Most dangerous country to live

From today's TIMES

I haven't been many places but my ex-wife is Columbian and I can say I never felt safe in Columbia. Definitely more dangerous than inner-city Providence IMO.

It is my understanding that Peru is quite dangerous.

Gus- I think that the most dangerous country is Monaco. You could end up there with just the shirt on your back!

The most dangerous country to live in is new country. I mean, what is it? Country or rock? Anything that inspires plaid, mullets and pick-ups is dangerous to me.

Pago Pago

Any of the Andean countries are particularly insecure at the moment. I was ambushed by a Peruvian paramilitary patrol in Bolivia within the last year and a half. What is interesting is that most locals accept this insecurity as part of the little very day problems one has to deal with.

This is interesting
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Department of State's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) Annual Briefing.

OSAC acts as a liaison in the exchange of security information between the U.S. Government and American companies operating abroad. Every year it hosts a World Threat Overview briefing, and every year it scares the begeebers out of me - leaving me temporarily incapable of even paging through a travel magazine.

Here is a sampler of grim facts -- including links to the State Department's Consular Information Sheets -- that were laid on us this year:

Argentina: A high rate of unemployment has spawned an increase in street crime. In Buenos Aires, four of every ten citizens have reported being the victims of robbery with an incident occurring, on average, every 45 seconds. And probably only two in ten incidents are reported.

Colombia: With rebels operating in 40 percent of the country, Colombia carries the designation of being the most dangerous country in the world. It has a murder rate nine times that of the United States, and with 3000 kidnappings already reported this year, it is on course to setting a record for snatching its and other countries' citizens from its roads.

Mexico: Our closest southern neighbor remains close to Colombia in kidnapping for ransom. On average there, one person is snatched every three hours.

Nigeria: The most populated country in Africa has more than its share of con artists, who have swindled victims - many of them US citizens - out of US$1.5 billion. Nigeria also ranks among the world's most dangerous countries with an average of four murders a day in the capital city of Lagos.

Russia: This economically depressed country remains in the grip of corruption and organized crime, which in turn generates an abundance of street crime.

South Africa: If there is a country that can challenge Colombia as the most dangerous, it may well be South Africa. Carjackings and armed robberies are frequent, bombings of fast food restaurants and tourist areas are common, and along with many of the other countries listed here, it has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Moreover, it is the rape capital of the world with 180 rapes reported every day.

One in eight South Africans is infected with HIV/AIDS -- that's around 3.6 million people -- with 1500 new infections occurring every day. AIDS is so prevalent that it is not uncommon for a company to hire two people for the same job, the assumption being that one of the people hired will contract the disease and "leave" the job.

Got a be a few African countries where it's a bit touchy.