Here is your R&D for March 24th:
The Arab Powder Keg from Slate
This is a link to an animated map from Slate Magazine, which diagrams the spread of unrest across the North Africa and Middle East since December.
‘Gadhafi Is Facing a Coalition of the Unwilling’ from Der Spiegel
In a critical piece about coalition efforts against the Libyan government, Der Spiegel describes how bickering among coalition partners has created a “coalition of the unwilling” and that the bickering may end up strengthening the Gaddafi regime. The article also has a timeline for Colonel Moammar Gaddafi’s forty years of rule.
Portugal’s crisis gatecrashes Euro summit from the Agence France Presse
Portugal moved closer to becoming the next European country in need of a bailout as its parliament rejected an austerity package yesterday. Portugal’s crisis may throw the EU’s latest financial summit into disarray and create political problems in countries like Germany whose citizens oppose bailouts to fiscally irresponsible EU member states.
Barack Obama polls strongly in 2012 election survey from Politico
Although it’s still early to crunch electoral data for 2012, polls show that President Obama enjoys a decent amount of support for a re-election bid, with 47% of the country preferring to see him re-elected. The country is divided in terms of who they would prefer the Republicans nominate, which is hardly surprising considering the lack of a frontrunner in the GOP field.
What is going on with GDP? from the Economist
This short article in the Economist talks about America’s weak GDP growth and how there may not be any economic miracles to pull the U.S. out of its economic slump.