A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA →

And not uncommon, given systemic indifference. Our colleges and universities need to address this at every level.

With the publication of this article in Rolling Stone, UVa has taken what looks like particularly cynical, self-serving action:

UVa Temporarily Suspends Fraternities in Response to Rape Allegations

The fraternity suspension is set to run through January 9, the start of the spring semester.

(A three week suspension of frats at the end of this semester. Quick, "extreme", but likely to do little on its own.)

Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll →

The polls have closed after Tunisia's first presidential election since the 2011 "Arab Spring" that triggered uprisings across the region.

About 54% of the electorate took part, with no reports of any violence.

Interim president Moncef Marzouki and anti-Islamist leader Beji Caid Essebsi were touted as the favourites in a field of more than 25 candidates.

Both campaigns claimed to have won the most votes but admitted that a second round of voting next month was likely.

The official results are due out later this week and if no candidate wins more than 50%, a run-off will be held on 31 December.

House intel panel debunks many Benghazi theories →

A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.

WALL STREET IS TAKING OVER AMERICA’S PENSION PLANS →

Coverage of the midterm elections has, understandably, focused on the shift in political power from Democrats toward Republicans. But behind the scenes, another major story has been playing out. Wall Street spent upwards of $300M to influence the election results. And a key part of its agenda has been a plan to move more and more of the $3 trillion dollars in unguarded government pension funds into privately managed, high-fee investments — a shift that may well constitute the biggest financial story of our generation that you’ve never heard of.

...

In many cases, the decision to invest state pension money in alternative investments of questionable value seems to have been driven less by concern for the welfare of future pensioners (gasp!) than by political considerations and the concerted efforts of financial industry lobbyists. The simple fact is that these investments are not very good. While they offer lucrative fees for Wall Street middlemen, they have been shown to oftensignificantly underperform against the market.

Obama’s Trojan Horse? →

Right-wing claims aside, the president’s immigration order won’t give voting rights to unauthorized immigrants. But it could bolster Democratic standing with Latinos, Asians, and other groups with deep ties to immigrant communities. Or, if that’s too much, it could at least reverse the slide—on the eve of this year’s midterm elections, just 63 percent of Latinos leaned toward or identified with the Democratic Party, down from 70 percent in 2012.

Best forecast I've read yet.

In a Shift, Obama Extends U.S. Role in Afghan Combat →

President Obama decided in recent weeks to authorize a more expansive mission for the military in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned, a move that ensures American troops will have a direct role in fighting in the war-ravaged country for at least another year.

Mr. Obama’s order allows American forces to carry out missions against the Taliban and other militant groups threatening American troops or the Afghan government, a broader mission than the president described to the public earlier this year, according to several administration, military and congressional officials with knowledge of the decision. The new authorization also allows American jets, bombers and drones to support Afghan troops on combat missions.

Undocumented Immigrants Aren’t Who You Think They Are →

The perception of U.S. immigration hasn’t kept up with the fast-changing reality. Immigration from Mexico has been falling for several years, for example, and new arrivals are now more likely to come from Asia than from Latin America. Meanwhile the U.S. Latino population is increasingly native-born.
As the influx of new unauthorized immigrants has slowed, the unauthorized population as a whole has become, in Pew’s words, "more settled." The typical unauthorized immigrant has been here for nearly 13 years, up from about 9 years in 2007. Only 16 percent have been here under five years — an important cutoff because Obama’s plan doesn’t apply to anyone who’s been here for less time than that.