The Best Place in the World

Where is the best place in the world? What is the best country to live in? Where would you move, if you could? What do you think? Well I know what I think....

Sweden is "The most successful society the world has ever known" according the The Guardian. Other Scandinavian countries are close runner-ups.

Vexen Crabtree Best Country in the World Rankings:

#1 Sweden 1683 points
#2 Denmark 1598 points
#3 Netherlands 1572 points
#4 Finland 1514 points
#5 Germany 1422 points
#6 UK 1407 points
#7 Canada 1373 points
#8 Switzerland 1326 points
#9 Norway 1320 points
#10 Belgium 1208 points

The USA doesn't even make the top 10. I live in the UK and well I am surprised that we rank higher than Canada and especially Norway. Well I am very happy that I have a Swedish passport!

Let's break down the ranking and see the details...

Best "Human Development" = Norway and Iceland
Best "Global Peace" = Norway and New Zealand
Best "Gender Equality" = Sweden and Norway
Highest Life Expectancy = Japan and Hong Kong
Best "Quality of Life" = Ireland and Switzerland
Most Competitive Economy = Switzerland and Finland
Most Economic Freedom = Hong Kong and Singapore
Best "Gay Rights" = Sweden and Norway
Lowest Obesity = Japan and Korea
Highest Adult Literacy Level = Sweden and Norway
Most Open Access to Research = Sweden and Netherlands
Highest Assylum Seeker Acceptance = Denmark and Canada
Most Aid to Developing Countries = Norway and Luxemborg
Highest IT Network Readiness = Denmark and Sweden
Lowest Computer Piracy = USA and New Zealand
Most Secularizartion = Czeck Republic and France

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, adult literacy rate, schooling and Gross Domestic Product. Norway has been the top of this list since ousting Canada in 2001. Here are the top 20 results from 2006:


Top 21 Country & Rank
1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Australia
4. Ireland
5. Sweden
6. Canada
7. Japan
8. USA
9. Switzerland
10. Netherlands
11. Finland
12. Luxembourg
13. Belgium
14. Austria
15. Denmark
16. France
17. Italy
18. UK
19. Spain
20. New Zealand

"The Economist Intelligence Unit, in conjunction with an international team of academics and peace experts, has compiled an innovative new Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 121 nations [using] 24 indicators, ranging from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighbouring countries and the level of respect for human rights [...], levels of democracy and transparency, education and material wellbeing. The team has used the latest available figures (mainly 2004-06) from a wide range of respected sources." Global Peace Index website

Best Countries for Global Peace:

1. Norway
2. New Zealand
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Japan
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Canada
9. Portugal
10. Austria

A study of 115 countries, assessing patterns of inequality by criteria including: Salaries and economic participation, access to better jobs, political empowerment, educational attainment, health and wellbeing. The league was produced by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. "While no country has yet managed to eradicate the gender gap, the Nordic countries have succeeded best in narrowing it and, in a very clear sense, provide a workable model for the rest of the world", the report says. "Switzerland, 34th, is amongst the lowest ranking European states, due to its poor record on higher education for women", whilst the UK came in high for its success on the exact same criteria. 2005 data is included to provide a sense of how consistent the rankings are on a year to year basis.

2006 Gender Equality Rank:

1. Sweden
2. Norway
3. Finland
4. Iceland
5. Germany
6. Philippines
7. New Zealand
8. Denmark
9. UK
10. Ireland
11. Spain
12. Netherlands
13. Sri Lanka
14. Canada
15. Australia

Women's Vote

First Countries to give women and equal right to vote:

1893 New Zealand
1902 Australia
1906 Finland
1913 Norway
1916 Denmark, Iceland
1917 USSR
1918 Canada
1919 Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia
1920 USA
1922 Ireland
1928 Great Britain
1944 France
1945 Italy, Japan
1963 Afghanistan, Congo, Iran, Kenya, Morocco
1971 Switzerland

Since then, all countries have followed suit, apart from Saudi Arabia.

Top 10 Life Expectancy:

1. Japan age 82.0
2. Hong Kong age 81.6
3. Iceland age 80.7
4. Switzerland age 80.5
5. Australia age 80.3
6. Sweden age 80.2
7. Italy age 80.1
8. Canada age 80.0
9. Israel age 79.7
10. France age 79.5

Life expectancy reflects overall cultural health, including diet, the health services systems, attitudes to exercise and well being, and also family structure and caring. Life expectancy stats are sometimes skewed by taking into account immigration, so that much of the time stats are compiled of natural-born inhabitants only.

