Death sentences in China tainted milk case – CNN.com — We should take a lead from China as we sort out the tainted peanut butter, the financial crises, and Bernie Madoff. No?
A Chinese court sentenced Tian Wenhua, former board chairwoman and general manager of the Chinese dairy company Sanlu Group, to life in prison for her role in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000 others. Police surround a court building in northern China in late December during the trial.
Three people were sentenced to death and two others to life in prison for their roles, while three others received prison terms of five to 15 years each. Many of those sentenced were middlemen who sold melamine to milking stations that added the chemical to the milk.
There’s a reason we have all these regulations — thousands upon thousands of people who died in the 19th and early 20th centuries from other people’s greed.
China is finding that out and will probably do some of the same corrections we did.
It takes major disaster for people to wake up and demand action. Sadly it will probably take another major food or drug issue here for us to enforce our regulations properly.
It’s all trust — once your trust is lost, those that try to sell you things have to regain it. If I can’t trust that my local markets are clean and sell good products, I go elsewhere. That goes for farmer’s markets as well as mega groceries.
However, the trust chain also extends to the middle men and the original providers in our world — without that chain of trust you might as well grow your own food. Which is impractical and would destroy what ecology we have left.
Glad the Chinese have the balls to actually deal with problems, rather than pat people on the wrist and call them naughty.
In Ireland recently we had a warning that pork products from the south of the island were contaminated with Dioxin but only a small amount of product was contaminated with little to none of the chemical.
We were all lied to, watching politicians eating pork on tv, saying it was safe when it was in fact 300% above EU safe limits.
It was a direct result of cutting corners and using contaminated feed on animals. Then it was uncovered that cattle were infected too.
It was censored 2 days after it happened and now they ask us to help out these bast*rd farmers and suppliers because of the financial crisis.
Nobody was convicted and we were all told so “put up and shut up”…
China has the right idea, as they know what what punishment should be…well in some cases
The admin of this site is obviously in a bit of danger.
JCD–I agree completely. There’s something “wrong” with a poor person busted on a $1000 car burglary sitting in jail awaiting trial for 6 months while Bernie has DESTROYED 100’s if not 1000’s of lives==and he’s out living a life better than nth% of us.
There are petty property crimes, and there are
grand larceny property crimes, and there should be
CAPITAL PROPERTY CRIMES: ruin the lives of trusting people–should be a capital offense.
So, yes, we should take the lead from China and execute a few of these financial self-dealing wizards.
#3 explain?
Hey, John, don’t worry, everybody is taking lots of lead from China (in children toys’ paint, for example)
4,
Justice = word
Truth = word
#7–named==thanks. Yea, I think it all comes from our common law/judeo-christian roots wherein “theft of property” is analogized to poor people stealing bread to feed themselves and therefore somehow not so evil.
Its the rare person who will equate property acquisition to the meaning, dreams, and aspirations of a human being==and fewer still those who can balance the desire of acquisition/ownership from the self-benefits of living in a society with a large middle class.
America is failing at several key philosophical levels/values.
I still want to see high tariffs on all products coming from ANY country that does not have adequate health and safety for their workers, a fair minimum wage law, regulations similar to what our FDA provides, and pollution controls.
There is absolutely no reason we should have a race to the bottom of humanity.
#9 not sure tariffs are the answer but you are right about the race to the bottom of humanity.
Anyone that can’t see that outsourcing our jobs and importing everything won’t eventually lead to the US being a 3rd world nation with no wealth production capability, a bunch of rich CEOs and marketing execs, and millions of unemployed people is kidding themselves.
8,
Theft is still “bad”. Go rob a bank. They’ll put you away for as long as they can, since your crime constitutes one against society. BUT, if you can line politicians and lobbyists and friends with millions of dollars ahead of time, you can rob the country freely. Slowly but surely the magnitude of the thefts have been increasing… almost like Wall Street has been testing how much they can fleece before the guns start getting pulled out
9,10,
Anybody remember when FTA and Globalization were the hallmarks of civilization? And they promised us that we would all become white collar geniuses while the poor brown and yellow people in the third world would be doing that bad factory jobs?
I’m still pissed about that.
What I have learned from Globalization (other than it’s utter failure) is that there is always a cheaper, poorer country to next-source too… 5 dollars one day, 3 dollars another, until everyone is just paid in room and board…
This is the way things should be when greedy corporations/individuals cut corners to make an extra buck and people die and or suffer as a result.
