Bob, at 08:38 on May 29 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BL> Rod always asserts a STATIC murder rate, but it isn't so. Here are
BL> the figures from Australian Yearbooks: 1968, '75, '85, '92.

BL> Year  Homicides  Rape  Population
BL>  64     270       260     10.5M
BL>  72     400       600     13.0M
BL>  82     700      1300     15.0M
BL>  90     960      2100     17.0M

Fuck me dead, are you quite sure about those figures?

BL> The murder rate in 1964 was 25.7 per million
BL>                    1972     30.8
BL>                    1982     46.7
BL>                    1990     56.5

Bloody hell, the per capita rate has more than doubled in just 26 years!

BL> Where is Rod's STATIC rate? The murder rate has doubled in the last
BL> 30 years, steadily, year-by-year. As usual, Rod is all shit whenever
BL> he says something that can be checked. All you need is a yearbook.

Funny, I was under the same impression as Rod, but hadn't bothered checking.

BL> Anyone with half a brain and a few years on the clock knows Australia is a 
BL> much more violent place than it used to be... and the figures confirm it.

If verifiably correct, they sure do.

BL> Especially rape!

Every cloud has a silver lining, I guess.  :)

Regards, Bill
@EOT:

--- MsgedSQ/2 3.30