Giant Jesus statue destroyed by lightning

[valkyrie]

Yes, yes it is...an excellent way to burn down something..like a float.
Call it vandalism or call it arson. It's the same thing..someone(s) obviously did not want a pride float on the 4th in Anchorage.

Arson is a form of Vandalism.

 

[MrBishop]

Arson is a form of Vandalism.

I'd tend to disagree..unless it on a very small scale...like burning a slide in a school yard. I certainly wouldn't group it with the likes of graffiti, scratchiti, smashing windows etc..

I'd say that there are different levels of arson..the lowest of which can be called vandalism.

In either case, floats don't spontaneously combust. The truck pulling and powering one might, but the float itself.

 

[MrBishop]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- East Anchorage lawmakers want to hear from you about ways to make Anchorage safer.

Bill Wielechowski, Pete Petersen, Paul Honeman and Mike Gutierrez invite residents to join with Police Chief Mark Mew, Fire Battalion Chief Jim Foster and community patrol for a community town hall.

They want to hear ideas from residents and feedback on their recently released plan to make Anchorage safer.

According to Wielechowski the lawmakers offered up a five-point plan.

Wielechowski says it's in response to the recent shooting of APD Officer Jean Mills and an increase in violent crime throughout the city.

According to a 2009 crime report, statistics show the per capita rate of rapes, aggravated assault, theft, and arson in Anchorage are above the national average.

Overall, crime rates rose 8% in 2009.

The number of rapes rose 7%, to their highest levels in 20 years, while burglaries increased 35%.

The town hall takes place Monday, June 28 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the East High School commons area.

Not a nice place to live, eh
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=12700619

 

[jimpeel]

That could be said of other places as well.

Canadian Crime Stats

CLICK HERE FOR A FACT SHEET ON VIOLENT CRIME IN CANADA

A report on youth crime released by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics in May 2008 (for 2006) stated that while overall crime rates have dropped, youth violent crimes have increased 30 per cent since 1991. Violent crime has risen 12 per cent in the last ten years among youths, while the overall violent crime rate in Canada declined 4 per cent in the same time period.

Youth homicide rates have risen 41 per cent since 1997, one of the largest increases in the last ten years, a trend that Dr. Nick Bala, a youth justice expert at Queens University, calls "worrisome", something of an understatement. (Source: May 17, 2008, Globe and Mail)

In the latest update on crime in Canada (Crime Statistics in Canada, 2007, Juristat, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics), the chart below appears. It shows that youth violent crime has doubled since 1987. It appears to be the blending of property and violent crime statistics that results in the the "decreases" in youth crime reported by some.

Also:

CLICK HERE FOR A FACT SHEET ON VIOLENT CRIME IN CANADA

The violent crime rate in Canada has gone down slightly in recent years from a peak in the early 1990s. For instance, in the year 2004, the violent crime rate fell 2%, making it 10% lower than a decade earlier. However, it was still 35% higher than 20 years ago (Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily, July 21, 2005).

To put the slight decreases in perspective, between 1962 and 2006, the violent crime rate in Canada, per 100,000, went from 221 to 951, or a 300%+ increase. (See chart below "Crime rates in Canada 1962 - 2006").

According to the Canadian Council on Social Development, "The overall crime rate in Canada rose steadily from 1960 to 1990, it peaked in 1990/91, then started dropping throughout the 1990s. These fluctuations are attributed in part to the "baby-boom" and "baby-boom echo", where the proportion of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 25 was very high for many years before it dropped sharply -- by 18% -- in 1991. Despite decreases in both the proportion of teens aged 15 to 19 and crime rates in the 1990s, overall rates of violent crime are still three times higher than they were in the 1960s, and rates of property crime are twice as high." (Canadian Council on Social Development, Crime Prevention Through Social Development)

 

[valkyrie]

I'd tend to disagree..unless it on a very small scale...like burning a slide in a school yard. I certainly wouldn't group it with the likes of graffiti, scratchiti, smashing windows etc..

I'd say that there are different levels of arson..the lowest of which can be called vandalism.

In either case, floats don't spontaneously combust. The truck pulling and powering one might, but the float itself.

There are different levels of vandalism. Arson can be classified as a form of vandalism but only when arson is on a small scale (like what I think you're saying here).

Unless the float is using some chemical to cause the combustion (not likely) then I agree that someone lit the float on fire.

Kudos for them pulling the float in the parade anyway! Nice little "fuck you" to the assholes who lit their float on fire.