What do other countries do better?

[blue eyed snake]

from food to houses

 

what I like about my southern neighbours, the belgians.

 

In holland there are very strict regulations for building. meaning: when you want to build a shed in your garden or build a dormer-window on your topfloor you have to ask the municipality for permission...sigh...and they are pretty strict too...

 

in Belgium they have no such nonsense and when you pass the border the style of housing is immediately very different , more loose, more individuality, nice!

[LAOLONG]

*

Edited July 18, 2015 by cobi

[thelerner]

I suppose its only fair that I reveal the Aussie equivalent ;

 

   

 

 

I want to be reborn an Aussie.  Even as a kangaroo, cause they're tough as hell down there and know how to party

< or maybe a bird, like the Australian Eastern Egret... nah, that'd be silly.   I want to live with no egrets. 

Edited July 4, 2015 by thelerner

[Nungali]

I found lots of things in NZ they did better .... a lot opener trusting and more friendly   (back then  anyway ).

 

The make better ice cream too     .  ... but the beer is piss weak.   Even the bikers were nice to me (after I out drunk the whole gang on their cat's piss beer ... then made them drink bourbon with me afterwards 

 

But they can seem a little .... 'intimidating'  ..... before one gets to know them

 

 

 

 

Twice, got picked up hitch hiking, got a bed and dinner and use of a car the next day ... by myself, they let a total stranger drive off in their car !   Camped in  a place where I bought the food back with that I took as the camp site had fresh greens,  vitamins minerals protein and carbs  ( berries, watercress,mushrooms, trout, sweet potato, ) !   Camped on the best land, got free jet boat rides  ( a few free rides on women too    ...  )   very 'generous' ! 

 

One time I was out in the forest alone , except for a crew of gigantic  Maori loggers I happened upon at lunch time. They called me over , this giant guy made me sit next to him.

 

"Here ya go cousey-bro, have some dough boys and an eeig and vegumite sandwich ... cant let you go hungry bro !   

 

Edited July 4, 2015 by Nungali

[Taomeow]

Armenia does coffee better.  Not just better than here, but better than anywhere.

 

Azerbaijan makes the best grapes and some of the best melons, and also top quality pot.

 

Austria does chestnuts roasting on an open fire -- in the streets in winter.  They warm up your hands and your soul.

 

Bermuda does racial harmony better.  And environmental protection.  And tiny singing frogs that go "3D! 3D!" from dusk to dawn.  And cats -- free cats, many cats, happy cats, cats without owners who have enough to eat because the ecology provides and people contribute.  The happiest healthiest cats ever, and they are everywhere.  And wild chickens that can fly (up a tree) and fight like eagles and are also happy and free.  Bermuda does pretty much everything better than nearly anyone else, which is why you can't immigrate -- unless you are really, really stinking rich.  Well shacks to you Bermuda.  Green fucking grapes.

 

Belarus has the blondest natural blondes in all age groups, and children look positively angelic.  Also, they grow the best tasting potatoes.

 

Canada does commuting to work better -- some people ice skate to their place of business!

  

China has the safest vibe.  And the best of many other things.  Public restrooms are much worse though, but I think they are one campaign away from changing that.  They build 100 new airports every year after all (sic).

 

Georgia makes the best shish kabob, and in general their traditional cuisine is amazing.

 

Italy does domestic violence better.  They just yell their heads off, break plates, and occasionally furniture, then promptly kiss and make up.  Italy also does style far, far better, and makes the best-dressed men, also the best shoes and the best-fitting clothes far as I'm concerned.

 

Israel makes a better Saturday scene with girls on a weekend leave from the army going to parties with their firearms across clubbing outfits (they are not allowed to leave their weapons unattended).  Also far, far better management of water than anywhere else.  And the best coral reefs -- in the Red sea.

 

Latvia grows the best black, red and white currants, and makes the best tasting dairy.

 

Lithuania has the best wild strawberries and some of the best wild mushrooms, and smells of pine.

 

Peru makes the best ayahuasca and the best vegetalista shamans.

 

Puerto Rico does the color and temperature of the ocean better.

