From Campaign for America's Future, this stunning news. Notice how union workers are the only ones paying attention to safety issues?

In recent years, multinational corporations have become accustomed to saving money by exporting production to China without concern for labor issues, environmental standards, or product safety. In fact, China typically violates world trade laws through dumping, subsidies, and illegal currency manipulation in order to gain a cost benefit over U.S manufacturers. Unfortunately, this mercantilistic approach too often proves harmful to U.S. workers and consumers in the long-run.

One potentially alarming example of cost savings by following the “China price” is being reported by utility workers in Illinois.

Pat Dillon, an employee at People’s Energy of Illinois and a member of the Gas workers Local 18007/Utility Workers of America, says he has concerns about the gas meter bars he regularly installs as part of his job as a Senior Service specialist #1. People’s Energy recently switched from using American-made Model 6722 high-pressure gas inlet valves (which are manufactured in Iowa) to McDonald 6762 inlet valves made in China.

Click here for photos of both valves-- the American-made model #6722 and the Chinese-made model #6762.

Dillon says that the Chinese models, though similar in price to American models, lack critical O-ring washers. Based on his 30 years of experience with gas meter bars in People’s Energy’s service department, he also believes that the Chinese versions are inferior because the connection cones are not made of brass. He said, “The previous American made bars had brass cones. Anything less is not going to be as safe.”

Dillon reports that he became concerned when People’s Energy was bought by Wisconsin Power Services, which later evolved into a company called Integrys Energy Group. Shortly thereafter, People’s Energy switched to the Chinese-made valve bars, which caused concern among his co-workers.

Dillon said, “We all started to wonder why they’d switch to something that seemed less sturdy, less safe. Then I looked on the box and noticed that they were made in China. I realized that the company was probably trying to save a few pennies.”

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(Thalidomide - when wonder drugs went awful)

One of the bigger scandals to hit the pharmaceutical industry came in the form of Thalidomide, a drug marketed throughout Europe in the late 1950's as sedative, pain killer and a morning sickness preventative for pregnant women.

Only it wasn't. By 1960 the drug was widely available throughout the world (even as an over-the-counter item in Germany) and the horrible side effects came to light. Children born with an alarming number of birth defects, most in the area of gross deformities.

By 1961, the FDA instituted a recall of Thalidomide and banned its use. But the question was, why did the FDA take so long to make these horrific discoveries and why did they wait almost a year to get them off the market?

As a result, the FDA utilized more stringent testing - although judging from the amount of drug recalls and related scandals the past several years, it would give pause to the idea that the system is foolproof.

Oddly enough, Thalidomide has made something of a comeback in recent years, not as a antidote for morning sickness but as a treatment for skin lesions and multiple Myeloma and other cancer forms.

This interview, from the ABC Sunday series "From The Capitol" from August 12, 1962 features George P. Larrick, Commissioner of the FDA talking about the Thalidomide scandal and the FDA's role in public safety.

It would be nice if we were out of the woods over future Thalidomide scandals. But that's not likely.

Seems like city and state public safety budgets would be a good place to dump some stimulus money:

The recession is altering local law enforcement in the U.S. by forcing some agencies to close precincts, merge with other departments or even shut down.

Once largely spared from the deepest budget cuts, some police departments are struggling to provide basic services, police officials say.

"For the first time, because of the economy, police departments ... may have to change how they do business," says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank. "People will see a change in the basic delivery of services," from longer police response times to a dramatically reduced police presence in some communities.

Harlan Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, said political leaders are "choosing whether they keep the streets open or the police on patrol," though it's too early to tell whether the changes will increase crime.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus plan gives about $4 billion to local law enforcement, including $1 billion to hire and retain officers. But the hiring money has not been distributed, and applicants have requested more than is available.

Among the recent cuts:

• In Pennsylvania, 19 suburban and rural police agencies have closed in the past 15 months, and seven others have cut patrols. The "unprecedented" closures and cuts have forced the state police — who face their own budget struggles — to assume full or partial public safety responsibility for about 54,000 more people, says Lt. Col. Lenny Bandy, deputy commissioner of operations for the state police.

• In Minnesota, nine small police agencies have closed in the past five months, leaving sheriffs' departments to protect the public. The Elko New Market Police Department was briefly the 10th shuttered agency, until residents last month demanded that the City Council reverse its 2-week-old decision to eliminate it. "A lot of people felt that we were sending a potentially dangerous public message ... without a police department," says Mayor Jason Ponsonby, who opposed the closure.