Smart Reads February 11, 2013

With President Obama’s State of the Union address just a day away, Edward Luce considers what he might want to say.
The New York Times reports that he will use the speech to reinvigorate one of his signature national security objectives — drastically reducing nuclear arsenals.
Amazon is creating thousands of jobs in the UK but working there has been a culture shock for many in former mining town of Rugeley. “The feedback we’re getting is it’s like being in a slave camp,” said Brian Garner, the dapper chairman of the Lea Hall Miners Welfare Centre and Social Club.
Roula Khalaf looks at how inexperienced Islamist leaders in Egypt and Tunisia are struggling to manage economic grievances that have persisted – and even worsened – since the old regimes fell.
Western forces are using state-of-the-art wiretapping technology in ancient desert hide-outs in their hunt for Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
Ta-Nehisi Coates considers the ways in which the use of drones has been justified – “I think it’s highly debatable whether drones are in our best interests. In fact, I suspect we’re seeding future wars.”