 

Russia makes the best poetry, hands down.  And for a couple of centuries (at least) has been producing a small but significant subclass of people, known as the "intelligentsia," who can be approximately described as a mix of a gentleman/woman but without the superficiality of just manners and no substance; scholar; and in the best classical case, kindness and integrity incarnate.  To be a member of this tiny class, you have to possess all of the above -- manners, erudition, some talent, moral character, ethical behavior, and a compassionate vibe.  To merely be "intelligent" does not begin to touch it.

 

Ukraine has the best most fertile black soil, so pretty much everything grown there tastes better than anywhere else.  Currently this soil is being bought by Sweden at something like a buck a ton.  (During WWII the Germans, while occupying Ukraine, dug up, loaded on trains, and transported to Germany hundreds of thousands of tons of this amazing soil.)  

 

It's a wonderful world...

[Marblehead]

You forgot Liechtenstein!

 

Economically, Liechtenstein has the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when adjusted by purchasing power parity.

 

(From Wikipedia)

[Apech]

there's an awful lot of coffee in Brazil.

[Taomeow]

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder.  Is it better to have no ethnic diversity like Japan, where 98.5% of inhabitants are Japanese, or plenty like Russia, home to 185 ethnic groups?  Is it better to have high per capita income like Norway, or spend whatever income you have on your children's education and your parents' comfort in old age like China?  Is it better to have a cleptocracy or a corporatocracy -- the only choices all countries really have politically these days?  Is it better to be a small country that is being managed like Laozi's small fish being carefully fried, or a large one managed the way one eats a whale -- discarding most of it?  

 

Countries are unnatural.  And some of them are not even countries.  They started out as corporations for profit, and remained that for the duration of their history.

 

Is it better?  The only way to answer this question is to qualify it: better for whom?

 

So, I listed only the things I experienced that were "better" for me.    

[Taomeow]

Oh, forgot Mexico.  Mexico does alternative therapies better.   And all medications are OTC -- including all European pharmaceuticals that are not available here. 

[CloudHands]

[zerostao]

strokes chin,,Azerbaijan??...

 i've never been to a caspian beach

 

Appalachia has the oldest mountains. some parts of appalachia may be american while other parts are definitely not.

i have worn numbeo out trying to find places less expensive to live than my neck of the woods in appalachia to no avail. 

and if a certain million acre forest is not to your taste, no worries, right beside it is another million acre forest, then another,,,

farmer's markets,,drive onto almost any farm to shop for fresh

our shine and 'sang is unbeatable and often packaged together.

if you happen to like mandolins, fiddles, guitars, banjos,,hey

[liminal_luke]

Oh, forgot Mexico.  Mexico does alternative therapies better.   And all medications are OTC -- including all European pharmaceuticals that are not available here. 

 

 

And cheaper as well.  The "simi" pharmacies, selling generics, usually have a doctors office attached.  You just go in and wait your turn, and the appointment costs about $4.  I once went to a similar doctor associated with a pharmacy in Mexico city that offered free doctors appointments.  It felt weird getting such service free of charge, so I offered to pay but he turned me down.

 

Specialists cost a bit more.  I recently paid about $40 to see an endocronologist.  This was after getting some blood work at the lab around the corner.  Two hours after getting my blood drawn I picked up the results.  I haven´t gotten any labwork done in the states for years, but think this is pretty speedy.  Especially considering it´s Mexico where almost nothing else seems to happen fast.

Edited July 10, 2015 by liminal_luke

[Brian]

strokes chin,,Azerbaijan??...

 i've never been to a caspian beach

 

Appalachia has the oldest mountains. some parts of appalachia may be american while other parts are definitely not.

i have worn numbeo out trying to find places less expensive to live than my neck of the woods in appalachia to no avail. 

and if a certain million acre forest is not to your taste, no worries, right beside it is another million acre forest, then another,,,

farmer's markets,,drive onto almost any farm to shop for fresh

our shine and 'sang is unbeatable and often packaged together.

if you happen to like mandolins, fiddles, guitars, banjos,,hey

Hell, yeah! All that and more.

[Nungali]

Oh, forgot Mexico.  Mexico does alternative therapies better.   And all medications are OTC -- including all European pharmaceuticals that are not available here. 

