Who ever said China was communist?

From the Telegraph:

In another sign of Asia’s ascendancy, and of its growing economic and political union, duties will be dropped on everything from steel to rubber and shoes to electronics.

China hopes that the zone will quickly rival the European Economic Area and the North American Free Trade Area and provide new outlets for its goods in the face of Western protectionism.

Duties will be scrapped on 90pc of goods traded across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines. Over the next five years, tariffs will also be removed on trade in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma.

Top 5 Medical Tourism Destinations (U.S. at #5)

From Property Abroad (via Carpe Diem):

Medical tourism is where people travel abroad to receive medical treatments like cosmetic surgery, which they could not afford in their own country.

Those travelling abroad for such treatments usually come from developed countries, where treatments are very expensive. The UK and the US are two of the biggest markets. That said: wealthy people in countries with poor health sectors often travel to countries that offer better healthcare for major treatments.

When people travel abroad for medical treatments they have two main criteria: cost and quality of healthcare.

They are looking for a place that they can both get to and be treated in cheaply, but which has a top-class health sector so that they know they will be safe. Below are three destinations which meet the criteria for perfect medical tourism destinations, and as such are some of the most popular destinations with medical tourists.

Malaysia:

Malaysia was recently found to be the most popular medical tourism destination with the growing numbers of Asia’s wealthiest. They travel to Malaysia for major treatments because it has one of the best health services in, not only Asia, but the world.

Malaysia is also one of the most popular destinations with those travelling from English speaking destinations (US and UK). This is because, as an ex-British colony there is a high prevalence of English speakers in the health sector. Tourism from the two combines to make Malaysia one of the fastest growing medical tourism destinations, and well worth a property investment tailored to that market.

Costa Rica:

Costa Rica is massively popular with American medical tourists. Costa Rica disbanded the military in 1980 because of the safety and stability of the country. This makes people feel safe about visiting the country, but it also freed up billions of dollars to spend on education on healthcare.

For that reason Costa Rica now has one of the best, and most efficient health sectors in the world. Of the top destinations Costa Rica is also among the cheapest for procedures, which makes it very popular with medical tourists from around the world including the UK.

India:

India also benefits from cost effectiveness when it comes to medical tourism. People from around the world can afford surgeries and procedures in India that they would never be able to afford in the UK or even America. India is also an ex-British colony, and for that reason it has a developed, very efficient and safe health service, which again is a draw for medical tourists from abroad and within the region.

Brazil:

Brazil is fast growing into an economic giant, on the back of its massive production and agricultural sectors, and massive growth in the services sector fuelled in part by tourism growth. Though Brazil has been affected by the international downturn, it is a testament to its economic potential that its recession only lasted 2 quarters with growth resuming at 1.9% in Q2.

Over the years of economic growth, developing the infrastructure, including the health services has been a major priority of the government(s). The fact that it has been a success is testified to by FIFA choosing Brazil as host for the 2014 World Cup.

America:

Yes, that’s right. America is a medical tourism destination. In fact it is one of the longest-standing medical tourism destinations in the world. That’s right: Brits have been taking advantage of the dollar exchange rate and travelling to America to get their bits tucked in or pushed out since the 80s.

America’s health service is first-rate. Brits trust it because it is on a par with the UK (please don’t start a politics debate), and procedures are just over half the price they would be in the UK — used to be half the price before the Pound plummeted.

Extras:

Panama is also a popular destination with American medical tourists. Its economy grew by an average 10% every year for the last few years, and a lot of this increased revenue was invested in improving the infrastructure, including the health service. Now Panama has an excellent health service and — despite the dollarized economy — surgery is still cheaper than America.

Many Americans are also travelling to Mexico for cosmetic surgery on the cheap. While Mexico’s health service isn’t known for being world class, there are some decent surgeons and people are finding them through word of mouth. Of course there are some horror stories as well from Mexico, so don’t go unless you know.

Guantánamo’s Numerical Rhetoric

The New York Times reports, “an unreleased Pentagon report concludes that about one in seven of the 534 prisoners already transferred abroad from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, are engaged in terrorism or militant activity, according to administration officials.”

These findings, of course, strengthen arguments made by critics who “have warned against the transfer or release of any more detainees as part of President Obama’s plan to shut down the prison by January.”

But there is little value in numbers alone. They must be compared to something to hold significance. One in seven means little without comparison.

A 2002 “report based on the largest study ever conducted of the relapse into criminal behavior in the United States” found that “Sixty-seven percent of former inmates released from state prison in 1994 were charged with at least one serious new crime within the following three years, the U.S. Justice Department report shows.” Mind you these people have motivations unlike those in Guantánamo. But it does show that one in seven may not actually be so frightening.

But there are better comparisons to be made. Saudi Arabia, for instance, treats its Guantánamo equivalent as a rehabilitation center.

“The goal of the rehab program is to give the “students” a stable social network that doesn’t rely on terrorist organizations. Detainees eat and cook communally and live in rooms with fellow prisoners. Family members visit regularly, and detainees can phone them whenever they want. They can even request furlough for weddings and funerals. Families also receive generous stipends, since prisoners can’t earn money.”

Don’t count on that approach under American supervision. But Saudi Arabia doesn’t act alone. Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Sinagpore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and now Iraq have similar programs. Interestingly, each of these countries, with the exception of Singapore, is a majority Muslim state.

“So, does rehab work? Recidivism figures come from the local governments [in Saudi Arabia], so they aren’t particularly reliable. The Saudis claim that, since 2003, they have converted and released 1,400 participants; as of 2008, only 35 of them—or 2 percent—had been rearrested.”

So are the detainees really too bad to rehabilitate or are our techniques inferior to the Saudis? I don’t know.