We’re (Not) #1!
(9 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)You need to be a registered member to rate this post.
Loading ...
Add to favorites 
Processing your request, Please wait....
Leave a comment ?
(9 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)You need to be a registered member to rate this post.
Loading ...Add to favorites 
February 2, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Which coutry can kill evry other country in less than one hour?
(not couting russia.)
What now fuckers.
February 2, 2010 at 9:20 pm
hell, we can do it with just an army of raccoons
February 22, 2010 at 6:28 am
they could kill everyone and nothing in your country would change, you’d just have nowhere to escape to. But like you’d want to, amirite?
February 22, 2010 at 8:33 am
um, except that we can’t (without also being destroyed).
And we’ve all seen over the past nine years how useless this ability is, because everybody knows that we can’t pull the trigger, so it’s a giant paper tiger.
February 22, 2010 at 8:34 am
China, by fucking with the economy.
February 22, 2010 at 9:34 am
Russia can. Your argument is invalid.
February 22, 2010 at 9:34 am
Russia, France, India, the United Kingdom, China, Pakistan… oh, are we under the assumption that we’re the only country with nuclear missiles?
Tsk, tsk.
We’re not even #1 for total active nuclear warheads. Russia still leads with 4,650 to our paltry 2,626. But at least we’re keeping that kindergarten “Oh, yeah? We’ll I can beat you up!” mentality alive.
February 22, 2010 at 10:23 am
well thats the american way
from their troops having to include shouting at the tops of their voices as they charge just to distract themselves from how truly coward scared they are in war, to their “if it looks like we’re losing we’ll use nukes” policy, the best euphemism for USA is the kid in the playground who talks tough and picks a fight, takes one hit and falls on his ass crying, then runs off to the teachers and whines that the other kid is picking on them
February 23, 2010 at 2:13 am
Is that all you’ve got? Pretty pathetic, really.
February 2, 2010 at 10:30 pm
This makes me want to live in Iceland. They don’t even have an army and weren’t involved in any wars.
Also wow, Estonia? Such a tiny country is #38 in the smallest prison population list. Good god, it must be nothing but prisons over there.
February 2, 2010 at 11:38 pm
I to want to visit the Norse peoples.
February 22, 2010 at 11:02 am
If I remember correctly, Iceland’s economy is pretty fucked up right now. There was some story I read last year about how they’re having a lot of auto arson cases, because people can’t afford to pay for their expensive car, so they just burn it.
February 22, 2010 at 7:36 pm
The economy in most countries is pretty fucked up right now, wouldn’t keep me from going there though.
February 22, 2010 at 2:00 pm
I’m with you. I see a lot of Iceland in the top 3. I should pay that place a visit sometime.
February 22, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I love Iceland. For some reason, every flight I’ve taken to Europe has gone through Iceland. The last time we stayed in Iceland for 4 days before catching a flight home. They’ve got some great vacation packages for really good prices.
February 3, 2010 at 10:09 am
How does one measure democracy and freedom of the press in such a way as to plot them on a scale?
February 22, 2010 at 5:42 am
A ruler
February 22, 2010 at 10:11 am
Amount of censorship that takes place in our media ( Filtered for language, explicit and otherwise “offensive” content in the US all the time ) for freedom of press. The amount of legislation that takes place without direct voter involvement for Democracy ( Which is a LOT in the US ).
February 22, 2010 at 10:25 am
Well
That’s cool
I suppose
February 22, 2010 at 3:10 pm
“How does one measure democracy and freedom of the press in such a way as to plot them on a scale?”
Judging from European TV, it’s by the amount of porn during prime time.
February 22, 2010 at 6:06 am
Ummmm….what about GDP?
February 22, 2010 at 8:35 am
You’d be surprised.
Also, it’s not how much you have, but what you do with it (Hur hur hur!) as that chart clearly shows.
February 22, 2010 at 7:44 am
America has Hollywood.
We win!
February 22, 2010 at 8:57 am
Actually dieA, Iceland has had troops in the Afghanistan conflict. They were trained by Norwegian forces in 2004-2005. This was only a small group of people, maybe 12-15, but still, they were there.
February 22, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Ah that’s a shame, I didn’t know that. They’re still extremely neutral though, compared to all the other countries. There’s no use denying it, I’m so disappointed man.
February 22, 2010 at 9:08 am
Quality of Healthcare should be Norway…
That’s the only stat is disagree with….
February 22, 2010 at 11:18 am
Being French and knowing nothing about Norway healthcare, I would like to know further explanation (that’s a honest question).
February 22, 2010 at 10:34 am
To be honest, I expected the Mobile Phones per Capita to be higher in South Korea than in the U.S. But it has been a while since I was stationed over there so things must have changed. And then I remembered that in the U.S., we have to buy our kids anything they want, so yea… this makes sense now.
