WORLD'S HAPPIEST COUNTRIES [WITH PICTURES]

Hey guys. So this is a follow-up on my last post. Also by Forbes, here are your world's happiest countries.

COUNTDOWN!!!!

 

20. Taiwan

 
Taiwan is the last of the 20 happiest nations, and ranks 4th in education. Next we'll run through the 20 saddest nations, according to the Legatum Prosperity Index.  

19. Singapore

They may consider themselves overworked, but Singaporeans can boast the 3rd highest ranking Economy in the world.  

18. Hong Kong

 
The night skyline in Hong Kong, the highest-ranking Asian nation. Though technically part of China, the Prosperity Index breaks out Hong Kong as a separate country. It has improved its Safety and Security ranking from 18th last year to 5th in 2012. 

17. Belgium

 
Chilling in Brussels. Belgium is the final European nation among the top 20. Guess which Asian nation comes next? 

16. Austria

 
Skiing in Tyrol, Austria. The Alpine nation ranks 16th overall and 10th in Health. 

15. Iceland

 
Relaxing in the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Grindavik, Iceland. Despite having an Economy ranking of 61, Iceland is 1st in Safety and Security. 

14. Germany

 
Castles in the Rhine Valley. Germany is 14th overall, 5th in Health and 6th in Economy. 

13. United Kingdom

 
London. The United Kingdom ranks 6th in Entrepreneurship and Opportunity and 7th in Governance. 

12. United States

 
San Francisco. After three years in 10th place. The U.S.A. has slipped to 12th overall. The land of the free ranks only 14th in Personal Freedom but 2nd in Health.
 

11. Luxembourg

 
This is the first year Luxembourg has been included in the Legatum Prosperity Index. Its addition contributed to knocking the U.S. down to 12th place. Despite ranking 1st in Health, Luxembourg is 48th in Education. 

10. Ireland

 
Mallaranny, Ireland. The Emerald Isle ranks 4th in Personal Freedom and 10th overall. 

9. Switzerland

 
Davos. Switzerland ranked 9th overall. Its 1st place rankings in Economy and Governance are balanced out by a 32nd place ranking in education. 

8. Netherlands

 
A view of Amsterdam's King's Canal. The Netherlands, 8th overall, scored in 6th place on both Social Capital and Health. 

7. Finland

 

Helsinki. Finland ranked 7th overall and 3rd in both entrepreneurship and opportunity as well as safety and security. 

6. Canada

 
The skyline of booming Calgary, Alberta. Canada ranks 6th overall and scored first in personal freedom. 

5. New Zealand

A view of the harbor in Auckland, New Zealand, which ranks 5th overall, 1st in education and 2nd in governance and personal freedom. 

4. Australia

 
Sydney's famous opera house. Australia ranked 4th overall this year, 2nd in education and 3rd in personal freedom. 

3. Sweden

 
A view of Central Stockholm. Sweden's overall rank has climbed from 7th in 2009 to 3rd this year. The nation ranks 2nd in Entrepreneurship and Opportunity. 

2. Denmark

 
A view of Copenhagen. Denmark ranked 2nd overall for the fourth consecutive year. The nation placed 1st for Entrepreneurship and Opportunity and 2nd in Social Capital.

1. Norway 

 
Enjoying the harborside in Bergen, Norway. The Scandinavian nation ranked 1st overall on the 2012 Legatum Institute Prosperity Index. It also ranked 1st in Social Capital and 2nd in Economy.

WORLD'S WORST (SADDEST) COUNTRIES [WITH PICTURES]

So Forbes just compiled their list of worst (saddest) countries in the world. Here are the top 20 ( with no. 1 being the saddest.
COUNTDOWN!!!

20. Nigeria

The best of the worst, Nigeria ranks 123rd overall on the Legatum Prosperity Index. Decades of corruption have squandered great oil and gas wealth, while new concerns involve sectarian violence. In this picture soldiers stand guard as people walk by near the site where a suicide attacker drove a car bomb into a Christian church in Kaduna, Nigeria, on October 28, 2012.

19. Mozambique

The former Portuguese colony ranks 124 overall. Its standing in years to come may be bolstered by massive new discoveries of natural gas offshore, which are to be exported as LNG.

18. Sudan

Now split into South Sudan and North Sudan after a protracted civil war, the two young nations continue to fight over oilfields and pipelines. Ranked 125 overall, but 138th in Safety and Security.

