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Not number one: 11 things other countries do way better than America

Larry Schwartz
AlterNet
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:54 UTC
bicycle riders
© S-F / Shutterstock
America! Land of the free, home of the brave, and the greatest country on the face of the planet, right? A country with seemingly limitless natural resources, and according to many politicians, anointed by God herself to lead the world out of the wilderness and into a bright new age of liberty and justice for all. Too bad the road to that vision is pockmarked with so many potholes, because we haven't raised enough taxes on people who can afford to pay to fill them.

Americans, maybe more than anyone on Earth, are guilty of the sin of hubris and excessive pride. As the great Greek poets of the ancient world have taught us, hubris can lead to some really bad outcomes.The reality is that a good portion of the rest of the world has far outpaced the United States in things like healthcare. While the U.S. has painstakingly cobbled together a convoluted insurance-friendly monster called Obamacare (remarkable mostly for how much better it is than what we had), the rest of the developed world enjoys one-payer government healthcare that outperforms the U.S. in both cost and quality of care. The proof is in the pudding; they live longer than Americans.

But healthcare is not the only way America lags behind the rest of the world. Here are 11 things other countries do better than us.
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Cross

Russian Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis, discuss anti-terrorist coalition, future of humankind


RT
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:17 UTC
Pope F and Patriarch K
© www.rt.comHeads of Eastern/Western Christianity coming together, the world finally got their attention.
Global leaders ought to overcome political dissent and close the ranks in fighting international terrorism as the challenge to mankind at large, the chief foreign spokesman of the Russian Orthodox Church told the media.

The unprecedented meeting of the head of the Church, Patriarch Kirill, with his Roman Catholic counterpart Pope Francis in Havana on February 12 is going to have "far-reaching consequences," the head of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion, told TASS in an exclusive interview. "The word of the pope and the patriarch is addressed to men of all conditions, including political leaders the future of humankind depends upon," the Metropolitan said.

"We expect the message of peace to be heard. That instead of creating various anti-terrorist coalitions, alienated with deep-rooted contradictions and fraught with unpredictable consequences, there would be only one such alliance," he noted.

Metropolitan Hilarion emphasized that such coalition could not be made up only of politicians. "Spiritual leaders and other people of good will should go into it." The first-ever face-to-face talk between two of the major leaders of the Christian world does not mean that the dialogue has just started, Metropolitan Hilarion stressed. "It means the dialogue has entered a new stage of augmented intensity."

Despite all the existing theological disagreements, there is a clear understanding on both sides that "the situation in the world urges immediate collaborative action," as it was put in the final joint declaration of the heads of churches. "The meeting was necessary to coordinate our actions in the first place." It was important that leaders of world's two largest Christian churches spoke with a single voice. "So they did," Metropolitan Hilarion said.

Comment: Christianity's supreme leaders hope to bring the world together (after a 1,000-year rift for theological differences in Eastern and Western branches of the religion).

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Smoking

Anti-smoking hysteria: French authorities move to extend e-cigarette ban to clubs, restaurants and cafes


RT
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 23:49 UTC
Man vaping
© Mark Blinch/Reuters
France's top health authority has recommended extending the country's ban on e-cigarettes to include restaurants, cafes and nightclubs, saying there is a risk the devices could act as a "gateway" to smoking.

The vapes are already prohibited in France in areas where children are present, as well as on public transport and in enclosed workplaces.

France's High Council for Public Health (HCSP) hopes the increased ban will help avoid "renormalizing" the habit and tackle high smoking rates among under-16s, according to the agency's report.

The health authority released its notice on Thursday, saying that while e-cigarette can be seen as an aid to help break the smoking habit, their presence in public places may convey a positive image or "gateway" to smoking.

The HSCP went on to say vaping should be banned "even if the risks of passive smoking are zero or extremely limited".

Interprofessional Federation of Vape (FIVAPE) responded to the HSCP notice immediately by saying that such a ban would give the impression that vapes were just as harmful as regular cigarettes, Le Figaro reports.

Comment: Some people should smoke, some people shouldn't. If you are the tobacco-smoking sort, organically grown, additive-free is your best option to enjoy the blessings of tobacco. See:

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Windsock

Noam Chomsky: Trump's rise in popularity fueled by same societal 'breakdown' that birthed Hitler

Travis Gettys
Rawstory
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky said the social conditions that are driving voters to Donald Trump also explain the rise of fascist leaders such as Adolf Hitler.

The famed linguist and political scientist discussed the presidential election in a recent interview with Alternet, where he was asked to explain Trump's growing popularity with Republican voters.

"Fear, along with the breakdown of society during the neoliberal period," Chomsky said. "People feel isolated, helpless, victim of powerful forces that they do not understand and cannot influence."

Comment: Chomsky isn't the only one who sees the parallels between Trump and Hitler:

Heil Trump: British street artist gives 'The Donald' the Hitler treatment to "give voters the wake up call they need"

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Stormtrooper

Everyone's looking at Uber, while ignoring Kalamazoo shooter's law enforcement background

William N. Grigg
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 16:03 UTC
kalamazoo shooter
© Free Thought Project
Media accounts of the Kalamazoo murder rampage have focused heavily on the fact that suspect Jason Brian Dalton was employed as an Uber driver. Scant attention has been paid to the fact that Dalton had aspired to become a law enforcement officer. According to CNN, Dalton earned an associate's degree in law enforcement from Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 1992.

