Links August 29th to August 30th

Links from my del.icio.us account for August 29th through August 30th:

• Bearing Up - New York Times - McCain VP Sarah Palin's old NYT op-ed against making polar bears an endangered species


• Plan For Iraq - Internet archive cache of planforiraq.com, the Joe Biden-backed website that advocated the extreme federalization of Iraq


• Daily News Egypt - FOUR DECADES AFTER SAYYID QUTB’S EXECUTION - Ibrahim Hudaiby on the MB and Sayyid Qutb's legacy


• AFP: Egypt policeman seizes baby in hunt for fugitive - "An Egyptian police officer held an 18-month-old baby hostage for five hours in a bid to secure the surrender of the child's fugitive uncle, a security official said on Friday.
  Police have now opened an investigation into the incident which happened in a village in the Nile Delta on Tuesday, the official said.
  The uncle, who lived with the child and its mother, had absconded after being sentenced to a year in prison for forging a cheque."


• Jimmy Carter Conspicuously Absent From Podium - Forward.com" - "Breaking with the tradition of giving speech time to living former presidents, convention organizers honored Carter with only a short video clip highlighting his work with Hurricane Katrina victims and a brief walk across the Pepsi Center stage.
  
  The sidelining of Carter was driven by recognition in the Obama camp and among Democratic leaders that giving the former president a prominent convention spot might alienate Jewish voters."


• Salad Days | The National
  Salad days
  - The National Newspaper - Ursula Lindsey on Nadia Kamel's Salata Baladi


• Iraq and China Sign $3 Billion Oil Contract - washingtonpost.com - Well it seems at least China has confidence in the future of Iraq


• Daily News Egypt - A BLEAK VIEW FROM AN EGYPTIAN DYSTOPIA - Egyptian writer pens a dystopic vision of today


• Libya | Time for a new generation | Economist.com - On Seif's "retirement" from politics