 

 

And they are better coca-cola drinkers 

 

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder.  Is it better to have no ethnic diversity like Japan, where 98.5% of inhabitants are Japanese, or plenty like Russia, home to 185 ethnic groups?  Is it better to have high per capita income like Norway, or spend whatever income you have on your children's education and your parents' comfort in old age like China?  Is it better to have a cleptocracy or a corporatocracy -- the only choices all countries really have politically these days?  Is it better to be a small country that is being managed like Laozi's small fish being carefully fried, or a large one managed the way one eats a whale -- discarding most of it?  

 

Countries are unnatural.  And some of them are not even countries.  They started out as corporations for profit, and remained that for the duration of their history.

 

Is it better?  The only way to answer this question is to qualify it: better for whom?

 

So, I listed only the things I experienced that were "better" for me.    

 

 

too much too much too much, all too much do we digest the lie that quantitative equates qualitative. "more is better" has always been the accepted lie.

 

 

Moderation is key.

 

"better" therefore, is a comparison between something that is beneficial to the whole, and something that is detrimental to any part of the whole.

 

 

Cut out all the detriments-to-the-whole to find "best".  

[Taomeow]

strokes chin,,Azerbaijan??...

 i've never been to a caspian beach

 

Appalachia has the oldest mountains. some parts of appalachia may be american while other parts are definitely not.

i have worn numbeo out trying to find places less expensive to live than my neck of the woods in appalachia to no avail. 

and if a certain million acre forest is not to your taste, no worries, right beside it is another million acre forest, then another,,,

farmer's markets,,drive onto almost any farm to shop for fresh

our shine and 'sang is unbeatable and often packaged together.

if you happen to like mandolins, fiddles, guitars, banjos,,hey

 

You make Appalachia sound worthy of a visit!

 

As for the Caspian beach, I can give you a verbal description, see how you like it.  In the resort area of Zagulba near the capital city of Baku, the sea is very warm, and it's warm at night too, the wind always blows, day and night, warm wind, strong wind, and on the beach it gets so strong it howls like a pack of wolves.   You better put a rock on your T and towel or you'll never see them again -- gone with the wind.  Night swimming in warm, not rough but not calm, softly but energetically rocking water, with the wind howling in your ears, and then as you get out, the sand blown by the wind giving you a leg massage that is invigorating but barely tolerable in its intensity, are unforgettable.

 

I was a college student when I was there.  To make my stay more interesting, I got an Azerbaijani boyfriend, not real boyfriend but one of those summer vacation liaisons we fall into so easily when we are very young, who told me many enlightening stories about life in a Muslim world I had no idea about.  They are very passionate people, with a very short fuse.  Nazim (the boyfriend) kept blackmailing me with his impending suicide upon my departure.  I didn't believe him but part of me was worried...       

[Brian]

You make Appalachia sound worthy of a visit!

 

As for the Caspian beach, I can give you a verbal description, see how you like it. In the resort area of Zagulba near the capital city of Baku, the sea is very warm, and it's warm at night too, the wind always blows, day and night, warm wind, strong wind, and on the beach it gets so strong it howls like a pack of wolves. You better put a rock on your T and towel or you'll never see them again -- gone with the wind. Night swimming in warm, not rough but not calm, softly but energetically rocking water, with the wind howling in your ears, and then as you get out, the sand blown by the wind giving you a leg massage that is invigorating but barely tolerable in its intensity, are unforgettable.

 

I was a college student when I was there. To make my stay more interesting, I got an Azerbaijani boyfriend, not real boyfriend but one of those summer vacation liaisons we fall into so easily when we are very young, who told me many enlightening stories about life in a Muslim world I had no idea about. They are very passionate people, with a very short fuse. Nazim (the boyfriend) kept blackmailing me with his impending suicide upon my departure. I didn't believe him but part of me was worried...

I suspect you in particular, more so than many other Bums, would resonate with the ancient energies of the Appalachians, especially the Southern Highlands.

[zerostao]

it is lovely and charming down there for sure. i have a few mountain friends along the tn/nc boundary. it was about a mile up me and my cuz came upon elk on black balsam. when cuz told my uncle he was taking me along for a ride down there, my uncle said "dont take zero(he didnt say zero but rather my first and middle name)down there--he will never come back." both my sisters visit brevard, well almost every year. if any american dao bum went on a type of pilgrimage wandering--then these appalachians probably should be included. ifin ya like wild flowers, old growth forests, panoramic views, some of those you

will have to work for haha..

all of appalachia is special. west virginia is called wild and wonderful for a reason. when i crossed the appalachians in virginia on my way to XYP initiation,,that trip was magical.on a scale of 1-10, probably around, 16.  and i always invite bums to come visit, every now and then one will actually show up. 

