MID-WEEK READING (June 22, 2016)

A young Lee Kuan Yew reading.

Compare these gun death rates: The U.S. is in a different world (NY Times).

Chinese students climb 2,500-foot bamboo ladder to get home from school (NBC News).

This is why Bakersfield can't have nice things (Bakersfield Californian).

Things are thriving in the "modern hooker economy" (Zero Hedge).


MARKET CANARIES IN THE MINE?
Here's why TESLA is a giant Ponzi scheme (Sure Money / Michael Lewitt).

During the next crisis, entire countries will go bust (Zero Hedge).

Foreigners selling U.S. equities at record pace (Ritholtz).


EUROPEAN UNION BLUES
EU breaking up? Brexit's first 100 days promise chaos, fear, damage limitation (Bloomberg).

The European Union is the worst choice apart from the alternative (Truthout).

If you think American stocks are safe from Brexit ... think again (Money Morning / Shah Gilani).

THE CONGO

The paradox of the Congo: How the world's wealthiest country became home to the world's poorest people (Think Progress).

This country is a powder keg and its leader's holding the match (Ozy).

TRUMP
12 fringe conspiracies embraced by a man who might be the next president (Think Progress).

Megyn Kelly blasts Donald Trump for remarks about Hispanic judge (NY Magazine).

Yes, Donald Trump told drought-stricken Californians there's no drought (Think Progress).

Trump's campaign now has less money than many congressional campaigns (Truthout).

How Donald Trump will shape future presidential primaries (Ozy).


A TALE OF TWO WORLDS ... IN BLACK AND WHITE
Ex-Stanford swimmer gets six months in jail and probation for sexual assault (The Guardian).

Former football star Brian Banks, who served five years in prison for rape he didn't commit, disgusted by Brock Turner ruling (NY Daily News).

The Powerful Letter the Stanford Victim Read Aloud to Her Attacker (BuzzFeed News).


IF WE CAN BAILOUT WALL STREET, WHY NOT THESE NEXT 'CRISIS' ISSUES?
Congress approves plan to allow pension cuts (CNN Money).

"This is going to be a national crisis" - One of the largest U.S. pension funds set to cut retiree benefits (Zero Hedge).

The war on workers' compensation (Truthout).


MISCELLANEOUS
Guess the country from the outline (Offbeat).

Koch front groups are defending ExxonMobils anti-science campaign (Greenpeace).

China spends more on infrastructure than the U.S. and Europe combined (Bloomberg).

Is this the prescription for America's drug problem (Ozy).

- Mark