Is Israel the next Mexico?

I'm still reading the WikiLeaks pages and following by embassy now. The Vatican thread is predictable and fun. On the other hand the Tel Aviv cables are frightening and revealing. Is Cunningham just an alarmist or should I have real concern about Organized Crime in Israel? Heretofore, I was not aware of the existence of Organized Crime in Israel nor the size and power of it. Even more surprising was how ineffective the Israel government forces are against the organized crime factions. Like Mexico, the crime from Israel is spreading to America. And why hasn't the US press mentioned any of this as they do about Mexico? Sure Mexico is a neighbor, but what Cunningham writes about in Israel should cause some concern. Israel is not only subject to attack from outside, it is threatened from within by former soldiers who have the wherewithal to conduct military operations and maintain a level of sophistication as crime bosses and soldiers which makes them more of a threat than the Mexican gangs. Maybe I should reread the Old Testament as it may be coming back for a revival soon. As economies crumble crime will win out and considering the volubility of the Mid East, this information about OC in Israel is disturbing.

Fast Forward six months and "Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher visited Israel December 1-2. U/S Tauscher focused her visit on setting the stage for a successful Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference (RevCon) in May 2010." Essentially as always we are told more about Iran and other states, when we should be just as concerned if not more concerned about Israel. The crime bosses are former trained soldiers with knowledge about weapons and access.

Now for some light reading. I struck upon this, "Turkmen President Berdimuhammedov is vain, fastidious, vindictive, a micro-manager, and a bit of an Ahal Teke “nationalist.” And this is just the first sentence to a fabulous cable by Curran. Turkmenistan is to the north of both Iran and Afghanistan and has access to the notorious Caspian Sea. While from the northern landlocked neighbor of Uzbekistan, we have three cables dating back to 2007 discussing the behavior of the oldest daughter, Lola, and her nightclubbing activities to a year later when we read about how she is trying to clean up her image. Back to the Sea and travel north to either Russia, just north of Georgia and to the east Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is crucial to us for flyovers and the like. As with the other neighboring countries they offer light entertainment about the families and politics as seen from the eyes of our diplomats. Most entertaining would be the lifestyles of the leadership and the fabulous cable filled with drama and potentially the basis for a funny sitcom. All this from the capital, Astana, the home of the championship cycling team.

I don't know why some people are so upset with these cables, they are absolutely delightful reading and in many cases very funny while in other cases very revealing and important for us to know.

Now what is happening to Julian Assange is criminal and dastardly. I wouldn't be surprised for one minute if America is behind this harassment. Isn't it telling when someone like Zuckerberg is named Person of the Year by Time instead of Assange? I don't care one lick for Facebook, barely use it and my life is not the better for it. And is Zuckerberg the creator of Facebook? However, Assange has made a far more important impact on my life. The cables are far more entertaining then anything I find on Facebook. Facebook isn't real, the cables are real. Is this what America has become a Facebook nation? Yikes!!