St. Louis Beats Detroit... Again.

I'm sure St. Louis is not all that happy for winning this contest.

St. Louis reclaimed the title of America's most dangerous city, which it last held in 2002, based on crime statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compiled by publisher Morgan Quitno Press.

Detroit was the second most dangerous city, while Flint, Michigan, and Compton, California, were third and fourth, respectively. Camden, New Jersey, most dangerous in last year's rankings, fell to fifth.

Set Aside The Wine And Deal With This Problem

Read this article.

In scattered violence Saturday, 46 people were taken into custody, most of them in the suburbs around Paris, and two police officers were slightly injured. The most serious violence was the bus attack in Marseille, which shocked France with its brutality.

Three or four young people burst onto the bus and tossed in a bottle of flammable liquid before fleeing, police said, citing witnesses' accounts. A fire started, seriously injuring a 26-year-old woman who suffered second- and third-degree burns on her arms, legs and face.

And this one as well.

On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized.

The recent ambush was emblematic of what some officers say has become a near-perpetual and increasingly violent conflict between police and gangs in tough, largely immigrant French neighborhoods that were the scene of a three-week paroxysm of rioting last year.

One small police union claims officers are facing a "permanent intifada." Police injuries have risen in the year since the wave of violence.

National police reported 2,458 cases of violence against officers in the first six months of the year, on pace to top the 4,246 cases recorded for all of 2005 and the 3,842 in 2004. Firefighters and rescue workers have also been targeted — and some now receive police escorts in such areas.

France has a serious problem here. They have been unable to put a stop to this violence for some time now. And with the anniversary of the first riots approaching, their society is poised to consume itself from within.

They are averaging 100 cars a night being set on fire. One. Hundred. Cars. How can they let this go on? At this point I think they need to seriously consider martial law. They have to crack down on this hard and hand down serious penalties. Up to and including deportation for non-citizens.

While there is absolutely no excuse for these savages, the French government does share culpability. I think religion is a secondary consideration in this case. This, I believe, has more to do with the general attitude of the French and their government toward immigrants. Immigrants get crap jobs, if any at all. They are shunted into government subsidized housing that increasingly resemble the European ghettos of old. In order to preserve their precious culture, the French are more concerned with absorption rather than assimilation. They have sown the seeds of resentment and frustration. Now it's harvest time.

This is where Europe, and France in particular, differ from the US. Our society was created to foster integration and assimilation. Are we perfect? No, not at all. We frequently fall short of the ideals we put on paper when we stood up and demanded our independence over 200 years ago.

Then again, we don't have gangs of Muslim thugs roaming the streets attacking cops, destroying property, and burning cars.

Uh Oh. Jack Chewed Through The Restraints, Again.

I don't even play Grand Theft Auto and I want to kneecap this publicity whore.

A US judge has rejected attempts to ban videogame Bully in Florida, after complaints it was a "public nuisance".

Judge Ronald Friedman said that violence in the school-based game did not mean it was a nuisance.

The attempt to ban the title was made by lawyer Jack Thompson, a well-known campaigner against what he believes are violent video games.

This goofball is the biggest moron out there. His biggest complaint is that this game will spawn more "Columbines". The idea that a game influences copy-cat violence is... tenuous, at best. Usually, there's a lot more going on in the noggin of a murderer and perpetrator of a violent act than a replay of the last game level they played. What I find most disturbing about his arguments is the he appears to remove any semblance of personal responsibility in the commission of a violent acts. And parental responsibility from actually, you know, raising a child. It's all the games (and by extension the developer's) fault. He sees the game industry as this insidious puppet master influencing millions of innocent teens around the world.

It's mind control, I tell ya!

He seems to have a real hard-on for Rockstar Games (of the Grand Theft Auto infamy). Every time they come out with a game, out comes the lawyerin' hat.

Here's the wikipedia entry on him. Read it. Especially the litigation section. It's good for a laugh.

Here's a fun Jack Thompson fact (I forgot he was the one that did this):

Thompson gave Reno a letter at a campaign event requesting that she check a box to indicate whether she was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Thompson said that Reno then put her hand on his shoulder and responded, “I’m only interested in virile men. That’s why I’m not attracted to you.” He filed a police report accusing her of battery for touching him. In response, Reno asked Florida governor Bob Martinez to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate. The special prosecutor rejected the charge and concluded that Thompson did it as “a political ploy.” Reno was ultimately re-elected with 69% of the vote. Thompson repeated allegations that Reno was a lesbian when she was nominated as U.S. Attorney General, leading one of her supporters, lieutenant governor Buddy MacKay, to dismiss him as a “kook.”

This guy is seriously insane, although I must admit I do enjoy watching him froth at the mouth. And arguing with 14 yr olds via email.

And losing.

Jihad II - Electric Boogaloo

I think they're missing the point.

The latest criticism of Islam being a violent religion, which was sparked by incendiary comments made by Pope Benedict XVI, has caused internet jihadis to launch a new website called Electronic Jihad, located at http://www.al-jinan.org. The purpose of the website is to help organize an electronic jihad against websites that insult Islam and Islamic sacred figures. The site has been well publicized on more established jihadi websites. Jihadi forums are posting quotes from the Quran in order to encourage and convince jihadis and regular Muslims of their duty to engage in electronic jihad and to attack anti-Islamic sites in order to shut them down.

This is violence of a different sort. Until Muslims stop reacting this way to every viewpoint that doesn't fit in with their dogma, they are doing nothing but reinforcing the view that Islam is a reactionary, violent, hate-filled religion. The inability to deal with criticism or even outright hostility in a constructive manner is a sign of weakness not strength. Striking out at anyone even the least bit critical of Islam is a downward spiral.

Violence is the last resort of the civilized; the first for barbarians. And remember..

Eventually, someone with a bigger stick comes around an stomps you into the ground.