Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A Pattern of Behavior

Here and there, people have accused me of being anti-Chinese. Is that even relevant? If Chinese companies actually made good products - and some do, Haier (consumer electronics, mostly appliances) for example - I wouldn't have anything to talk about, would I?

The facts are clear and straightforward. That country of 1.5 billion is making SHIT and they have no problems killing people to make a quick fuckin buck. Cases in point:

  • Thousands of pets in the United States became ill, some dying, last year after eating food imported from China tainted with melamine, the same chemical found in the powdered milk.
  • Last October, at least 69,000 Chinese-made toys were recalled in the United States over concerns of excessive amounts of lead paint
  • In November, it was found that the popular toy Aqua Dots was contaminated with a toxic chemical that turned into a powerful "date rape" drug if swallowed
  • In February, a Maryland candy distributor pulled Pokemon-brand Valentine lollipops from store shelves after bits of metal were found in the sealed treats, authorities said.

  • And now, the Chinese are killing and making sick their own babies to make a quick buck.

    BEIJING, China (CNN)
    -- A third baby has died and at least 6,200 children have fallen ill after drinking formula tainted with the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year, Chinese officials said Wednesday.

    A baby is held down as he is given an ultrasound scan for kidney stones in a hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province.

    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, said Li Changjiang, China's director of quarantine and inspection.

    Though it should not be added to food ingredients, suppliers in China sometimes put it in food to make a product appear to be protein rich. Melamine has nitrogen, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen.

    More than 1,300 infants are hospitalized with illnesses including malnutrition, kidney stones and acute renal failure.

    On Monday two brothers were arrested who Chinese officials say supplied three tons of milk each day to the Sanlu Group, which makes baby formula.

    They could face death if convicted, according to state-run newspaper China Daily. The siblings' raw milk had been watered down and a chemical added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said.

    Sanlu Group, one of China's leading dairy producers, has recalled more than 8,200 tons of the tainted formula following reports of sickened babies, news agency Xinhua reported. The manufactured also sealed off more than 2,100 tons of contaminated product, and another 700 tons still need to be recalled, according to Xinhua.

    Investigators said the brothers confessed to watering down the raw milk and mixing in tripolycyanamide, also known as melamine. The paper reported the siblings did it to recover losses suffered when the factory rejected earlier milk shipments, and that 19 other people have been detained for questioning.

    Simply put, they don't give a fuck. So let me ask you fans of Chinese-made automotive products. If they don't blink an eye to killing innocent babies, do you think they give a fuck about a turbo that grenades? Suspension that collapses? Brakes that don't stop?

    Do you see a pattern?