Remind me - Australia is the country that operates a hellhole of an extraterritorial prison for brown refugees, but declared itself happy to expedite immigration of “threatened” White South African farmers, right?
Right now I can walk down the street with an AR-15 slung over my shoulder and a 1911 Kimber on my hip, with no permit or license. Is there another country I can do this in?
Somalia?
Should have added, “…first-world country…” 
The fact that the only applicable comparison is with third-world countries with high levels of violence might be an indicator that this is not a metric most people would consider desirable to score highly on. But if it makes you happy, you do you.
I’ve lived for decades in countries where people aren’t terrified of leaving the house without being armed.
Here in the UK the beat police aren’t armed.
Personally I feel safer not being allowed to carry a gun.
Looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner café
Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day
Yeah, and a juke-box jumping with records like in the U.S.A.
Well, I’m so glad I’m livin’ in the U.S.A.
Yes. I’m so glad I’m livin’ in the U.S.A.
Anything you want, we got right here in the U.S.A.
Well, apart from Universal Health Care.
Well, in some ways.
Don’t forget the nine-year-old girls.
Well, the first part is correct. But you’re leaving out the part where a large section of the Australian population is actively protesting against the whole thing. I am one of those protesters, and I have personally donated money and time/effort to benefit those refugees. What have you done for them, other than post snarky comments on the internet?
The second thing was a statement made by Peter Dutton, who is despised by pretty much everyone in Australia, including his own party. While he is currently a cabinet minister, there’s zero chance of him surviving the upcoming election. Oh, and his comment about “threatened” South Africans was not taken seriously by anyone in Australia, including his party colleagues.
The current Aus gov’t is utterly shite, and pretty much everyone I personally know despises them. They will be kicked out soon, and while the replacement won’t be all that good, they’ll be a distinct improvement. I do believe there’s a pretty good chance that the offshore camps will be closed down within the next year.
I’ve thought more than once about emigrating, if things ever get too close to Civil War II around here.
My short list includes Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica. I kind-of speak the language, I can work from home, and all four have UHC (which I would absolutely need due to my health issues).
Mexico is by no measure objectively “better” than the USA, and in fact, its list of problems is significantly longer than the USA’s. But for an American with money, a gated community there can be attractive. I’m by no means wealthy, but my dollar would stretch pretty far there.
Uruguay is home to an American emigree to whom I’ve spoken at length, and she has nothing but praise for the place. The climate isn’t 100 percent to my tastes, but any port in a storm, as they say.
Chile and Costa Rica are both known to have vibrant expat communities and are welcoming to Americans, particularly Americans with money. Again, I’m hardly wealthy, but I am self-employed and wouldn’t be jeopardizing the jobs of any locals.
I’d say the Nordics, based on the metric of serving the citizens needs better. Providing more freedom, security, health, economic opportunity and happiness. I think a number of other nations do as well, such as Canada, New Zealand, Germany, BeNeLux, etc, but I’ve not had personal experience of them.
Share a report or survey? I don’t usually read that kind of self-serving rubbish, so, no. It’s an opinion I am expressing. I can go in to details if you want.
Well, I’m assuming some of the money I give to Amnesty goes towards helping there.
Not that I have any respect for tu quoque as an argument, mind you.
So - nothing I said was wrong, then? Or was he not speaking in an official capacity?
That would be great.
Will the details contain any verifiable facts, or will they be opinions too? If the latter, then there is no real need.
I’ll stick to countries I’ve actually lived in or been in long enough to have an idea of what residing (as opposed to visiting) would be like. So many places look great on paper, but the “feel” of living there is different.
Take Finland. It’s either number one or the top five of most lists, but every time I’ve lived there for three months or longer, I’ve gone into terrible depressions, and have been miserably lonely. Even though I speak Finnish and have relatives there. I could get a permanent resident visa, and, since the 2016 election in the US, I have thought about moving there, but remembering the depressions and suicidal thoughts Finland inspires in me gives me pause. Oh, and also neighbor Putin.
If I were wealthy, I’d love Vancouver, Canada, but that’s a city for the wealthy. Not the vast great plains of Canada, but perhaps Toronto or Halifax? Or Montreal, if I could improve on my high school French?
Israel? Russia? Switzerland?
And sane gun control laws. And plenty of other things.
I’m an American, born and raised. There are some things that the US really is excellent at: teamwork, standardization, not being held to rigid hierarchies, and–when we’re at our best–taking in newcomers and accepting them as Americans. But there are plenty of ways in which we fall short. Here’s a list of things that, IMHO, the US could adopt from other countries:
- Good urban planning and infrastructure. That includes:
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Good public transit. (Before you protest, “But, New York! But, San Francisco!”, those are places that have good public transit by US standards, which are insanely low. Transit in NYC or SF would be considered complete garbage in places like Germany or the Netherlands.)
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Good accommodation for pedestrians and cyclists, such that you could use your bicycle or your feet as a major mode of transit in your day-to-day life.
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Abundant housing and reasonable zoning laws that let the non-rich have decent commutes and put healthy food within everyone’s reach.
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Roads that are well-designed, well-graded, and built to minimize the need for maintenance.
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Adequate maintenance of bridges, tunnels, sidewalks, and utility grids.
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Something resembling equal educational opportunities for rich and poor people, from preschool through grad school, from anywhere in the country.
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A judicial system that doesn’t include for-profit prisons, disproportionate police violence against black people, and biased conviction and sentencing.
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A tax code that doesn’t privilege the uber-wealthy and large corporations at the expense of everyone else.
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A truly representative democracy, including:
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Campaign financing laws that don’t give enormous political power to special interest groups.
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Fair, non-gerrymandered-to-hell voting districts.
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National election outcomes directly determined by the popular vote. Each person has a single, equally-weighted vote, no matter what part of the country they live in.
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More than two parties to choose from. (Yes, technically we have third parties. But voting for a third-party candidate rarely leads to that candidate’s taking office. At best, third parties can hope to slightly sway the platform of one of the major parties.)