Here is your R&D for September 8th:
BP Report Says Many Factors Caused Macondo Oil Spill from Business Week
BP has released a recent report on what caused the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster. The report blames BP engineers as well as rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton.
Sarkozy Stands Firm on Retirement Age from the Wall Street Journal
As protests increase in France against President Nicolas Sarozy’s pension reform plans, Sarkozy is standing his ground, unlike past French presidents. Check out Extemp Central on Friday for a topic brief on this issue.
‘Europe Needs a Directly Elected Leader with Charisma’ from Der Spiegel
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s “state of the union” speech yesterday pitched a transaction tax to finance EU operations, but his bland speaking style probably won’t win over new converts. Find reviews of Barroso’s speech in this article.
New faces fill GOP straw poll from Politico
The latest GOP Values Voter straw poll isn’t short on candidates. There are 17 names on the ballot. Find out who they are and just how wide open the GOP field is.
War Talk, Peace Talk from Foreign Policy in Focus
This article provides excellent analysis for why an attack on Iran will not occur and how President Obama can secure a lasting peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Homeless Upset About McDonald’s Dollar Menu Increase from My Fox: New York
This is an AGD bonus. In San Francisco the homeless are angry about the elimination of the Dollar Menu at local McDonald’s. Best quotation from the article: “That means that the Dollar Menu is a hoax, a fraud, a phony.”