Only in Big M does one vlog about the elements

Winter Salutations from the pristine shores of Australia's ninth oldest city. Please ignore the attire of yours truly, Melburnians are known to wear scarves when it's 10°C (50°F). Sincerest apologies to inhabitants of regions that experience real winters, you know, ones that shovel snow. 

Sadly, we live in 15 second world (blame TikTok), so I guess the following clip is 120 seconds too long. 

Like the country itself, Melbourne was a product of British settlement (many would argue it was an invasion), it has a long indigenous history dating back 40,000 years. In honour of National Reconciliation week (May 27-June 3), I ask readers to recognise the original tribes of Melbourne: Boonwurrung, Wauthaurong, Wurundjeri. All nations must fight for the advancement of their native people, or else life expectancy disparity will continue to widen between the non-indigenous and indigenous populace.

As we live in an American obsessed world, many of you probably lose little sleep over Australia, but I think it's time you knew its ten oldest cities - Sydney, NSW (1788); Hobart, TAS (1803); George Town, TAS (1804); Newcastle, NSW (1804); Launceston, TAS (1806); Brisbane, QLD (1825); Albany, WA (1827); Perth, WA (1829); Melbourne, VIC (1835); Adelaide, SA (1836).

Mirror, mirror on the wall - who's the freest of them all?

If you love freedom, then here's a list of the twenty-four freest countries/territories on earth (only one North American nation made the cut, and no, it's not the self-proclaimed land of the free). It's never too late to make the move, don't be tied down to anyone country. (I understand the timing of this is not convenient, but earth will open up once again, so be ready to leap into a nation of your choosing, the freer the better, that's of course, if freedom is your kind of thing).

In their 2020 rankings, Freedom House rated 210 countries out of 100 (rating out of 40 for political rights and 60 for civil liberties). If you have any complaints please direct it towards them, otherwise send your angst towards me, and I'll quietly explain why the following are the freest of them all.

Finland 100/100 (40 political, 60 civil)*

Norway 100/100 (40 political, 60 civil)

Sweden 100/100 (40 political, 60 civil)

Netherlands 99/100 (40 political, 59 civil)

Canada 98/100 (40 political, 58 civil)

Luxembourg 98/100 (38 political, 60 civil)

Uruguay 98/100 (40 political, 58 civil)

Australia 97/100 (40 political, 57 civil)

Denmark 97/100 (40 political, 57 civil)

Ireland 97/100 (39 political, 58 civil)

New Zealand 97/100 (40 political, 57 civil)

Belgium 96/100 (39 political, 57 civil)

Japan 96/100 (40 political, 56 civil)

Portugal 96/100 (39 political, 57 civil)

Switzerland 96/100 (39 political, 57 civil)

Barbados 95/100 (38 political, 57 civil)

San Marino 95/100 (38 political, 57 civil)

Andorra 94/100 (39 political, 55 civil)

Cyprus 94/100 (38 political, 56 civil)

Estonia 94/100 (38 political, 56 civil)

Germany 94/100 (39 political, 55 civil)

Iceland 94/100 (37 political, 57 civil)

Slovenia 94/100 (39 political, 55 civil)

United Kingdom 94/100 (39 political, 55 civil)

Honourable (and not so honourable) mentions: Saudi Arabia 7/100 (1 political, 6 civil); China 10/100 (-1 political, 11 civil); Iran 17 (7 political, 10 civil); Russia 20/100 (5 political, 15 civil); India 71/100 (34 political, 37 civil); Brazil 75/100 (31 political, 44 civil); Israel 76/100 (33 political, 43 civil); South Korea 83/100 (33 political, 50 civil); Italy 89 (36 political, 53 civil); France 90/100 (38 political, 52 civil); Costa Rica 91/100 (38 political, 53 civil); Spain 92 (38 political, 54 civil). 

Shout-out to Armenia! One of the best performers from the previous year, rising 6 points to 53/100 (21 political, 32 civil) - only fitting that today marks the day of the Armenian First Republic.

Unfortunately, many humans still play the discrimination card (I blame lack of travel and ignorance). To dispel myths about places often overlooked, here's two examples: Ghana (an African success story) 82/100 (35 political, 47 civil) and Indonesia (world's largest Muslim populace) 61/100 (30 political, 31 civil).

In case you're wondering, freedom-loving USA received 86/100 (33 political, 53 civil). That is lower than Greece, 88 (37 political, 51 civil), which is fitting, seeing as the Greeks gave the world democracy.

*There is a reason why I pledged allegiance to the great nation of Finland. All earthlings should applaud nations that champion freedom, and ensure your own country of residence follows suit.

Presidential Palace, Helsinki (March 13, 2019)

The stats don't lie

Time to deal with the cold hard statistics, and to lighten up the mood I'll add some beach scenery. First things first, let's dispel the myth that the US is the global pandemic leader. (However, the US still leads advanced nations in firearms slaughter, mass incarceration and capital punishment - you know I had to get that out there). The following is a selection of ten countries and their death rate from Covid-19 (per population of one million), according to today's figures from the World Health Organisation.

Belgium: 736.7

Spain: 558

Italy: 495.7

UK: 460.5

France: 387.9

Sweden: 298.5*

USA: 235

Canada: 118.9

Japan: 4.6

Australia: 3.9

(For my fellow Armenians, our homeland is at 14.2. I had to go there, we Armenians have a tendency of obsessing over our standing in the world).

As you can gather, bar the US, every country listed is an advocate of universal healthcare. After seeing Belgium at top of the list, the average American (while not having a clue where Belgium is located on map) will say: see, what's so special about healthcare as a right? On the other hand, someone from Japan will utter: for a country of 126 million we sure are making the world's richest country look third world. To sum up, let's stop the virus death games and instead worry about what we can do to collectively defeat this pesky virus, whilst also muting fear mongering. 

*Sweden is all for herd immunity (gatherings of up to 50 allowed), schools and ice rinks are open as usual. Collectively as a society they understand that as sad as it is, most dying from the virus are the frail, so they best concentrate on looking after the vulnerable and allowing the healthy to go about normal life. Whereas in some US states they are grappling with lockdowns, California closing down beaches, for instance. Some would say the irony to all this is that Swedes are showing Americans how to practice freedom. Sorry to burst America's bubble, but good old "socialist" Sweden is now the land of the free!

Not to get side tracked, but I'm quite relieved that many nations already suffering from other more pressing concerns (clean drinking water, anyone?) have not been as affected. India's death rate stands at a measly 1.4 per one million. Many will say this is due to poor reporting with underlying numbers being higher, but whatever the case, many poorer nations (Indonesia is at 3.4 deaths) have come out unscathed - is this payback for Western imperialism? 

Now, for a clip that proves it's not all doom and gloom. I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, so Melbourne beaches don't exactly do much for me. Let me rephrase: after spending five years in Texas, Melbourne beaches actually resemble God's country. If your blood pressure is rising from paranoia, here's 27 seconds of viewing to calm your senses. Still feeling like you want to be in a bunker? I suggest leaving this earth for a planet that offers more freedoms.