Thursday, January 31, 2008

Mandatory HIV test before marriage in India

India is moving fast, and not only economically.

A committee set up by the Indian state of Maharashtra has provisionally approved the mandatory HIV testing of couples before marriage. If the decision is made into law, Maharashtra would be the first state in the country to have such a scheme. India has one of the highest numbers of people with HIV in the world.

Here is the full story.



A message from John Edwards

Below is the message John Edwards sent to him supporters after annowncing that he suspended his campaign

Dear...

Let me start by saying, "Thank you." You have stood with Elizabeth and me throughout this campaign. Your support has sustained us as we have traveled across this country.
Earlier today, I suspended my campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. I made this announcement from where our journey began just over 12 months ago: New Orleans.
I began my presidential campaign in New Orleans to remind the country that all of us -- as citizens and as a government -- have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters.
Now, it's time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to the White House -- but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history.
And, along the way, all of you who have been involved in this campaign and this movement for change and this cause, I am asking you to continue speaking out for those who have no voice, just as Elizabeth and I will continue to do. We need you.

Do not turn away from the great struggles before us. Do not give up on the causes that we have fought for. Do not walk away from what's possible, because it's time for all of us -- all of us together -- to make the two one. We need you.I hope you will take a few moments to listen to the video clip of my speech in earlier this afternoon or to read it below.
In the meantime, Elizabeth and my family join me in thanking all of you for your support and for working so hard on my behalf. We are truly blessed to have such friends.

Thank you.

John Edwards

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Edwards 'quits' White House race?

According to the BBC web site, John Edwards is exiting the race for the White House after failing to win any of the four party nomination contests held so far, officials say.
Members of his team said the former North Carolina senator had decided not to continue to Super Tuesday next week. He lost Iowa's caucuses, came third in New Hampshire, admitted getting his "butt kicked" in Nevada and came third in his native South Carolina. The two-time candidate reportedly plans to make a statement soon.
It is not yet clear if the 54 year-old will endorse either of the two current Democratic front-runners, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
His spokeswoman Colleen Murray told AFP news agency that Mr Edwards would publicly announce the end to his White House bid in New Orleans, where he formally launched his campaign in 2006. Mr Edwards's campaign website said he was scheduled to make a speech on poverty at a community project in the flood-ravaged Louisiana city on Wednesday 1300 local time (1900 GMT).

Siemens and the kickbacks in Greece

With reference to the above, I found the following in the Trend Capital news Agency:

In the last quarter, which counts as the first quarter of the Siemens financial year ending September 30, 2008, the company spent a further 127 million euros on the investigation and improving surveillance against bribery.
In a bid to find and punish the key executives behind the corrupt practices in Greece, Italy and other nations, Siemens investigators have offered an amnesty to smaller fish who reveal their role in the kickbacks.
Loescher said that 33 staff had applied for the amnesty. It had been granted to four and denied to two, and the rest of the cases were still being investigated.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Florida primaries and the polls

The GOP results (99% reported): McCain 36% (693,425), Romney 31% (598,152), Giuliani 15%,(281,755), Huckabee 13% (259,703), Paul 3% (62,060), Thompson 1% (22,287).
Giuliani is expected to drop out of the race today and to endorse McCain.
It looks as though all the polls underestimated the votes of the winner (most of them outside the margin of error they themfelfs reported). The latest polls:


For the Democrats: Clinton 50% (856,944), Obama 33%, (568,930), Edwards 14% (248,545). The polls here got it right (more or less).

There were 1,925,728 voters who participated in the republican primary as opposed to 1,724,825 for the democrats. Although there are no deligates for the democrats, and there was a campaign boycott by all the Democratic candidates, this was the largest turnout for decades for the democrats. And this may be a good indication as to what is going to happen in November.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Video of Ted Kennedey's speech endorsing Barack Obama

The video of Ted Kennedy's speech endorsing Barack Obama can be found here.

Ted Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama

Senator Kennedy, in a very moving speech, just announced his support for Barack Obama.

For those of us who were undecided as to whom to support between Barack Obama and John Edwards, this endorcement tilts the balance.

Texas thief steals Greek Orthodox bishop's crown

Now, this is news! Another news for me is that there is a bishop who was an ex marine!

