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Old 10-12-2010, 01:22 PM
 
548 posts, read 2,091,551 times
Reputation: 771

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I'm looking for opinions about which countries to live in that are not police states. To me, currently, a police state means:

1 - government surveillance of citizens' normal lawful activities.
2 - encouraging people to snitch on their neighbor's political and other non criminal activities and setting up government programs to do that.
3 - multiple cross-referenced databases of citizens' lawful private banking and financial dealings.
4 - body searches to enter public buildings and use public transportation.
5 - government confiscation of personal property.
6 - licensing and regulation of essential activities.
7 - a climate of fear

I could make the list longer but, to answer my own question, I've always felt the most free in the Caribbean countries I've lived in, where nobody really cared what I did as long as I didn't make trouble for them. What are your non police state countries?
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Old 10-12-2010, 10:01 PM
 
Location: Toronto
287 posts, read 1,007,512 times
Reputation: 280
Hmmm what are you trying to hide, teachertype?
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Old 10-12-2010, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Arizona
5 posts, read 14,872 times
Reputation: 19
Yes, what did you do that they didn't care about? Or perhaps they do engage in the practices of your list but are just waiting to see how far you will go before pouncing!
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Old 10-13-2010, 12:17 AM
 
548 posts, read 2,091,551 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aggo View Post
Hmmm what are you trying to hide, teachertype?
Only thing I'm hiding is my answer to the major philosophical question of our time....briefs, or boxers?
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Old 10-13-2010, 12:54 AM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,103 posts, read 85,909,223 times
Reputation: 130741
According to Freedom House research those are free countries.


Map reflecting the findings of Freedom House's 2009 survey, concerning the state of world freedom in 2008, which correlates highly with other measures of democracy. Some of these estimates are disputed.
Green - Free (89)
Yellow - Partly Free (62)
Purple - Not Free (42)

But I rather agree with this map:


Reporters Sans Frontières
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Old 10-13-2010, 10:42 AM
 
Location: A Nation Possessed
25,253 posts, read 18,405,027 times
Reputation: 22089
Quote:
Originally Posted by teachertype View Post
What are your non police state countries?
Are there any left? Seriously. I'm not trying to be combative, but I truly wonder if there is such a place today. If so, I think it would be a more-or-less uninhabited place like South Georgia Island or something. It has been my observation that any place that has a significant population has the few that, for some reason, feels it should run everyone's affairs. This theme plays out in everything from small towns to giant nations. Sadly.
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Old 10-13-2010, 11:07 AM
 
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,785,023 times
Reputation: 5229
Seems to me that the original points mentioned by the OP, should be *100%* of the time, if you want to qualify a country as a true *police state*.

All those points, in some way or another are going on in the USA today !!!
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Old 10-13-2010, 01:00 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
202 posts, read 565,936 times
Reputation: 210
What about Costa Rica? They don't even have a military, which is incredible when you consider that they're in the same neighborhood as Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Panama. They were my top choice until I decided to move to central Europe.
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Old 10-13-2010, 09:39 PM
 
548 posts, read 2,091,551 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elcoyoteloco View Post
What about Costa Rica? They don't even have a military, which is incredible when you consider that they're in the same neighborhood as Nicaragua
I believe there's more police corruption in Costa Rica lately. Nicaragua actually has very little government intrusion. Other than the occasional mordida to traffic police, and the frustration of dealing with inept bureaucracies, you're on your own.
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Old 10-13-2010, 09:54 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
202 posts, read 565,936 times
Reputation: 210
Quote:
Originally Posted by teachertype View Post
I believe there's more police corruption in Costa Rica lately. Nicaragua actually has very little government intrusion. Other than the occasional mordida to traffic police, and the frustration of dealing with inept bureaucracies, you're on your own.
True. I've just always found it interesting that Costa Rica doesn't feel they need a military when there have been quite a few wars in their neighborhood.
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