of the solution.

The solution is searching for quality. Often that means buying American. Both of these seem to be a strong part of the ethos of the Lounge members.

Where something is made influences my buying decisions, and I will pay more for American made things. I think I have converted my wife too, who probably dind't think about it as much before she met me.

I think we can also help by telling companies that we like when they stock American made things.

I would argue European made things are probably the next best thing because of the stricter laws -- no sweatshops, environmental regulations, and history of craftmanship.

Also, I think there is a business opportunity here. If I had some money, I would jump on this and try to open a toy company with domestic manufacturing. Any entreprenuers or venture capitalists in the house?

 

[pretty faythe]

lol yumm yumm

But I still like Chinese food. Always will ... lol

 

[KL15]

Ok it's been going like crazy- 1st poison pet food, a myriad of lead painted toys, poison toothpaste and today baby bibs full of lead. One guy was executed already and another commited suicide over there.

So what's you take on all this crazyness?:eusa_doh:

When you get in bed with communists, what do you expect is going to happen? I know politics are banned, but this is simply too obvious I think.

 

[PA Dancer]

...The solution is searching for quality. Often that means buying American....

I have blogs about this on my myspace page.
It drives me nuts that I can't buy everything I want from American companies.
Clothing is near impossible to find, although B Moss Clothing, where I do the majority of my shopping a lot of their clothing is made here in the USA.

Everything else I want I drive myself batty looking for, but when I find it I feel happy to know that it is still available, and feel accomplished finding it.

Bed sheets, book shelves, and a metal cheese grater were amoung the last searches.

 

[KL15]

I have blogs about this on my myspace page.
It drives me nuts that I can't buy everything I want from American companies.
Clothing is near impossible to find, although B Moss Clothing, where I do the majority of my shopping a lot of their clothing is made here in the USA.

Everything else I want I drive myself batty looking for, but when I find it I feel happy to know that it is still available, and feel accomplished finding it.

Bed sheets, book shelves, and a metal cheese grater were amoung the last searches.

AMEN!!! I may have to pay more for buying American. But if I have a choice, I'll pay gladly.

 

[Paisley]

You forgot about the acidic flip flops of doom. Here is what they did to one person's feet (note: the pictures are unpleasant).

Ok it's been going like crazy- 1st poison pet food, a myriad of lead painted toys, poison toothpaste and today baby bibs full of lead. One guy was executed already and another commited suicide over there.

So what's you take on all this crazyness?:eusa_doh: