3 more from Taranto.

Axis of Evel

"Iranian Daredevil Dies in Motorcycle Stunt"--headline, Associated Press, Aug. 27


Segregation Forever?

It's back to school in Georgia, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Twenty-seven black freshmen at the University of West Georgia will live together, attend classes together and learn to study together this year as part of the Carrollton school's first learning community for African-American men. It is believed to be the only learning community specifically for black men at a historically white public college or university in Georgia.

For all we know, this may be a good idea. But didn't this country go through quite a lot of trouble to integrate education in the South?


Feminists vs. Turtle Huggers

The New York Times reports on a conflict of the sort conservatives love to read about: a fight between two groups of left-wing advocates--in this case, a Mexican standoff between feminists and environmentalists. The verdes are running an ad that aims "to stop men from eating turtle eggs as an aphrodisiac":

The advertising campaign features an Argentine model in a swimsuit, giving the camera her loveliest come-hither look. Next to her are the words "My man doesn't need turtle eggs." The caption below reads, "Because he knows they don't make him more potent."

The environmentalists behind the campaign say they are trying to reach men who buy turtle eggs from street vendors and eat them raw with lime and a pinch of salt in the belief they are a natural form of Viagra.

"We said, 'Let's have a sexy girl saying that the man I choose doesn't need sea turtle eggs,' " said Fay Crevoshay, communications director for Wildcoast, a San Diego-based environmental group. "This is what I call target marketing. We are talking to a certain type of man that will look at this and will get the message."

Feminists, however, complain that the ad amounts to "exploitation of the female body" (not to mention an assault on the sea turtles' right to choose!). Crevoshay counters that she herself is "a veteran of the feminist movement, [and] she regards the ability to show off the female form without shame as a fundamental right."

We too admire the female form, so we side with Crevoshay. But we wonder if her ad campaign isn't sending a mixed message. After all, no one doubts that an Argentine supermodel can find a man who doesn't need turtle eggs. But this ad may reinforce the average José's perception that he needs a little extra help.