Expressing Opinions

Ask yourself this question, “How important is the health, safety, and well being of my family?”

First it is toys from China being recalled because of various safety issues, but more specifically from lead in the paint. Now there there is a recall on blood thinner manufactured in China, which is causing deaths in patience.

It is obvious in the Chinese quest for money it is willing to put our health and the health of our children at risk. When will the world community say acquiring cheap goods is not enough and demand quality in those goods? Do you support inhumane and unethical treatment of human beings just so you can buy more “stuff”? The Chinese should be scrutinized and held to our safety and health standards.

ABC News reports, FDA Links More Deaths to Blood Thinner:

Heparin is derived from a mucous obtained from pig intestines and other animal tissues, often processed by small, unregistered workshops in China.

FDA determined last month that Baxter’s drug was contaminated with an unnatural chemical during production at a plant in China.

This in part is our own fault. Demanding a bargain, the willingness to look the other way, and greed. The Wal-Mart economic plan (cheap second rate goods), which many of Americans support is jeopardizing our safety and economy. When will your family’s well being become more important than getting a good deal? It is your greed which is driving the Chinese economy.

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Watch as the Walmart virus spreads from state to state infecting local communities and killing off small local business. As Walmart continues to prosper it’s workers struggle to earn a living as the company profits from the exploitation of it’s workers.

If you buy at Walmart, you support it’s exploitation of it’s workers. We have all heard of the practices Walmart employs. This effectively contributes to the negative affects in the community by keeping it’s residents living below a comfortable level of existence. Do you want to support a company which uses unfair and anti-labor tactics against the people they employ? If not, then do not shop at Walmart.

The map is based on real Walmart growth based on data from Freebase and was built by Toby at kiwitobes.com.

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I came across this image on another web site and I think it pretty much summarizes the Chinese government’s attitude towards the 2008 Olympics, it’s people, and the rest of the world.

A boycott of visitors to China would be appropriate. China appears to be willing to do almost anything to show their country in a positive light. They are willing to kill it’s unarmed citizens, including monks, and control all press coverage, so they can spin the news the way the government wants it to sound. Someone should inform the Chinese government the global community does not believe their bullsh*t!

Larger sizes of the above graphic is available at the creators web site with his permission to use it. The url is: http://www.bbdo.co.uk/blog/archives/540 .

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I am an old school Internet person. When I started on the net none of my friends knew of email, there was no World Wide Web, let alone Yahoo, Google, or blogs. We did have Gopher, Veronica, and Archie. No point and click. Everything was done with keystrokes (command line). The net was a virtual community with a unique cast of characters who governed themselves and shared everything. It was fun, creative, and for the most part everything was free. Including software and help from just about everyone. Everyone participated in a gift economy. Wikipedia describes part of the gift economy as:

Typically, a gift economy occurs in a culture or subculture that emphasizes social or intangible rewards for generosity: karma, honor, loyalty or other forms of gratitude. In some cases, simultaneous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute valuables within a community.

The Internet was first designed to be used when we were being attacked by the Soviets. It was designed to withstand a nuclear attack during a time of war; enabling commanders to still have communications with their forces. The main protocol this communications was built on is TCP/IP, which was developed by Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn. The amazing part of this history is they gave away the technology.

Today it is a different story. The Internet is seems to be motivated by money and greed, and a good portion of the gift economy which was, is now gone. As part of a current project I read in the neighborhood of 50 to 100 blogs and respond to several on a regular basis. Not always the same sources, but still enough to get the big picture and state of the virtual community. The overwhelming majority are monetized with all sorts of advertisement. If I respond to a posting on a monetized blog I start getting offers to be entered in a free drawing if I continue to visit and comment.

I know these blog owners are watching the traffic to their site and get more money from advertisers if they can increase the amount of visitors. These web sites try to entice you with invitations to be their friends, have your web site link to theirs, giveaways of gifts, contests, and the list of enticements goes on and on. But what are they offering in exchange for your time? Is there any kind of content you find useful?

Like I said before, I am an old school Internet person. No advertisement, no gimmicks or give aways. Just something out there for you to read and maybe find useful or humorous at times. Do you want to make your online world and the world around you a better place? Find a way to participate in the gift economy, a true free giveaway. What goes around, comes around.

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