I can call within the USA no problem but to dial outside the USA I
have never been able to figure it out.  What do I do?  Do I use a +?
Do I start with a 1 or a 11. I realize it would be different for
different places but the methodlogy must be the same. Also, I have a
10 ccredit with Skype but a $12 and another small charge mysterioulsy
showed up on my credit card statement. What is this about?  Do you
have a # for Skype support? They do not answer my e-mails.  If you
have time and you know, I'd also like to know why the subject of how
to dial internatianal calls with Skype is not easily serchable on the
net.

According to SkypeOut help,

Click and hold down your left mouse button over the "0 +" button for 2
seconds to get the "+" symbol.

In general, you dial:
+ means "this is an international number"
country code, for the country
national number, for the destination subscriber (in *most* cases
dropping the initial 0)

For example, 

London,     UK 020 3123 4567
becomes   + 44  20 3123 4567

Things get confusing for Americans because the American long-distance
prefix is 1 (in most countries it's 0) and the North American
Numbering Plan country code is also 1.

You can convert national numbers to international format using the wizard at
http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/dialing.html

Owain