Quality of Life

"The survey was prepared for the Economist's "World in 2005" publication, with the remit: "Where will be the best place to live in 2005?" Researchers took into account not just income, but other factors considered important to people's satisfaction and well-being. They included health, freedom, unemployment, family life, climate, political stability and security, gender equality and family and community life." BBC News 2004 Nov 17

1 Ireland
2 Switzerland
3 Norway
4 Luxembourg
5 Sweden
6 Australia
7 Iceland
8 Italy
9 Denmark
10 Spain

Gay Rights

Sweden in 1987 was the first country to make steps towards full gay marriage, with a system of registered partnerships which specifically allowed gay partners to marry. Followed by Norway in 1993 which granted almost full legal equality for gay partnerships. Many countries have not yet got the state of tolerance that allows gay equality.

Environment

For each country, the number of companies in the Sustainability Index was divided by the number of companies in the Global Index. This give the percent of eligible countries in the index.


Sustainability Index Attainment

1. Finland 84.9%
2. Switzerland 82.4%
3. Germany 75.2%
4. UK 68%
5. Netherlands 64.5%
6. Spain 63.4%
7. Sweden 56.6%
8. Norway 33.1%
9. Denmark 33.1%
10. Belgium 32.8%

Secularization

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 44 countries to find out what percentage considered their religion to be important. This data supports 'Secularisation Theory': That the more developed countries are less religious. In other words: Religion declines as society advances.

Country and Percent of Population that adheres to a religion:

1. Czech Republic 11%
2. France 11%
3. Japan 12%
4. Bulgaria 13%
5. Russia 14%
6. Germany 21%
7. Vietnam 24%
8. South Korea 25%
9. Italy 27%
10. Slovakia 29%

Canada and the UK narrowly missed the top 10 with 30% and 33% respectively. The USA is the only developed country to appear above 50%. The Nordic states would probably appear with 20-30% religiosity.

Honest Scrap

I have been awarded the Honest Scrap by Dragon. Thank you! Glad you like my ramblings. Now in return I have to give you 10 honest facts about myself...

1. I have an awful memory, I live in mayhem!


2. I do my best to write everything down to try to be organised.


3. I don't draw and paint as often as I should do.


4. I get stressed out very easily so I need things to be tidy!


5. I organise my books in height order.


6. I like to be around people, but sometimes I need solitary confinement.


7. I have been in love with Anglo-Saxon and Norse history for a long time.


8. I am fascinated by cultural differences.


9. I would like a humble little cottage on the coast.


10. I have a reputation for being a bit eccentric.

Well those are the honest facts. I have to appologise for not writing in my blog as often as I used to. I've gotten into the habit of uploading a video every day instead. I must practice my writing! I think maybe I have quite a different manner of writing to other people. Is it a feminine way of writing? I guess it's an infromal way of writing. This is just my train of thought. I like it to be as honest and expressive as possible. I found a peice of paper from one of my old school books, I must have been about 8 or 9. It was written in Swedish and said, roughly translated, "When I'm older I want to write books, or paint paintings, or take photos and sell them." Often I look back on myself (or selves) and think I havn't changed. I've always had the same goals, always focused on the road ahead.

I need to find me some good books on Heathenism. Can anybody reccomend one? I don't want one that is too heavily Asatru influenced, or too distant from historical accuracy. I don't want somebody's modern interpretation. I want the archaeological facts. And then I can make my own modern interpretation!

Much love,

Annika x

Blog Award :)

I am happy to accept this award from geekstress.blogspot.com thank you for your kind words!

Now on to me chatting away... lately I have been reading through the Key of Solomon and Gardner's Book of Shadows - I like to read these regularly, and I can see why Gardner used the Key of Solomon rituals for his own coven. I feel myself sympathising with him. He wanted to bring back Traditional Witchcraft but he found himself lacking any ceremony or ritual. He wanted to give his coven a more religious nature, he craved the well thought out and planned rites. So he took from Key of Solomon, from Golden Dawn, from Co-Masons, etc and he tweaked them a little to be Witch-friendly. Is this a flagrant rip-off, or is it a case of immitation is the greatest compliment? Since entering Traditional Witchcraft I have gone a long time without the pomp and ceremony. Do I miss it? Maybe... I think its good to be organised in this way, to prompt yourself to do things, and to remember a formula to your workings. If you dont do something often then you're going to forget how. I feel like writing things down and following instructions from a book would be very un-traditional, not at all authentic, but it would be practical.

