top 6 most blood-thirsty countries

from www.crikey.com.au

The Lonely Planet guide to the world's most bloodthirsty country


Tony Wheeler, Lonely Planet founder, writes:

We hear a lot about the death penalty in the US, but China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam are the world leaders at executing people. But if we look at the use of the death penalty on a per capita basis, which country is the most bloodthirsty? Here are the figures for six countries keen on using the death penalty (execution figures from Amnesty International, population figures from Lonely Planet):

1. USA: 300 million people/60 executions per year = 20 per 100 million
2. Vietnam: 80 million people /60 executions per year = 75 per 100 million people
3. Iran: 70 million people/160 executions per year = 230 per 100 million people
4. China: 1.3 billion people - 3,500 executions per year = 270 per 100 million
5. Saudi Arabia: 25 million people/80 executions per year = 320 per 100 million
6. Singapore: 4 million people/30 executions per year = 750 per 100 million people
Which makes Singapore the world champions by a long, long way – which is hardly surprising when you read about their prime minister's attitude towards use of the death penalty (again from Amnesty):

In September 2003, in an interview with the BBC, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was questioned about the number of people executed in 2003. He stated that he believed it was "in the region of about 70 to 80". When asked why he did not know the precise number he said, "I've got more important things to worry about." Two days later he retracted his statement, saying that the death penalty had in fact been carried out on ten occasions so far during the year.

Is the Singaporean enthusiasm for the death penalty just hard-nosed economics – it's cheaper to bump them off than keep them in jail? Hardly, the Singaporeans also have a very high imprisonment rate – 388 per 100,000 population according to current British Home Office figures. Australia's imprisonment rate is 115 per 100,000, Britain's is 141, the highest in the European Union.

The USA has not only the world's largest prison population (now more than two million) but also the highest imprisonment rate (701 per 100,000). Russia comes second at 606. The US imprisonment rate is so high it probably skews US unemployment figures, making them look better than they really are.

 

Skews unemployment rate how? They're not part of the labor force, there's no reason for them to be counted. Just in case someone debates that they do, they don't: http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch1_b.htm

 

Bit meaningless..when you consider that these stats are from 'official' sources.. and not a reflection of countries that don't bother with such stats [truely 'blood-thirsty' countries]...

 

Which countries do you mean matthew?

Your sig lady is beautiful by the way

Xx

 

http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/20/darfur9095.htm

I just thought 'blood thirsty' was a bit melodramic .. and the list was not even in order.. what a suprise America was No. 1 anyway..

It is Natalie Portman [click the image] from her latest film.. looks good..
V for Vendetta:
What if Germany won the war and we lived in a fascist state [Britain].. Pure fantasy of course

 

Which is of course why Unemployment Rate is such a misleading statistic.

 

Spooner, where are you going with that? How does it skew the rates? The prision population is not not in the labor force. They can't be employed, therefore it would be ridiculous to count them in the unemployment rate. Counting them would skew the figures more than anything. The unemployment rate shows how many people are unemployed that are able and willing to be employed. Someone in prision is not able to be.

 

Please give me a slap for saying this:


''An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind''

 

what about ppl executed who it turns out were innocent, what about executing mentally disabled ppl, or those who committed crimes as juveniles? and who decides what constitutes no regard for human life? the usa is listed along with those other countries that it says it wants to civilise with democracy and respect for human rights. hardly seems proper them telling the rest of the world how to live righteously when they execute minors and mentally disabled ppl themselves, or that they practise capital punishment at all for that matter: every life deserves to be shown respect and consideration, yes, even the life of a mass murderer, which is what makes 'being moral' so difficult and necessary: it separates us from barbarism. and if you're a libertarian i would have thought that the power of the state to determine matters of life and death over its citzens is exactly the kind of governmental power you, and other libertarians, should oppose.

 

I watched a wildlife film a few days ago which contained some extremely rare footage. The cameraman had managed to capture a group of wild chimpanzees brutally murdering one of their brothers. They plotted, then surrounded him and launched an attack, using their teeth, sticks, stones, and anything else they could find, until he was battered to death. The reason they did this was unknown. Presumably something this particular chimp had done had displeased the others. However, as a human being i could not understand what could possibly have provoked the attack.(note:this was the first ever recorded sighting of such an event. Chimps are usually aware enough to realise that organised murder is wrong.)

People murdering others for murder reminds me of this. It makes sense to us when we do it. We see what murderers do as being wrong. It angers us, it hurts, and so we kill. But just as the chimps had obviously misjudged, so do we....As a human, a being supposedly more evolved than a chimp, i realised the chimps were wrong. To God, we would look wrong. We do not have the right to take away life which forces higher than ourselves have given. No-one "deserves" to die. If people deserved to die, God would have taken them. Or do you not believe Gods power is so strong?

10, 000 people could all say that someone is "evil" and they still wouldnt deserve to die. what we are doing by saying that execution is right is saying that it is alright to kill, as long as our conscience gives us an excuse or reason to do it. "He was a bad man. We all thought his actions were wrong"<--None of that matters. Whos to say what is right? The truth is, well never know whats right.


For any atheists, theres always the logical argument. A killer of a killer is a killer...where does it all end? Since when was it helpful to treat violence with violence? Hatred with hatred? Pain with pain? People who do what we see as being wrong usually have deep, deep psychological problems. We need to stand up and HELP these people, not just get rid of them like garbage that needs to be cleaned out.


It all comes down to the fact that many of us have forgotten the value of human life. Of any, and of every human life. A murderer made a mistake, thats all. It was probably more honourable than the executioners murder, as at least it was probably spontaneous...not cold and calculated and planned in the name of "justice"

Theres something i read once, and it goes like this-
"No criminal can fall any lower than the lowest that is within each one of you...just as no saint can climb any higher than the highest that is in you also."

Criminals are usually misguided souls. That is all.

Xx

 

P.s-If my mother was raped and murdered i would be deeply saddened and disappointed for both my mother and the attacker. Both would be victims. Yes, id be angry. This anger would not, however, be appeased by the sight of that man dying.

 

Perhaps...but we have prisons. No need to kill to protect society.

I understand how the murder of your mother could evoke such feelings...But i think in that situation youd have to just force yourself to step back and think rationally. Itd be hard, but would have to be done for the good of everyone

 

well, i think people forget sometimes that we're still animals with animal behavior. i think the death penalty is a direct example of this. i'm against the death penalty because murder isn't justice, it's pure animal vengeance.

 

yeah, it's fucking nasty. but the man who in turns kills such a sick creature is not someone i want living next door to me. it's still someone who's capable of dehumanizing another and ending their existance. i'm not able to feel for one and not the other.

 

I dont question the humanity of people who do. I know humanity too well.

Xx

 

Because how many people could define the "labour force". This might be a terrible example because my domestic American history is not very good, but I recall my Econ teacher mentioning how one US president changed the labour force to include military personel - and then claimed he'd lowered the unemployment rate [Reagan maybe? Not sure].

I'm just assuming the Unemployment rate is artificially low due to the high percentage of criminals in America.

 

how did i not know the US would be #1 on that list....

 

Which is why the founding father's created an impartial system to deal with crimes instead of the victims families taking revenge. Eye for an Eye doesn't work in a civilized nation. The death penalty doesn't work as a deterrent either.

Besides, I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't feel comfortable with the state killing people....