The New York Daily News, typifying much press coverage of the killing spree, reported that Dalton had been hired as an Uber driver despite having "at least nine driving violations in his past - but they may not have come up in the ride-share company's background check." Those violations, which involved routine offenses, such as speeding or failing to provide license and registration - were scattered over a 16-year period that began in 1990. Over the past decade, the paper grudgingly acknowledges, Dalton "kept a clean record."

The reader is invited to believe that Uber failed to perform due diligence in vetting Dalton. His unremarkable history of traffic violations, however, would not have disqualified him to attend the police academy: While traffic violations would have been reviewed as part of an assessment of his "moral character," Dalton had no felony convictions or comparable offenses in his record.

The KVCC Police Academy boasts that ninety-two percent of its alumni "work in law enforcement — the highest in the state...." As an academy graduate, Dalton could have obtained a peace officer certification, and then be deployed on the streets in uniform, carrying a gun, invested with lethal discretion and "qualified immunity" in the exercise of deadly force. Rather than being an Uber driver, "Officer Dalton" would have been behind the wheel of a patrol car, and since he would possess state-granted powers of arrest, he would have been able to detain victims on his own initiative, rather than waiting for them to come to him.
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Fish

SeaWorld admits spying on animal rights activists

Andrea Germanos
Common Dreams
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 00:46 UTC
sea world
SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby has for the first time admitted that the company's workers have posed as animal rights activists to spy on critics of the park's treatment of captive marine creatures.

Manby made the admission during an investor relations call on Thursday, saying, according to the Orlando Sentinel, that the company's board has "directed management to end the practice in which certain employees posed as animal-welfare activists. This activity was undertaken in connection with efforts to maintain the safety and security of employees, customers and animals in the face of credible threats."
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Birthday Cake

Over 1000 ecstasy tablets found in cake puzzle near University of California


RT
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 20:57 UTC
Ecstacy
© riversideca.gov
A cake-pop puzzle used to stash more than 1,000 ecstasy tablets and destined for college students at the University of California, Riverside was intercepted by local police after a tip-off from the Department of Homeland Security.

The discovery was made Wednesday at a residence in the 3000 block of Iowa Avenue near University of California, Riverside, according to a statement released by the Riverside Police Department.

The package was posted from the Netherlands and contained 1,015 Ecstasy (MDMA) pills in the 1,000-piece Ravensburger Puzzle that pictured cake pops.
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Attention

2 dead, 3 critical in Kansas shooting


RT
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 23:50 UTC
Hesston shooting
© Dave Kaup/Reuters
Two people have died and three victims remain in "critical" condition after a shooter opened fire at Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas. The shooter has been shot and killed by law enforcement, according to reports on the Harvey County police dispatch.

The Hesston Record reported that the shooter has been shot by law enforcement and was carrying an AK-47 at the time.

An Excel Industries employee believes five victims were shot, according to KAKE.

Excel is a manufacturer of turf care products. Hesston is a city in central Kansas about 36 miles north of Wichita.

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Binoculars

9 Tanzanian poachers charged with shooting down anti-poacher helicopter, killing pilot


RT
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 02:11 UTC
Helicopter
© AFP
Nine Tanzanian poachers have been charged with the murder of British pilot Roger Gower, who had been patrolling the Maswa game reserve when his helicopter was shot down in January.

Gower, from Birmingham, had been tracking the elephant poachers at the reserve, which is located near the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. He is believed to have been flying over the carcass of an elephant the men had killed when he was shot down.

Appearing in a Tanzanian court on Wednesday, prosecutors said they plan to use ballistic evidence from the scene of the crash, as well as the DNA of three elephants the men had killed, to prove the men's involvement.

In addition, the poachers have been charged with being in possession of $15,000 worth of ivory. "Some of the accused pleaded guilty to being in unlawful possession of firearms and elephant tusks, while others denied the charge," said Yamiko Mlekana, senior government prosecutor, earlier this month.

Gower had been working for the Friedkin Conservation Fund, which oversees a number of wildlife conservation projects in Tanzania.

It is understood that the 37-year-old was able to land the helicopter after it had been shot at, but died from injuries before being rescued, BBC reported. Former Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Lazaro Nyalandu, described the actions of the poachers as "evil and sad."

Gower's brothers have set up an online fund seeking £75,000 in donations to help anti-poaching efforts in Tanzania.

Comment: The barbaric lengths poachers will go to in their hunt and destruction of nature's bounty is unbelievable.

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Pistol

California cops kill parents sleeping in car

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 21:56 UTC
Kisha Michael and Marquintan Sandlin
Kisha Michael and Marquintan Sandlin
On Sunday, police responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked on Manchester Boulevard around 3:10 am. When police arrived, they engaged in a 45-minute long standoff before opening fire on the man and woman inside the vehicle, killing them both.

In the news release on Monday, following the shooting, police claimed that the woman in the car had a gun. Scott Collins, a spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department said that the couple refused to obey the officers' commands to exit the vehicle. The officers then feared for their safety and opened fire on the car — killing the couple.

The woman was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting, and the man succumbed to his injuries after paramedics transported him to a local hospital, according to the LA Times. The shooting seemed like an open and shut case until the next day.

Mayor James Butts, while responding to questions about the shooting, opened up a huge can of worms — both the man and the woman were unconscious.
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