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| Thread: Woot! Sweden is the 2nd best country in the world to live in! :D |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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Lord_Echo
Famous Hero
Ranger of the good
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posted August 13, 2004 01:45 PM |
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#1 Norway!!!
of coursew Norway is nr. 1 
cuz its all cool living here
and Sweden #2 well... didnt expect it but i guess its kewl
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Don`t be simple, be complx-
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Blade
Hired Hero
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posted August 13, 2004 11:54 PM |
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(quote)Shut up. It all comes back to the people.
Thats why you have such a developed welfare, education, health and who knows what else system.(/quote)
Welfare,education and health....Well now;Hospitals,schools and welfare facilities are all crying out for money.If you're sick and in need of surgery,you risk waiting months,even years,for the help you need.People have died in hospital waiting lines.Basic schooling is free(10 years)but any education after that is coming out of your pocket.Old folks homes are crowded.Many have to share rooms and some even sleep in corridors.
Now does that sound like a reasonable return for 90% of my income?
Oh and come on,you show up at any institute of higher learning anywere in the world with a Norwegian dimploma,my guess is they would laugh in your face.Some study or other(I can't vauch for it)showed that Norway has nearly the poorest educational standards anywere in Europe.
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Lord_Echo
Famous Hero
Ranger of the good
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posted August 14, 2004 12:06 AM |
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hehe... i was just kidding... 
but norway is great really... we got our share of problems too but.... who doesnt!
BTW: the norwegian education is.... ALMOST free... after the 10 grades u only have to buy ur own books... thats all...
i didnt say we where worlds best either... i was just kidding in the last post!
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Don`t be simple, be complx-
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Blade
Hired Hero
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posted August 14, 2004 12:19 AM |
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I know you didn't say that....But the UN did.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted August 14, 2004 02:03 AM |
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Blade, you are a funny guy.
If you complain about the system in Norway, then what should people from third world countries do? Suicide?!
If you are a frekin perfectionist, then at least trust the UN, which base their list upon functionality of the system, rather than the country's global economical and political power.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Blade
Hired Hero
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posted August 14, 2004 03:01 AM |
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I'm just saying I'd like to see my hard earned money spent better,that's all.But then again,who doesn't
Might I ask what your nationality is,Svarog?
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted August 14, 2004 03:09 AM |
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Scroll back, page 1, u lazy a$$. 
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Blade
Hired Hero
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posted August 14, 2004 03:47 AM |
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lol,my bad.So are you happy with the way the Macedonian goverment are running things?And do you think I shouldn't complain about things I see as wrong in my country,simply because there are people in the world that are worse off than me?
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted August 14, 2004 04:08 AM |
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Ha! I know where that question is headed.
But, this is the case. Criticism is always more than welcome. In fact it's a moral duty of a citizen in a democratic country to criticize his government. But criticizing the base principle (the socialist policies) of your government, with arguments claiming it's not functioning well, while statistics clearly show it's functioning the best in the world, is what I objected in the first place.
You can criticize the concept, but it would be an entirely different debate. Criticizing the outcome in the number one country in a thread named "the best country in the world" looks to me like spoiled rich kids complaining they need money for a new Ferari.
And btw, you offended my socialist pride, otherwise I wouldnt reacted.
Concerning my government, you have no idea how far they are from making people happy. It actually goes the other way.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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sirzapdos
Promising
Famous Hero
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
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posted August 19, 2004 06:16 AM |
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Quote:
So why isn't there a worst 20 list?
Well, usually they list all 200 and some odd countries in the world, so you just look at the very bottom to see the worst.
I believe Sierra Leone has been at the bottom for the last couple of years.
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TheRealDeal
Promising
Supreme Hero
Foobum* of Justice!
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posted August 19, 2004 07:18 AM |
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Denmark has the largest percantage working, of all country's(the least unemployment) Which isn't that bad.
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*We all know the that Foobum is the class of all that is Cake.
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sirzapdos
Promising
Famous Hero
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
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posted August 19, 2004 05:05 PM |
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Quote:
Denmark has the largest percantage working, of all country's(the least unemployment) Which isn't that bad.
That may nor may not be true. Economists define "unemployed" as not having a job, but currently looking for one. So, if someone isn't working, and isn't even looking for a job, he won't be considered when the unemployment rae is calculated.
To get a more accurate picture, you must consider both the unemployment rate, and the labour force participation rate, which is the sum of employed and "unemployed" people divided by population.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted August 20, 2004 04:50 AM |
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Quote:
That may nor may not be true. Economists define "unemployed" as not having a job, but currently looking for one.
That wont work either. You see, my country is the antipode of Denmark, 40% unemployed! Highest in Europe.
But do really all those people lack a job?! Hell no! The suckers have either not registered their private businesses or work on the black market. But they do suck on the government budget. 
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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TitaniumAlloy
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Professional
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posted August 20, 2004 10:58 AM |
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Trogdor
Legendary Hero
Words in a custom title
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posted August 22, 2004 09:05 AM |
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Quote:
well Melbourne, Australia is rated the best city in the world to live in!!! yeah!!!
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/06/1075854028808.html?oneclick=true
eat that!!
Australia is #3, das cool.
I have moved to japan, i can understand why its number 9.
Probably the high technology and clash of anciant and modern cultures.
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"Through the power of the dollar you can communicate with the dead." - Artu
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TitaniumAlloy
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Professional
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posted August 22, 2004 09:56 AM |
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Probably the high technology and clash of anciant and modern cultures.
but the downsides outweight the upsides IMO. probably because ive moved there from the best city in the world
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John says to live above hell.
