Re: 1.8inch MP4 Player

["Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>> How "big" of you.  I understand there's a huge child exploitation
>> problem in Brazil.  What are you doing about that (besides
>> vacationing there and taking advantage of the very lifestyle that
>> supports this).

I usually ignore this gentleman but in this case I'll reply.  My
family (me, my wife, and my in-laws) support an orphanage with about
70 children in one of the many favelas (slums) in Salvador, BA,
Brazil.  There are about 30 orphans there.  The rest are cared for
during the day so their parents can work.  The mix varies as more
children arrive periodically and others find homes or the parents or
families take them back.  It's not a major gift but we do what we
can.

We also contribute most of the support to a day care facility for
some of the poorest children in a favela in another part of the city.
Many of the children there were suffering from malnutrition and
various treatable but untreated childhood diseases when they arrived.
At the creche they are well-fed, lovingly cared for and given access
to medicine and treatment.

If you ever went to one of these places and spent a few minutes with
the children you'd understand why we can't say no to them.

>>> The problem is their stuff is so ubiquitous it's almost
>>> impossible to eliminate.  It seems like nearly everything you buy
>>> has at least some component part made in China.
>>
>> I'll bet the laptop you're posting this from is made in China.
>> For shame, Bass.

It's a tower made by Compaq.  I don't know where it was made but I
wouldn't be surprised if at least some of its components came from
China.  Today I got a call from a camera manufacturer from China.
They wanted to know if we would be interested in marketing their
products.  I politely explained that, although their products might
be excellent, I will no longer take on new lines of Chinese made
goods.  I have yet to decide whether I will drop current Chinese
goods from our website.  If I do it's probably going to be a royal
pain just figuring out what comes from where.

>>> Now there's another issue, a much larger one, with which I'm
>>> grappling.  Many of the systems we sell online come from China or
>>> are at least assembled there.  I have no reason to believe that
>>> any of them represent a hazard but I am concerned with the moral
>>> issue of supporting their economy while they try to sack ours.
>>> If they continue shipping tainted products and using
>>> anti-competitive trade practices, not to mention abusing
>>> employees, I have to decide whether (and how) to remove them from
>>> our online stores.
>
>> EVERYTHING electronic has origins in China these days.  You blame
>> the Chinese for this...

Nope.  As long as Americans insist on getting the least expensive
"whatever" there will be a voracious appetite for Chinese goods.

>> Look to the US based manufacturers who are really responsible for
>> this debacle...

You don't understand a market-based economy or you'd realise it's the
consumers who make the real choices.

> in their "push" for higher profit and a greater return on their
> investment.  One way to "fight" back is to make sure everything you
> sell is RoHS compliant...

I'm in the USA.

> I had lead toy soldiers when I was a kid, I used to make them with
> molds handed down from my grandfather out of plumbers lead.  I also
> had a big bottle of mercury that I used to play with, collected
> from broken thermometers and thermostats.  I'm fine.  The lead
> hazards are way overrated.  What would one of you do if a CFL bulb
> was dropped in your childs bedroom and broke?  Move out of the
> house?

I had lead toy soldiers, too.  I also played with mercury in school
science classes.  Whether those things had any negative effect is
difficult to measure on an individual basis.  However, we do know for
proven fact that lead causes major health problems in children.  We
also know that mercury is hazardous on contact.  That doesn't mean
you run away and hide if someone breaks a light bulb.  It does mean
(for me, at least) that I try not to allow the 4-month old baby in my
home to come into contact with those substances.  It also means that
when I discover that a company or, worse, some government is
deliberately shipping tainted children's toys to my country I won't
buy from them any more.

You decide what's right for yourself and your family.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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