So three instances in the EU for the year. I suppose that's something. All I know is I don't see people with angle grinders taking down local infrastructure in Australia. Maybe if we matched in population it would be the same? I don't know.
But I'm checked out of this argument, because I'm certain anyone who's lived in the US and, say, comes to Australia, would recognise the stark difference in social outcomes and crime levels. But why reflect on that at all? It's far easier to quibble over minutiae.
Nobody even implied coverage. You have three more examples than before.
> I'm certain anyone who's lived in the US and, say, comes to Australia
Live in America. Have come to Australia. Missing your point. You guys have your own conniptions you dial the social anger scale to 11 over. But! You’re typically better than this at presenting and refining views in response to evidence.
So let me clarify. Here's something I said in a comment to you:
> I've seen it show up in the news here just once
So I'm aware that happens even here in Australia, and this has not been my argument from the start. Yes, crime still happens in first-world countries. So it's not that it also happens also outside the US, it's something else: the quality and the quantity.
Now–you should know this, and I don't mean to be condescending, but to be clear–there's a difference between relative and and absolute measures. Like for instance, there's some ~450 homicides in Australia every year. That means that every death basically makes the broadcast news segment. But then Australia only has ~27.2 million people. So to make a fair comparison to another country, that's about 1.6 homicides per 100K people (vs the 6.81 in the US)
So talking about copper theft, the 3 data points there I can't really quantify as copper thefts per X population. I also can't qualify the difference to the daily lives of people. Many of the data points provided outside the US seems to be targeted at business places and depots, whereas the OP article which you posted talks about something much closer to home:
> From January to June of this year, 9,770 incidents of intentional theft or sabotage on communications networks were reported, according to the Internet & Television Association, a trade group known as NCTA. That is nearly double the number reported in the prior six-month period. The attacks disrupted service for more than eight million customers.
> The cut lines have disrupted 911 emergency calls and internet and landline services, shut down at least one school and left whole city blocks in the dark.
Do you see the point I'm trying to make here? If something so brazen and on this scale was happening in Australia, it would be nipped in the bud. I strongly believe that's because the overwhelming majority of Australians feel they have a stake in the country, and, relatively speaking, this country (for all its foibles, and all our misgivings of it) looks after us.