17. Ivory Coast

The disputed 2010 presidential election in Ivory Coast descended into a brief 2011 civil war as opposing factions vied for control. The nation ranks 126 overall. 

16. Guinea

The west African nation ranks 127th overall, but a surprising 44th in Personal Freedom. 

15. Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone (rank 128) has bountiful natural resources, especially diamonds, titanium and bauxite, as well as one of the world's biggest natural harbors. Blood diamonds financed both sides of the nation's civil war, which ended in 2001.

14. Angola

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been in power since independence 37 years ago, and has promised to ramp up rebuilding of the country after its civil war, which ended a decade ago. 

13. Liberia

Life appears to be improving somewhat under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, though some are concerned about the appearance of rampant looting of Liberia's forest resources. A bright spot: Liberia ranks 68th in Social Capital, but 130th overall.

12. Iraq

The scars of war remain here in Fallujah, once considered the most dangerous city in Iraq for the U.S. military. Some residents still pine for the stability of the days of Saddam Hussein and have lost faith in the nascent political system. 

11. Pakistan

Nuclear-armed Pakistan remains a restive hotspot. Osama bin Ladin was killed there last year. 

10. Ethiopia

With 91 million people, Ethiopia is the second-most populous nation in Africa, after Nigeria. 

9. Yemen

U.S. President Barack Obama has approved aggressive unammed drone attacks on Al Qaeda leaders 
in Yemen, located south of Saudi Arabia.

8. Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe has held ultimate power in Zimbabwe since 1980. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested and severely beaten by government thugs in 2007. He has since been elected prime minister in a shaky power-sharing agreement with Mugabe. Zimbabwe ranks last in Governance and Economy.

7. Togo

Togo - overall rank 136 - used to be at the heart of the west African slave trade. It was a German colony until the end of World War I. It is plauged by political instability and human rights violations by security forces.

6. Burundi

Like neighboring Rwanda, Burundi has suffered decades of sectarian violence between the Hutu and Tutsi people. 

5. Haiti

Ranked 138, Haiti was already destitute before the the 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 316,000 people. Thousands remain in tent camps. 

4. Chad

Chad ranks 139th. Here, a woman brings her baby to be examined for signs of malnutrition at a walk-in feeding center in Dibinindji, a desert village in the Sahel belt of Chad, Wednesday, April 18, 2012. An influx of Chadians returning from Libya after the conflict there has exacerbated social tensions. 

3. Afghanistan

Decades of war have left many Afghans in abject poverty. Here, Afghan travellers including a woman in full burkha journey on a horse cart along a street in Herat on December 30, 2012. 

2. Republic of the Congo

Congo ranks 141st on the Prosperity Index. Here, a Congolese girl carries a box of food aid at the Mugunga III camp for internally displaced persons, which is often raided by armed men.

1. Central African Republic

The Central African Republic ranks 142 on the Prosperity Index, in last place. It ranks at the bottom in Education. Despite significant mineral resources, CAR is among the poorest nations in the world and rebels are seeking to overthrown Pres. Francois Bozize.

Pretty sad :(

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Good day readers. Happy New Year. I know it's been a lil' while but by the grace of God, blogging resumes today. YAY!!!! Stay tuned for a fantastic blog-year ahead.

Lots of fun stuff planned for Y.O.U.

Thanks for your patronage. :)

TRIBUTE TO A LOST GEM (6TH MARCH 1992 - 30TH DECEMBER 2010)

Hey guys. So today makes it 2 years since my only elder sister passed on due to some unresolved issues. We're thankful to God for His strength and comfort on my family.

I would like to share a poem that a great friend of mine, Kecy Anosike, wrote for her. You can follow Kecy's blog here

SALT (DYING TO LIVE)

Maybe I've been more afraid of living;

Than dying-.

To die is to be free;

To live is to be strong.

After losing your breath,

Nothing else is expected.

But after taking a breath,

You have to take one more.

You do one act, and you're remembered forever.

But if you live for someone in this world

It may seem like forever before it's over

.

To do one may be what's expected of you.

To do the other may just be taken for granted.

But if you combine the two;

At the right time

It may come to you that you need nothing more.

Death is not the enemy, you see,

It takes the soul and sets it free.

But love is the cage which captures your heart

And grief is the thief who rips it apart.

