I LOVE My Readers!

Reader Sarah just sent me the following interesting tidbit:

Kevin,

Thought you might find this interesting, I read the following on Ebert's website today (Movie Answer Man). Here we have a genuine Illinois liberal coming to terms with reality: for all of Canada's gun restrictions and lovely social benefits, Canadian crime rates are actually worse than in shoot 'em up USA, which you probably already knew. I knew it, too,because I lived in Vancouver for ten years and saw a lot of it with my own eyes. Not to mention that shootings (with those heavily restricted handguns) occur with alarming frequency in Vancouver.

Admirably, Ebert posts the statistics comparison on his website.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ANSWERMAN

Best,

Sarah

Then she provided the pertinent excerpt from the page:

Q. In your Ebert & Roeper review of Michael Wilson's "Michael Moore Hates America," you blurted out an erroneous opinion, expressing your doubts about the film's claim that the Canadian crime rate is double the U.S. rate.

I checked with http://www.statcan.ca/, listed as "the official source for Canadian social and economic statistics and products," and with the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. The bottom line: These sites agree with Wilson's assertion that crime in Canada is much worse than inthe USA.

James Elias, Highland Ranch, Colo.

A. Astonishing. For the year 2003, per 100,000 population, Canada had 8,530 crimes, and the U.S. 4,267. For crimes of violence, 958 vs. 523. For property crimes, 4,275 vs. 3,744. Michael Wilson, director of the film, tells me: "There was originally a comedic segment in the film that attributed this to the proliferation of Tim Horton's doughnut franchises, but I could not make it work."

Yes, astonishing.

Now, Roger, care to hazard a guess why?

Thank you, Sarah!