Links for May 16-23 2010

I'm halfway through a trip to New York and Rabat, with not much time to blog. Yesterday I got around to putting up a bunch of links for the past week, although I'm sure there's a lot I missed. Here are they are...

• New report about carcinogens and fetotoxic materials in Gaza war wounded

  It never ends.

• West doesn't want a democratic Middle East | The Japan Times Online

  Which may lead to, ultimately, an undemocratic West.

• The Muslim Brotherhood's (and Egypt's) Qutb Conundrum - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  This piece raises an important and interesting question but I wonder: maybe the MB clings on to the Qutb of "In the Shadow of the Quran" and "Social Justice in Islam" rather than the one of "Milestones"?

• Palestine: the forgotten mandate - Le Monde diplomatique - English edition

  Read this: "With the scholarly work of the Israeli new historians Ilan Pappe and Benny Morris, plus Catling’s records, the truth surrounding the creation of the state of Israel becomes clearer: the Jewish Agency provisional government did not accept the Jewish state designated under UN resolution 181 with the intention of abiding by the General Assembly goal of providing a state for two peoples in the land of Palestine. Rather, it sought to use it as a means of gaining control of all the land and ridding it of its indigenous people so far as possible."

• Christopher Hitchens: 'I was right and they were wrong' | Books | The Guardian

  Hmm, not really. His new book is well-written, as always, but self-indulgent.

• Youth Against Fashionism « THE BOURSA EXCHANGE

  TBA is back to fight the new trend of wearing shorts in Egypt - ma yenfaash!

• OneMideast.org

  New site on Aran-Israeli conflict.

• BBC News - Saudi editor Jamal Khashoggi resigns from of al-Watan

  Won't miss him but he went for wrong reason - criticizing Salafism. These Saudis and Salafis are a threat to humanity.

• Mélange des genres en Arabie saoudite : quand la photo est bonne ! | Culture et politique arabes

  Good post on the Saudi royals' finally having their picture taken with women.

• Lebanon and Syria agree to back Hizbollah - The National Newspaper

  It's either one extreme or the other in Lebanon, never the middle ground.

• I'm baffled by Noam Chomsky's contradictions on Palestine - Ali Abunimah

  Abunimah goes after Chomsky on the Fayyad issue. I don't wholly agree but food for thought.

• China-Arab Cooperation Forum and Hunan’s garlic farmers

  All that hummus, made with Chinese garlic?

• ElBaradei’s prolonged absences from public confuse followers - The National Newspaper

  People are getting nervous...

• Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture | Found in translation

  Renowned Egyptian translator Bashir El-Sebaie wins prize.

• The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment | The New York Review of Books

  The article that everyone is talking about.

• Israel impatient with international effort to thwart Iran's nuclear ambition - WaPo

  I'm pretty impatient with international efforts to thwart Israel's territorial ambitions.

• Beware the Warnings of al Qaeda - International - The Atlantic

  Good post on taking Morocco's allegations of recent "al-Qaeda" arrests with a grain of salt.

• South Sudan president sworn in; referendum is next

  Crucial year ahead for Sudan.

• Look how they portray Israel: that it is patient for letting Obama try sanctions before bombing.

  To fix the NPT and tackle the Iran question, you have to address the problems of Israel and India.

• Fluffy Farhad By Negar Azimi | Bidoun Magazine

  On controversial Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri - a good read.

• gary's choices | Giving the finger to Iran (and Turkey and. . .)

  Gary Sick has a very good piece on the bad timing of the new sanctions against Iran.

• Head of Egypt`s mint resigns after cash is stolen - Reuters -

  Wow.

• From Fermilab, a New Clue to Explain Human Existence? - NYTimes.com

  Reality can't seem to make up its mind.

• Cairo 2030: New vision, new city

  A call for the government to step up to the plate.