"We're Number One! Oh-oh..."
"America wipes out everything in its passion and its sex and its glory, and it drowns everybody in its drinks. The second miracle you have done is that you have taken the Niaaraa Panth (distinctive form and discipline). You are wearing the baanaa (gracious, noble attire), you are reading the baanee (Japjee and other verses of the Guru), and you are understanding how to do seva (selfless service) and how to do simran (meditation) from those two, and your excellence is coming out.
"America doesn't want excellence, neither in any part of the world, nor in America. There is a handful of people, there are a handful of corporations, they want to totally rule the world inside out and they want to do what they want to do. They are very afraid of you. That's why they don't want you in the army.
"Tomorrow perhaps if it comes to them, they will not like you in the United States, but they do not know that we shall rule tomorrow. Things will come to us and these idiots who think they have the whole world in the palm of their hands will come with folded hands and beg the mercy. It is so written in the heavens, so it shall be done on the Earth."
(Yogi Bhajan speaking in Espanola, New Mexico, April 24, 1983)
"America doesn't want excellence, neither in any part of the world, nor in America. There is a handful of people, there are a handful of corporations, they want to totally rule the world inside out and they want to do what they want to do. They are very afraid of you. That's why they don't want you in the army.
"Tomorrow perhaps if it comes to them, they will not like you in the United States, but they do not know that we shall rule tomorrow. Things will come to us and these idiots who think they have the whole world in the palm of their hands will come with folded hands and beg the mercy. It is so written in the heavens, so it shall be done on the Earth."
(Yogi Bhajan speaking in Espanola, New Mexico, April 24, 1983)
Every people and every country likes to believe in its greatness. When Yogi Bhajan first came to America, he shared his wonder at the US dollar which proclaimed "In God We Trust." He shared his inspiration about the US as a place with spiritual roots and a spiritual destiny. Certainly there is a lot of good and there are millions of wonderful people in America. This piece today is to in no way denigrate a great country and its people. It is however a reality check on where the USA and Canada, where I live, stand in the ranking of other nations, so all of us might better understand our situation relative to the rest of the world, and by extension, how well or how poorly our powerful governments and corporations are serving the needs of North American citizens, the expectations of other nations, and the living dynamic of Mother Earth.
Most of these comparisons are linked to their original sources to allow you to expand your own knowledge and share with others the facts as they are known. For comparison's sake, I chose a sampling of nine countries, western, eastern, northern, southern, "developed" and "undeveloped." For interest's sake, I included in this group, countries that are sometimes referenced in western media as "failed states." In all, twenty-two comparisons have been made. The first group are overall rankings of nations, including the UN Human Development Index where the USA traditionally does very well, but also other innovative indexes of quality of life. The second list of rankings covers how citizens are being served or abused by their governments, on a country to country basis. The third group of rankings gives examples of how the nine selected countries perform as global partners to the rest of the world. The final set of rankings serves to illustrate how well the nine countries are managing in terms of stabilizing the current crisis of climate and ecology.
Some of this information may surprise you. Some may disturb you. Ultimately, I hope it makes you question the role of big corporations and unresponsive governments in your life. How have we allowed them to degrade the quality of our lives and our planet so readily?
