"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
[snip]

Wake up. A lot of the stuff coming out of China is produced by prison
labor.

[snip]

That statement won't stand up to inspection. Prisoners do work in China, --
just as they do in the U.S.!! -- but

it's a gross overstatement to say that "a lot" of the exports are
prison-produced. Prison products are sold in the local marketplace to raise
money to operate the prisons -- to that extent they are self-supporting
rather than dependent upon tax dollars.

Things operate differently in China and it's a mistake to take single
examples out of context. For example, standard procedure in a hospital is
for the patient (or family) to provide the meals; the military grows its own
crops; cities and provinces get involved in commercial ventures as
profit-making enterprises. Everyone is producing and looking for that edge
to make themselves more profitable. The Air Force operates commercial
vegetable farms and a commercial airline (China United Airline); Chengdu
city was a partner with Hughes to develop the cell telephone network -- for
Chengdu city.

But my chief point is that the concern about products made by prison labor
is waaay overplayed -- if you were serious why wouldn't you worry about U.S.
license plates and street signs?? Regards --