Friday, May 1, 2009
Time magazine asks...
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, May 1, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Mark Kukis reports from Baghdad:
Let's go to the numbers: Caracas, with about 3.2 million people, is in a bloody league of its own, with an estimated murder rate of 130 per 100,000 residents according to government figures. Cape Town is about the same size as Caracas but nearer to Baghdad's murder rate with 62 violent deaths per 100,000 people. New Orleans, with an estimated post-Katrina population of just over 300,000, is tiny in size compared to its rivals. But the number of murders is huge; figures vary, but even the low estimate puts the city on a par with Cape Town. By way of comparison, Moscow, one of the most violent cities in Europe, has an estimated murder rate of just 9.6 per 100,000 residents. New York City's murder rate is 6.2, Washington D.C.'s about 32.
None of this is to suggest that things could be considered safe or normal in Baghdad, where at least 150 people died in a series of bomb attacks over a 24-hour period just last week. None of the world's most violent cities see carnage like that on a regular basis.
So, no, Baghdad is not safer than New Orleans, the headline is completely misleading, the article contradicts itself midway through, and the whole thing uses New Orleans for a cheap civic shot.
Getting off work in a few minutes. Hope I don't get car-bombed on the way home, here in Baghdad-on-the-Mississip. Geesh.
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
I've lived in New Orleans my whole life and I've never once been murdered. So, I am not worried about it in the least. :D
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Seriously while innocent people do get killed in New Orleans, we all know that the vast majority of homicides in New Orleans are drug related. The chances are, if you got killed in New Orleans, you owed some drug dealer money or you were a drug dealer on enemy turf or what have you. So, as a person who was never involved in the drug/gang culture in New Orleans, I was never concerned. In Baghdad, on the other hand, they just randomly kill people. That makes Baghdad far worse.
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