China & COVID-19 virus

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

With china (from what we know) caused the virus, has anyone had second thoughts on buying chinese built stuff not
from fear but from anger & not wanting to feed the machine?

[ARtraveler]

Covid-19 Virus

[Nobodyjj]

Seeing practically squat is made in NA you are at their mercy. Be years to try and catch back up!

[Navydad]

This will be an interesting topic over the next year or more. China is well on the way to having the whole world upset with them. We'll see how this plays out

[Freddy]

Seeing practically squat is made in NA you are at their mercy. Be years to try and catch back up!

No it won't - it simply won't happen at all as we've priced ourselves out of the global market.

[SPYD3R]

i sent the below email to the CEO of Harbor Freight....
anyone, everyone, is allowed to copy & paste it, and also send it to him.... be my guess:

Mr. Eric Smidt;
Please be advised that I will no longer buy any products at Harbor Freight that are made in CHINA...
This virus, in my opinion, was created and released INTENTIONALLY by China, and I consider it an ACT OF WAR against the people of the world, especially the United States of America.
Harbor Freight has been my GO TO STORE, in Greenville, SC for well over 20 years, I find it sad that I am forced to do this because I've enjoyed your products and the courtesy of your staff, but it's a MUST to save our country from those that are trying to destroy us.
Please try to locate US MADE products, I'm certain that most Americans would be willing to pay a bit more to avoid enhancing an oppressive Communist organization.
Dan P
Easley, SC

[Cobwebs]

Wait till hyper inflation kicks in from all the bailouts and the idea of ''paying a bit more'' will only be for the very wealthy.
China is in meltdown too.
Could be half the goods simply won't be available from anywhere.
The idea that you can just flick a switch or print money to start the system up again is far from reality.
The ponzi scheme is being reset at the expense of the middle class and small business with choice and freedom the big loosers.

[MonPaul]

With china (from what we know) caused the virus, has anyone had second thoughts on buying chinese built stuff not
from fear but from anger & not wanting to feed the machine?

I think it depends on the buyer. I don't believe anyone goes out of their way to buy a Chinese product, it is usually more of wanting a cheap price or not doing research where a product is made.

[Lew L]

I'm needing a small plasma torch----- the chinese one is $300 or so. The American ones are $650 and up. I just don't want to support the communist chinese government but what's a guy to do???

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm needing a small plasma torch----- the chinese one is $300 or so. The American ones are $650 and up. I just don't want to support the communist chinese government but what's a guy to do???

Lew ....but imho it's almost impossible to know whether or not the item you buy from a " USA seller " hasn't been purchased by them from CHINA. .... I would love it if there was a way to determine this ..... Mike

[TicketBait]

With china (from what we know) caused the virus, has anyone had second thoughts on buying chinese built stuff not
from fear but from anger & not wanting to feed the machine?

My feeling is that's the wrong approach to take. Too soon to know. Don't shoot from the hip.

Question? If China comes up with a vaccine before us, should we use it if they offer it to us, or say no out of principal?.........and what if they say we will sell it to you for $$$$$$$$.........

This is when the WORLD and friends need to work together, similar to the next bigger travesty Climate DOOM

This is a world Pandemic. Lets be right on the fix for this! ok?

i sent the below email to the CEO of Harbor Freight....
anyone, everyone, is allowed to copy & paste it, and also send it to him.... be my guess:

Mr. Eric Smidt; (Political Post)
Please be advised that I will no longer buy any products at Harbor Freight that are made in CHINA...
This virus, in my opinion, was created and released INTENTIONALLY by China, and I consider it an ACT OF WAR against the people of the world, especially the United States of America.
Harbor Freight has been my GO TO STORE, in Greenville, SC for well over 20 years, I find it sad that I am forced to do this because I've enjoyed your products and the courtesy of your staff, but it's a MUST to save our country from those that are trying to destroy us.
Please try to locate US MADE products, I'm certain that most Americans would be willing to pay a bit more to avoid enhancing an oppressive Communist organization.
Dan P
Easley, SC

Seriously, Americans are employed at Harbor freights, so you will effect them before you damage the Chinese.

Ya know the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and we Put American Citizens of Japanese nationality and decent in camps. Is that what's next??

Why stop there, why not go back to WWII and not buy Gold Wing or BMW motorcycles.



TicketBait, JMO

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

This virus, in my opinion, was created and released INTENTIONALLY by China, and I consider it an ACT OF WAR against the people of the world,

There's just too much of that way of thinking in this country - concrete conclusions and courses of action based on opinion. This could end up being the worst case of human/animal virus transmission situations ever. The news today reported two pet cats in NY have tested positive for Covid-19. And what was it, two weeks ago, when two tigers in NY tested positive? Are dogs next? What about gerbils and pet mice? That the virus came to humans from bats is perfectly plausible. It's happened before. And for all we know it may not have been bats. I understand the Chinese consume all sorts of wild animals. It's part of their culture. I heard today that the coronavirus was introduced into the German society by a Chinese lady passing a salt shaker to a German woman at a company lunch room. Two people in CA have been confirmed by autopsy as actually being the first fatalities from Covid-19 in the US. Where they picked it up is unknown. We just don't know everything yet that we need to know about how the virus originated and spreads.

[sduskin]

unproven conspiracy theory... Scientists that were researching before the Chinese stopped the inquiries, found it was genetically like 90+% to a bat virus. The hypothesis is it went from bat to middle animal to human. They were doing the tracing and sequencing when China stopped access to the data for research.

Besides, the virus will only live on surfaces for a few days. It takes longer than that to get chinese goods to our homes even via China Express.

