Forbes magazine ranks countries by happiness. It won’t surprise any of you to learn that the top countries are the usual suspects: Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands and Finland. The USA, despite having the pursuit of happiness written into its constitution, doesn’t crack the top ten. I agree with Forbes in thinking that all these countries have many virtues but undoubtedly what impresses the folks at Forbes is that they are all affluent.

Lowly Bhutan is a special and very interesting case. Bhutan has something called “gross national happiness,” (GNH), and it puts greater confidence in that than in gross domestic product, (GDP), a somewhat overrated concept. In Bhutan, the people believe that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. This, unlike GDP, is a difficult idea to quantify but we should not dismiss it lightly. Still, there is a list of seven factors that make much sense. Look at the article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness to see what it is all about. Several international conferences have been held and serious work is being done to arrive at meaningful measures of happiness.

Critics allege that because GNH depends on a series of subjective judgments about well-being, governments may be able to define GNH in a way that suits their interests. In the case of Bhutan, for instance, they say that the government expelled about one hundred thousand people and stripped them of their Bhutanese citizenship on the grounds that the deportees were ethnic Nepalese who had settled in the country illegally, though Bhutan’s policies in this regard have no direct or obvious relevance to its use of GNH as an indicator guiding policy. Other countries, notably Brazil, Italy, and parts of Canada, are exploring use of measurements derived from Bhutan’s GNH as their primary indicator of well-being.

The spirit of GNH is decidedly non-capitalistic and for that reason appeals to me.

And when I say “into the fray,” I don’t mean, as usually used, “into the wars” but into the unraveling edges of my mind. Last night, when I read Ed Erwin’s keen analysis of the Israeli conflicts, I had just come from a hectic evening spent with three of my grandchildren. In my post I said that while the Israeli conflicts seemed to energize a certain one of my friends, (at the time I did not mention it was Ed), they succeeded only in enervating me. But that enervating effect is nothing as compared with going a round or two with or against a squadron of youngsters aged 3 to 8 who put Israeli jet fighter pilots to shame. I could have done a little better but this new post is not an attempt to persuade readers that israel has Good and Right on its side.

The post was more about me than about Israel. It stated, however feebly, that Israel has caused me much grief over the last 60 years, mostly in the nature of cognitive dissonance because I am never sure to believe and, yet, I want badly to believe that Israel is always the good guy. Nothing can succeed in that grandiose aim for “always” is quite a stretch and Ed would slay the dragon who took on that quixotic goal. Ed has two things going for him: he is a master of debate and he makes it a habit to be on the right side. However, before I concede the whole kit and kaboodle, readers should know that on related issues, he did battle against the very powerful Shirley Soffer in an exchange of letters and in my view was bested by her. So, if she has any interest left in the matter, I invite her to plunge in and salvage the Jewish cause.

I take note of the fact that Ed says that while he disapproves of Netanyahu and Likud generally, he is a fan of Israel and the Israeli people. I think I said I am not. For one thing, they reject the Yiddish culture within which I grew up. They even detest the Yiddish language which, in my infancy, was my mother tongue. I said a couple other nasty things. So it is a bit odd that he is on Israel’s side while I am hopelessly conflicted about it all. I don’t like the fact that Jews, especially Israeli Jews, are convinced of what seems to me the crazy proposition that Jews are genetically superior to Moslems and all Arabs in brains and aesthetic talent.

Ed makes much of the point that impartial observers think Israel has behaved reprehensibly in the latest Gaza skirmish, but I don’t find that to be a proof because I am skeptical of their neutrality. Only skeptical, not sure they are not neutral. About all I am sure of is that Israel has faced down giants who are devoted to ending its existence. For that, I think there is pretty good evidence and I think it is natural for any nation to overreact when dealing with such foes.

With that, I take leave of the field. More might be said but this Journal is not about politics except in incidental ways. That being said, I do not intend to cut off debate if Shirley, Ed and others want to continue.

Beware! Swedes are moving in. Who would have guessed that the worst country on earth, the murder capital of the world, overt expression of hatred toward immigrants, drug pushers everywhere, and police and government rife with corruption. Well, wait a moment. With regard to the latter, I would have guessed.

While the rest of us are going Swedish -meaning greater gender equality, drinking less, wearing seatbelts, more freedom of expression, working fewer hours, free medical care, and all the rest of those good things that make Sweden the envy of the non-Scandinavian world, the Swedes themselves are moving backward. The economy is not in such great shape and both Volvo and Saab have sold out to foreign firms. The government can’t afford to operate schools and they are being privatized as fast as wildfire spreads.

