| Author |
Message |
theAutumn45
Rocker
Joined: Oct 28, 2005
Posts: 796
|
 Posted:
Aug 03, 2007 - 11:57 PM |
 
|
| Post subject: The China Scare |
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/IH04Cb01.html
Nothing is scarier than the China scare
By Debasish Roy Chowdhury
BEIJING - A new food scare has gripped the United States, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging people to throw away more than 90 different products, made at a Castleberry's Food Co plant, from chili sauce to corned-beef hash to dog food, for fears that they are causing botulism, a muscle-paralyzing disease.
Seven cases of botulism have so far been reported. Most victims consumed a hotdog chili sauce made at the company's plant in
the US state of Georgia that has been temporarily closed. The recall has been expanded to Canada as well.
Castleberry's is owned by Bumble Bee Foods, the largest branded seafood company in North America - not in China, the evil land from where all the toxic food and lethal products in the world supposedly emanate.
The list of product recalls in the United States in recent months is almost inexhaustible. In March, Ford Motor Co recalled 2008 Super Duty trucks made in a Kentucky plant after reports of tailpipe fires in the diesel version of the vehicles; in June, California-based United Food Group recalled 34,000 kilograms of ground-beef products after they were suspected to have been contaminated with the bacterium Escherichia coli (E coli); and in July, Sara Lee Corp began to recall dozens of its whole-wheat bread brands made at a Mississippi bakery for fears that they contained pieces of metal.
But the product scares and recalls the US media seem fixated on are the ones from China. It is the faulty tires, toothpaste, pet food, seafood and toys with a China connection that are making all the news, with cover stories, editorials and television programs harping on how China's "substandard" manufacturing methods are putting American consumers at risk, how the factory to the world is actually one big sham, and proffering ways to keep off products with any trace of China.
As a bonus, the China horror story even has a feel-good subtext - nothing can match US quality; if China makes goods cheaper than the US, now you know how: by cutting corners.
This fear of Chinese products is reinforced by administrative measures. At the height of the product scare, the US government quickly formed a cabinet-level panel to recommend how to guarantee the safety of imported food and other products. In this self-delusional world of policymaking, the Castleberry's and the United Food Groups do not exist, it is only the products coming from outside the United States that pose a threat.
Though it was denied that the move was aimed at China, the announcement came the same day US senators heard testimony from quality regulators about problems caused by the extremely rapid growth of imports from China.
That is really what this is all about - rising imports from China. It is not the Chinese-product scare; what is actually being played out is the China scare - the antiquated, mercantilist fear of imports that China's growing economic might evokes.
Chinese exports to the US last year were nearly triple those of just five years ago. Chinese exports to the United States totaled US$288 billion, while US exports to China totaled $55 billion.
But according to the Cato Institute, Americans have never earned or spent a higher share of their income in the global economy than they do today. In 2006, what the US earned through exports and income from foreign investments abroad reached a record 15.6% of gross domestic product. Since China's entry to the World Trade Organization in 2001, US exports to this country have grown from $19 billion to $55 billion, an annual average growth of 24%.
Despite the din about how China is getting ahead with its undervalued yuan, real output of US factories has increased by 50% since China pegged its currency to the US dollar in 1994.
Despite the rhetoric of how ("substandard") Chinese products are stealing jobs from Americans rendered powerless by this unforeseen consequence of globalization, trade with China accounts for a mere 1% of annual job displacement in the US.
By Cato's estimates, at the most 150,000 jobs are lost in the US every year because of imports from China, compared with 15 million jobs that disappear annually in the US economy primarily as a result of technological changes and the consequent increase in productivity.
Productivity gains have actually taken a bigger toll on employment in China than in the US. A study by Alliance Capital Management LP in New York finds that while the number of manufacturing workers in the US dropped by 11% from 1995 through 2002, in China it dropped by 15%.
And in any case, Chinese imports in the US are mostly replacing imports from other Asian countries, not US products themselves. And manufacturing is no longer the foundation of the US economy as it begins to de-industrialize as part of a global economic shift.
