Newsweek has released their rankings of which country is the best in the world. The criteria was education, health, quality of life, economic dynamism and political enviroment. Here are the top 25 countries in order:
1. Finland 2. Switzerland 3. Sweden 4. Austrailia 5. Luxembourg 6. Norway 7. Canada 8. Netherlands 9. Japan 10. Denmark 11. United States of America 12. Germany 13. New Zealand 14. United Kingdom 15. South Korea 16. France 17. Ireland 18. Austria 19. Belgium 20. Singapore 21. Spain 22. Israel 23. Italy 24. Slovenia 25. Czech Republic
Also according to Newsweek, Finland is best in education with a 100% literacy rate and 17.1 average years of schooling. Japan was ranked #1 in health with an average life expectancy of 76 years, Norway had the best quality of life, Singapore had the best economic dynamism and Sweden had the best political enviroment.
There were a few surprises on this list for me. Where is your country ranked? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Poll: Is your country where you'd expect it to be on the Top 25?
Met expectations (45)
43%
Exceeded expectations (25)
24%
Below expectations (18)
17%
Not on Top 25 (9)
9%
Way below expectations (7)
7%
104 total votes
Your vote: Is your country where you'd expect it to be on the Top 25?
(Vote): Exceeded expectations (Vote): Met expectations (Vote): Below expectations (Vote): Way below expectations (Vote): Not on Top 25
Edit: Keep in mind that this is a magazine publishing it's views on the "best" country. There is no best country, this is just a survey. This does not mean, by any circumstances, that Sweden is a better place to live than Italy. It is about personal preference.
France here. Probably deserved 16th place imo. While the education is pretty good and I suppose health/quality of life as well, I think we lost a few ranks because of a terrible terrible political environment. Not really surprising. ^^
it's funny when lists like these are released and Americans who have pretty much no idea what's going on in the world are like "WTF why isn't America #1!!! we have the best healthcare, education and quality of life!!" ROFL... i'm actually surprised no one has posted something in this thread about why US isn't #1 yet..
This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
On August 19 2010 04:18 sykur wrote: This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
On August 19 2010 04:18 sykur wrote: This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
I kinda have the same question about Bahrain. Sure I doubt Bahrain should be near the top 25 but not being in the top 100? Ranked lower than certain developing nations?
But then again, I guess a country with less than 1.5 million people can't make a lot of noise in the world
On August 19 2010 04:17 stk01001 wrote: it's funny when lists like these are released and Americans who have pretty much no idea what's going on in the world are like "WTF why isn't America #1!!! we have the best healthcare, education and quality of life!!" ROFL... i'm actually surprised no one has posted something in this thread about why US isn't #1 yet..
The educated ones know we're not number one...I'm actually surprised we're not lower in the ranks.
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote: I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
That doesn't have to do with any of the categories. China probably has the second most influence of any country in the world, and it certainly doesn't belong anywhere close to the top 25 of that list.
Compared with some of the other countries on that list, I'm surprised America isn't further down. The American educational system at any level except the university level is horrid compared to other Western nations, especially in terms of math and science benchmarks. The American university system is the top of the world, though, but only in terms of research at major universities (such as the large public state schools and the renowned private ones). Many American universities are expensive day-care centers for children who don't need to be there.
The American health-care system is also quite backward compared to many of the countries listed. Americans spend the most per capita on healthcare out of any countries in that list, yet in many benchmarks such as life expectancy, obesity rates, diabetes rates, etc., is near the bottom. The American health-care system is extremely bloated, suffers from administrative nightmares, and is not efficient at all. Not to mention how unhealthy most Americans are.
Quality of life is great, I suppose, but only for segment of the population who are lucky enough to afford a decent quality of life. Social programs for the poor are very lacking compared to some Scandanavian/Western European countries, and if you're not lucky enough to have a stable job/income, your life pretty much sucks. I know it's the same for other countries, but not to the extent found in America.
However, the economic dynamism and political culture are great in America. An entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged, and both the economy and political process are quite open and corruption-free (compared to other countries, of course). I think this is where America truly shines; there's plenty of opportunity for social and economic advancement for those who are dedicated and hard-working enough to succeed.
Still, I would probably rate countries like Austria and Belgium over the United States.
As an aside, I'm really glad to be seeing Slovenia on that list. It's a really overlooked country, but it has a highly educated workforce and a very modern political/economic/social climate.
