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China-Japan-Koreas
Asians Say Trade Complaints Bring Out the Bully in China
2007-09-05
Posted by:ed

#14  Golly, I feel clever. An actual article about that posted below.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-09-05 23:58  

#13  I've already trashed everything in the house that is made in china.

There seems to be a lot of that going on, Oztralian. Mattel apparently recalled one of the Barbie doll houses yesterday, as a result of a program just instituted to test all of their products coming out of China. Fisher Price has apparently done the same, and has also started recalling products, I understand. The toymakers and sellers are expecting a difficult Christmas -- it's too late to place orders with other-than-Chinese manufacturers, if I understand the reports correctly.

This may be the beginning of a world-wide backlash against Chinese products. The Politburo and their cronies may not have the twenty years they'd planned on to prepare their epic war against Taiwan and the U.S.... not to mention funding all their little jihadi and other proxies in the meantime.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-09-05 22:20  

#12  See also SPACEWAR > THE [new?] GREAT GAME OVER BURMA, between USA-China. Lest we fergit, also from SPACEWAR 04/2007 > ASIA IS CRUCIAL FRONT IN WAR ON TERROR. *All things equal, may yet end up being the DECISIVE FRONT FOR FINAL US SUCCESS OR FAILURE IN THE GWOT.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-09-05 21:55  

#11  From what I understand formaldehyde is used as a sizing agent. However the following article traces it to being a byproduct of the Permanent-Press or Dura-Press treatment. The exact mechanism is a bit complex as indicated by the following excerpt:

The additives and contaminants which occur in textile fibers vary widely, depending on the type of fiber and the pretreatment which it has received. Synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester contain trace amounts of contaminants such as catalysts and catalyst deactivators which remain after the synthesis of the basic polymers. In addition, there are frequently a number of materials which are added to perform specific functions in almost all man-made fibers. Examples of these would include traces of metals or metal salts used as tracers for identification of specific lots of fiber, TiO2 or similar materials added as delustrants, and a host of organic species added for such special purposes as antistatic agents or flame retardants. There may also be considerable quantities of residual monomer or small oligomers dissolved in the polymer matrix. The situation becomes even more complex after the fibers are converted into fabric form. Numerous materials are applied at various stages of fabric preparation to act as lubricants, sizing agents, antistats, bleaches, and wetting agents to facilitate the processing, but these are normally removed before the fabric reaches the cutters or the ultimate consumers and therefore usually do not constitute potential hazards. However, there are many other chemical agents which are frequently added during the later stages of fabric preparation and which are not designed to be removed. Aside from dyes and printing pigments, the most common additive for apparel fabrics is a durable press treatment. This generally involves the use of materials capable of crosslinking cellulosics by reacting through such functions as N-methylolated amides or related compounds such as ureas and carbamates. These materials pose some potential hazards due to both the nitrogenous bases and the formaldehyde which they usually release. There is usually also some residual catalyst in fabrics which have received such treatments. Other types of chemical treatments which are often applied to fabrics to achieve special effects include flame retardants, soil release agents, antistatic agents, softeners, water and/or oil repellents, ultraviolet absorbers, bacteriostats, and fungistats.

All I know is that on a 1999 business trip to CLEO in Baltimore, I purchased some socks and did not have time to launder them first. After a day's wear the itching was so bad that I had nearly scratched the skin off of both ankles. From then on I have always laundered new clothing before wearing it for the first time.

Posted by: Zenster   2007-09-05 21:55  

#10  Formaldehyde in clothes
Posted by: Oztralian   2007-09-05 21:10  

#9  Clothing made in China also contains an unbelievably high level of the chemical Formaldehyde. There was an news report on how it makes kids sick, gives them horrible skin rashes and can even cause cancer.. I've already trashed everything in the house that is made in china.. Time to buy local products.. Sick of sending my hard earned cash overseas to countries who don't give a damn
Posted by: Oztralian   2007-09-05 21:07  

#8  "Anything less than trembling obedience is regarded as an insult to the Chinese."

Then as far as I'm concerned, ZF, they can consider themselves insulted. Big-time.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2007-09-05 19:30  

#7  DV: Repressive governments can't help it. It is how they continue to keep their population under control.

China is a continental empire disguised as a country. Its thousands of years of existence have been exercises in the maintenance and expansion of empire. Anything less than trembling obedience is regarded as an insult to the Chinese. It's got nothing to do with government repression. It's just part of Chinese culture.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2007-09-05 19:24  

#6  I am thinking its time to develop a 12-step program for companies nations doing business with China.

That's more like it.
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2007-09-05 19:20  

#5  China is rapidly becoming the elephant in the economic henhouse. The West and all other trading nations have been absolute idiots to facilitate the unprecedented growth of such a huge military dictatorship.

Giving China any advanced technology permits them to sidestep laborious and expensive years on the technological learning curve. In light of China's institutionalized theft of intellectual property, they must be prohibited from obtaining any further specimens of critical hardware and software that speeds their growth.

So long as the Politburo keeps the playing field tilted so steeply in its favor, there is ZERO benefit to doing business with China. All cost savings vanish when the price of doing business comes back in thwarting Chinese sponsored proxy enemies like North Korea and Iran.

Whatever billions saved by purchasing inexpensive Chinese garbage are just as quickly pissed away in military actions, foreign aid or weapons support packages to our allies in order to counterbalance China's malign influence. The world community continues to pump untold millions of dollars in assistance into North Korea, whose murderous regime is propped up by Beijing. In effect, China creates a black hole for global wealth while it just as deftly hollows out the world's industrial base.

Similarly, China continues to thwart efforts at imposing serious sanctions against Iran and, instead, provides them with technology and weapons which are directed against coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are nothing but arsonists scurrying about lighting fires that we must hurriedly extinguish. While we are preoccupied with such firefighting, China marches under the false banner of Free Trade and steals the money it spends to drain us of so much wealth. This is a classic no-win situation and we are playing the all-day sucker.

By funneling so much economic wealth into China's coffers, we are effectively financing a distinct segment of support for terrorism, despotic tyrannies like Zimbabwe and rogue regimes such as North Korea. It's time to halt significant trade with China and curtail their ability to make so much trouble on the world stage. No amount of cheap plastic crap we buy from China can possibly negate the immense outflow of Western wealth required to combat the Politburo's malicious meddling in foreign affairs.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-09-05 17:00  

#4  I am thinking its time to develop a 12-step program for companies doing business with China.
Posted by: Beau   2007-09-05 16:55  

#3  Wait until Norman Hsu gets back. Everything will be okay then.
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2007-09-05 15:59  

#2  And not complaining will bring out the bully, too. That shows weakness.
Bullying its neighbours is just what China does, and always has done.
Posted by: Grunter   2007-09-05 15:53  

#1  Saying anything negative about China brings out the bully in China. Repressive governments can't help it. It is how they continue to keep their population under control.
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-09-05 15:01  

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