Archives for October 2013

Translation: Riots and Vegetables

This in about Society, and tagged , , was written by on October 15, 2013 . Leave a Comment

Anastasia Novikova at Komsomolskaya Pravda details the fallout following demonstrations on the streets of Moscow

After a pogrom in Biryulyov, police are checking passer-bys and a fruit and vegetable base with the help of APCs

Russian Policemen

Policemen are maintaining order after mass riots in the West Biryulyovo district of Moscow.   According to the police, around 300 OMON officers are on the streets, checking passersby’s documents, and detaining people of non-Slavic appearance.

Meanwhile, the main focus of these events is the vegetable base¹, whose closing was demanded by protestors.  It is already not in operation, as they are keeping order there.

According to some sources, the police are checking the premises with the help of APCs.  Operatives in the capital are also trying to find out who owns a vehicle that was found during the raid in the fruit and vegetable base in Biryulyovo.

The police specified that several million roubles lay inside the car, along with three non-lethal² pistols, two knives and a baseball bat, Interfax reports.

There are grounds to assume that unrest in Moscow can recommence.  On Tuesday, October 15th, Muslims will mark their Kurban-Bayram holiday.  It is possible that nationalists will try to spoil the holiday.

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Health Inequalities: Why do Latinos Live Longer than Whites?

This in about Human Biodiversity, and tagged , , was written by on October 8, 2013 . 26 Comments

Is summarized below for each state (source) – and it shows some very interesting patterns.

us-life-expectancy-by-race

The average life expectancy of Asian-Americans (86.5 years) is 4 years higher than in Japan – the longest-lived big East Asian country. Taiwan and South Korea are at around 80; Hong Kong is at 83; Singapore is at 81. The other East Asian countries aren’t developed yet, so there isn’t much point in comparison.

The LE of Latinos is 82.8, which is 6 years more than in Mexico, 4 years more than in the longest-lived Latin American countries and even a year higher than in Spain (one of the longest-lived European countries). This is despite the fact that obesity rates among Hispanics in the US is very high – higher than those of whites.

On average American whites can expect to live to just 78.9 – the same as in Chile or Denmark (the shortest-lived Western European country). A most curious anomaly, given their higher SES and lower obesity rates relative to Hispanics.

Blacks can expect to live around 74.2 years. This is far higher than in any African country, but the comparison is flawed for obvious reasons. It is however pretty close to the life expectancy in predominantly mulatto Caribbean countries like Jamaica (73 years) or the Bahamas (75 years), countries which are more suitable for comparison.

Native Americans average 76.9 years, though they are spread out all across the spectrum – ranging from 80 in California, to 69 in Montana.

Some questions and issues to ponder:

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