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February 2003 · Harper's index · Previous · Next   PDF

Harper’s Index

Minimum number of U.S. cities, towns, and counties that have passed resolutions opposing the USA Patriot Act: 20¹

Chance that an American says the new Department of Homeland Security makes the nation "a lot safer": 1 in 8²

Percentage change since fall 2000 in the number of documents classified by the federal government: +44³

Number of countries the Justice Department has advised since 1981 on the creation of freedom of information policies: 73⁴

Chance that a Briton polled online believes that the United States is a bigger threat to world peace than is Iraq: 1 in 3⁵

Number of years the New York Police Department's new Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence worked for the CIA: 35⁶

Number of the 44 U.S. residents detained as "potential grand jury witnesses" in terrorism cases who have yet to testify: 20⁷

Number who have been charged with crimes: 2⁸

Number of California inmates serving 25 years to life under the three-strikes law for thefts worth less than $400: 344⁹

Percentage change since 2000 in the average value of goods stolen in each U.S. shoplifting incident: +53¹⁰

Percentage of Americans surveyed in October who chose the word "hopeful" to describe their feelings about the economy: 37¹¹

Percentage who chose "angry," "worried," or "confused": 59¹²

Minimum amount S&P 500 corporations owe in retirement benefits for which they have set aside no funds: $458,000,000,000¹³

Amount Democratic candidates raised last year from individuals who gave at least $1 million: $36,000,000¹⁴

Amount Republican candidates raised last year from individuals who gave as much: $3,000,000¹⁵

Minimum number of yachts that were donated to U.S. charities in 2001: 527¹⁶

Price for a single berth on the February 2001 "Freedom Cruise," including a tour of Grenada led by Oliver North: $1,906¹⁷

Percentage of Jamaicans who say they would be "better off today" had Jamaica remained a British colony: 53¹⁸

Percentage of black South Africans who now have a positive view of the way their country was governed under apartheid: 20¹⁹

Percentage of Moscow residents who say that city residents from Chechnya or the rest of the Caucasus should be expelled: 25²⁰

Minimum number of soldiers killed or severely injured each year in the Russian army's initiation hazing: 2,000²¹

Rank of the size of Russia's and Turkey's standing armies, respectively, among Europe's largest: 1, 2²²

Number of warring factions for which the world's estimated 500,000 child soldiers have been enlisted to fight: 72²³

Minimum percentage of Angola's soldiers who are HIV-positive: 40²⁴

Percentage of all Angolan adults who are: 6²⁵

Factor by which Russia's tuberculosis rate exceeds that of Western Europe: 7.6²⁶

Number of deaths in 2001 that the Japanese government classified as having resulted from overwork: 143²⁷

Percentage change in the number of graduate degrees awarded in China since 1981: +680²⁸

Chances that a new student at the University of California at Berkeley last fall had at least one foreign-born parent: 2 in 3²⁹

Percentage of African Americans who have dated at least one white American: 43³⁰

Percentage of white Americans who have dated at least one African American: 17³¹

Percentage change since 2000 in the number of syphilis cases among U.S. men and women, respectively: +15, -18³²

Number of female characters with supernatural powers on major U.S. network-television programs last season: 20³³

Estimated number of asteroids whose orbits Earth crosses each year: 20,000,000³⁴

Ratio of U.S. spending on tracking asteroids this year to spending on missile defense: 1:1,900³⁵

Ratio of the amount the U.S. will spend on missile defense this year to the amount it spent in 1988 under Reagan: 4:3³⁶

Percentage by which the average sperm count of an urban U.S. male exceeds that of a rural U.S. male: 60³⁷

Chances that a U.S. man between the ages of 18 and 34 shaves all or part of his chest: 3 in 10³⁸

Chances that a man says he is interested in chest-hair removal: 6 in 10³⁹

Minimum number of neutered pets worldwide that have been implanted with fake testicles: 100,000⁴⁰

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SEE ALSO: AIDS; Angola; Great Britain; Business; Central Intelligence Agency; California; Charity; Chechnya; China; Colonialism; The Democratic Party; Economics; Europe; Freedom; Department of Homeland Security; Japan; Department of Justice; New York City; Policing; Propaganda; Race; Russia; South Africa; Space; Television; Terrorism; Turkey; War; Wealth

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