Anchorage is rape capital of U.S., Oakland most robberies, and St. Louis leads in murder rate

Some media pundits and attention ardent politicians have asked for the National Guard to enter Chicago because of hundreds of murders in the past year, but this 2.7 million metropolis is far from our most dangerous major city, based on murders per 100,000 population.

FBI statistics for murder and non-negligent homicides (cities of at least 250,000) put St. Louis (49.9 per 100,000) as the worst city for being murdered, followed by Detroit (43.5), New Orleans (38.7), Baltimore (33.8), Newark (33.3), Buffalo (23.2), Pittsburgh (22.24), Memphis (21.4), Atlanta (20.5), Cincinnati (20.2), Oakland (19.5), Miami (19.2), Kansas City (16.7), Stockton (16.4), Cleveland (16.2), Washington D.C. (15.9), Philadelphia (15.9), Indianapolis (15.8), and then Chicago at 15.1. The lowest rate is Chandler AZ (0.4)

The danger of rape is highest in Anchorage  (130.1 per 100,000, followed by Cleveland (124), Minneapolis (96.2), Colorado Springs (92.6), Columbus (88.8), Corpus Christi (87.7), St. Louis (87.6), Kansas City (83.3), Toledo (82.2), Detroit (81.4), and Tulsa (78.3). The lowest rate is Bakersfield (5.7).

Oakland’s robbery rate (765.9) is worst in the nation. Other high rate cities include Cleveland (769.3), Newark (688.6) Baltimore (589.7), Milwaukee (586.3), Detroit (521.4), Atlanta (512.6), Memphis (501.6) and Buffalo (494.2). The safest city for avoiding robbery, like murder, is Chandler AZ (44).

Detroit is the worst place for aggravated assault (1342.4), followed by Memphis (1141.1) and St. Louis (1050.9). The safest city for avoiding this crime is Virginia Beach (63).

Cleveland is the worst place for burglary (1787.8). Your car will be least safe in Oakland (1590). Cincinnati homes are most likely to endure arson (118.6).

Not surprisingly, news reports of crime are motivated by a media obsessed with huge metro crime, ignoring the dangers in medium and smaller cities.

A way to increase Inauguration attendance…

President-elect Donald Trump was criticized by China for taking a phone call from the President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen, and also Senator Ted Cruz met with her on Sunday.

“I was honored to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan today,” Cruz said in a statement after the meeting. “We discussed our mutual opportunity to upgrade the stature of our bilateral relations in a wide-ranging discussion that addressed arms sales, diplomatic exchanges and economic relations.”

This blog has received information that Cruz’s comments did not fully represent the objective of his session with Taiwan’s leader. An informant said that Cruz was actually seeking ways to increase attendance at the Presidential Inauguration.

Taiwan is known for getting huge crowds at public events, and could that expertise be applied here by Republicans who seek a huge crowd on Jan. 20?

The following video from Tuesday, last week, offers a clue:

What’s this all about? Why are there 50 oddly clad pole dancers on a convoy of jeeps with poles stuck on their roofs, plus loud pop music played through the streets of the Chiayi county in Taiwan?

This was no festival. It was a funeral procession.

In Taiwan some families hire strippers to increase attendance at funerals, and one mortuary master said the parades include “mobile stages that carry performers who sing, dance, bump, and grind as they accompany the dead during the last rites and in procession to the graveyard.” The festive funeral also often include “a drumming troupe, a marching band, performers dressed as deities and giant puppets,” she added with a high kick.

Common belief in Taiwan is that the more people who attend the funeral, the more the dead person is honored. The showgirls are meant to drum up crowds from the 23 million residents, while somehow giving the deceased one last hurrah.

While such a parade at the Inauguration here in the USA might increase attendance, it is unlikely. However, credit should go to the Taiwan funeral industry for memorializing the Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump battle in the following video.