Countries & their stupid ways

Ok so in Ireland you have to pay a tv license if you have one. Until recently people were put in jail or were fined a big penalty if they were found to have a TV without the license. They even have people calling into your home to 'check'. All this goes to one TV station here in Ireland. I could see if the station didn't have any ads, but they are also making revenue from the ads. Now they want to increase this stupid hike. I don't have a TV myself as I find them very obtrusive, noisy & just plain annoying in my home. This is just another reason I don't. I don't mind them in other people's, and I do watch it then but I just have sensitive ears.

Oh & Dubai (or UAE), you can't even travel through their airport (it's a major hub between Asia and Europe for many flights) if you have a stamp on your passport from Israel.

Don't get me wrong, there are many good things about Ireland & the UAE but still!!!

So anyone else want to vent about any other countries or cities?

ha ha oh my there is no special place in the UK for booze you can get it in the newspaper shop, store, pubs, off-licence, small grocery store...yup pretty much everywhere...

Original Post by thermal:

I used to work at a liqour store in Ontario, and I got no end of crap from Americans who thought it was ass-backwards to segregate liqour from candy and milk....why would I want my kids buying candy in the same place that the local breakfast club is getting shmammed outback on 40s of Black Ice??  No offense against alcoholics, but adult only things (like liqour, smokes and porn) and family things (like bread and milk) should be separated.

totally agree, thermal.  but when's the last time you saw someone actually leave their kid in the parking lot at the liquor store?  my mom used to make me wait outside, but as far as i can tell, everyone just brings their kids in with them, now.

Original Post by santonacci:

I know - I was one of the publicly intoxicated people wandering around the blues festival last year from the margaritas being sold next to a main stage, and the streets of Soulard are just a mass of drunkards, hurricanes in hand, partying and flashing for beads.

 Yep.  Went to Mardi Gras in St. Louis last year, and while it was fun to get drunk in the streets and drink large vats or hurricanes from a large pail, I could have done without the drunken retards waving beads in my face in the hopes that they'd get to see a boob or two. 

I will say that Missouri is much more fun than Kansas.  Kansas might as well be a dry state for all of the rules that we have to follow.

I was amazed when we ate at a restaurant on a public holiday in Western Australia.  We had to pay a surcharge of 10% of the total bill!  The restaurant charged it because they have to pay the employees extra to work on the holiday.  So they just pass it on to the patrons.  It was a Pizza Hut, BTW.

Is this a common practice worldwide?

Oh, and I don't necessarily think it's stupid, just surprising.

I'm from New Zealand and we have the same law there too. You got off lightly - most restaurants open on public holidays charge a 20-30% surcharge. I guess it was less because it was a fast food chain.

Employees working on a public holiday get paid time and a half plus a day in lieu, so restaurant owners need to add the surcharge to make it worthwhile opening for the day.

In Austria they sell beer at McDonalds!  Absolutely blew my mind when I first got here. 

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by octo-luv:

uhhhh, ok. you you're into fair city and all that?

 I don't know what fair city is, but I have to pay $20 to get into a bar to watch football over here.

oh ok, its for the love of sports! i gettit. but bbc would actually be better for that. im sure you are talking about soccer, right, not american football? $20 IS lame!

Original Post by alleine:

In Austria they sell beer at McDonalds!  Absolutely blew my mind when I first got here. 

oh and in france wine at mickey d's. actually the mcdonald's here in ireland is all fancy schmancy. flat screen tv's, table service. in town if you have to use the bathroom you go to mcd's on grafton street cuz they have the cleanest bathrooms. 

Original Post by octo-luv:

Original Post by alleine:

In Austria they sell beer at McDonalds!  Absolutely blew my mind when I first got here. 

oh and in france wine at mickey d's. actually the mcdonald's here in ireland is all fancy schmancy. flat screen tv's, table service. in town if you have to use the bathroom you go to mcd's on grafton street cuz they have the cleanest bathrooms. 

 Go figure.  Even the McDonalds' in other countries do it better than us.  :/

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by thermal:

I used to work at a liqour store in Ontario, and I got no end of crap from Americans who thought it was ass-backwards to segregate liqour from candy and milk....why would I want my kids buying candy in the same place that the local breakfast club is getting shmammed outback on 40s of Black Ice??  No offense against alcoholics, but adult only things (like liqour, smokes and porn) and family things (like bread and milk) should be separated.

totally agree, thermal.  but when's the last time you saw someone actually leave their kid in the parking lot at the liquor store?  my mom used to make me wait outside, but as far as i can tell, everyone just brings their kids in with them, now.