We are not alone in asking these questions and it is not being unpatriotic to ask them. US civil rights advocate Van Jones says: "The United States has the power to be a huge obstacle to planetary survival - or a giant springboard to planetary salvation. A better America is the best gift we can offer the world. Yet caring Americans will never give the world that gift if they are holding their noses and handling the flag like a used tissue." (The Global Warming Reader, p. 216)
1) Overall Quality of Life:
i) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
World leader: Norway (1)
USA (3)
New Zealand (6)
Canada (11)
Denmark (15)
Cuba (59)
Philippines (114)
Haiti (161)
Afghanistan (175 out of 187)
ii) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE WHERE TO BE BORN INDEX
World leader: Switzerland (1)
Denmark (5)
Canada (9)
USA (16)
Cuba (40)
Philippines (63 out of 80)
iii) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE SOCIAL PROGRESS INDEX
World leader: New Zealand (1)
Canada (7)
Denmark (9)
USA (16)
Philippines (56)
Cuba (79 out of 132)
iv) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE HAPPY PLANET INDEX
World leader: Costa Rica (1)
Cuba (12)
Philippines (25)
New Zealand (28)
Canada (65)
Haiti (78)
USA (105)
Afghanistan (109)
Denmark (110 out of 151)
2) Serving the Needs of Citizens:
i) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE GLOBAL PEACE INDEX
World leader: Iceland (1)
Denmark (2)
New Zealand (3)
Canada (8)
Cuba (65)
Haiti (92)
USA (100)
Philippines (129)
North Korea (154)
Somalia (161)
Afghanistan (162 out of 162)
ii) RANKING BY HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS (2000)
World leader: France (1)
Canada (30)
Denmark (35)
USA (37)
Cuba (40)
New Zealand (42)
Philippines (61)
Haiti (138)
Afghanistan (173 out of 190)
iii) COMPARISONS OF PARENTAL LEAVE AT CHILDBIRTH
World leader: Sweden - 480 days for mother and father with 77.8% of regular income
Denmark - 52 weeks shared by both parents with 100% of regular income
Canada - 50 weeks for the mother, 35 weeks shared with the father with 55% of regular income
Cuba - 18 weeks maternal leave with 100%
Afghanistan - 90 days maternal leave with 100% of regular income
New Zealand - 14 weeks maternal leave with 100% of regular income, 2 weeks for father at 0%
Somalia - 14 weeks maternal leave with 50% of regular income
Philippines - 60 days maternal leave, 7 days for the father with 100% of regular income
Haiti - 12 weeks maternal leave with 100%, plus 6 weeks at 0% of regular income
USA - no right of p.l. (Only USA, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland have no p.l.)
iv) RANKING BY LIFE EXPECTANCY
World leader: Monaco (1) - 85.3 years
Canada (13) - 82.5 years
New Zealand (18) - 81.7 years
USA (35) - 79.8 years
Denmark (37) - 79.5 years
Cuba (38) - 79.4 years
Philippines (112) - 73 years
North Korea (132) - 69 years
Haiti (155) - 63 years
Afghanistan (164) - 60 years
Somalia (190 out of 193) - 50 years
v) RANKING BY DEMOCRACY
World leader: Norway (1)
Denmark (5)
New Zealand (8)
Canada (13)
USA (15)
Philippines (55)
Haiti (104 out of 115)
vi) RANKING BY MINIMUM WAGE
World leader: Australia (1) - US$16.88 per hour
New Zealand (3) - US$11.18 per hour
Canada (5) - US$9.75 per hour
USA (7) - US$7.25 per hour
Philippines (19) - US$.61 per hour
Afghanistan (20 of 22) - US$.57 per hour
vii) RANKING BY INCOME EQUALITY
World leader: Sweden (1)
Denmark (5)
Afghanistan (16)
Canada (28)
New Zealand (49)
Philippines (90)
USA (91)
Haiti (121 out of 126)
viii) RANKING BY PRESS FREEDOMS
World leader: Finland (1)
Denmark (7)
New Zealand (9)
Canada (18)
USA (46)
Haiti (47)
Afghanistan (128)
Philippines (149)
Cuba (170)
Somalia (176)
North Korea (179 out of 180)
ix) RANKING BY CORRUPTION
World leaders (least corrupt): Denmark/New Zealand (1)
Canada (9)
USA (13)
Philippines (56)
Haiti (103)
Cuba (122)
Afghanistan (139)
Somalia (147)
North Korea (150 out of 150)
x) RANKING BY PRISONERS PER 100,000 POPULATION
World leader (highest): USA (1) - 716
Cuba (5) - 510
New Zealand (74) - 193
Canada (130) - 118
Philippines (134) - 113
Haiti (152) - 95
Afghanistan (171) - 74
Denmark (178 out of 223) - 68
xi) COMPARISONS OF THE DEATH PENALTY
World leader (highest usage): China (1) - more than 2,000 executed in the last recorded year
USA (5) - 43 executed in the last recorded year
Afghanistan (8) - 14 executed in the last recorded year
North Korea/Somalia (11) - 6 executed in the last recorded year
Cuba - moratorium - last execution in 2003
Philippines - abolished in 2006
New Zealand - abolished in 1989
Haiti - abolished in 1987
Denmark - abolished in 1978