In the south of the country, where refugees are concentrated, anti-immigrant sentiment has taken over. The Sweden Democrats, a xenophobic and populist party, entered parliament for the first time, and they are already quite important in local politics. Neither Denmark nor Norway has had such a crush of immigrants as Sweden has had, so up to now they are free of mass hysteria.

Sweden had 230 murders last year; Washington D.C had 143 but the population in D.C. is only about half that of Sweden. So, on this basis, there does not seem much to choose from. In the good old, golden days of real socialism – say about 1990 – there were 120 homicides in Sweden, which compared very favorably to D.C.’s 472. Sweden’s race to catch up is not very flattering to the country.

For as long as I recall, rich Swedes fled the country to avoid taxes. Remember Bjorn Borg? But they contributed in a very unstingy way to charities. Statistics suggest this a bygone thing.

Swedes now read crime novels as they never had done before. 140 were published in the last 6 months. You may not think there is a connection between crime and fascination with it among ordinary people but I suspect there is.

Squeaky clean Sweden is now squeaking with rust. It has an anti-corruption team- I doubt such a thing existed in 1970 – and the team is looking this week into allegations that Saab offered huge, secret “commissions” to promote the sale of its Gripen fighter jet to the Czech Republic and Austria. Volvo turns out to have been involved in the oil-for-food deal that made Ollie North such a favorite with American presidents and TV networks.

There is corruption in education and prisons have been turned into country clubs for the rich. Judges are going to jail for bribery. Violent crime is on the rise. A letter to a newspaper begins: “Sweden has the most psychopaths (per capita) walking the streets….A famous psycho I jailed in 1987 is Thomas Quick……He serves multiple life sentences for many murders but keeps getting out. and has faced 20 hearings. The swedish professor, G.W. Persson has stated that Sweden has 250,000 potential dangerous psychos. I say it is an understatement. YOU VISIT SWEDEN JEOPARDIZING YOUR LIFE!” Now, that is encouraging news for tourists.

Svenska Dagbladet writes that individuals in Stockholm’s Police Dept. have been selling detailed dossiers on criminals to criminals, and other reporters maintain that the practice is endemic. Recently, when a drug dealer in Central Pattaya was caught, he did the obvious – he offered the cops a bribe. this time, he did not get lucky. An additional charge of attempting to bribe a policeman was tacked on to the original charges.

Rape has gained in popularity over the last 20 years. In Sweden, 46 incidents of rape are reported per 100,000 residents. This figure is double as many as in the UK which reports 23 cases, and four times that of the other Nordic countries, as well as in Germany and France. The figure is up to 20 times the figure for certain countries in southern and eastern Europe.

In short, something is rotten in the state of Sweden, and we have been misled.

Where a score of 1 is as good as it can get and 7 about as bad as it goes, here are a few rankings of the over 200 countries and territories that Freedom House reports on. Again, for FH’s credentials to make these rankings, see the Report. The first score is for Political Rights and the second for Civil Liberties. For all rankings, here is THE LINK

Afghanistan 5,6……Andorra 1, 1……Australia 1, 1…..Austria 1, 1
Bahamas, Barbados and Belgium 1,1….Belaurus 7, 6…..Burma 7, 7
Chad 7, 6…..China 7, 6…..Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Chile, Cyprus, Cape Verde and Canada 1, 1
Denmark 1, 1…..Dominica 1, 1
Estonia 1, 1…..Ethiopia 5, 5
Finland and France each 1, 1
Germany 1, 1
Hungary 1, 1
Iran and Iraq 6, 6…..Ireland 1, 1…..Israel and Italy 1, 2
Kiribati 1, 1
Laos 7, 6…..Lebanon and Libya 7, 7…..Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Luxembourg 1, 1
Micronesia, Malta and Marshall Islands 1, 1
Nauru 1, 1…..North Korea 7, 7…..Netherlands, Norway and New Zealand 1, 1
Palau, Portugal and Poland 1, 1
Russia and Rwanda 6, 5
San Marino, Slovakia and Slovenia 1, 1….Sudan 7, 7
Tuvalo 1, 1…..Turkmenistan and Tibet 7, 7
United Kingdom, U.S.A, and Uruguay 1, 1
Zimbabwe 7, 6

Overall, about 95 countries and territories are considered Free and a little over 100 are rated Partly Free or Not Free. There are also subscores ranging from 0 to 16 for 7 categories. In this case, high numbers are good.

