What is the Worst Country in the World?

[BPSCG]

We all know which one we think is best - our own, natch - but which one is the worst?

[CP489]

Gotta be somewhere in Africa. Though I don't have the qualifications to determine which would be the worst among them.

(Hell, I can't even tell the Judicial from the Legislative) :)

[Elind]

We all know which one we think is best - our own, natch - but which one is the worst?
Same question as I posed above. For whom? You think everyone is equal, eh?;)

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Gotta be somewhere in Africa. Though I don't have the qualifications to determine which would be the worst among them.

(Hell, I can't even tell the Judicial from the Legislative) :)

Somalia seems to be putting in a strong bid.

Although can you really call somewhere that has no effective central government a country?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/somalia/default.stm

[gnome]

What? The US isn't on the list? How am I supposed to be an America-hating liberal if I can't vote them on this list?

(BTW, voted for Somalia... just found it at the top of my list of places I don't want to live...)

[BPSCG]

Same question as I posed above. For whom? You think everyone is equal, eh?;)I'd say the worst is whatever country qualifies as the least desireable country in the list that you'd want to live in.

Somalia gets my vote. Palestine was close, but at least there the people who aren't getting shot up in the civil war aren't being starved to death.

[webfusion]

Although can you really call somewhere that has no effective central government a country?

Ditto for palestine/gaza/west bank.

[BPSCG]

What? The US isn't on the list? How am I supposed to be an America-hating liberal if I can't vote them on this list?What part of "Other" didn't you understand...? :rolleyes:

[Luke T.]

I gotta go with Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

[Rob Lister]

Acterarally, for the majority of the world the worst country in the world has got to be the U.S. elsewise all other nations would not expend so much political energy damning us so.

I can't say as I blame them...we do, afterall, host the U.N.

[Jaggy Bunnet]

I gotta go with Haiti or the Dominican Republic.

Care to expand?

I am currently reading Collapse by Jared Diamond and he spends a fair amount of time explaining why the two countries are very different (Dominican Republic in a far better position than Haiti) so am interested as to your views.

According to the UN Human Development Index, the Dominican Republic is "better" than Jamaica at 95th compared to Haiti at 153rd.

[Wudang]

England - it's got Portsmouth.

[Elind]

I'd say the worst is whatever country qualifies as the least desireable country in the list that you'd want to live in.

Somalia gets my vote. Palestine was close, but at least there the people who aren't getting shot up in the civil war aren't being starved to death.

But you miss my point; or at the very least ignore it.

The worst countries for some are the best possible countries for others, which is why they are the worst for some. What's the criteria?

This conversation will get boring fast if we start lists of GDP or birth survival.

I'd say that if I could live well in the USA I could live like a King in some African countries, bodyguards and all.

Millions of Mexicans, and others, think the US is the best possible place to live. Does that make Mexico one of the worst, just based on numbers of feet voting?

Just for speculation, for me, one of the best would be one of the worst, where I could buy whatever I wanted by bribing whoever I wanted, and have anyone who objected killed.

Seriously, anyone who says the US is not the best (in one thread) and that the US is the worst in this one, should be shot, or at the very least renditioned to whatever country they voted as the worst, where I might greet them at the airport.:cool:

[Meadmaker]

If there's anyplace worse than Saudi Arabia, I can't get there without dying. (See sig for details.)

[RandFan]

I think you reach a point where comparison simply breaks down. I watched a series of videos smuggled out of North Korea and I gotta say that would be a pretty awful place to live. Is Somalia or the Sudan worse? How would you come to that conclusion? I voted North Korea to ensure it was included as a place that someone thought that it was the worst place.

I wish dear leader would die a painful death...prick.

[BPSCG]

If there's anyplace worse than Saudi Arabia, I can't get there without dying. (See sig for details.)What does ducks have to do with Saudi Arabia?

FWIW, retired USAF friend was last stationed in Saudi. Loved it. 'Course, he had two stars on his shoulders, so I imagine they did a fair amount of sucking up to him that they wouldn't do to most people.

[Elind]

If there's anyplace worse than Saudi Arabia, I can't get there without dying. (See sig for details.)

Wrong. It's definitely one of the better ones as long as you are not a woman who insists on driving everywhere. But who cares? Gas is cheap and Pakistani drivers are too.

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

I had to vote for North Korea if for no other reason than the fact that they are pointing a whole crapload of artillery in my general direction. Plus, there are a lot of poor starving countries, but the 1984esque society in North Korea brings them to a whole new level in my book.

