Iraqi security forces evacuated another military base in restive Anbar province on Monday in the face of an offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).
The base is the latest in a string of military installations to fall into ISIS hands, according to CNN. Its abandonment comes less than two weeks after ISIS fighters captured nearby Heet on Oct. 2, which lies just 85 miles west of Baghdad.
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On Monday, the U.N. said that an estimated 180,000 Iraqis have fled Heet since it fell earlier this month to the radical Islamist group, which continues to cleave away large swaths of the country’s Sunni heartland from central government control.
Supreme Court Allows Texas Abortion Clinics to Stay Open →
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed more than a dozen Texas abortion clinics to reopen, blocking a state law that had imposed strict requirements on abortion providers. Had the law been allowed to stand, it would have caused all but eight of the state’s abortion clinics to close and would have required many women to travel more than 150 miles to the nearest abortion provider.
The Supreme Court’s order — five sentences long and with no explanation of the justices’ reasoning — represents an interim step in a legal fight that is far from over.
Former NSA Chief Hayden Questions Prosecution of New York Times Reporter →
Hayden's comments about Risen's case make him one of the most senior intelligence officials to question the wisdom of prosecuting the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. "I am, like America, conflicted," Hayden said in the CBS interview. "You're talking about ruining lives over things about which people are acting on principle."
It's unlikely Hayden's statements will have any practical impact on the case, but they may provide some political cover for the Obama administration if it wishes to jettison the case against Risen. Hayden told CBS that he believes Risen's reporting harmed American interests but questioned the wisdom of redressing that offense in a way that "harms the broad freedom of the press."
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.
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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.