THE PANAMA PAPERS: Big Leak, Big Corruption, Deep Rot.

The weekend’s biggest story by far: the leak of a massive trove of documents, over 2.6 terabytes of data, from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in creating offshore companies. The documents were handed over to the German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung under mysterious circumstances. The paper shared the documents with an NGO called the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which in turn unleashed 107 media organizations in 78 countries onto the find.
It’s unclear how the documents saw the light of day—disgruntled employee? black hat hackers? state-sponsored espionage?—but the haul, which was officially announced yesterday, is impressive.

About $2 billion appears to have been squirreled away by Russian President Vladimir Putin in various offshore vehicles. The broad outlines of the scheme and some of the players involved are already known. Western countries have already targeted sanctions against Putin’s buddy Yuri Kovalchuk and the shady Bank Rossiya, for example, in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. But the documents reveal in impressive detail how Putin’s childhood friend, professional cellist Sergei Roldugin, sits as proxy for the Russian President in various schemes. They also reveal how a Russian bank in Cyprus funneled large unsecured loans to the offshore vehicle linked to Putin for vague “consultancy” services, and for apparently fake share deals. Other Putin associates who appear in the papers but are not necessarily directly linked to schemes involving the Russian President include the Rotenberg brothers (Arkadiy and Boris) and Gennady Timchenko, all of whom are billionaire oligarchs.

Other world leaders shown to have offshore assets include former Prime Minister of Iraq Iyad Allawi, the King of Saudi Arabia, current President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. There is nothing inherently illegal in setting up offshore companies, and there are legitimate uses for them. Spokesmen for several of the leaders singled out have strongly denied any wrongdoing. Macri’s people, for example, said that, though he was listed as director of an offshore vehicle, he had no capital participation in the venture when he was forced to declare assets as Mayor of Buenos Aires.

Related: Clean Up The UN:

In addition to the Panama papers, there’s another big international scandal unfolding: the latest report of large-scale wrongdoing at the United Nations. . . .

These findings are another reminder that the ‘international space’ is poorly governed, and that the press doesn’t watch it as closely as it watches national politics. Organizations like FIFA, the IOC, and the various arms of the UN bring together people and interests from countries with many levels of public morality, some of which are kleptocratic sinkholes of rampant disregard for all standards of legality and decency. Because very large amounts of money are often involved, these organizations can make fantastic petri dishes for various criminal groups and activities. In the long run, much more aggressive international law enforcement is going to be needed; in the meantime, the U.S. Justice Department and other national organizations need to get more involved.

This will involve stepping on some toes—vast quantities of money slosh through the international system for programs that sound good but that can be very corruptly managed. Even the EU does such a bad job of handling its spending in member states that auditors routinely refuse to endorse its accounts; just imagine what goes on in UN and NGO-sponsored aid programs in some of world’s most corrupt countries.

Lots of unaccounted-for money, little accountability, plenty of opportunities for self-aggrandizement. It’s exactly what you would expect, and I’m not sure that it can be cleaned up. Though turning off some of the money spigots would help.

NOT THE ONION: Student accused of violating university ‘safe space’ by raising her hand.

(Via Tim Blair, who satirically dubs the woman accused of doubleplus ungood armcrime “The Ogre of Edinburgh University.”)

OUT: ORBITAL DYNAMICS. IN: GENDER DYNAMICS. Astronomy’s Evolving Gender Dynamics.

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SITE NOT DISPLAYING PROPERLY? You need to access it via http:// not via https://. That’ll be fixed soon, but this will work in the meantime.

BALD SUPERVILLAIN PLOTS TO DESTROY CALIFORNIA.

THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Raytheon’s New Radar Tech Could Realize the Pentagon’s Pain Ray.

FROM IRAN WITH LOVE: Iranian weapons confiscated at sea — and it’s the third time in two months.

Related: Roger Simon on why Obama’s Bizarre Iranian Love Affair Continues.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Former Tax Court Judge and Husband Indicted For Tax Evasion.

OBAMA AND HILLARY’S JUNIOR ANTI-SEX LEAGUE IS ON THE PROWL: The Federal Government’s Sexual Reign of Terror on College Campuses.

THIS IS WHY THE GOP WILL SANDBAG THE DEMS WHEN THEY NOMINATE GENERAL MATTIS AT THE CONVENTION: Women don’t like either party’s front-runner.

Women in 2016 are not excited by either party’s front-runner, and in fact actively dislike both.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and business mogul Donald Trump are both underwater when it comes to women voters. Trump, due in part to his past statements and braggadocio, fares far worse than Clinton, but both are disliked by a majority of American women, according to polls.

