CPSC Feed Added to Site

Hiya! Please note that to the right and down a bit is a feed from the Consumer Product Safety Commission concerning all toy-related recalls.

Be sure and also have a look at the CPSC Non-Toy recall list, also listed to the right. It's huge!

Rufies for Kids!

Aqua Dots Recalled For 'Date Rape' Drug Danger

WASHINGTON (CBS News) ― China-made toys seized in Hong Kong were being tested Thursday after scientists in Australia found that similar toys contained a chemical that converts into a powerful 'date rape' drug when ingested, officials said.

At least five children in the United States and Australia have been hospitalized after swallowing the toy beads, which are used in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused when sprayed with water.

"They look like brightly colored little candies and they're manufactured in China, where, as you know, they're cutting corners in these factories, using toxic chemicals," Julie Vallese, spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission told CBS' "The Early Show".

Australian scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date-rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

My God, someone actually gets it!

How clean tech will bring manufacturing jobs back to U.S. | Tech news blog - CNET News.com:

"Shipping materials from China also "blows the whole point about zero carbon dioxide," he added. "You're on the wrong side of the energy curve."

State governments are also offering substantial incentives--free rent in industrial parks, tax holidays, loans, grants--to woo these companies. "States do not want to be left out of the next industrial revolution," Surace said.

Some of the most aggressive states include New York, California, and New Mexico.

The heartening part of all of this is that Surace isn't alone. Bruce Jamerson, CEO of Mascoma, which wants to make cellulosic ethanol, has said the same thing. Mascoma is building plants in Michigan, New York, and Tennessee because that's where the wood chips and vegetable matter are. Several analysts have said shipping is one of the big barriers for Chinese solar-panel makers.

Granted, it's not like these companies are staying in the States because the CEO woke up one day to a Bob Seger song playing on the radio and started getting misty-eyed over the disappearance of the industrial heartland. They are being encouraged to stay stateside in part because of subsidies.

But other factors--like shipping costs, the low prices of their products, and the proximity to local markets--could conspire to get the manufacturing arm of the country moving again."

Egg Piracy in China

Egg Piracy in China: "The artificial egg can be fried sunny-side up or steamed. Although bubbles appear on the white of the egg, those who have tasted it say the fake stuff tastes very much like the real thing. But experts warn of the danger of eating fake eggs. Not only do they not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia."

Wal-Mart Voluntarily Recalls Thousands of Chinese-M

Wal-Mart Voluntarily Recalls Thousands of Chinese-Made Toys

Reports: China 'hijacking' Google, Yahoo, Microsoft search sites | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Reports: China 'hijacking' Google, Yahoo, Microsoft search sites | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Ticked off that the United States gave the Dalai Lama the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal this week, China may be taking out its aggression by "hijacking" American search engines.

There's speculation that the Dalai Lama's recent award from President Bush (their meeting, pictured above) has prompted Net users in China to be rerouted from U.S. search sites to Baidu. (Credit: White House)

Over at Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan reports that numerous users trying to access Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft search engines from within China or using Chinese Internet service providers are being redirected to Chinese-owned search engine Baidu.

Sullivan says it's not exactly clear how that process is working, but he cites a news report from 2002 that indicates this sort of thing has happened in China before. At the time, a Baidu official denied having any part in the rerouting.

So is the Chinese government to blame? After all, its extensive attempts at censoring what its citizens view on the Internet have been well-documented.

It's worth noting, however, that the reported redirects may not have any direct link to the Dalai Lama events. The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Beijing has been ramping up its filtering of political sites in an attempt to stifle political dissent leading up to the Communist Party Congress, a meeting in which leaders are selected to serve under the president for the next five years.

Fake IPhone: 3G SPhone Is Made of Paper, Costs a Bomb and Looks Familiar - Gizmodo

Fake IPhone: 3G SPhone Is Made of Paper, Costs a Bomb and Looks Familiar - Gizmodo: We've seen all sorts of iPhone wannabes from China, but this SPhone is yours for just 3,999 Yuan — $533 — remarkably expensive for something that seems to be made out of paper.