Sunday morning roundup

On human rights, Bangladesh, South Africa then and now, and hope in South Sudan.

Nobody should have to live in hiding for who he is.

I'm changing my position on GMOs. I mean, not really; I've always told you (and others) that the science is on the side of their being safe. And I still have the same concerns about consolidated corporate control--and I think that article oversimplifies the reality of Monsanto's bullying of farmers (just because a lawsuit was never initiated, doesn't mean none was threatened, etc.; there are other ways of bullying). I also reject the "feed the world" argument, not only in its own right but as a basis for sustainable food policy; supply is not the issue. And I still maintain that people have a right to know what they're buying and have a say in what goes into the food system, so GMOs should be labeled. But all of that has been well-covered on this blog. None of the facts about GMOs has changed, but I've changed my position, so to speak, because I'm seeing more and more that GMOs (not unlike locavorism) are a red herring among some activists for what's wrong with the food system. And GMOs are not, in and of themselves, the core part of the problem. If we want to talk about corporate consolidation, overprocessing, and waste, let's talk about those things directly.

The gun community eats one of its own because he dared to question its all-righteousness.

Scott Adams is correct that I'm going to quibble with some of the things he said about diet: he's bought into the protein myth. But he himself says not to focus on those details, but on the message to substitute willpower with knowledge, and I couldn't agree more:

The most important thing to know about staying fit is this: If it takes willpower, you’re doing it wrong. Anything that requires willpower is unsustainable in the long run.

Needless to say, I'm gonna hafta read "Little Failure."

Space cats is possibly the dumbest f*ing thing I've ever seen.