But then again, while there is no market for reason, there is a big one for fear. That is why a Utah-based health-food company has launched a new label and ad blitz promoting its products as "China-free". This is despite the fact that FDA records show China is not even the leading source of contaminated imports to the US. India and Mexico have surpassed China in "refused food shipments" over the past year, while the leader in rejected candy imports happens to be Denmark.
Why pick on China?
It is difficult to ignore the xenophobic, and even racist, overtones in the attacks against China. When the products are made in the US, it is just the company that is in focus. When they are found to have a China connection, even if it is a US company getting its products made in China, it is the country that takes the lashes, as if the company has no obligation toward quality control.
Protectionism needs a popular idiom. Xenophobia needs a whipping boy. China scare is the product of this marriage of convenience. As the poster boy of economic success and the visions it inspires of trumping the almighty US economy, China is the obvious target when it comes to manufactures. Much of the same is directed at India when it comes to services, with outsourcing fears often vented by Western callers in torrents of racist abuses on Indian call-center workers.
This xenophobia is what lies at the heart of the current product panic in the US. If unchecked, and recklessly fanned, this has the potential of derailing the very process of globalization that developing countries are betting on for a better future. That is scarier than the China scare. |
|
|
|
|
|
Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6332
Location: 31 N 121 E
|
| Posted:
Aug 04, 2007 - 01:04 AM |
|
|
... |
| Description: |
|
| Filesize: |
24.15 KB |
| Viewed: |
960 Time(s) |
|
_________________
If it has tits, tires, or a transom, there's gonna be issues! |
|
|
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 04, 2007 - 01:09 AM |
|
| Post subject: Re: The China Scare |
| theAutumn45 wrote: |
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/IH04Cb01.html
By Debasish Roy Chowdhury
But according to the Cato Institute ... |
cui bono |
|
|
|
|
|
|
hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
|
| Posted:
Aug 04, 2007 - 10:03 AM |
|
|
|
 |
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 04, 2007 - 11:06 PM |
|
|
| hc wrote: |
| Thats so spot on. |
Often I agree with you, hc, but .....
In today's world one should not be too naive. Who is the author of this piece ? Debasish Roy Chowdhury. Hmm. That name sounds vaguely like it might be .. Indian ! I hate to sound suspicious but is it possible that an Indian writer just might have some bias towards "globalisation" ?
What do we see next ? " ... according to the Cato Institute." The Cato Insititute. Oh great. That famous cat's-paw of the desiccated reactionary husks of American finance. Would you believe a word out of James Inhofe's mouth under other circumstances ? From Word One we should look at this article with great suspicion.
| Quote: |
| A new food scare has gripped the United States, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging people to throw away more than 90 different products, made at a Castleberry's Food Co |
Scare ? why 'scare' ? The FDA has discovered a problem and they are warning people. Take note, China. Some people got sick and the FDA immediately stepped into the breach. They didn't sit there making claims that "oh nooo, botulism is really not as hazardous as you Westerners claim. Really, 10% to 20% of the product having botulism, our research shows that to be perfectly within reason. You're just xenophobic scaremongers picking on us ..."
| Quote: |
| the evil land from where all the toxic food and lethal products in the world supposedly emanate. |
A bullsh1t trick of hyperbole. I should know, it's one I like to use 
| Quote: |
| The list of product recalls in the United States in recent months is almost inexhaustible. |
Not quite. They just exhausted the list with three examples.
| Quote: |
| In March, Ford Motor Co recalled 2008 Super Duty trucks made in a Kentucky plant after reports of tailpipe fires in the diesel version of the vehicles; in June, California-based United Food Group recalled 34,000 kilograms of ground-beef products after they were suspected to have been contaminated with the bacterium Escherichia coli (E coli); and in July, Sara Lee Corp began to recall dozens of its whole-wheat bread brands made at a Mississippi bakery for fears that they contained pieces of metal. |
Notice something ? Every one of these recalls uses the words "reports of" or "suspicions" or "fears of" ... in no case did the government of the United States hide these problems until a couple dozen people got killed, then claim that there wasn't really a problem at all, that someone was picking on them.
