Opinion/Editorial
Eddie Bear's Blog hits the nail on the head.
China's largest producer of milk, Mengniu Dairy Group, announced the recall of three batches of formula made in January after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine. Melamine is the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year, only now it's not pets, rather babies who are dying and falling ill. Why use such an additive? Greed. Adding this substance to an inferior food or milk product will make it appear to be protein rich, at a fraction of the cost of producing truly protein rich products. Don't think for a minute this is limited to one milk producer, so far investigators have found nearly 70 effected milk products from more than 20 companies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said no Chinese baby formula has been allowed on the market in the United States. In a statement on its Web site, the FDA said it had reached out to all five companies making formula in the United States and none has used formula or source materials from China. Way to go U.S. milk companies! Now if all others followed suit by not using materials from communist nations, we could put many of these fears behind us. ed.
1949: Mao Zedong declares the People's Republic of China. The Chinese Nationalists flee to Taiwan. The US does not recognize the new regime, and formally refuses to do business with a communist nation. Since then the United States and China have had difficult relations to say the least. Corporate greed and the ability to manufacture products at a fraction of cost isn't saving us a penny if we have to live day to day worrying about those products in our home. It is our opinion that the Americans of 1949 had the right idea, and over the years we should have stuck to our ideals. ed.
Yes, I said it...We have nothing against the citizens of
the nations mentioned in this website, it's the suppressive communist regimes we
do not support. But there is more to it and I believe our government knows
it. Why else would we attend the Olympic games in Beijing? Why else would
be continuing to do business with a country that doesn't recognize the basic
rights of free speech, freedom of religion, and right to assemble of it's own
people? WHY? Because if we piss them off, all they have to do is stop exporting
to us! Check the labels. Everywhere you go these days it's "made in
China". Not just Wal-Mart and K-Mart... take a peek inside Macy's or
most any "high end" retailer... "made in China" dominates
the product lines beyond just clothing, toys and tools. Now imagine if
China stopped - cold turkey - no goods to the U.S.A.. We would be faced with an
economic loss that would make the great depression look like an ice cream
social. Stocks would tumble, jobs would be lost and we Americans - a nation of
consumers would not have the resources to make our own products because most
factories have already moved to China in order to save a few cents. ed.
Ok, officially it's "One World, One Dream", but you can't prove that to Former Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek who had his visa revoked by Chinese authorities, hours before he was set to travel to Beijing to urge the Chinese government to help make peace in the war-torn Darfur section of Sudan. Long time residents of Beijing are being forced from their homes to "prevent any unwanted behavior", and anyone speaking up against the communist regime is quickly removed and detained to lord knows where... U.S. President Bush stated "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates, and religious activists.” AND "the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings,”. Nice...however, how can anyone take him serious as he boards the plane to attend the Olympic games? We as a country are in moral disagreement with the government of China... It's not too late to stand up for what you believe and call for a U.S. Boycott of the games. ed.
Just a quick reminder: South Korea and North Korea fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, which means they are still technically at war.
Lawmakers in communist Vietnam approved the use of atomic
energy for civilian purposes, paving the way for the construction of its first
nuclear power plant. A parliamentary official said the
bill was passed by an "overwhelming majority," putting a legal rubber
stamp on a decision already taken at the top levels of the country's Communist
Party. Several countries including Japan, France, South Korea, Russia and
most recently China, are already lining up to build the nuclear plant, while
Canada, India and the United States have also expressed an interest in the
project. Yes, you read correctly... the United States expressed an interest in
helping this communist nation build a nuclear power plant! But it's not
likely the U.S. will win the bid as reports are already coming in saying China
is "inexpensive and extremely determined.". ed.
I'm sure you heard of the massive Earthquakes recently in
China. Our sincerest sympathies go out to the families and friends of those who
died and to those still missing. It was this earthquake that brought to light
even more corrupt government officials who are accused of ignoring construction
standards in schools for working class and poor children. In the town of Wufu,
parents kept an overnight vigil demanding that government officials explain why
the local school building collapsed, killing students, while most other
buildings around it, including a school for upper class youth or children of
officials withstood the quake. The Chinese government is claiming to help
grieving parents by giving compensation to some families whose children were
killed — about $144 per year to each parent who lost an only child. The
Ministry of Civil Affairs also announced that parents who had lost their only
child had first priority in adopting children orphaned by the disaster. ed.
