By now, everyone has heard about the news stories regarding contaminated wheat gluten from China that found its way into the US pet food supply (did you know that as of this morning US officials are aware that it's made its way into the human food supply?).
Now, I listen to news radio for about 3 hours every day (an hour when I wake up, an hour while I drive into work, and an hour when I drive home). I read CNN.com regularly. I read Digg.com throughout the day. I read dailyKos and a handful of other political blogs regularly. I read at least the front page of the newspaper at least once a week. I'd consider myself fairly well-versed in current events, US politics, and the like.
So, all of that said, how the hell did I miss the story that Chinese cough syrup contaminated with antifreeze has killed 100 kids in Panama? I love my cat and all, but doesn't human death from contamination trump pet death from contamination every time? Why isn't this a bigger story over here? Is it just because it didn't happen here?
They killed kids. Kids. Why isn't the US media reporting this? On CNN.com right now there are links to stories reading "NYC cabbies not sold on touch-screens" and "Mom incites fistfight on school bus, cops say."
Why doesn't it read "BREAKING: China kills kids, pets. 'Santa Claus and the American Dream next,' experts say"?
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The chicken feed story came out a couple days ago. Yesterday they announced it was in farm-raised fish (the bulk of fish sold in the US).
Each time the FDA makes the announcement they say "Officials are warning that as many as 20 million chickens have been fed with chinese contaminated wheat. They say there's no danger to humans."
??
First of all, why warn us if there's no danger. Second of all, of course there's a danger.
So wild-caught fish, no chicken, and treat your cat extra nice 'cause he might not stick around.
The other thing that was vexing from those articles is the Chinese official from their FDA who was like "oh well these companies weren't authorized to make medicine in the first place so the fact that they were making medicine using antifreeze doesn't fall under our jurisdiction."
grrr...
You forgot no pigs, too (melamine again).
So, with a spike in contaminated food instances, a spike in carbon emmissions, a spike in human rights violations, and a spike in in our national trade deficit ... remind me again of how doing business with China is a good thing?
Having just been there... it's so corrupt. They all know it's corrupt. The band I was with got stiffed for the first time in their quarter-century career and they way they got stiffed was so shadey. The promoter said he couldn't give them definite numbers on how sold-out the show was because he had to talk to the club owner. He didn't know anything until the club gave him the official tally and the owner wouldn't get that to him until Monday (conveniently after we had left). Come to find out later that the promoter OWNED THE CLUB!!! He was one in the same person. Furthermore, when they got the final numbers the club owner/promoter charged them for a dinner he said he was throwing for them, he charged them for a press conference he set up for when they arrived, he charged them for a tribute concert of local bands he set up (a concert he never mentioned to them or cleared by them), and then he said that 400+ people snuck into the show so despite the house being packed... it wasn't sold out and it was, in fact, conveniently just sold enough to break even for him but not to pay the band.
That sort of corruption, where one person owns the thing that he's using as a scapegoat to con someone seems par for the course over there.
I'd worry about talking so much shit about China and this guy but fortunately, the dictatorship over there blocks blogspot so nobody will ever see it! :)
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