I'm no big fan of the US gov't but ya know ? When there is a problem with a product, they don't pull the reports out of the papers. They don't block access to any flickr photos of what's happened. They don't block reports of people rioting over product recalls and pretend there's no problem until one-half the news finally leaks out. Its admirable that China blew away the bastard who was responsible for so much grief and pain but it would have been much more admirable to not be such a corrupt bunch of slimeballs that it happened in the first place.
| Quote: |
| It is the faulty tires, toothpaste, pet food, seafood and toys with a China connection that are making all the news ... |
Because there is a significant difference between these cases. In the US, companies attempt to do the right thing. Yes, they sometimes cut corners, sometimes people screw up and do it in big ways, all human endeavour is subject to fsckups. But in the US recalls are because of mistakes. (as a rule)
Now look at the Chinese situation : Hangzhou Tire pulled out a required part of the tires because they felt like it. Another company put ethylene glycol into toothpaste because they felt like it, no matter that it's pretty common knowledge that anti-freeze is not good for the human body. Another contaminated the pet food with melamine the same way they happily blow up pigs and cows with water. Yet another company knowingly used lead-based paint on toys for children because it was convenient and they didn't give a rat's ass. If these really are the best efforts of Chinese factories then they are too stupid to be allowed to engage in commerce. It is common in China for companies to do whatever they feel like. They really don't give a sh1t because no one has ever held them accountable. It damages their face, ya know, and we can't have that.
Face is a huge problem in a manufacturing society. Huge.
| Quote: |
| ...how the factory to the world... |
Factory to the world ? What's this Injun been smoking ? The industrial output of the United States is three times that of China. Germany is also much larger. China is in a distant third place, at best. Factory to the world, my left testicle ...
| Quote: |
| As a bonus, the China horror story even has a feel-good subtext - nothing can match US quality... |
Truth hurts, doesn't it ? Want quality ? then buy German, American, French, Korean, Japanese, or just about anything else. Been in a Chinese foundry lately ? Seen Chinese heat treatment lately ? Worked with Chinese materials lately ? Been on a two year old Chinese bus, where most of the seats won't stay up because they can't even make latches that don't break in a month ? Look around : Chinese quality of anything technical is abysmal. I bet there's at least one place in your house that you always trip over the one-inch discontinuity because they can't even get the damned floors flat.
| Quote: |
| what is actually being played out is the China scare - the antiquated, mercantilist fear of imports that China's growing economic might evokes. |
Funny, using the word 'mercantilist' in this way. Mercantilism was what made the US into a manufacturing powerhouse. Mercantilism is what China is doing today. Hmm. Between mercantilism and globalisation, which is winning ? Mercantilism kicks butt for nations - it just doesn't bear such large returns for those mummified husks in the NorthEast who control American finance.
| Quote: |
| And manufacturing is no longer the foundation of the US economy as it begins to de-industrialize as part of a global economic shift. |
Oh christ, here comes the "service economy" sh1t again. HC, I'll buy your fire insurance if you buy my life insurance ! Just how stupid do they think we are ? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical.
| Quote: |
| ... outsourcing fears often vented by Western callers in torrents of racist abuses on Indian call-center workers ... |
Oh right. Anyone called Dell tech support ? ha ha ha. Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that Indian "tech support" couldn't find its ass with both hands, nope. It's gotta be xenophobic racism. Sheee-it.
| Quote: |
| If unchecked, and recklessly fanned, this has the potential of derailing the very process of globalization |
Quick ! Where's my xiao shan zi ? If there's any single thing we could use less of, it's gotta be globalization ! That's the biggest shuck of the century.
There's certainly bad stuff to be said about the buffoons in America, hc, but this article ain't the goods. How to spell c r a p ..... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayfish
LoopKicker
Joined: June 11, 2006
Posts: 985
|
| Posted:
Aug 04, 2007 - 11:58 PM |
|
|
"Often I agree with you, hc, but .....
"In today's world one should not be too naive. Who is the author of this piece ? Debasish Roy Chowdhury. Hmm. That name sounds vaguely like it might be .. Indian ! I hate to sound suspicious but is it possible that an Indian writer just might have some bias towards "globalisation" ?"
