-----------  "Chingy-Chingy-Wah-Wah!"  Chinese Whine About Poison
Exports Criticism   --------------

tires and the Olympics and Christ only knows what else, the Chinese
Commies are getting very defensive and are blaming the media and any
person, groups, organizations, or countries they can think of for
casting aspersions upon their already-tainted reputation for exporting
dangerous products.

Naturally, your White House war criminal hasn't uttered a word about
this.  Far be it for him to criticize ANY militarily powerful
country.

Bully is as bully does.

But U.S. citizens are up in arms over federal trade groups' seeming
lack of control or responsibility over imports that threaten their
safety and health and those of their children and pets.

And the publication last week of the HORRIBLY POLLUTED, post-
apocalyptic views of downtown BEIJING are fueling calls for the U.S.
to cancel its participation in the China-sponsored 2008 Olympic Games.

Just possibly, only the strong umbilicals of commerce that connect the
U.S. and China are preventing a trade, or even a shooting, war.
---------------------------
"Parents Fret, Toy Retailers Scramble"

By Anne D'Innocenzio
Associated Press
Saturday, August 11, 2007; D01

NEW YORK -- When Lisa Landry thinks ahead to holiday shopping for her
9-month-old son, Ari, her concern isn't which toy is most exciting.
It's which is safest.

"I'll be looking for anything that won't harm our child," she says.
"It may not be super-fun."

Already crossed off from her shopping list: toys made in China.

Retailers and toymakers are worried that many parents are reacting as
Landry is to the string of recalls of Chinese-made toys. The stores
and suppliers made the bulk of their manufacturing and wholesale
orders months ago, when most of them envisioned row after row of toys
from China on their shelves. More than 80 percent of toys sold in U.S.
stores are made in China.

Now they're scrambling to make adjustments for customers who may want
something else.

Toys R Us is looking at ways to increase its assortment of American-
made toys and is expanding its selection of organic products, though
most of the holiday ordering is in place, according to spokeswoman
Kathleen Waugh.

"We just want to be sure that customers are comfortable with our
assortment," she said. Waugh said Toys R Us had already planned to
bring in more European brands, such as Brio, to differentiate itself
from other retailers, but that merchandise strategy should gain more
importance.

Waugh confirmed that the retailer is pulling a list of its sources of
American-made toys as part of an overall assessment of its assortment.

In a statement, Laura Phillips, vice president and merchandise manager
of toys at Wal-Mart, said she feels confident about current orders,
but added, "We always are examining opportunities with suppliers who
have capacity for U.S. production and will do so in seasons ahead."

Brands like Little Tykes and K'Nex, whose products are made in the
United States, will be promoting their heritage with bigger product
labels and advertising campaigns, company executives said.

The prospect of a difficult holiday season caps a year in which the
$22.3 billion toy industry has been shaken by several high-profile
recalls of Chinese-made products, from Hasbro's faulty Easy Bake Ovens
to RC2's Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway wooden toy line, which
contained lead paint.

The latest -- and considered to be the most damaging this year --
involved the worldwide recall of 1.5 million preschool toys from
Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel, the nation's largest toymaker, and
included popular Sesame Street and Nickelodeon characters.

The actions are part of a slew of recalls of Chinese-made products
that range from faulty tires to poisoned pet food. But with children's
lives at stake, the issue becomes extremely emotional, experts say.

The Toy Industry Association is working with Congress and the Consumer
Product Safety Commission to help establish legislation that will make
testing mandatory for all toy products, according to association
chairman Daniel Grossman.

There is no law now that requires toy testing, although toymakers
adhere to voluntary standards and big retailers also do their own
testing.

Tighter controls will add more costs to makers, which could result in
higher prices at the stores.

"I would pay up to 50 percent more for something that I knew was well-
made and safe," said Amy Lemen, 41, the mother of a 5-year-old
daughter, Audrey. The Austin resident, who did not have any of the
tainted toys, said the latest recall will make her focus more on eco-
friendly toys. Lemen may also buy fewer toys this holiday season,
investing instead in experiences such as taking her daughter to Sea
World in San Antonio.

For now, toy companies that make their goods in Europe or in the
United States are clearly benefiting from consumers' worry. Toy
experts say that European makers adhere to higher safety standards
than in the United States. And even though European toymakers are
shifting some of their production to China, the products are required
to be tested before they reenter the country of origin.

Michael Araten, president of K'Nex Industries, known for its plastic
construction toys and the exclusive distributor for Brio in North
America, said that deliveries to stores are up 25 percent in August.
He expects a 30 percent increase this holiday season, he said.

One online seller of European wooden toys, Oompa Enterprises, has
fielded hundreds of calls from concerned consumers since the Fisher-
Price recall, according to chief executive Milanie Cleere. She
estimates those calls are coming in at about four times the volume
they did before the trouble began.

She said she has personally spoken to several callers, including
Landry, the mother from New York City, assuring them she carefully
tests products her company sells.

Some experts believe the shift of focus from a toy's popularity to its
safety could lead to new criteria among parents.

"This is the time consumers have to look at the individual needs of a
child -- age, skills and interest -- when buying toys and not just buy
what the buzz or hot toy list is about," said Marianne M. Szymanski,
publisher of Toytips.com, a toy guide.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/Ar2007081002125.html

-------------------------------------------------------------
"Product Safety Fear Inflated, China Says"

By Audra Ang
Associated Press
Saturday, August 11, 2007; D02

BEIJING, Aug. 10 -- China's Health Ministry accused foreign media
Friday of exaggerating problems with the safety of the country's food,
and a Chinese tiremaker at the center of a huge U.S. recall accused
the company importing the tires of distortions.

While China faces "severe challenges" in ensuring food safety, foreign
media are playing up the problems and have ulterior motives, Health
Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said at a news conference.

"The question of food safety is a problem the whole world faces," Mao
said.

"Foreign media are using irrelevant cases or just a few cases to make
the safety issue much bigger than it is and have linked this to the
success of hosting the Olympics," he said. The Olympics are to be held
in Beijing next summer.

Mao said the Health Ministry dealt with 111,226 cases of illegal food
production in 2006 while inspecting products including baby food,
health supplements and additives. He said 29,571 businesses were shut
down and 1,700 tons of goods were destroyed.

The ministry has established a daily supervision and examination
system targeting small food producers and is monitoring 61 chemical
contaminants in 54 types of food, including Sudan Red dye and
formaldehyde, a preservative and embalming fluid that has been linked
to cancer in humans, Mao said.

Tire manufacturer Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber leveled its accusations at
importer Foreign Tire Sales of Union N.J., which said Thursday that it
would recall 255,000 tires it says are defective because they lack a
safety feature that prevents tread separation.

Foreign Tire Sales was sued by the families of two men who died when
their van crashed in Pennsylvania in August 2006. The lawsuit says the
van had tires made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber.

Hangzhou Zhongce said the U.S. company has given three conflicting
accounts of the accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, which ordered a recall of as many as 450,000 tires in
June.

"From these three different explanations of the same case, it's clear
that FTS is using nonexistent facts to mislead the public and is
trying to achieve commercial gain by getting people's sympathy,"
Hangzhou Zhongce said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press.

Chinese regulators said last month that the tires met U.S. safety
standards.

[read whole story]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081002098.html