Here in New Zealand, any consignment which would attract a GST tax of less than NZ$50 is not taxed because collection costs would exceed the $50 to be collected.

However, when GST was recently increased from 12.5% to 15%, they also added an extra fee so that if your package does attract $50 or more of GST, you're also hit with about (from memory) another $28 or so as a "biosecurity fee" or something similar.

How on earth they deduce that only goods that have $50 or more of GST payable might represent a threat to our biosecurity I have no idea -- this is simply a cash-grab.

Of course with teh Chinese issuing fake (grossly undervalued) invoices left, right and center, there's no easy way for Customs to apply these taxes at the border so most stuff comes in tax-free, regardless of its value.

I have had friends who've imported $1,000 RC model aircraft that are 30% of full size. These arrive in *huge* boxes and include the 55cc engine. It has to be obvious that this stuff is worth *far* more than the $125 declared on the box - but it comes through without any GST being demanded.

When I wrote a column about this very subject last year it was suggested that the government simply add GST to all overseas credit-card transactions. Of course even that won't work -- because it would mean that those on holiday overseas would be paying tax on goods and services that came nowhere near our country's borders and would thus be patently unfair.

No easy way to solve this issue so let's just ditch the concept of duties and sales-taxes so everyone can enjoy the global shopping that is now available via the internet.

And, if you're looking for similar stuff, plus a lot of more "techie" items, then try out GoodLuckBuy.com.

Like DX, they include shipping in all their (very low) prices.

My only question is: who on earth chose that name?

I watched the first season of SGU and have recorded subsequent episodes but really, I doubt I'll ever watch them because even watching paint dry is more interesting to me.

When I watch SciFi, I want something that makes me think, something that presents truly possible scientific scenarios in an exciting and entertaining way, a sneak peek at what could be in our future.

SGU struck me as being just another daytime soap opera, using space as a backdrop.

Too much "deep" character interaction, too much angst, anger, human emotion.

Call me old fashioned but I like a good dose of *science* with my fiction and SGU just didn't deliver.

There isn't even any real comic relief (like that which made SG1 so enchanting) to relieve the unending tension between the characters in SGU.

I've got the entire SG1 and SGA series on DVD (store-bought, not downloaded) and, apart from the obvious episodes when the writers were clearly in a "oh my gawd, I'm clear out of new story-line ideas" episodes, they're all a good watch. What does pee me off however, is that the DVDs seem to have episodes out of sequence and the disks are littered with promos for other SG episodes, movies, etc -- plus the obligatory, unskippable copyright warnings. When I get time, I *will* rip these disks to DVDR so I don't have to sit through all that crap!

I wouldn't buy SGU -- in fact I wouldn't even wast the bandwidth required to download it.

And in future, I'll check out any TV series DVDs I might wish to buy before I lay down the cash. If they insist on selling me advertisements and treating me like a criminal -- I'll just find a friendly P2P network and show them that: if you treat me like a criminal, I will behave like one.

So our desktop computers will wait thousands of times faster than they do today... for the next keystroke or mouse button-press. :-)

Here's my privacy policy.

(to save you clicking the link)...
"The Aardvark Privacy Policy

To put it bluntly -- any information you submit through this site
is held in total confidence unless otherwise stated.

Aardvark has built a strong reputation for protecting the information submitted
and collected. I have a total anti-spam, anti UCE policy -- never, never, never
will your email address be made available to any third party without your
expressed permission and never, never, never will I send you unsolicited
email.

That's it ... plain and simple -- Your secrets are safe with me!

What's more -- Aardvark doesn't routinely collect information from its
users. Apart from the Google Ads, this site is a cookie-free zone --
I probably know nothing at all about you anyway!

Here's a whole bunch of stuff about Google's cookie and privacy policy that
You might find interesting and which I'm supposed to include in this
privacy statement as part of my position as an AdSense user

If you've got a problem or a query about this then contact me, you can even do it
anonymously but in that case don't expect a reply (how could I?). "

It's short, to the point and covers all the bases, doesn't it?