[2dogs]

SPYD3R you need some reality time. And by the way, don't believe all the stuff coming our of Oklahoma. It's going to be months before fat lady sings.

[sduskin]

Well, I could believe that. Kinda like us having the best football team.

[Peter Aawen]

Well, I could believe that. Kinda like us having the best football team.

WHAAAT!! You lot don't even play FOOTBALL - that so called 'game' you lot play is more like a choreographed demolition derby crossed with motorised Himalayan polo - only with car sized players instead of cars, and a pigskin bladder instead of your enemy's head!!

And NO, I'm not talking about that 'Thugs game for Gentlemen' called Rugby Union that's played by some Toffs somewhere; nor that 'Gentleman's game for Thugs' called Rugby League aka 'one man trying to push two men's heads up three men's arses' that's played by wannabe Toffs somewhere else! Neither am I talking about that Soccer stuff, which is called by a few 'the World Game', despite only something like 4% of the World's population playing it?!?

Surely you all know that there's only one REAL Football and that's Aussie Rules Football The phenomenal game played by highly skilled & extremely athletic aerial ping pong players who not only hafta kick the ball with their feet (and have done that so much that the ball is now permanently just a tad misshapen! ) but they also hafta run with the ball, and bounce the oddly shaped ball; they hafta leap high into the air to pluck the ball outta the sky if it comes near, and climb all over their opponents to do that if they can; and they pass the ball too, only not just by throwing it (cos anyone can throw a ball! ) but by skillfully punching it off the flat of their hand like any sensible person would!

I just don't know what the World is coming to, thinking that any other 'game' could be great enough to be called 'Football' besides Aussie Rules, the game of Champions, played in the Greatest Country on Earth.... where we also play Cricket in the off season, just to keep the adrenalin pumping & coursing thru our veins!!





Ooops, sorry bout that little thread deviation there, I mighta juust let my enthusiasm to set the record straight run away with me a liddle bit there - but in my defence, due to the Covid-19 'Social Distancing' requirements, there's no Footy being played here atm and there's no cricket either.... But at least that brings us back on topic....

[wyliec]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you TicketBait.:

[wyliec]

Peter Aawen,

After watching the Netflix series The English Game, I’d have to agree.

https://www.newsweek.com/english-gam...-suter-1493204

[EdMat]

Thank you Peter, you have started my morning off right!

[ThreeWheels]

My feeling is that's the wrong approach to take. Too soon to know. Don't shoot from the hip.


Seriously, Americans are employed at Harbor freights, so you will effect them before you damage the Chinese.

Ya know the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and we Put American Citizens of Japanese nationality and decent in camps. Is that what's next??

Why stop there, why not go back to WWII and not buy Gold Wing or BMW motorcycles.

TicketBait, JMO[/I][/SIZE]

With all due respect, in my humble opinion, you miss the point entirely.
It's easy, but totally wrong to blame racism as the root of any disagreement.
I believe there is a larger point to make. Do we, as a society, want to allow ourselves to become dependent on very long supply chains that can be easily disrupted.
This Covid virus has just made the point very strongly, but we've had many many examples in the past that were pointed, but less encompassing.
As an example, do you remember the oil embargo of the 1970's ? We have, finally, since then, become energy independent again.
Refineries used to be placed all over the country, now they focus on the Gulf of Mexico. Look what happens when there is a storm in the region. Gas prices go up because of a little rain.
Ice storms in Florida make vegetable and fruit prices fluctuate.
To be sure, it's a good idea to have foreign sources of goods to supplement our own, but just as a matter of course, it's better to have secure sources that are reliably close.
Just as another example, the Chinese have made passing comments to withhold the anti-biotics that we so desperately need to combat the current plague.

[Mazo EMS2]

I asked my wife the question last night, "if another country comes with a vaccine before the USA, do you think we would even know about it, and, do you think we would even accept it?" Whadaya think, are we as Americans too wrapped up in economics to accept a vaccine created by another country? Personally, I think it would be a hidden fact if another country came up with a vaccine prior to the US. This country is sooooo greedy, I don't think Big Pharma would ever allow a cheap vaccine to be made available to us without them being able to profit HUGELY from it. Pharmaceuticals and Insurance companies have run our medical system into the ground. Back on topic though.......I would love to be able to buy American Made Only, but I think we as Americans have made it nearly impossible to be able to afford to do that. Corporate Greed has become very real, and is becoming VERY evident in these times

[Grandpot]

Peter, I remember back in my 20's, going to a Rugby game and in the parking lot seeing bumper stickers saying, "Give blood, play Rugby." How true!

[JayBros]

Peter, I remember back in my 20's, going to a Rugby game and in the parking lot seeing bumper stickers saying, "Give blood, play Rugby." How true!

When I played lacrosse in college the laxers and the ruggers used to argue who was crazier, guys who could legally run around with sticks and hit each other or blokes who played football with no helmets.

[ARtraveler]

An interesting subject provided it continues to stay within the site rules.

Only two deletions for rule infractions so far.

[carbonation]

I think you have to make your own decisions.
I'll be thinking about where my purchases are from going forward.
I recently needed plumbing parts for a home project. I had a choice of one product that was of China manufacture, one from Italy. I chose Italy. The other 5 parts, only one was MUSA, the rest were MIC. But I made a choice when I could.
There are some items that you will not be able to find made anywhere but China, because retailers have limited choices in some product lines, and they make a boatload of money on those MIC parts, keeping the doors open and them in business.
I do think we need to move critical manufacturing back here though. Drugs, medical hardware, tools, things that keep the wheels turning and benefit us and US in the long haul.