Here is a link to the yahoo news story. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Slavery-B ... l?x=0&.v=1

Here is the link to the actual site. I would suggest reading the yahoo story for context first. The site equates forced labor to slavery and estimates that 27 million people are used as forced labor in countries worldwide.

www.slaveryfootprint.org/

Wait... 27million slaves, at an average of 55 slaves per person... so there really isn't 6billion + people on earth, huh?
Why, there should only be 491000 slave owners on earth.
On a more serious note, with the criteria being "unpaid, and can't walk away", I only have two slaves working for me...until they turn 18 and my wife and I send them off to college...until then, our kids have got to do dishes.

I think what they are saying is that the same slave that worked to make the Chinese soccer ball that I bought also worked to make hundreds of other soccer balls that other people purchase. It's not necessarily 55 slaves per person just that 55 slaves worked to make someone's lifestyle possible.

You do realize that the importation of products made with forced labor is ALREADY illegal (US Code Section 1307 if you're interested).

If the state department (who helped fund this site) has evidence this is happening, why are those good still coming into the country? Customs has the authority to seize shipments of such goods and fine the companies importing it.

This sounds like more political posturing than anything else. If there's evidence we're importing goods made with forced labor then present it and start shutting that flow off. The force of law already exists, this notion we need to "pressure" companies to be nicer is a bunch of baloney.

That was such crap! they don't work for anyone one of us, we just get the end result of their toil. bullshit postering that is! And for another point why is slavery inherently bad? (i am trusting ya'll to not make it only about american Race based slavery)

Wait...this is 2011 and you are going to make the case that slavery is a good thing American or otherwise? I guess I'm on the wrong message board.

Yeah that might be the most fucked up thing Ive heard on the forums in a while. "Common Sense" seems to be lacking...

Reason makes the point that we don't really understand the oppression that makes our lifestyle possible. It is much harder to do when the products come from overseas... In the early 1900's the horrible working conditions were right under the noses of those who benefitted from industrialization... and it took a while before people got a handle on that. It's that much harder to understand the oppression of folks out of sight and out of mind.

People don't like to look at stuff like this - cause it makes us feel guilty - and who wants that... Keep making us feel uncomfortable Reason - it's good for us. That is the purpose of this board! Otherwise we would just tune into some of the daytime programming available from your friendly neighborhood media outlets. But expect some rage...