I have held my tears as long as I could.

What good are tears? 

Will they bring anyone back from the dead?

Will they heal the hole in my heart?

Will they tell me it's all right, because it's not.

Tears are just salt water, like the water in our blood.

Tears are my eyes bleeding the pain that fills me till I want to scream endlessly.

Tears may help me sleep but they don't take away the pain.

I can work around it and over it and under it, but I can't get through it.

Salt water stings in an open cut, tears just make my pain ache even more.

In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Abba (1992-2010)---»E-smiles

MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE

ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY; MORE BITES, MORE SHINE

Hey! I know it's characteristic of †ђξ normal human psyche to utterly avoid something after failing †ђξ first time but need I remind you that many of our phenomenal elements of science and technology were coined out from multiple failed attempts.

My favourite example is Thomas Alva Edison. He is the not-so-young man pictured above. Ok. For those that are not familiar with his nomenclature, he is the inventor of many devices that have shaped the daily living of mankind; the most prominent of which is the incandescent light bulb. It is said that Mr. Thomas tried 9999 times and failed but only got his breakthrough at the 10000th time and after all this, he said, "I didn't fail to make a light bulb 9999 times; I only discovered 9999 ways of how not to make a light bulb" (paraphrased).

The keyword here is PERSEVERANCE. There are many more examples of such - Daniel Abba, The Wright Brothers, Michael Faraday, Rutherford and a host of countless others who, because of their perseverance and determination, have made it possible for us to live a relatively less stressful life today.

Let me wrap up with a quote from Mr. Edision: "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."

Have a nice day :)

ALL I WANT FOR GRADUATION IS...

So one of my friends just concluded her Master's Degree from Imperial College, London right after bagging a Second Class - Upper Division Honors degree from the University of Manchester. Well, she got back 3 weeks ago and as happy as her parents were, they decided to throw her a surprise party. And as if that was not enough, she was further surprised with a brand new car as her "Congratulations!!!" gift. Then it got me thinking. I mean, I'm thankful for my own 'wonderful' parents who, even though they don't pamper me with luxuries, I still get stuff which a whole lot of people don't enjoy tho! But honestly, I felt rather jealous. Mostly, because my father is not really the complimentary type.

I remember in my 12th grade - last year in high school and all, I had been among the best 7 students in my own class all high-school-long but I never scaled past the 3rd position :(. Miraculously, that particular term, I managed to bag the first position and I was damn elated (like... FINALLY!!! \(´▽`)/). Then I went to my dad, all excited and all, then all I got back was, "You tried". The only expression I could give at that moment was (-_-) . Well, eventually, he got me a "Well done" cake and it was worth a whole lot to me, coming from someone like my dad.

Now, back to the present!! I'm currently in my 4th year in uni but I still have till 2014 to graduate cos I'm offering a 5-year course. After the gift my friend got, I was just wondering if my dad would get me a private jet anything after my graduation and what it might be. I mean, by the Grace of God, I would be leaving with a First Class Degree in Mechanical Engineering *wide smile*. I'm just anxiously waiting to see if my dad can actually 'surprise' me. *lol*

*passing by*

 Okay. So It's been a while since I posted anything. Not to worry. I'll be back before you know it. Seasons  Greetings !!!! Catch you pretty soon.

THANKSGIVING

Hey guys. I just felt like sharing a lil' bit on Thanksgiving. Sometimes in life, we all  (or at least most of us) feel like there's no need to thank God probably because there's no 'good' thing evident in life at the moment or things just took a certain turn for the worse. But then there's always a reason to be thankful.
If for instance, you feel your shoes are bad and/or worn out, be thankful that you even have feet cos' some people have had theirs amputated. Besides, you're alive and there's still hope; anything can happen
If at all you feel you have a long list of people you know that are 'better' than you (and boy, list can be large) but then look down and see the number of people whose lives aren't as 'blessed' as yours. For what it's worth, you are reading this blog and you can get at least 3 reasons to be thankful:
1) You are alive
2) You are healthy, and even if you're ill in any way, at least you have enough strength to read this
3) You can see; which means you have your eye(s). Many people are dying to just see for a minute
4) You can read this post; thus, you have some education of some sort, whether formal, informal or otherwise
Now think of the number of people who aren't opportuned to have any of these. UNCOUNTABLE!!! So cheer and give glory to God. Have a nice weekend and week ahead.