Now Nokia is Conducting a Recall

After a major recall by Mattel/Fisher-Price for their toys that were manufactured in China, Nokia joined the bandwagon reluctantly.

Nokia is recalling batteries sold as the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006.

The word "BL-5C" is printed on the front of the battery.
On the back of the battery, the Nokia mark appears at the top, and the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) is found at the bottom. If the battery identification number does not contain 26 characters, it is not subject to this product advisory.

The reason for the recall is because this batch of batteries could overheat due to a short circuit especially during re-charging time. Overall, there are 300 million of such batteries out there somewhere but only 46 million needed to be recalled (with the criteria as listed above) Phew!!!!!! ...................

So, not only China made goods are useless, even Japanese made products could be a suspect now. All this due to non-stringent quality assessment/quality control again or because of cost-cutting measures that caused such an issue?????? Only the manufacturers will know.

I think those betting companies will be starting new betting schemes on what kind of products will be recalled next.
Reading: Nokia users heed this call - The Star

Tags: Nokia, Matsushita, Matsushita Battery Industrial Co Ltd, Japan, Nokia Battery, BL-5C, Overheat, Battery Identification Number, Recall

China Made Charcoal Roasted Chickens

With the recall of toys that were manufactured in China due to non-stringent quality control systems, one is not surprised to see other goods being produced at a low quality standards especially those charcoal roasted chickens.

One will puke after seeing how a rural factory could produced such chickens for consumption.
Early morning, chicken collectors would go around the neighbourhood.
House by house looking for dead chickens.
At a cost of Renminbi 1.00 per chicken, it's a steal.
A number of collectors are hired each day to do such collections.
The small factory was just like the state of a car workshop.
Carcasses was all over the compound.
Even a doggie could go near to sniff it.
The de-feathering process starts here.

Easy job - just pull the feathers out.Feathers were strewn around the small factory without any cause of concern for hygiene.

An unused bathtub was used to clean the chicken after de-feathering.
Staff walking in and out of the small factory oblivious to chickens lying around the floor.

Here is the end product - the Charcoal Roasted Chickens after some colourings were added onto it to make it real.

Another 'profit over hygiene' case!

Tags: Roasted Chicken, Charcoal, Hygiene, China Made, China, Food

Made In China

China really has to clean up its act in coming up with more stringent quality control to be imposed on factories operating within China, whether local or foreign owned. Tight scrutiny in foreign owned factories should have been done but I think 'profit over safety' blinded those foreign owners.

In a recent case where a top China official from the food and drug administration was 'executed by the authorities' due to taking bribes from health manufacturer that produced health goods which caused death to consumer(s).

Subsequently, food products exported to USA were tainted with substance that can caused illness. Toothpaste was a big issue too.

Recent days, toys manufactured by an OEM manufacturer in China, Lida Toy Co., marketed under the Fisher-Price brand have been recalled by Mattel from throughout the world. This caused its share price to drop as much as 4% from US$23.00.

The toy products being recalled are as follows:-
* 18.2 million magnetic toys globally, including 9.5 million in the United States, with magnets or magnetic parts that can be dislodged - inclusive of 7.3 million Polly Pocket dolls and accessories with magnets, 1 million Doggie Day Care magnetic toys, 683,000 Barbie and Tanner magnetic toys, and 345,000 Batman and One Piece play sets; and
* about 253,000 Pixar Sarge die-cast toy cars with lead paint were also recalled. Lead has been linked to health problems in children, including brain damage.
* Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.

After an investigation, Mattel gave an account of what has happened:-
The recall of the Sarge toy results from Mattel's increased investigation and ongoing testing procedures following the recall of select Fisher-Price toys on August 1, 2007. The toy was produced by Early Light Industrial Co., Ltd (Early Light), one of Mattel's contract manufacturing facilities in China, which subcontracted the painting of parts of the toy to another vendor, Hong Li Da (HLD), also in China. While the painting subcontractor, HLD, was required to utilize paint supplied directly from Early Light, it instead violated Mattel's standards and utilized paint from a non-authorized third-party supplier.

With dignity down the drain, the Chinese owner by the name of Zhang Shuhong had committed suicide due to the recall. That's how bad the situation is.

If you are concern as to the exact toys being recalled, you can check at Mattel's Voluntary Safety Recall Facts and click your language and respective countries. As for Fisher-Price, click its Fisher-Price's Recall Information.

Reading: What Went Wrong at Mattel - BusinessWeek
Reading: Chinese products win praise - China Daily

Tags: China Made, Toys, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Early Light Industrial Co Ltd , Hong Li Da, China, Toy Manufacturer, Recall, China Products

Car For Sale

Hey guys,
Can you pass this onto anyone you know wanting to buy a car as I'm selling mine.

* Small amount of rust
* Some repairs required
* Mechanically sound
* Passed rego
* Price negotiable
* RWD great for Drifting



Tags: Car For Sale, Car

F1 Driver is Without a Driving Licence

Former F1 Champion, Nelson Piquet from Brazil, has his licence withdrawn by the Brazillian authorities for infringing various traffic laws. Together with his wife, Viviane whose licence was withdrawn too, were required to attend a Driving Education Course.

This is a 30 hours course that will last over 8 days and upon passing an exam, both Nelson and Viviane will get back their driving licence.

At the moment, he can't drive ..... hehehe

Tags: F1, Formula One, Nelson Piquet, Brazil, Driving Licence

Psychiatrist Patient Cured

Dr. Leroy, the head psychiatrist at the local mental hospital, is examining patients to see if they're cured and ready to re-enter society.

"So, Mr. Clark," the doctor says to one of this patients, "I see by your chart that you've been recommended for dismissal. Do you have any idea what you might do once you're released?"

The patient thinks for a moment, then replies, "Well, I went to school for mechanical engineering. That's still a good field, good money there. But on the other hand, I thought I might write a book about my experience here in the hospital, what it's like to be a patient here. People might be interested in reading a book like that. In addition, I thought I might go back to college and study art history, which I've grown interested in lately."

Dr. Leroy nods and says, "Yes, those all sound like intriguing possibilities."

The patient repleis, "And the best part is, in my spare time, I can go on being a teapot."
Tags: Psychiatrist, Patient, Mental Hospital, Doctor, Joke, Funny, Humour

Most Expensive Beer

Beer drinkers in Malaysia would have to fork out more money to buy beer/alcohol as the coming national budget in September 2007 would definitely increase the six tax on it.

However expensive, it won't be the price for US$39 for a pint of beer produced by Vielle Bon Secours served in a London bar, Bierdrome.But a New Zealander paid a staggering price of US$2,595 for a pint of beer in Hong Kong.
Tags: Most Expensive Beer, Beer, Luxury, Vielle Bon Secours, Bierdrome