[BPSCG]

I think you reach a point where comparison simply breaks down. I watched a series of videos smuggled out of North Korea and I gotta say that would be a pretty awful place to live. Is Somalia or the Sudan worse? How would you come to that conclusion? I voted North Korea to ensure it was included as a place that someone thought that it was the worst place.

I wish dear leader would die a painful death...prick.Yeah, NK is dreadful, but it seems to me if you keep your head down and join the army, you can live reasonably comfortably, i.e., you have a dry place to sleep at night and you won't starve to death and you won't be executed for thought crime. Just be very, very careful not to step out of line...

Somalia, OTOH, there's no "safe" side to pick in the war, you can get shot by the other side, or, if you're a civilian, by both sides, and if they don't shoot you to death, they starve you to death.

[Rob Lister]

I wish to be King of Antarctica.

We will be a fully nuclear based society. We will store all nuclear waste from all willing nations...cheap...erm...cheap at any price.

We'll live in huge, mall-size igloos with hydroponic gardens...some devoted specifically to weed (must supplement the waste market).

Prostitution and gambling will be not only legal, but requried...how else to get the aging tourist to visit.

It will be a partially theist state...all church igloos will be located only 12 miles...erm...more south. I'm a strong believer in zoning. Bus service limited so make your reservations.

Should any nation not recognize us...fine. No harm. Feel free.

Gun rights? Goes with prostitution and gambling. You gotta own something at least as deadly as a Clint Eastwood S&M 44 just to get to vote. Wanna run for office? You'll need a frigging tank (with an oil heater).

Should any nation war against us...that's fine too. Good luck on your recruitment and equipment.

[SezMe]

I think you reach a point where comparison simply breaks down. I watched a series of videos smuggled out of North Korea and I gotta say that would be a pretty awful place to live.
Are they available for viewing on the net? Or by other means?

[Tony]

I think you reach a point where comparison simply breaks down. I watched a series of videos smuggled out of North Korea and I gotta say that would be a pretty awful place to live.

Are those videos online?

I voted Somalia.

[Morrigan]

I voted NK, for reasons outlined above (the creepy grey Orwellian feel). It's a real ********.
But, to be fair, Somalia or Sierra Leone look to be quite ghastly too. Ravaged by civil war, controlled by warlords, little to no infrastructure and resources, starvation, AIDS... Yeah, a ******** all right.
I guess I voted NK because, I think it's probably easier to get out of the aforementioned countries than NK. As I said, it's really a creepy place.

[RandFan]

Are they available for viewing on the net? Or by other means?

Are those videos online?

I voted Somalia.

They probably are available. I saw them on satellite. The people who shot the videos did so at risk to their lives. IIRC one individual returned to North Korea to shoot more footage and has not been seen or heard from since. It's been over a year but I think I saw them on IFCTV (http://www.ifctv.com/ifc/home?referer=http://www.ifctv.com%2Fifc%2Findex). There was an entire week of these kinds of videos. And they were shown without commercial interruption. It could have been Showtime or HBO.

They were pretty depressing. I'll take some time to try and find them.

FWIW, there were also some documentaries and independent films of Cuba. I would take Cuba over NK any day.

[Jaggy Bunnet]

I guess I voted NK because, I think it's probably easier to get out of the aforementioned countries than NK. As I said, it's really a creepy place.

An interesting point that I had not considered. Might need to think further.

[Morrigan]

An interesting point that I had not considered. Might need to think further.
Yeah. I admit I haven't researched them properly, though. I merely made a deduction based on my limited knowledge of NK politics. I do know that there are Somalian immigrants in many first world countries, at least, and NK's borders seem completely sealed off and there is little to no freedom of movement. :|

[RandFan]

Yeah. I admit I haven't researched them properly, though. I merely made a deduction based on my limited knowledge of NK politics. I do know that there are Somalian immigrants in many first world countries, at least, and NK's borders seem completely sealed off and there is little to no freedom of movement. :|It is possible to get in and out accross the Yalu river which is the Chinese border. Getting caught trying to cross can get you killed.

[gumboot]

Eeek...

A hard one. I'll have to go with Iran in the end, I think. I just couldn't handle living in an overly religious-oppressive society. At least in the more anarchic societies there's something of a "free-for-all" which gives you the opportunity of success if you're eeeeevil enough.

