Women's Rights or "How often is a philosopher right about the future?"
Iranian women (bloggers!), challenging unwritten bans on attending public events, are bussed away from the stadium by public officials, but vow to continue challenging restrictions. The philosopher? Habermas.
Speaking of women's rights, this defense of Roe v. Wade points out some of the intellectually dishonest and legally dangerous arguments made against the case, and against our rights generally. And, lest you think that opposition to Roe is "tactical", several liberal bloggers have been arguing that they really mean it and we should oppose them accordingly. I've always felt that treating your political opponents with respect was important: one element of that is assuming, unless there's clear evidence to the contrary, that they mean what they say. They've been consistent, so should we. The issue is an international one because our anti-choice groups are going international, and our anti-choice government keeps scuttling international meetings related to reproductive rights and health at their behest.
We're dumber than we think
The Pentagon, frustrated by "slow" bomb delivery systems that work at twice the speed of sound, is considering putting conventional warheads on Trident Missiles. As Linus Kafka points out, one problem with this plan is the danger that someone might think we were launching a nuclear attack, and respond accordingly. I'm pretty sure, though, that anyone we dropped a Trident missile on, conventional or not, would be pissed and would respond.... if there's anything left.
Whose Beauty
From the Feminist Carnival I didn't have time to read earlier this week, I found a wonderful post on beauty standards which concludes: "I say we should reclaim beauty. Once upon a long time ago, for reasons not immediately clear to me, we yielded it to the beholder. And in so doing yielded also, our self-esteem on a yo-yo string. No more."
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