In the US we reward these people with salary increases and huge bonuses and protections from criminal prosecution.
#9 — All the way. With that in place we could take some tax burden off our own citizens and maybe help out our own industry.
The purpose of government is to prevent the poor people from murdering the rich people.
If there were any justice, an angry mob would have torn Bernie Madoff to pieces.
# 15 chuck said, “If there were any justice, an angry mob would have torn Bernie Madoff to pieces.”
I haven’t seen mobs composed of angry rich people.
#9. I agree. But most, including our readers here, aren’t willing to give up their access to cheaply produced Chinese goods. To do so would mean stores like Walmart and online stores would have to raise prices.
I’m willing to pay more for products produced here in the US or in foreign nations under the guidelines that you have stated. I dont think it will ever fly with the sheeple though.
#17, McCullough,
I dont think it will ever fly with the sheeple though.
It will to those with no jobs or about to lose a job.
#16 I haven’t seen mobs composed of angry rich people.
The people who Madoff ripped off aren’t rich anymore. :).
#18, NotSmart
And crap is about all that’s actually manufactured in the USA anymore.
Maybe in your shithouse, but where I live there are (or were) many places building good, quality items for sale here. Too many of them have been moved to cheaper places where they don’t need to pay a decent wage, or they can pollute the world, or kill their workers with no safety measures.
Are you a former Bush Administration employee looking for a job?
# 21 Mr. Fusion said, “Too many of them have been moved to cheaper places where they don’t need to pay a decent wage, or they can pollute the world, or kill their workers with no safety measures.”
Add in that we have one of the highest corp tax rates in the world. We need an equalizer…
I hardly think that the Chinese have a justice system that you’d want to emmulate, find out what happend to Falun Gong, or remember Tian’anmen. They’re really into making examples of criminals, religous sects, dissidents, and students. Oh and that little organ transplant business their prison system has… Ok maybe these guys deserved it, I still wouldn’t want to live under their legal system.
#23–amodedoma==does that mean that you don’t think that people who intentionally poison 1000’s of babies for personal profit should face capital punishment?
A guy that shoots a person in the face for his wallet is more deserving of sympathy.
#24 bobbo
See we do agree! Sometimes. I got three kids and my gut instinct is that hangin’s too good for ’em.
Still I really doubt that those prosecuted were anywhere near the most responsible, or those who benefitted the most.
#26–amodedoma==who benefits more?
I agree the chemist who actually put the poison in the mix is more “directly” responsible–but I see no motivation for him to do it without the CEO/Chairmans influence?
Besides, such a consideration is irrelevant==anyone responsible should take the fall regardless of who else doesn’t.
#27 bobbo
With the additive melanine, milk can be diluted with water but continue to register high protein levels. With increased volume, more milk can be sold and the companies make more money.
So the motives are purely economic and you agree that without the boss’s influence no one would do it. Seems to me the fat cats should get it too and the fact that they won’t means they can find other ‘creative’ ways to make money, and that would be very relevant should some other toxic crap start showing up in their exports.
C.R.E.A.M. – Wutang clan.
Cash Rules Everything Around Me.
#25
Whoa dude, it’s bad, but it’s not too late. Be careful where you get your seeds and fertilizer, you can still eat clean, just grow your own. Personally I prefer local farmers markets where I get to know the farmers family. Or, if your lucky enough to live near the amish go to one of their markets – it don’t get any cleaner than that. Sure it’s complicated and takes more time but if your health is worth it…
22,
“Add in that we have one of the highest corp tax rates in the world. We need an equalizer…”
Not this bullshit again! You want to know one of the problems? Expectations of super profits. Not profits… IMMENSE MASSIVE PROFITS that go to shareholders, not the company.
Unfortunately, that’s the way it is. And, to get those SUPER MASSIVE PROFITS you go offshore. And your governments gives you tax incentives to do just that.
# 31 Named said, “Unfortunately, that’s the way it is. And, to get those SUPER MASSIVE PROFITS you go offshore.”
Yep, it is either profitable to run a company or the companies leave and then no jobs. Nothing a gov can do to stop it, they can only create a better environment for job creating companies…
32,
Not profits… SUPER MASSIVE PROFITS! There is a difference.
Well, one thing that nations do to create better environments is to have certain aspects nationalized. The US nationalized the wrong things in the past year…