On Wed, 06 May 2020 11:21:40 -0500, Bill W
wrote:

On Wed, 6 May 2020 08:08:03 -0700 (PDT), RichA
wrote:

On Tuesday, 5 May 2020 18:43:58 UTC-4, Scott Schuckert wrote:
In article ,
RichA wrote:

https://www.adorama.com/gxrsakn95.ht...ce=rflaid67085

Beware ANYTHING made in China. Canada's recent shipment found 60% defective/unfit.

I don't disagree, but IMHO it's not always (even usually) the Chinese
"fault". I have bit of knowledge about having product manufactured in
China.

I remember one company in Toronto had medical tape made in China. They shipped it out only to have it returned because it contained insects stuck to it.
There is also evidence now that farming out even low-end or low-intellectual end products is having a negative impact on the development of cutting-edge technology products in North American and Europe.

Heh. Who are the "running dogs" of capitalism now?

I went to Cuba in 1979 as part of a government-sponsored program to
get the opinion of business owners on whether or not we should open
trade with Cuba.

We were assigned a young female guide who provided a tour of Havana.
During her running commentary on the sights from the bus, she actually
used the phrase "Running dog capitalists" to describe Americans.

We went by some apartment buildings and she made a point that, in
Cuba, they had free elections and everyone voted. Unlike America, she
said, there was 100% turn-out for elections.

I later walked up to one of the apartments and noticed that the
election results were posted outside of the building. Every resident
of the apartment building was listed, and the columns indicated which
candidate that person voted for. There was an unbroken column of
checkmarks for one of the candidates. Free election, but everyone
could see who voted for whom.

Towards the end of the bus tour I asked the guide if I could get off
the bus and walk around Havana by myself. She said I could, but it
was not recommended and discouraged me from doing so. I insisted, she
continued to say that I could go off on my own, but that it was not
recommended.

I did get off, and walked around by myself for a couple of hours. The
people I ran into were very pleasant and friendly. They all sensed I
was American...probably by my clothes. The only problem I encountered
was that several people wanted to buy my watch or asked if I had
clothes I wanted to sell. All that was available to them were East
European goods that were mostly of inferior quality.

One of the members of my group had been born in Cuba, but had been
able to emigrate to the US several years before. His brother and
family remained in Cuba.

When we left to return to the states, several of us gave the Cuban
member our unwashed laundry items...shirts, underwear, and socks. He
gave the items to his brother before we left. It seemed strange to
give away unlaundered items, but he said his brother would be glad to
have them. He was especially pleased that I donated a leather belt.
His brother was wearing a belt made out of some pressed paper stuff
that was taped up in several places.

On arriving, we had to purchase $100 in Cuban currency. We could not
exchange any Cuban currency back to US currency, and anything we had
left had to be spent in the airport shop or taken back home.

Except for ice cream sold in a square in Havana, there was little of
interest to spend money on while were there, so most of us had most of
the $100 left. One peso was US $1.00 at the government exchange, but
Cubans would offer up to 5 pesos for an American dollar. It was
illegal to do that, though, and I never did.

















--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida