I may be naive but I have this suspicion that there is an unfair blame game operating in the system of international relations... I would suggest that in order to reduce their giganornous trade deficit with China without having to put trade barriers, the US is creating a blame the "Chinese poorly manufactured products" game to slow the confidence of buyers towards Chinese-made goods — the scourge of umpteen massive trade deficits around the world... As mentioned in the blog above, there are many "toxic" products made within the "safe" boundaries of the US that do not attract the attention of the regulators... On the other-hand, having been involved some time ago in creating products "made in China" for the Aussie market, I do believe that the marketeers and the control department of "big firms" would have to do some necessary testing of the products and at least make one visit to the factories where the products are made, in order not to loose their pants — by having recalls or being sued — when the product lands in Orstralya... or the US, or Europa... Hum... unless they play the card "what we don't know can't hurt us"... Sure, I can believe this of politicians, but not of reputable firms that sell products... Sure, some defect can appear in some mass produced products, here and there... but in regard to lead paint and other "dangerous" products, there are ISO and CE strict standards that regulates manufacturing. Now, that some whole-sellers and retailers in the US "screws" the manufacturer to maximise profits — more than 5000 per cent on some lines — so much that it leads to more defective products and short cuts from the manufacturers, who knows?. As well, in most products, a certain amount of obsolescence is "factored in".

I may be wrong... (not on the "obsolescence" factor, mind you)... but the timing of this hysteria is puzzling... There were defective and dangerous goods from China way before that... Not tested? ...You know the answer to that.

‘The Bush administration and China have both undermined efforts to tighten rules designed to ensure that lead paint isn't used in toys, bibs, jewelry and other children’s products.

Both have fought efforts to better police imported toys from China.

Lead paint is toxic when ingested by children and can cause brain damage or death. It’s been mostly banned in the United States since the late 1970s, but is permitted in the coating of toys, providing it amounts to less than six hundred parts per million.

The Bush administration has hindered regulation on two fronts, consumer advocates say. It stalled efforts to press for greater inspections of imported children’s products, and it altered the focus of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), moving it from aggressive protection of consumers to a more manufacturer-friendly approach.

“The overall philosophy is regulations are bad and they are too large a cost for industry, and the market will take care of it,” said Rick Melberth, director of regulatory policy at OMBWatch, a government watchdog group formed in 1983. “That’s been the philosophy of the Bush administration.”

Today, more than 80 percent of all U.S. toys are now made in China and few of them get inspected.’

Efforts To Crack Down On Lead Paint Thwarted By China, Bush Administration

I don't remember much... and should I be doing a collection of my cartoons in a book, this will be the intro for it... It mentions a lot of lead... :

Notes from Gus Leonisky, cartoonist

Like many people who, as a kid, used to help their dad melt lead pipes into fishing weights — and played with asbestos while making corked models boats — I have a short attention span and bad lungs. So I draw faces of the subjects to these cartoons in less than ten seconds, then I’ve got no idea what I’m doing next, while wheezing. This is why the invention of the computer was a boon for deficient people like me, those with a pigeon loft for brains... All I do is copy endlessly the same pictures and stick them on in different places and bingo: a new cartoon all together... The computer does the drawing for me. The subjects of the toons — themselves hilariously dead-pan — provide the funny bit... No need to add much...

I ask you, our god/goddess must have had a warped sense of humour for guiding us to vote for George W. Bush as the President of the most powerful country on Earth... George W. Bush — another kid who must have been melting lead pipes for fishing weights with his dad...

Not only having to deal with lead fumes and asbestos, I was raised on alcoholic beverages very early in life, mainly because red wine and bread soup, schnaps and sausages, cherry brandy and strudel were the staple diet in that part of Europe that does not exist any more — boiled potatoes on the side included. Some kind of fire “distilled” water was added in milk bottles to calm the ADDH out of us... Thus, my brain left me stranded early in the vacant lot of cosmic metaphysics that did not make any sense. I did genuflect a lot, mind you, without rhyme nor reason. I never joined any groups such as the Hitler Youth nor the boy scouts movement because I could never go on any outing without pissing in my pants. The rebel in me went directly to my weak bladder...
And I never wanted to hold a gun in the name of any gods or goddesses... And I used to faint a lot... I still do (faint) but I’m used to it.

So do not hold grudges if you feel I recycle a lot... Please write your own caption to the picture on the opposite page [imagine a drawing of George W Bush smiling at the prospect of looking inside his own butt. A cartoon I did when he went around his office "looking for non-existent WMDs"]. I’ve used it many times [on this site] but I’m sure it can be used plenty more... And did I mention red lead paint?