The British Economy falling to 7th.

[jaysay]

Its actually funny that we are, at the moment, seeing orchestrated happenings regarding the state funeral in North Korea, the only Communist state left in the world, I've been listening to experts in this field over the last few days and it appears its not all sweetness and light for the majority of the Korean people (you know everybody's equal)it appears Thar George Orwell was right by the statement in Animal Farm, all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. The biggest majority of in North Korea and malnourished and very poorly educated, far from what they would have use believe. Its actually much in the same way that in the divided Germany they built a wall to keep the decadent westerners from sharing their Communist utopia, well I think that's why they built it, wasn't it

[MargaretR]

The Cubans seem to do OK.

[Boeing Guy]

Cuba. land of the free.......right.
North Korea, looks like Airstrip One (1984)

[Eric]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

The Cubans seem to do OK.

Think how well they could do if they hadn't had all the decades-long negative US pressure.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

The Cubans seem to do OK.

Um wonder why so many of um make it to the states if its such a socialist utopia

[Eric]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Um wonder why so many of um make it to the states if its such a socialist utopia

Many of those who left are the ones that Castro was happy to be rid of .... I guess that's why you should purchase a flak jacket before taking a walk in Miami.

[Wynonie Harris]

Yes, Castro's government must be doing something right. After, all they've won every election since they took power in 1959, haven't they?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Yes, Castro's government must be doing something right. After, all they've won every election since they took power in 1959, haven't they?

Could point out that one of the big gripes on here is that your govts. don't listen, that after they are elected they act as dictatorships. And then, after another election, another set of dictators will be selected. At least the Cubans, and the North Koreans for that matter, are up-front about not giving a flying you-know-what about what the ordinary folks think, or want.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Eric

Could point out that one of the big gripes on here is that your govts. don't listen, that after they are elected they act as dictatorships. And then, after another election, another set of dictators will be selected. At least the Cubans, and the North Koreans for that matter, are up-front about not giving a flying you-know-what about what the ordinary folks think, or want.

Ya but the big difference is Eric they do it by the gun

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by Eric

Could point out that one of the big gripes on here is that your govts. don't listen, that after they are elected they act as dictatorships. And then, after another election, another set of dictators will be selected. At least the Cubans, and the North Koreans for that matter, are up-front about not giving a flying you-know-what about what the ordinary folks think, or want.

Eric, I gripe more than most about the politicians we have in the UK, but it's the lesser of two evils scenario. At least there's a modicum of accountability with our lot. I'd prefer that to an out-and-out dictatorship like Cuba or North Korea where one wrong move or word out of place can get you arrested.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Eric, I gripe more than most about the politicians we have in the UK, but it's the lesser of two evils scenario. At least there's a modicum of accountability with our lot. I'd prefer that to an out-and-out dictatorship like Cuba or North Korea where one wrong move or word out of place can get you arrested.

Arrested Wyn, that's being a little generous, people talking out of turn about the powers that be are rarely seen again

[Pudwoppa]

I'm surprised that France is above us, but Brazil is simple maths. A large population with high levels of unexploited natural resources means they'll sky rocket. We'll be overtaken by India within a few decades too.

GDP figures are misleading - they don't reflect standards of living or wealth distribution at all. In those terms, countries like China and Brazil are far behind us, but we rank even farther down those lists - behind many other European countries. As Eric hinted at, each one of these lists is almost meaningless when viewed alone. Take a look at these:

List_of_countries_by_GDP_per_capita

List_of_countries_by_GNI per_capita

And even then; wealth share is skewed within a populous.