A nation-wide recall on Pokemon lollipops made in China. Various metals from staples to metal shards found in the lollipops. The product is imported by Sherwood Brands, and sold in Dollar Stores, with the bar code 073964209109. The wrapping was not punctured, the objects had to be embedded during the manufacturing process. Why anyone would still purchase products, let alone food made in China is beyond us. Just because the recalls have taken a back seat in the media let's not forget to "check the labels"! ed.
Thirst is nothing image is everything: The Chinese
government doesn't want their image tarnished (anymore than it is) at the 2008
Olympics. They have instituted cheering training for their citizens. The mayor
of Beijing has cheering instructors going to factories, community centers and
"Old people's homes" to teach them how to cheer on the Chinese
Olympiads. Training includes rhythmic clapping, drumming balloons, and chanting
a pre-approved list of 20 chants. ed.
China's refusal to allow two mine sweeper to access their ports to refuel ahead of a Pacific Ocean storm and then withdrawing permission for the Kitty Hawk to dock there over Thanksgiving is just one more not so subtle attack against the United States of America. Back in 2002 they refused port to the Curtis Wilbur. They never offered an explanation then, and they haven't now only saying it was a misunderstanding. Although in 2002 the U.S. had hosted a visit with Taiwan's Defense Minister a month before, and this time the Dalai Lama had recently visited the U.S. and received the Congressional Gold Medal. "The move of the United States is a blatant interference in China's internal affairs," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. If they don't want our ships there, should they have our factories? ed.
A recent survey by Harris Interactive showed that 45% of shoppers surveyed plan to avoid buying toys made in China, where quality-control problems have caused toy recalls for lead paint and other safety violations. Steering clear of Chinese goods will certainly shrink your toy selection considerably. Chinese manufacturers spit out some 80% of toys sold in the United States, leaving us to find the remaining 20%. Check out our "Made in U.S.A." page for some help. ed.
Received an e-mail. Subject line "Cheap Stuff from China". The sender asks "Ever wonder how China makes stuff cheaper than we do?" and sent some photos to explain:
One might find photos like this amusing, if not for the
fact that these are REAL working conditions. I guarantee the workers in these
photos are not smiling.
This note written October 5, 2007. That is relevant because if you think the entire recall mess has been cleared up - know this: as of this writing eleven (11) recalls have gone into effect this month alone! 5 days... 11 recalls...and all from (you guessed it - China). You'll find them on our recalls page.
Corporate mergers, buyouts, takeovers, the heartbeat of greed that runs through the world of today: There's nothing wrong with making money, unless it actually put the entire nation at risk, including the military defense of that country, specifically of THIS country. In February of 2007 there was public uproar when the U.S.A considered handing over management of 6 major American ports to the Dubai Ports World Company, a state-run business in the United Arab Emirates. DP World was forced by U.S. lawmakers to sell the assets acquired from Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., who cited security concerns. In June the China's Peoples Liberation hacked into a Pentagon computer network serving the office of Defense. The Pentagon is still trying to determine how much data was stolen. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly raised the issue of intrusions into their military network, with the Chinese during a visit to Beijing. Part of the British House of Commons system was shut down last year due to incursions. A company called Huawei founded by a Chinese military officer in 1988, has violated U.N. sanctions against Iraq; helping Saddam Hussein's regime built a network to link the country's air-defense network. They helped the Taliban build a phone-switching system in Afghanistan prior to the overthrow of the regime, which occurred after 9/11/2001. Aided by loans from the Chinese government, the company has expanded rapidly around the globe. The company posted revenue of $8.5 billion in 2006, up from $5.98 billion in 2005 October 2007: 3Com Corporation in Massachusetts is not doing well financially. So they want to sell themselves to a company called Bain, also in Massachusetts, one of the biggest private-equity firms in the world, with ties to China and Europe and of course looking to expand those connections. So they're planning to re-sell 16.5 % of the 3Com company to HUAWEI!!!!!!!! That's right! Now it's time to follow the bouncy dollar. 3Com used to share control of a company called H3C with Huawei, to establish a presence in China, create network equipment that neither company could do alone and tap into the region's engineering talents but back in November 2006 3Com bought out Huawei's 49% , and since Bain has a no compete with H3C they need to sell off a portion of the 3Com business. Who better to sell it to than the Chinese? Here's the kicker: 3Com develops and supports the United States of America's Military defense networks and firewalls! Huawei will hold a 16.5 percent share. The deal will give it access to U.S. defense-network technology, all for a measly 2.2 Billion dollars. 3Com said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it believes "the transaction will not result in foreign control of the new company and does not pose a threat to U.S. national or homeland security." And why wouldn't they say that? Their the ones getting the money! Of course the entire deal has to be approved by the Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), of course they didn't have any problems with the Dubai Port deal until the public voiced its opinion, so MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. This is one of the most asinine business ventures in America's recent history. ed.
