China: heads will roll....

[az]

http://lamanaphotography.com/walmart2.htm

[Dr Mordrid]

Probably not WalMarts fault.

This looks like allergic contact dermatitis, which quite a few people can get if exposed to the right substance. Problem is that substance is so variable you never know what'll do it for a given individual.

He tested himself for the obvious, latex allergy, but you can also get it from polyvinyl chloride which is often used in gloves & sandals and as a substitute for latex. Much of the time this is due to additives used to make the PVC soft.

If rubber was a component the accelerators used to speed vulcanization can do the same thing in some people.

This one is from hair dye;

[ND66]

No big deal .......

China defends toy safety, says problems limited



Chinese-made toys are overwhelmingly safe and the number of unsafe products is dwarfed by the total export value, state media said on Friday, a week after Mattel pulled goods because of fears about lead in paint.

"Although there are a few problems with some made-in-China toys, generally the safety quality is worthy of being trusted," the official Xinhua news agency said, citing unnamed officials from two industry associations.

Last year, China exported $7 billion worth of toys to more than 160 countries, it said.

Of about 300,000 batches for export, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission had only made about 29 recalls, it added.

"The Chinese government and producers pay a great deal of attention to toy safety and quality, and have adopted tough certification standards to guarantee safety," the report added.

China has been struggling to convince the world its products are safe after a series of scandals over tainted pet food, drugs, tires, toys and toothpaste.

This week, the government banned two factories from exporting toys following the previous week's high profile recall of Mattel products, including Big Bird and Elmo.

Lead is toxic and can pose serious health risk to young children who often put objects in their mouths.

[rylan]

Well, the head of the toy company was found dead.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/13/china.toymaker.ap/index.html

[ND66]

More and more......

Mattel to recall more Chinese-made toys


August 14, 2007: 02:50 AM EST


Aug. 14, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) --

NEW YORK (AP) - Less than two weeks after Mattel Inc. (NYSE:MAT) recalled 1.5 million Chinese-made toys because of lead paint, the toy industry is bracing for another blow that could give parents more reason to rethink their purchases just before the critical holiday shopping season.

Mattel is set to announce the recall of another toy involving a different Chinese supplier as early as Tuesday, according to three people close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Details of the latest recall were not immediately available, but one of the three people said the toy is being recalled because its paint may contain excessive amounts of lead.

Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, declined to comment. Mattel officials did not immediately return phone calls.

A new Mattel action would mark the latest in a string of recalled products from China, ranging from faulty tires to tainted toothpaste. With more than 80 percent of toys sold worldwide made in China, toy sellers are nervous that shoppers will shy away from their products.

On Aug. 1, Mattel's Fisher-Price division announced the worldwide recall of 1.5 million Chinese-made preschool toys featuring characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo. About 967,000 of those toys were sold in the United States between May and August.

Mattel, based in El Segundo, Calif., apologized to customers for that recall and said the move would cut pretax operating income by $30 million. Fisher-Price 'fast-tracked' the recall, which allowed the company to quarantine two-thirds of the tainted toys before they reached store shelves.

In documents filed Aug. 3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mattel noted that additional information became available in July on 'other smaller product recalls and similar charges were recorded.' Those recalls involved design problems, according to company officials questioned last week.

Days after the Fisher-Price recall, Chinese officials temporarily banned the toys' manufacturer, Lee Der Industrial Co., from exporting products. A Lee Der co-owner, Cheung Shu-hung, committed suicide at a warehouse over the weekend, apparently by hanging himself, a state-run newspaper reported Monday.

Lee Der was under pressure in the global controversy over the safety of Chinese-made products, and it is common for disgraced officials to commit suicide in China.

In June, toy maker RC2 Corp. (NASDAQ:RCRC) voluntarily recalled 1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line. The company said that the surface paint on certain toys and parts made in China between January 2005 and April 2006 contain lead, affecting 26 components and 23 retailers.

In July, Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS) recalled Chinese-made Easy Bake ovens, marking the second time the iconic toy had been recalled this year.

Before this month, Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel had never before recalled toys because of lead paint.

[ND66]

Oh, S _ _ T! Who's going to make our cheap toys now, huh?

WTF!

Mattel apologizes to China for toy recalls


The world's largest toy maker, Mattel Inc, apologized on Friday for damaging China's reputation after recent massive recalls of its Chinese-made toys, admitting it targeted some goods that were actually up to scratch.

Mattel has come under scrutiny following the recall of about 21 million of the toys in a span of five weeks, many because of excessive levels of lead paint.
"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Thomas Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president of worldwide operations, told China's quality watchdog chief, Li Changjiang, in the Chinese capital.

"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people and all of our customers who received the toys."

Debrowski said he realized the damage that had been done to the reputation of Chinese goods, adding the company was committed to manufacturing in China.

"But it's important for everyone to understand that the vast majority of those products that we recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in Chinese manufacturers."

The company added in a statement that too many toys had been recalled, although it said that was because it puts safety first.

"Mattel is committed to applying the highest standards of safety for its products. Consistent with this, Mattel's lead-related recalls were overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of U.S. standards," it said.

