Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Round Round Get Around... 6

They get around:

"An ugly anti-Muslim chauvinism accompanies India's violence. It has been open season on Muslims since 9/11, when the liberation struggle in Kashmir was conveniently subsumed under the war on terror and Israeli military officers were invited to visit Akhnur military base in the province and advise on counter-terrorism measures. The website India Defence noted in September 2008 that 'Maj-Gen Avi Mizrahi paid an unscheduled visit to the state of Kashmir last week to get an up-close look at the challenges the Indian military faces in its fight against Islamic insurgents. Mizrahi was in India for 3 days of meetings with the country's military brass and to discuss a plan the IDF is drafting for Israeli commandos to train Indian counterterror forces'. Their advice was straightforward: do as we do in Palestine and buy our weapons. In the 6 years since 2002 New Delhi had purchased $5 billion-worth of weaponry from the Israelis, to good effect." (Not crushed, merely ignored, Tariq Ali, London Review of Books, 22/7/10)

"Israeli and Greek leaders discussed expanding military ties on Tuesday including sharing military know-how and holding joint war games, officials said. Israel has been keen to expand ties with Greece as its relations with Turkey - another strategic Mediterranean partner - soured since an Israeli raid on a Turkish-backed aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip in May. As he wrapped up his two-day trip to Greece, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - the highest ranking Israeli to visit the country - said the two nations were 'opening a new chapter'." (Israel & Greece to expand military ties, Reuters, 17/8/10)

"The Israeli head of a labor recruiting company accused of exploiting 400 workers from Thailand and forcing them to work on US farms is under arrest and pleading not guilty. Los Angeles-based Global Horizons Manpower Inc. CEO Mordechai Orian surrendered Friday in Honolulu... The FBI says it is the largest human-trafficking case ever charged in US history." (LA: Israeli charged with human trafficking, AP/Ynet, 4/9/10)

"First, Israel will beef up Russia's robotic air force. Down the road, perhaps, Vladimir Putin may return the favor by equipping Israeli drones with Russian laser tech. On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his Russian counterpart... signed a first-of-its kind military agreement between the two countries. It's the latest step towards cooperation for two countries that have traditionally been at each other's throats. In 2009, Moscow bought a dozen Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles... That was after Georgia relied on Israeli spy drones during the South Ossetia War. Now, Russian officials say, Jerusalem and Moscow have agreed to a second, $100 million deal for another 36 drones. " (Israel, Russia in drone deal: Laser tech next? Noah Shachtman, wired.com, 7/9/10)

"Five doctors from South Africa's health group Netcare have been charged for allegedly participating in an international kidney trading syndicate. Netcare's hospital in Durban allegedly conducted more than 100 operations in 2001-03 in which poor Brazilians and Romanians were paid to donate kidneys to wealthy Israelis." (Charges on South Africa 'kidney trafficking syndicate', bbc.co.uk, 16/9/10)

"Colombian Congress asked the government to make another attempt to have Israeli mercenary Yair Klein extradited from Russia to Colombia... 'It is urgent that the Israeli mercenary face [Colombian] justice for his multiple crimes committed in the 1980s', [Congressman Ivan] Cepada said. He added that trying Klein will 'ensure the right to truth for victims of crimes against humanity committed by paramilitary groups'. Colombia has previously requested that Klein be extradited to the South American country, where he is accused of creating training camps for private armies that worked for drug lords, including the infamous Pablo Escobar. These groups later developed Colombia's right-wing paramilitary groups. Colombia's request was denied in April, with the European Court citing human rights concerns as the reason Klein would not be delivered to Colombian authorities. The former Israeli army lieutenant colonel was convicted in absentia by a Colombian court in 2001 for training illegal armed groups in the 1980s." (Congress requests extradition of Israeli mercenary, Teresa Welsh, colombiareports.com, 23/9/100

"A computer worm that targets industrial and factory systems is almost certainly the work of a national government agency, say security experts who warn it could be near-impossible to identify the culprit. There has been speculation that the target of the virus was Iran's controversial Bushehr nuclear power plant and that it was created by Israeli hackers. The Stuxnet computer worm, which has been described as one of the 'most refined pieces of malware ever discovered', has been most active in Iran according to security firm Symantec." (State-backed cyber attack targets Iran, Josh Halliday, Guardian/Age, 26/9/10)

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