But it is a hard choice... there should be an option "all of the above".

-Andrew

[Zep]

For me, NK.

Paraphrasing Luke Skywalker:

"If there's a bright centre to the universe, [NK] is the point furthest from it."


But then I'm the sort of person who would try to change all that if I was to magically arrive there without notice.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Denmark.

They have terrible beer and no team in the World Cup.

[American]

I heard Paraguay was rated worst (by... someone).

I know a guy who was in Indonesia, and he swore that was the worst. Giant open sewers and horribly dense populations.

[Dr Adequate]

I voted "other" non-frivolously, 'cos I immediately thought of China.

Its evil is multiplied by the fact that it is so f***ing big and has a billion people in it.

They are those to whom the most evil is done.

[David Swidler]

I heard Paraguay was rated worst (by... someone).

I know a guy who was in Indonesia, and he swore that was the worst. Giant open sewers and horribly dense populations.

That describes the major Gaza Strip population centers, as well.

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

It is possible to get in and out accross the Yalu river which is the Chinese border. Getting caught trying to cross can get you killed.

Not to split hairs, but actually the most common escape route for North Koreans is across the Tumen river as opposed to the Yalu. The Tumen is shallower and more narrow, and freezes in the winter, making it easier to cross. It is also located further north in a less populated region.

[RandFan]

Not to split hairs, but actually the most common escape route for North Koreans is across the Tumen river as opposed to the Yalu. The Tumen is shallower and more narrow, and freezes in the winter, making it easier to cross. It is also located further north in a less populated region. I was writting that from memory and I did look it up on google to confirm it was a possible escape route.

Thank you

[President Bush]

I know a guy who was in Indonesia, and he swore that was the worst.
Muck diving in the Lembeh Straits... looks like the Hieronymus Bosch family's radioactive dump, so many burnt-out looking mishapen fish silently chewing a turd.

[StewartP]

Which idiot voted for France? It's gorgeous here

[Cheesejoff]

Tied between Iraq, because there is war going on there, Iran, because it's a theocracy, and the US just cos it's trendy to hate America.

[Ian Osborne]

England - it's got Portsmouth.
Are you from Southampton, by any chance? Good luck in the Championship next season.

I'd go for Liberia. Civil war, no one's safe, no feasible means of leaving for somewhere better.

[BPSCG]

Which idiot voted for France? It's gorgeous hereNobody, yet, as far as I can see. I just made it an option because everyone keeps going on about how much they hate the French.

[BPSCG]

I voted Somalia.Really? :eye-poppi

I mean, with your nonstop rants about the evils and dangers of a hypothetical brutal theocracy in the U.S., I'd have figured you'd pick Iran, where they really do have a brutal theocracy.

What, is your problem only with Christian theocracies? :confused:

[Ian Osborne]

Maybe he just thinks constant civil war and no law and order is even worse...

[StewartP]

Nobody, yet, as far as I can see. I just made it an option because everyone keeps going on about how much they hate the French.

Ah. I was misled by the graph. It shows a little block next to Fance even tho votes are zero. And we can't dislike a country merely because it has apalling inhabitants, I mean, where will it end?

I voted Zimbabwe because I have kept in touch with the situation there since I left. It's a nightmare. Inflation rate at 1000%, not to mention the civil rights viaolations, no free press, mass emigration etc etc.

http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/

[Fengirl]

Whether one is male or female may affect one's opinion of which is the worst country. As a woman, I have to say that Somalia would be higher on my list of "places I would not want to be" than most others listed. In addition to the self-evident horrors of living in a country ravaged by 15 years of war, there is massive violence against women - rape, torture, kidnap, forced marriage - not to mention sexual mutilation in the form of forced female "circumcision" . For all North Korea's failings, it at least has some sort of sexual equality law. For women, Somalia must be one of the very worst places in the world.

[Wudang]

[quote=Ian Osborne;1735339]Are you from Southampton, by any chance?
[quote]
No, I lived in Portsmouth for 15 years.

[Jorghnassen]

Coming from a country that at least used to be le plus meilleur pays du monde (to quote its then prime minister), it's really hard to pick a "worst" country, as there are too many criteria to consider and weigh. Sometimes I'm just glad the world is so far away (to quote Susanita in Quino's Mafalda).

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Really? :eye-poppi

I mean, with your nonstop rants about the evils and dangers of a hypothetical brutal theocracy in the U.S., I'd have figured you'd pick Iran, where they really do have a brutal theocracy.