February 22, 2010 at 11:29 am
“Oh Reginald… I disagree!”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOBlPKZjxE
February 22, 2010 at 12:37 pm
U-S-A! U-S-A!
February 22, 2010 at 4:14 pm
How bad is it for the poorest people in all these countries? I’m guessing the US, Western Europe and Canada are similar, but I don’t know about other countries and I’m curious if we’ve fallen behind there too.
Also, this is what happens when you go around claiming superiority w/out actually doing anything to maintain that status. You can’t just build a bridge and expect to be fine for the next millenia or two.
February 22, 2010 at 4:30 pm
BIG COMMENT! lots to say, sorry I’m a patriot. please read.
life expectancy in the US is brought down by people who die young, it doesn’t mean that Andorra has 130 yr olds walking around it just means less people die premature deaths.
I’ll admit the US isn’t the most democratic, but we were the first big modern nation to go democratic.
freedom of the press is not always a good thing.
The US has a lot of land to criss cross with broadband cable, you don’t see Russia or Canada out ranking us in internet speed, only small countries.
Prison population should be looked at the other way round, why would you want to live in India? where it seems all the criminals go free.
Lack of corruption? seriously? thats a made up stat.
I will agree that there is a problem with education in this country, case in point, puulaahi.
who the hell cares about how many mobile phones you have? Besides an american invented PHONES!
Renewable energy science and healthcare are important and we do need to pick up our game but infant mortality is different, strong healthy babies don’t die as infants. its the weak and sick. the only thing the Japanese are doing is fighting harder to keep sub-par humans alive. Man at 31 the US must be full of some good genes.
To be fair GDP, Military spending, Olympic gold medals and foreign aid sent should be included. We lead those categories because we are the richest strongest nation in the world and no slanted liberal views can twist that truth and rob America of its seat as king of the world. bitches.
February 22, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Oh please… yes life expectancy is brought down by people who die young… so what is the US doing about it? Not a lot.
Oh, and I am doubting the accuracy of the entire list of things given that Wikipedia has Japan or Macau as the best life expentancy (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy)
If the US isn’t the most democratic, what use is it if it was the first big modern nation to go democratic? What type of claim is that anyway? A measure of democracy is based on:
1. “Whether national elections are free and fair”;
2. “The security of voters”;
3. “The influence of foreign powers on government”;
4. “The capability of the civil servants to implement policies”. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index)
Its probably time to sort out US democracy and start improving it instead of being the country that “brings” (forces) democracy to the rest of the world. How democratic is, “You will now have a democracy” anyway?
Freedom of the press is ALWAYS a good thing, that is why it is measured. A free press will actively criticise government and business, will publish dissenting opinion and inform the public.
In regards to your prison population:
“Five percent of the world’s population is American; twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners are American. The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any country in the history of the world.
The rate is three times that of Iran, six times that of China. More than one in a hundred adults in the United States is in prison. One in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is in prison.” (shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-are-1-of-american-adults.html)
One percent of your population is in jail… not to mention the fact that the majority of these prisoners are people of colour and/or disabled… its terrible, and clearly isn’t helping anyone. Rehabilitation and diversion programs work… they just require funding.
No, a lack of corruption is not a made up stat. “Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ordering the countries of the world according to “the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians”. The organization defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index). The US is perceived as corrupt, perhaps it is time that methods to halt corruption began.
Oh wow, and American invented phones… therefore the lack of mobile phone per capita isn’t a concern… what type of argument is that? Does the US have black spots that prevent mobile phone usage? Are plans unaffordable? I don’t know if the mobile phones per capita measurement is useful or not, but try and argue the point next time instead of claiming it isn’t important because someone from the US invented phones.
Wow… eugenics as an argument about infant mortality? According to wikipedia (and you could have looked this up to support your arguments or to you know, get educated), “The infant mortality rate correlates very strongly with and is among the best predictors of state failure. IMR is also a useful indicator of a country’s level of health or development, and is a component of the physical quality of life index.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality)
You might also want to read: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#United_States
I too am surprised that GDP was not included, but that isn’t an indicator of a good life, just of a successful economy. Military spending again isn’t an indicator of anything much at all, and although the US spends more than any other country on their military, what does it achieve (and don’t say democracy in other countries because I will travel to the US just to slap you)?
Olympic gold medals are an indication of sporting prowess, or the ability to throw money at sporting academies. Again this does not impact on the every day life of people, just their pride in their nation’s ability to perform at sport… every 4 years.
Slated liberal views? Seriously? Go and read some more stuff. ALthough the figures in the charts may be out of date, go and find out where the US actually ranks in some areas and think about whether or not you are happy with that. Then go and agitate for change in the areas you are unhappy about.
