Way OT: Crazy Brits! ;-) & Amateur TV (was: These darned old computers

From: Lawrence Walker <lgwalker_at_mts.net>
Date: Wed Aug 28 17:18:01 2002

 The 8% sales and 7% services tax applies (not to food-stuff and childrens
goods) just about in all provinces. I believe only in fundamentalist, oil-rich
Alberta is the sales tax not required.
 When it was first brought in it was supposedly a temporary measure (Sure,
just like income tax when it was introduced in the 20's) and the present
government at one time campaigned on a promise to repeal it.
 IIRC Canada also had a radio license tax in the 30s. It originally funded CBC
At present CBC-Radio is still ad-free but CBC-TV isn't. It has continually
come under attack and eviscerated by governments unhappy at it's content
unfettered by government and corporate (advertising) control and is now a
shadow of it's forrmer self.
 A couple of the newest licensing wrinkles is a gun control one ( there has
long been a required one for handguns and how many banks are held up with
shotguns ?) and in Manitoba, a boating license, which has just about driven
most fishing lodges out of business. On these points I agree with our right-
wing neighbors in the US. It's more than just income, it's about control.

Lawrence

> At 01:19 08/28/2002 +0100, Tony Duell wrote:
> [[ Bewarned: this is a multinational email... I'm responding to a UK post
> from the USA while drinking *too much* Canadian beer... bewarned... ;^> ]]
> [snip]

> I cannot speak for the UK frequency laws [obviously] but as a US-licensed
> Amateur Extra (AB8KK) and an ISP owner who uses *unlicensed* 2.4GHz
> frequencies to deliver 11Mbit ethernet for Internet connectivity I can say that
> to transmit _on the amateur [read: ham] bands_ you need to have the appropriate
> license. However, if there are any non-licensed areas of the spectrum, you
> wouldn't need a license to broadcast provided you met the frequency & power
> requirements of those unlicensed bands. Lemme tell ya, 11Mbit is more than
> enough bandwidth to xmit TV signals, and at least in the US, there are also
> unlicensed 5.2GHz bands which provide even more bandwidth...
>
> And there, friends, is my off-topic post of the day... at least until I get *my*
> 2.4GHz Internet link... because the first thing going on that is my VAX... ;-)
>
> Laterz,
> Roger "Merch" Merchberger
>
> P.S. A few years ago, I moaned when Michigan state tax went from 4% to
> 6%... altho that's more for the mathematical reasons than monetary... (5%
> is much easier on the noggin for a store owner) and I always felt sorry for my
> Ontario neighbours with a combined tax of 15%... [ IIRC, which I'm sure I don't:
> 8% Ont. Provincial tax & 7% GST...) Now I see even *they* don't have it quite so
> bad... :-/
>


lgwalker_at_mts.net
bigwalk_ca_at_yahoo.com
Received on Wed Aug 28 2002 - 17:18:01 BST