On August 19 2010 04:18 sykur wrote: This list is wrong. Iceland isn't in the top 100 on this list. I want them to explain how Kenya and Iran are better than Iceland. But Iceland is in top 10. But Iceland is in top 5 on the UN best countries list.
On August 19 2010 04:52 hifriend wrote: lol @ americans bitching about not magically placing #1 in every category
I don't see any bitching of the sort...
Sorry I was referring to the comments below the survey results and twitter. Not here on tl though.
Daniel Just wondering - where would the top 100 countries be without the USA? Where would Newsweek be? Newsweeks criteria are distant second place to the simple criteria of: who has contributed the most to the advancement of freedom, education, health, economic improvement, quality of life worldwide in the history of mankind? The world would be a very different place. Time to stepup Newsweek, and express the appropriate gratitude that is long overdue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
US is not in the top 10, are you kidding me??? No offense but in my opinion US is the best country to live in
That so few of us, who at one time or another threatened to leave our country (USA) if (fill in the blank), have ever left for good, tells you all you need to know about why ours, probably appropriately #11 on the "Best Country in the World" ...list, is the best place to live.
Funny how crime / war / terrorist attacks aren't taken into consideration. I would prefer to live in a "worse country" (since this is the list for the 'best' country lol) and at least go to work knowing the bus / train isn't going to explode or some random dude starts shooting everyone at my son's school or even having wars going on for decades in my neighbour countries.
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote: I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
I think it means quality of life, not the judge of country's strength.
On August 19 2010 05:04 WeSt wrote: Funny how crime / war / terrorist attacks aren't taken into consideration. I would prefer to live in a "worse country" (since this is the list for the 'best' country lol) and at least go to work knowing the bus / train isn't going to explode or some random dude starts shooting everyone at my son's school or even having wars going on for decades in my neighbour countries.
Terrorism is pretty much a negligible threat in any country, unless you happen to live in Palestine or something.
On August 19 2010 05:04 WeSt wrote: Funny how crime / war / terrorist attacks aren't taken into consideration. I would prefer to live in a "worse country" (since this is the list for the 'best' country lol) and at least go to work knowing the bus / train isn't going to explode or some random dude starts shooting everyone at my son's school or even having wars going on for decades in my neighbour countries.
Terrorism is pretty much a negligible threat in any country, unless you happen to live in Palestine or something.
Yea you are probably right. But usually countries at war / with a high past war history have more enemies. Also forgot to mention separatist groups. Suicide rate also tells a lot about a country's social environment.
On August 19 2010 05:04 WeSt wrote: Funny how crime / war / terrorist attacks aren't taken into consideration. I would prefer to live in a "worse country" (since this is the list for the 'best' country lol) and at least go to work knowing the bus / train isn't going to explode or some random dude starts shooting everyone at my son's school or even having wars going on for decades in my neighbour countries.
Terrorism is pretty much a negligible threat in any country, unless you happen to live in Palestine or something.
Living outside the US makes me feel more patriotic, but I still don't want to live there.
Anyways, the metrics are dumb and the rankings are worthless, just like they usually are. It's not news, just something else to get people riled up and hopefully postpone Newsweek's death.
Guys sit down and think for a second, Iceland wasn't maybe, just maybe not included in this study. Doesen't mean it's worse then the land placed on 100th spot.
And yeah, using school shootings / terrorism in these type of rankings are quite useless, since they can happen pretty much anywhere. All you need is a crazy person with the neccessary resources. And sadly, these are in numbers much greater then they should be.
And the results were to be expected. Nordic countries almost always dominate these type of studies, nothing new imo.
how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
On August 19 2010 05:17 NonFactor wrote: And the results were to be expected. Nordic countries almost always dominate these type of studies, nothing new imo.
Definitely. These surveys always come out with some combination of Scandanavian countries, Western European countries that aren't France/Spain/Portugal/Italy, Aus/NZ, Canada, Japan/SK, and the U.S. The rankings shuffle every year (kind of like college rankings, which are also bullshit and only change to sell more copies of U.S. News and World Report (which is a horrid publication compared to ones like the Economist...still better than Newsweek though!)), but they pretty much stay the same in terms of relative positions.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
On August 19 2010 05:26 Comeh wrote: ITT: we make bold assumptions and vast over-generalizations about people's countries. Namely: America. These threads will never end healthily.
I think there are many valid generalizations to make about different countries. For example, you can easily say the political climate of America is much more open than that of China. How is that not a valid point to bring up?
"best" isn't the approapriate title. efficient, yes. but "best"? think that's what gets me angry. i'd still rather live in america than any of those countries..
america should be brought down a bit, if your considering those standards.
