US in the news here

I'm very aware that there is always more to the story.
And my guess at what NH, Switzerland and Australia have in common would be wealth and full employment.
We will be going to the US/Canada in December 2018 for around 5 weeks, to visit my daughter who will be attending the University of British Columbia.
Sadly it will be winter, so no riding, but good skiing.
We will try to explore BC, Alberta, Montana, Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Not sure how hard it is to get around there mid winter.

 

Actually, according to the UN, you are not even in the top ten;

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/best-countries-to-live-in-a7654701.html

11. The United States — The US ranks high in financial wealth. Americans earn an average of $53,245 per year.

10. Canada — Tying with the United States, Canada ranks high in education achievement. More than half of its residents graduate from college.

9. Iceland — People in Iceland have a high life expectancy, living an average of 82.7 years.

8. Ireland — Crime is low in Ireland. The homicide rate stands at only 1.1 per 1,000 people, according to the most recent data available.

7. The Netherlands — This country has one of the lowest rates of income inequality in the world (12.4%), and it's been continually decreasing since the mid-1990s.

6. Singapore — People in this nation can expect to live long lives, too. The average life expectancy is over 83 years in Singapore.

5. Denmark — Denmark tied with Singapore in the UN's ranking. When comparing median wages between men and women, the gender wage gap is now at 7.8% for full-time employees in Denmark. For comparison, the gap hovers at 17.9% in the US.

4. Germany — As of October 2014, all universities are free for residents and international students in Germany, where over 96% of the population has at least some secondary education.

3. Switzerland — This country ranks high in overall health. On average, people live to age 83 and have a relatively low risk for diseases like malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.

2. Australia — Education makes up over 5% of the national GDP in this country, which tied with Switzerland. The UN found that most students go to school for around 20 years in Australia.

1. Norway — For the 13th consecutive year, Norway ranked highest in standard of living, life expectancy, and education. Thanks to the country's robust, publicly funded healthcare system, the average life expectancy is 82 years.

 

GG you forgot Chicago, very tough on guns and the murder capitol.

 

Let me know when you are here. I will ride the 1 1/2 hrs to UBC for a coffee or beeer. Sometimes on the west coast here we do get very ride able weather in the winter.

At GG. For an American to suggest and expect everyone to agree that the USA is the best country in the world is arrogant at least. We all think our own countries are the best. I know I do. Yet I also love my travels to the USA, quite often really, and have become quite fond of the people I have come to know down there. Much like so many in the USA jumping up and down that "they" won WWII. They were absolutely instrumental, but that victory was very much a collaborated effort on behalf of all the allied forces. If the USA was fighting this war alone, and none of the other allied forces did anything in their support, I suggest the outcome would have been much different. thankfully that is only an opinion.

I don't own a gun and never have. My first career required me to carry one and I considered it a necessary evil. Again, my opinion. My second career I was a Peace Officer in our transit company. When they became full police officers in 2006, I jumped ship and transferred to the bus side of things where we were civilian security agents and carried no side arms. I gave my gun back to the Mounties when I retired from them and have never felt as relieved as I did back then. Again this is a personal belief and I am not pushing it on anyone else.
However, I have to say when I read someone say it is their "Constitutional Rights" to bare arms or bill of rights or whatever other government document that allows this, remember this. It was an AMENDMENT to your constitution that allowed this. Your constitution is a living document that can be changed if there is sufficient will. Not that it matters, I personally think that if corporate money was kept out of this equation, enough of the people would vote for some sort of amendment to the amendment that may make people safer.

BTW. I have never felt threatened by the American's rights to firearms in any of my visits down there. I have also never heard any American who has visited us here in Canada say they felt afraid or threatened that they could not carry or in most cases even possess many of the firearms they can back home, when they cross the border.

Why the fuck did I get involved in this thread anyway?

 

No insult taken. I'm respectful that, like myself, you have an opinion and have expressed it. It's like our backside, we all have one. As GatorGreg points out in the previous post, the news headlines you read are misleading and may play a part into why your are bewildered. If you drill down into the statistical data so often reported in the headlines, you may find the true effective data is much more revealing than the drama of the reporter. To better understand our "gun culture" (not my words), it may be necessary to start the enlightenment back in the 1600's forward, rather than the headlines of the last recent years.

 

I read his statement as "despite all our warts we're still the best country in the world!" Sounds like a personal opinion to me. I didn't read where he was leaning on anyone else to agree with his beliefs. Although I will agree, I understand that you do not, but I can't agree with you that he "expect everyone to agree that the USA is the best country in the world is arrogant at least"

Incorrect, the US Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights, is as close to stone as can be agreed to when forming a country. It is not a "living document" as the liberals would like it to be, and in the current political divide of the US, it is not likely any of the proposed amendment changes effecting the 2nd Amendment would ever be passed. The USA forefathers designed it that way and they had good reason.

 

A personal opinion would have been, "despite all our warts I believe we're still the best country in the world!"

Take out "I believe" and it is a statement, not an opinion..

I doubt the founding fathers envisaged shopping malls and assault rifles when they designed the bill of rights.

 

Yep, like an oil thread. lol

 

LOL!!! Where did I state that I "expect everyone to agree" with me? You just now stated that you think Canada is the best country, so using your logic you must be an "arrogant" person as well - see how ridiculous that is? Sheesh!

