Top 10 Most Powerful Countries in the World – 2016 List of Nations

10. India – Powerful or Not?

The world’s second most populated country is also a major world power and a regional superpower. Strong economic growth is largely due to the fact that India’s population is getting more educated and the economy as a whole is getting more advanced. India has a huge amount of human capital that is only limited by the fact that a large percentage of its population still lives below the poverty line. Once Indians can develop their infrastructure to reach those who have been underserved due to societal restrictions, this country will surely rise to the occasion to become a stronger player on the world stage.

India is also beginning to develop a fairly reputable entertainment industry and a strong technology industry. Many companies look to India for their outsourcing needs since the labor is relatively cheap and India has a large number of English speakers. Call centers and IT hubs have become staples of the Indian economy, after manufacturing these are the major industries to watch out for in the future. India’s film industry, nicknamed Bollywood, has gotten bolder over the last few years. These movies are shattering Indian box office records and are bringing in a lot of money for the entertainment industry. Indians abroad, as well as Nepalese, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis, love Bollywood and they support its attempts at bringing a uniquely Indian flair to the entertainment industry.

9. Brazil

Brazil is one of South America’s strongest economies, since its inception this country has exerted considerable influence in South America and it’s making a name for itself on the world stage as well. The World Cup was Brazil’s way of showing the world that it had what it takes to rise to the occasion. This beautiful multicultural society has vast amounts of natural resources to draw on, however, they must also make sure not to exploit nature so much so that they risk harming the environment. This careful balancing act is very difficult for an emerging economy but Brazil has shown that it is resilient to hardships and it can bounce back very quickly, just look at how well they bounced back after the economic crises of 2008.

8. Italy

This small nation is boxing way above its small area would suggest, and it always has, these modern day Romans transformed there largely agrarian country into a modern industrialized nation in the few short decades following the second world war. Italy is the 10th largest exporter in the world, a stunning feat considering there are many larger countries with vastly greater reserves of natural resources that aren’t even comparing in terms of GDP. Many people flock to Italy every year to visit the ancient ruins of the Roman Empire, they also want to visit Italy’s beautiful coastline.

Known the world over for their fine taste in automobiles, food, music, and fashion, Italian companies dominate the top positions of their respective industries. However, not all is well in Italia, the past 20 years have seen a decline in growth and the Italian economy has been especially affected by the economic crises of 2008. If past history is any indicator of future performance than Italy will bounce back from this as strong as ever.

7. France’s Limited Power

France is the world’s sixth largest economy and has the largest business district in Europe, La Defense. The French economy is the 3rd largest in Europe and it is also the wealthiest European country in terms of number of wealthy individuals, with 2.6 millionaires residing in its borders. Machinery, chemicals, cars, aircraft, electronics, textiles, and tourism are the biggest industries in France. France is a huge destination for tourist as it is the world’s most visited location, people visit France to soak up its rich history and experience the fine dining, fine arts, ski in the mountains, or drive along the French Riviera.

France recovered much better than other industrial nations following the economic crises of 2008-2009, and it entered the recession much later than other countries. France is also the world leader in developing Nuclear energy, 78.1% of all of the country’s electricity is provided by nuclear sources, followed by hydroelectric power at 11.1% and Fossil fuel at 9.5%. Because of this France is the smallest emitter of carbon dioxide among the seven most industrialized nations, this is a remarkable feat and one that will certainly be followed by countries as pressures for environmental preservation continue to increase.

The French people are happy too, French citizens enjoy the benefits of a socialized society, with free healthcare and guaranteed pensions. Although this does mean they get taxed considerably higher than their counterparts in the United States, the top tax rate in France is 75%  for those who earn over 1 million euros and the corporate tax rate is 70%. Not only is France well known for its industrial power but it also the world’s sixth largest agricultural producer and the EU’s largest agricultural producer. This diversified economy has done well to insulate itself from major disasters.

6. Japan

Japan has been a major world power since they switched to the market economy back in the mid-1800s during the Edo period. Japan has fallen on some hard times lately due to the economic recession of 2008 as well as Japan’s massive public debts, over 200% of GDP at one point. Still Japan is the world’s third largest economy after China and the United States. Three quarters of the nation’s gross domestic product comes from the service sector. Japan is also the second largest producer of automobiles in the world. Along with automobiles they are also leading producers of electronics, machine tools, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods.

5. How Powerful is Russia

Russia is the world’s largest country by area and has more natural resources than any other country. Natural resources account for 30% of overall revenue. Of these, oil, natural gas, and precious metals make up the large portion. Russia is also a highly capable arms dealer, exporting 15-20 billion dollars’ worth of arms every year, second only to the United States.

Russia is dealing with many issues currently that could affect its standing in the world. First, lowered oil prices have hit the Russian economy especially hard as oil constitutes 15% of their overall GDP and 57% of their federal budget. Besides that they are facing several war fronts in Syria, Ukraine, and to a lesser degree in other former soviet states. Also, due to Russia’s large mass, there have been governance issues that have led to illicit funds leaving the country, over 800 billion dollars in the last few years have left the country via hidden channels. Analyst predict that Russia’s economy will shrink over the next few years due to these pressures..

4. Germany

Germany is the largest economy in the European Union with the largest population and it is undoubtedly the leader of Europe after the financial recession from 2008-2012. Germany stood tall after the Euro crises and leaders from around Europe looked towards Germany as an example of solid financial responsibility and regulation setting.

Under the guidance of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Germans have exerted considerable influence in their region and they are poised to overtake the U.K., if they haven’t already, in terms of global positioning.

3. UK

The United Kingdom is Europe’s second largest economy and it holds considerable influence both in its region and globally. The UK has been a historical powerhouse since the industrial revolution, and it still holds some influence over its former territories from its empire days. These days the UK is still a major power but more in terms of “soft power” as opposed to “hard power” or direct force. Soft power means the U.K. holds considerable diplomatic influence. Still, don’t count out their military power, the UK spends more on its military budget than any other European nation, although it does plan on reducing its military budget considerably between 2010 and 2020. Because of its strong mix of military, diplomatic, and industrial strength, the UK remains Europe’s strongest country, for now.

2. China is Very Powerful

The Chinese have been on a sharp rise on the world stage in the past 20 years. Their country has seen average economic growth exceeding 10% for decades, far exceeding many other industrial nations. This rapid growth is fueled largely by the intervention of the Chinese government and their focus on ensuring that their country is ideal for companies who wish to manufacture goods. Besides manufacturing China is also a large agricultural exporter. In the Far East China is the newest and strongest superpower, holding considerable influence in geopolitical events as well as economic trends.

The Chinese economy is second only to the United States, and their military spending is one of the largest budgets in the world. Although Chinas growth is expected to slow down over the coming years, there is little sign of a deflation in sight. China’s growth is only being further promulgated by the rise of its industrious and highly skilled middle class. Unlike many other advanced economies, China has had great success in tapping resources on the African continents by working closely with government allies. The formerly largely agrarian society is seeing more and more people migrate to its large cities, adding to the skilled workforce and solidifying China’s place as the second most powerful country in the world.

1. USA – The Most Powerful Country

There are no surprises here, the USA remains the number one super power in the world. Although citizens and residents of the United States account for only 5% of the world’s population, the United States accounts for nearly 20% of the world’s GDP, 18 trillion dollars per year. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, it is the second largest trading nation in the world, the second largest manufacturer, the largest and most influential financial markets, and the highest trained and most skilled labor market in the world. In essence the U.S. dominates economically over any other country. The U.S. dollar is one of the strongest currencies in the world and it is the most used currency.

