Third day of protests at home

This is the third day of protests at the Israeli Embassy down the street from my flat. I snapped this picture on my way to get some groceries this afternoon.

Murder Rates Compared

This morning The Times published an article that mentioned the high murder rate in South Africa in the context of that country hosting the 2010 World Cup. The Times quoted the absolute number of homicides in South Africa last year, "18,487". Unfortunately, without context, that number is completely meaningless. I wanted to know what that number really meant for day to day life.

To help with that I found a page on Wikipedia that compiles the homicide rate for several countries per 100000 people. That changed the South African number to 38.6. Then I compared that rate to the rates in several countries I have visited in the last year.

This chart gives much greater context for understanding how incredibly high the murder rate in South Africa really is.

Lighter

I just went through security at BGI in Barbados and had a sad experience with airport security. I was carrying a lighter in my carry-on that my wife had given me for my birthday last year. It was a pretty nice one that hadn't been cheap.

The reason I was carrying it in my bag was because my airline (Virgin Atlantic) forbids lighters in checked luggage. Given this rule, I packed it in my bag and headed through security only to fond that I'm not allowed to tale a lighter through security in Barbados.

Essentially the authorities have set up a system where you can bring a lighter into the country, but aren't allowed to tale it home. In fact I learned later that the only way I could have gotten it home was to ship it home as a parcel.

So, be warned.