Canada - abolished in 1976
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
3) Governments Acting as a Good Global Partners
i) ACTIONS ON THE KYOTO ENVIRONMENTAL ACCORD (1997)
Afghanistan - ratified in 2013
Canada - pulled out in 2011
Cuba - ratified in 2002
Denmark - ratified in 2002
Haiti - ratified in 2005
New Zealand - ratified in 2002
North Korea - ratified in 2005
Philippines - ratified in 2003
Somalia - ratified in 2010
USA - not ratified
ii) PARTICIPATION IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT & NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONES
Afghanistan - ratified 1968 treaty
Canada - ratified 1968 treaty
Cuba - ratified 1968 treaty in 2002, is a nuclear weapons free zone
Denmark - ratified 1968 treaty
Haiti - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
New Zealand - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
North Korea - withdrew from treaty in 2003, is believed to have 10 nuclear weapons
Philippines - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
Somalia - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
USA - retains 7,700 nuclear warheads with no plans of disarming in violation of nuke NP treaty
iii) PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY INVASIONS AND OCCUPATIONS SINCE 2005
Afghanistan - occupied by western armed forces since 2003
Canada - Afghanistan, Haiti
Cuba - none
Denmark - Afghanistan
Haiti - occupied by armed forces of Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and others since 2004
New Zealand - Afghanistan
North Korea - none
Philippines - none
Somalia - occupied by Ethiopian army 2007-09
USA - Iraq, Afghanistan
iv) PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Afghanistan - yes
Canada - yes
Cuba - no
Denmark - yes
Haiti - no
New Zealand - yes
North Korea - no
Philippines - yes
Somalia - no
USA - no
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
4) Preserving the Integrity of the Earth's Climates and Ecosystems
i) RANKING BY ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS
World leader (smallest ecological footprint): Afghanistan (1)
Haiti (2)
Philippines (17)
Cuba (63)
New Zealand (112)
Canada (140)
USA (145)
Denmark (147 out of 151)
ii) HOME BASES OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO) CORPORATIONS
Afghanistan - none
Cuba - none
Canada - none
Denmark - none, GMOs banned
Haiti - none
New Zealand - none
North Korea - none
Philippines - none
Somalia - none
USA - Cargill (Minnetonka, Minn.), Dupont (Wilmington, Del.), Monsanto (Creve Couer, Mo.)
iii) ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE EARTH, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE
Afghanistan - Safe the Environment - Afghanistan
Canada - David Suzuki Foundation
Cuba - Green Cuba
Denmark - Danish Organization for Renewable Energy
Haiti - Organization for the Renewal of the Environment
New Zealand - ECO
Philippines - Haribon Foundation
Somalia - SEPADO
USA - Bioneers
This is the fifth in a series of six articles about the urgent need for action on our climate crisis. Previous articles may be accessed here: 1) The Path of Spiritual and Political Engagement, 2) Yogi Bhajan on America's Defective Democracy, 3) Ecology Begins Within, 4) The Great Game.
LOVE TO ALL! PEACE TO ALL! LIFE TO ALL!
Most of these comparisons are linked to their original sources to allow you to expand your own knowledge and share with others the facts as they are known. For comparison's sake, I chose a sampling of nine countries, western, eastern, northern, southern, "developed" and "undeveloped." For interest's sake, I included in this group, countries that are sometimes referenced in western media as "failed states." In all, twenty-two comparisons have been made. The first group are overall rankings of nations, including the UN Human Development Index where the USA traditionally does very well, but also other innovative indexes of quality of life. The second list of rankings covers how citizens are being served or abused by their governments, on a country to country basis. The third group of rankings gives examples of how the nine selected countries perform as global partners to the rest of the world. The final set of rankings serves to illustrate how well the nine countries are managing in terms of stabilizing the current crisis of climate and ecology.
Some of this information may surprise you. Some may disturb you. Ultimately, I hope it makes you question the role of big corporations and unresponsive governments in your life. How have we allowed them to degrade the quality of our lives and our planet so readily?
