Downright Scary!

[Johnnny5]

As if we needed any more evidence to show how dangerously short the list of American made products is becoming.

It should be obvious to any American that "Free Trade" equals the outsourcing of American jobs. It's been happening for decades, but has accelerated nearly to the point of no return. As another U.S factory closes our President is in India promoting "Free Trade", our Congress is pushing "Free Trade" with South Korea and 100's of "U.S" corporations are financing elections with one dollar, and spending the next moving production facilities to China.

I'm f-ing sick of this! Is there any way to stop this utter insanity?


http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker...L,MOT,aapl,bni

[Jimaz]

The rebar item reminded me of an Arizona story years ago about the discovery of a shipment of rebar from Mexico that was radioactive. Google found this related story from last year suggesting that the problem is continuing: Same batch of radioactive metal from Mexico enters Calif. for 25 years.

It seems when medical equipment is scrapped, Cobalt 60 is melted down with other metal and recycled. It's turned up in school desks, table legs, etc. and has also entered the U.S. from China.

The [Chinese-made] hinges were found to be emitting 0.05 millirems per hour. Americans receive about 300 millirems a year from naturally occurring radiation sources. At that level, the hinges would emit the equivalent of a chest X-ray -- about 20 millirems -- every 400 hours.

Shoppers, man your Geiger counters!

[Detroitej72]

Long live free trade and the global marketplace!

[Patrick]

It's all about the shareholder and delivering a profit to them. Fuck you...I got mine seems to be the standard operating procedure in the U.S. of A nowadays.

[Downtown Lady]

Dennis Kucinich repeatedly stated that if he were elected President, repealing NAFTA would be his first order of business. No one seems to want to listen to the people that have the real answers.

[Downtown Lady]

I'm f-ing sick of this! Is there any way to stop this utter insanity?

Yes, people can stop voting for republicans.

[lilpup]

Yes, people can stop voting for republicans.

Sorry, that won't do it. Both parties are complicit in this. The Wall Street-D.C. wealth and power connection is the problem.

[Downtown Lady]

Sorry, that won't do it. Both parties are complicit in this. The Wall Street-D.C. wealth and power connection is the problem.

OK, actually I agree with that. I guess my answer should have been: vote for candidates that will actually try to fix the problem [[such as Kucinich).

[Detroitej72]

OK, actually I agree with that. I guess my answer should have been: vote for candidates that will actually try to fix the problem [[such as Kucinich).

Republicans will never vote for Kucinich, as he will hold the corporate elitist's feet to the fire. Similarly, many Democrats have fallen under the spell of the corporatist mantra, and thus want to see people like him go down in flames.

[Patrick]

Republicans will never vote for Kucinich, as he will hold the corporate elitist's feet to the fire. Similarly, many Democrats have fallen under the spell of the corporatist mantra, and thus want to see people like him go down in flames.

He's banging a hot-ass chick.....give him that much

[Detroitej72]

He's banging a hot-ass chick.....give him that much

So is Todd, would you want to see her as president?

[Thomcat52]

Cmon, we have free health care, and never expiring unemployment benefits. It's party time. Quit raining on my parade, be happy.

[lilpup]

Cmon, we have free health care, and never expiring unemployment benefits. It's party time. Quit raining on my parade, be happy.

Were do I sign up for those? I was totally unaware of free health care and I really could use it.

[Johnnny5]

And again....... Aren't our near record unemployment numbers and a countryside littered with abandoned factories proof enough that "Free trade" is not in our best interest?

YOKOHAMA, Japan [[AP) -- Officials from 21 Pacific Rim economies, including the U.S., China and Japan, began meetings Sunday that could move the region toward a bold goal -- creating a Pacific-wide free trade zone.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/APEC-m...&asset=&ccode=

[East Detroit]

It would be neat if "free trade" didn't include Asian countries limiting imports and manipulating currency.

Then again, it would also be neat if we stopped being consumers of unnecessary things.

[maxx]

Republicans will never vote for Kucinich, as he will hold the corporate elitist's feet to the fire. Similarly, many Democrats have fallen under the spell of the corporatist mantra, and thus want to see people like him go down in flames.

You can't get elected without big bucks under our present election system. We need a constitutional amendment that requires public funding of all elections or we'll continue to have government of, by, and for big businesses.

[Gistok]

Watching the world news yesterday... Obama in India trying to promote 50,000 new jobs for the USA.... kinda sad that we've lost 2,000,000 Information Technology jobs to them already... talk about "a drop in the bucket".....

[ghettopalmetto]

Watching the world news yesterday... Obama in India trying to promote 50,000 new jobs for the USA.... kinda sad that we've lost 2,000,000 Information Technology jobs to them already... talk about "a drop in the bucket".....

It's not like we have a queue of qualified people for a lot of those "lost" jobs. For the past couple decades, American students have been drifting out of engineering schools to take on majors like English and psychology, while nations like India, China, and Singapore send their best and brightest to take those now-empty spots in our engineering schools.

You can't just pick any old guy off the breadline to fill a job that requires, at minimum, a four-year engineering degree.

[Patrick]

It's not like we have a queue of qualified people for a lot of those "lost" jobs. For the past couple decades, American students have been drifting out of engineering schools to take on majors like English and psychology, while nations like India, China, and Singapore send their best and brightest to take those now-empty spots in our engineering schools.

You can't just pick any old guy off the breadline to fill a job that requires, at minimum, a four-year engineering degree.

At my WSU graduation ceremony in 2008 I noticed that 9 out of 10 engineering grads were Indian. Maybe a few token white kids mixed in with the group.

[Downtown Lady]

It's not like we have a queue of qualified people for a lot of those "lost" jobs...

You can't just pick any old guy off the breadline to fill a job that requires, at minimum, a four-year engineering degree.

But the problem is that very often, completely qualified people already have those jobs, and are laid off when the jobs are sent overseas because the employer can pay half the salary. My employer very discreetly earlier this year laid off 50 or so completely-qualified IT people and sent their jobs to India. It was strictly about money, it had nothing to do with a lack of qualified people.

Their way to ease their conscience [[and/or not have customers up in arms)? The company to which they outsourced has its headquarters in Michigan [[a two-person shop), but the actual IT people are in India. But the headquarters being in Michigan allows them to say that they awarded the contract to a Michigan-based company.

And often times, these same Republican-voting CEOs and Directors who make these decisions privately will be the ones loudly parroting the Republican mantra: Patriotism! America! The hypocrisy is astounding. But it's more money for the shareholders, and truly that's all that matters to them. The greed is astounding as well.

[lilpup]

It has NOTHING to do with a lack of qualified people. There are so many un- and underemployed technical people in the US right now it's pathetic.

My sister runs a R&D lab for a major corp - when she was promoted to the position she was pointedly told that she was required to outsource part of every project assigned [[and this was after a few rounds of layoffs at the company). As recently as earlier this year the biz managers there were trying to find a way to move the entire lab to India - the cost of moving the heavy and specialized equipment is the only thing keeping it in the US right now.

[rb336]

Dennis Kucinich repeatedly stated that if he were elected President, repealing NAFTA would be his first order of business. No one seems to want to listen to the people that have the real answers.

nope, people with a real understanding of what benefits most americans are called "cranks" or "fringe politicians"