(letter from Europe)

Originally Posted by cyclezealot
Generally I agree with you. On the continent , you don't need gated
communities... The UK, not so sure...?... There must be a reason all
the UK people are retiring tn the continent... Besides, climate and
cost of living , that is... We are presently in the US.. Mich and
Calif... Going to your favorite sports bar and hearing of armed
invasions.. Disrupts your appetite... Gun sales up 2 and 3 times their
normal rate. Can't say but some business' are not booming in the
US...
Other disadvantages.. Mass transit.. Found out in Mich you can't get
to Detroit or Canada , by taking the train or bus and return on the
same day.. Don't know if I could hack that. We are used to taking mass
transit, when ever, where ever we want... Even from one small burg to
another small burg.../.. But, should you be able to live inside gated
communities in the lap of luxury , and don't turn on television.. It's
a nice life..../ Another advantage of driving in the EU over Driving
in the US.. There is much less need to take a load of CD's to keep you
entertained on the autoroutes... On EU radio, you have everything from
classic to US alternative pop... Regulated radio offers so much more
variety, over the crap we hear on US radio...

***

Thanks for that great feedback! Yeah, we shouldn't underplay the role
of a good Media in moving up the civilization scale. So is Public
Transportation, Public Safety (no need for Gated Communities) and Bike
Facilities.

I quote from my website...

'TV and radio should be independent of Big Business and the State.
(This is due to two reasons: culturally, because the ratings make bad
programs become "good"... for business; and, politically, because
whoever has power over the media... will be in power; however, people
should be able to watch anything on video and cable; the BBC offers us
and example of an independent media.)'