More than 20 million made-in-China toys have been recalled recently, mostly by U.S. companies, as exports from China manufacturers have come under scrutiny for high levels of lead and design defects. (Reuters) Here is a timeline charting 10 key moments since the toy recall saga began with this round of recalls (Find out more at our Recalls page):
Ok boys and girls....are we checking labels yet??? ed.
That's right, if you're in China this site has been deemed un-worthy to view due to the capitalist subversive information that "aims to undermine the authority of the Communist Party". http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org tracks websites to see if Chinese citizens will be allowed to view them. China's Government blocks sites that it finds objectionable, including those dealing with politically sensitive subjects such as the Falun Gong religious "cult" and independence for Taiwan and Tibet. The Chinese government does not announce or comment when a site is blocked. In checking the statistics for this site we found a hit from China, we figured it wouldn't be long, but now it's official, the Chinese Government sees us as a threat to the well being of their citizens because the version of events or political views expressed on boycottcommunism.com are not in line with those of the Chinese government. Big surprise there! Are we a threat to the Chinese citizens? No, we are a threat to the Chinese Government! and North Korea's, and Laos', and Vietnam's, and Cuba's government. Other sites censored/banned include whitehouse.gov, google.com, Washington Post, bbc news, Fox news, all of AOL, greenpeace, ebay, amnesty international, Apple, you tube, Amazon, New York Times, CNN, and the list goes on... At least we're in good company. ed.
Chinese manufactured recalls are top of the mind and media right now, Boy, can you believe how careless those Chinese are about quality?!? Yeah Right! Who is it that gave up control of the manufacturing process to begin with? Who was it that shipped millions of jobs off to Communist China, Vietnam, & Laos to save on manufacturing cost? Who was it that fired American workers to keep costs low, and profits high? American Manufacturers! It's not the Chinese who are at the root of the problem, the American Corporations, that have allowed China's factories to produce unsafe, & sub-standard products for years, (see recalls page), will continue to put profits above American's safety until they lose customers and money. The toys that have been in the most recent recalls of Aug 07, were not just manufacturer in July of 07. They go back as far as 2001 for the Thomas the Tank spinning tops. These companies have given no thought to the quality of the products, and have relied upon Foreign countries to protect American citizens. Only when they've been caught with their pants down, have they offered to step up and test not only the finished products but the paint and individual components prior to assembly. Who are they going to get to do the testing? Another Communist Government run company?!? It's time to wake up to the old truth that if you want something done right you'd better do you yourself! We've been giving jobs to and supporting Communism for far too long, and guess what, there have been price increases over the years, but with the highest Chinese minimum wage being $91.08 a MONTH, it probably wasn't due to labor costs! And certainly if they had kept the factories in the U.S. open, the price increases would have been just as subtle. No manufacturer is going to double the price of their product overnight. The balance of costs and labor to profits are adjusted slowly. Similar to the way a can of cola in a vending machine has gone from 45 cents to $1.00 or more in the last 15 years. Some of these companies have been willing to keep their prices "artificially" low and profit from the reduced labor cost, while others, have happily increased the price of their articles, while paying absurdly low labor costs and profiting from both ends of the process. Letting greed guide their business practices to the detriment of the American society. One way or the other WE as Americans will be paying a higher price for the goods we want, whether it'll be a 20 cent price hike for something made by Americans or a sick child from lead base paint used by factories that want to produce cheap goods and high profits, that's our choice isn't it? Choose wisely, choose morally. Stop supporting Communism with American dollars. ed.