What's so hard about coming up with a concise, no-nonsense privacy policy?

I have to say that after my last trip (on business) to the USA, I would never consider it a suitable tourist destination for myself or my family.

From the moment I debarked the plane at LAX I very much felt that I (and everyone else) was being treated like a criminal.

How dare we (foreigners) enter the glorious US of A -- the most wonderful nation in all the world?

The gentleman who walked the very long queue of people waiting to clear immigration repeatedly threatened (not warned -- *threatened*) all those present with severe penalties if we didn't correctly fill out the forms he was handing out.

The official who inspected my passport didn't welcome me to the USA and invite me to enjoy my stay -- the treated me (and everyone else) with massive suspicion and contempt -- making it very clear that *they* had all the power and that I was a someone who ought to be eternally grateful for being allowed to enter the country.

Is that really the way to treat visitors?

And as for the latest usurping of citizens rights in respect to searches -- well I feel very sorry for the USA.

It is (although perhaps somewhat less-so these days) truly a great nation, built on principles of integrity and freedom. Unfortunately (as they say) "Power Corrupts" and it would appear that those in power have seized the opportunity to use terrorism as justification for unreasonably extending the degree of power they now exert over the people who elected them to *serve*.

Every day that the sacred provisions and protections of The Constitution are ignored by the US Government is another day on which the Islamic fundamentalists can claim another victory.

Instead of fighting on their feet, the citizens of the USA are now living on their knees -- having compromised the very principles (The Constitution) that made their nation so great.

Of course it *is* a democracy so perhaps those of you who are US citizens might want to think about exercising those democratic rights (before they too are taken from you in the name of "the war against terror" and installing a government who appreciates that the principles of The Constitution are still worth fighting for and that no bunch of Islamic fundamentalists should be allowed to usurp them by way of a campaign of terror.

Perhaps it's time for a referendum to allow the US people to decide whether the constitution should be abolished because right now, it appears that such an abolition is happening by stealth -- and by the time the people wake up to that fact, it may well be too late. The very rights this document bestows on citizens will be lost and thus even the power to protect those rights will have gone forever.

Just my 0010 cent's worth.

Forget about those inefficient jet-turbine engines -- this is the future of jet-powered vehicles!

Jet powered vehicle

I first noticed a real decline in bee populations a couple of years ago.

It was late spring, there were wildflowers everywhere at the airfield where I work -- but not a single, solitary honey-bee.

Their absence was kind of scary (silent spring anyone?) and things have not improved in the years since.

It's now mid-spring here in the Southern Hemisphere and there are still no honey-bees to be seen in our gardens. The only bees buzzing around the flowers are bumble-bees and there are far too few of them to do a decent job of pollinating.

When you consider that honey-bees play an absolutely vital role in the food chain on which we depend, I really wonder if we're not taking this decline in bee populations seriously enough.

Combine the effects of low plant pollination with increases in extreme weather and sooner or later we're going to get a coincidence of events that produces some pretty drastic collapse of global food supplies.

By that time -- it might be a little too late to do anything -- or perhaps it already is.

Gold is untraceable and you can convert it to hard currency anywhere in the world. Large quantities of cash are very hard to spend unless you have a money laundering scheme.

I'm not sure about the law in England, but under Scottish law, as long as the new owners were unaware that the dog was stolen they would legally own it and be innocent of purchasing stolen property. The former owner would have to sue the thief for damages in order to be compensated.

What you seem to be missing is that nicer hardware, more features and lower price don't necessarily imply a better product.

Only those with something to hide have anything to fear...

That's why politicians are more than happy to have webcams in their houses connected directly to the internet for all the world to watch their activities.

Oh... what's that?

They're not happy to have webcams in their houses?

Hmmm... what does that mean I wonder?