A thief has broken into a car in Texas and stolen a valuable crown and other items belonging to a visiting Greek Orthodox bishop from Colorado.
Metropolitan Isaiah, an ex-US marine who served in the Korean War, was dining with others at a restaurant when the thief smashed his car's window.
The gold and silver crown is believed to be worth up to $10,000 (£5,000). Also stolen was his Bible and a bag embroidered with his religious title, a gift from the widow of a fellow marine. Metropolitan Isaiah, who was the only priest at a Vespers service on Saturday night without a head covering, is offering a reward of at least $1,000 for the safe return of the crown stolen in Arlington. "We parked in a brightly lit place, and with all the lights there, we thought we were fine," he was quoted by the Dallas News as saying. "We came out at 10 o'clock, and the window was smashed." The symbolic crown, he said, was the first gift he had received as a bishop, 22 years earlier, and he felt "lost without it". Other items missing include the bishop's mobile phone and his clerical veil but the loss of the bag seemed to be a particularly hard blow. "It has my name on it, embroidered Metropolitan Isaiah, so who can use it?" Metropolitan Isaiah asked.According to his official biography, the ex-marine, whose official title is Metropolitan of Denver, entered a Massachusetts seminary in 1954 and became a bishop in 1986.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

The result of the South Carolina Democratic Primary and the polls

The results (with 99% of the votes counted)
Obama 55.70% (295,091),
Clinton 26.64% (141,128),
Edwards 17.66% (93,552)
Voting in South Carolina was brisk, producing a record turn-out of more than 530,000. By comparison, the turn-out for the 2004 Democratic primary was 280,000.

All the polls, totally failed to predict Obama's support (they underestimated it by 13% (minimum) to 29% (maximum). Most of them were closer to the actual percentages of Clinton and Edwards.
Strangely, on the face of it, if one adds all of those counted as "undecided" in the latest polls to the Obama vote then the polls seem closer to reality.

The opinion poll results:

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Public and private Universities in the US and financial aid

Α very interesting article by Robert J. Birgeneau, Chancellor of the University of California-Berkeley.

Harvard University focused the discussion on college costs with its bold announcement that it is extending financial aid to families earning from $120,000 to $180,000 a year. Costs for tuition, fees and room and board will be capped at about 10% of family income. Following Harvard's lead, Yale and other elite private universities are responding with various measures to extend financial aid to more students. The vast majority of Americans, however, are educated in public universities that cannot provide the financial aid packages of private universities with large endowments. Ironically, it could become more expensive for a student from a family of low or moderate means to attend a public university than for a student from a well-to-do family to attend a private college. The solution to this dilemma lies in new public-private partnerships to create endowments that will ensure access for all students, regardless of family income, to attend public universities. The situation at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am chancellor, is illustrative. The total cost of attending Berkeley is about $25,000 per year. That cost is much lower than the $45,000 typical of Harvard and similar institutions. Because many more Berkeley students need aid, and because sources are more limited, the price for our students can be significant. Harvard's new cutoff point for aid is a family income of $180,000 a year; Berkeley's is about $90,000. Consequently, a family with an income of $180,000 will pay $18,000 to attend Harvard, while one with an income of $90,000 pays about $25,000 to attend Berkeley. Ivy League institutions educate less than 1% of the U.S. college population, compared with 75% for public colleges and universities. Public universities have been the nation's single most powerful engine for prosperity for millions of students from middle- and low-income families. Yet, the costs of public education are growing rapidly. At Berkeley, a third of our students come from families with incomes less than $40,000 a year. These students qualify for federal Pell Grants to assist their education. The comparable percentage of Pell Grant students in wealthy elite private schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale is about 10%, and the absolute numbers are very small. For students from the poorest families, we provide a $17,000 grant, lowering the cost to $8,000 a year. But based on sources of aid, we project that in 10 years these students will have to contribute $16,000 or more. What are our options? Many politicians want to freeze or roll back tuition and fees. But this is the worst option for poor families. Tuition and fee increases generate additional funding for aid that insulates poor families and can help them cover other cost increases. In California, as in many states, if tuition and fees are frozen, then so is the amount of money available for financial aid. Public universities need a new model for financial aid. A public-private partnership in which state governments match private donations to endowments for needs-based financial aid would be most effective. As an extreme example, if each of Berkeley's 420,000 living alumni were to give a one-time donation of $1,000, and if that donation were matched by the state, an endowment could be created at Berkeley that would ensure access for the indefinite future for students from the poorest families as well as those from the middle class. Public education and universal access for our brightest students, irrespective of their ability to pay, has been one of the most important social concepts that has made America great. Financial aid for low- and middle-income students is one of the best investments we can make in our country's future.



Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Child adoption and homosexuality in France

Here is the story.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that France discriminated against a lesbian nursery school teacher by refusing to let her adopt a child.
The judges decided that the woman was a victim of discrimination because of her sexual orientation.They said her right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights had also been infringed. France has been told to pay her damages.
Nine European countries allow homosexuals to adopt children.
The court's ruling in Strasbourg on Tuesday noted that: "French law allowed single persons to adopt a child, thereby opening up the possibility of adoption by a single homosexual." The court criticised the French judiciary's emphasis on "the lack of a paternal referent in the household" in the case of the lesbian woman, who was identified only as E.B.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Albert Bowker passed away

Albert Hosmer Bowker, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert in statistics and an innovative administrator during his decades-long career in higher education across the country, died Sunday in a retirement home in Portola Valley, Calif. He was 88 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Bowker was chancellor of UC Berkeley, which he called a "wild and wonderful place," from 1971 to 1980, a period largely defined by steady reductions in state funding, lingering student sentiment against the Vietnam War, and demonstrations against the university system’s investments in apartheid South Africa.
More about A. Bowker here.
One of his greater achievements is, in my opinion, that as an assistant professor of math and statistics at Stanford University (his first appointment in 1947) set up the Statistics Department and was its firt chair from 1948 to 1959.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Serbia: Presidential election 2008 (results)

22:35 Nikolic acknowledged electoral defeat and congratulated Tadic.

22:31TADIC51.6%, NIKOLIC 47.18% (according to Republican Election Commission on the basis of 56.87% of the votes counted).

22:16 TADIC 50.5%, NIKOLIC 47.9%, TURNOUT 67.6% (According to the first preliminary data of the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) ).

22:03 CeSID programme director Marko Blagojevic said that, on the basis of the processed electoral sample, it can be assessed that voters in Serbia have entrusted Boris Tadic with another mandate.

21:53 (19.53) NIKOLIC 49.45 % TADIC 48.75% (11.01% of the ballots counted)


21:39
Tadić 48,8, Nikolić 49,32

21:29
Tadić 50,5 Nikolić 47,9

Upadate: 03, feb
20:26 (18:26GMT) - Polls closed at 20.00 (18:00 GMT). According to the latest information 63% of the electorate voted (approx. 4.5 million people).

Upadate: 03, feb,
19:46 (17.46 GMT)- By 18.00 57.80% of of the electorate has voted , said Republic Election Commission deputy president Dejan Djurdjevic.

Upadate: 03, feb. 16.07GMT
- According to the preliminary figures of the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), around 51% of the electorate went to the polls by 1700 hours (1500GMT), which is around 3% more than at the same time in the first round.

Upadate: 03, feb. 2.54GMT
. (From Tanjug): The second round of the presidential election in Serbia opened Sunday at 7 a.m. Voters in Serbia will choose beteween Tomislav Nikolic, deputy president of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and Boris Tadic, leader of the Democratic Party (DS), whose names are listed in that order on voting slips. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) determined that there are a total of 6,723,762 registered voters in Serbia, about 15,000 more than in the first round, and 8481 polling stations. The turnout of the voters in the second round of the presidential election in Serbia by noon Sunday was 22.4%, about 1% more than in the first round at the same time, the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) told Tanjug. About five percent of the voters go to the polls every hour, CeSID said.

updated: 2/2/08: the latest opinion polls for the second round, show Tadić ahead of Nikolić by a 2% margin. I don't trust the accuracy of the polls in predicting election results, so I will not be surprised if the final result is the other way around.
In the meantime, the TV debate of the two candidates on Wednesday had a record audience for an information political programme since ratings began in 2002. It registered 30% higher ratings than the debate of the same candidates ahead of the presidential elections in 2004 (2,200,000 viewers). On Wednesday evening the ratings share was 60%. (3,100,000) viewers.