I havn't worked on my book in ages, I really ought to do that! I need to write things down so I can get my head straight and understand what I think! Ok I'm gonna do it.... I have to learn not to compare Traditional Witchcraft against Wicca, and let it stand alone as something seperate. I am often tempted to contrast the two and ramble on about why Wicca isn't right for me. Enough talk about Wicca already! Let's concentrate....

Social Skills

I am one of those people that gets really irked if someone pronounces something wrong, or spells something wrong. Does that make me a bad person? It just bugs me to no end? When it happens, should I just keep my mouth shut, and let the person carry on spelling and saying incorrectly? Or should I correct them, risking offending them? I'm only trying to be helpful when I correct them! I hope I don't come off as a massive bitch! I think sometimes I lack tact......... what am I saying, sometimes? My boyfriend is always commenting on how tactless and frank I am. Maybe that's a Swedish thing? If you have ever met a Swedish person, they are a very honest people, although they are also reserved. What I mean is that, Swedish people tend to only speak if spoken to. But once you do ask them something, they will give you the flat out answer. I think this kind of culture is the result of living somewhere cold, have you ever noticed, the colder the climate, the colder the people? The hotter the temperature, the hotter the temprement of the people, the more passionate they are. I wouldn't say I'm "cold" exactly, but I'm not exactly a fire of warmth and friendship. I can never understand those people who greet everybody with hugs and kisses and are constantly telling people how much they love them. That's just not the way I was brought up. In my family, hugs are for special occassions only. Kisses are in private. And "I love you"s are never heard out loud.

Does that make me a bad person? Do people see me as cold and mean? Over the years I have been trying my best to be a more social person. It doesn't come easily to me. Throughout my childhood I was a social outcast, always one of the less popular kids. I hung out with the other social rejects, the people too fat, too ugly, too gay, too smart for the popular kids. Well this definatley has its benefits! It means that I learnt to become a very tolerant person, accepting people for their differences. It also means that I got to hang out with people more clever than me, and copy their school books to get better marks. Haha. It also meant that instead of hanging out at the park getting drunk, I was alone in my room reading a book. Yes, I might be able to call myself a nerd. But then I don't really fit in with the nerds.... they like to play computer games and read graphic novels and quote cartoons. That really isn't my bag. I just like drawing and painting and studying folklore and mythology. I've always been a little "away with the fairies" in this sense.

So I grew up as a lonely book worm. This doesn't mean I don't like people. I really try to be social! But I need my down time. I need to have a few days just by myself studying and drawing, I need to be alone so I can concentrate. That doesn't mean I'm anti-social, I like meeting up with friends, just to go shopping or get drunk or whatever. I'm the kind of friend who doesn't care much what other people think of me, I will act stupid, dress bad, say outrageous things, get stupidly drunk, dance like a crazy person.... and I hope that I can be trusted as an honest person, who will tell you whether you look good in that dress, and will tell you whether I think your boyfriend's cheating on you, and will let you know if you've made some horendous grammar mistakes in your essay.

I am a person particularly concerned with the truth, with discovering mysteries, and revealing things for what they are. I love studying things, finding out why.... where does that word come from, why is it used in that way, what does it mean.... and I'm not ashamed of telling people when they have been fooled by misinformation. I would hope they'd do the same for me. Although I can see this being difficult when it comes to the matter of faith or spirituality. Whenever my sister comes to me with questions about Christianity, I will tell her the honest answers. She is an evangelical Christian herself but she's not the kind of person to sit and study something. She's more like one of the popular kids. I am the boring person who stayed in and read the Bible cover-to-cover just because I was curious. And I let her know "well actually, the Bible says such and such" or "actually Jesus was more likely to be such and such", even if it's something her church would disagree with. My sister is dyslexic so I am always happy to help her with reading and writing, and tell her what words mean. I do so because education means a lot to me. Well, how sad am I? lol

I was actually thinking about making a video about "public relations" and how to come off as an honest and friendly person over the internet. One thing that is.... possibly the most important... is the phrase "in my opinion". Always let people know "this is my opinion, you may come to your own conclusions." This is something I'm sure I forget to say a lot, but it really is important. Make it clear to people that you can accept people doing things differently to yourself. Let people know the facts and the conclusions you make from them, and then ask them to come to their own conclusions based on those facts. If I tell them "actually it's pronounced like so" and they reply "well I prefer to pronounce it differently" then that's fair enough! For heavens sake, I do the same thing. Whenever my boyfriend corrects me on my grammar or pronounciation, I will glare back at him "I'll talk how I want to talk!" n_n

