slivers of news

News ...
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Diplomats from a number of European countries and the UN have reacted angrily after Israeli soldiers intervened to prevent them delivering aid to Bedouins in the West Bank....

The homes in Khirbet al-Makhul were knocked down on Monday after Israel's High Court ruled that they had been built without the correct permits.
BBC Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly, in Jerusalem, says the Bedouin villagers of Khirbet al-Makhul have refused to leave the land where they say they have grazed sheep for generations.

I don't suppose it would do any good to ask if Israel had been built with the "correct permits." Sometimes I think that if arrogance were accorded an award, both Israel and the United States (among others) would win blue ribbons.


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The Venezuelan government has taken over a toilet paper factory to avoid any scarcity of the product.

The National Guard has taken control of the plant, and officers will monitor production and distribution.
Earlier this year officials ordered millions of toilet rolls to be imported to counter a chronic shortage.

And toilet paper is not the only thing in short supply in Venezuela.

-- The lack of diapers can create serious family difficulties that reach beyond the smell and the cries.

-- In other to-be-expected news, China's high-profile corruption scapegoat, Bo Xilai, has been sentenced to a life term in prison. Those imagining that the sentence presages an attack on China's systemic corruption would be well-advised not to hold their breath. Wealth is such a wily customer. And if you don't believe me, just ask the pope. And there has been more bloodshed in Kenya, Pakistan and Iraq.

Dismal, dismal-er, dismal-est: The older I get, the less easy I find all this to ingest.