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Rindle
Tavern Dweller
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posted September 21, 2004 09:44 PM |
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Edited By: Rindle on 21 Sep 2004
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Quote:
Ha! I know where that question is headed.
But, this is the case. Criticism is always more than welcome. In fact it's a moral duty of a citizen in a democratic country to criticize his government. But criticizing the base principle (the socialist policies) of your government, with arguments claiming it's not functioning well, while statistics clearly show it's functioning the best in the world, is what I objected in the first place.
You can criticize the concept, but it would be an entirely different debate. Criticizing the outcome in the number one country in a thread named "the best country in the world" looks to me like spoiled rich kids complaining they need money for a new Ferari.
Let me give you my two cents in this debate. I'm from Norway, and I don't believe Norway truly deserves the title of "best country in the world"! I think that title should go to Sweden instead.
Your arguments about how well the Norwegian government is functioning and how it deserves the title of "number 1 best country in the world" are extremely naive and simplistic. Statistics can never give you a true picture of how things really are. Whether Norway is the best country in the world or not is truly a political question. Sure they have higher standards of living than most other countries in the world, but so does the rest of Scandinavia. Norway only truly stands out because it was lucky enough strike oil in the North Sea. Everything that Sweden has achieved was built by creating a functioning system with incentives for economical growth. Norway on the other hand struck gold and then put it away in an overseas fund (estimated at over 146 billion USD) while making the taxpayers cover the expenses of running a high-cost and inefficient welfare state by paying some of the highest taxes in the world. For instance did you know that Norway has the second largest military budget in the world after the United States? Yet the Norwegian military is one of the most poorly equipped, incompetent and least impressive military forces in the world. Why is this? Could it be all the corruption and mismanagement? The Minister of Defense is a blonde female who constantly gets caught out in the press for saying stupid things, and many ranking officers in the military somehow get 7 figure salaries. Also, Norwegian roads and hospitals are among the worst in Europe.
Is Norway truly the best country in the world to live in? Well, that depends on where you stand: if you want to live on welfare or run a farm (farmers get big state subsidies), or perhaps you want to make a movie about your genitalia (crappy filmmakers get loads of money, too), I'm sure Norway is the place for you. However, if you want to run a competitive business in a dynamic market economy forget it. Norway is too expensive for foreign investors and too expensive for Norwegian companies to stand much of a chance in foreign markets. After all, can you name one Norwegian brand that has done well internationally? Sweden and Finland, on the other hand, have had huge successes such as Saab, Volvo, IKEA, Asko, Ericsson and Nokia to name some of the largest companies.
Norway is all about the stringent control of all aspects of society, few other countries have as extensive databases on it's citizens or take as much of their income as Norway does -- as a result, Norwegians don't really have more spending power than Swedes -- this combined with the huge amounts of money in the oil fund and its tiny population (about 4.5 million) it would be surprising if Norway didn't manage to provide a reasonably high living standard for its people. Yet Sweden has been able to do more than Norway (despite Norway's huge billion dollar surplus), such as better roads, hospitals etc, even with a budget deficit. This can only mean that Norway is grossly mismanaged! The government is over-employed, with five bureaucrats for every sheet of paper in public offices. Did you know that a city like Houston, with a population of about 3 million has 14 city council members, whereas a tiny city in Norway with a population of about 100.000 has at least 50 city council members. Is that over administration or what? And as for buying a new Ferrari: dream on! With Norwegian tax you'll be lucky if you can afford a rusty old Toyota Corolla. As a result, that's pretty much what the average car looks like in Norway lol -- cars cost over 40% more in Norway than in Sweden.
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Shirastro
Famous Hero
Happy happy joy joy
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posted September 22, 2004 06:01 AM |
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Where can we see the full list?
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And now to the next post.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted September 23, 2004 01:36 AM |
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I really have nothing more to add than what I already said to the other Viking guy. Like it or not, Norway, or Sweden, or Finland are among the countries with the best quality of living. And that doesn’t mean they don’t have problems (corruption, poltiical problems etc.), but really people who have no insight in how other countries function (no offense, that includes you) and claim Scandinavia doesn’t have the best standards of living are mistaken. Norway, Sweden whatever… It’s a matter of delicacies.
And the reasons why Norway stands out from the others (oil, gold) have really nothing to do with the fact that it does.
If you think Norway’s got a bad healthcare system, you really havent seen the worst hospitals in Europe. Your opinion that your country is really not that good is based on the blonde Minister. LOL! Boy, you really havent seen political problems! And in order not to be blamed that I don’t spport what I say, I’ll ask you: “How would you feel if practically every decision of your government is put by certain structures in a context that would make it dependant with the country’s bare survival? This is Europe I’m talking about, though a crappy European country indeed (Macedonia), but anyway, it’s just an example how far you are ahead of us.
The problems you have with the welfare system, the local administration and the independet cinematography, are really something I wont even touch. Those are your political opinions. Mine is that exactly those things are what makes Norway, according to a relevent international factor (the UN; How more relevant can you get?) the best country in the world. (Personally, I think, it’s not too. The first precondition to even qualify for that race is to have a Sun. And a beach and nice gilrs in bikini on it. Sorry, Norway, you’re out on my list. )
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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privatehudson
Responsible
Legendary Hero
The Ultimate Badass
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posted September 23, 2004 01:38 AM |
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Only beef I have with Sweeden is that you're stuffed if you drive a car and park in the wrong spot
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We're on an express elevator to Hell, goin' down!
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