A: Electoral Process; B: Political Pluralism and Participation
C: Functioning of Government; Sub-Categories: Civil Liberties
D: Freedom of Expression and Belief; E: Associational and Organizational Rights
F: Rule of Law; G: Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights

North Korea gets six zeroes and Burma gets five in the 7 categories. Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino, and Sweden score four 16′s.
The U.S.A. gets two 16′s and one 15.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world. Since its founding in 1941, Freedom House has been a vigorous proponent of democratic values and a steadfast opponent of dictatorships of the far left and the far right. Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie served as Freedom House’s first honorary co-chairpersons.

Freedom House issues a separate report onFREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 195 countries are ranked and individually analyzed in several hundred pages. Unsurprisingly, as in previous years, the top countries are Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. The USA ranks solid in a tie for 21st through 24th with the Marshall Islands, San Marino, and St. Vincent & Grenadines. That places it ahead of Canada and the United Kingdom. Israel is in an abysmal 59th place tie. Surprise, surprise! At the very bottom are Burma (Myanmar) and North Korea.

72 nations (37%) get plaudits, 59 get modest scores and 64 (33%) are bottom-dwellers.

Here is THE LINK.

There is a hackneyed saying that begins like this, “If you have only time to read one book this year, make it…” and the copycat of it is, “If you only see one movie this year, make it…” I doubt anyone is so under the gun that either actually applies but let me pull out one book that is essential reading for people who want to know what is happening in the world.

Each year, Transparency International publishes a 400+page monster chock full of articles, tables and graphs that detail corruption and bribery (a separate phenomenon, it seems) that give both a global perspective and individual country reports for 180 nations. I won’t bother telling you the bona fides of this organization but it is spelled out within the covers of the report so that you can judge them for yourself. You can also download the whole report if you don’t have room on your shelf for another book. Here is the part that most interests me – it consumes only a few pages of the whole. For the significance of the term “perception” see page 395.

Corruption Perception Index 2008.

Country rank….Country…….Score.

Tied for 1 through 3…..Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden…..9.3. 10 would be “perfectly clean.”
4 – Singapore…..9.2.
5,6 – Finland, Switzerland…..9.0.
7, 8 – Iceland, Netherlands….8.9.
9, 10 – Australia, Canada …..8.7
11 – Luxembourg….8.3
12, 13 – Austria, Hong Kong…..8.1
14, 15 – Germany, Norway…..7.9
16, 17 – Ireland, United Kingdom….7.7
18, 19, 20 – Belgium, Japan, United States….7.3 From here on, just selected countries (and some scores)
23, 24, 25 – Chile, France, Uruguay
33, 34 – Dominica, Israel
40 – South Korea…..5.6
54 – South Africa
55, 56 – Italy, Seychelles
57 – Greece
65, 66 – Cuba, Kuwait….4.3
72 through 79 includes China and Mexico….3.6
80 through 84 includes Brazil and Saudi Arabia
85 through 91 includes Albania and India
109 – Argentina and 5 others….2.9
115 includes Egypt and 5 others
126 through 133 includes Indonesia, Honduras and a batch of African countries
141 through 144 includes Iran and Philippines….2.3
Russia is tied with several at 147 through 150….2.1
African countries dominate between 151 and 166 but include Venezuela and Ecuador
Countries with “….stan” in their names are prominent thereafter but bringing up the very bottom are
Haiti…177 and Iraq and Myanmar deadheating 178 and 179 with scores 1.3
Place of honor for an unchallenged last is Somalia….1.0 It is possible to reach zero but no country scores that low.

“Confidence ranges” are also provided for each country. These reflect how a country’s score may vary, depending on the measurement precision. Generally, the more surveys used, the higher the confidence interval. Not always. Ten different tools were used to measure Indonesia but the confidence range , the most used for any country, was low. (All mathematical techniques are explained.)

Bribe Payers Index 2008

The Bribe Payers Index 2008 (BPI 2008) ranks twenty-two of the world’s most economically influential countries according to the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad. Transparency International uses this index, with its focus on the supply side of corruption, to complement the findings of the Corruption Perceptions Index, which focuses on the demand side of corruption and records the perception of public sector bribery and bribe-takers.