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote: I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
That doesn't have to do with any of the categories. China probably has the second most influence of any country in the world, and it certainly doesn't belong anywhere close to the top 25 of that list.
Compared with some of the other countries on that list, I'm surprised America isn't further down. The American educational system at any level except the university level is horrid compared to other Western nations, especially in terms of math and science benchmarks. The American university system is the top of the world, though, but only in terms of research at major universities (such as the large public state schools and the renowned private ones). Many American universities are expensive day-care centers for children who don't need to be there.
As with the ranking system in the OP, the ranking systems used by Newsweek and others to compare pre-college education systems are terrible. It's very difficult to actually gauge the quality of eduction fairly and accurately.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote: I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
That doesn't have to do with any of the categories. China probably has the second most influence of any country in the world, and it certainly doesn't belong anywhere close to the top 25 of that list.
Compared with some of the other countries on that list, I'm surprised America isn't further down. The American educational system at any level except the university level is horrid compared to other Western nations, especially in terms of math and science benchmarks. The American university system is the top of the world, though, but only in terms of research at major universities (such as the large public state schools and the renowned private ones). Many American universities are expensive day-care centers for children who don't need to be there.
As with the ranking system in the OP, the ranking systems used by Newsweek and others to compare pre-college education systems are terrible. It's very difficult to actually gauge the quality of eduction fairly and accurately.
Definitely true. Even within schools, there are huge differences in the different departments. For example, the department I'm majoring in is very small (student-faculty ratio is literally 3:2), the faculty are very accessible and social (for example, there's a welcome back picnic at an athletic park during the first two weeks of school for all majors/faculty/staff and their families), faculty take students out to dinner/invite them over for dinner all the time, and all students must complete a year long research project with a faculty mentor depending on the students' interests. All classes pretty much have fewer than fifteen students (because the prereqs for the lowest class that counts toward the major are calc 3 and linear rofl), and the faculty are not only great researchers, but extremely engaging lecturers.
Compare that with a larger department, say, economics, where you're just another face in the crowd and are lucky to get a faculty sponsor/mentor that cares about your own interests, much less knows your name. Seriously, my sophomore year I took one of the premed weedout classes (molecular biology/genetics), and I sat in a huge 400 person auditorium with hundreds of other Asians. I've never had that experience in any of my stat classes.
Also college rankings are total bullshit, and get shuffled around each year to sell more copies. It's fucking retarded.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
Actually this is a really touchy subject in Germany, and if you mention stuff about it you'll get terrible looks of disapproval.
On August 19 2010 05:30 Revolt wrote: "best" isn't the approapriate title. efficient, yes. but "best"? think that's what gets me angry. i'd still rather live in america than any of those countries..
america should be brought down a bit, if your considering those standards.
Well if you look below the poll, it is about your personal preference. You say that the United States is the best country, I say Canada is the best country. There will always be arguments.
Australia would have been #1 if our internet wasn't so shit.
I wish fiber to the home would hurry up.
To the people upset about America's placement, remember it is just some random list. Also look at the criteria:
education, health, quality of life, economic dynamism and political enviroment
America has shitty education and a horrible health system. The quality of life isn't bad if you aren't on a minimum wage. Your economy is struggling. From what I saw when I was over there your politcal environment is hostile and ineffective at best. People are more interested in arguing than getting anything done.
The only one I am surprised about is Singapore... I expected it to be a lot higher than 20th.
I'll try to remember that we are the best country in the world. While waiting a bus in winter, in -25C with blazing cold wind and snowing like a motherfucker....
So I heard it gets pretty cold in finland... Is climate taken into account for "quality of life"? Sure people can get used to different temperatures, but I would not want to live in cold places (or absurdly hot ones either).
Australia. Number 4. What. The fuck. I mean I hope they aren't ranking us high in Political Environment, because if they are they obviously aren't paying attention to the election that's going on (Red-headed she-Brutus vs. speedo-wearing almost-priest).
I guess being the only developed country whose economy didn't go to shit must be worth a lot of points, but that'll auto-correct and we'll be back to ~10 in a year or two.
On August 19 2010 04:40 Bill Murray wrote: I disagree with America being as low as it is. We still have the most influence of any country in the world.
Just how much has that contributed to your well being?
On August 19 2010 07:42 RisingTide wrote: Australia. Number 4. What. The fuck. I mean I hope they aren't ranking us high in Political Environment, because if they are they obviously aren't paying attention to the election that's going on (Red-headed she-Brutus vs. speedo-wearing almost-priest).
