Close

Results 1 to 21 of 21
  1. #1
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default Some interesting statistics

    visit-red-300x50PNG
    We aren't

    doing very well:
    When it comes to

    infant mortality, we're even

    worse than Cuba!

    And our life spans suck!



    The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems.

    Rank Country

    1

    France
    2 Italy
    3 San Marino
    4 Andorra
    5 Malta
    6 Singapore
    7

    Spain
    8 Oman
    9 Austria
    10 Japan
    11 Norway
    12 Portugal
    13

    Monaco
    14 Greece
    15 Iceland
    16 Luxembourg
    17 Netherlands
    18 United

    Kingdom
    19 Ireland
    20 Switzerland
    21 Belgium
    22 Colombia
    23 Sweden
    24

    Cyprus
    25 Germany
    26 Saudi Arabia
    27 United Arab Emirates
    28 Israel
    29

    Morocco
    30 Canada
    31 Finland
    32 Australia
    33 Chile
    34 Denmark
    35

    Dominica
    36 Costa Rica
    37 United States of America
    38

    Slovenia
    39 Cuba
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  2. #2
    Phero Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    1,661
    Rep Power
    8013

    Default too bad

    we spend all our money

    on wars instead of ourselves. Ron Paul would have corrected all that but "we, the people" don't seem to want to

    live longer and in peace so we vote for someone like McCain - now, that's crazy.
    There is a cure for electile dysfuntion!!!!

  3. #3
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Lower Slovobia
    Posts
    7,961
    Rep Power
    8516

    Default

    Nice numbers but they would be

    better with information on why. One obvious issue is the way we take care of our bodies and the abuse they get. Are

    there other reasons
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  4. #4
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by belgareth View Post
    Nice

    numbers but they would be better with information on why. ...Are there other reasons
    I as looking some

    other information up and came across these numbers so I really don't have any reasons. However, my guess is the

    poor are shifting the numbers. When you have to decide between seeing a doctor or putting food on the table for your

    family...
    At that point prenatal care becomes a luxury, hence the infant mortality rate. The old on fixed incomes

    who have to decide if they are going to eat or fill that prescription aren't going to get the medicine to manage

    the illness that eventually kills them before they would have died otherwise. And so forth...just a feeling

    Then

    again the crap the US allows in our food chain that most other countries wont allow...
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  5. #5
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Lower Slovobia
    Posts
    7,961
    Rep Power
    8516

    Default

    I expect there will be other

    reasons as well. Obesity comes to mind as do drug use and such. I recently saw an article saying that obesity

    actually makes it cheaper to treat people because they die so much younger than healthy people.
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  6. #6
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by belgareth View Post
    ... I

    recently saw an article saying that obesity actually makes it cheaper to treat people because they die so much

    younger than healthy people.

    I saw that one too. I think the obesity epidemic comes from the crap food

    we now have in this country. Over processed chemical filled junk food. Not to mention the restaurants that load the

    plates with mountains of food. I read somewhere that we are consuming 15% more calories then we did 20 years ago

    because of the junk food. I also saw an article where someone from USDA stated that produce is less nutritious today

    than 50 years ago because of overused land and the over use of artificial fertilizers.
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  7. #7
    Phero Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    1,661
    Rep Power
    8013

    Default it is true

    that when you go out

    to eat they give you too much food. I suspect too if restaurants cut back a bit the customers would complain

    loudly. Have you ever been to one of those rather large Chinese Food buffets? Take a look around and you'll see

    some rather stout folks dining.

    The best advice I have is to learn how to cook. And, cook from scratch if

    you can afford the time. You'll be eating much healthier. I found that after NAFTA the quality of produce went

    downhill fast. Tomatoes are dismal. Shipping Florida oranges out of state and importing Mexican, what kind of

    fools idea was that? Sue and I eat better than most people and are usually disappointed when going out to eat,

    it's just not on a par with what we cook at home. And, that's much cheaper too. You can eat well if you work at

    it.

    Some other factors, we've lost many men during Vietnam and now, less so, in Iraq/Afghanistan. I'm

    not sure but isn't it something like half of all young Black males are in prison, the diets in prisons are not for

    the health conscious and Black men live far lesser than White men. I can't complain much about the health care

    system. If you have insurance, you are usually taken good care of but if you don't - you will get treated

    accordingly. My daughter, who has high quality health care insurance, was admitted to a hospital for gall-bladder

    surgery. She was getting a tad annoyed with the way she was being treated and when she voiced her opinion they told

    her "well, too bad you don't have health insurance". After my daughter pointed out their mistake, things got much

    better for her.

