Interesting discussion, but I think it misses the key point. Machines are machines and the same machine can obviously create the same results anywhere in the world. There is however a machinist setting the machine up and he/she is under various pressures for the final product. These pressures come from the manager and ultimately from the company culture. The problem with Chinese manufacturing is not abilty, it is quality control. They can (and do) create some of the best products in the wor