21/1/08. According to the official Serbian news agency Tanjug's latest results (6.15am), Tomislav Nikolić of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) gets 39,57%, Boris Tadić of the Democratic Party (DS) 35,45% , Srbije Velimir Ilić of New Serbia (NS) 7,45%, Milutin Mrkonjic of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) 5.96% and Čedomir Jovanović of the Liberal Demoratic Party (LDP) 5,39% .
(The agency site in English has not been updated since yesterday evening).
I will try to post the final result on February 3.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

The Nevada democratic caucus

Democratic party officials announced that more than 115,000 Democrats came out and participated. That compares with the 2004 caucuses, when about 9,000 voters joined in for the party’s caucuses.
Despite the support to Obama of the Clinary Union (a local union with 60000 members), Clinton won the popular vote. (Clinton 51%, Obama 45%, Edwards 4%). However, Obama won the majority of delegates (13 to 12 of Hillary). The math turns out to be a bit confusing, but the shorthand is this: The more populous Clark County, which Clinton won, awarded a even number of delegates, and Clinton and Obama split those down the middle. Meanwhile, the more rural areas, which Obama won, awarded an odd number of delegates, which gave Obama the edge.
It wasn't a High Noon quick draw that resolved the stalemate between Clinton and Obama - but a pack of cards. Under party rules, a pack was shuffled and a supporter from each camp asked to pick a card. Obama won both times. The quirk had little effect overall, and Mrs Clinton won the popular vote.The votes were tied after Saturday's caucuses by 26 votes each at a district in Genoa and 24-24 at Zephyr Cove near Lake Tahoe. At an elementary school in Genoa, caucus chairman Nancy Downey shuffled the pack of cards - which happened to have "Hillary" printed on the back - and spread them out on a table.Clinton supporter Greg Kuntz pulled out a five. An Obama supporter picked a king, clinching the vote, and securing an extra delegate to the next round of voting, when about 10,000 delegates meet at county level. "I drew the five to lose to the king," Mr Kuntz told the Associated Press. "Only in Nevada." Mr Obama's luck held in Zephyr Cove and his supporters again won the traditional Old West tiebreaker by picking a nine and trumping the Clinton camp's five.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

The richest people in Asia

Forbes publishes such lists for different countries. Below are the links for China, India and Hong Kong.
China's 400 richest, Hong Kong's 40 richest, India's 40 richest.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Another failure of opinion polls in the US

The Michigan Republican primary was another instance that opinion polls seem to have failed in the US.
The result of the actual voting was
Romney:
39%, McCain: 30%, Huckabee: 16%, Paul: 6%, Thompson: 4%, Giuliani: 3%
and the results of the last polls were



Sunday, January 13, 2008

Sarkozy to ban advertising from state television

Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of lining the pockets of his media tycoon friends and exerting a Berlusconi-style grip on the airwaves, after he announced a plan to ban advertising from public television and revolutionise French state TV along the lines of the BBC.
Sarkozy, who moves in a circle of wealthy television owners and press barons and counts "Télépresident" among his numerous nicknames, surprised even his own culture minister this week when he announced that adverts should be eliminated from France's five state TV stations in the name of a "cultural revolution in public service television" (From the Guardian.)

Sarkozy chooses Sen and Stiglitz to advise on growth

Economics Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz have been handpicked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to advise France on the way in which it calculates its growth, news reports said.
France has been planning to include factors like 'quality of life' into the measurement of its economic growth, instead of going by the traditional methods of calculating gross national product, ever since Sarkozy assumed power.
Sarkozy's election promises included freeing up the economy and introducing more reforms so as to provide better living standards for the French.
Amartya Sen will be an advisor the French government, while American Joseph Stiglitz will be chairman of the committee of experts appointed to oversee the reform process.
Although the quality of life in France is said to be very good, the rate of the nation's economic growth has remained stagnant for some time now.

Nigeria sues tobacco firms for 40 billion dollars

The Nigerian government is suing three leading tobacco companies (British American Tobacco Plc, Philip Morris International and International Tobacco Ltd, a Nigerian company), seeking more than 40 billion dollars (29 billion euros) in damages for the cost of treating smoking-related diseases, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.
"It is the first time ever that an African state files a case against a tobacco company. No other state in Africa has ever done it," Babatunde Irukera, the lawyer representing the government told AFP.
"The exact amount the federal government is claiming is 5.3 trillion naira," (42 billion dollars) he told AFP.
The suit accuses them of concealing the harmful nature of smoking and of promoting underage smoking.
"The amount is certainly high for Africa, but it is far lower than the amounts that have been claimed in the USA for example," Irukera said, adding that one US state had claimed 286 billion dollars compensation.
Irukera also represents Nigeria in its 6.5-billion-dollar suit against US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer Inc. for an alleged illegal drug trial.
The government is also seeking an injunction compelling the companies to stop the marketing and sale of cigarettes.
more here.
What I find amazing is that in the link I provide and in the same news item, Marlboro has a big ad!