    On a rant here, we are told that our premiums are high because so many people do not have

    health care insurance and that rankles plenty of people but then they think, well - ok, I'm doing my part to help

    the lesser off and they live with it. In Massachusets, they have mandated health insurance and have now covered

    about 85% of those who previously had none. Have premiums gone down for those who've always had health insurance?

    lol
    There is a cure for electile dysfuntion!!!!

  8. #8
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by koolking1 View Post
    In

    Massachusets, they have mandated health insurance and have now covered about 85% of those who previously had none.

    Have premiums gone down for those who've always had health insurance? lol
    Of course not, they have to

    pay the billion dollar bonuses to the CEO's etc.
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  9. #9
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    Seems we're

    getting poorer too. While this is 10 years old, the same thing

    has been going on since 1973, and continues today.
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  10. #10
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Lower Slovobia
    Posts
    7,961
    Rep Power
    8516

    Default

    In part, I think you are right

    about the crap they call food. Go to the grocery store and try reading the labels on all these boxed, prepackaged

    foods they offer. But there is another part to the story as well. Three things I've seen recently bring the point

    home. We were in a buffet one night and I overheard a man telling his 5-6 year old son he couldn't have any fruit

    until he got something good for him, like the macaroni and cheese! Another time, standing in line at the grocery

    store staring at a basket full of boxed foods, cookies and softdrinks without a single fresh fruit or vegetable. It

    belong to an obese woman in her thirties who was complaining to her friend about not being able to lose weight. The

    last is these people who circle the parking lot 12 times to find a parking place thirty feet closer to the store so

    they don't have to walk so far.

    The point is we choose to eat the way we do, we don't get any exercize and we

    often don't even know that we are killing ourselves!

    Somebody made a point to me the other day about health

    insurance. It isn't the poor people that have poor health coverage, they do pretty well because of government

    sponsored healthcare. It's the lower middle class who cannot afford health insurance but make too much money to

    qualify for government health care. Hypothetically, they would be helped by government mandated universal health

    care. The problem is demonstrated in every country that provides it. The taxes go up and the quality goes down.

    Typically a government doctor in most of those countries sees 60% of the patients that a private doctor in this

    country sees. And they are paid far less which means the best and the brightest go into other professions. The end

    result is fewer doctors of lower quality doing less work. And does that mean the cost of healtcare in those

    countries got better? No! And does it mean the patients get better care? Far worse, if you look at the facts. How

    many people in this country wait months to get in to see a doctor for a problem? Ask anybody in any of the countries

    with universal healthcare how long they have to wait.

    Lastly, as screwed up as our government is, as badly run

    as every agency in the government is managed, what makes anybody think that this government can provide healthcare

    any better or more effectively than they do every thing else? Based on experience, I think every person in this

    country would lose if we had government sponsored healthcare.
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  11. #11
    Phero Guru Rbt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Midwest US
    Posts
    1,579
    Rep Power
    7196

    Default

    One of my gripes is food prices.

    Ever notice that the "less than healthy food" is usually the cheapest? We give massive farm subsidies to grow wheat,

    make high-fructose corn syrup, etc, but nest to zip for fresh veggies, fruits etc. When you live near the bottom of

    the financial barrel it's tough. I'm in a similar situation to one mentioned already. Too "poor" to buy really

    good food (I have to support a handicapped friend besides myself) and too "rich" to get food stamps. 60 cent loaf of

    white bread, or a $3 loaf of whole wheat. Guess what...

    And notice what happens when a food gets labeled as

    being "healthy?" Remember when chicken was the "cheap" alternative meat? Then it became "healthy?" Prices went

    skyrocketing...

    One last thought: one reason people here in the US are overweight?

    Because we can.

    In

    some parts of the world where people are thinner, it's not because they consiously eat better, it's because they

    have less food available overall. When those "thin" people come here, on goes the weight, and more. When thin, short

    Japanese are introduced to American foods, they get bigger *and taller*.

    Just some thoughts.
    The opposite of love isn't hate.
    It's apathy
    .