Trump has never had a net-positive favorable rating with women, but his likability is getting worse as he continues to stumble through answers on abortion and insult female members of the media. Nearly three-quarters of women said they had a negative view of Trump in a March CNN/OCR poll. That’s up from a 59 percent unfavorable rating among women in December.

Republican women, however, according to the CNN poll, have a generally positive view of Trump, with 59 percent holding a favorable opinion of the front-runner and 39 percent having an unfavorable opinion. Trump’s main GOP competitor, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, did not do any better with women in the poll. Thirty-seven percent of registered Republican women held an unfavorable opinion of Cruz, while 56 percent held a favorable opinion.

And, hey, Mattis is going to be President one way or another.

AS DO ALL THINKING PEOPLE: Chicago Tribune editorial takes aim at campus free speech codes.

Conservative newspapers aren’t the only ones taking notice of the long, slow, humiliating death of free speech occurring on college campuses across the country.

In an editorial, the moderate Chicago Tribune has taken schools to task for the erosion of free speech rights, writing that “free expression is not faring well on American college campuses these days.” After acknowledging that no one is suggesting students be able to spew racial or misogynist sentiments, the Tribune’s editorial board suggested schools be wary of going too far when it comes to cracking down on speech.

“But it’s important not to go so far in protecting undergraduates that they lose the spontaneous and open interactions they need to understand the world and the society in which they live,” the Tribune wrote. “An education that spares students from unwanted challenges to their thinking is not much of an education.”

While noting that some schools have taken at least tepid stances against college snowflakes, the Tribune praised the University of Chicago, which issued a statement last year strongly supporting debate and free speech.

“[D]ebate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the university community to be offensive, unwise, immoral or wrong-headed,” UC wrote.

Part of the problem, the Tribune wrote, is an overly broad definition of “hostile environment” and “harassment” that have come from the Obama administration’s Education Department. Recently, the American Association of University Professors condemned this broadening of the definitions and the consequences that have come from it.

There’s nothing in Title IX that actually supports this definition. That’s entirely the creature of the Education Department’s fanciful “interpretation.”

HE DOESN’T SOUND LIKE A CONFUSED OLD MAN AT ALL: Transcript: Bernie Sanders Meets With the NY Daily News Editorial Board.

Related: “For me reading this interview is shocking. I know Sanders talks in platitudes, but he seems to think in them too.”

IT’S PROBABLY NOTHING:

Shot: Why The Auto Loan Bubble Is As Important As The Student Loan Bubble.

Chaser: Obama administration pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit.

Hangover: It’s not here yet, but it will likely be a doozy.

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS: The Frat Site That Helped Ignite #TheChalkening Speaks Out. “Old Row said that there have been confirmed pro-Trump chalkings at least 106 campuses. Most of the schools — such as Clemson University, Duke University and the University of Florida — that have been marked are in the South, but [there are] also reported cases at such far-away bastions of liberalism like the University of California – Berkeley. The website moderator said that there was no coordination on the effort and it was an entirely grassroots affair. . . . The anonymous staffer said that not everyone at Old Row supports Donald Trump, but they all oppose ‘political correctness and outrage culture.'”

Plus: “The response to The Chalkening from left-wing college activists has so far amounted to hysterical outrage and calls for administrators at colleges — such as the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan — to investigate the pasty marks. Activists at Emory have even issued extravagant demands in response to the chalk marks, which include urging the school’s president to write ‘terse’ letters to both Trump and Ted Cruz saying they’re not welcome on campus.”

FOOTAGE SURFACES OF BERNIE SANDERS PRAISING COMMUNIST BREAD LINES (VIDEO).

NEW CIVILITY UPDATE: RAPPER CALLS FOR SARAH PALIN TO BE GANG RAPED. “Azealia Banks, the rapper known for calling paparazzi ‘f**gots’ and demanding $100 trillion in slavery reparations, is calling for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be raped by a group of black men.”

When your rhetoric is too crude even for NBC, perhaps it’s time to rethink your priorities.

RICH LOWRY: Do Not Fear The Chalk.

Rarely before have a few scribblings been so traumatizing — and written not even in ink or paint or some other difficult-to-remove substance, but in the same chalk used to mark out hopscotch courts and write temporary promotional messages about sorority mixers and student theatrical productions. That chalk messages can be considered tantamount to a physical threat captures the crisis of free speech on campus perfectly.

