I don't get your point. It seems to me you have a concern about ethnic mixing rather then embracing it. Also I am a non drinker, well maybe one or two every two or three months. I do however go out often, and living only 5 minutes walk from Central Station, I see quiet a variety. Can I say that the "men like to get full on drunk when they go to clubs" are a minority.
In general, American cities are ranked very low in these lists. With good reasons. After all Europeans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders (?) have a far superior quality of live than Americans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_most_livable_cities Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_quality_of_living In this list (2010): First American city:
Homicide - Australia was founded by Convicts. Its homicide rate is 1.8 per 100,000 population. The United States was founded by religious zealots. It's homicide rate is 6.3 per 100,000. Almost 400% greater than Australia.
"In the modern world one of the most common forms of the secret ballot involves pre-printed ballot papers with the name of the candidates or questions and respective checkboxes. Provisions are made at the polling place for the voters to record their preferences in secret. The ballots are specifically designed to eliminate bias and to prevent anyone from linking voter to ballot. This system is also known as the Australian ballot, because it originated in Australia during the 1850s." Australia "Chartist ideas influenced the miners of Eureka Stockade in 1854 in Victoria where they adopted all of Chartism's six points including the secret ballot. Secret balloting appears to have been first implemented in the former Australian colony (now a state) of Tasmania on February 7, 1856. Until the original Tasmanian Electoral Act of 1856 was 're-discovered' recently, credit for the first implementation of the secret ballot often went to the colonies of Victoria and South Australia.[12] Victoria enacted legislation for secret ballots on March 19, 1856, and South Australian Electoral Commissioner William Boothby generally gets credit for creating the system finally enacted into law in South Australia on April 2 of that same year (a fortnight later)." UK "was first used on 15 August 1872 to re-elect Hugh Childers as MP for Pontefract in a ministerial by-election" US " Therefore, the first President of the United States elected completely under the Australian ballot was president Grover Cleveland in 1892." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot
Ah yes, where in the two weeks of summer the mosquitoes are known to carry of unattended toddlers. Not much culture and awfully dark for an awfully long time. A tad chilly at times. OTOH, great people in general, and best of all a 10 month snowmobile season!!!!
The Government now lets Yukon urban residents shoot mosquitoes so the little bastards are now related to carrying off polar bears and such out of town. Mosquitoes are discouraged from taking seals of course, so as not to upset European liberals.
We wouldn't do that....oh...wait a minute...of course we would Words and music by Slim Dusty (RIP) There was a red-back on the toilet seat When I was there last night, I didn’t see him in the dark, But boy! I felt his bite! I jumped high up into the air, And when I hit the ground, That crafty red-back spider Wasn’t nowhere to be found. I rushed in to the missus, Told her just where I’d been bit, She grabbed the cut throat razor blade, And I nearly took a fit. I said, “Just forget what’s on your mind, And call a doctor please, ‘Cause I’ve got a feeling that your cure Is worse than the disease.” There was a red-back on the toilet seat When I was there last night, I didn’t see him in the dark, But boy! I felt his bite! And now I’m here in hospital, A sad and sorry plight, And I curse that red-back spider On the toilet seat last night. I can’t lay down, I can’t sit up, And I don’t know what to do, And all the nurses think it’s funny, But that’s not my point of view. I tell you it’s embarrassing, And that’s to say the least That I’m to sick to eat a bite, While that spider had a feast! And when I get back home again, I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll make that red-back suffer For the pain I’m going through. I’ve had so many needles That I’m looking like a sieve, And I promise you that spider Hasn’t very long to live! There was a red-back on the toilet seat When I was there last night, I didn’t see him in the dark, But boy! I felt his bite! And now I’m here in hospital, A sad and sorry plight, And I curse that red-back spider On the toilet seat last night.
YVR: I heard that a Yukon mosquito landed at Vancouver airport and the refuellers pumped 1,000 gals of jet fuel into it before they realized their mistake.