[gendao]

China, and much of Asia and various less-industrialized countries have much more abundant, cheaper, fresher, locally-sourced foods - often available from street vendors. (The only caveat is that it may not all be organic due to Western pesticides & GMOs now.)

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder. Is it better to have no ethnic diversity like Japan, where 98.5% of inhabitants are Japanese, or plenty like Russia, home to 185 ethnic groups? Is it better to have high per capita income like Norway, or spend whatever income you have on your children's education and your parents' comfort in old age like China? Is it better to have a cleptocracy or a corporatocracy -- the only choices all countries really have politically these days? Is it better to be a small country that is being managed like Laozi's small fish being carefully fried, or a large one managed the way one eats a whale -- discarding most of it?

Well, duh. According to the US, the most diverse countries in the world are the best (Africa, Brazil, Caribbean, USA, etc), and the least diverse (East Asia, Australia, Europe, etc) are the worst.

The 10 Most Ethnically Diverse Countries in the World
1. Papua New Guinea
2. Tanzania
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Uganda
5. Liberia
6. Cameroon
7. Togo
8. South Africa
9. Republic of Congo
10. Madagascar

Ergo, these are obviously the happiest and most socioeconomically-successful countries in the world.

As opposed to the more homogenous countries, mired in poverty, strife, and misery.

Clearly, DIVERSITY = STRENGTH - in both political, academic theory AND proven, competitive, free market practice!

Edited July 12, 2015 by gendao

[Taomeow]

In reality, diversity is a HUGE challenge.  It's not a "bad" or "good" thing anymore than any huge challenge is -- but it becomes a bad thing if the challenge is not met properly, is ignored, mishandled, swept under the rug, or (in a typical case) used to breed hostilities, discrimination, humiliation, false perceptions and images and accusations, scapegoats and "superior" breeds of man, and divide and conquer ad nauseam.  It is a double-edged sword for sure, and the edge typically used is the killing one, not the healing one.  Alas.

 

So in this respect homogenous countries have it much easier.  No Japanese object to paying taxes "because we don't want to support illegal Japanese immigrants" or "all those ghetto Japanese on welfare" or "those devious Japanese banksters."  So they have to discern what it is about people that really makes them good or bad people because Japaneseness ain't it -- everybody is Japanese, the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

Of course they can go to town with despising non-Japanese everybody else everywhere else, there's that...  

 

What's better -- to be human or to be a special kind of human?..  We've all been convinced that it's better to be a special kind, "better" than some other kind.  Sigh.    

[thelerner]

 

Ergo, these are obviously the happiest and most socioeconomically-successful countries in the world.

As opposed to the more homogenous countries, mired in poverty and misery.

 

Hmmn, in one picture I see 100's of people in the other 4.   Truthfully I don't know if those 4 are happier then the 100's above. Yes they're carrying large colorful bundles but that could be for a festival or positive event.  Those 4 waiting on a bullet train in an empty station might be there at an ungodly hour trying to get to a far away job they have to go to each day.  I don't know.  We don't know, so its easy enough for our prejudices to fill in the gaps. 

 

High tech, socioeconomical-success and money may not be the keys to happiness.  It has been repeatedly found that while  living in poverty does suck, that after a certain point, more stuff, more money has nothing to do with happiness.  

[gendao]

In reality, diversity is a HUGE challenge. It's not a "bad" or "good" thing anymore than any huge challenge is -- but it becomes a bad thing if the challenge is not met properly, is ignored, mishandled, swept under the rug, or (in a typical case) used to breed hostilities, discrimination, humiliation, false perceptions and images and accusations, scapegoats and "superior" breeds of man, and divide and conquer ad nauseam. It is a double-edged sword for sure, and the edge typically used is the killing one, not the healing one. Alas.

Well, that American mantra has never actually been proven - or had to be. It's only been "proven" true by repeating it enough...(propaganda). So really, we could just as easily say that PURITY = STRENGTH or DIVERSITY = WEAKNESS.

 

But in reality, diversity is just diversity. A rose is a rose is a rose. X = X & Y = Y. It can only be "good" or "bad" for different individuals in specific, conditional contexts.

