WE'RE NUMBER ONE (oh two)!

[matsuki]

The Mirage is pretty well known but you could also throw in Northrup, Raytheon, etc. in it's place.

[Coligny]

Also, new for 2014, the Rafale M, like the jeep wrangler is available in trail rated edition...

image.jpg

image.jpg

[Coligny]

The Mirage is pretty well known but you could also throw in Northrup, Raytheon, etc. in it's place.

And TRW and Thomson/Thales (TV, missiles and radars) and Matra (cars and missiles) and Saint Gobain (optics and... Optics mostly) an and on... All this without naming a single japanese madhouse...

[matsuki]

But but! Japan "is surpassing the whole world in robotic technologies and engineering."

[Samurai_Jerk]

Hands up who has heard of Dassault?

Hands up.

l-HANDS-UP.jpg

[Coligny]

The Mirage is pretty well known but you could also throw in Northrup, Raytheon, etc. in it's place.

Also...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CATIA

Basically, anything serious made by computer on this planet is designed on a French software platform.


Booya, booya, booya...

YAY US !!!

[matsuki]

Back to the original points....

It’s a country that is improving and not standing still

Improving...sure, in some areas...but at a rate that might as well be standing still.

It is surpassing the whole world in robotic technologies and engineering.

You know Google owns this shit now, right?

citing Japan’s “uniqueness” and closely associating the country with technology; health and education; and heritage, art, and culture.

Uniqueness indeed....

I don't think I need to say much about health...

"as a portion of GDP Japan’s spending on education is the lowest of the 31 OECD countries, and has been for five years running"

...but I do agree, heritage, art, and what passes for culture these days is definitely what Japan is about.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japan is the 7th best country on Earth according to US News.

Rankings:

1. Germany
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. United States of America
5. Sweden
6. Australia
7. Japan
8. France
9. Netherlands
10. Denmark
11. New Zealand
12. Austria
13. Italy
14. Luxembourg
15. Singapore
16. Spain
17. China
18. Ireland
19. South Korea
20. Brazil
21. Thailand
22. India
23. Portugal
24. Russia
25. Israel

[Russell]

Japan is the 7th best country on Earth according to US News.

Rankings:

1. Germany
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. United States of America
5. Sweden
6. Australia
7. Japan
8. France
9. Netherlands
10. Denmark
11. New Zealand
12. Austria
13. Italy
14. Luxembourg
15. Singapore
16. Spain
17. China
18. Ireland
19. South Korea
20. Brazil
21. Thailand
22. India
23. Portugal
24. Russia
25. Israel

Hahahaha, Japan is better than France...

[kurogane]

Hahahaha, Japan is better than France...

You're surprised!!????

[Coligny]

Hahahaha, Japan is better than France...

You're surprised!!????

Asking for a recount...

After australia !? Seriously !?

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Japan is the 7th best country on Earth according to US News.

Rankings:

1. Germany
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. United States of America
5. Sweden
6. Australia
7. Japan
8. France
9. Netherlands
10. Denmark
11. New Zealand
12. Austria
13. Italy
14. Luxembourg
15. Singapore
16. Spain
17. China
18. Ireland
19. South Korea
20. Brazil
21. Thailand
22. India
23. Portugal
24. Russia
25. Israel

I am staggered that US news even knows there are that many countries that are not America on earth.

[Russell]

Japan is the 7th best country on Earth according to US News.

Rankings:

1. Germany
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. United States of America
5. Sweden
6. Australia
7. Japan
8. France
9. Netherlands
10. Denmark
11. New Zealand
12. Austria
13. Italy
14. Luxembourg
15. Singapore
16. Spain
17. China
18. Ireland
19. South Korea
20. Brazil
21. Thailand
22. India
23. Portugal
24. Russia
25. Israel

I am staggered that US news even knows there are that many countries that are not America on earth.

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

Mustn't have oil or it has bought the politicians

[Samurai_Jerk]

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

Mustn't have oil or it has bought the politicians

I'm for bombing anything made by Disney.

[Russell]

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

Mustn't have oil or it has bought the politicians

I'm for bombing anything made by Disney.

Hmm, now you say it. Yes. Yes. Yes!

[Coligny]

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

Mustn't have oil or it has bought the politicians

I'm for bombing anything made by Disney.

Hmm, now you say it. Yes. Yes. Yes!

Thirded

[kurogane]

Passed.

Just to support the cynicism of that polling outfit that did that survey and that of the rest of us, look at Time Magazine's url spelling:
http://time.com/4155228/amiercans-bomb-aladdin-agrabah/

[dimwit]

I wish I could smugly say that only Americans are ignorant of history and geography, but every country seems to suffer from it.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundl ... -1.1324022
http://express-press-release.net/95/Bri ... 698676.php

[Grumpy Gramps]

It's maybe knowledge that became obsolete over the years? I am guilty of that myself. In all those years that I live in Nagoya, I have never really learned its geography, there was always a navi telling me when to turn which way. In a pinch, I'd maybe find home over some sights and landmarks, but that's about it. And on dog-walks in unknown territory, I have to consciously get myself to know, where the moon is in relation to where I am walking towards etc, something that was natural for me, when I was younger and there was no GPS.

