Imported drywall wreaks havoc, now under investigation
Did your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 suffer the "Red Ring of Death" or "Yellow Light of Death" between 2006 and 2007? If so, you can try blaming China for your misfortune.
Over a dozen class-action lawsuits have been filed in 33 states against construction companies who recently used drywall imported from China. Why? Because like many Chinese products, there's a severe defect; and by severe, we mean hazardous to electrical appliances and your health. The contamination is suspected to have occured between '06 and '07. Incidentally, Louisana has a high number of related cases due to extensive reconstruction following Katrina.
So what does all this have to do with your video game console? Turns out the drywall actually corrodes wiring. Here is a list of things to watch out for, by the Consumer Product Safety Commission:
- persistent rotten egg odor
- respiratory or other symptoms alleviated by leaving a building and worsened on return
- blackened and corroded metal, including copper, nickel, silver and/or stainless steel
- premature failures of central air-conditioning evaporator coils
- blinking lights or power failures
- arcing or sparking
- intermittent operation or failure of appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers and electronic devices such as televisions, computers and video-game systems
Looks like China not only makes electronics but also breaks them. If you truly suspect your drywall may be contaminated, check out the CPSC website on what to do about it.
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Decay comes from within and without. China is not trying to destroy the U.S., but it's also a different place completely. You know piracy? Some mentality that brings us such crappy products. Of course import-heavy countries like the U.S. benefit heavily from places like China -- cheaper, all that. But because these places are so poor or just lack quality control, we often get shoddy products that did not have to pass much (if any) inspections.
It goes way beyond just drywall to toys, food, disposable chopsticks, cars, and so on. Remember that controversy with the powdered milk? It is an ingredient common in many Asian food items, and that really sent surrounding import-heavy countries like Japan and Taiwan into a panic. Asian markets would put up signs on their shelves and food manufacturers included large labels that read: NOT MADE IN CHINA.
During the rebuilding phase following that devastating earthquake, CNN went in to talk to some of the residents. They didn't point this out, but I noticed that many of the homes being rebuilt had no structure / support beams. These issues go beyond just China, of course, but since they're a rising power now and the rest of the world is seeing more of them, receiving their products, we're finding out the hard way how shit works over there.
Long post. I'm rather passionate about this sort of thing.
Communism doesn't have anything to do with it.
As for your post, Rabid. I see what you mean, and I WAS being sarcastic, I may be a nut job, but I'm not THAT stupid.
This link below amazed me. A giant apartment building built with no foundations beyond some hollow metal pipes. The building just fell over! :
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200906c.brief.htm#012
An mining engineer buddy of mine told me how horrified he was of the working conditions in a mine over there. It is just a different world economically of there. Citizens don't have much legal recourse for suffering from garbage products, so maximizing profits is even more unrestrained over there than it is here.
o wat now?!