Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/bu...ss/22toys.html
After several embarassing toy recalls from toys made in Chi-Com factories, Mattel was coerced into apologizing to the Chi-Com people.

“It’s like a bank robber apologizing to his accomplice instead of to the person who was robbed,”
Senator Charles E. Schumer
*Wow....this may be the first time I agree with Schumer. Although a better analogy would be, 'It is like a bank robber forcing his victim to apologize to him.' Chinese factories chose to take shortcuts and use lead paint and now they want Mattel to take the fall. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Mattel is getting what they deserve....

It is not heard to read between the lines why a customer was apologizing to a vendor.
XMas season is coming and the Chi-Coms strong-armed Mattel to apologize or risk state sponsored factory strikes. Mattel blinked. Better to build factories in countries like Mexico than to lose that extra penny in costs than do business with a thoroghly corrupt and warlike regme like the Chi-Coms. If the USA goes to war with the Chi-Coms over Taiwan (which by treaty we are obligated to protect), these same corporate types will petition the US govt to reimburse them for that lost assets.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

I heard on the radio that Mattel has to admit that some of the problems were their own specs. and/or design flaws. Not sure if that's true or not.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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I heard on the radio that Mattel has to admit that some of the problems were their own specs. and/or design flaws. Not sure if that's true or not.

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Is true - here's the proof

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1057/toytraincl4.jpg

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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I heard on the radio that Mattel has to admit that some of the problems were their own specs. and/or design flaws. Not sure if that's true or not.

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I heard that too and I had the same reaction as Felix: that China is leaning on Mattel to take the fall for the problems.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

Of all the recalls made, 80% of them had to do with design flaws on Mattels part, not lead paint. Some executive thought he could hoist the blame on China because everyone in the US is a xenophobe, and the Chinese are having none of it.

Well Done
 

Pretty tough to screw up a toy spec...
I'm sure the Chi-Coms have hired a PR firm and are seeking to make Mattel the scape-goat.

Re: Well Done
 

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Pretty tough to screw up a toy spec...


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Why in the world would you think that?

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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I heard on the radio that Mattel has to admit that some of the problems were their own specs. and/or design flaws. Not sure if that's true or not.

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Is true - here's the proof

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1057/toytraincl4.jpg

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YES!!! MORE MSPAINT IN POLITIX PLZ.

Re: Well Done
 

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Why in the world would you think that?

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Because I have a BS in Industrial Engineering and I have extensive factory experience. Other than that...no reason.

Re: Well Done
 

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Why in the world would you think that?

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Because I have a BS in Industrial Engineering and I have extensive factory experience. Other than that...no reason.

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And you've never seen a screwed up spec come through? Never experienced a post-production problem that could/should have been caught in the original design/spec or product testing? How many toy recalls are there every single year --- those are mostly design issues. Something wasn't tested thoroughly, too small a piece was used here or there, the wrong glue was used. I think our collective experience with recalls tells us that it is very easy to make a design mistake, but I'll defer to your factory experience on this one.

Re: Well Done
 

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And you've never seen a screwed up spec come through?

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Sure I have. On complex electronic items.
Screwing up a toy spec is like Barry Bonds being struck out in a slow pitch softball game. I think the Chi-Coms are lying and they have threatened Mattel to take the blame or risk a strike before XMas. The Chi-Coms have a large population base that depends on mfg jobs. This bad PR could put a lot of workers on the streets. The Chi-Coms are scared of the possible fallout.

Re: Well Done
 

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...Chi-Coms...

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Curious why you keep referring to them as this. Seems silly to me. Doesn't save any typing (actually more than just "Chinese"); doesn't seem to add anything to me.

Re: Well Done
 

Taiwan = Chinese
Chi-Coms = Dirty Lying Commie Chinese

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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Of all the recalls made, 80% of them had to do with design flaws on Mattels part, not lead paint. Some executive thought he could hoist the blame on China because everyone in the US is a xenophobe, and the Chinese are having none of it.

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Many Chinese export products of various types, including toys, tires, foods and toothpaste, have been banned and/or recalled as unsafe.

NPR: List of Problem Chinese Imports Grows

The problem overall is not xenophobia but rather poorly enforced safety and quality control standards of Chinese exports. The Mattel case is but one in a long litany of unsafe products from China. Maybe Mattel bears significant responsibility too in that instance but that doesn't weigh on the larger picture.

Excerpts:

*"After initally guaranteeing the safety of the country's products, Chinese officials admitted Tuesday, after much international pressure, that "as a developing country, China's current food and drug safety situation is not very satisfactory."

