Massive Friday roundup

Hey, guys! I realize I haven't blogged since Monday. I also haven't showered since then; it's been that kind of week. So let's catch up on what's happening, starting with...

...the Ukraine. Here it is in pictures. Here's something about how there aren't a lot of Russia experts out there anymore. Here's Tom Friedman's take, with which I do not entirely agree (I do agree that it's not a wrestling match and chest-thumping is not the answer, but--it has come to this--Henry Kissinger says it better.

I think that might be it; I mean, there's plenty out there, and Carnegie has probably done the best job. But let's move onto... governance in general. Specifically, corruption and how problematic it is.

This often inadvertent impact of U.S. policy—facilitating and exacerbating government corruption abroad—is of course a values issue. But it is also a security issue, and it extends well beyond Afghanistan. Every country that harbors an extremist insurgency today suffers from kleptocratic governance, including long-established U.S. allies like the Philippines and Thailand. Al Qaeda foundational literature stresses the corrupt capture of natural resources by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies, and the U.S. role in enabling and benefiting from it, as a rationale for violent actions against Americans. Every government that faced significant mass protests during the 2011 Arab uprisings perpetrated acute corruption on behalf of narrow cliques that included top government officials and their close relatives. Acutely corrupt governments in Latin America make alliances with transnational criminal superpowers, enabling their expansion.

There’s a huge economic cost to all this too, as “rent”-taking governments that violate their own regulations distort entire markets. Corruption acts as an accelerant of just about any other problem troubled countries have, from environmental degradation to humanitarian crises. Taking acute corruption into consideration is, in other words, a matter of principle, but also of vital U.S. national interest.

Don't believe everything you read, even from credible sources (especially when it's self-serving).

Onto... children. Don't ruin yours by letting them get away with obnoxiousness. Also: "use your words" is great advice for all ages.

Much has been said about the dude who took issue with his female pilot, so all I'll point out here is that it's another datapoint in the unbelievable correlation between misogyny and poor grammar.

You may be sick of my blogging about beauty, but I'm going to have to do it again. It's just so incredibly tied in to everything, including how we as a society manage women (and how some people throw acid at them). J-Law is being dismissed now for, among other things, having "the body and the face and the wardrobe that conforms to dominant beauty ideals.” Beauty can be quite the burden for some people, and Lupita Nyong points out that it doesn't feed you (and, more importantly, that it still matters but it's something that you have to validate yourself).

Whatever you've done to get rid of body hair, I hope it didn't involve cat poop.

Also by now, you've discovered your John Travolta name and probably read about how that's Slate's greatest hit ever.

What in the hell... do let me know if you've tried any of those.

That's all for now; I have to go, because I'm expecting people.