Reconciling Christianity

In my studies I am always trying to unearth the hidden ways of pre-Christian Europe, but that annoying Jesus bloke is always getting in the way! There is no way we can get around the huge effect that this Middle Eastern religion has had on our home land. We could pretend it never happened, but then we will always have this mysterious dark hole where Christianity obliterated so much of our past. I feel I am being unfaithful to the old ways if I let Christianity have influence on my life, but there is no way I can avoid this! It was the monks and nuns who learned to read and write, who created their own history books of what the 'heathens' were like. They are often our only source of reference. Over the years the old and new became horribly mingled in a way that is so hard to seperate, like trying to un-mix the ingredients of a cake... how can you seperate the eggs from the flour, when they are already a bowl of indiscriminate goo? And I look at this cake mix and I think, sure it would have been nice to have eaten eggs by themself, but I'm sure this cake is gonna taste good.... ok enough with the cake metaphore! What I'm getting at is that some times I just have to accept that I am living in the aftermath of Christianity, and there is no way to turn back the clocks. What I have now is a cake! Accept it! I feel that when my ancestors forst encountered Christianity, they would have felt much the same despair, and knowing that they can never bring back what they have lost. The Church did all it could to wipe Heathenism off the face of the earth. I'm sure many would have continued to venerate the old gods, the spirits of the land, but they would always be tainted by that strange Christian taste. All the old heathen festivals continued to be celebrated, but now they were dedicated to the Saints instead of the gods, and prayers were said to Mary and Jesus rather than Frigga and Odin. Are Mary and Jesus simply pale disguises? Can we lift the veil and see Odin winking behind his disguise? Would he be chuckling to himself? Or would he be solemn and sad in the knowing that he is ever so slowly fading from this world?

In my tradition we have let the Saints into our practice. At the start of Yule we venerate Saint Lucy, followed by Nickolas, and many others. Deep down we know these are just new names for old gods. When we look at the church building, we know it was once holy ground to Heathens. When we decorate the Christmas tree we know it is really the Yule tree. When we eat the Christmas ham, we know it is really Freyr's ham. When we see a statue of 'the queen of heaven' we know it is really Odin's queen. When we celebrate the dawn rising, we know it is old mother Sol. When we see the bald head of the moon, we know that it is really old man Mani. When we leave offerings for the Tomten, we know they are the old spirits of the land. This is the Northern Tradition, one deeply entwined with the Christian imposition.

Should I feel a Catholic guilt when I enter Saint Lucy's parade? Or should I rejoice in knowing that here a heathen goddess lives on? When I first began my path of Witchcraft, I would often be visited by the spirits of Maria, Nickolas, and Lucia... and their identities were a mystery to me! There will always be that air of mystery, because we can never truly know the old heathen ways, before Christianity. That is now a 'Dark Age' which has been hidden from us. Typical to my nature, I am always looking for hidden treasures! The very idea of this challenge spurs me on! Once I have found something and revealed its truth, it is no longer exciting, and I want to delve deeper, ever deeper, into the shadows.

Texts of the Renaissance

So I'm just taking a look, a glance, at the Renaissance, and those thinkers that were to inspire the formulation of Wicca....

The Divine Pymander, by Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, tr. by John Everard, 1650:
1:27. Of the Soul; that part which is sensible is mortal, but that part which is reasonable is immortal. 44. Nothing good upon Earth; nothing evil in Heaven. 72. Things upon Earth, do nothing advantage those in Heaven; but all things in Heaven do profit and advantage all things upon Earth. 76. Heaven is the first element. 80. What is God? The immutable or unalterable good.

2:12. These things I understood, seeing the word, or Pimander; and when I was mightily amazed, he said again unto me, Hast thou seen in thy mind that Archetypal Form which was before the interminated and infinite Beginning? Thus Pimander to me. But whence, quoth I, or whereof are the Elements of Nature made? Pimander.--Of the Will and counsel of God; which taking the Word, and beholding the beautiful World (in the Archetype thereof) imitated it, and so made this World, by the principles and vital seeds or Soul-like productions of itself. 13. For the Mind being God, Male and Female, Life and Light, brought forth by his Word another Mind or Workman; which being God of the Fire, and the Spirit, fashioned and formed seven other Governors, which in their circles contain the Sensible World, whose Government or disposition is called Fate or Destiny. 33. Pim. The Generation therefore of these Seven was after this manner:--The Air being Feminine and the Water desirous of Copulation, took from the Fire its ripeness, and from the aether Spirit, and so Nature produced Bodies after the species and shape of men.