Sorry, stopped reading after this...
Better intro next time, you can do it |
|
|
|
|
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 12:02 AM |
|
|
| rayfish wrote: |
| Sorry, stopped reading after this... |
Oh well. Can't please everybody all the time |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayfish
LoopKicker
Joined: June 11, 2006
Posts: 985
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 12:12 AM |
|
|
| leidelaohu wrote: |
| rayfish wrote: |
| Sorry, stopped reading after this... |
Oh well. Can't please everybody all the time |
Do you think the masses read your posts? Back to Open Chat for you, I'm afraid. What kind of name is 'Leidelaohu' anyway, sounds Bangladeshi to me... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 12:22 AM |
|
|
I endorsed one paragraph of the article and you implied I agreed with everything??
This specific part was very spot on and there are a number of reasons for that happening, probably on top of them convenience.
Dude, my previous job was supply chain management of the biggest retailers in the world. Worked for a 3pl.
Do you know how Walmart and Target control their suppliers? Do you know how they evaluate and rank this people? They are HAWKS. They control every single little performance measurement they can (that's why they achieve yearly discounts). And guess what, once they put a system in place and understand how to work with suppliers, they crank it up and end up buying BILLIONS out of China and realizing the savings potential that you can realize if you PUT YOUR SYSTEM IN PLACE.
Now, you might say that Walmart and Target for example have crappy products yada yada, but that's their target market and they execute it well. Sure a plastic sandal is easier to manufacture then a bus, but that's not the point here.
Dell bought 22 billion USD out of parts from China, and hey they being the company with the leanest supply chain in the world would know a bit about things dont you think so?
True, a number of their products comes from foreign suppliers running their ops in China, very few of them are from Chinese businesses.
The thing is: all this happened because the BUYER understood how to realize the savings potential and worked to perfect the system.
I do agree with you that most Chinese factories left by themselves are having a very very hard time competing, EXACTLY like the Japanese and the Koreans before them so that's natural.
I had my dealings with Haier as well (which by the way has a kick azz post-sale service) and they are best sellers in several niches abroad (small wine coolers and refrigerators are one).
Now, it will take time for most Chinese companies to achieve excellency by themselves, I absolutely agree with that. On top of all this, we have the "getting rich is glorious" and the "your family is your castle and everything outside it is LOOT" mentality that are massive clams on the keel of this ship. That will take generations.
However, you got to admit that the press sometimes is being a biatch in how they report all this.
You also need to see the political context that we are going through, which favors putting a lid on China as soon as possible.
You saw the Darfur ad on The Economist right? Is the ad factually right? Yes. Is the ad morally right? Abso-fuking-lutely NO!!! And you see that all over: if China does something that the West has been doing for ages, China is all bad.
Again, I am not pro-China (I am mostly anti-everything) but I am anti-hypocrisy and unless we admit mutual mistakes no progress can be made.
One thing that happens too much is that people in the West IMPLY that a factory in China would by default exercise the same diligence they exercise and have the same common sense. Big FKNG mistake.
But the takeaway is this: the guys coming here and putting their system in place, developing the people properly and focusing on the long run will make a killing. There's already a bunch of them around, they are just the exception (and remember, success stories arent popular are they?)
good discussion though. |
_________________
Click here to read the latest retarded PM Natalie sent me. Let's make her lose face and FINALLY leave this site. |
|
|
|
|
hc
Post Roaster
Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 12:23 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 01:02 AM |
|
|
| hc wrote: |
| leidelaohu = tired tiger. dui bu dui? |
Dui. And right now hao lei I'd love to continue but pissed away way too much time today ... I agree that western reporting on China totally misses the point. But on the other hand, China is very very screwed up, too. This "economic miracle" thingy is doing all kinds of evil stuff to the heart and soul of China. And the US, it has lost its way so badly that it's hard to see how they can ever find the path again. The stupidest president in 200 years has hung an albatross around their necks that will never go away ...
Guess we'll just have to read about it in the history books to find out what happens. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
kimmie
Reacher
Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 256
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 07:39 AM |
|
|
| rayfish wrote: |
"Often I agree with you, hc, but .....
