Bolivia election: Leaders congratulate Morales on 'win' →

Elections are a good way to gauge the health of democracy of a country. Bolivia's an interesting case. A popular candidate from the disadvantaged indigenous community rose to the presidency. Yet this is Evo Morales's third time running, and not without his share of criticism. I wish I knew more of the country, to comment in detail.

Evo Morales became the first indigenous president in 2006 and is even more popular now, and not only among his Aymara ethnic group.

He won the trust of many thanks to Bolivia's good economic performance. Supermarkets, cinemas and restaurants are popping up everywhere.

The new cable car in La Paz is perhaps the best example of the changing times in Bolivia, which remains one of the poorest countries in the region.

It connects La Paz with the satellite city of El Alto, home to thousands of migrants. There, a monument to Che Guevara sits next to a brand new shopping centre, surrounded by thousands of poorly built stalls selling counterfeit products.

Mr Morales's critics have accused him of using millions of dollars in government cash to fund his re-election campaign and say that this has helped create a fractured opposition.

They say he has also introduced measures which are harmful to the environment.

No Country for Young Men →

A year in a West Virginia juvenile facility costs more than $80,000 per child, compared with $1,000 to $33,000 per child in community programs that have reduced recidivism by up to 20 percent in other states.

There are some big winners here, but they're not the kids, nor society at large.

During the downturn, America's poor helped each other more. The rich pitched in less. →

The big story here, to me, is the increasing power of fewer and fewer people. That's to be feared.

More to the point of the article, though, I believe this can be largely explained by affinity effects. You trust people like you. The upper class closes rank, leaving the lower and middle classes to help each other out:

Since 2009, a rising economic tide has mainly lifted yachts. During the recovery, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened. Both in terms of incomes and wealth, the rich got richer. Meanwhile, the poor and middle class either saw their earnings and wealth stagnate or fall off.

And yet amidst all that, something odd happened. Even during the downturn and recovery, the poorest Americans upped their charitable giving. Meanwhile, the highest-income people gave less and less, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported this week.

Probe of silencers leads to web of Pentagon secrets →

Documentary waiting to be made: cronyism, a deal for a few hundred unmarked silencers inflated from $10k to $1.6M, and a reticent judge. Secrecy concerns meets corruption in the national security state.

The Price of Black Ambition →

Each February, we hold up civil-rights heroes and the black innovators and writers and artists who have made so much possible for this generation. We say, look at what the best of us have achieved. We conjure W. E. B. Du Bois, who once wrote, “The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men.” We ask much of our exceptional men and women. We must be exceptional if we are to be anything at all.

...

Before, since, and during Du Bois’s time, the “Negro” has been a problem demanding a solution. Historically we are, of course, quick to neglect examining how this problem began. We are, it seems, still looking for that solution even as some declare the United States is embarking upon a post-racial era. We forget that we should not only measure black progress by the most visibly successful among us, but also by those who continue to be left behind.

Update: 3 Azhar students to be detained for their role in campus clashes on Sunday →

At Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Students Against the Coup organized a march to demand the release of their arrested colleagues and the return to school of those who were expelled last year. The students also protested against the strict policies of the new security company and destroyed its office on campus. Later, police entered the campus, arrested five students and closed several streets in the vicinity.

At Ain Shams University, students protested the long queues at the gates and the new procedures implemented by Falcon, in collaboration with the university’s guards, who closed the doors to Zafarana castle in the middle of campus, as well as the faculties of science and computer science.  

At Cairo University, students organized a march that toured campus and chanted against Falcon and military rule, which they said has led to a state of chaos. Falcon security personnel fled the scene and five CSF and Special Forces tankers entered the campus to disperse the protest, arresting several students.

In Washington Policy Circles the Trade Deficit Is Like Sex Used to Be, No One Is Supposed to Talk About It →

For those who never had any economics or are in high level policy positions, an over-valued dollar has an enormous effect on the balance of trade. If the dollar is over-valued by 20 percent it has roughly the same impact as imposing a 20 percent tariff on all U.S. exports and providing a 20 percent subsidy on imports. There is nothing in policymakers' bag of tricks that can come close to having the same impact on trade as a reduction in the value of the dollar. Anyone who argues otherwise (think of people pushing the TPP or TTIP) are either showing their ignorance or not telling the truth.

What Will U.S. Troops in Baghdad Do When Islamic State Militants Arrive? →

President Obama has pledged that he will not put American boots on the ground in order to degrade and destroy the Islamic State.  But he has already sent 1000-1500 troops to Baghdad to provide (in the words of a June 30 letter to Congress) “support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.”