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

The failure of polls in New Hampshire

The results of the Democratic part primary may be the biggest failure of opinion polls since 1948.
Is the large turnout the only reason?



and the results, so far: Clinton 39% , Obama 36%, Edwards 17%, Richardson 5%

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Is Obama the Reagan, or the Thatcher, of the left?

A few more news items on Obama that, in my opinion, explain his success. The article, reveals remarkable similarities between Obama and Reagan/Thatcher.

From the SF Chronicle (6/1/08) (By Debra Saunders)
...Iowa Democrats clearly decided not to repeat the mistake of 2004. In 2004, caucus-goers, who opposed the war in Iraq, put their weight behind John Kerry, who had voted for the Iraq war resolution, because they believed that Kerry was the Democrat who could win in November. Instead, the Dems lost in the most painful way possible, having sold out utterly and compromised their principles -- with nothing to show for it.
Caucus-goers rejected Hillary Clinton's siren song of inevitability and John Edwards' slick populist themes, and instead lined up behind Barack Obama, the one top-tier candidate who opposed the war in Iraq when it was popular.
Clinton can say she's the change candidate, but that doesn't make it so. Both Clinton and Edwards voted for the Iraq war and voted for the Patriot Act -- when the polls told them to. They have stood for nothing with unshakable conviction, except their own advancement. Iowa caucus-goers went for the new guy, instead of the same old excuses.

From The Australian (7/1/08)
(Andrew Sullivan, The Times).
...The analogy that worries Republicans the most is a more recent one. Could Obama be a potential liberal version of Ronald Reagan? Could he do for the Democrats what Reagan did for the Republicans a quarter century ago? It's increasingly possible. Reagan was the cutting edge of the previous realignment in US politics. With a good-natured civil appeal to Democrats who felt abandoned by their party under Jimmy Carter, Reagan revolutionised the reach of his party.
He didn't aim for a mere plurality, as Bill Clinton did. Nor did he go for a polarising 51 per cent strategy, as George W. Bush has done. He ran as a national candidate in search of a national mandate, a proud Republican who nonetheless wanted Democrats to vote for him.
He came out of a period in which Americans had become sickened by the incompetence of their government. Reagan shocked US elites by pivoting that discontent into a victory in 1980. And by his second term, he won 49 out of 50 states.
You can see the same potential in Obama. What has long been remarkable to me is how this liberal politician fails to alienate conservatives. In fact, many like him a great deal. His calm and reasoned demeanour, his crisp style, his refusal to engage in racial identity politics: these appeal to disaffected Republicans.
He is particularly attractive to those on the US Right who feel betrayed by the Bush administration's version of conservatism, just as many Democrats felt betrayed by Carter's liberalism.These voters -- non-evangelical, fiscally and militarily prudent, socially tolerant -- do not feel at home in the angry, southern, anti-immigrant Republican Party of the past few years. Almost one-quarter of those voting in the Democratic caucus last Thursday night were Republicans or independents.The other strikingly Reaganite aspect to Obama is his appeal to the younger generation. People forget that the oldest president was extremely popular among the under-30s.
Obama has kept his ego in check, but he is clearly aiming for a large mandate rather than a small win. He isn't a Clinton in this respect or even a Bush. He is a Reagan, a Margaret Thatcher of the Left.

Newsweek on Obama

Newsweek, on the Jan.14, 2008 issue, has a cover story on Obama.
Here are some of the points that I found interesting.

-In public, Obama attributes his quick political rise to that "respectful tone," which he believes voters crave after so many ugly, dispiriting campaign seasons. (Which includes most races since 1800.) When he first began thinking about a White House bid, he told advisers that he would be willing to run only if he could do it his way, which meant defying the conventional campaign theology of hitting the other guy hard and first, sticking to simple sound bites and preaching only to the base. He has shown a willingness to stray from his script and risk engaging (or boring) audiences with rambling professorial explanations about the details of this or that policy. And he has tried to rewrite Karl Rove's campaign manual by reaching across racial and party lines to appeal to the broadest―rather than the very narrowest―base of supporters.
-In South Carolina—considered a critical primary for Obama, especially if he does not win or come in a close second in this week's New Hampshire primary—campaign workers have spent months recruiting barbers and hairdressers to preach the candidate's virtues to their customers.

