Links May 11th to May 12th

Links from my del.icio.us account for May 11th through May 12th:

• Reuters AlertNet - ANALYSIS-Egypt's pig cull fans sectarian tension - Sectarian implications of piggicide.


• Le viol avec plaisir « SN - Sheikh Tantawi, mysogynist asshole, thinks abortion should only be authorized if the woman raped is of "good reputation, a virgin, virtuous, and took no pleasure in what happened to her." Make no mistake: this is Islam, this is any religion in practice.


• Barak: Mubarak a stabilizing element - Israel News, Ynetnews - "The prime minister's visit to Egypt is very important," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday. "Egypt, headed by President Mubarak, is a stabilizing, responsible and serious element within a very stormy Mideast reality, and we have valuable strategic matters which must be discussed and are related to the chance to achieve stability, peace and cooperation across the entire region."


• AP holds American soldiers to higher standard than Israeli ones - Mondoweiss: AP concerned about US use of White Phosphorus in Afghanistan but doesn't care about Israel's use.


• McKiernan Out, McChrystal In (Updated) - Abu Muqawama weighs in on the very public firing of the US general in charge of Afghanistan and his replacement by a COIN guy. More evidence of the rise of COIN doctrine in the US military.


• Global Voices Online » Iran: Eccentric candidates of the presidential election - Including a high school drop-out who wears a cowboy hat - is that the best you can, CIA?


• Maan News Agency | Israeli researcher suggests creating 'Palestinian emirates' - "“Today I promise both peoples that their complicated question will be solved through this proposal. My proposal suggests the appointment of a king or emir or caliph in each Palestinian city or village, which will have its own systems and its own army. These emirates could become richer than the Gulf states if the Palestinians wake up and invest in the gas reserve near the Gaza beaches." However, Kedar rejected a withdrawal from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He said Israel would not allow these hilltops to become bases for Hizbullah." I have a counterproposal: that Israel be turned into a Federation of Shtetls, each under the direction of a different rabbi. And maybe Egypt can be turned into a confederation of mini-kingdoms, each under a different 'omda.