*"The FDA increased inspection of toothpaste made in China after reports that some of the products may contain an ingredient used in antifreeze. The ingredient, diethylene glycol, is a thickening agent not normally used in toothpaste. The chemical has been used as a low-cost, but sometimes deadly substitute for glycerin – a sweetener commonly used in drugs. Diethylene glycol was found in three products manufactured by Goldcredit International Trading in China: Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint and Cooldent ICE. The FDA also found the chemical in Shir Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste, which is manufactured by Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemical Co. The FDA is not aware of any poisonings from toothpaste, but has found that the toothpaste was distributed in some U.S. bargain retail stores, including a Dollar Plus in Miami and a Todo A Peso in Puerto Rico. The toothpaste also was shipped to prisons in North Carolina and Georgia and hospitals in Florida and Georgia. The same chemical found in the toothpaste was blamed for the deaths of 51 people in Panama after they ingested tainted cough medicine. China has said it was the source of the deadly diethylene glycol, but says that it was originally labeled "for industrial use only."


*"Andres Leighton/APU.S. regulators have ordered tire importer Foreign Tire Sales, based in Union, N.J., to recall as many as 450,000 tires. The company reported that the treads on light-truck radials manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. in Hangzhou, China, might separate. Foreign Tire Sales said many of the tires are missing a safety feature called a gum strip, which helps bind the belts of the tire to each other. The gum strip prevents tread separation, which can cause a tire to blow, possibly making a driver lose control of the vehicle and crash. The Chinese-made tires were sold under at least four brand names: Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS. The tires, which were sold for use on vans, sport utility vehicles and pickups, have been linked to at least two deaths in accidents involving tread separation. "

*"Wheat gluten imported from China was linked to the deaths of pets nationwide earlier this year. The FDA blocked the import of wheat gluten from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company in China, saying it suspected the gluten was contaminated with melamine, a chemical used to make plastic products. The tainted food caused kidney failure in dogs and cats across North America. Distributors of the contaminated food recalled several varieties, following the deaths. "

Wouldn't it be expectred that a rapidly growing and expanding market's such as China's international export market would have a period of struggle and adjustment before everything is smooth? What amazes me is that people are so quick to cry "Xenophobia!" on a myriad of issues, when there are actually genuine underelying reasons for caution or prudence. The whole world isn't as advanced as the USA in most ways, you know, and it isn't xenophobia to display a healthy skepticism on some matters involving foreign input especially where major problems have been identified. The few items cited in the linked article are just some of the m,ost prominent cases; the list is actually huge. And many faulty Chinese products which have been refused entry at our ports, are later resubmitted for entry - the exact same items, sometimes at different ports. Of course, the USA only checks or inspects a small percentage of total imports.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

I'm not saying Chinese products are all save. I'm saying in this instance an apology might be in order.

I think my statement stands. They figured they could blame someone else and people would buy it without question because they know Americans hate China.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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I'm not saying Chinese products are all save. I'm saying in this instance an apology might be in order.

I think my statement stands. They figured they could blame someone else and people would buy it without question because they know Americans hate China.

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In this specific case that might be so. I haven't read enough on this specific instance to know one way or the other.

Sorry but your remarks struck me the wrong way and perhaps
I misperceived or misguessed where you were coming from. I do get tired of people crying "xenophobia!" regarding things that actually have very real basis for concerns, and I just thought you were probably doing something in that vein. Again I probably misperceived where you were coming from, so apologies.

There is plenty of reason to be somewhat leery of the quality and safety of Chinese exports right now given so many failures in that regard.

Also, I don't think "Americans hate China" as a general rule and so I sort of wonder what would make you think so.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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Also, I don't think "Americans hate China" as a general rule and so I sort of wonder what would make you think so.

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Lou Dobbs

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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Also, I don't think "Americans hate China" as a general rule and so I sort of wonder what would make you think so.

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Lou Dobbs

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I've never watched his show so that doesn't really explain it to me.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

He's on prime time CNN every single night with hit own show. It is devoted to blaming all of our problems on Mexicans and Chinese.

There are hundreds of hate pedlers like him on TV, but I suppose he is the most well known.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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He's on prime time CNN every single night with hit own show. It is devoted to blaming all of our problems on Mexicans and Chinese.

There are hundreds of hate pedlers like him on TV, but I suppose he is the most well known.

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Well as I said, I've never watched his show. Does he make points with a reasoned basis or is he just peddling hate?

UPDATE: More Recalls
 

http://www.reuters.com/article/consu...24789120070927
More recalls.......evidently the Chi-Coms were aware of these recalls as well hence the need to coerced Mattel to be the scapegoat.

Re: Companies Are Fools To In Communist China
 

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He's on prime time CNN every single night with hit own show. It is devoted to blaming all of our problems on Mexicans and Chinese.

There are hundreds of hate pedlers like him on TV, but I suppose he is the most well known.

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Well as I said, I've never watched his show. Does he make points with a reasoned basis or is he just peddling hate?

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Lou Dobbs rules for exposing the NAU.