-Although Obama's debate performances improved over time, his aides moaned whenever he gave long, discursive answers to simple questions instead of sticking to pithy sound bites that voters would remember.
-In the final three days in Iowa, Obama operatives made 150,000 phone calls to potential supporters.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Quality of life index 2008

International living has devised an index with the above title. The 2008 index is as follows.

France 50 98 85 72 100 100 95 100 87 85
Switzerland 35 91 100 78 100 98 94 100 77 84
United States 59 79 89 72 92 74 100 100 86 83
Luxembourg 36 81 98 80 100 92 78 100 83 82
Germany 45 87 69 83 100 94 85 100 79 80
Australia 36 75 68 80 100 91 91 100 93 79
Italy 51 100 58 74 100 93 65 100 87 78
New Zealand 43 87 60 83 100 92 65 100 84 77
Spain 50 72 54 75 100 94 71 100 87 76
Netherlands 32 85 60 67 100 91 88 100 85 75
Norway 27 82 78 78 100 95 61 100 71 74
Belgium 24 88 60 64 100 92 88 100 86 74
Argentina 66 71 44 66 100 86 63 100 93 74
Austria 31 83 61 87 100 90 70 100 76 74
Uruguay 67 76 40 72 100 80 62 100 93 74
Canada 47 78 63 62 100 88 82 100 67 74
Japan 14 97 75 71 92 94 69 100 84 74
Portugal 52 76 44 74 100 91 62 100 93 74
Malta 58 76 46 84 100 91 34 100 99 74
Liechtenstein 37 80 71 65 100 85 65 100 82 74
Iceland 28 90 63 74 100 91 59 100 74 72
Lithuania 58 72 43 81 100 84 56 100 79 72
Hungary 54 81 43 77 100 71 63 100 76 71
Denmark 20 60 65 84 100 90 72 100 78 71
Finland 28 69 63 68 100 86 75 100 76 71
Costa Rica 63 68 39 100 100 82 50 93 60 71
Sweden 11 76 63 75 100 87 88 100 68 71
Bulgaria 56 74 39 78 92 82 53 100 80 70
Czech Republic 41 82 46 74 100 86 61 100 67 70
Slovenia 42 74 49 74 100 76 56 100 83 70
Greece 37 68 50 70 100 89 60 100 79 70
Poland 41 78 43 72 100 84 63 93 76 69
Ecuador 66 63 35 93 83 73 41 86 100 69
Mexico 55 67 40 68 92 80 58 86 90 68
Panama 60 66 42 77 92 75 62 93 65 68
Monaco 31 90 60 30 92 85 60 100 89 68
United Kingdom 5 87 65 78 100 81 71 100 59 68
Croatia 25 72 40 77 100 80 56 100 95 68
Brazil 64 62 45 71 92 77 47 86 79 68
Slovakia 41 63 44 81 100 83 56 93 74 68
Estonia 55 60 47 77 100 66 60 86 74 68
Andorra 53 78 56 38 100 90 22 100 82 67
Korea, South (Rep of) 31 69 51 68 92 84 56 93 83 67
Latvia 54 79 46 51 100 68 60 86 73 67
Romania 45 78 39 75 92 68 56 86 84 67
Belize 65 50 36 93 92 69 53 93 60 66
Dominica 61 41 35 90 100 72 54 100 57 66
Chile 55 71 40 71 100 76 44 100 48 65
South Africa 47 63 40 75 92 56 47 86 98 65
Colombia 57 63 39 72 83 76 47 71 91 65
Saint Kitts & Nevis 58 47 36 72 100 74 55 100 57 65
Ireland 0 85 67 59 100 85 57 100 59 65
Mauritius 61 65 40 74 100 75 34 93 42 63
Israel 30 74 54 68 92 89 44 57 84 63
Moldova 65 66 32 75 58 71 56 71 91 63
Cyprus (Greek) 39 69 50 62 100 90 31 93 48 63
