Monday roundup

College rankings should totally factor in how schools handle sexual assault.

Oh, the Economist, you do pretty well, particularly for how technical you get, but some of your facts are still a bit off.

Ohhhh, US Airways. Let us know what you find out in your investigation.

Ffs, keep your discarded sex toys (together with your other trash) out of the oceans. Although, James Dyson to the rescue.

If you want to raise good (moral) kids, setting an example goes much, much further than preaching at them. Related: everyone, including your dependent children, have a right to manage images of themselves. Related (in a different way): when do the ends justify the means?

Do you ever hear something on NPR that makes you a little more conservative, or makes you kind-of identify why conservatives can't stand the thing? This was that for me, and I don't even disagree with much of the content, in theory; microaggressions are real and they're damaging. People who insist on asking non-white (or other foreign-"seeming") people where they're from need to put in their place and discouraged from doing it, especially in this day and age when everybody looks "different." But I don't think the best response to any aggression, including microaggression, is confrontation. Yes, those people are obnoxious, ignorant, and socially inept... but they're probably not deliberately trying to make you feel out of place in your own environment; they're probably just nosy. It's normally to wonder about someone's ethnic identity (again, I'm not saying that anyone's entitled to an answer).

Look, there are any number of reasons that someone's physical appearance might raise questions. If it's about skin tone or facial features, it might raise questions about ethnic origins; an accent might raise the same questions. A protruding belly, it might raise questions about pregnancy. A scar or burn or wound would raise other questions. That's normal. It also doesn't mean that the person who arouses the curiosity owes you an explanation; he or she may not want to talk about it, and you're probably not the first person (that day) to ask. Keep your powers of observation to yourself.

But those of you on the receiving end: I know it's annoying, but chances are, the asker isn't implying that (s)he belongs any more than you do; (s)he's just trying to make conversation. Do as the interviewees suggest--don't answer on the first attempt, and maybe the person will get the hint. But also do as Miss Manners would have you do: avoid humiliating the asker, if you can. "Why do you keep asking me that?" is a pretty good way to draw out any assumptions or underlying issues.