"In today's world one should not be too naive. Who is the author of this piece ? Debasish Roy Chowdhury. Hmm. That name sounds vaguely like it might be .. Indian ! I hate to sound suspicious but is it possible that an Indian writer just might have some bias towards "globalisation" ?"
Sorry, stopped reading after this...
|
You should have finished reading because he made a lot of valid points. And no, I am no cynical China basher. Actually had no opinion either way before coming here (must have been due to living in my bubble world.  ) but now that I am here I'm more aware of both the good and the bad elements of this country.
HC, I am not familiar with the Economist, but does it really surprise you that they were hypocritical? What journalistic entity has not been at one point or another biased and/or hypocritical? It is next to impossible to walk that fine line of complete objectivity at all times, especially as long as humans are involved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17973
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:22 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17973
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:24 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayfish
LoopKicker
Joined: June 11, 2006
Posts: 985
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:36 AM |
|
|
Point taken, Kimmie.
However, take another look at this from another thread:
"I'm not so sure .... if we exclude the views of the starry-eyed foreigners who mistakenly equate face with Malory, Eleanor of Aquitaine, chivalry, courtly love and all those other teenage-girl fantasies, then obviously face is totally ridiculous. When I see some pompous peasant sitting like a wooden Indian in his new black Bimmer, trying to back into a parking place while a crowd of gibbering chimpanzees rushes around screaming "lai ! lai ! Lai ! oh ! Lailai ! oh ! oh !" I can't help but crack up. What a fricking fool."
"wooden Indian?" "gibbering chimpanzees"?
How can I take what he writes seriously? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayfish
LoopKicker
Joined: June 11, 2006
Posts: 985
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:43 AM |
|
|
Sorry, stopped reading after I saw the username |
|
|
|
|
|
|
kimmie
Reacher
Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 256
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 09:53 AM |
|
|
| hc wrote: |
| leidelaohu = tired tiger. dui bu dui? |
And a tired looking tiger would be a more apt picture for your avatar than that cute lil doggy  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 09:54 AM |
|
|
| yu888 wrote: |
| and oh yeah leidelaohu, here is the info on the writer: ... |
Ah, thanks. Me lazy. Bad 
Luckily, the bias is about the same and for the same reason. Look to the money .... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
leidelaohu
Wonder Wit
Joined: June 11, 2007
Posts: 3725
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 10:20 AM |
|
|
| rayfish wrote: |
"wooden Indian?" "gibbering chimpanzees"?
How can I take what he writes seriously? |
There ya go, Kimmie. Proof of what I was saying. Some people see reality, others just see "Waa ! So expen$ive ! What a success !"
In China I have noticed an ability that sometimes seems amazing. People here are able to not see things they don't want to see. I went to the movies with a couple girls once in Haerbin. We got stuck up in a balcony on the side. The people in front of us were having sex. The two girls absolutely did not see it. I don't mean they missed it or weren't looking or didn't want to admit it - they absolutely did not see what they weren't supposed to see.
Kind of a revelation. You're right - face is the Emperor's New Clothes. But the funny part is that rayfish will keep oohing and aaahing the clothes even after the kid points out that the Emperor is naked. And he's not alone. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rayfish
LoopKicker
Joined: June 11, 2006
Posts: 985
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 05:00 PM |
|
|
Reality Check
Leidelaohu writes that 'rayfish will keep oohing and aaahing the clothes even after the kid points out that the Emperor is naked.' But what is he referring to? Where, may I ask, did I ooh and aah the clothes? I assume you're refering to China, here. Or are you? Why the purposely vague insinuation without concrete reference? Show me one concrete quote where I 'oohed and aahed' China? Right, you can't.
When I quote your dubious national stereotyping (referring to 'wooden Indian' and Chinese as 'gibbering chimpanzees'), your comeback is that this is proof of what you were saying, that some people see reality, others see "Waa ! So expensive! What a success!" So I can't see 'reality' because I point out that national stereotyping obscures whatever point you wish to make by degrading the discussion. And what was your point anyway? That you were 'suspicious' that anyone with an Indian-sounding name would be biased against globalization? How does this brilliant observation help you present your reality?