I'm not sure that I agree with this, to separate it makes it out of bounds and some kids would take that as a challenge. 

If you time it right here you will meet the morning club stocking up in our small corner store they smell, look like hell, often have pee stains and have trouble talking, I have seen that be more of a deterrent to kids...."if you drink too much this is what you will look like eventually"!

It's not nice but that's kind of the point...

In the U.S., you can enter armed services at 18, but can't drink alcohol until you're 21.

Original Post by octo-luv:

oh ok, its for the love of sports! i gettit. but bbc would actually be better for that. im sure you are talking about soccer, right, not american football? $20 IS lame!

I can get the BBC in the US, but they don't show gaelic football. 

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by octo-luv:

oh ok, its for the love of sports! i gettit. but bbc would actually be better for that. im sure you are talking about soccer, right, not american football? $20 IS lame!

I can get the BBC in the US, but they don't show gaelic football. 

oh ok you like the real rock em en sock football. you definitely get a better view of the legs in gaelic, altho maybe that's not why you like it. rte is available online, not to sure what they show exactly but you might try that.

Original Post by lysistrata:

In California they have the booze in the grocery stores.  Weirded me out to no end when I lived there ... grew up in Washington where the State owns and runs all of the liquor stores.

 Ohio used to do own and run all liquor stores. Then they figured out it was much cheaper to license grocery stores and convenient stores to sell it. The stores have to have a special license/permit and follow special rules if they sell liquor. Grocery stores and convenient stores have been selling beer and wine for as long as I remember. It isn't right next to the milk and candy bars.

I remember as a kid having to wait outside a "state store" because children weren't even allowed in the door unless they were 21. Now the parents just take their kids into the "state" section of the store.

Original Post by octo-luv:

rte is available online

 Not in the US, othewise they coudln't get away with charging $20 to get into the bar to see the match.

Stupid Canada and their "Beer Store"...

Original Post by skookum:

In the U.S., you can enter armed services at 18, but can't drink alcohol until you're 21.

I just want to correct one thing: You can join the Armed Services at 17, as long as you have graduated from high school. My husband joined the Marines at 17, and turned 18 later on.

Something to think about. This is also his biggest gripe: I'm old enough to die for my country, but not old enough to drink? Didn't stop him from drinking underage, though. =P

Also funny: where I grew up, alcohol wasn't really found anywhere other than a liquor store, unless it was something like beer. Then you could buy it at the grocery store, but not at a convienence store. When I moved to the South, it was like walking into another world. It was totally weird to walk into a Wawa and find that they had beer in their coolers. Tripped me out. It must be different state-to-state. Even down here in North Carolina, c-stores and grocery stores sell beer and wine, but they won't carry the harder stuff (unless you're at a c-store on base, and then they have hardcore liquor, lol). If you want your Jack Daniels, you gotta go to a liquor store.

Original Post by armandleg:

It must be different state-to-state.

It varies state to state and sometimes within each state.  In Massachusetts beer, wine and liquor were all sold at liquor stores and no where else.  In Illinois you can buy beer, wine and liquor at the local grocery store.  In North Carolina you can buy beer and wine at the grocery store, but have to go to a liquor store (which doesn't sell beer and wine) to buy liquor.  In Maryland it varies by county, some counties you can get beer at the grocery store, some you have to go to a beer/wine store, all of them only sell liquor at liquor stores, the county I live in now I have to go to 3 seperate stores to get groceries, beer and liquor. 

Some liquor stores in Maryland have beer and wine.

In Connecticut, you can't buy any alcohol after 8pm (except from bars), but before 8, you can find beer and wine in grocery stores.

Where I went to college in Mass, you could stand outside your dorm with an open container. But if you crossed the road between one dorm and another, you could be arrested by the town cop, because the road was town property. Campus security explained this to us when we were freshmen - they didn't want us getting in trouble.

In New Zealand you can pretty much get alcohol anywhere, anytime. I worked at a fine wine shop and we were open til 11pm. Other liquor stores were open til midnight. You couldn't get liquor at the supermarket, although you can buy alcohol. Most dairies, grocers, corner stores etc were licensed and sold beer, wine and cider.