3:3. For there were in the Chaos an infinite darkness in the Abyss or bottomless Depth, and Water, and a subtle in Spirit intelligible in Power; and there went out the Holy Light, and the Elements were coagulated from the Sand out of the moist substance. 7. And every God, by his internal power, did that which was commanded him; and there were made four-footed things, and creeping things, and such as live in the water, and such as fly, and every fruitful seed, and Grass, and the Flowers of all Greens, all which had sowed in themselves the Seeds of Regeneration.

4:19. For it is possible for the Soul, O Son, to be deified while yet it lodgeth in the Body of Man, if it contemplate the beauty of the Good. 42. The whole is a living wight, and therefore consisteth of material and intellectual. 43. And the World is the first and Man the second living wight after the World, but the first of things that are mortal; and therefore hath whatsoever benefit of the Soul all the other have: And yet for all this, he is not only not good, but flatly evil, as being mortal. 46. But the Soul of Man is carried in this manner, The Mind is in Reason, Reason in the Soul, The Soul in the Spirit, The Spirit in the Body. 47. The Spirit being diffused and going through the veins, and arteries, and blood, both moveth the living creature, and after a certain manner beareth it. 52. For God is not ignorant of Man, but knows him perfectly, and will be known by him. This only is healthful to man, the knowledge of God: This is the return of Olympus; by this only the soul is made good, and not sometimes good, and sometimes evil, but of necessity Good.

The Emerald Tablet, also known as Smaragdine Table, Tabula Smaragdina, or The Secret of Hermes, is a text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations. This work was translated into Latin as Secretum Secretorum (The Secret of Secrets) by Johannes "Hispalensis" or Hispaniensis (John of Seville) ca. 1140 and by Philip of Tripoli c. 1243. In the 14th century, the alchemist Ortolanus wrote a substantial exegesis on "The Secret of Hermes," which was influential on the subsequent development of alchemy. One translation, by Isaac Newton, found among his alchemical papers as reported by B. J. Dobbs in modern spelling:
1. Tis true without lying, certain most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
3. And as all things have been arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,
5. the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
7. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7a. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.
9. By this means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
10. Its force is above all force. for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.
11a. So was the world created.
12. From this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (Or process) is here in this.
13. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.

The Scale of Fluff to Fundie

Remember back in science class when you were handed a strip of litmus paper and told "acid goes red, alkaline goes blue, and PH neutral is green" ? Well, think of religion in these terms, are you acid, alkaline, or a balanced PH 7? I'm not entirely sure what colour I would turn on the litmus paper, but I am hoping it goes green! Perhaps this is the true meaning of "green spirituality"? Now, by "acid" what I mean is a high concentration of fluff. Just what is fluff? Well I would say that it is quite simply "ignorance". The fluffy pagan is someone who has no understanding of pre-Christian religion, who is completely ignorant of their roots, and will believe and perpetutate myths that have been long disproven by scholars. Most fluffy bunnies are fluffy by no fault of their own, they are simply young and naive, a new convert, who has been fed false information. Some of the fluffy bunnies are so sure that what they are being told is true, that they broadcast it from the roof tops, letting everyone know the "ancient" mysteries they have learned. There are those authors who are too lazy to site their sources and back up their facts, that they actively perpetuate false information. These are the real criminals, those who know they can make easy money from spinning a bunch of drivel they over heard in a new age shop.

So what's alkaline? Alkaline must be the exact opposite - it is someone who does nothing but research and do things "by the book". Granted, paganism has no "sacred text" but to the fundamental pagan, it is archaeology and anthropology that is the Holy Gospel. Somebody who tests a deep indigo colour on the litmus scale is someone who spends most of their time with their nose buried in a book, an "arm chair pagan". Although this person may know a great deal about history and understand the ways of the past, they have little understanding of how these facts can relate to modern life. They often live in their own Never Land, pretending time hasn't moved on since the Bronze Age. They may be so engrossed in reading that they never actually put anything they are reading about into practice.

These are the two extremes of the scale, and you can find people like this in all religions. Of course, we are all trying to live as balanced human beings, and meet that harmony of scholarship and every day practice. It may be that sometimes you swing from one side of the scale to the other. Now and then it's good to take a step back and ask yourself, what colour am I?