Phil Yates wrote:
> 
edit
>
> Finally (and in part response to Jonathan's little diatribe) you ought to
> know that in England we pay through the nose for software, hardware, etc.
> Routinely, I see things advertised at 1 pound sterling = 1 dollar, a mark-up
> of around 70%. And most of it is made up of taxes, shipment, handling
> profit, etc. I pay 40% of my salary in income tax. 17.5% in VAT. And then
> there's import duty too. So please don't begrudge me trying to save time,
> cost, and tax in getting products direct. And Staz is quite able to answer
> for himself, thankyou.
> 
> Phil.

Whoa, pardner, here is how this whole thing started:

> An open letter to Staz on the list,
>  
> a) Cause I know he'll read it.
> b) Cause you can all agree with me.

I guess if you wanted Staz to answer for himself, it could have been
addressed to Staz directly. In short, if one doesn't want to hear other
opinions, one shouldn't offer ideas up for peer review. 

Everybody's friend,
PB