Ira, have you ever watched Italian TV??? If not be sure to the next time you are in Italy, lol.

We pay a tv license fee in the UK too, around £117 per year, I think. I don't mind. If paying the license fee means that BBC never does those PBS type fundraisers, then fine by me.

Do you BTilke, I didn't know. I wonder if all European countries charge a fee. Again, I hope our government does get that idea!

Gee, BTilke, how would I ever get 27 consecutive nights of Andre Rieu: The Homecoming without the PBS fundraising. You're mean.

gee I hope PBS in the US never stops their fundraising. Invariably that's the only time of the year when there is much on there that I want to watch. That week has little or nothing to do with what they show the rest of the year.

You know, I *think* we were supposed to pay a similar fee when we lived full time in Belgium. But (and my memory on this may be faulty) at the time, the arrangement was that you went down to pay it at the "commune" rather than receiving a bill the way we do in the UK. I remember asking our concierge about the TV fee and she rolled her eyes and said no one paid it. So we never did. At least, that's how I remember it.

No, Loveitaly, Spanish TV doesn't charge any fee. Instead, they have as much commercials as any private channel and as bad programs as any other :) They used to recieve a good amount from the government but they don't anymore, just a little one and there's now a big issue because they are going to fire a lot of people.

Ira, do you honestly believe that putting some sort of "charge" on TV watching will raise cultural levels?

We already HAVE a charge on lots of TV watching in the US..it is called a "cable bill" for some and a "satellite YV charge" for some others.

No amount of money is going to get that neighbor of yours to stop watch the Dukes of Hazard I'm afraid.

Hello Kenderina, your Spanish TV sounds like ours in the US. I hardly watch TV except for the news at 11:00pm in the evening, and even that is pathetic.

And BTilke, you gave me a chuckle because in Italy the Italians don't always pay the government fee (no shock there as Italians are not shall we say known for obeying the laws). I have heard once in a while government agents will come to residences and have the right to "see" if there are TV's and how many. But I have never known anyone that has had that miserable experience.

Neo..I agree with you completely!!

I'm someone who can never get enough cola to drink during a meal. In the U.S. you can get a large glass of soda with unlimited refills for $2 in just about every restaurant in the country, or a 64 oz refill (yes, I drink that much in a few hours) at any 7-11 for about a buck. In Europe a small glass, no refills, will be about 3E; and I've yet to find (in trips to seven countries) a place where I can fill up my own cup at a decent price.

Hi Dukey
>Ira, do you honestly believe that putting some sort of "charge" on TV watching will raise cultural levels?<

My thought was that the TV tax could be used to fund PBS.

((I))
I know, I'm dreaming. :)

We pay $0.94/CCF for water ($1.25/1000 gallons, or $0.33/cubic meter. That's $0.000116 for 12 ounces of water, not counting the plastic container. I'm not good with math; is that 8,591 bottles of water for a dollar (not counting the plastic, of course)?

My condo is on a cistern & I pay 2 cents per month per gallon up to 2000 gallons & if I go over that it's 6 cents/gallon for the overage. :)

Why so much?

regarding ambulances in France :what Neopolitan rode was probably a "SAMU" vehicle, given the number of paramedics he mentions (and actually, at least one of them wasn't a paramedic, but a doctor). This is indeed a public service.

However, outside emergencies, regular ambulances are operated by private companies.

Gee, I have no idea. It was a big van type ambulance. But two of the guys came in a separate car. I rode in the back of the ambulance with Lee to the hospital with the driver and two guys monitoring Lee.

But none were doctors. The guy at emergency whom I thought was a doctor finally corrected me and said he was a "technician". He was super. When the actual young doctor came he asked if I spoke French. When I said no, he said "sorry there's nothing I can do" then laughed and admitted he spoke English. A sense of humor was fully appreciated on that night.