And what was your first post based on? One quote taken from the article by HC:
"Why pick on China?
It is difficult to ignore the xenophobic, and even racist, overtones in the attacks against China. When the products are made in the US, it is just the company that is in focus. When they are found to have a China connection, even if it is a US company getting its products made in China, it is the country that takes the lashes, as if the company has no obligation toward quality control."
HC says that's 'spot on', and you write your magnus opus, continually quoting the article and attacking HC for positions he never even claimed to defend, just as you claim I am oohing and ahhing an obscure something that you cannot even name, relying instead on your hazy allegorical phrasebook.
Your attempt to rip apart the original article is sloppy and chockfull of meaningless platitudes. It is also typically naive:
1. "Because there is a significant difference between these cases. In the US, companies attempt to do the right thing. Yes, they sometimes cut corners, sometimes people screw up and do it in big ways, all human endeavour is subject to fsckups. But in the US recalls are because of mistakes. (as a rule)"
Oh really? The major corporations is America are all involved in scandals; systematicaly lie and cheat their consumers, there is no 'mistake' about defrauding millions of consumers and looting your employees pension plan (Enron). Just one example.
2. Article: "And manufacturing is no longer the foundation of the US economy as it begins to de-industrialize as part of a global economic shift."
Your response:
"Oh christ, here comes the "service economy" sh1t again. HC, I'll buy your fire insurance if you buy my life insurance ! Just how stupid do they think we are ? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical"
Here you mock the writer for pointing out the deindustrialization of America, including HC in your attack, without any attempt to prove otherwise, resorting to moronic references to 'buying insurance.' Is this your idea of argument? Do you think if you put 'service economy' in quotes, the divesting of foreign capital to the Pacific Rim and Brazil and Mexico will be erased from history?
3.
"Funny, using the word 'mercantilist' in this way. Mercantilism was what made the US into a manufacturing powerhouse. Mercantilism is what China is doing today. Hmm. Between mercantilism and globalisation, which is winning ? Mercantilism kicks butt for nations - it just doesn't bear such large returns for those mummified husks in the NorthEast who control American finance"
Do you even know what you're talking about here? What do you mean 'mercantilism' (as you understand it) doesn't bear such large returns for the 'mummified husks'? If you mean American big business not reaping returns from Chinese low exports, you are grossly mistaken. Most of the profits from companies operating in China are siphoned off back to America. That's why they're there.
That's the whole point of the article, it's just hypocrisy and political maneuvring.
Now, tell me once again, how do the following four statements bolster your argument?
1 "Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that Indian "tech support" couldn't find its ass with both hands, nope"
2 "What's this Injun been smoking ?"
3 "wooden Indian"
4 "is it possible that an Indian writer just might have some bias towards "globalisation" ?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
thralpindi
Lurker
Joined: July 26, 2007
Posts: 22
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:14 PM |
|
|
The point of that great read is he should have said "paki"? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
underh20
Shanghai Royalty
Joined: Sep 27, 2006
Posts: 9647
Location: EOA Seminar
|
| Posted:
Aug 05, 2007 - 08:52 PM |
|
| Post subject: Re: The China Scare |
| theAutumn45 wrote: |
Why pick on China?
It is difficult to ignore the xenophobic, and even racist, overtones in the attacks against China. When the products are made in the US, it is just the company that is in focus. When they are found to have a China connection, even if it is a US company getting its products made in China, it is the country that takes the lashes, as if the company has no obligation toward quality control. |
Although China as a country isn't to blame in all or maybe not even in the vast majority of cases, and companies certainly do have an obligation to provide quality, safe products, the fact is that in China many times the country is the company. Also, many times the very products have supposedly passed government regulatory inspection yet somehow passed without meeting standards.
It certainly doesn't help when people are killed by counterfeit and / or unpure medications that have been given the seal of safety by the government. Oh, wait a minute ... isn't that guy dead now? 
As if he acted totally in an isolated environment without collaboration of his peers or subordinates.  |
_________________
بارك الله ، بارك الله |
|
|
|
| |
Forum FAQ
Search
Preferences
Watched Topics
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
