Dilma Rousseff pledges unity after narrow Brazil election victory →

Rousseff was re-elected by a narrow margin on Sunday...

Voters appeared divided – and confused – by an often dirty campaign characterised by name-calling, accusations of corruption, nepotism and incompetence, rumour-mongering on social networks and suspicious delays in the release of government data on deforestation and poverty.

The overwhelmingly anti-Rousseff mainstream media focused on a huge bribes-for-votes scandal in which kickbacks from the country’s biggest company, Petrobras, were used to buy off politicians and fill campaign coffers. A report in Veja magazine this week claimed that Rousseff and her predecessor, Da Silva, were aware of the wrongdoing, a charge they deny.

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But his message was ultimately drowned by a string of attacks. The Workers’ party accused Neves of corruption for building an airport on his family’s land, of nepotism by adding half a dozen cousins and relatives to the public payroll during his time as governor of Minas Gerais state, and of disrespecting women – an allusion to a widely circulated report that he punched his wife before they were married. Neves’ denial failed to stop his support plunging among female voters.

Ukraine elections: Pro-Western parties set for victory →

For the first time in country's history, a broad pro-European, pro-reform coalition seems to be in the makings.

Just as significantly, two groupings that have long dominated the political landscape appear to have been considerably weakened - the Communist Party, which for the first time may not enter parliament, and the remnants of the Party of Regions, which look set to have a much smaller role in the new legislature.

In the end, President Poroshenko may enjoy a two-thirds "super majority", with which he will be able to enact his long-promised reform programme with little resistance.

DecodeDC →

I really can't recommend this podcast highly enough. Short, but quality shows, one a week. Something political, and nice and focused. I really enjoyed the last three: the hidden money sloshing around political campaigns, a la 501(c)4s (in the form of "Super PACs"); the contrast between the AIDS and ebola responses; and the convoluted, thoroughly human (tragic) way we've been dealing with unexpected pregnancy. If you're a news junky, or just want a little political analysis on some high level issues every now and then, add DecodeDC.

But what about the men? On masculinity and mass shootings →

An article from two years ago, but made timely by the incredible amount of abuse against several female game developers and media critics recently.

But we’re talking white, middle class men — the members of this society who have the most privilege and the most power. The question everyone should be asking is not: “Where did he get the gun?” or “Why wasn’t he on medication?” But: “What is happening with white men?”

This isn’t to say that men are somehow naturally inclined towards violence. It isn’t reasonable to argue that men are born angry or crazy. Masculinity, on the other hand, is something worth thinking about.

“It’s hidden in plain sight,” Katz says. “This is about masculinity and it’s about manhood.” Other factors are important too, for example, how masculinity intersects with mental illness or emotional problems or with access to guns. “But we need to be talking about gender front and center.”

The Racist Housing Policies That Built Ferguson →

The Economic Policy Institute has just released a report by Richard Rothstein that gives some sense of how the world of Michael Brown came to be. It turns out that that world was born from the exact same forces that forged cities and suburbs across the country—racist housing policy at the local, state, and national levels. Rothstein's report eschews talk of mindless white flight, and black-hearted individual racists, and puts the onus exactly where it belongs:...

Rooftop solar is just the beginning; utilities must innovate or go extinct →

By now, most people are aware that solar power — particularly distributed solar power, in the form of rooftop panels — poses a threat to power utilities. And utilities are fighting back, attempting to impose additional fees and restrictions on solar customers. These skirmishes generally center on “net metering,” whereby utilities (forced by state legislation) pay customers with solar panels full retail price for the power they produce, which can often cancel out the customer’s bill entirely. That’s lost revenue for the utility.