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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:30 am Post subject: We're no Danes but ... |
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ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands � Compared with the rest of the world, Canadians are a pretty happy lot.
Canada sits ninth of 95 nations ranked in a �global happiness index" created by Dutch academic Ruut Veenhoven in 1999.
Canada has a score of 7.6 on the World Database of Happiness, compared with the U.S. score of 7.4, which ranks 17th. The top rated countries are Denmark (8.2) and Switzerland (8.1). At the bottom, Tanzania, by contrast, received a score of 3.2.
Mr. Veenhoven told CTV News that all countries in the top group � mostly Western and rich � scored closely, with small variations. He pointed out that they are all democratic, have gender equality and are fairly tolerant.
Mr. Veenhoven's major factors contributing to happiness are the quality of society as a whole, quality of employers and education, and personal choice. |
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
I don't care about the Canada part, or the Canadian position relative to the USA. What I find interesting is the last few sentences. In my opinion, this is a pretty good advertisement for the Western way of life. |
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Tony_Balony
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| They confused "stoned" with "happiness". |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:51 am Post subject: |
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| For some people maybe getting high does make them happy, in which case living in a nation that permits them to do so allows them to be happier. But this is beside the point. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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How do you quantify happiness?
The link doesn't provide any answers. Is Mr. Veenhoven's major factors what he used to quantify happiness, or are these things discovered in common among countries that qualified as happy?
This excerpt raises more questions than it answers anything IMO. |
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riverboy
Joined: 03 Jun 2003
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| I would have to say the most important factor is wealth. Tolerance is obvious as well. I notice that the two top countries have highly developed social welfare systems as well. |
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cbclark4
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Location: Masan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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Denmark demonstration turns violent
Protesters in Denmark have set fire to cars and smashed shop windows after a demonstration commemorating a now demolished Youth House turned violent, according to police.
Activists clashed with police early on Sunday, soon after a demonstration to commemorate the youth shelter that was torn down by the authorites in March.
One police officer was injured and 63 people were arrested as riot police clashed with protesters in the Noerrebro district of Copenhagen, police said.
Officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
"Three or four people will be charged for violent behaviour against police officers," said Flemming Steen Munch, a police spokesman.
"The others have been released."
Not forgotten
Mads Firlings, another police spokesman, said: "It's six months since we cleared the house there, and they want to show they have not forgotten.
"Almost immediately they started building barricades and throwing rocks through the windows of shops and banks."
The situation had calmed down on Sunday morning and crews had begun to clean up the streets.
In March, the city saw several days of street violence and hundreds of people were arrested in demonstrations after police evicted squatters living in the Youth House.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6B9523FC-160A-43E7-8552-8955271B9A5C.htm |
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