NZ most socially advanced nation.

Flight of the Conchords has really helped the NZ cultural explosion in North America!!

Personally I'll stick with Fred Daggs

T

Read Michael Lewis' "Boomerang" for an entertaining  take on how deluded the Icelandic people were leading up to the collapse of their financial system.

FD was about as funny as a puppy being run over, IMO.

FOTC is a little more clever.

Harry,

I thought you may have responded to my answer to your initial allegation of no restitution or apology to Maori.

Is the legislated restitution not a sign of on going reflection for historic as well as current injustice?

I don't know anything about the SPI referred to in the OP, but I assume it is a relative rating placing countries in order. NOT an indicator of perfection . So NZ will be happy to accept an unsolicited award  acknowledging social progress relative to other countries.

Dis, here is the link, it makes for very interesting reading.

http://www.socialprogressimper...s/spi/dim1,dim2,dim3

Frankly, I am a little surprised at the lack of interest from the Forum except for a few negative comments. Perhaps the thread became too whimsical too early, partly my own fault...or it's been a long day.

Jason.

Jason

Threads take on a life of their own, regardless of the hopes or aspirations of the originator. So apologies if I still haven't got the spirit of this thread.

I was surprised that Greece wasn't nearer the top of the SPI ranking, given the lifelong party they have been enjoying these past 40 years at the expense of Germany and one or two other members of the EU. But hey-ho, there we go, squandering someoneelse's money doesn't always bring freedom and happiness !!

The UK at 13th seems a bit unlucky. Worse still, based on the GDP figures in the rankings, the UK is also 13th in the GDP ratings. Spooky.

Why didn't places like Oman, China or N Korea feature in the table - i'm sure its explained somewhere in the body of the article, but ?? I would rather live in Oman than Kuwait, Saudi, or Abu Dhabi, all of whom are featured.

And having also lived in Sweden, well, I know too well that life's one big laugh all day long, and I do appreciate their strict drink/drive rules so no surprise they are in the top 10 - I suppose they missed out on a top 5 place because the joking and humour in Norway and Iceland is just that teany weany bit more rib-tickelingly funny.

I can only assume that the New Zealanders have imported the characteristics of the sheep-shaggers of Wales as well as the sheep and as a result they live in pure, permanent extasy putting them at the top of this list.

I thought the survey was pretty interesting and well-presented. The graphics are pretty slick.

If you look at the dimensions, it doesn't rate the historic and current treatment of indigenous peoples specifically. I guess aspects of the current treatment are implicit in the survey. In the case of NZ the percentage of the population that is indigenous is small (around 15%), so likely doesn't weigh on the results too much (regardless of how they may be currently treated).

As I said I was surprised to find Venezuela in the middle. I expected a much worse result for a country that, in spite of many natural advantages, is being run into the ground by a corrupt, short-sighted and misguided populist government.,

Thanks for posting Winky, Venezuela was well spotted.

Don, I don't understand the seriousness in your post-ironic....erh post. China's in there somewhere. I suspect some countries wouldn't allow the "social progress inspectors" in for fear of being exposed as less than desirable. Thanks for contributing.

Jason.

oh ! I'd assumed the inspectors were "mystery shopper" type people who gathered data live in the field on an experiential basis. I didn't realise they were a formally recognised international body that had been refused right of entry or been denied data access by half the national governments on the planet.

I'm now assuming the publication date of this report was 1st April....................

"Social progress inspectors" was a joke...why don't you read the web site properly, then you will see how the data was collected, why it was collected and to what end it was collected, then perhaps you wI'll appreciate it better?

Jason.

oh, silly me !

Now go back and read the serious bit I wrote about about pathetic belated restitution to "first nation" peoples and colonised parts of the globe, in response to the serious but misguided comments that had previously been made by yourself and a couple of others.

How can New Zealand possibly be regarded as "socially advanced"? They don't like football and play/watch rugby, the most ridiculous and antediluvian "sport" ever invented.

Maybe I have New Zealand ancestry then...

Some good points Kevin.

Which brings us nicely onto today's footballing event. Now, all Liverpool's remaining fixtures are equally important but todays game against the Hammers is crucial in keeping the winning momentum for our meetings with Man City and Chelsea. So if West Ham were to even draw with Liverpool today, that would be disastrous. Please understand that I am not usually vocal regarding my support for The Reds, however the thought of winning the title again has aroused my loins. 

Good luck West Ham...I will be watching you.

Jason.

How I wish the worlds best 11 footballers would play the worlds best 11 rugby players...

I'd pay good money to witness that carnage!

Well, if they were playing rugby, and following the rules of that game, my guess is that the rugger buggers would win. If they were playing football to football's rules, the footy boys would win.

If they were playing darts, tiddlywinks or golf, who knows?

If it were just a big duff-up in the middle of a muddy field, I think the football lads would win, as rugby players are all just fat public school puffs.

Jason, I fear we will get tonked by the Reds. If it were a draw or even a narrow, say 1-0, loss, I'll be reasonably happy.

That said, I do hope Liverpool do win the PL. They play exciting, attacking football and have more hunger than any other team in the league, and they have a great manager, sensible owners and have built a team, rather than just bought one.

Hallelooya to that!

Jason.

Nah, the rugger buggers would blood cheat.

what about the celts and other indigenous peoples etc being displaced by the Angles, Saxons, Vikings, French, and a variety of others. in Britain.

I understood that the maoris arrived in N.Z. about 100 years before the Europeans.

Also when I lived in Australia 2006-2010 there was a net migration from N.Z. of about 10,000 per annum. So the population was falling.

History really can cause problems.

David

David, like me, you are being far too parochial, and serious for this thread. The thought-control police will be after you !!

Cheers

Don