We are not alone in asking these questions and it is not being unpatriotic to ask them. US civil rights advocate Van Jones says: "The United States has the power to be a huge obstacle to planetary survival - or a giant springboard to planetary salvation. A better America is the best gift we can offer the world. Yet caring Americans will never give the world that gift if they are holding their noses and handling the flag like a used tissue." (The Global Warming Reader, p. 216)
1) Overall Quality of Life:
i) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
World leader: Norway (1)
USA (3)
New Zealand (6)
Canada (11)
Denmark (15)
Cuba (59)
Philippines (114)
Haiti (161)
Afghanistan (175 out of 187)
ii) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE WHERE TO BE BORN INDEX
World leader: Switzerland (1)
Denmark (5)
Canada (9)
USA (16)
Cuba (40)
Philippines (63 out of 80)
iii) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE SOCIAL PROGRESS INDEX
World leader: New Zealand (1)
Canada (7)
Denmark (9)
USA (16)
Philippines (56)
Cuba (79 out of 132)
iv) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE HAPPY PLANET INDEX
World leader: Costa Rica (1)
Cuba (12)
Philippines (25)
New Zealand (28)
Canada (65)
Haiti (78)
USA (105)
Afghanistan (109)
Denmark (110 out of 151)
2) Serving the Needs of Citizens:
i) RANKING ACCORDING TO THE GLOBAL PEACE INDEX
World leader: Iceland (1)
Denmark (2)
New Zealand (3)
Canada (8)
Cuba (65)
Haiti (92)
USA (100)
Philippines (129)
North Korea (154)
Somalia (161)
Afghanistan (162 out of 162)
ii) RANKING BY HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS (2000)
World leader: France (1)
Canada (30)
Denmark (35)
USA (37)
Cuba (40)
New Zealand (42)
Philippines (61)
Haiti (138)
Afghanistan (173 out of 190)
iii) COMPARISONS OF PARENTAL LEAVE AT CHILDBIRTH
World leader: Sweden - 480 days for mother and father with 77.8% of regular income
Denmark - 52 weeks shared by both parents with 100% of regular income
Canada - 50 weeks for the mother, 35 weeks shared with the father with 55% of regular income
Cuba - 18 weeks maternal leave with 100%
Afghanistan - 90 days maternal leave with 100% of regular income
New Zealand - 14 weeks maternal leave with 100% of regular income, 2 weeks for father at 0%
Somalia - 14 weeks maternal leave with 50% of regular income
Philippines - 60 days maternal leave, 7 days for the father with 100% of regular income
Haiti - 12 weeks maternal leave with 100%, plus 6 weeks at 0% of regular income
USA - no right of p.l. (Only USA, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland have no p.l.)
iv) RANKING BY LIFE EXPECTANCY
World leader: Monaco (1) - 85.3 years
Canada (13) - 82.5 years
New Zealand (18) - 81.7 years
USA (35) - 79.8 years
Denmark (37) - 79.5 years
Cuba (38) - 79.4 years
Philippines (112) - 73 years
North Korea (132) - 69 years
Haiti (155) - 63 years
Afghanistan (164) - 60 years
Somalia (190 out of 193) - 50 years
v) RANKING BY DEMOCRACY
World leader: Norway (1)
Denmark (5)
New Zealand (8)
Canada (13)
USA (15)
Philippines (55)
Haiti (104 out of 115)
vi) RANKING BY MINIMUM WAGE
World leader: Australia (1) - US$16.88 per hour
New Zealand (3) - US$11.18 per hour
Canada (5) - US$9.75 per hour
USA (7) - US$7.25 per hour
Philippines (19) - US$.61 per hour
Afghanistan (20 of 22) - US$.57 per hour
vii) RANKING BY INCOME EQUALITY
World leader: Sweden (1)
Denmark (5)
Afghanistan (16)
Canada (28)
New Zealand (49)
Philippines (90)
USA (91)
Haiti (121 out of 126)
viii) RANKING BY PRESS FREEDOMS
World leader: Finland (1)
Denmark (7)
New Zealand (9)
Canada (18)
USA (46)
Haiti (47)
Afghanistan (128)
Philippines (149)
Cuba (170)
Somalia (176)
North Korea (179 out of 180)
ix) RANKING BY CORRUPTION
World leaders (least corrupt): Denmark/New Zealand (1)
Canada (9)
USA (13)
Philippines (56)
Haiti (103)
Cuba (122)
Afghanistan (139)
Somalia (147)
North Korea (150 out of 150)
x) RANKING BY PRISONERS PER 100,000 POPULATION