Antigua & Barbuda 46 59 43 74 83 52 63 100 57 62
Namibia 62 79 36 46 83 40 59 93 74 62
Ukraine 42 65 38 74 75 72 63 71 78 62
Bolivia 77 65 33 75 67 62 50 50 83 62
Grenada 49 56 33 75 92 69 59 86 57 62
Taiwan 44 50 54 75 92 72 34 79 68 62
Cayman Islands 56 41 60 26 92 80 47 100 57 62
Macedonia 62 68 36 72 67 65 47 71 79 62
Paraguay 73 63 33 64 67 74 34 86 68 62
Botswana 66 66 33 78 83 30 47 79 82 61
Barbados 27 62 44 72 100 65 50 100 57 61
Bahamas 18 71 51 74 100 53 44 100 65 61
Bosnia-Herzegovina 69 69 36 70 58 70 44 50 82 60
Dominican Republic 52 50 33 81 92 72 34 86 57 60
Puerto Rico 49 46 42 42 100 76 41 100 55 60
Bermuda 15 49 85 41 92 75 22 100 66 60
Honduras 66 34 35 70 67 69 41 79 83 59
Seychelles 54 62 36 78 67 54 41 100 55 59
Albania 55 65 36 74 67 78 41 64 65 59
Tunisia 58 65 38 68 25 77 38 86 85 59
Jamaica 52 47 33 77 75 75 50 79 57 59
Turkey 42 63 39 68 67 62 44 86 73 58
Singapore 45 75 60 39 42 78 53 100 39 58
Nicaragua 62 60 33 70 75 69 38 79 47 58
Malaysia 66 75 42 62 50 72 47 86 24 58
Guatemala 56 41 35 74 50 68 34 79 95 58
Venezuela 48 71 38 84 50 70 38 79 52 57
Morocco 35 37 38 67 67 66 34 100 92 57
Georgia 51 40 36 80 67 65 50 57 79 57
Nauru 85 9 39 64 100 57 13 100 38 57
French Polynesia 37 59 40 33 92 64 45 100 55 56
Belarus 61 78 40 75 8 54 56 64 77 56
Cuba 58 79 38 77 0 83 53 64 63 56
Suriname 61 47 36 78 83 62 44 64 39 56
China 51 68 61 54 8 71 47 57 89 56
Thailand 46 69 39 61 75 66 49 71 43 56
Tonga 66 26 32 65 50 69 41 100 63 56
El Salvador 58 46 35 65 75 73 41 79 42 56
Trinidad & Tobago 21 38 50 78 75 66 38 100 57 56
Armenia 59 56 40 81 42 48 47 64 72 56
Martinique 58 38 40 38 92 68 16 100 57 56
Guyana 58 65 35 77 67 59 41 64 39 55
Jordan 51 63 36 59 42 84 34 71 68 55
Mongolia 63 63 35 70 83 58 50 64 14 55
Brunei 61 63 54 95 25 55 28 79 25 54
Fiji 46 50 35 68 58 63 59 79 43 54
Palau 54 50 40 70 100 55 19 86 18 54
Lebanon 63 59 31 65 42 76 41 21 92 54
Bhutan 77 29 36 83 25 20 31 100 79 54
Peru 55 51 39 70 75 59 38 57 45 54
Ghana 56 29 35 67 92 42 41 64 62 53
Sri Lanka 59 37 36 78 67 55 41 71 40 53
Kiribati 72 13 31 57 100 56 13 100 38 53
Swaziland 51 60 32 81 17 29 38 86 96 53
Samoa (Western Samoa) 49 22 33 68 83 71 50 79 35 53
Lesotho 66 40 32 41 75 31 31 71 93 53
Malawi 55 43 35 68 50 34 41 64 89 52
Maldives 58 66 44 36 25 63 31 100 49 52
French Guiana 42 35 39 29 92 58 56 100 28 52
Russia 20 71 43 71 25 75 53 57 72 52
Madagascar 56 29 32 59 67 39 34 64 92 52
Bahrain 52 71 51 64 33 45 31 86 30 51
Philippines 55 63 36 68 67 49 34 71 20 51
Zambia 51 46 33 71 50 20 41 64 89 51
Comoros 56 38 32 74 50 38 31 100 40 50
Macau 38 46 53 0 50 64 25 100 79 50
Senegal 44 19 32 67 75 38 34 79 73 50
Syria 65 51 33 61 0 71 44 64 60 50
Egypt 49 51 36 65 25 79 38 79 32 50