I guess being the only developed country whose economy didn't go to shit must be worth a lot of points, but that'll auto-correct and we'll be back to ~10 in a year or two.
I highly doubt political enviroment means much more than stability, which we quite clearly have.
It's certainly not their place to make a judgement on our election candidates and rank us off that.
On August 19 2010 07:39 DCLXVI wrote: So I heard it gets pretty cold in finland... Is climate taken into account for "quality of life"? Sure people can get used to different temperatures, but I would not want to live in cold places (or absurdly hot ones either).
On the other hand, we don't really have natural disasters here like earthquakes, hurricanes and what not. But yeah, the climate does suck.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
I never understood how people can call different advertising for different people by private companies censorship.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
I never understood how people can call different advertising for different people by private companies censorship.
Also wtf at this ranking, so wrong, Germany owns!
I thought the German government still censored some stuff related to Nazis. Like it would be really illegal there to release a game where you play as a nazi soldier shooting russians.
On August 19 2010 04:12 SilentCrono wrote: Australia ranked higher than US? wtf
Yeah seriously what a joke. You have crappy public healthcare and an economy that is tiny compared to ours, and very few freedoms (for a first world country)... No guns, tons of media censorship, no concrete guaranteed freedom of speech, etc.
The only thing that matters to me is freedom, anyway. I'd live on some godforsaken wild frontier if it was the only place I could be free... Oh wait, thats how America got started. Too bad there is no frontier left.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
I never understood how people can call different advertising for different people by private companies censorship.
Also wtf at this ranking, so wrong, Germany owns!
I thought the German government still censored some stuff related to Nazis. Like it would be really illegal there to release a game where you play as a nazi soldier shooting russians.
There has been no ruling on this. Publishers tend to take the safe route and preemptively censor their own games so nobody complains.
It's about selling more, not censorship.
Another recent example: The billboard ads for The Inglorious Basterds was altered and all swastikas removed for Germany. The movie itself has been left completely unaltered though.
Yes, there are hate speech laws in Germany. Part of them ban the use of Nazi symbols including the swastika in public in a political context. They can be used in an educational or artistic context just fine though. Nobody has yet made a case to put computer games in the same category like movies or TV for example, thus no publisher wants to be the first to challenge this. Of course, part of the reason is that video games in general have a rather bad reputation and there are very vocal private initiatives in Germany to get them banned. Putting swastikas into games or ads for games would just play into their hand.
The L4D example is ridiculous though, there is no law whatsover that forced them to change the cover. They just figured it would sell more that way.
On August 19 2010 07:39 DCLXVI wrote: So I heard it gets pretty cold in finland... Is climate taken into account for "quality of life"? Sure people can get used to different temperatures, but I would not want to live in cold places (or absurdly hot ones either).
On the other hand, we don't really have natural disasters here like earthquakes, hurricanes and what not. But yeah, the climate does suck.
The northeast US doesn't have earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes either, and is still a much nicer climate than Scandinavia.
On August 19 2010 04:12 SilentCrono wrote: Australia ranked higher than US? wtf
Yeah seriously what a joke. You have crappy public healthcare and an economy that is tiny compared to ours, and very few freedoms (for a first world country)... No guns, tons of media censorship, no concrete guaranteed freedom of speech, etc.
The only thing that matters to me is freedom, anyway. I'd live on some godforsaken wild frontier if it was the only place I could be free... Oh wait, thats how America got started. Too bad there is no frontier left.
You have no idea how wrong you are. It's always astonished me how often Americans don't realise how bad they have it.
Your left wing is more right wing than most other country's conservative parties, and yet you denounce anything even slightly socialist as Communism. Our health care system needs work but I would take it any day over the US's system, which is as broken as it gets if you aren't upper middle class+. We can own guns if we live on property, which lets face it is the only place you really need them (don't start on self defense). Sure, we don't have a Bill of Rights, but you know what, my rights have never been impinged upon and nothing in our history has significantly affected our Freedom of Speech that hasn't also affected the rest of the West. You spout on about freedom in a country with one of the highest incarcerated populations in the world and some of the most draconian set of drug laws. Of course our economy is tiny compared to yours, you have 15x the population. And I wouldn't claim that the US has a superior system to ours, considering the financial crisis had about the same effect on Australia as the Y2K bug did. Also, our public school system is leagues ahead of yours, don't even pretend the US has a passable education system.
