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[Reudh]

Nauru's biggest aid comes from Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

I was wrong about the percentage obesity.

It's 96% in males, 93% in females.

Their unemployment is 90%. NINETY PERCENT. I remember when Australia shut down the detention centre there, it caused the loss of 100 jobs.

Now, Nauru's population is only 9,378. Assuming half of that are adults in the workforce, that is, not crippled, too elderly, or children, that leaves ~4600.

Australia caused the loss of 100 jobs by closing the detention centre. Now, while I don't condone extended detention, the loss of the centre there caused the loss of 100 jobs. 1 in 46 people were employed there. Think about how many people that affects then? Assuming half the workers were in nuclear family units, 2 + 2, that means that four people's livelihood was jeopardised by this shutdown.

Assuming that 50% of the employees now are jobless, that's 50 people or 200 affected total, a sizable percentage of the population.

Nauru's more or less a failed country nowadays. They used to be incredibly rich back in the day, as I said, but they've just about run out of their only lucrative business: phosphate.

[RedKing]

Nauru sounds a lot like the reservations here in the US: poor local economy, high unemployment, high levels of alcoholism and obesity, and a fading indigenous culture. 

[Reudh]

Same here. It's not good, how we treat our indigenous.

[FearfulJesuit]

What do you do, then? I mean, it sounds like the country is small enough that everybody could just emigrate to Australia or New Zealand, and it'd be much cheaper for Wellington and Canberra...

[Loud Whispers]

everybody emigrate to Australia or New Zealand

INTERCONTINENTAL MIGRAAAAAATION

Although I do think this would bring up a new problem. Eventually in the bleak future, even Australia will become a scarce resource. And what do we do if we run out of Australia? Where will the spiders go? It'll be a planet wide disaster.

[RedKing]

We'll build a new one. We just need red sand, gum trees, sharks and platypi.

[Solifuge]

What do you do, then? I mean, it sounds like the country is small enough that everybody could just emigrate to Australia or New Zealand, and it'd be much cheaper for Wellington and Canberra...

We can look at history, and see how well people adapt to being uprooted and put somewhere that "makes more sense" from the perspective of others.

...of course, if they approach relocating on their own with a well-thought-out plan of integration, that's another matter entirely.

[Reelya]

(Also, Nauru is the 'fattest' country, with obesity rates more than twice that of America.)

IIRC It's 83% in adults.

Funfact about Nauru: It was once one of the richest countries in the world per capita due to its booming phosphorus mine that took up half the country.

Then the phosphorus ran out, and they're now dependent on Australian aid to even survive. There's one way to get to Nauru: That's a weekly plane, in and out. A head of lettuce costs $AUD30. (~$USD30).

Actually, there's another side to that story, all the phosphorus profits which were meant to become a long-term trust fund for Nauru were managed by an Australian investment firm which embezelled billions of Nauru dollars and then the firm's directors ran away, leaving the bank accounts drained. Saw this on Australian news.

So, Australia kind of owes Nauru, since our citizens royally ripped off their long-term investments.

Just to show that the world is nothing if not fair , the Americans did the same with our $50 billion dollar 'Future Fund', ploughing billions of our national savings into the U.S. housing market just before the crash, which is a highly unethical use of a client's money (throwing away a clients money to try and prop up other unrelated investments)

[Hanslanda]

I feel dirty for posting in this thread.

I am an American, and I consider myself a patriot. I find my country and its systems dysfunctional, its attitude on the world stage arrogant and entitled, its art and culture disappointing as it descends into a dynasty of derivative works, its economic system Distopic in that it devalues anything that can't be monetized and invests power in those who accumulate wealth and allow it to stagnate, and one which I would not currently want to raise a child in. But it is my country, and I love it despite this.

I want it and my fellow American citizens to succeed. I think that in order to do that, we need to take a good hard look at ourselves, and consider changing tack before our pride backs us into a corner, or causes us to undergo further collapses.

It's the duty of a citizen to stand up for what they believe to be right... and doing so is vital to the healthy functioning of even a semi-democratic system like our own. If what your country is doing seems practically or morally wrong, is not criticism and dissent the highest form of patriotism?

I am proud to be on the same continent as you, good sir. I am also ashamed of my antics here in this thread. I know America's not a very nice country sometimes. But for the most part, the 'fat, lazy, ignorant' people that are said to inhabit it are anything but. Well, there are a LOT of fat people here, not gonna lie. And quite a few ignorant people. But I think that is no different from anywhere else.
And now, reading all the stuff about Poland, I just realized I was getting anti-trolled in a very interesting manner. Kudos to all the Polish people who didn't get offended when someone made fun of Poland, you're doing better than I am.