Bad news...is Detroit as dangerous as Karachi, Juarez, Beirut or Baghdad?

Unfortunate, and I have a hard time believing it, but CNN has identified ten cities as the most dangerous in the world. It didn't rank them, but alas, Detroit is on the list. What do you think? http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/04/10/dangerous.cities.world/

Sure Detroit is not safe, but I don't think it is in the same category as a chaotic place like Juarez or Baghdad.

In other bad news, it looks like Cobo might NOT expand after all. It is nice that the new regional authority is showing some fiscal responsibility and is evaluating the NPV of expanding, after years of massive losses, but I don't think SEMI can afford to lose a signature event like the NAIAS. That is exactly what is at stake here. Seeing as the economic impact of the NAIAS runs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, I hope the regional board can conclude that expansion is worth it. It would seem like it is, if they don't just consider Cobo's own cash flow. I am afraid that they might not consider it, however...
http://freep.com/article/20100413/COL06/4130366/1318/
http://freep.com/article/20100413/BUSINESS06/4130312/1318/Cobo-Center-might-not-expand

On the positive side, it looks like more good news is coming out of Midtown (after DMC, Henry Ford mega investments). We will be getting a nice greenway belt around a 2 mile loop near Wayne State. Groundbreaking was today: http://freep.com/article/20100413/BUSINESS04/4130339/1322/Work-to-begin-on-Detroits-Midtown-Loop

Also, we will be hosting a massive congregation of activists this summer. 10,000 do-gooders like ourselves will be massing in Detroit, ground zero of the Great Recession. There's some economic impact for you...http://detnews.com/article/20100413/METRO01/4130344/Global-gathering-seeks-economic-solutions

Lastly, if you ever wondered what sections of Detroit Matty Moroun controls, the Free Press did a nice piece on it. Here it is: http://freep.com/article/20100411/BUSINESS04/4110471