"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
I can remember when they said the same about Japanese.

You took the words right out of my mouth. My parents were both W.W.II vets
(they met in the Navy in the 40's). When I was growing up, Japan & crap
were synonymous to them. And when I was a kid, a lot of it WAS crap, like
the toys. I don't know if they were overtly toxic, like the recent GHB-bead
thing, but I remember taking apart Japanese-made stamped metal toy cars when
I was a kid which said "EverReady" or "Pabst" on the inside - they were made
out of old flashlight batteries & beer cans. Now names like Honda, Sony,
Toyota, Panasonic, etc. are some of the most respected manufacturers
anywhere.