World leader (highest): USA (1) - 716
Cuba (5) - 510
New Zealand (74) - 193
Canada (130) - 118
Philippines (134) - 113
Haiti (152) - 95
Afghanistan (171) - 74
Denmark (178 out of 223) - 68
xi) COMPARISONS OF THE DEATH PENALTY
World leader (highest usage): China (1) - more than 2,000 executed in the last recorded year
USA (5) - 43 executed in the last recorded year
Afghanistan (8) - 14 executed in the last recorded year
North Korea/Somalia (11) - 6 executed in the last recorded year
Cuba - moratorium - last execution in 2003
Philippines - abolished in 2006
New Zealand - abolished in 1989
Haiti - abolished in 1987
Denmark - abolished in 1978
Canada - abolished in 1976
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
3) Governments Acting as a Good Global Partners
i) ACTIONS ON THE KYOTO ENVIRONMENTAL ACCORD (1997)
Afghanistan - ratified in 2013
Canada - pulled out in 2011
Cuba - ratified in 2002
Denmark - ratified in 2002
Haiti - ratified in 2005
New Zealand - ratified in 2002
North Korea - ratified in 2005
Philippines - ratified in 2003
Somalia - ratified in 2010
USA - not ratified
ii) PARTICIPATION IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT & NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONES
Afghanistan - ratified 1968 treaty
Canada - ratified 1968 treaty
Cuba - ratified 1968 treaty in 2002, is a nuclear weapons free zone
Denmark - ratified 1968 treaty
Haiti - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
New Zealand - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
North Korea - withdrew from treaty in 2003, is believed to have 10 nuclear weapons
Philippines - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
Somalia - ratified 1968 treaty, is a nuclear weapons free zone
USA - retains 7,700 nuclear warheads with no plans of disarming in violation of nuke NP treaty
iii) PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY INVASIONS AND OCCUPATIONS SINCE 2005
Afghanistan - occupied by western armed forces since 2003
Canada - Afghanistan, Haiti
Cuba - none
Denmark - Afghanistan
Haiti - occupied by armed forces of Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and others since 2004
New Zealand - Afghanistan
North Korea - none
Philippines - none
Somalia - occupied by Ethiopian army 2007-09
USA - Iraq, Afghanistan
iv) PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Afghanistan - yes
Canada - yes
Cuba - no
Denmark - yes
Haiti - no
New Zealand - yes
North Korea - no
Philippines - yes
Somalia - no
USA - no
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
4) Preserving the Integrity of the Earth's Climates and Ecosystems
i) RANKING BY ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS
World leader (smallest ecological footprint): Afghanistan (1)
Haiti (2)
Philippines (17)
Cuba (63)
New Zealand (112)
Canada (140)
USA (145)
Denmark (147 out of 151)
ii) HOME BASES OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO) CORPORATIONS
Afghanistan - none
Cuba - none
Canada - none
Denmark - none, GMOs banned
Haiti - none
New Zealand - none
North Korea - none
Philippines - none
Somalia - none
USA - Cargill (Minnetonka, Minn.), Dupont (Wilmington, Del.), Monsanto (Creve Couer, Mo.)
iii) ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE EARTH, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE
Afghanistan - Safe the Environment - Afghanistan
Canada - David Suzuki Foundation
Cuba - Green Cuba
Denmark - Danish Organization for Renewable Energy
Haiti - Organization for the Renewal of the Environment
New Zealand - ECO
Philippines - Haribon Foundation
Somalia - SEPADO
USA - Bioneers
This is the fifth in a series of six articles about the urgent need for action on our climate crisis. Previous articles may be accessed here: 1) The Path of Spiritual and Political Engagement, 2) Yogi Bhajan on America's Defective Democracy, 3) Ecology Begins Within, 4) The Great Game.
LOVE TO ALL! PEACE TO ALL! LIFE TO ALL!