Not only is the U.S. the largest economy by a long stretch, it has the most powerful military by an even wider margin. The U.S. military has more funding each year the next 10 most funded countries combined! The U.S. isn’t afraid to flex its military and diplomatic muscle whenever it feels its interest have been threatened, something that has been both applauded and denounced by the international community.

Lastly, not only does the USA dominate in economics and military might, it is also a large cultural exporter. Hollywood, the music industry, fine arts, theatre, you name it; people around the world consume American culture because our entertainment industry is well established, well-funded, and of a high quality. American celebrities, pop culture, and movies are known worldwide, even countries where the majority of people don’t speak English, they are still knowledgeable of American popular culture. Analysts believe that the U.S. is poised to remain as the most powerful country in the world for at least the next ten years, but on cultural influence alone, the U.S. is poised to remain relevant for a decades if not centuries ahead.

courtesy by : gazettereview

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Voodoo

When you hear the word “voodoo”, what exactly comes to mind? Do you feel uneasy or uncomfortable based on the images you associate with the word? Would you feel at ease knowing that a friend or neighbour of yours practiced voodoo?

Thanks to the way that Hollywood has portrayed the voodoo religion, you may think that people who subscribe to voodoo are extremely strange worshippers of dark spirits. In movies, voodoo is depicted as mysterious and evil, and the people who believe in voodoo either have strange things happen to them, or they do strange things to others. But, like most things in Hollywood, it’s important not to believe everything you see.

The voodoo religion isn’t quite as weird as you might think. There are also some principles in the religion that are similar to more widely accepted methods of worship. Yes, there are voodoo dolls, and yes, spirits are often summoned in voodoo. However, the reasons for these actions aren’t always to cause harm or to bring bad luck. If you’ve been wondering what voodoo is really all about, this should answer some of your questions. Here are interesting and thought-provoking things you didn’t know about voodoo.

continue reading here : therichest.com

When Pac-Man emerged in the early 1980s, nothing looked or sounded quite like it. Where most arcade games of the era involved shooting marauding aliens, Pac-Manlooked like a miniature, interactive cartoon: a comical tug-of-war between a round, yellow character with an addiction to munching tiny white dots and a quartet of roaming ghosts with big, anxious eyes.

As we now know, Pac-Man was a massive hit, and its grip on pop culture is still strong today. But Pac-Man's success was far from certain; its designer initially had no interest in games, and the public reaction to it was initially mixed.

Here's a brief look at some of the fascinating facts behind Pac-Man's making, its impact, and its legacy.

1. Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani had no training as a designer or programmer

When the 22-year-old Iwatani started work at Namco in 1977, aged just 22, he had no particular interest in designing videogames. In fact, Iwatani initially expected that he'd work on pinball machines, but instead ended up designing the Breakout-inspired paddle games Gee Bee (1978), Bomb Bee and Cutie Q (1979).

2. Pac-Man was designed as a response to shooting games like Space Invaders

Japanese arcades of the late 70s and early 80s were dark, masculine places full of space shooting games inspired by the success of Space Invaders - including Namco's own enormously successful Galaxian. In response, Iwatani began thinking about a concept which ran counter to those games.

"All the computer games available at the time were of the violent type - war games and Space Invader types," Iwatani said in 1986. "There were no games that everyone could enjoy, and especially none for women. I wanted to come up with a 'comical' game women could enjoy.

Iwatani began thinking about ideas based around the word 'taberu', meaning 'to eat'. And gradually, the concept of a game called Pakku-Man (derived from 'paku paku', a Japanese slang word akin to 'chomp') began to form.

3. Pac-Man's pizza inspiration is only half true

One of the great creation legends of game design is that Toru Iwatani, while eating a pizza, looked down at the pie with a missing slice and used the outline as inspiration for Pac-Man's distinctive shape. The story was furthered by Iwatani himself; whenPac-Man fever was at its height, he even posed with a half-eaten pizza for a publicity photograph. But in a 1986 interview, Iwatani admitted that the legend was only "half true."

