CBS officials have quietly issued a recall of a best-selling holiday toy, but have so far failed to use their mighty megaphone to actually inform consumers that there is a recall, or how to pursue a refund. Facing a storm of bad publicity, legal action, and government intervention, CBS has reportedly bowed to pressure from public health advocates and, after a delay of over three weeks, issued a quiet recall of its "CSI" Fingerprint Kit, after three independent labs confirmed that the best-selling holiday toy contains deadly asbestos. CBS Broadcasting has asked that all "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Fingerprint Examination Kits" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Field Kits" be pulled off toy store shelves nationwide. The toy is made in China, where many other recently recalled toys have been manufactured.

CBS officials have quietly issued a recall of a best-selling holiday toy, but have so far failed to use their mighty megaphone to actually inform consumers that there is a recall, or how to pursue a refund.

Facing a storm of bad publicity, legal action, and government intervention, CBS has reportedly bowed to pressure from public health advocates and, after a delay of over three weeks, issued a quiet recall of its "CSI" Fingerprint Kit, after three independent labs confirmed that the best-selling holiday toy contains deadly asbestos. CBS Broadcasting has asked that all "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Fingerprint Examination Kits" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Field Kits" be pulled off toy store shelves nationwide. The toy is made in China, where many other recently recalled toys have been manufactured.

Your immediate action can help convince CBS to swiftly recall a toxic toy that contains deadly asbestos but that is being sold nationwide this holiday season. An independent laboratory testing for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) found tremolite -- a deadly form of asbestos -- in the toy fingerprint powder in the "CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM Fingerprint Examination Kit." Although ADAO announced the test results more than two weeks ago, on November 28, the toy -- made in China -- remains on toy shelves across the country and is still available online. The fingerprint kit is one of this holiday season's biggest sellers, according to a November 27 Seattle Post Intelligencer report by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Andrew Schneider.

It couldn't be more ironic.  

The United Church of Christ, the 1.3 million member Protestant denomination has been unfolding a multiyear campaign of what they call "extravagant welcome."  Their surveys have shown that many people have had experiences of feeling "rejected" by churches.  So as part of a massive outreach effort, the church has made a series of TV spots intended to address people's feeling of rejection and underscore in their ads, "God does not reject people.  Neither do we."            

When the UCC sought to place its ads the first time, in the run-up to Christmas in 2004, the ads were rejected by the networks but were aired on cable. The networks rejected the new ads this time as well -- but the rejection has now trickled down to most of the network-owned cable systems.  

To see the 30 second ad that is so shocking that even hard-nosed TV executives faint dead away: Click here.