"Cheap and nice"! 

Nope, I'm not talking about that stripper who took all your singles.  "Cheap and nice" actually refers to the new mantra of China's toy industry, the industry that wants you and me and parents round the world to buy Chinese toys.

Well, that sounds convincing, don't you think?

Because, according to China, 99% of their products manufactured for export are safe. That may be true, but 1% of 100 bazillion is still, um (rapidly counting on fingers...and toes...and oh what the hell) a bazillion. Which is a lot.

China says that the media is hyping the issue with "hysterical reporting" which, uh, they may be doing. Because the media are jackals, especially when they smell blood. Of course on the other hand, by this time (and not just about the toy thing) I trust China about as far as I can throw it. Which, despite my superhuman strength, is not far.

So while on the one hand I think there's some amount of overreaction to the unsafe-China-toys thing (which I am proud of the part I played in), on the other I think we should all be cautious about what we buy and where it comes from. Frankly, I'm more concerned about China's labor and economics practices, of which the toy thing is only a small part. And those are the things that keep me mindful about buying goods from China.

Photo: abc.go.com