[dimwit]

It's maybe knowledge that became obsolete over the years? I am guilty of that myself. In all those years that I live in Nagoya, I have never really learned its geography, there was always a navi telling me when to turn which way. In a pinch, I'd maybe find home over some sights and landmarks, but that's about it. And on dog-walks in unknown territory, I have to consciously get myself to know, where the moon is in relation to where I am walking towards etc, something that was natural for me, when I was younger and there was no GPS.

You're not alone. The entire auto navigation system is a direct result of the poor map reading skills of most people.

[Coligny]

If the fucking japs maps where in romaji maybe that would be less of an issue.
Having to beg the DMA(*) for even small hood in aichi is not conductive to easy learning...
Plus being surrounded by shithead making fun of your use of a compass untill they get lost and you just let them rot in their shit breaking away from the group at an unexpected corner is not helping the mood. But sometimes letting people die of exposure of fight for their lives in unknown territories inthe best way to get them STFU aboot the total superiority of japan over anything else... (Plus you get whistle the song "on less wigger" from MC Eiht (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kw_Yvne7qG0)
Meanwhile in paris I can beat most taxi drivers same goes for the location of the 1918 battlefield maps around Verdun.

(It's the -certainly former- Defense Mapping Agency actually cool peeps once they realize you were not fucking with them but just actually really need bizarre maps.)

[Grumpy Gramps]

Yes, I have impressed some of my necktie wearing business acquaintances too by finding my way back to the hotel after a night out in Paris with the help of just a simple little compass; nothing like aimlessly walking through the streets of Paris in spring and have a glass of wine here and there But that was in another life.

I have found and bought an all romaji Japan road atlas way back in the days (one of these), though. Not sure, if they still make it new. Might as well go and buy myself a new compass and start playing again

[matsuki]

It's maybe knowledge that became obsolete over the years? I am guilty of that myself. In all those years that I live in Nagoya, I have never really learned its geography, there was always a navi telling me when to turn which way. In a pinch, I'd maybe find home over some sights and landmarks, but that's about it. And on dog-walks in unknown territory, I have to consciously get myself to know, where the moon is in relation to where I am walking towards etc, something that was natural for me, when I was younger and there was no GPS.

You're not alone. The entire auto navigation system is a direct result of the poor map reading skills of most people.

Certainly you are not talking about Tokyo? The spaghetti of roads and semi-roads, lack of road names, and the ever-changing landscape of businesses fucks with even the locals that grew up here.

[Samurai_Jerk]

At least they didn't list Agrabah...

Mustn't have oil or it has bought the politicians

I'm for bombing anything made by Disney.

Hmm, now you say it. Yes. Yes. Yes!

Thirded

Unfortunately Disney can't be defeated.

[Grumpy Gramps]

Ease of Settling in Index 2016

Japan made it to a very respectable 55th place. And when it comes to friendliness, it even sparkles at #29.

Mexico is the friendliest and most welcoming country for the third year in a row, expats in Costa Rica feel at home, and Uganda joins the top three with big gains in friendliness.

Trump's not going to like this, even Idi Amin is better than him

[Grumpy Gramps]

Japan made the top ten (oh 11) best school systems. I am genuinely surprised.

The 11 best school systems in the world

Japan is one of the top performing countries for literacy, science, and maths in the OECD group. Students go through six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, and three years of high school before deciding whether they want to go to university. High school is not compulsory but enrolment is close to 98%.

I find the list a little weird, though, but then congrats nevertheless

[matsuki]

High school is not compulsory but enrolment is close to 98%.

This strikes me as a bit surprising. Maybe things have changed but over the years I've heard more than a few educators here talk about how students don't go on to high school (or drop out) I've never seen stats before but I had the impression that it was 5-10%

[kurogane]

Allowing that few things in Japan are as bad as We might paint them, those statistics will be self-reported by the Ministry of Education, which accounts for the Maoist Stalinisms of the statistics, such as the infamous one of 98-99% literacy rate, which is only possible because they don't bother counting those who cannot attain it.
As for HS drop out or non-attendance rates I would imagine there are a large enough number of non-attending students enrolled but absent they could make a very sophistic case for those rates, and it does say enrollment not graduation.

Grumpy Gramps,
Do you not consider their system good enough to be Top 11? Whatever shortcomings it has they do turn out happy enough, peaceful enough, "hard working" enough citizens. And they are only First World, not Western, after all. I will go ahead and assume Canada is in there but I bet if you adjusted out the minority & immigrant effect the Angry Saxon kids would be little better off than their hillbilly cousins to the south or across the Atlantic.
EDIT: Ooops, maybe not What a fucked list. Qatar??? Barbados???? There must be something behind that list.

[Grumpy Gramps]

What a fucked list. Qatar??? Barbados???? There must be something behind that list.

Would also have expected more Nordic countries in there, not just the Finns; it does look weird to me too.

And the Japanese school-system looks so archaic to me, something so not out of the 21st century. No-one seems to want to fly to Mars, everyone seems to be happy to become a sales drone at Mitsukoshi or the like. They might be fine couch potatoes and peacefully doing nothing much, but that doesn't automatically qualify them for a top ten place of anything imo.