The premise behind the theory is that countries with a McDonald’s are usually fairly developed and wealthy, and wealthy countries rarely go to war with each other.

When the first edition of Friedman’s book was printed, the theory was true. Since then, however, NATO has bombed Serbia. Serbia had one McDonald’s at that time. Most or all of the members of NATO also have McDonald’s restaurants.

There were 2,443,930 deaths in 2003. The overall death rate, adjusted for changes in age distribution of the population, declined 1.7 percent from 2002.

Average life expectancy is significantly affected by gender and race. The average life expectancy for a woman in 2003 was 80.1 years, while a man’s average life expectancy was 74.8. On average, black women live 4.4 years less than white women. A black man’s average life expectancy is 6.2 years less than a white man’s.

Life expectancy at birth is one of the

indicators of the United Nations
href=/graph/eco_hum_dev_ind&int=-1>human

development index.

However in developed countries, life expectancy

for females is typically higher than that of

males. This discrepancy is due to the followng

factors:

• Young males (15 to 24 years) are four to five
  
  times more likely to die than women of the same
  
  age. In this age group, the major causes of death
  
  are motor vehicle accidents, followed by homicide,
  
  suicide, cancer, and drownings.



• Middle aged men (55 to 64 years) also die more
  
  often than women of the same age. In this age
  
  group the major causes of death are heart disease,
  
  suicide, motor vehicle accidents, and illnesses
  
  related to smoking and alcohol use.

For further comparison of life expectency see

the probability of reaching age 65 (
href=/graph/hea_pro_of_rea_65_mal>male and


href=/graph/hea_pro_of_rea_65_fem&int=-1>female<

/a>).

Nineteen of the 50 American states currently have laws allowing the execution of 16- and 17-year-old offenders.

According to Amnesty International, five countries – China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Pakistan, and the U.S.A. – are known to have executed juvenile offenders since the year 2000. There are also currently juvenile offenders on death row in the Philippines and Sudan.

Of the 18 executions of juveniles known to have taken place since 2000, nine were in the U.S., five were in Iran, and two were in China. Pakistan and the Congo executed one juvenile offender each.

On February 27, 2005, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) came into force. Countries that signed the treaty are bound by its provisions, which include tobacco advertising bans, price and tax increases, and measures to protect against second-hand smoke. There are 168 signatories to the treaty.

Earlier in the month, Cuba, which is famous for its cigars, instituted new anti-smoking regulations which will ban smoking in many workplaces and the sale of cigarettes near schools.

One clear explanation of 'geopolitics' that I found is by Greg Cruey at: http://goasia.about.com/od/countriesaz/a/asiadefined.htm, where he says: "Geopolitical units have replaced continents in the public mind. The Middle East, for example, extending from Iran through the Arabian Peninsula and across North Africa, is not a continent. Algeria is in the Middle East, and on the continent of Africa. Iran is also in the Middle East, but on the continent of Asia. The middle East is not unique in this; terms like "Central America" and "Latin America" are both intended to replace geographic categories by using criteria other than just geography. And until after WWII, Southeast Asia was an unthought of idea: Burma and Thailand were "Greater India" and Vietnam and Cambodia were Indo-China. Geography may not change much, but time and politics seem to change how we interpret it."

The 2002 National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics showed that total violent victimization and property crime rates in the U.S. were lower that year than they had been any year since the survey started in 1973. Between 1993 and 2002, the violent crime rate declined 54 percent and the property crime rate decreased by 50 percent.

This decrease is even more dramatic when you consider that an estimated 49 percent of violent crimes and 40 percent of property crimes were reported to police. In 1993, reporting rates were estimated at 43 percent for violent crimes and 34 percent for property crimes.

Probability statistics compiled by the National Center for Policy Analysis from Department of Justice statistics reveal that in the U.S. there is a 50.8 percent chance that an arrest will be made if a rape is reported. Eighty percent of those arrested for rape are prosecuted and 58 percent of those prosecuted are convicted. If there is a conviction, there is a 69 percent chance that the perpetrator will be jailed.

In 2001, only 39 percent of rapes and sexual assaults in the U.S. were reported to police. When unreported rapes are taken into account, it is estimated that only 6 percent of U.S. rapists (one out of 16) will ever spend a day in jail.

However, Russia and China both have more armed forces personnel than the United States. China has 2,810,000 people in its armed forces and Russia has 1,520,000. The United States is third, with 1,366,000 armed forces personnel. India is fourth, with 1,303,000 people. No other country has more than a million.

There are 19.67 million people in the armed forces worldwide. Total military spending in the top 170 countries is $741.16 billion.

United States armed forces personnel represent about 7 percent of the total worldwide, but the U.S. expenditures are 37 percent of the total.