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madoka

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:24 am Post subject: More toxic milk from China |
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Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100125/ts_nm/us_china_melamine
BEIJING (Reuters) � Authorities in southwestern China have ordered three batches of milk products off shelves because they contain a chemical that killed at least six children in 2008, causing global concern over the made-in-China brand.
The health department in Guizhou province stopped the sales of dairy products made by three Chinese companies, the state-run China Daily newspaper said.
The products were found to contain melamine, which can cause kidney stones and is meant for making plastics, fertilizers and even concrete. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed.
Guizhou health authorities were unavailable for comment.
China executed two people in November for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and sullied the made-in-China brand.
Nearly 300,000 children fell ill in that scandal in 2008 after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, sold mainly in that case by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group. |
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djsmnc

Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:47 am Post subject: |
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Why not just put a label on all milk that says "Drink at your own risk" ? |
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Panda

Joined: 25 Oct 2008
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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What did Carl Marx say about capitalism in the pursuit of the maximizing profits? |
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bacasper

Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:21 pm Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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Panda wrote: |
What did Carl Marx say about capitalism in the pursuit of the maximizing profits? |
Who cares what Karl Marx said... A free market capitalist system does not allow for the sale of harmful products that kill people or make them seriously sick.
Anyway, what's your solution? Give more power to the FDA? |
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Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:28 pm Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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bacasper wrote: |
madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
And further proving that criminal accountability alone simply isn't sufficient to stop massive misbehavior by people in charge of economic activity. Personal accountability is nice, but the reason people do these things is because they think they can do it without getting caught, which neutralizes the deterrent in question.
Only active oversight and forced transparency can stop malfeasance. |
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ytuque

Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Location: I drink therefore I am!
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 12:25 am Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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bacasper wrote: |
madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
With the death penalty, there are no repeat offenders. |
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bacasper

Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:28 am Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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ytuque wrote: |
bacasper wrote: |
madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
With the death penalty, there are no repeat offenders. |
Oops, my bad for not expressing myself more clearly.
I'll restate: Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent for the 99.99999+% of the population who remain alive afterward. |
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ytuque

Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Location: I drink therefore I am!
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:38 pm Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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bacasper wrote: |
ytuque wrote: |
bacasper wrote: |
madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
With the death penalty, there are no repeat offenders. |
Oops, my bad for not expressing myself more clearly.
I'll restate: Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent for the 99.99999+% of the population who remain alive afterward. |
Curious as to whether you have seen a study comparing the effect on the crime rate for the death penalty versus lengthy prison terms/life sentences? I haven't seen such a study. |
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Fox

Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:51 pm Post subject: Re: More toxic milk from China |
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ytuque wrote: |
bacasper wrote: |
ytuque wrote: |
bacasper wrote: |
madoka wrote: |
Man, you'd think after executing people for it last time that crooks would learn their lesson! |
Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent. |
With the death penalty, there are no repeat offenders. |
Oops, my bad for not expressing myself more clearly.
I'll restate: Proving yet again that the death penalty is NOT an effective deterrent for the 99.99999+% of the population who remain alive afterward. |
Curious as to whether you have seen a study comparing the effect on the crime rate for the death penalty versus lengthy prison terms/life sentences? I haven't seen such a study. |
This is a very difficult thing to study. I guess one could consider the comparative death-penalty qualifying crime rates in states with the death penalty and states without it, but adjusting for cultural factors would be difficult. For example, according to this, Texas (which has the death penalty) has 6.1 murders per 100,000 people, while Wisconsin (which does not have the death penalty) has just 2.8 murders per 100,000 people. Some other states without the death penalty:
Maine: 1.4 murders per 100,000.
Iowa: 1.6 murders per 100,000.
North Dakota: 1.4 murders per 100,000.
Minnesota: 2.2 murders per 100,000.
The list goes on; states without the death penalty have atypically low murder rates. However, is that really because they lack the death penalty, or is it because the same culture which lead to the illegalization of the death penalty also leads to lower murder rates? Probably the latter.
Either way, though, I see no positive correlation between the death penalty and low murder rates. Quite the opposite, actually. Alaska has the highest murder rate of any state* lacking the death penalty at 5.6 murders per 100,000, while many states with the death penalty have higher murder rates. Indeed, the average murder rate is 5.5 per 100,000, and Alaska is the only state without the death penalty that goes over it. The rest are all well under.
It's time to stop killing criminals.
*Note: Washington D.C. has an incredibly high murder rate and no death penalty, but for obvious reasons, it's unfair to consider it a state with regards to this topic. |
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