The USA was founded on the principles of freedom, equality and opportunity for all, and I respect and admire that and what it has done for the rest of the world, but I see Americans taking it for granted and claiming their the best without really knowing why they got to be the best, and because of that your country is floundering and it's a real shame.
On August 19 2010 07:39 DCLXVI wrote: So I heard it gets pretty cold in finland... Is climate taken into account for "quality of life"? Sure people can get used to different temperatures, but I would not want to live in cold places (or absurdly hot ones either).
On the other hand, we don't really have natural disasters here like earthquakes, hurricanes and what not. But yeah, the climate does suck.
The northeast US doesn't have earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes either, and is still a much nicer climate than Scandinavia.
There are definitely a lot of places with nicer climate than scandinavia. ^^
The only thing that matters to me is freedom, anyway. I'd live on some godforsaken wild frontier if it was the only place I could be free... Oh wait, thats how America got started. Too bad there is no frontier left.
Out of curiosity, how do you think modern Australia came to be?
United States is higher than I thought it would be, but I guess when your worst problems are a bit of personal debt and faulty over-priced iPhones, you've got things pretty damn good, on an individual basis...
I'm a little surprised that Japan is ranked relatively low in the list given its economy (still 2nd largest), life expectancy and low crime rates. But generally, they are in line with what you expect.
The L4D example is ridiculous though, there is no law whatsover that forced them to change the cover. They just figured it would sell more that way.
They weren't directly forced to do anything but after the Counter Strike mess they played it safe. It's not just about selling more since it's not like Germany and Australia are so distinct from their neighbors that the similar product wouldn't sell there. No one knows for sure, but I think the box art change was a response to past censorship, not something to gain sales.
Anyways, Australia is way up on that list so the point is moot anyways. Not sure why Germany is so low, then.
Another important factor they don't cover is food. Pretty damn important consideration, imo. Nordic bastards would get spanked if that were in there.
On August 19 2010 05:18 Clamev wrote: how did they get the date? I think my country(Germany) is pretty reasonable although i realy wonder why USA is above us i mean our Health care system is not good but it´s better than in the US and while our education system has many flaws and is very biased i still think it does a better job. Also our economy is recovering better than any other countries does in eu and us. Anyway if they included surveys like asking people what they think how good the Health Care system, education system etc is than you will always get worse results in Germany, because people like to complain a lot here.
Censorship/NN?
"I'll take 4 of them."
You'd think the best way to get over your bloody past would be to shoot the hell out of it, not take all the Nazis out of Wolfenstein.
Actually this is a really touchy subject in Germany, and if you mention stuff about it you'll get terrible looks of disapproval.
Oh I know that, just being an insensitive jerk for a change.
And companies deliberately altering content to get under a rating bar is definitely censorship through coercion by the govt. The threat of censorship is enough to alter the company's plans. It happens everywhere. Just happens that the bar for censorship is a bit lower on certain things in Germany than say in the us or something
Lots of great countries listed there. I'd like to visit all of them! They all look like pretty welcoming countries too and I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable in any of them. Myself, calling Santa Cruz, California home for the past 44 years, its pretty hard to ever think of living anywhere else. Tho I do love my winter home in Maui.
Spent about 2 years traveling all over Europe in the 80's and it is an amazing place. We don't have the same depth of culture here in the US that Europe is blessed with, but it's quite an amazing mix of ethnicity due to the very fabric of what made up the U.S. .. basically we're made of immigrants from all countries at our core.
Of my travels tho, I love South and Central America the most despite them not showing on that list. But then again I'm a bit biased towards the surfing adventures in my 20's that made such an impact. I just hope we (The U.S.) don't piss off too many more countries with our agendas. Kinda sucks tho that somehow we've taken it upon ourselves to be the frikin police of the world. Wish the Germans and Japanese had won that stupid war 60 years ago!
On August 22 2010 12:07 Bajadulce wrote: Kinda sucks tho that somehow we've taken it upon ourselves to be the frikin police of the world. Wish the Germans and Japanese had won that stupid war 60 years ago!
It's hard to be the world police, and I think USA is doing a good job, despite all the controversies/hatred that it stirred up. Shit is bound to happen given how much power and responsibility.
Call me ignorant, but I don't agree with your last statement
if you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life?
EPT
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![[image loading]](http://www.evo-x.de/images/diverse/sonstiges/Left4Dead-Cover-Originalvs.Deutschland.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i36.tinypic.com/5ebp6f.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i38.tinypic.com/szvp5z.jpg)