  12. #12
    Phero Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    1,661
    Rep Power
    8013

    Default my goal

    is about 4-5 years down

    the road. I want to live in Florida where I'll finally be able to grow all my own fruits, vegetables, and weed and

    be close enough to either the Gulf or the Atlantic coast to catch most of my protein. The only things I'll want to

    buy at the store would be beer, wine, cheese, breads, and the occasional meat. We live in a heavily forested area

    and not much grows here well. There's too much shade and the soil is very acidic from pine needles. Also, the

    critters around here are crafty and will find a way to snatch whatever does grow, very frustrating. I'd also like

    to have at least some solar power for hot water and will be driving the most fuel efficient car I can afford. With

    a little luck,a grocery store will be within walking distance.

    I can really appreciate what the previous

    poster mentioned about the worst foods for people costing the least. Why is whole wheat pasta double the price of

    regular pasta? Companies that make decaffeinated charge more for it than regular coffee and they will tell you that

    it's expensive to extract the caffeine, what they don't tell you is that they make a substantial profit from

    selling the caffeine to make products such as "nodoze" and the like. Ever look at the large can of tuna and think,

    ah - that's got to be the better buy, well - it isn't, 3 small cans making the same weight as the large can will

    be cheaper. Those WalMart super stores, you would think they would be cheaper than your local grocer, often, it's

    the other way around.
    There is a cure for electile dysfuntion!!!!

  13. #13
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    And yet another statistic. Last

    night on 60 Minutes there was a report on the happiest nations. We are #23, Denmark is the happiest nation. We are

    right behind Cuba.
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  14. #14
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Lower Slovobia
    Posts
    7,961
    Rep Power
    8516

    Default

    Based on what? I'm not arguing

    the point but it is a pretty broad statement. What were the criteria used?

    Personally, I'd be a lot happier

    with a lot less government interference in a multitude of things. Others would be happier with just the opposite.

    I'm not sure that such a wide ranging statement can really be applicable.
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  15. #15
    Administrator Bruce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Eugene, Oregon
    Posts
    7,109
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Well, they wouldn't say on what

    basis they measured "happy", but with Jamaica at the number one spot, we are left to guess.
    To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

    - Buddha


    Yoga in Eugene
    Fair Trade crafts from Peru

  16. #16
    Phero Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    1,661
    Rep Power
    8013

    Default lol

    yeah, guess they forgot to

    poll me!!!
    There is a cure for electile dysfuntion!!!!

  17. #17
    Phero Pro
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    815
    Rep Power
    8275

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by belgareth View Post



    Personally, I'd be a lot happier with a lot less government interference in a multitude of things.






    Me too!


    Yea the USA is such a horrible place to live. I guess that's why many US citizens are

    risking their lives to get to Cuba. And the Cubans are so content with their Marxist utopia they just love to stay

    put. Why I bet if Castro did another Marilita boat evacuation opportunity the people would not leave, because they

    are so wonderfully happy
    Last edited by belgareth; 02-18-2008 at 02:31 PM.

  18. #18
    Phero Guru Rbt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Midwest US
    Posts
    1,579
    Rep Power
    7196

    Default

    "happiness" can be such a realative

    term.

    You could be unhappy because you could only afford a 58" plasma TV instead of the 60"...

    You could be

    unhappy because you had to wait in line for 10 minutes at Starbucks to get your $5 cup of coffee this morning...



    or

    You could be happy that there wasn't a knock on your door at 4:00am by the Secret Police...




    Statistics, like "truth," can be manipulated in oh so many ways.
    The opposite of love isn't hate.
    It's apathy
    .

  19. #19
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8334

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Rbt View Post
    Statistics, like

    "truth," can be manipulated in oh so many ways.

    "There's lies, damn lies and statistics"
    --I forget

    who
    Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.
    --Lazarus Long

  20. #20
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Middle Kingdom
    Posts
    2,400
    Rep Power
    6382

    Default

    "This well-known saying is part

    of a phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli and popularized in the U.S. by Mark Twain: There are three kinds of

    lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. The semi-ironic statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, and

    succinctly describes how even accurate statistics can be used to bolster inaccurate arguments."
    -Wiki

    I think

    that rating health care is as nebulous as measuring "happiness". Whenever I see these "who's best" lists I always

    look at where they came from and what agenda is being advanced by such meaningless studies.

    tongue has a good

    point, if the US is so bad, why does everyone want to be here? In addition, how many countries have received so

    many nationalities and accepted them as their own?

    With all the current attention to "diversity", America

    invented it the day it became a nation over 200 years ago.

  21. #21
    Phero Pro
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    815
    Rep Power
    8275

    Default

    The "Happy" Cubans get another

    Castro to lead them to the promised land. And not even elected. Can't wait to find happiness in Cuba.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •