I can't believe it's not a democracy!

Yet another problem--and a serious one at that--caused by poorly made Chinese goods:

Ghana seizes 1m faulty condoms imported from China. Ghana facing 'major public health issue' after condoms supplied to health service found to contain holes and burst easily. Let's see, tainted baby formula, deadly pet food, kid's toys painted with lead paint, dead pigs, ducks, etc., etc. So of course Chinese-made condoms have holes and burst. Have to give them a nod for consistency.

And a rant: I cannot avoid items made in China when I purchase a computer or cell phone (which is infrequently)--all the electronics corporations have outsourced most manufacture to China, or, occassionally, its neighbors, like Thailand. But for everything else, for those products where alternatives are available? I would not buy a thing made in China, particularly anything that is meant to be worn or eaten. How many stories must someone read before they finally understand that the Chinese government does not care about regulatimg its industry? Putting a bullet in some factory foreman's head after something horrible happens does not solve the problem of dangerous goods. But we can help stop this by simply refusing to buy anything made there when alternatives exist. And if you look you will find that for most items--electronics aside--alternatives do, in fact, exist. Not sure? E-mail me your request, and I'll find you an alternative.

Even the Chinese won't buy some Chinese made products:

China’s baby formula fears spark global restrictions. When Chinese parents are willing to spend big bucks to import foreign made baby formula, we should pay attention.

I'm sure the chickens they sold to American fast food chains (and supermarkets?) are fine:

Bird flu cases found in second Chinese city. I repeat: anyone who buys anything raised or made in China--but especially food--is insane.

If you care about yourself, your friends, and family, do not buy anything made in China:

Hundreds of dead ducks found in China river -- Carcasses found in Nanhe river days after discovery of thousands of dead pigs dumped in waterway in Shanghai. Lead paint on toys, melamine in dog food and baby formula, lost (and presumably smelted) caesium, 12,000 dead pigs floating in a river (no worries, the water is safe to drink!)....where does it end?

While some may consider my posts to be xenophobic or otherwise unfair to the Chinese people, my complaint is with the government, which apparently is more bought and sold than our government. Truth is, I feel really sorry for the Chinese people--their country is beautiful or was, the rush to embrace western style capitalism is killing them while enriching a very small handful of sociopathic monsters, and the only way out of this most likely involves a prolonged period of violence. And I think it is coming.

This is why I am willing to spend a bit more to buy good quality meat:

Dead pigs in Shanghai river: more than 6,000 carcasses found. Why are there all these pig carcasses floating in the river? The Guardian reports that "[the] surge in the dumping of dead pigs followed police campaigns against the sale of pork products made from diseased pigs." But don't get anxious, residents of Huangpu, because "officials said the water supply remained safe." Drink up!

You know, when I first kept insisting on finding out where my clothes and food came from--sending e-mails, calling, checking all tags--some people thought it was a bit much. Q: How much bacon sold in the U.S. is reared and/or processed in China? If anyone can supply an answer with link, I'd appreciate it.

UPDATE: Over 12,000 dead pigs fished out in China. Click the to see a little recap of some of the more aggregious food scandals in China in the last few years. I didn't hear about this one:

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

I assume the information was controversial because the chicken was used here, in the U.S., right? Always ask where your food is from. Always.

I'm sure somoene will get a bullet in the head for this:

Fake concrete-filled walnuts being sold in China . Presumably these fake walnuts aren't being sold to the overseas market. Presumably. That said, what will it take before the Chinese government finally embraces real regulation of its markets? I mean, fake walnuts? It's food, for christ's sake. How many more scandals have to occur before enough people can petition their governments to keep this toxic shit out? Not in the U.S., of course--corporate interests here trump everything. But maybe a refusal to allow this toxic crap in can happen in a country where the government isn't wholly overrun with cheap whores willing to rub their nipples and dance for a penny from the man.

In a country where a factory owner's response to employee suicides is to put suicide nets around the factory, this is positively progressive:

China to cut jail organ-harvesting programmes -- Beijing to implement national organ donation service, reducing dependency on death-row donors. Because "using organs from death-row prisoners was neither ethical nor sustainable." My guess is that emphasis in on the later.

So, I know I may obsess a bit about not buying Chinese made shit,

but I do it for two reasons: 1). Americans can make stuff (and well made stuff, by the way) , and 2). no one moves production to China because the quality is better.  As for reason number 2, we all know that there is absolutely no government regulation in China and the factory owners are willing to take the risk of getting caught doing something they shouldn't.  How do we know this?  Well, given that the punishment for getting caught is being taken out back and having some government functionary put a bullet in your head, it seems pretty clear that government interference with manufacturing must be virtually nonexistent (because if the risk of getting caught and shot was high, very few people would even try).  And, of course, I'd rather not have products rinsed with the tears of exploited Chinese labor. 

Which leads to my query: Can anyone recommend a set of measuring spoons that are sturdy, accurate, and NOT made in China?  Yeah, I did run into every kitchen store and hardware store I could today and found nothing but Chinese made tat.  I know that life would be easier if I just accepted that some things have no non-Chinese made alternatives, but in the long run I think life for everyone here would be better if we all demanded more American made goods.  That said, I'm willing to purchase European, Canadian, etc. made goods too.  Any country where there is some regulation of industry and protections in place for workers (sad, isn't it, that the US is low on that list).  

Thanks. 

Looks like toxic goods aren't the only thing the Chinese are exporting:

The Audacity of Chinese Frauds. The NY Times reports: To pull off a fraud that humiliates the cream of the global financial elite, you need to have some friends. And where better to have them than at the local bank?

The fraud at Longtop Financial Technologies, a Chinese financial software company, was exposed this week in an amazing letter from its auditors, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. It appears to be a tale of corrupt bankers and their threats to auditors who had learned of the lies.

I must add that the corrupt bankers at issue are Chinese bankers. While we know that American bankers are criminal assholes, in this situation they may simply have been incompetent. The article continues: Longtop did not go public through a reverse merger. Its initial public offering, in 2007, was underwritten by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Morgan Stanley was a lead manager in a 2009 offering of more shares. Major owners of the stock included hedge funds run by people known as “tiger cubs” because they got their start at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Fund.

On May 4, only a couple of weeks before the fateful struggle at Longtop offices, an analyst for Morgan Stanley, Carol Wang, wrote:

“Longtop’s stock price has been very volatile in recent days amid fraud allegations that management has denied. Our analysis of margins and cash flow gives us confidence in its accounting methods. We believe market misconceptions provide a good entry point for long-term investors.”

Why does anyone believe a thing these "analysts" report? Remember when Jim fucking Cramer was telling people that Bear Sterns was perfectly fine a couple of weeks before they imploded? Yeah, lying bullshit artists, every single one.

Thanks to John for the link.

Yet another reason to buy food from local producers:

Asian Honey, Banned in Europe, Is Flooding U.S. Grocery Shelves. The sub-hede reads: FDA has the laws needed to keep adulterated honey off store shelves but does little, honey industry says. I'm sure President Obama will address this atrocity as soon as he's done getting his job plans in place and counseling Eric Holder on prosecuting Wall Street. Hahahahahahaha. But you know what's (also) not funny? The Europeans are banning Asian honey (primarily Indian and Chinese) because it's chock full o' heavy metals (think lead) and antibiotics which, when given to children, makes kids "susceptible to DNA damage and carcinogenicity." But hey, it's cheaper, so it's all good.

And people wonder why I read labels and ask where every damn thing I buy is made. This is why.