Revenge of the Sweatshops

Everyone's on China's ass these days - toy giant Mattel has recalled a bajillion toys which contain tiny little magnets that tykes (presumably) are all too willing to swallow and seemingly harmless toy automobiles painted with lead-paint.

Mattel recalls of toys for this month (with number recalled in USA):

Polly Pocket play sets: 7.3 million, plus 2.4 million in November 2006. Magnets can come loose.
Doggie Daycare play sets: 1 million. Magnets can come loose.
Barbie and Tanner play sets: 683,000. Magnets can come loose.
Batman and One Piece action-figure play sets: 345,000. Magnets can come loose.
Pixar Sarge die-cast cars: 253,000. Lead-paint hazard.
Nickelodeon- and Sesame Street-licensed character toys sold under Mattel's Fisher-Price brand: 967,000. Lead-paint hazard.
Sources: CPSC, Mattel, The Associated Press, USA Today

Seems China's credibility has been in free-fall ever since that pet-food recall incident. Suddenly everything that's "Made in China" is suspect, and they're testing things out the wazoo. You mean all these toys we've taken for granted are deadly? Apparently three children swallowed magnets from these toys and ended up with perforated intestines. Parents are by nature programmed to be paranoid and overprotective for the kiddies so it's no wonder the hue and cry about this latest setback is astounding.

See, this is why life in this country is good. We don't have the luxury of all those highfalutin' toys. Our children play with old tires and tin cans. Siatung, anyone? That's a game using slippers and bamboo sticks. Piko, which involves flat stones and lines drawn in the dust, is organic to the max! Kid friendly. We don't need no stinking Barbies, do we? No we don't.

This whole manufacturing witch hunt probably is legit, but the theorist in me lives on.

Could it be revenge for killing America's pets? I know how them Americans view their pets - they're like family members - or could it be a great excuse for America to pull out of China and leave them floundering? Back to Made in America! Think about it. They get their jobs back and their economy goes back to its pastime of kicking ass and Georgie W. can pontificate with pride again. Maybe it's China's way to world domination. Poison them slowly.

I have no idea why all of a sudden China is the devil, but when you cut costs and want more value for less, this is bound to happen. And now we Filipinos are cashing in on the hue and cry, making our own tests. I remember seeing something about White Rabbit Candy having formalin. So far they've also found freon in toothpaste and more lead in jewelry. Gasp! The rumors are true! They're gathering rats and making them into potted meat! If they test out my favorite Ma-Ling potted meat and find crazy human parts, I know I will be traumatized for life, because I love me my Ma-Ling.

Still, I need to know why this took so long. Why now? Made in China has been around for quite a bit, hasn't it? And we've been eating and drinking and playing and using their produce, haven't we? So why are we all caught up in this mess now?