When asked where is the happiest place on Earth, you might have said “Disneyland” but, according to North Korea’s state-controlled media, it is China . . . followed in close second by North Korea.
It turns out that China is the happiest country in the world (100/100) and North Korea is only two points behind as the the 2nd happiest (98/100). It is amazing what a difference a few hundred feet and a communist regime can make. South Korea is only the 152nd happiest in the world (18/100). As for the US, it is so low in happiest (203rd) that is has no score.
According to the Human Rights Watch, the making of the second happiest place on Earth takes a careful balance. First, you must have 150,000 to 200,000 prisoners. You then add systemic torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical experimentation, forced labour, and forced abortions. You then imprison people within your borders to leaving. Voilà, you have one of the happiest place on Earth.
Source: Hangu as first seen on Reddit
China Gitmo….take your choice….
Say what you will, you can’t get good Kung Poa Chicken just anywhere.
Hey! The Masters Of the Universe are doing their best to make America as happy a place as the DPRK. Sure we still have a long way to go but they have us well on our way.
Yep. As Frank noted, we’re “well on our way.”
A good time to revisit an old Greenwald column…
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/04/19/priorities/index.html
Tuesday, Apr 19, 2011 13:20 ET
Priorities in the Land of the Free
By Glenn Greenwald
Millions of Americans are without jobs and are having their homes foreclosed. The U.S. is currently fighting three out-in-the-open wars (or, if you prefer, one war, one occupation, and one kinetic humanitarian intervention) and several other covert ones. Financial and political elites are preparing to tell Americans (quite unpersuasively) that they have to sacrifice Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements because the U.S. debt is so large and unmanageable that it threatens to subvert America’s superior creditworthiness. And we’re constantly told that civil liberties erosions are necessary to combat the Great Menace of Domestic Terrorism. So what is our political class focused on, and to what are law enforcement resources being devoted? …adult pornography…and online poker… (end excerpt)
So many misplaced priorities, so little time…
Timmy Pawlenty awoke from one of his perpetual naps yesterday to announce that the only thing he would not cut is the defense budget. We already spend more on our military that the entire rest of the world combined. Think about that for a minute – 6+ billion people on earth and this group of 350 million outspends the other 5 and 2/3 billion combined. And there is no place to cut a penny from that. So everything else must go.
If you asked morons like Timmy and his ilk why DPRK is in such bad shape they would tell you that the country spend too much on maintaining its military and its leader and too little attention on the plight of it citizens. The irony would be completely lost on them.
Bette not say anyplace but Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth!” Disney has lots of lawyers, and they’re mean ones. Happy, but mean.
Bette Noir said:
“Disney has lots of lawyers, and they’re mean ones. Happy, but mean.”
My best friend is an electrical engineer at Disneyland. His favorite saying is, “It takes a ton of us miserable, highly-stressed groundhogs to make this a happy place. Inside every costume is an employee with ulcers.”
Seems as good a thread as any to say “Happy Memorial Day!” to all here on the best blog; with a special wish for Rafflaw. Remembering all who have served, most especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice; and still hoping all in harm’s way will be home soon.
“Day After Tomorrow” by Tom Waits
I got your letter today
And I miss you all so much, here
I can’t wait to see you all
And I’m counting the days, dear
I still believe that there’s gold
At the end of the world
And I’ll come home
To Illinois
On the day after tomorrow
It is so hard
And it’s cold here
And I’m tired of taking orders
And I miss old Rockford town
Up by the Wisconsin border
But I miss, you won’t believe
Shoveling snow and raking leaves
And my plane will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies
Everyone buys
About what it means to be a soldier
I still don’t know how I’m supposed to feel
About all the blood that’s been spilled
Look out on the street
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow
You can’t deny the other side
Don’t want to die
Any more than we do
What I’m trying to say
Is don’t they pray
To the same God that we do?
Tell me, how does God choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who turns the wheel?
And who throws the dice?
On the day after tomorrow?
Mmmmmmmmmmmm….
I am not fighting
For justice
I am not fighting
For freedom
I am fighting
For my life
And another day
In the world here
I just do what I’ve been told
Your just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky one’s come home
On the day after tomorrow
And the summer
It too will fade
And with it brings the winter frost, dear
And I know we too are made
Of all the things that we have lost here
I’ll be twenty-one today
I’ve been saving all my pay
And my plane will touch down
On the day after tomorrow
Sorry I was trying to link to a video of the “Memorial Mile” with this song as soundtrack. Here is another attempt, different video.
see what you’ll agree to under waterboarding.
besides how many of the people asked have ever been anywhere else
Everyone knows that Wheatland WY, is the happiest place on earth. I’ve been there many times, and never seen anyone that wasn’t smiling. Of course I’ve never actually seen anyone in Wheatland…
the jefferson memorial must not be a happy place
North Korea sells t-shirts and coffee mugs in the United States via http://www.cafepress.com/kfashop .
200,000 prisoners huh?
Well at least by that metric, the US should be pretty happy too, last count some 2,400,000 prisoners.
Gary T:
the coffee mugs would be good for target practice.
I wonder if they can start selling full face pictures of their dear leader as well, preferably in a pack of 10. You never know when company will show up.