On another forum, where the same discussion recently went on, an individual
who discovered that he, personally, had been charged more than those from
other countries claimed to have researched this.  His statement was that
Americans and Japanese were required to pay more than Australians and those
from less affluent countries.  According to his claim, he paid approximately
$800 more and was told, by the company, apparently quite specifically, that
it was because the operator desired to increase participation from other
countries.

Strike discussed stand by pricing, which we've all seen used to good effect
in the airline industry.  If that's what's happening relative to the Mike
Ball operation, then I, for one, misunderstood the original complaint.  If,
on the other hand, we're talking about deliberately singling out Americans
and Japanese for higher prices, simply because they are Americans and
Japanese, I find the practice exceptionally distasteful.  In this country,
we call that discrimination and we have laws against it.

Lee