Negev: Bedouin Ousted From Their Homes

Once more, Bedouin families lose their homes in favor of Israeli expansion.

Negev desert nomads on the move again to make way for Israel’s barrier

Rory McCarthy (The Guardian)

The bulldozers came for Hamid Salim Hassan’s house just after dawn. Before the demolition began, the Bedouin family scrambled to gather what they could: a fridge, a pile of carpets, some plastic chairs, a canister of cooking gas and a metal bed frame.

Now, with their house a wreck of smashed concrete and broken plastic pipes, Mr Hassan and his family are living in a canvas tent on a neighbour’s land. Their possessions are piled outside, along with boxes of supplies, including washing-up liquid, toothpaste, corned beef, wheat flour and tomato paste, provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

His tent is small but it affords Mr Hassan a compelling view of the future. Stretched out before him are the hilltops of the West Bank where he and his family, all Bedouin shepherds who fled Israel in 1948, used to live and graze their sheep. Standing there now is Ma’ale Adumim, one of the largest Jewish settlements which is illegal under international law…

Video: Effect of Jack Bauer Saving the World with Torture

From , our top secret deeply undercover correspondent:

Fox’s “24″ asked by Military to quit the torture [VIDEO]

Evan Derkacz (Alternet)

Soldiers mimicking TV torture…

“24″ has had the effect of legitimizing the use torture. Regular viewers become anesthetized to the torture they witness on a weekly basis. Young soldiers mimic what they’ve seen. Cadets confide that “sometimes you have to cross the line.” Very interesting video.

Iran: Gulf States Agree to Let Israel Use Airspace Enroute to Strike Iran

From our top secret undercover correspondent, who is stunned and wondering “Can this possibly be true???”:

Report: Gulf states give Israel ok to use airspace for strikes against Iran

(israelinsider)

…on Sunday the Kuwaiti daily al-Siyassah reported that the Gulf states of Oman and the UAE would allow Israel to use their airspace should the Jewish state decide to launch preemptive strikes against Iran. The report quoted European and Arab diplomats…

Iran: Unintended Consequences Predicted in 2005…

(predicted by Juan Cole, not by anyone actually in charge of US foreign policy.)

Courtesy of , our top secret deeply undercover correspondent:

Is Iran Being Set Up?

Gary Leupp (CounterPunch, published in 2005)

A recent article by Juan Cole depicts Iran as the real victor in the Iraq War. This is because Iran, which Washington officially designates “evil,” has been able to establish warm relations with the government ushered into power by U.S. occupation forces in neighboring Iraq.

In his state visit to Iran Prime Minister al-Jaafari was offered electricity, wheat, pipeline projects, use of Iranian ports to transship goods to Iraq. Jaafari paid a pilgrimage to the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, one of the most vilified characters in the history of U.S. foreign relations. He blamed the Iran-Iraq War (in which the U.S. backed Baghdad) on Saddam Hussein and accepted Iraqi culpability. He promised that Iraq would not allow any attack on Iran from its soil.

Reports about the recent flurry of Iran-Iraq diplomacy must shock the neocons. Things are not going at all according to plan…