Triumphs Of Kremlinology

This about Demographics, tagged , , , was written by for on September 30, 2012 .41 Comments

In 2008, Commissar of Transitionology Michael McFaul and his lab assistant Kathryn Stoner-Weiss wrote: “The myth of Putinism is that Russians are safer, more secure, and generally living better than in the 1990s—and that Putin himself deserves the credit… In terms of public safety, health, corruption, and the security of property rights, Russians are actually worse […]

UC Berkeley Is Liberal LOL

This about Society, tagged , , , was written by for on August 28, 2012 .6 Comments

From the rhetoric, you’d think the People’s Republic of Berkeley was a sickle short of Communism. In reality however the university itself is fairly standard, probably no more radical than any other in the US. I sat in on a political economy class today (full of PE majors who are in general quite leftist) and […]

Here Be Dragons: World Map Of Women’s Studies Programs

This about Society, tagged , , , , was written by for on August 18, 2012 .23 Comments

One notices a remarkable correlation between this, and the perceived attitudes of local women and their obesity rates. (The map above was made by RVF commentator “durangotang” based on the geographic data here).

National Comparisons: Everyday Life

This about Society, tagged , , , , , , was written by for , on April 11, 2011 .13 Comments

In this third part of my series on national comparisons between Britain, Russia, and the US, I look at the social institutions and infrastructure that play such a big role in our everyday lives. Why is Russia’s life expectancy ten years lower than in the US? What are the most popular university subjects? Where do […]

A Rant on Orientalism & Western “Experts”

This about Society, tagged , , , was written by for on July 24, 2010 .12 Comments

I’ve recently had a debate with… let’s call him Marcus Stein, about whether you have to be proficient in a relevant language to hold really deep and insightful views about a region, culture or civilization, or whether, to put it in Averkoese, “translation, acquired knowledge (of the subject matters), good contacts (to interact with) and […]