"In Japanese, the character for mouth [kuchi] is a square shape. It's not circular like the pizza, but I decided to round it out," he said. And thus, Pac-Man was born.

4. Pac-Man's gameplay and ghosts were inspired by comic book characters

As Iwatani continued to develop the idea of a game which involved eating, he added the concept of a maze, and then came the power pellet (or power cookie) - a special item which allowed Pac-Man to eat his enemies. Iwatani later revealed that the power-up idea was inspired by Popeye, who often defeated his arch rival Bluto by eating spinach.

Pac-Man's ghosts were also inspired by comic book characters, including Casper and a popular Japanese manga called Obake no Q-taro - the latter being a mischievous ghost who enjoys stealing food.

5. It was one of the first games to introduce cut-scenes

The game's action is occasionally interspersed with simple cartoonlike interludes, where an enormous Pac-Man chases a terrified ghost across the screen. Iwatani dubbed these "coffee breaks" and imagined them as a means of enticing players to chomp their way to the next scene. Iwatani's programmers initially resisted the idea, arguing that the interludes added little to the game, but Iwatani ultimately won the battle.

6. The game would be nothing without its enemy AI

Although Iwatani was the creative force behind Pac-Man, bringing the game to life fell to a team of four staff, including programmer Shigeo Funaki and sound designer Toshio Kai. Development of the game took around 18 months - an unusually lengthy production for the era - with the ghosts' behaviour posing the greatest challenge.

As Iwatani himself admitted, "There's not much entertainment in a game of eating, so we decided to create enemies to inject a little excitement and tension."

One of the most ingenious aspects of Pac-Man is that each ghost behaves differently - one simply chases the player, two try to attack Pac-Man from the front, while the fourth will chase and then abruptly change course.

"It was tricky because the monster movements are quite complex," Iwatani said. "This is the heart of the game [...] The AI in this game impresses me to this day!"

7. Pac-Man wasn't initially expected to be a hit

The first ever Pac-Man machine - then called Puck-Man - was installed in a Tokyo movie theatre on the 22nd May 1980. As Iwatani and his team had hoped, the game was popular with women and the very young - but seasoned gamers, more used to the intensity of shooting games, were initially nonplussed.

The uncertainty continued when Pac-Man was shown off at a coin-op trade show later that year. Many of the American arcade operators in attendance thought that another Namco game at the show - a driving game called Rally X - would be the more popular of the two due to its faster pace. Ultimately, Pac-Man was picked up for American distribution by Bally/Midway. Its name was changed from Puck-Man toPac-Man, and the game's journey to global popularity began.

8. It was one of the most successful arcade machine of all time, yet its creator didn't get rich from it

Selling 350,000 arcade machines within 18 months, generating millions in profits and yet more revenue from merchandising, Pac-Man was an international phenomenon. But Iwatani, like many designers and programmers working in Japan at the time - including Space Invaders' creator Tomohiro Nishikado - didn't directly profit from all that success.

"The truth of the matter is," Nishikado said in 1987, "there were no rewards per se for the success of Pac-Man. I was just an employee. There was no change in my salary, no bonus, no official citation of any kind."

9. The highest score possible is 3,333,360 points

Although Pac-Man doesn't have an ending as such, an integer overflow makes the 256th level impossible to clear. This means that, if every dot, power pellet, fruit and enemy is consumed on each of the 255 levels, the maximum possible score is 3,333,360 points. The legendarily dextrous videogame champion Billy Mitchell was the first player to achieve a perfect Pac-Man score.

10. It's still insidiously addictive

To celebrate Pac-Man's 30th birthday back in 2010, Google placed a playable version of the game on its homepage. According to a report issued by a time management company, the game's brief appearance managed to rob the world of around 4.8 million working hours. Google's first ever playable doodle, the search engine's anniversary version of Pac-Man can still be played today. 

courtesy by : mentalfloss