What, is your problem only with Christian theocracies? :confused:

Fear not, Somalia has some of the trappings of such a theocracy.

Death by stoning, amputation of limbs etc are all already taken place.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5120730.stm

[Shevek-72]

I vote Belgium. Total superfluous obstacle on the way to either france or GB. Horrible motorways, cherry beer and I don't even want to mention Brussels...

:D

[Nyarlathotep]

I had to go with Somalia. It has the whole package, government corruption, religious fanaticism, crushing poverty, a decent chance of getting shot on any given day, starvation, disease, everything that one does NOT want in a country..

[Trantor]

Nobody, yet, as far as I can see. I just made it an option because everyone keeps going on about how much they hate the French.

My family has always voted Republican. My father has told me that he would never vote for a Democrat, even if Mickey Mouse was the Republican Cadidate. I consider myself an Independent and have voted for whom ever I consider the best person, regardless of Party. Needless to say, this situation has produced some political arguments between my father and me.

My father hates the French. He claims they are a bunch of Communists and they hate America. I remember when France decided not to join our little war in Iraq, he had many nasty things to say about them. I've tried to find out why he feels this way, but I never get a reasonable response. Like many hard-boiled Republicans, I think it's simply mental conditioning.

He told me more than once about how the US saved France in WW2 and how they owe us and need to show more respect. He once asked me what France ever did for us? I answered that there was this little matter of the Revolutionary War and how without France's help, there would have been no Independence - at least not at that time. France also helped during the War of 1812 by keeping the British attention mostly on them and not us. Even so, the British still managed to capture and burn Washington DC and could have done far worst if their full attention was directed at the US.

Well, you probably guessed correctly that my father wouldn't even listen to that type of argument from me. France is very very BAD. If Rove says it, it must be so!:D

[rocketdodger]

Somalia, OTOH, there's no "safe" side to pick in the war, you can get shot by the other side, or, if you're a civilian, by both sides, and if they don't shoot you to death, they starve you to death.

Yeah, but OTOH, as you say, you can just walk out of somalia if you don't like it. North Korea really is 1984, probably even worse. I saw the program Elind mentioned, with the smuggled videos... that place is simply nightmarish. You must not have seen it BPSCG, because if you did I think you would have voted for NK.

[BPSCG]

Yeah, but OTOH, as you say, you can just walk out of somalia if you don't like it.Into Ethiopia...

Okay, Kenya, too.
North Korea really is 1984, probably even worse. I saw the program Elind mentioned, with the smuggled videos... that place is simply nightmarish. You must not have seen it BPSCG, because if you did I think you would have voted for NK.I haven't seen it, but I have seen links to a bunch of sites with photos of NK. I admit it's eerie-looking, but my point is, in NK, you can have a strategy for survival that gives you a pretty good chance to stay alive and reasonably healthy: join the army, smile, and shut up, except when you're supposed to cheer for the Dear Leader.

Somalia has no such options. You have an excellent chance of ending up horribly dead no matter which side you choose, or even if you choose no side at all.

ETA: Someone picked France!

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Yeah, but OTOH, as you say, you can just walk out of somalia if you don't like it.

Not entirely true. If you don't have the cash to pay to get through the checkpoints you are going nowhere. And if you do have the cash you won't have it for long because someone with a gun will take all your possessions from you.

So with no money to get through the checkpoints, you cannot go anywhere.

"They walk about the streets and ask you for your possessions - they will shoot you if you do not give everything up. I only hope crime becomes a priority.

The Islamic checkpoints will stop you and check for arms. The other checkpoints ask for money and unless you pay, you cannot travel on that highway."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5095308.stm

[Jaggy Bunnet]

My father hates the French. He claims they are a bunch of Communists and they hate America. I remember when France decided not to join our little war in Iraq, he had many nasty things to say about them.

You mean in the way the US rushed to the aid of the French at the start of WWI in 1917 and WW2 in 1941?

If the US will insist on winning all its wars (if not the resulting peaces) so quickly you can hardly blame the French if they do not manage to hop on the bandwagon in time.

[Trantor]

You mean in the way the US rushed to the aid of the French at the start of WWI in 1917 and WW2 in 1941?

If the US will insist on winning all its wars (if not the resulting peaces) so quickly you can hardly blame the French if they do not manage to hop on the bandwagon in time.

