Yeah but enough of the customers of the site being blocked for failing to pay GST wouldn't know how to use things like that to push the site into GST compliance.

Given that the Australian government is about to introduce an internet filter (thanks to new anti-piracy laws designed to let big media companies force ISPs to block overseas pirate sites), it wouldn't be that hard for the government to simply block via the filter any web site that refuses to comply with the law and hand over the 10% GST (and the appropriate records of how much Australian customers spent on the site)

I bet if you had proper high speed rail (of the European or Japanese kind) linking Grand Central to Union Station in DC it would be FASTER than taking an airplane between those 2 cities.

Not only that, taking the train has so many advantages over flying. The seats on any train I have ever been on have more legroom and space than economy class on even the best airlines. No need to pay through the nose for checked baggage or other addons. No need to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight (that will probably leave a hour late anyway) or hand over all your liquids as you pass through security. (although the way things are going in the US, it wouldn't surprise me to see the feds and TSA wanting to put security checkpoints at not just Amtrak stations but long-distance bus stops as well)

But would whatever lobby group represents all those yellow cabs allow the city to replace all those profitable airport cab trips with trips on the train?

Google could say to OEMs that if they want the Google Play Store and all the other Google apps, they have to ship the newest Android version (i.e. no more shipping devices running FroYo or Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich anymore if you want all the Google stuff).

What are the OEMs going to do? Fork Android and forgo all the Google apps? (and things like the Google Play Services middleware library)

And it would be no different to how Microsoft wont let OEMs ship old version of Windows or Office anymore, even on older hardware designs.

Bank of Queensland.

My bank gives me a simple "export" button that lets me pick from several export formats (including csv and what I think is some sort of Quicken format).

Wouldn't it make more sense to send take-down notices (or if necessary, file lawsuits) against the owners or hosting providers of the sites directly?

Same with any pirate site or other illegal content they want to block, its better to go after the child porn sites directly than to try and block them at the ISP level...

+1 to this, when I moved into a new apartment, I ruled out whole suburbs just because they had crappy internet. I am currently getting DSL sync speeds of about 9/1 or so which is more than adequate for my needs (including all the crap I watch on YouTube and various YouTube clones and downloading large git trees and big files related to various game mods I work on)

If that was true, airlines wouldn't be changing any number of routes from having a few flights a day on big airplanes to having many flights a day on smaller planes.

And what about when the router you use is an all-in-one provided by your ISP and you dont get a say in which one you use?
Like cable companies that provide a cable modem/router and dont give you any choice but to use theirs.
Or things like Verizon FiOS or AT&T U-Verse where they provide the same (modem/router in the one box)

Don't blame Verizon for signing this "bad contract", blame Disney.

Disney refuses to sell ANY of its vast portfolio of content to ANY cable provider unless that provider agrees to put ESPN in the base package.
The problem for Disney is that if they allow cable companies to separate out ESPN (into a separate "sports" package, into a higher tier or on its own) then the number of ESPN customers drops dramatically (those who never watch it and those who watch it but wouldn't pay for it separately) which means they have to spread the cost of buying all that expensive sport across far fewer customers.

Your problem is that you bought a Sony instead of (like I did) an el-cheapo DVD player out of China that doesn't have any of the extra crap the Sony does getting in the way.

Nissan should take the Leaf drivetrain and stick it in a Nissan X-Trail or Pathfinder or whatever their smaller 7-seat SUV is these days.

What about the Jeep Wrangler? Does that count?