While I'm Thinking About It

While I'm Thinking About It

This really isn't supposed to be one of those strips. I swear

You know the kind, if you read more than a small handful of strips. The kind where the only way to understand whatever nonsense is going on in the comic is to read through several screens worth of semi-random, occasionally coherent bloggity newsposts. No, that's not me.

It helps that TRU-Life Adventures isn't a gaming comic.

This time, however, I think a little extra background information might be helpful. Here's the first three paragraphs from an article that ran on CNN.com over the weekend:

BEIJING (AP) -- Mattel Inc. tried to save face Friday with Chinese officials, taking the blame for the recent recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys as it strives to mend a strained relationship with the nation that makes most of its toys and fattens its profit.

The world's largest toy maker sent a top executive to personally apologize to China's product safety chief, Li Changjang, as reporters and company lawyers looked on.

"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people and all of our customers who received the toys," Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, told Li.

Granted, there's politics at play here--Mattel doesn't want to risk the Chinese government making things difficult for them. And I can understand that. But, given the rather high-profile recalls of products made in China this year--pet food, toothpaste, toys from companies other than Mattel--are we really sure that the apologies are coming from the right direction?

In other news, I've added a shoutbox to the page, making it easier than ever to comment. Go ahead, try it out.