For those who don’t know, Mossad is Israel’s equivalent of the CIA.

Indonesia’s President Yudhoyono at the last moment postponed a trip to the Netherlands. The ostensible cause of the delay is a suit filed by Moluccans asking the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.

Of course the court would have done no such thing. As a head of state Yudhoyono enjoys immunity. Still, it was a great publicity stunt and Yudhoyono purported to be so offended by the move that he delayed his visit.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/world/asia/06briefs-INDONESIA.html?_r=1

As OLO posters probably know, seeking arrest warrants for visiting Israelis is a favoured tactic of European “pro-Palestinian” activists.

See: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0108/Gaza-war-crimes-charges-Britain-to-stem-arrest-warrants-for-Israel-s-leaders

I once expressed the view that the best way for Israel to fight this tactic would be for Mossad secretly to fund any and every group that sought an arrest warrant for any former official of any country known to be guilty of human rights violations. I pointed out that China was especially vulnerable.

“Picture this scenario,” I said. “A senior executive of a large Chinese company is in a European country to sign an important contract. Tibetan human rights activists ask the court for an arrest warrant on the grounds that aforementioned executive had been an official in the Chinese government and had been involved in the bloody suppression of protests in Lhasa.”

I pointed out that it could be made almost impossible for any European country to do business with companies from any country that did not have a squeaky clean human rights record. How could a European oil company, for example, do business with Russian or Saudi companies under these circumstances.

This would have forced the European countries to restrict the practice of activists seeking arrest warrants for anybody they didn’t like.

Wonder whether Mossad has taken my advice.

;-)

Did you know Stevenlmeyer that Mossad are changing their name to Moss Qaeda.Rumours abound that the Osama Bin Laden with the flat nose has been using Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon.Moss Qaeda is worried that Osama's new nose will turn white and drop off leaving the cloned Osama with the skinny nose to do all the terrorising.

Now skinny Osama doesn't work cheap so the US Fed will have to print another $ trillion just to keep Osama revved up and us fearful.

Does Europe or anyone in the West really determine trade on human rights grounds? It happens rarely and usually with another agenda.

Would such a movement have any impact? China's human rights record is well known and we are still trading - it is a complicated issue but human rights has never been high on the agenda but it is a good failsafe when entering into warfare.

Isn't it funny how human rights can be cherry picked from the array to choose from when and if suits - a perfect system that fits in nicely with extremes of capitalism and corporatisation.

Pelican wrote

>>Isn't it funny how human rights can be cherry picked from the array to choose from when and if suits - a perfect system that fits in nicely with extremes of capitalism and corporatisation.>>

It isn’t only capitalists who cherry pick.

--Creationists cherry-pick.

--BOTH climate change deniers AND certain climate scientists cherry pick.

--Pharmaceutical companies,manufacturers of medical equipment and some doctors cherry pick SCANDALOUSLY. I would guess that a third of Medicare's budget goes on treatments that have no proven efficacy.

--Politicians of all stripes do almost nothing but cherry pick

For the most part, though, people collude in their own deception. They believe what they want to believe and cherry pick facts (and non-facts) that support their point of view.

Totally agree with you stevenlmeyer we are all instruments of our own delusions.

My comments were more in the context of your opening post in regard to human rights advocacy.

Even human rights can be cherry picked and duly marketed depending on one's point of view. :)

Both Bush and Blair should be put on trial for the illegal invasion of Iraq.