Seeing as how I have been 'dobbed in' by my Belgian friend, I expect I should make some comment. I am not surprised that an Australian city should have been regarded as 'the most liveable' in the world. Australian society is remarkable, considering the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay some years after my ancestors built the house in which we currently live. Like every other society, it has its problems, but it is an advanced and developed society, with a high level of social justice. The standard of living is as high as may be found anywhere else in the developed world, and only the great distances and the hot, dry climate prevents it from being a veritable paradise on earth. And the natives actually speak a dialect not totally removed from English. The Australian cities are fine, but what passes for the Australian countryside sucks. Untold miles of dry, olive drab and brown eucayptus, which bursts into flame if you so much as look at it unkindly. And that's the 'green' bits along the coasts. Go outback, and all you see is red earth with a few sparse and stunted weeds here and there - grandeur it might have aplenty, but the sort of Constable and Turner beauty of the countryside wherein I grew up, is not readily found. Dorothea McKellar might have loved a sunburnt country, but the Australian outback is a child only a mother could love (prefereably if she was blind).
What would you have me do? Go on a one man crusade to cure all of societies ills? I lived pretty close to Claymore, in fact, right near Rosemeadow, and agree, it's a sh1thole, but I think that has much more to do with poverty than Christian beliefs. But for every "white" suburb that is a dive, there are 20 good ones that are fine. Can you point out where the middle-class aboriginal, or muslim suburbs are? I must have missed them in my 3 years there.
What are you going on about, someone said that they wouldn't walk in Lakemba a known Muslim area, I just said their was worse areas in so called white-christian neighbour hoods. Of course it is socio-economic that is our major problem. My point EXACTLY thank you
Actually, American cities rank rather low on these lists because of the way these lists are set up. If you look at the criteria, one of the major ones is, government run health care. Since the United States does not have government run health care, American cities will always score low on one of the criteria used. The lists have a liberal bias.
I looked at the criteria. Healthcare rating accounts for 20% of the overall score. Public healthcare is only one quarter of the rating. Indicator Source Availability of private healthcare EIU rating Quality of private healthcare EIU rating Availability of public healthcare EIU rating Quality of public healthcare EIU rating Availability of over-the-counter drugs EIU rating General healthcare indicators Taken from the link in the op.
I think if the poll was concentarting on the top 10 cities with resepct to crime each of the top 10 named would be in the USA. However when it comes to quality of life the US ranks miserably low on any scale chosen. That is a sad indictment of the American way of life. Sad and pitiful.
Leo,, the thousands of kilometres of nothingness makes Australia very special,,it's so bloody unique. Isolated and sparsely populated. There is one very special place in Australia, and that's the Australian Alps in late spring/early summer. After the ski season closes it's almost empty of people except for the hardened hikers and trout fishermen. Have you ever been to Bright in north eastern Victoria? Check it out in autum around April May. Gob smacking beautiful. I can see myself spend some of my retirement in Bright. Riding my motorbike and fishing.. We used to get the guys together, pick a point on the map and ride our motorcyles to that destination.. 500-1000 kilometre days were common. Book into a country town pub and just chill out. Man, the people in these small country towns are the friendliest, most hospitable people I've met. Great food and beer in these pubs also. Then ride home the next day ready for a working week. There's something I want to do,, and that's ride the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. Two or three days through nothingness!
I've spent considerable time in australia. the people are wonderful but the country itself is a terrible place - too hot, sparse vegetation, weird animals.
True, but they will never see it as they do not except anything that they don't win, or they try to move the goal posts. eg YOU LOSE WE WIN SUCK EGGS
Take out all the things you're crap at, like standard of living things. Then run a competition, Worlds Greatest City in the USA You got to win that one, one would hope lol
Frogger, don't be such a terrible loser. Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria,... etc. do not have have "government-run healthcare" either. The UK, for instance, with the NHS (= National Health Service (?) not really sure) does. Indeed, it's about the quality and accessability of healthcare, and as a matter of fact, it happens to be that healthcare in the USA is absolutely dreadfulland not so accessable as in other countries. Also,... this is not about having a "liberal bias". That is just bloody ridiculous.