USA MURDER RATE

Natalie Solent does not know why the USA has a much higher murder rate than the UK (though other crime-rates are much lower in the USA). Do these statistics tell her anything?

Number of victims of murders per 100,000 population in the USA in the year 2000:

White 3.3
Black 20.5
Other 4.1

So it's pretty simple -- America has more blacks per head and blacks are much more prone to murdering one-another. Most black murders are of course "black-on-black".
So if we considered whites only, the US murder-rate would be quite low.

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PITY PRESIDENT BUSH

In his post of 7th, Parapundit sets out in painful detail how President Bush insists that Islam is a "religion of peace". This decription of Islam has been endlessly scoffed at on the blogs every time Islamic militants perpetrate a fresh atrocity and it has long been perfectly well known that Islam preaches death or conversion to "infidels" (non-Muslims). The only peace Islam offers is to Muslims.

So why does President Bush persist with this arrant nonsense? It is all Realpolitik. Like any good strategist, Bush very sensibly wishes to knock off the enemy one by one. He has fixed Afghanistan with Arab help and now has Iraq in his sights. And co-operation or at least neutrality from other Arab nations will greatly facilitate dealing with Iraq. So he butters up the other Arab nations to achieve that. So let us not criticize him for what he says in this matter but rather thank him for doing the unpleasant task that he has to do.

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DEPORT THE FREAKS?

Bad Eagle obviously still has some of the fire of his Comanche ancestors in him. He calls for the US government to deport all Arab Muslims from the USA. It certainly seems amazingly optimistic to harbour people who hate you. I think the Australian government should deport the Muslim crazies here -- like Sheikh Hillaly.

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TANKS FOR POSEURS

An interesting article on what Australians call 4WDS and what Americans call SUVs. The article quotes research findings to the effect that they are primarily bought for show and statistically debunks the claim that they are safer. Because of their instability, they are far more likely to roll over than other vehicles. So, overall, they are less safe and more likely to kill those in them. They are also more likely to kill other people in smaller vehicles that they collide with. And, as we also often see on the news in Australia, people accidentally back their 4WDS over their own children at a great rate. Charming! So they are a lose-lose proposition for everyone. And those who own them are more likely to be Leftist! Though Leftists are also the ones who voice most opposition to them: Typical. Libertarian though I am, I would not be at all regretful if the government put a whopping great tax on all such killer vehicles in the interests of public safety.

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CANADA: USA LITE?

There is a recent magazine article here in which the differences between the USA and Canada are claimed to have become minimal since the Free Trade agreement between them of 14 years ago. From what I can see from a distance, however, the article fails to deal adequately with the political differences between the two countries. Canada seems to be clearly more Leftist -- just as Scotland is clearly more Leftist than England. Leftists like big government and a country that has its police force as its best-known symbol might be expected from the outset to fall into that category. And the widespread support in Canada for its creaking nationalized health service confirms the suspicion. And contrast the wholehearted way the Australian electorate and government have supported US foreign policy ever since Vietnam with the much more wishy-washy Canadian policy.

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SOME AMUSING QUOTES:

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt"

"Former Enron adviser, Paul Krugman"

"Visitors to a off-beat Berlin arts center thought a dead woman on the ground was a performance art act rather than a suicide,"

(From "Best of the Web" of 5th)

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Comments? Email me: jonjayray@hotmail.com.
If there are no recent posts here, check my HomePage for a new blog address.

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