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  1. #1
    Da Mavs
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    Default According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10858183

    New Zealand leads the way in human freedom according to an international index that ranks 123 countries.

    The Canadian Fraser Institute has released its report evaluating how each country measures in security and safety, movement, expression and relationship freedoms.

    New Zealand topped the index as offering the highest level of human freedom worldwide, followed by the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

    Australia came in fourth. The US ranked seventh.

    The United Kingdom ranked 18th, ahead of France at 33 and Germany, which came in 35th on the list.

    The lowest-ranked countries were Zimbabwe, Burma, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Syria.

    The index was contained in a new book, Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom, which examined the characteristics of freedom and how it could best be measured and compared between different nations.

    The book's editor, Fred McMahon, said the intention was to measure the degree to which people were free to enjoy classic civil liberties-freedom of speech, religion, individual economic choice, and association and assembly-in each country surveyed.

    "We also look at indicators of crime and violence, freedom of movement, legal discrimination against homosexuals, and women's freedoms."

    The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organisation.

    Top 10 Countries:

    1. New Zealand

    2. Netherlands

    3. Hong Kong

    4. Australia

    4. Canada

    4. Ireland

    7. United States of America

    7. Denmark

    9. Japan

    9. Estonia

    Bottom 10 Countries:

    114. Cameroon

    115. Burundi

    116. Iran

    117. Algeria

    118. Democratic Republic of Congo

    119. Syria

    120. Sri Lanka

    121. Pakistan

    122. Burma

    123. Zimbabwe
    "Land of the Free" is only at 7.

  2. #2
    Lets go Kni....Giants! Bano114's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by D-Rose
    Hong Kong is a country?

  3. #3
    . blablabla's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    north korea is not in the bottom 10?

  4. #4
    Get Buckets BlueCrayon's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    'Murica

  5. #5
    Local High School Star Math2's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Really, now? Where are the stats for freedom per capita, or most freedom per person

  6. #6
    Da Mavs
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bano114
    Hong Kong is a country?
    Not really, but it operates pretty much like it is. Sort of like how the USA and Puerto Rico are.

  7. #7
    High School Varsity 6th Man The Real JW's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Can you own guns in NZ?

  8. #8
    Lurker embersyc's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bano114
    Hong Kong is a country?
    Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, when China took it back they didn't want to ruin the success it had, so they mostly have left it alone and let it run itself.

  9. #9
    Lets go Kni....Giants! Bano114's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Hero
    thought the same thing.. interesting read on wiki. 1 country 2 systems, essentially a country within a country.
    Yeah I read some of it on wiki and got a D.C. sense at first. I never knew that. Interesting how high up it is on the list compared to China as a whole.

  10. #10
    There will be plaster kNIOKAS's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Hero
    from wiki
    yeah but they OWN guns? Or they don't feel the need and therefore not fully exploiting this right to possess one.

  11. #11
    why I even like Rondo CeltsGarlic's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Hong kong runs different economic model than China. They have almost none gov controlled company's and not many rules and low taxes.
    Lithuania should do it.

  12. #12
    Perfectly Calm, Dude KevinNYC's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by blablabla
    north korea is not in the bottom 10?
    I suspect it is because the bottom 10 all are more violent than north korea. I also suspect the rights of women are probably greater than in some of those countries. Here's what they considered.
    http://www.fraserinstitute.org/resea....aspx?id=19171

    [QUOTE]The index is contained in a new book, Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom, which examines the characteristics of

  13. #13
    In Morey We Trust! brantonli's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bano114
    Hong Kong is a country?

    We basically run ourselves. Beijing does have a certain amount of influence in HK politics (the Chief Executive must be allowed by Beijing), but because politics tend to be fairly separate from the economics our economy is very free. Plus because we don't have universal suffrage, a lot of people's opinions are expressed in protests and town hall debates, which probably contributed to the freedom of expression bit of the survey.

    oh and about healthcare in HK. There are sufficient low cost government medical facilities alongside private carers, but recently there have been problems of hospitals filled with Mainland Chinese mothers coming to HK to give birth.
    Last edited by brantonli; 01-12-2013 at 02:11 PM.

  14. #14
    877-954-1893 MMM's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    But I thought that you needed guns to keep you free from tyrannical governments......


    I do find it interesting that America continues to lag behind in these ranking nowadays. Just the other day I was reading how the US is no longer considered the country with the greatest economic freedom as well. Class movement has become far more restricted in America over the last few decades.

  15. #15
    Perfectly Calm, Dude KevinNYC's Avatar
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    Default Re: According to new study, New Zealand is "most free" country in the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by brantonli
    We basically run ourselves. Beijing does have a certain amount of influence in HK politics (the Chief Executive must be allowed by Beijing), but because politics tend to be fairly separate from the economics our economy is very free. Plus because we don't have universal suffrage, a lot of people's opinions are expressed in protests and town hall debates, which probably contributed to the freedom of expression bit of the survey.

    oh and about healthcare in HK. There are sufficient low cost government medical facilities alongside private carers, but recently there have been problems of hospitals filled with Mainland Chinese mothers coming to HK to give birth.

    You don't have universal sufferage, but these folks consider you among the freest? How does sufferage work in HK.

    Also the land of two rings is Houston?

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