Voters were asked to assign a ranking to each actor as it applied to the actor as an individual and not in comparison with other actors.

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Data from the World Bank's most recent and hugely comprehensive International Comparison Program study breaks global individual consumption into 11 buckets--from food and clothing to health care and recreation.

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That works out to over 300, 000 individual picture elements (35mm slides, by way of comparison, have roughly 20 million pixels).

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Other harsh ceremonies, such as circumcision without anesthetic, teeth sharpening, and physical disfiguration, make what I suggest individual investors endure seem like a tiptoe through the tulips by comparison.

FORBES: Investor Rites of Passage - Part 1

But that debate pales in comparison to the criticism from some lawmakers and libertarians who say the federal government is trampling on individual rights in the name of anti-terrorism.

CNN: Attacks alter government's mission, makeup