Sept. 12 -- Brazil suspended licenses held by Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, to import its goods into the country after a recall of more than 21 million Chinese- made toys that began last month….Brazil is probably Mattel's second-largest market in Latin America after Mexico, according to Sean McGowan, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in New York. ``Brazil is not an insignificant market,'' McGowan wrote today in a research note. ``It is yet another story that keeps this issue alive.''(Bloomberg) Heaven forbid!!! Keep the issue ALIVE? Maybe… just maybe if enough countries CEASE dealing with communist countries the "issue" will no longer be an issue. Way to go Brazil! ed.
Add the above reports to what you already know about communist's stand on human rights. Then let your conscience guide you on whether or not you will support the Beijing Olympics, where it seems it's not whether you win or loose, as long as you win for the "Glory of the Country". ed.
Car maker Nissan said it was recalling tens of thousands of mugs it gave away in Japan because the paint contains excessive lead. It said it took the action after a hapless car-shopper fell ill after drinking from one of the mugs and complained. Nissan Motor said the cups, which it was giving to anyone who test-drove one of its cars in Japan during a sales initiative that started on August 16,(2007) had a lead content that was more than 30 percent above the permissible level. Japan's third-biggest carmaker said it would recall the mugs, which it said could have reached as many as 87,000 potential customers. It did not know the identity of the manufacturer in China. (Reuters) This is worse than consumers Not Checking Labels! How in the world can a company order 87 thousand cups and NOT KNOW who they ordered them from???? Furthermore, by not knowing or revealing the manufacturer, how can others know NOT to order similar products? ed.
Back in the day, you could count on
some things being made with pride in the U.S.A.. But sadly, these days even
products that where invented, developed, produced and
manufactured in America are being outsourced. American factories closing and
production moved. Guess where?
Zheng Xiaoyu has been executed. The charge: taking bribes, looking the other way when it came to following procedure. The Chinese government called it dereliction of duty. Mr. Xiaoyu was the head of China's State food and Drug administration. With all the press about Chinese recalls recently, it appears the Chinese have shifted all responsibility to one man, and with his death we are supposed to be reassured that all future shipments from China will be fine? Do you truly believe this communist nation would have taken any action if China recalls where not headline news? Mr Xiaoyu was in charge for seven (7) years. Ok, without digging back too far, who was in charge back in 1994 when we heard of the lead-based crayon recall? (13 years ago). There was no execution because it was quickly and quietly "fixed", then swept under the rug. This time, the country doesn't have a rug big enough. ed.
Caterpillar Inc., based in Peoria Illinois has announced plans for a new Chinese manufacturing facility that could turn out as many as 100,000 diesel engines a year. Caterpillar spokesman Rusty Dunn says it's a significant symbol of Caterpillar's commitment to China and the region. (Peoria Journal Star) Dear Mr. Dunn, how about your commitment to the workers and economy of the United States? How many Americans would have a job if you built the factory in the U.S.? Have the news articles about defective communist products meant nothing to you? Or perhaps you have forgotten Caterpillar's own experience with the recent recall of Chinese made Caterpillar brand steel-toe logger boots? (recall info) ed.
In China, Big Brother is watching, or in this case popping up on Web browsers every half hour, in cartoon form. Animated Internet officers who will walk, bike or drive across the screen warning browsers to stay away from illegal Internet content. China already picks through the Internet to block content it finds politically or morally threatening. But, despite the Communist Party's efforts, non-government approved materials still seep onto Chinese Internet servers. The cartoon cop, is supposed to deter you from even trying to find them. Our best guess… this site is blocked. Ignorance is bliss… knowledge is power, and the Chinese government much prefers their people to be Blissful. ed.
North Korea has started building a barbed wire fence along parts of its border, in an apparent move to prevent North Koreans from fleeing the impoverished communist country. (AP 8-27-07) Reports say that many of the refugees take a long and risky journey through China to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries on their way to eventual asylum. Godspeed to those travelers. ed.
One World One Dream, may sound like good thought, but if that
One World where to fall under China's Dream... So the nation that bases its economy on the sweat and toil of "peasants", who are not allowed to own the house they live in, and are only allowed one child per couple... Some Dream. Sounds more like a nightmare to me. ed.
Just a quick "check the label" report. If you love your cup of Joe in the morning, you may wish to avoid Robusta. Not only is it possible it was grown in a communist nation, but ilovecoffee.com reports that most robusta coffee is of a lower grade and inferior to Arabica which grow in semitropical climates near the equator.
ed. |
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