"The follow-up inspections also confirmed that part of the recalled toys complied with the U.S. standards," it added.

Debrowski, who sat stony-faced throughout the meeting with Li, did not talk afterwards to reporters, whom the quality regulator had invited to witness most of the meeting, unusual for a normally secretive Chinese government agency.

Li told Debrowski of his displeasure at the admission that perhaps too many toys had been targeted.

"You cannot recall 10,000 products just because one is substandard. This is unacceptable," he said.

But Li also struck a conciliatory tone with the company, which directly and indirectly employs thousands of Chinese.

"I appreciate your objective and responsible attitude towards the recalls and your sincere attitude towards our future cooperation," Li said.

Before the Mattel recalls, a spate of incidents involving unsafe Chinese products ranging from toys and seafood to toothpaste that entered both EU and U.S. markets prompted calls on both sides of the Atlantic for a ban on products "made in China."

Mattel CEO Robert Eckert this week defended his company's toy safety record as two skeptical Democratic lawmakers accused him of stonewalling a congressional probe into production practices in China.

[Fat Tone]

Why is everyone SO scared of china?

[cjolley]

Why is everyone SO scared of china?

Not everyone

[ND66]

Scared? Not really. But I thing we should be.

We’re feeding a rapidly growing Giant, that doesn’t want to obey nobodies but their own rules.

There are no Human Rights there, Patent protection or a simple Earth pollution protection.

Yet, is so BIG, everyone is petting him hoping not to piss him off too much!

We used to pump the money into Bin Laden for one example, (there is more just like that one), where are they all now?
.

[Fat Tone]

It's time they were treated like a naughty child. A short sharp, public, shock.

[TransformX]

The Chinese government is not stupid. In fact, they probably have some of the most sophisticated think tanks in the world. The whole point of opening up the economic is 1) Restore damage done during the cultural revolution 2) Have mutual economic dependence between China and US to try preventing future conflicts (i.e. cold war)

The other question is, why should China even take orders from anyone? Its not like the US is much better... at least the Chinese government won't go start invading others today. The only way I see why the Chinese is spending on military is for its defense agaist potential future US invasions... let see... even people here are still like "we should teach China a lesson". For god sake its a developing country, many people's life are improving. I'm sure all of us here can do a better job than the Chinese government in brining 1.5billion people out of proverty. First, we'll destroy the Communist Party, then we'll give democracy to 1.1 billion people. Right. The American approach to Iraq. That worked well.

ROFLMAO, tell that to Taiwan, Tibet, etc!

[TransformX]

Its still arguable. The Taiwan issue is the remainings of the Chinese civil war in the 50s. In fact, the CCP branched off from the KMT after the death of Sun Yat Sen. Its not an invasion. There is a reason why they call themselves "Republic of China". Before Lee took power in the 90s both sides claim to be the true form of China anyways, and both wants to take over the other. Besides, even today a lot of Taiwanese still believe in reunification, just not with the current Chinese government.

As for Tibet, that was many decades ago. If you think today's CCP is the same as the CCP in Mao's era, then let see... the Vietnam War... need I say more? Besides, since Tibet is so close, isn't its a natural geopolitical progression that one states get merged into another one? Just like what constitutes as "China" historically.

No, it isn't. If in doubt about the difference between semantics and reality, take a look at the middle east, especially Syria-Lebanon or Israel-Jordany-PA and Israel-Egypt-Hamastan.

[ND66]

...

Quote of The Day:


"It's like a bank robber apologizing to his accomplice instead of to the person who was robbed,"


Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Senator, blaming Mattel for apologizing to China.

For China, Mattel’s Mea Culpa Isn’t Good Enough


Mattel’s apology in China last week over the recall of millions of toys made there was greeted with charges of kowtowing in the United States, such as this one quoted in an account in The New York Times:

“It’s like a bank robber apologizing to his accomplice instead of to the person who was robbed,” Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York said in an interview. “They’re playing politics in China rather than doing what matters.”

In China, the apology was welcomed as proof that its products are mostly safe — a point it is eager to make after a summer of made-in-China recall headlines — but it also made clear that the message was long overdue. The Associated Press brings excerpts of articles recently put out by China’s state media:

‘’The apology, though delayed, should help dispel the suspicion American customers harbor against Chinese-made products and clean up the stain the recalls left on the innocent Chinese workers who make a living doing honest labor,'’ the official English-language China Daily newspaper reported.

The state-run Guangzhou Daily said in an editorial Monday that Mattel’s apology was a little late ‘’but at least it redressed injustice against toys made in China.'’
But the paper added: ‘’It is still too early to say we are happy.'’

Beneath the rift between Mattel and China is another one between China and the American media, another state-run publication wrote today.

Blaming “inappropriate and one-sided expression of some news stories” for “the blemished the image of Chinese-made products,” Xinhua news agency said that more attention must be paid to Mattel’s design flaws, not China’s manufacturing.

A Canadian study agreed, concluding that 76 percent of the toy recalls since 1988 were due to design flaws. But a leader of the study took pains to avoid absolving China.

“I’m not saying there is no problem with Chinese manufacturing,” Professor Hari Bapuji told The Times. “I’m just saying there is a bigger problem with designs.”