So you are proposing a scholastic version of the "Purge"?.. I would love that.. (heck, there were a few teachers I had that I would love to have some "aggressive negotiations" with at the time).

A line from My Fair Lady comes to mind:

"Higgins:You mean to say you'd sell your daughter for fifty pounds?
Pickering:Have you no morals man?
Alfred P. Doolittle:No, no, I can't afford 'em, gov'ner. Neither could you if you was as poor as me. Not that I mean any 'arm, mind you, but if Eliza's getting a bit out of this, why not me too? Eh? Why not? Well, look at it my way - what am I? I ask you, what am I? I'm one of the undeserving poor, that's what I am. Now think what that means to a man. It means that he's up against middle-class morality for all of time. If there's anything going, and I puts in for a bit of it, it's always the same story: "you're undeserving, so you can't have it." But my needs is as great as the most deserving widows that ever got money out of six different charities in one week for the death of the same 'usband. I don't need less than a deserving man, I need more! I don't eat less 'earty than 'e does, and I drink, oh, a lot more. I'm playin' straight with you. I ain't pretendin' to be deserving. No, I'm undeserving. And I mean to go on being undeserving. I like it and that's the truth. But, will you take advantage of a man's nature to do 'im out of the price of 'is own daughter what he's brought up, fed and clothed by the sweat of 'is brow till she's growed big enough to be interesting to you two gentlemen? Well, is five pounds unreasonable? I'll put it to you, and I'll leave it to you."

Actually remember, Samsung holds patents on several parts apple is using..
So the actual cost may not be 4 dollars.. might be closer to 10.. (just on the iphone).. what about the ipad(s), laptops, desktops, appleTV.. etc...

So net increase to apple (Across the product portfolio) may be something like 50 dollars.. PER device made.. (doesn't matter if its sold or not).. and don't forget.. rejects/faulty devices still require the increase.

Its certainly not putting anyone our of business.. but its a healthy chunk of change for Samsung.. a little reminder/sting to apple.. ("Do you REALLY want to f*ck with us?"), and helps to finance this insane zealot war that apple is pushing.

Come on.. why would you sue and attempt to bully one of the worlds largest manufacturer chips/screens/etc... and especially those used in your own device. Its akin to me suing my employer while I still work for them.. You know there are going to be repercussions.. Its not a lot (most likely because anything higher than 20% could get them sued (ie: retaliatory business practices).

Sucks that its all going to get pushed down to the consumer. (with a suitable markup).. of course, this could be what Samsung wants.. (gets apple to price themselves out of the market).. because the carriers are not going to absorb that cost.. Apple sure as heck won't take it..

(Glad I'm an Android / Hackintosh guy).

By the way, as a business owner, I have read it.. (all wonderfully dry 955 pages: http://housedocs.house.gov/energycommerce/ppacacon.pdf). And despite what a lot of people like to think, its nowhere near as bad as people want to think..

Correct, it is a Health Insurance bill because the structure of the US healthcare system is rooted in insurance as the primary vehicle for most people to pay for medical costs coupled with a massive attempt to burden it with so many holes and weaknesses that its not as effective as it could be. So you have three choices...

1: Scrap it 100% and start over with a nationalized healthcare system (which will be a HUGE fight and doesn't solve all the problems either. But it would be a big step in closing the gaps)

2: Have a real rational action plan regardless of who earns less that fixes the problems (a dream that will never work).

3: Attempt to level the playing field by going after the insurance factor so everyone has the ability to be covered and keeping the existing system in place. (the only one that doesn't scream of "socialism", which for some reason this country seems to have a bug up its ass about and thinks its a dirty word.. (Medicare anyone? Medicaid? SS? Welfare? Government Scholarships/Grants? Public Schools?)

It does a lot for the current healthcare problems we have.. its not a band-aid on a gunshot wound.. to keep your analogy, its akin to a gauze patch over same said gun shot wound.. Better.. but its certainly not going to fix the big picture.. but mostly because there are many of forces that DON'T WANT IT TO CHANGE.

You think the health insurance firms that make trillions from this WANT this to change? (and lobby quite actively to not change by the way)
You think the doctors that get rich by simply over-billing insurance want it to change? (again, unions that fight this because they have to do the same level of work, but get less money because of better accountability)
You think doctors who go into medicine to make money first and heal people second want it to change?
You think the medical device and other services/product groups who are making billions/trillions on this want it to change?..

get real. Its a money game pure and simple and everyone wants it "better" so long as I don't have to pay for it.

I can certainly say as a world traveler that the US system is insane.. I've lived in Japan, Taiwan, the UK, Hong Kong, and France... and in general.. insurance is a supplement so everyone.. even the poorest of the poor can use to stay alive. Obviously if you have money and want to bump up quality and speed, you fork out some cash (insurance, direct payment, etc..).. its akin to First/Second Class Mail vs. Fedex. You want it CHEAP.. you go postal Service.. you want all the bells and whistles and can afford it.. you pay up. I know my retirement plans do NOT include the US for a lot of reasons.. but this is certainly one).

Heck, I know I LOVE the IRS by comparison to the morons at the TSA.
I would rather date a IRS Tax auditor than have lunch with anyone that works with the TSA.

I'll be in vegas, so I'll let you know..

Anyone want to ride shotgun?

Once again, it just sickens me that this sort of thing takes place.

A company passing blame on another company for its failings...

I beg to differ, as someone that flys through Canada, I can most assuredly tell you that if you are not a Canadian citizen you get everything you get on the US side. Personally speaking north america is an off-limits place as far as myself, my family, my businesses, and my money (directly) are concerned.

Correction.. this is a subsidy for all consumers all over the world. What do you think will happen when the US/Amazon comes to an agreement. How long do you think it will be before Canada requires it (which already imposes a flat tax on media because it COULD be used in a nefarious means), or Great Britain, or Japan, or any other location that wants its slice of the pie. Its a slippery slope that ultimately just means internet commerce will die.

No.. good lord no... I've seen Delta and EasyJet Attendants.. My nightmares are full and can't take any more additions.

However if we are talking Singapore Air and SwissAir, then I am ok with this program.

The problem everyone is complaining about is not the crux of the.. Obama is not looking at NZ, Australia, or any other location and say, hey, lets get the same crappy service there.. what he is looking at is the network deployment with population densities similar to locations within (and in the case of some countries) as the US. Though the article mentions specifically some countries, I am sure he is also looking at other countries with faster connections (ie: Japan) to get a complete picture.

Lets all not get the guns because 1 article mentions someone is looking at the rest of the world. Given the US has been in a semi-Xenophobic stance for a number of years.. having someone that is looking at what the world is doing (both the good and the bad) so we DON'T make the same mistakes or emulate what actually works is a great thing.

So a Pathmart No Frills Costume huh?