Please excuse me for merely offering up a logical explanation for our crime statistics when a foreigner posts up a question/criticism about the average murder rate here and tries to tie it to our constitutional right to bear arms. It's hilarious to watch foreigners take humbrage when I dare to disagree. Would you have liked my response better if I said: "golly gee, you're right - our country sucks - we hereby beg Australia/Canada to please take over the USA so we can all learn to live more peaceful lives like they do and adopt the Australian/Canadian constitution as our own" No offense, but I could post all sorts of criticisms of Canada and Australia here if I wanted to but that would serve no productive purpose IMO.

As for Nelix's ridiculous United Nations' best countries in the world list, with the exception of Australia which I really like for many reasons, you couldn't get me to move to ANY of those countries even if you paid me $10 million dollars! Norway, the supposed #1 country according to Nelix, is a freaking glacier with an average high temp of only 49 degrees F. No thanks, I'll stay put in Florida where I get to enjoy playing golf and riding my VFR all year round with no state income tax and beautiful beaches inhabited by beautiful women! There's a reason why Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jack Nicklaus, Michael Jordan, Shaq, Howard Stern, The Rock, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Barry Gibb, Julio Iglesias, Rod Stewart, Bill Gates, and yes, even President Trump all live in the good 'ol USA here in Florida. What I don't understand is that all these people (and I could list dozens more!) can afford to live ANYWHERE on planet Earth and yet none of them chose Norway, Canada, or Australia? Perhaps Nelix should send them his list and set them straight - LOL.

Trivia Question for Nelix: Where is the headquarters for the United Nations, the organization that promulgated that silly list of yours?
Answer: USA

Trivia question for OZ VFR: Where does the lead singer for Australia's most famous band live?
Answer: AC/DC's Brian Johnson lives in Sarasota, Florida, USA.

I rest my case gentlemen

 

I personal like the Purolator Pure One PL14610 the best, but Purolator has just released a newer flagship filter called "Boss", that may be even better. Maybe next fluid change I will give it a go.

 

Not my list, the UN's, perhaps you should read comments more carefully?
Also, I doubt any of those countries would let you in, considering your extreme right wing views, even with 10 million bucks.

But back to the obsession with guns, this pretty much sums up why it's dumb.

 

LMAO Candy!

 

Why are YOU so obsessed with OUR gun laws in the USA? I assume you must be planning a move from Scotland to the USA? Or maybe by disparaging the USA it makes you feel better about living in a socialist country under the thumb of England?

 

Thanks for reminding me, have ta P/U mine tomorrow


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I have not disparaged the USA, you must be a very poor lawyer if you think that someone questioning one aspect of a country means they are disparaging the whole. A bit like attributing the UN's list to myself, it was not my list, I simply pointed it out with the reference, yet you chose to call it my list as if I had personally compiled it. Tell me, would you argue in front of a judge that was MY list?
Why are you so obsessed with the need to bear arms? You have an extreme right wing solution towards terrorism, yet conveniently ignore the fact that thousands more Americans are killed every year by legal guns than by foreign or domestic terrorists.
Scotland is part of the UK, it has a devolved parliament, perhaps you should read up on it.

 

Very nice! I think the little 380's are the best choice for concealed carry purposes - I have a Ruger LCP w/crimson trace laser - I think it weighs only about 10 ounces fully loaded. We should start a gun thread here if there isn't one already

 

Why are you so obsessed with whether or not I attributed that stupid list to you? You proffered the stupid list so I referred to it as your stupid list. Forgive me for not realizing we were in a court of law here governed by the rules of evidence as interpreted by Judge Nelix

As for the rest of your boring drivel - you have already beaten the horse to death MANY times Nelix - I get it - you don't like my point of view on certain topics. Let's move on already.

 

Really, in a public forum titled "Anything Goes"! Without links and references to substantiate your statements, they remain just your opinion, nothing more, nothing less. I'm not going to include "I believe", "in my opinion", 'it's my opinion", etc. in every sentence I write, nor would I expect you to either.

I doubt our founding fathers envisioned automobiles, airplanes, rockets and space flight either. Yet more children in the US die each year unintentionally involved in auto-accidents. We operate automobiles as a privilege, not a right, yet we condone all these deaths. For those who wish to blame the gun for deaths, logic would follow that you blame automobiles for deaths, yet I don't seem to hear a cry to pass laws to "ban the car"! What's the leading cause of children death in your country?

If we accept that more children die in automobile accidents, which are listed as a part of unintentional deaths, are not those deaths then intentional when we all have the choice not to drive? Yet, we keep on driving, we keep on crashing, and kids keep on dying.

 

Think I'll get a concealed permit when I move to CO
Father's Day present to maself


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Nice! A responsible gun owner, seeking a concealed carry permit in a state that requires training. I'm not implying you need training Duccmann, just wanted to comment on a refreshing statement. Everyone has a choice and I respect their choice, however I would prefer that everyone be trained on firearm Safety, the state and fed firearm laws, and have a minimum level of firearm fight training, and arm themselves when appropriate. That includes men and women, of all ages, and all races, and even minimum firearm safety training for young adults and children 8 and older. Unfortunately my preference isn't the current practice!