Another Saturday roundup

Can Liberia's military redeem itself?

Europe's new or exacerbated human trafficking crisis.

Wait, some countries still use leaded gasoline??

China's rapid urbanization and agricultural decline.

Hunger is not about food production. As evidenced by, among other things, the magnitude of food waste.

I have to say, this kind of thing makes my head explode. We opt out of nature in many ways: we use indoor plumbing; we prevent and cure, or at least try to alleviate disease. As I keep saying, if you're going to eat meat, eat meat; you don't need to justify your choices (and neither do I). But if you do choose to broadcast your lame justification, I can't help but call you out on it.

Historically, covert intervention has only made things worse.

There are systemic causes for the CDC's stumbles, but still.

Providing tips to help protect oneself from crime is not the same as victim-blaming or putting the onus on women to limit themselves. But cyberbullying sure is:

Right now, a tiny fraction of video game criticism is oriented toward feminist critique – less than 1%, by one researcher’s calculation - but, as ever, women are perceived as dominating the conversation just by participating in it... And when someone tries to tell you that a woman has brought #GamerGate attention on herself by being out of her element in gaming, by having a sexuality, by opening her mouth in the first place, you tell them to stick their Playstation where the sun don’t shine.

How we enable a culture of abuse. 

An apt perspective on perspective:

Generally speaking, we should all be more grateful. Probably everyone on earth at this moment could be more grateful than they are, if for no other reason then that we exist, and are not dead. And yet we complain, and I'd venture: we have to. Life is not conducive to nonstop smell-the-child-roses gratitude. Life can be terribly exciting and wonder-filled and full of gratitude; it can also be incredibly mundane and tedious. Both things can be true simultaneously, and often are. It's a balance we find for ourselves.

This also feeds into why the "women there have it worse" argument is misguided. See also:

i don’t need feminisessm because E B O L A pic.twitter.com/y5U3m15cOL
— WomanAgainstFeminism (@NoToFeminism) October 17, 2014

and

lol @ ayn rand peekin' pic.twitter.com/OcMOB7lv7w
— Lindy West (@thelindywest) October 15, 2014

Also: Reza Aslan on Bill Maher (and others).

To be clear (and to repeat): privilege is an existing, powerful, relevant thing. Which is why it behooves us to keep it from becoming a joke or a nonsensical accusation or shortcut for dismissing an opinion. 

Speaking of privilege, I'm probably about to fail to check mine (specifically, the cis variety). I really don't see why women's colleges should tolerate the encroachment of patriarchy from anyone, even if it's trans students. And yes, advocating for using male-centric words like "brotherhood" as a catch-all for humanity is the f*ing encroachment of patriarchy. At women's colleges. If you f*ing want to be part of a brotherhood, please turn to a coed institution for your education.

It's not up to anyone else to decide how you should feel about pregnancy weight, and it's not up to dudes (or anyone) to determine which body types are acceptable or attractive. Finally, it's not cool to try to invalidate anyone else's personal experience.

Helicopter parenting: not just for Americans.

If you're going to grammar-police, make sure you're at least right.

You know I'm always receptive to the countermessage that it's not the responsibility of women to abide or correct men-children.

Another beautiful way of saying, being single doesn't mean there is something wrong with you.

On lugging one's Nobel in and out of Fargo.

These peeled ceramics are stunning.