Links for March 15th

Links from my del.icio.us account for March 15th:

• 'Just World News' with Helena Cobban: Readings of 'Oslo', and some eroding Israeli taboos - Helena Cobban has a great anecdote from Palestine on the perception of the Oslo Process: "They met with a gathering of canny village elders, one of whom greeted them by saying this: "Welcome! Well, as you know we are simple people, and not all of us are good at reading your way of writing. But when we look at the word 'Oslo' the way you write it, it is clear to us that it begins with a zero and ends with a zero... "


• Olmert says was ready to sign Palestinian peace deal - Remarkable talent for bullshit.


• U.S. warns it won't recognize PA unity gov't sans Fayyad - Haaretz - Israel News - Oh the games we play: "Senior Palestinian sources yesterday told Haaretz that the sudden resignation of Fayyad was a tactical move, designed to pressure Hamas into softening its opposition to Fayyad serving as prime minister in a unity government. The sources believe that the American threat, which is likely to be backed by the European Union and Egypt, will lead to Hamas changing its position and Fayyad rescinding his resignation."


• The Associated Press: Gaza aid promised, but may be a long time coming - Over $5bn in aid promised, very little delivered, and still no construction material allowed in.


• In Egypt, a village boasts the nation's first female mayor - Los Angeles Times - Profile of Egypt's first female mayor, which very appropriately points out she is a feudal heiress in the mold of Benazir Bhutto.


• Clinton rolls out foreign policy approach in trip | U.S. | Reuters - "She tried to charm European institutions in Brussels and literally hit the "reset" button in strained U.S.-Russia ties during a dinner with Moscow's foreign minister in Geneva, and then went to Turkey." This kind of writing pisses me off: is there "literally" a reset button on US-Russia policy in some room in the State Dept? Come on Reuters...See comments, shame on Arabist.


• In Egypt, Elation at Bashir's Warrant - IslamOnline.net - News - Darfuri refugees in Cairo happy at Bashir indictment. Let's hope it allows them to go back home one day.


• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore - Italian book on Hamas by friend-of-the-blog Paola Caridi.


• Book Review: 'Kill Khalid' by Paul McGeough - washingtonpost.com - Review of book on Khaled Mishaal, called "Kill Khalid", which seems a bit OTT. I have it on good source that a new bio of Mishaal is being researched now, with good access to the man himself.


• Christians in the Middle East - Network of scholars working on Christians in ME.


• Re-Imagining the Lebanon Track: Toward a New U.S. Polilicy - Nicholas Noe advocates, among other things, that Washington should stop its support for Lebanon's byzantine confessional system. [PDF]


• The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (March 13, 2009) - Aid To Egypt - Even (formerly neo?) conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan is a raving anti-Semite who wishes nothing but the annihilation of Israel: "Over ten years, that would be $13 billion in military aid, or much less than half the $30 billion pledged to Israel which is getting an increase. Israel's population is around 7 million and Egypt's around 79 million. So per capita, Israel gets close to twenty times the military aid given to Egypt. I know of no other ally that gets even a fraction of that kind of military aid. AIPAC is not a phantasm."


• Israelis 'firing live rounds' at West Bank protesters | World news | The Observer - Note that this practice is only highlighted in this article because it is used against non-Palestinians unarmed protestors. But it is routinely used against unarmed Palestinians.