Vanuatu 48 38 36 33 83 53 34 79 49 50
Vietnam 48 56 36 71 17 61 38 57 67 49
Solomon Islands 65 29 32 61 67 64 3 79 43 49
Benin 55 25 32 64 83 36 38 64 51 49
Kyrgyzstan 54 44 32 70 42 61 34 64 47 49
Cape Verde 55 31 36 36 100 52 34 64 36 49
India 15 41 46 68 75 62 41 64 47 49
Korea, North (DR of) 59 57 32 51 0 80 22 64 79 49
Nepal 69 21 31 68 25 41 28 64 91 49
Tuvalu 77 4 32 30 100 56 16 100 17 49
Kenya 45 49 33 62 67 33 34 57 66 49
Indonesia 39 47 36 74 75 55 38 36 47 48
Kuwait 39 79 58 42 42 73 28 57 18 48
Marshall Islands 69 21 33 26 100 73 6 79 23 48
Azerbaijan 41 47 40 71 25 42 44 64 62 48
Bangladesh 61 16 35 62 50 39 50 64 49 47
Uzbekistan 66 66 33 62 0 58 41 57 40 47
Kazakhstan 44 49 40 65 25 63 53 64 27 47
Tajikistan 70 26 35 67 25 53 34 29 80 47
Papua New Guinea 48 24 33 64 67 38 41 57 55 47
Qatar 46 66 56 54 25 48 28 79 13 47
Libya 20 69 43 51 0 75 38 71 67 47
Tanzania 49 29 33 74 58 31 34 64 51 46
Mayotte 76 4 32 17 92 42 0 100 46 46
Mozambique 61 4 35 70 58 13 34 64 76 46
Mali 56 13 33 62 83 26 31 64 50 46
Gambia 56 10 33 61 42 40 44 71 60 46
Micronesia 54 38 32 42 100 70 6 71 5 46
Myanmar (Burma) 72 37 32 71 0 53 44 64 35 46
Guinea-Bissau 61 22 31 64 58 33 31 64 47 46
Cambodia 56 35 35 77 25 32 38 64 47 45
Algeria 45 54 36 67 25 53 34 29 70 45
Iran 61 57 38 52 17 50 41 20 64 45
United Arab Emirates 42 56 72 16 17 80 19 79 10 45
Congo, Republic of 46 41 35 61 33 29 41 57 62 45
Togo 48 46 31 64 25 34 34 64 58 44
Turkmenistan 82 24 38 61 0 43 16 57 61 44
Uganda 48 35 33 61 42 34 34 43 70 44
Saudi Arabia 55 72 42 51 8 74 31 36 22 44
Gabon 39 15 35 65 33 47 50 64 49 43
Mauritania 51 13 39 58 33 33 34 64 64 43
Oman 44 47 43 62 25 65 38 64 2 43
Nigeria 38 31 33 62 50 29 38 57 58 43
Laos 63 21 35 74 8 31 41 57 51 43
Rwanda 49 22 33 68 25 32 31 64 62 43
Cameroon 44 31 33 65 17 32 34 64 66 42
Burundi 46 26 32 57 50 31 31 36 75 42
Equatorial Guinea 34 49 48 75 8 25 38 50 55 42
Burkina Faso 56 6 33 65 50 23 31 64 48 42
Niger 56 3 32 64 67 19 28 64 42 42
Central African Republic 55 26 32 72 42 24 34 36 54 42
Zimbabwe 24 62 0 77 8 34 41 64 93 42
Ethiopia 49 12 36 67 33 11 31 57 76 41
Haiti 55 21 32 61 42 39 28 36 53 41
Cote d'Ivoire 49 28 31 67 17 35 34 43 55 40
Pakistan 51 3 35 67 25 54 34 7 77 40
Angola 35 38 43 67 25 2 34 57 52 39
Congo, Democratic Republic of 27 31 33 58 17 31 38 64 62 39
Eritrea 56 25 31 29 8 29 38 57 73 39
Guinea 62 15 32 61 25 32 34 57 22 39
Liberia 52 41 35 57 50 14 38 21 28 38
Chad 38 18 31 68 25 15 34 57 50 37
Djibouti 46 13 32 65 33 36 38 57 8 37
Sierra Leone 58 7 18 62 45 10 34 21 24 32
Sudan 46 21 36 65 0 28 38 29 7 31
Yemen 52 22 31 19 33 40 31 36 0 31
Afghanistan 76 7 20 54 8 0 31 0 61 31
Somalia 62 0 28 55 12 7 35 36 16 30
Iraq 100 20 10 32 0 20 15 0 38 29