Wanna live longer? Move to a country with socialized health care.

posted by i.n.kazar

Countries in order of life expectancy, as reported by the CIA Factbook, with details on the health care systems of some of the countries (enough to communicate my point) as reported by the World Health Organization and other sources. Oh, and by the way, many of the governments topping the list have panels empowered to examine health expenditures in the final year(s) of life. Contrary to the 'death panel' hysteria promoted by groups in the U.S. that wish to preserve our lovely status quo, countries whose governments take stock of the expenses and questions of dignity at end-of-life have the LONGEST life expectancy. If you don't believe me, click some of my links and do some reading for yourselves, instead of just repeating what your favorite columnists and radio hosts might be spouting.


1. Macau: 84.36 years -- Mixture of government-provided healthcare and private services overseen by the government. (WHO and Wikipedia)

[hmmm... not the U.S.? where we are not subjected to "the nightmares of government-controlled medicine"?]

2. Andorra: 82.51 years -- 92% of the population covered by the government health agency (WHO pdf)

3. Japan: 82.12 years -- "In the Japanese health care system, healthcare services, including screening examinations for particular diseases at no direct cost to the patient, prenatal care, and infectious disease control, are provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Since 1983[1], all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice.... It is compulsory to be enrolled in a Japanese insurance program if you are a resident of Japan." (Wikipedia)

"The basic principle governing the delivery of health care services is that all citizens should be able, at any time and place, to receive the care they require, with an affordable personal contribution.

"The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced a health promotion programme, the National Health Promotion Movement in the 21st Century (Healthy Japan 21), in 2000. The movement, unlike traditional programmes, emphasizes ‘primary prevention’, aiming at early detection and treatment of diseases." (WHO)

4. Singapore: 81.98 years -- "There is a dual system of health care delivery. The public system is managed by the Government, while the private system is provided by private hospitals and general practitioners." (WHO)

[OK but where's the U.S., did you skip it??]

5. San Marino: 81.97 years

6. Hong Kong: 81.86 years

7. Australia: 81.63 years -- "Australia’s health care system is a partnership between the Federal, State and Territory, and local governments. Through the Health and Ageing portfolio, the Federal Government provides national leadership, determines national policies and outcomes, and shares responsibility for funding services....

"The system is complex, with delivery provided by both the public and private sectors." (WHO)

8. Canada: 81.23 years -- "Canada has an extensive social security network, including old age pension, family allowance, employment insurance and social assistance. Basic health care is provided to all Canadians through a universal free health care system." (WHO)

9. France: 80.98 years

10. Sweden: 80.86 years

13. Israel: 80.73 years

19. Italy: 80.20 years

[WHAT ABOUT THE U.S.?!]

23. Spain: 80.05 years

30. Netherlands: 79.40 years

36. United Kingdom: 79.01 years

38. Jordan: 78.87 years

40. South Korea: 78.72 years

50. United States: 78.11 years

Poem of the day: Song

beauty is a shell
from the sea
where she rules triumphant
till love has had its way with her

scallops and
lion's paws
sculptured to the
tune of retreating waves

undying accents
repeated till
the ear and the eye lie
down together in the same bed


-- William Carlos Williams

Four-Paragraph Descriptive Essay

brown boy spins
limbs spread
a twirling human asterisk


on a swivel-seat office chair
in the street
spun by hydrant water


white teeth laugh
at flying bricks


wet brown boy.


-- ilyse kazar. written 24 July 1980 in rebellion against, it seems, all the four paragraph essays I was forced to write for years, yet somehow still true to the form

NY Times invites reader interaction with content

Just now the New York Times published a CIA report detailing abuses that took place inside secret prisons.

The entire pdf of the report is published within an online document reader. A brilliant feature is that readers are invited to interact with this content by helping to annotate it.

Hip hip hurrah, NYT.

Poem of the day: The Hebrew Mamita

Vanessa Hidary is one of my faves amongst the poets who appeared in the six seasons of Russ Simmons' Def Poetry series on HBO.

This performance is especially deep for me, because I have been that girl on that barstool, I have been told many times "gee, you don't look Jewish" and remained silent (or, worse, took it as a damned compliment). On the other hand, I have been known to let people go on and on about "this Jewish bastard" or about "the Kyke landlord" or about "the Jewish conspiracy that owns all the world's stocks and plots to limit my access to the pharmaceuticals I need" (yes, that is an actual meme out there) ... let them go on and on until they have taken all the rope they need to hang themselves, and then stood up and before leaving the table have let them know THEY WERE TALKING TO ONE.

But I have not done the whole trip that Hidary has done (at a much younger age). I never fully processed the shit I've sat and listened to that people felt safe to say in front of me because I "don't look Jewish" (odd, also, because I think I do "look Jewish") ...

Thanks, Vanessa, for crossing the desert for me and bringing this back with you:

Quote of the day: Police Chief Stamper on Legalizing Marijuana

Any law disobeyed by more than 100 million Americans, the number who’ve tried marijuana at least once, is bad public policy. As a 34-year police veteran, I’ve seen how marijuana prohibition breeds disrespect for the law, and contempt for those who enforce it....

Perhaps the biggest objection to legalization is the “message” it would send to our kids. Bulletin: Our children have never had greater access to marijuana; it’s easier for them to score pot than a six-pack of Coors. No system of regulated legalization would be complete without rigorous enforcement of criminal laws banning the furnishing of any drug to a minor.

Let’s make policy that helps, not handcuffs, those who suffer ill effects of marijuana or other drugs, a policy that crushes the illegal market — the cause of so much violence and harm to users and non-users alike.

that was Norm Stamper, Seattle police chief from 1994 to 2000, in a Room for Debate piece in NYT in July.

Poem of the day: And I Always Thought

I have had this poem pinned to my wall or laying around ever since i bought my first electric typewriter and typed it out on an index card.

And I always thought

And I always thought: the very simplest words
Must be enough
When I say what things are like
Everyone's heart must be torn to shreds.
That you'll go down if you don't stand up for yourself
Surely you see that.

Bertolt Brecht, 1956
Translated by Michael Hamburger

Doh of the day: control air traffic around Manhattan

Why would this be a matter of debate for more than 3 seconds?

The freewheeling nature of the corridors has spurred debate about whether to place tighter controls on the airspace or to restrict who can fly in them.

America's Seniors are the real "Me Generation"

Ezra Klein pulls together a brief analysis of who supports and opposes the public option in the Health Insurance debate:

...one reason that it's been hard to explain the appeal of the bill to the insured population -- which tilts older and votes in higher numbers -- is that it doesn't have a lot to offer them.

Hot Females Rule Evolution

FOR the female half of the population, it may bring a satisfied smile. Scientists have found that evolution is driving women to become ever more beautiful, while men remain as aesthetically unappealing as their caveman ancestors.

As reported in UK's Times Online and many other sites...