The Short List

• The funerals for slain protesters in Bahrain became part of the protests in the small country.  There are concerns that the protesters will respond to government violence with violence of their own, escalating the situation.  Additionally, there is a Sunni/Shiite aspect to the protests that makes the outcomes all the murkier.


• In Egypt, there a concerns that the military is consolidating its already substantial economic interests, which could stymie any economic liberalization.  Human rights groups are confronting the Egyptian military for a series of detainments of civilians, some emerging with signs of torture.  Some have not been released.


• The Economist discusses protests in Iran and if the Green Movement has been revitalized.  As previously reported, opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi remains missing.


• The U.S. is trying to head off a UN Security Council vote that would declare Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal.  The Economist considers the mood in Israel as the Arab Spring continues.


• President Obama has waded into the Wisconsin union showdown.  Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced legislation that would eliminate collective bargaining for anything beyond pay.