The BPI 2008 is constructed from responses to a survey of 2,742 senior business executives. A minimum of 100 senior business executives were interviewed in twenty-six countries that are important recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI).3 The businesspeople were selected through a stratification process that took into consideration the size of firms, their sector and their location. For details on the forms of bribery and corruption, you must, of course, read the Report.

Rank and Country – scores, standard deviations and confidence intervals omitted. (compiled for 22 nations only)

Tie 1, 2 – Belgium, Canada. 10 would be a perfect score. These two countries scored 8.5.
3, 4 – Netherlands, Switzerland
5, 6, 7 – Germany, Japan, United Kingdom
8 – Australia
9, 10, 11 – France, Singapore, United States
21 – China
22 – Russia – score 5.9.

If you want to see it all, here is THE LINK.

Tomorrow, I will publish the findings of Freedom House which offers annual comparative assessment of political rights and civil liberties covering 193 countries and 16 related and disputed territories. Stupendous stuff with several great surprises.

Sorry, but I will not quit my anti-Obama tirade.   For my latest, see http://watchingpolitics.com/?p=6819

I can’t quite get the hang of it but you really cannot think of a place on Earth that is not somebody’s idea of a vacation paradise.   True, every day another 5000 people starve to death in Darfur and an equal number have their arms lopped off by guys passing by with nothing much to do.    Still, where else would you rather be?   If you are waffling about this one, consider the following.

Of 17 hotels in beautiful, downtown Khartoum, only a few hundred miles from stunning Darfur,  (site of 80% of all your favorite desert movies), tops is Acropole Hotel.    Reviewers say, “Friendly professionalism in colonial ambience.”  Another reviewer points out that the “Greek-Italian owner couple are perfect organizers for Sudan.”    And at $235 per night, can you deny it is a real bargain for business travelers?  Weather couldn’t be better right now because from 1 A.M. to 4 A.M., temperatures can dip as low as 74 degrees.    For those on a budget, there is the Danah Hotel for only $25 bucks, and you should be on a budget because “Cheap flights.com” is offering seats at just under $1600.   Of course, you must travel on that amazing airline, “YouFlyIt.”

Well, now that you are settled in, what to do?   There is the National Museum.    Of course, it is not the equal of the great museum in downtown Cairo (What on earth is?) but you can’t get there by roller skates from Khartoum.    This travel paradise also has a justly famous WW II cemetery.  I haven’t a clue who is in it but, if you get lucky, maybe you will find the tombstones of the Old Desert Fox himself, Erwin (Fast Eddie) Rommel and perhaps T.E. Lawrence and a statue of his camel.

Enough of Khartoum.   Swing west and south and enter Darfur.    Don’t be fooled by the travel guides that claim there are no hotels, restaurants or nightlife here.   Something is always swinging in Darfur, if only it is a body.  But what’s wrong with viewing that?   If you live in Michigan, you can literally go hours at a time without seeing a swinging corpse. That won’t happen to you in Darfur.  For your $1600 airfare (on YouFlyIt) plus your $300 + per night stay at  Acropole [Don't forget the Sudanese hotel tax], you deserve nothing less than a swinger in Darfur.

There are plenty of other places that in-the-know travelers visit but the Sudan seems to be the sensible starting point.

First to a minor matter.   Rashly, I placed having sex with Jolie or Zeta-Jones among things that should be ranked as negative experiences.  In truth, such an experience would be positive – but not by much.  Give it 1.2 positive utility.  As for the ranking of Hilton or Spears as definitely undesirable, I stand by my guns.  (Awful metaphor, I confess, in this context.)

More important is that I plead guilty of thinking the one-time dirty Nips had changed to being respectable Nipponese.  No such thing.  A recent poll reported in the Japan Times reveals that 85.6% of them still believe the death penalty is a good and fine thing.  They also oppose any statutes of limitations.   Find some 97 year old invalid who committed a murder 75 years ago and they want to zap him.

Most Japanese are too young to remember what painful death is like. Only a small percentage of them was alive at the time of the atomic blastings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, the truly ancient among them may have fond memories of the tortures they inflicted on the Chinese during the famous “Rape of Nanking.” An intermediate number may have loved the death marches they imposed on American prisoners during World War II. How else, can I account for their passionate love of the death penalty?

95 nations in the civilized world have abolished death as a penalty and another 50, while retaining it on the books, never practice it.  And just when I was beginning to think that these camera-crazed lunatics were civilized people.  I apologize.