Well, it does look like France had the right idea. They didn't think there was a good enough reason to get involved in Iraq, and they were right. They made the smart choice, based on the available evidence at the time - unlike us.

I once asked my father if the situation were reversed what would we do? If France attacked some third world country for their own reasons and asked for the US to commit troops to their cause, would there be flag waving for the French War here in the US? His answer - HELL NO!!

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Well, it does look like France had the right idea. They didn't think there was a good enough reason to get involved in Iraq,

And I'm sure there extremely large oil contracts did not influence their thinking either way.

[Katana]

North Korea with Somalia a close second.

[Trantor]

And I'm sure there extremely large oil contracts did not influence their thinking either way.

Yeah they had business arrangements with Iraq. So did many others, including US big oil companies. Iraq has the second biggest oil reserves in the world; I'm sure they would do business with anyone willing to buy. From what I've read lately, far less oil has been flowing out of Iraq then at any time during the Saddam Era. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but these much higher oil prices seemed to started rising soon after the war began.

[Crow T. Robot]

FWIW, there were also some documentaries and independent films of Cuba. I would take Cuba over NK any day.


I go to church with several ex-Cubans. Their descriptions of day to day life there are not all that bad. They primarily left for political and religious freedom, and they DO want to get their relatives out. They seemed to have food to eat, healthcare, education, etc. Some things are actually better'n the US, like hurricane preparedness. The place is no picnic, but I don't think a major sector of the population is resorting to eating grass, like the peasants in NK.

[BPSCG]

From what I've read lately, far less oil has been flowing out of Iraq then at any time during the Saddam Era. Iraq says oil production at highest since invasion. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2116993)

[rocketdodger]

Somalia has no such options. You have an excellent chance of ending up horribly dead no matter which side you choose, or even if you choose no side at all.


Ok I agree then, with qualifiers. If the question is "what is the worst country in the world to be dropped in" I would say NK, but if it is "what is the worst country to actually stay and try to live in" I would agree that somalia takes the cake.

[Trantor]

BPSCG,

That is good news, if the figures reported by the new Iraqi government are correct. It's still lower than when Saddam was there, but I do hope they can turn it around. The Oil Minister wants to rival the Saudi's. I think that's a great goal, but achieving it may be more difficult than he may lead us to believe. Iraq is not in a stable position right now and it doesn't look good for the future. In my opinion, the most likely scenario may be the splitting of Iraq into three individually functioning parts, so the oil resources will be divided by region. What that may mean is anybody's guess. I hope the oil flows to rival the Saudi's - that will probably mean that my gasoline cost will drop. I just have trouble believing all the great news coming from Iraq - especially from people with a vested interest in having good news come out of Iraq. Time will tell; let's hope for the best.

In the meantime, let's work very hard on becoming more energy self-sufficient, so we don't need the Middle East oil as much. Brazil is a good example on what we need to start doing. Chavez uses oil in order to control other countries. Just recently, he offered Brazil a deal, with strings attached. Brazil is almost self-sufficient now and plans to be totally self-sufficient by 2009. They told Chavez - "Thanks, but we don't need your oil". I like that!

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Which idiot voted for France? It's gorgeous here

Yes, but it's populated with French people.

[RandFan]

My family has always voted Republican. My father has told me that he would never vote for a Democrat, even if Mickey Mouse was the Republican Cadidate.

...

Like many hard-boiled Republicans, I think it's simply mental conditioning. Hmmm...

By the by, 2000 turned me into a yellow dog democrat and if God (no I don't believe, but...) herself came down and ran as a repooplican I would vote for whatever ran against. Perhaps it is the same for hard-boild Democrats, ya think?

[empeake]

Andorra.
It must be terrible to live in a country we're not even sure exists. Do you know somebody who's actually seen it? I think it's another myth, like Atlantis and El Dorado.

The Vatican
Available attractive single females = 0
Available attractive single males = 0 (for those with tastes different from mine).

[kittynh]

People leave North Korea for the prosperity and safety of communist China. And they are ending up in a really rural backward part of China. But it looks like heaven to them.

I just think it's kind of interesting that China has a problem with "aliens" sneaking over their borders.

[Tmy]

Howz about one of those really cold countries? I cant take year round cold!

[Dcdrac]

Clacton

[davefoc]

I voted for Zimbabwe. I thought it might be the big vote getter in this poll.

