Iceland best place to live, Africa worst - 2007 UN report

Source: Reuters

BRASILIA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom.

Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, with Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland the first five but the United States slipping to 12th place from eighth last year in the U.N. Human Development Index.

But the index, blending 2005 figures for life expectancy, educational levels and real per capita income, finds that all 22 countries falling into its "low human development" category are in sub-Saharan Africa, with Sierra Leone last.

In 10 of these countries, two children in five will not reach the age of 40, said the compilers at the U.N. Development Program. Last year's report said HIV/AIDS had had a "catastrophic effect" on life expectancy in the region.

The index ranks 175 U.N. member countries plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian territories. It does not include 17 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, because of inadequate data.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN26420967

But how would one classify Australia? Just curious.

The original settler population was entirely made up of transported criminals.

#12.

And slipping.

Way to go, bUsh!!!

such as living half the year in darkness and freezing your ass off most of the year in rainy conditions? I've been to Iceland, and it's beautiful, but to say that it's the best place to live may be a bit subjective.

Nor was weather.

Iceland is a fantastic place to visit in the summer, but good lord I wouldn't want to live there. Unless you're used to it, and even then, try spending a month in Iceland in the wintertime. No thanks.

Southern Canada, Ireland, or Australia I think I could handle though.

Hot Springs, Arkansas gets too much snow for me.

Which is especially sad because, I've ranted many times before, I've fallen in love with New England, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia -- but only in the summer time. Last August, I found myself buying a jacket to walk outside in Bangor, and an umbrella for New York City. Fabulous places to live, for about three months -- and then they become some kind of monstrous hellhole for the rest of the year.

Like a wife-beater, or a child-molester.

Or better yet,,,worry- I just saw a projected map of the world in 40 years and everything south of Canada is desert

The glorious Mojave, which really IS nice for most of the year. When I build a fire here, it's for fun, not survival.

Of course, I'll certainly miss the rest of the country.

There's not a lot more I can feasibly do to personally stop global warming. I can't afford a new car (no hybrid), I can't afford the fancy new windows (though I'm saving), I already recycle, I write letters on behalf of and donate money to environmental causes, and I was the first guy on the block to switch to CF lighting.

I don't feel guilt, because I'm doing what I can, short of joining a commune. I do worry about the world my child and future grandchildren will grow up in. Hopefully that map was just a worse-case scenario, and hopefully it's not too late to pull ourselves out of the fire (cynical optimism at work).

Ever spend a winter in Pittsburgh? The clouds roll in in November and we y'inzers can only sit back and watch as our skin grows a pastier shade of white with each passing month. (Well, us crackers anyway).

I've lived lived in other dreary dark places (Edinburgh, Pacific NW) and oddly, dark dreary cities can be cheery places in the winter. I'll bet Reykjavik (sp??) is hopping in January.

...we've got two inches of snow, my car almost didn't start this afternoon, my wife couldn't go to school 'cause she couldn't find her heavy boots.

But if I have my heart attack right now, an ambulance will be here in four minutes, I'll be in a hospital in 20. My entire hospital visit will cost me whatever loonies I throw in the pop machine.

I also thought Scandinavian countries higher suicide rates. They may have a better standard of living than the rest of us but it doesn't necessarily mean they're happier.

On edit: that may have more to do with the weather, there's nothing wrong with having a high standard of living!

Sweden has a high suicide rate, but it's not the highest in the world, or even the highest in Europe. (Hungary has the highest suicide rate in Europe.)

People who have actually studied the question attribute the somewhat high Swedish suicide rate to emotional repression. Its neighbor Norway, which has the same social welfare system, actually has one of the lowest suicide rates in Europe.

Did I miss a memo?

Every one of those countries listed has extensive social security programs covering all citizens from birth to death. All of them regulate economic activity through democratic institutions for the benefit of the people. Norway has a nationalized oil industry (horrors!). None of them are 'free market' countries. What is interesting is that the US is sliding downhill as we de-regulate and de-socialize our society into a neolib/neocon hell hole.

Of course they won't admit that these "free-market" countries have extensive social programs. Or that plenty of African countries are more free-enterprise than the top five countries listed. Be wary of the news source.

The Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) is a political party in Iceland. It is social democratic in alignment and currently formed a new coalition government. It was born in the run-up to the parliamentary elections of 1999 as an alliance of the four left-wing parties that had existed in Iceland up till then: the Social Democratic Party (Alþýðuflokkurinn), the People's Alliance (Alþýðubandalagið), the Womens's Alliance (Samtök um kvennalista) and the National Movement (Þjóðvaki). The parties then formally merged in May 2000. The merger was a deliberate attempt to unify the entire centre left of Icelandic politics into one party capable of countering the right-wing Independence Party. The initial attempt failed however as a group of Alþingi representatives rejected the new party's platform – which was inspired by that of Tony Blair's New Labour Party – and broke away before the merger to found the Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð), based on more socialist values as well as environmental issues.

The current chairman of the party, since 2005, is Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, a former mayor of Reykjavík. Ágúst Ólafur Ágústsson is vice chairman.
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In other words, there is a GENUINE political left in Iceland - something that hasn't ever existed in the U$A.

.
nt

Never believe the illusion put daily before your faces. I left USA went to Africa, Ethiopia proper and found it more livable to my dollar than in the USA. Now here in Jamaica I can eat well and live well for cheap. The violence is in America, Africa and Jamaica and where people live. The worldwide epidemic of illusion presented by the satanic Medes, who control the media, cannot be sustained. Propaganda serves to keep ones in a prison of illusion. Run for your lives. The Africans are rising and want the big ones to pay for their criminal behavior. This means Reparations and Repatriation for those slaves who want to leave. Let the American Indians have their land. Every vine will find their own fig tree.

So what will you guys do for jobs??? The jobs are being exported and service jobs are being created. That is slavery aka wage slavery. Where is your land to plant??? I left early because I saw the illusion cannot be sustained. The Caribbean and South Americans are changing their labor laws so run while you can still work. I still cannot believe the number of Americans who live in crime ridden Jamaica with its sandy beeches and sun. Lol. The internal of the country has been untouched and beautiful. The Blue Mountains are blissful. Come to Jamaica or the Caribbean and invest you will not regret it. PS. Leave the glorified attitude at the plane door because you are visiting the camp where the thugs camp at.
Love and Light

Sorry but whenever Mede comes up anywhere I automatically use that pun.

And that ain't us, either.

class if the rating system were properly adjusted using Bu*h statistics.

How can we possibly compete with democratic countries that allow their citizens to use accurate and transparent voting processes?

However, I absolutely refuse to move out of the USA until the nutjob contingent has been ousted ... which means never.

Fuck 'em. I'll go down fighting to save this country if I have to.

...Then I read the article and discovered that all of the least developed countries are there.

It still pisses me off when friends of mine say that Africa's dire situation will never change in our lifetimes. Dammit, the nations of sub-Saharan Africa are flippin' perfect for showing what infrastructure development, economic partnership, anti-corruption and government reform measures can do.

All the rest of the world needs to invest is the kind of money we happily blew on a horse-shit war based on false pretenses, and we could be building an entire continent of friendly democracies, which the Republicans can invade and loot in the next century.

"The Trouble With Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working" . I haven't read it myself, but FYI.