The US is not the king of the world. The US is just another nation… a powerful nation yes, but not one that gets to dictate to the world about how they’d like to see everything done.
Seriously, go travel through Europe, Asia and Africa, learn about other people, how they view the US and think about how that impacts on the US over all.
And just for the record America does not equal the USA. The Americas involves South and North America… so many countries. Try using USian or just US.
February 22, 2010 at 6:16 pm
i like how bluebec is getting all of their sources from wikipedia =)
February 22, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Its mostly accurate and easy to search. There are further links in the articles to find the external sources. If I was writing a paper for school it’d be properly researched and documented. This is an internet argument, wikipedia will do.
February 22, 2010 at 9:31 pm
yeah sure, but wikipedia is vulnerable to favoritism. just saying.
February 22, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Which is why it has such large sections on the US and so few on the rest of the world. You want to do your own research to prove or disprove my points, go right ahead.
February 23, 2010 at 4:30 pm
id hardly call looking up random american stats on wiki research. and thats all i was saying.
and your first sentence has nothing to do with what my previous reply said.
nerfherder is smater than you.
February 22, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Actually, the reason the US does not have the highest infant survival rate is because the US is one of the only country that counts every single live birth at the time of birth. Even a 1 pound baby who gasps once and dies is counted as a live birth, and thus as a death statistic. Babies in other countries may take up to a week to be registered, particularly preemies. Preemies have the highest rate of survival in the US, but by their nature, they’re more likely to die suddenly in infancy.
If you have health care, the USA is the best country to get sick in. We have much higher survival rates of cancer, premature birth, AIDS, and various other diseases than most of the world. Many medical breakthroughs are made in this country, perhaps because we have a lot of people with a metric fuckton of money who are willing and able to fund alternate research, or because the citizens of this country give more to charity (including medical charities) than almost anyone else in the world.
Also, ‘USA’ is correct. Grammatically, it should stand for ‘United States of the Americas’, setting it apart from the American countries that are not united as independent states (which we are supposed to be, but are no longer).
February 22, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Almost, but not quite:
“Many countries, including the United States, Sweden or Germany, count an infant exhibiting any sign of life as alive, no matter the month of gestation or the size, but according to United States Centers for Disease Control researchers, some other countries differ in these practices. All of the countries named adopted the WHO definitions in the late 1980s or early 1990s, which are used throughout the European Union. However, in 2009, the US CDC issued a report which stated that the American rates of infant mortality were affected by the United States’ high rates of premature babies compared to European countries and which outlines the differences in reporting requirements between the United States and Europe, noting that France, the Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Poland do not report all live births of babies under 500 g and/or 22 weeks of gestation. However, the report also concludes that the differences in reporting are unlikely to be the primary explanation for the United States’ relatively low international ranking.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality
The US still has a relatively low international ranking, and that might be more to do with the high rate of infant mortality in the African American population of the US than with the excellence of your hospitals.
Health care clearly plays a part here. If you have it in the US, and you it covers you for everything, then you’re set. If you don’t, and people of colour in the US face more poverty than those who are white, then you have problems.
I’m quite happy with my socialised health care here in Australia and will continue to enjoy it, as well as the medical breakthroughs that occur here, in the US and elsewhere in the world.
February 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm
“If you have health care, the USA is the best country to get sick in. We have much higher survival rates of cancer, premature birth, AIDS, and various other diseases than most of the world.”
Too bad half the population can’t afford it.
From a foreigner point of view (hence limited knowledge, correct if wrong): quality of health care seems indeed excellent in the USA, but if you don’t make a ‘metric ton of money’ to pay for it, you’re hardly better than a homeless in France(Europe?) (for whom health care costs zero, including surgery/dental care/and so on).
So quality of health care should be something like that (better to worse in OECD countries):
Rich in the USA > most of OECD countries > middle-class in the USA > rest of OECD countries > poor in the USA.
February 23, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Still, the biggest reason our health care is so expensive is because our government regulations are asinine. They mandate that health insurance companies may not cross state lines, mandated comprehensive plans (so no basic accident insurance – instead, we have to pay extra to be covered for services we will never use), and refuse to put caps on malpractice payouts, require medical professionals to serve on medical malpractice juries, and have very few monetary incentives for med students.
Also, our malpractice insurance rates are through the roof, because John Edwards and a bunch of other ambulance chasers in the 80′s skyrocketed the C-section rate with emotional appeals and junk science, which is a way riskier procedure. Actually, Americans are pretty accepting of risky procedures, but a lot of families get upset if experimental therapy doesn’t work. Since we have a ratio of shyster lawyers at about 1:20, we get a lot of lawsuits.