Now I wonder if all the sensational stories about mugabe tearing down people's houses and businesses and kicking them out into the country without any resources exaggerate how bad the place is or maybe north korea wins just because of the longer term problems of mass starvation and totalitarian government actions.

What we need here are numbers. What is the per capita misery index in Zimbabwe versus the per capita misery index in North Korea?

[mamapajamas]

It depends on the definition of "worst".

As I understand the responses, for being a generally all-around dangerous place to be, I voted for Somolia.

However, if "worst" were defined as sheer, bungling ineptitude, I would have to go for France.

[Mycroft]

Nobody, yet, as far as I can see. I just made it an option because everyone keeps going on about how much they hate the French.

Well, the people sure. The country is beautiful.

[BPSCG]

Nobody, yet, as far as I can see. I just made it an option because everyone keeps going on about how much they hate the French. Well, the people sure. The country is beautiful.France has almost as many votes right now as Zimbabwe. :jaw-dropp

[davefoc]

[size=1] France has almost as many votes right now as Zimbabwe. :jaw-dropp
I think it can be reasonably inferred that this is the routine backround noise in polls caused by a contingent of wise ass poll participants.

It doesn't seem likely that anybody that has participated in this poll if given a choice between living in Zimbabwe or France would move to Zimbabwe.

For what it's worth my daughter just spent a year in France and we visited her once (we met Flo of JREF in Switzerland) and it looked like a pretty nice place to live to me. The religious zealots appear to have succeeded in keeping some of the shops closed on the Champs Ellysees on Sunday. Some might see this as not quite as bad as the government going through town and razing businesses to the ground for the hell of it like in Zimbabwe, but to each his own.

[Mycroft]

[SIZE=1] France has almost as many votes right now as Zimbabwe. :jaw-dropp

You started a trend. They're only doing it now to be funny. :)

[Nyarlathotep]

[SIZE=1] France has almost as many votes right now as Zimbabwe. :jaw-dropp

And more than Haiti. Somalia might be worse, but Haiti is pretty high on the list of places I don't wanna go, too. I know given a choice of France or Haiti which one I would pick....

[Dcdrac]

Clacton is defitiely the worst place on Earth:

http://www.clactontour.co.uk/

[hodgy]

I think it can be reasonably inferred that this is the routine backround noise in polls caused by a contingent of wise ass poll participants.

It doesn't seem likely that anybody that has participated in this poll if given a choice between living in Zimbabwe or France would move to Zimbabwe.

For what it's worth my daughter just spent a year in France and we visited her once (we met Flo of JREF in Switzerland) and it looked like a pretty nice place to live to me. The religious zealots appear to have succeeded in keeping some of the shops closed on the Champs Ellysees on Sunday. Some might see this as not quite as bad as the government going through town and razing businesses to the ground for the hell of it like in Zimbabwe, but to each his own.

True, but Zimbabwe's currassiers didn't try to break the British squares at Waterloo.

[DanishDynamite]

[SIZE=1] France has almost as many votes right now as Zimbabwe. :jaw-dropp
Says a bit more about the nature of the voters than it does about anything else.

[Kopji]

IMHO the creepiest country in the world 'by far' is a friendly little place called Turkmenistan. No list of wacky places would be complete without it.

The depressing thing is that Niyazov makes Saddam look like an enlightened and wise ruler. Yet Niyazov is an ally so he is OUR despotic lunatic.

http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=19591&sec=58&cont=7

(It think they sell us oil, or it might be airbases. I forget what makes them allies.)

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Andorra.
It must be terrible to live in a country we're not even sure exists. Do you know somebody who's actually seen it? I think it's another myth, like Atlantis and El Dorado.


I've been there. Imagine if you will a massive building site (huge amount of accommodation being built to house more skiers), surrounding a massive shopping centre with garages everywhere (taxes are much lower than France/Spain so a lot of people drive there to buy fuel).

Strange place but a lot nicer than my description makes it sound.

[empeake]

I've been there. Imagine if you will a massive building site (huge amount of accommodation being built to house more skiers), surrounding a massive shopping centre with garages everywhere...
Are you sure it wasn't EuroDisney?

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Are you sure it wasn't EuroDisney?

Yes, things got cheaper when you went in not more expensive.

[empeake]

Yes, things got cheaper when you went in not more expensive.
Then you must have been set up by the same guys that faked the lunar landing. Not your fault. They're really good at what they do. Had us all fooled for a while.