Bodies Count
When Fox News asked then-U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the numbers of dead in Iraq, he told them "We don't do body counts on other people." Well some folks do. Now, in addition to that mother of all body counts, we've been alerted to the launch of Rio Body Count, which attempts to track the number of dead that litter the streets of Rio de Janeiro in what has become a virtual war zone.
According to Brazzil Magazine, the authors of the site are Vinicius Costa, a 25-year-old systems analyst and André Dahmer, a 32-year-old cartoonist, and they were indeed inspired by the Iraqi body count web site. The two consider themselves fiercely independent, making it known that they are affiliated with no institutions, NGOs, or political groups. We think this site acts as a hard-facts back end to films we revere, such as City of God, which use the violence of Rio as both scenery and plot point.
With the help of 5 additional volunteers, the organizers scan media reports and collect the details of drug deals gone bad, mistaken police shootings, revenge killings, and random muggings. From February 1 through yesterday (March 28), the city has witnessed 523 deaths. Rest in peace.
29 March 2007