UN Human Development Report

[House of Mustard]

The UN has listed all of the countries in the world from highest quality of life to lowest.  My guess is that it was just a couple of guys sitting around at lunch with nothing to do.  It all sounds pretty subjective to me, but here you go:

Norway is number one!
US is number 7
UK is number 13
Sierra Leone is the big loser at 175

Nothing too surprising.  Scandinavia did really well.  Africa did really bad.

The full list is here:
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=united_nations

[Entsuropi]

They used the HDI - it is worked out mathethically, but it is weighted to take little notice of the Economy, in favour of stuff like Doctors per thousand, literacy rate, stuff like that. It tends to favour leftwing countries, who have less effective economies in favour of stuff like that.

But Canada, which had been in first place in the overall index of 175 countries for seven years until 2001, conducted its own poll, apparently timed to the U.N. report.


Canadian media reported that 89 percent of the country had an "absolute conviction that we have a better quality of life than the United States."

Oh well then, thats that sorted eh? Good to know the Canadians are there to tell us how brilliant they are.

[Tage]

It's funny. I've been to both Canadian coasts, and it's a nice place. People are generally friendly and seem as well-balanced as anyone else. And yet no one can ever take Canadians seriously. It's like we have to laugh at them, but I can't figure out why.

[Entsuropi]

Do not worry Tage - i think they are funny as well. Their entire country is kinda cute.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Perhaps it's because they talk funny and are generally goofy.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

Perhaps its that movie "Canadian Bacon" starring John Candy. I think thats why.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

That movie's hilarious

You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I can't imagine a Canadian wanting to live anywhere but Canada. I expect that's just fine with most of the rest of the world. But if they're going to stay up there, could they please stop whining to me about how Canadian dollars suck compared to American dollars so it costs them twice as much to buy my product and how it costs so much more to ship to Canada and how they don't have a comprehensible import/duty system where i can tell them what taxes they'll have to pay to get their product once it arrives?

[Fellfrosch]

I remember a quote on The Onion: "So wait a minute: Canadians have free doctors, more jobs, and now they're thinking about legalizing marijuana? Remind me why do we make fun of them?"