 

Hence, X = Y is basically always propaganda, because it never is 100% and is therefore a conditional prejudice (bias).

 

Clearing the subconscious mind means removing all X = Y associations.

Hmmn, in one picture I see 100's of people in the other 4. Truthfully I don't know if those 4 are happier then the 100's above. Yes they're carrying large colorful bundles but that could be for a festival or positive event. Those 4 waiting on a bullet train in an empty station might be there at an ungodly hour trying to get to a far away job they have to go to each day. I don't know. We don't know, so its easy enough for our prejudices to fill in the gaps.

 

High tech, socioeconomical-success and money may not be the keys to happiness. It has been repeatedly found that while living in poverty does suck, that after a certain point, more stuff, more money has nothing to do with happiness.

Ever hear of the ongoing Congo Civil Wars?

Congo has become a never-ending nightmare, one of the bloodiest conflicts since World War II, with more than five million dead. It seems incomprehensible that the biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa and on paper one of the richest, teeming with copper, diamonds and gold, vast farmlands of spectacular fertility and enough hydropower to light up the continent, is now one of the poorest, most hopeless nations on earth. Unfortunately, there are no promising solutions within grasp, or even within sight.

hundreds of thousands of women have been systematically assaulted in recent years, leading the United Nations to call Congo “the rape capital of the world.” Many of these rapes have been marked by a level of brutality that is shocking even by the twisted standards of a place rived by civil war and haunted by warlords and drugged-up child soldiers. What’s the strategic purpose of putting an AK-47 assault rifle inside a woman and pulling the trigger? Or cutting out a woman’s fetus and making her friends eat it?

War and civil strife have beset Congo since the African nation’s independence in 1960. That conflict has included two civil wars—in 1996-1997 and 1998-2003—and even now rebel groups continue to plague parts of the country. Millions were killed, and millions more were forced from their homes. These internally displaced persons numbered 3.4 million at their maximum in 2003, but approximately 2.7 million have yet to return due to ongoing violence, mostly in the eastern part of the country.

You're right though, they very well could be the happiest nation on Earth!

Edited July 13, 2015 by gendao

[thelerner]

Ever hear of the ongoing Congo Civil Wars?

You're right though, they very well could be the happiest nation on Earth!

  You show a picture with no details, no explanation, no particular conflict, and we're supposed to immediately understand its a picture of horrendous civil war because... they're black people in the picture??   Seems a bit prejudiced.   

 

Happiest nation on Earth??  I didn't mention that, from the picture you don't know what's going on and the assumption one group is happier then another seems filled with materialist assumptions. 

Edited July 12, 2015 by thelerner

[gendao]

  You show a picture with no details, no explanation, no particular conflict, and we're supposed to immediately understand its a picture of horrendous civil war because... they're black people in the picture??   Seems a bit prejudiced.   

 

Happiest nation on Earth??  I didn't mention that, from the picture you don't know what's going on and the assumption one group is happier then another seems filled with materialist assumptions. 

I guess healthy skepticism never hurts, but normally festival crowds look...festive?

Whereas people walking with children, glum looks on their faces and mattresses strapped to their backs...are more typically refugees?

[Nungali]

China, and much of Asia and various less-industrialized countries have much more abundant, cheaper, fresher, locally-sourced foods - often available from street vendors. (The only caveat is that it may not all be organic due to Western pesticides & GMOs now.)

Well, duh. According to the US, the most diverse countries in the world are the best (Africa, Brazil, Caribbean, USA, etc), and the least diverse (East Asia, Australia, Europe, etc) are the worst.

 

The 10 Most Ethnically Diverse Countries in the World

1. Papua New Guinea

2. Tanzania

3. Democratic Republic of Congo

4. Uganda

5. Liberia

6. Cameroon

7. Togo

8. South Africa

9. Republic of Congo

10. Madagascar

 

This doesnt make sense ....   Papua New Guinea is listed as  1st but is coloured pink . Tanzania is 2nd and dark green? 

 

 

 

Ergo, these are obviously the happiest and most socioeconomically-successful countries in the world.

 

Nah .   Your 'ergo' just crashed and burnt , unless you are saying PNG (or even Tanzania ) are  ' obviously the happiest and most socioeconomically-successful countries in the world.'

 

Obviously ???