Last month, Nicolas Sarkozy essentially declared that the wearing of the veil by Muslim women was a “sign of subservience” not coinciding with French ideals, and therefore not to be tolerated in France. He went …

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FOCUS ON :: THE ELECTION IN IRAN

Landslide or Fraud? The Debate Online Over Iran’s Election Results :: The New York Times

Iran’s Ex-Foreign Minister Yazdi: It’s A Coup :: The Nation

Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote :: The New York Times

The Iranian political system :: Al-Jazeera English

Ahmadinejad Vows New Start As Clashes Flare: U.S. Waits for ‘What the . . . People Decide’ :: The Washington Post

As much as President Obama’s speech in Cairo has been branded as one “to the Muslim world”-whatever that might mean-it is certainly a speech whose audience spanned across a much larger swath of the world. In terms of signaling substantive policy changes for the peoples of that world, there is not much to count on. Much of the lip service is the same as that of the Bush era. We are not fighting Islam, but rather extremists-yes, Bush said that. We want the Muslim world to prosper-yes, Bush said that. We care about the oppressed sectors of your society-women, religious minorities, etc. Yes, Bush said that too. The main difference thus far is that not enough time has yet passed for the disparity between words and action to become irreconcilable (the disparity between words and words, though, is another story, as Obama dubbed the misogynist and racist monarch of Saudi Arabia to be full of wisdom just a single day before he went to Cairo).

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Hearts, minds… but no political will? :: Kabobfest Blog
Professor Juan Cole and Cairo-Based Analyst Issandr El Amrani on Obama’s Historic Address :: Democracy Now!
Obama was up against Napoleon :: True/Slant
Palestinians, Israelis Have Mixed Reactions to Obama Speech :: Voice of America News
ANALYSIS / Obama put Arabs and Israel on an equal footing :: Haaretz
Obama speech in Cairo pleases American Muslims :: Chicago Tribune
Obama in Cairo, an opportunity to restore faith :: Al-jazeera English

The Sheikh’s Batmobile is the product of pop-culturalist Richard Poplak’s two-year search for hallmarks of North American culture – “pop songs, sitcoms, Hollywood movies, shoot ‘em up video games, muscle cars and punk music” – in the least likely of places: the Muslim world.