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.

Here's a spooky story that tells you why Iraq is related to Christmas toys.  It takes us to Baghdad and China, Washington and Wal-Mart, and ends (or begins?) under the Christmas tree.  It's our 2007 version of the 1925 poem by T.S. Eliot:

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpieces filled with straw

It starts with the scary mercenaries of Blackwater and the evil sorceror Rumsfeld...

Episode 1: The Hollow Military (Read on if you dare...)

Suppliers in China have admitted to adding melamine to animal feed. The FDA
is trying to screen out the additive, which is now blamed for many pet deaths
Associated Press Photo

"A lot of animal food companies buy melamine from us to add in the animal feed," said Ji Denghui, manager of Sanming Dinghui Chemical Trading Co. based in the eastern province of Fujian. "This can lower the production cost and increase nitrogen levels."

"As far as I know, there are no rules or regulations that make this illegal. As to whether melamine is toxic or not, I believe it won't do any harm if there is only very small amount," Ji said. "Otherwise, those companies could not do that."

Ji Denghui, quoted in yesterdays morning's Washington Post article titled "Chemical Common in Chinese Animal Feed" by Christopher Bodeen

A few weeks ago while surfing the net to find out which pet food brands were killing America's Garfields and Fidos and learning about wheat gluten, melamine, seitan, and the intricacies of the international trade in food additives, I was mildly surprised to find that we import wheat gluten from China and found myself wondering if someone had sold America's heartland while I wasn't looking. Did a foreign country buy up all of Illinois' farmland as part of the Chicago Skyway deal? Did the current batch of incompetent boobs who pass themselves off as our government manage to misplace Kansas and Nebraska along with our national integrity, respect for humanity and the Bill of Rights while making America safe for Laissez-faire capitalism?

Were the Russians forewarned about North Korea's impending test?  Particularly, did they know telling details like the size of the device that Kim Jong Il's regime set off?  And how might they have acquired sensitive information?

There is evidence to suggest they did know quite a bit more than they're admitting to.  But they apparently didn't know enough details to keep quiet when the test, practically speaking, fizzled.  Nor, converesly, did they choose to share what they knew with their good friend, America. In spite of President Bush's assessment of his relationship with Mr. Putin,

And the more I get to know President Putin, the more I get to see his heart and soul, and the more I know we can work together in a positive way.  White House News

it appears that five years into their "special friendship," Mr. Putin doesn't hold Mr. Bush in the same regard.

Today, a meeting between President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a protester who pleaded, "President Bush: Stop him from killing".

In other news, Bush's disingenuous invasion of Iraq has killed 2,378 American soldiers and an estimated 100,000 Iraqis -- women and children included. But no worries, Saddam Hussein is still alive and Bush is currently having tea with yet another dictator who more closely adheres to the economic interests of the United States.

In fact, in an ironic display of the freedom, liberty, and democracy frequently enjoyed by Americans pre-Bush Administration, White House security allowed a Chinese Protester the freedom to deliver her impassioned message to Chinese President Hu Jintao unabated -- a democratic luxury rarely afforded to protestors directing their concerns toward President Bush.

It was a strange sight as the woman 'heckler' at today's Hu-Bush pomp-o-rama continued her 'rant' with White House security conspicuously slow to the scene.

Yesterday on CBS's Face the Nation, Murtha said "The only people who want us in Iraq are Iran, al Qaeda, and China"

That comment might sound like "people who don't like us want us to hurt ourselves" or "people we want to hurt are happy we are distracted".... But there is much more to that comment.

Let me introduce you to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

When you visit the site, take a moment to really look at the splash page before you click on the "english" button.  Take a look at the map of the world in the background.  Now compare that to their logo.  Notice how much landmass is covered in their logo?  I make the point because Americans generally learn geography based on who we are bombing.  This time it would be wise to learn it up front...