China executes top food-and-drug official for corruption (Roundup)

tonny from belgiumJul 11th, 2007 - 07:20:56

Sorry if I skip the ranters which I do not even understand but thre is not a grainof anti-americanism in my posts .None of my comments is directec at the people in the USA .Most of the time I am just creatin awareness that a lot of things are to be improved easily .The quoting of the Monsanto-Fox isuue is just there to prove to you that the crimes commited in other countries are very common in your own country too .But either go unnoticed or unchallenged .There is something cynical in a world proclaiming corrupt people need to be hung in China but rewarded in the USA with a nice position in the FDA in the USA.Why defend those that cheat on you .Isnt that the real anti-americanism .I think so as I do better at defending american values than those that accuse me of insulting them .

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tonny from belgiumJul 11th, 2007 - 07:47:37

Sorry guys ,some more clarifications need to be added .Concerning health issues in the USA .It is not very correct to accuse dairy farmers for the use of toxic additives ,these guys are not free to administer what they want .THeir supplier has them tied with contracts .Agriculture is not a free enterprise anymore since a long time .It is an industry where no more market rules apply .Suppliers of seeds,staple,fertlizers,pestcontrol are mostly integrated companies ,subsidiaries of single coroporate biznes .To tell you how though life is for the farmers nowadays perhaps this little story about Monsanto 'yeas again ).THey have succesfully unraveled the gene structure in pigs and are now claiming these gene structures are their rightfull property .The aburd consequence of which is that if pigs are producing offspring somewhere in the world the farmer would have to pay Monsanto intellectual property .Explain to me how any company in the world can own mother nature .We are not debating genetically modified pigs here,merely natural pigs .This is to show you the absurd grip one single company can hold on the world economy .Do you think ethical standards hold any value for your own bizness .do you think they are any different from the Chinese ?And frankly do you believe exposing this ,or at least claiming to do so is anti-americanism ?I dont think so ,I am just pointing out that your country is no different from all others .The fact that it is more powerfull only makes it more dangerous .Since the introduction of neocon ideas at top levels of political power ,after the demise of the USSR the US government of BUsh claimed the right to intervene anywhere in the world where it deemed it's interest were in trouble ,without so much as even abiding international laws .The UN was fisposed of by these fine gentlemen as an inefficient thing of the past.
This has made the USA the most dangerous nation now ,spending gigantic part of it's revenues on weaponry that have nu use as it is useless in it's capacity to deal with new treaths .Eisenhower ;back in the fifties gave you a dire warning about the consequencesof the rise of the miltary industrial complex .Guess what,it happend in reality .A few companies now owe the USA ans reap the taxpayer's money to sell their weapons,gigantic amounts of money are diverted from posts where they would be more usefull like education and healthcare .Is it anti-americanism to reveal that ?Am I weakening the standards or the defense of the USA in doing so ?Give me a break guys,you should have done that youselves if you love your population .

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primitive worldJul 11th, 2007 - 14:25:03

Its unlikely that anyone will read this, but the opinion should be stated.

The death penalty for any one behavior is always barbaric and shows a lack of collective intellegence. Even though this individual was probably guilty for many things, he did not act on his own. Reasoning that assumes killing this man should restore trust in product safety, and in essence, trust in government agencies is flawed.

The childish message conveyed is...our expendable government servants care for your utmost safety. Please continue to trust and buy our products.

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tomJul 11th, 2007 - 18:00:00

To MADMED who said 'that [execution] is the ultimate in accountability':

True accountability does not equal punishment for offenses. True accountability means that you have the information and feedback to correct problems long before they get so bad that anyone would even be talking about execution.

As low as my opinion might be of certain officials of my U.S. government, I at least believe that, overall, the threat of being fired, career-ending public humiliation, and (perhaps) jail time, along with at least a modicum of transparency to the system, is enough to keep most of the suits in line. Even then, there are still cover-ups to protect people (e.g. the 'Scooter' Libby case).

Imagine if the penalty for corruption in the U.S. was death. Watergate, Contragate, Monicagate, and Libbygate would pale in comparison to the cover-ups and lies that would ensue if folks like Bush and Cheney were fearing for their lives and not 'just' their careers, reputations, etc.

I personally respect politicians and bureaucrats who are willing to stand up and say 'I screwed up and will take responsibility.' Imagine if they faced the firing squad for it.

True accountability makes the system stronger and more honest. Threatening people with death for bureaucratic misdeeds can do nothing but make a bad system far worse.

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tomJul 11th, 2007 - 18:03:49

Clarification: I meant to say in my second sentence:

'True accountability does not equal *overly harsh* punishment for offenses.'

Of course I believe in punishment for offenses. I just think the punishment should fit the crime.

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