What has become known on social media as “the chalkening” demonstrates how some college kids can’t be exposed to the simplest expression of support for a major presidential candidate without wanting to scurry to the nearest safe space. By this standard, a “Make America Great Again” hat is a hate crime waiting to happen. It’s not clear how any of these students can turn on cable TV or look at the polls for the Republican nomination these days without being triggered. Pro-Trump chalking took off after the reaction at Emory University, where some students were reduced to tears by the messages and said they felt “fear.” Protesters gathered at an administration building and let loose the antiphonal chant “You are not listening! Come speak to us, we are in pain!” This might have been an appropriate response if the kids had been tear-gassed, rather than seeing a positive phrase about a candidate that is supported by some significant plurality of the American public. . . .

The reaction to the chalkening is a testament to the electric charge surrounding Trump. He is like the Washington Redskins of political candidates — so politically incorrect that some people can’t bear to see or hear his name. (The New York Times columnist Charles Blow actually refuses to use it.) This branding isn’t prudent positioning for a general election, but it makes Trump a perfect vehicle for provoking the other side, and it’s in that thumb-in-the-eye spirit that the Trump chalking is spreading. The students getting the vapors over it don’t understand free expression or what it means to live in a free society, where you inevitably encounter people who have ideas and support candidates that you oppose. They hate Donald Trump. Fine. That is reason to argue and agitate against him, not to seek protection from any contact with supporters of his, no matter how tenuous.

The thing is, they’ve been taught the opposite since Kindergarten.

THE HILL: 7 lingering questions in the Clinton email investigation.

The FBI appears to be entering the home stretch of its investigation into Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

Yet even as arrangements are reportedly being made to interview Clinton and her top aides, much remains unclear.

The FBI under Director James Comey refuses to publicly discuss the investigation, as is customary, but critics say the lingering questions show the review is anything but routine and could result in criminal indictments.

Personally, I assume that the fix is in.

Related: Economic models predict GOP White House, even with Trump. Well, if it’s in an economic model, you can take it to the bank.

ROGER KIMBALL: Is Wisconsin the End of the Line for Donald Trump?

ALL IS PROCEEDING AS I HAVE FORESEEN: Report: Trump eyeing money transfers from immigrants in plan to build wall. “Donald Trump would force Mexico to pay for a wall along its border with the U.S. by threatening to block money transfers from immigrants in the U.S., The Washington Post reports. The Post on Tuesday said that Trump plans to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law, shrinking the number of money transfers — known as remittances — into Mexico.”

Just taxing remittances would be easier, though it might raise NAFTA issues. But would Trump care if it did?

THE NEW REPUBLIC IS WORRIED: The Rise of “Bias Response Teams” on Campus: Colleges across America are creating shadowy groups to handle complaints. Will they end up muzzling students instead? “Instead?” That’s the whole point:

Bias incident reporting is not unique to Emory. More than 100 colleges and universities have Bias Response Teams, which aim to foster “a safe and inclusive environment” by providing “advocacy and support to anyone on campus who has experienced, or been a witness of, an incident of bias or discrimination.” These teams have multiple missions, including educational “prevention,” investigating alleged bias incidents, disciplining offenders, and organizing “coping events” after such incidents. Depending on the campus, these teams are known as BRTs, BARTs, BERTs or BIRTs. Students and faculty occasionally serve on BRTs, but they are largely composed of administrators, with sizable representation from Residential Life and Dean of Students offices. As committees with unelected members that meet behind closed doors, they lack both transparency and accountability.

Lacking transparency and accountability is also the point. So is providing self-important roles for all those administrators who are driving up college costs.

TOO BAD SOMEBODY DECIDED TO STORE GASOLINE AND OILY RAGS IN THE SAME ROOM AS THE SUBPOENAED HARD DRIVES. ACCIDENTS HAPPEN! IRS Building In Washington, D.C. Closed Today Due To Fire.

GREAT MOMENTS IN SELF-AWARENESS: Bernie Sanders, a fan of communist regimes, says Scott Walker’s ideology ‘kills people.’

RESET: Why Russia Is Rebuilding Its Nuclear Arsenal.

“Because of the vision that he’s been pursuing of emphasizing military might,” Obama told reporters at the summit, “we have not seen the type of progress that I would have hoped for with Russia.”

This was putting it lightly. Over the course of Obama’s presidency, Russia has managed to negotiate deep cuts to the U.S. arsenal while substantially strengthening of its own. It has allegedly violated the treaty that limits the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe and, in the last few years, it has brought disarmament talks with the U.S. to a complete standstill for the first time since the 1960s. In its rhetoric, Moscow has also returned to a habit of nuclear threats, while in its military exercises, it has begun to practice for a nuclear strike, according to the NATO military alliance.

But of all these stark reversions to the posture of the Cold War, nothing expressed Russia’s position on nuclear disarmament more clearly than Putin’s decision to skip the nuclear summit in Washington last week. Apart from North Korea, which was not invited to the talks, Russia was the only nuclear power not to send a senior delegate.

Read the whole thing.