Links 29-30 December 2010

Last links of the year — I won't be back till early January. Happy new year!

• Hooked on America - The National
  My year-ender essay in The National, on a Middle East addicted to Amreeka.
• Middle East Report Online: The Liquidation of Egypt’s Illiberal Experiment by Mona El-Ghobashy
  Mona ElGhobashy on Egypt post-elections, pre-succession.
• White House recess-appoints envoys to Turkey, Syria, Baku, Prague - Laura Rozen - POLITICO.com
  Obama appoints Ricciardone to Turkey, Ford to Syria.
• Mecca Development Veers to Kitsch - Critic’s Notebook - NYTimes.com
  Terrible architectural projects in Mecca.
• Front page | Satellite Sentinel Project
  George Clooney's Sudan satellite watch project.
• A Conversation with Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)
  Long interview with Qaradawy.
• America and the Middle East: Great sacrifices, small rewards | The Economist
  America's footprint in the Middle East.

• Cable Viewer
  Syria nurturing Islamists, 2006 Wikileaks cable says.
• Cable Viewer
  More on the Syrian involvement in Danish cartoon riots from US embassy cables.
• Cable Viewer
  Interesting cable from Syria on the Danish cartoon riots there.
• Qantara.de - Contemporary Witness or Impostor?
  Did Ibn Battuta just make stuff up?
• INTERVIEW: ElBaradei on quiet revolution, reform tactics, and religion | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today's News from Egypt
  Interview with ElBaradei.