Why Not Syria Too?

Video of clashes in Daraa, #Syria: http://bit.ly/fvHbn4

Andrew Sullivan's Chart Of The Day (Daily Dish, 17 Mar 2011) is The Economist's "interactive index of unrest in the Arab world," which can be adjusted by moving around the weights "The Shoe Thrower's Index" (Economist, 14 March 2011).  Add of bit of literacy and Libya comes out on top. (Twitpic posted February 24, 2011, by rutevera)

Mapping Awakening (or at least Relative Youth, Literacy, and Poverty)

The Arabist points to four really useful maps ("The new Arab Awakening," Le Monde diplomatique, March 2011, by Philippe Rekacewicz) including proportion of population with higher education and internet connection, proportion of young among the general population and their illiteracy rate (Col. Qaddafi's regime must have done something correct, as there is almost no illiteracy among the young there; is that correct?), national population and poverty.

UPDATE: Related graphics on population curve of each nation, unemployment, etc. (February 17, 2011. "Challenges Facing Countries Across North Africa and the Middle East," Washington Post)

Wanted in the West: Better Headline Writers

Anger?, Turmoil?, Unrest?  Framing devices are either old and tired or hard to come by.

"Arab and Middle East revolt - an interactive map"

• Middle East in Revolt (Time Special, with lead article "How Democracy Can Work in the Middle East," by Fareed Zakaria Thursday, Feb. 03, 2011)
• "Anger on the streets: unrest in Iran, Algeria, Yemen, Morocco and China" (Guardian Special, by Nora Fakim in Rabat, Giles Tremlett, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Tania Branigan in Beijing and agencies, 20 February 2011) "Peaceful demonstrations staged in Morocco but violence breaks out elsewhere in the Middle East and Chinese police crackdown on planned unrest"
• "Arab and Middle East revolt - an interactive map" (Country-by-country guide to the spate of protests across the Middle East, Guardian, by Paddy Allen and Guardian research department, 23 February 2011)
• "Middle East in Turmoil" (interactive map, Washington Post, by Sam Sanders, Wilson Andrews, Feb. 28, 2011)
  

Mapping Dissent (and Counter-Revolution?)

A useful interactive map. ("Unrest in North Africa and the Middle East," by Sara Sorcher, Brian McGill and Julia Edwards, National Journal, February 2, 2011)