Around The World

Like me, I'm sure all of my readers are aware of what a trade agreement is. But I wonder if anyone has ever seen one, let alone read one.

I was in the mood for a little light reading the other day and since I wondered what the United States Trade Agreement with China looked like, I decided to thumb through it.

Here is the gist of what it says:

China will export to the United States, tainted human food, tainted dog food, faulty tires, toys that have parts that children can choke on, cribs with the moving sides that will release on their own thus trapping a child, injuring or killing them. China will lace their products with lead paint to poison anyone who might ingest the paint as it flakes off the product.

Basically export anything toxic to the United States.

The list of items continues but I think you get the point.

In turn, the United States agrees to trade cash to China for these items.

Now that's a trade agreement that I'm sure took a lot of research to come to those terms.



Speaking of China, I have tickets to the Beijing Olympic Games that I will sell cheap.

China: Food Poisoning Deaths Up in 2007

BEIJING - Food poisoning deaths in China rose by about one-third in 2007, the state-run news agency reported Sunday amid ongoing scrutiny over the safety of the country's food production chain.

Citing figures from the Ministry of Health, Xinhua News Agency said 258 people were killed last year, up 32 percent from the previous year. The report said that the number of deaths rose in 2007.

"Most of the fatal food poisoning incidents were caused by toxic seafood, meat and produce," Xinhua said.

It was not possible to verify whether the figures included all the food poisoning cases in China, a country of 1.3 billion people. Many cases in rural areas, where food is often mislabeled and sanitation problems are common, go unreported or are covered up by local authorities.

A series of product safety scandals last year involving domestic and exported foods has pushed the government to launch measures to restore public confidence. And with the Beijing Olympic Games approaching in August, authorities have pledged to take rigorous measures to ensure food safety.


And to think they are the same products that are shipped to us here in the United States.

Authorities have pledged to take rigorous measures to ensure food safety for the Beijing Olympic Games but not for the junk they export to the United States!!



Speaking of food, we have lost an innovator:

Herb Peterson, who invented the ubiquitous Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died. He was 89.

I called him an inspiration because my kids loved the Egg McMuffin so much that I had to not only learn how to make them myself, but I had to make them better.

The Egg McMuffin was responsible for my early foray into the world of cooking.

Speaking of the world:

Even the United Kingdom has gone stupid with political correctness.

When 3-year-old Tavis Cook's mother allowed him to choose his own haircut, he also went for something intended for an older kid.

His choice had intricate designs - tramlines - shaved into the hair on the back and sides of his head.

While his mother, Donna Cook, thought her son's new haircut looked nice, his preschool did not.

When he showed up for class at Riverside Primary School in the UK with his trendy hairdo, she was told to come pick him up and bring him back when his hair had grown out.

Those in charge of such things at the school say Tavis' haircut broke the rules, although Donna Cook claims she checked to make sure it was okay and found there was no policy regarding hairstyles in the preschool class.

I must admit I too am guilty. My kids were allowed to choose their haircuts without input from me.

When they would get in the barber's chair, the barber would look at me and ask how I wanted it cut at which time I would look at the barber and say it's not my hair, ask them.

Here is a kid who was styling and feeling good about his new hair cut and someone at the school reacted stupid.

Can someone tell me why some people get so worked up about hair?

That's a wrap for this week. Enjoy the weekend!!!!