WorldNetDaily: California homicides dwarf Iraq deaths

Sigh. Idiocy.

WorldNetDaily reports that recently released crime statistics show the homicide rate in California is 265 percent higher than the death rate suffered by U.S. and British military personnel in Iraq.

No, they don’t. There are probably between 200,000 and 225,000 troops deployed in Iraq. There are 36 million people in California. In 2004, they reported 905 coalition deaths, which makes a death rate of about .4% (assuming 225,000). The death rate in California due to murder was about 0.0067%, or about 60 times lower.

2 thoughts on “WorldNetDaily: California homicides dwarf Iraq deaths

  1. Pat Richey

    Check your figures. The department of justice reporting an average of 2400 homicides per year in California, with an overall population roughly the same as Iraq. It should also be noted that California is not in a war. It would appear it is safer in Iraq than Los Angles.

  2. Mark VandeWettering Post author

    Sigh. No, it doesn’t appear that way, because you aren’t comparing apples to apples. In 2004, there were 905 coalition deaths, representing about .4% of the _coalition_ population. The total indigenous population in 2007 was estimated at 27.5 million. Civilian deaths in Iraq have been very hard to estimate, but Lancet estimated between three hundred and nine hundred thousand, while ORB estimates over one million casualties. Iraq is not safer than Los Angeles.

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