Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
Back to Main

April 16, 2009
Links April 16 09
  • Iran offering proliferation? – Iran says will offer nuclear package to West soon – (Reuters)
  • Good – Report: German firm seeking long-term gas deal with Iran – (Xinhua)
  • 10% of GDP for the military – The IDF can't be satisfied – (Haaretz)
  • Gaza investigation – Israel Says it Will Not Cooperate with the Goldstone Inquiry – (UN Watch)
  • Aid Rots Outside Gaza – (IPS)
  • Lichtblau and Risen – N.S.A.’s Intercepts Exceed Limits Set by Congress – (NYT)
    "And in one previously undisclosed episode, the N.S.A. tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said."
  • A dangerousidea: The next step then is to 'protect' those new citizens through an invasion – Romania in citizenship offer to 1m Moldovans – (FT)
  • Guilty – US army soldier convicted of killing Iraqi detainees – (Guardian)
    I posted on First Sgt. Hatley here and here. It seems the man was promoted degraded from Master Sgt. to First Sgt. while under murder investigation. I find that unusual Why?
  • No way to save the banks – Ruminations on banking – (Mavercon – FT)
  • Bank Test Results May Strain Limits Of Bailout Funding – (WaPo)
  • We Need More Stimulus, Not More Bailout – (Robert Reich)
  • Americans' Tax Burden Near Historic Low – (WaPo)
  • Anti-Tax Tea Parties Begin, Protesting Bailouts, Deficits – (Fox News)

Please add your news and views in the comments.

Posted by b on April 16, 2009 at 04:57 UTC | Permalink
Comments

I don’t see anything “fundamentally wrong” about Romanians offering Moldavians who would take them citizenships–at least not in itself. The so-called Moldova is an unnatural entity, with a sizable chunk of its own population ambivalent or downright hostile to its very existence as an independent country. I don’t think it’s a sustainable entity in the long or even medium term. That much of it will eventually be reabsorbed by Romania some time, I think, is nearly inevitable.
Now, the question is whether this can be done with the due care to preserve the peace or not. I don’t think we are still at the stage where the very idea is dangerous–yet.

Posted by: kao_hsien_chih | Apr 16 2009 6:47 utc | 1

The Reuters report supports my view that Iran and the U.S. are proceeding fast on the path to rapprochement. Ahmadinejad’s recent conciliatory tone may be a consequence of upcoming elections: Clearly his re-election chances would be massively enhanced — if not 100 % guaranteed — by a breakthrough, so if there’s any backtracking it will be by the U.S. side that hopes to deliver an agreement to his successor. But if he wins in spite of everything then the breakthrough will occur anyway, so we’ll see dramatically positive declarations soon after the June 12th elections, with or without Ahmadinejad in power.

Posted by: Parviz | Apr 16 2009 8:09 utc | 2

all the articles are void in my mind, the only one of importance is about Aid to Gaza not delivered.
this is our world in a nutshell, starve people starve…….in the name of WTF ever.
The Gaza experiment continues and the world knows nothing, does not want to know, refuses to see is willfully blind.
the mindset that allows the atrocity to continue unabated will eventually reach our shores, regardless where we are located.
First it will be the foreigners, auslaender, immigrants, than the poor, than the middle class and than everyone else who is not with the empire.
To clarify the empire in my eyes is not the US nor China or Russia, all these government are just the vehicles the monied and connected global business class uses to enforce the rules they need, even depend on to rule. We, the world citizenry are not ruled by our selected governments, we are ruled by the businesses that employ us, that produce our utilitys, that grow our food. Without them riots would be everywhere, and not in a good way.
I look at Gaza, and wait, eventually it will be the norm. The citizens don#t behave, they will be punished.
end of rant.
thanks
sabine

Posted by: sabine | Apr 16 2009 8:32 utc | 3

The president of Romania has offered fast-track citizenship to up to 1m Moldovans, saying Bucharest could not stand idly by as an “iron curtain” descended on its eastern border.
The move, which would effectively give EU citizenship to almost a quarter of the population of Europe’s poorest state, comes amid rising tension over contested elections in Moldova on April 5.
I’m sure the EU will be delighted by this, really.
Sure, Moldova is an unsustainable non-existant entity, though only one of the dozens of complete aberrations that are considered “countries” on this planet right now. Still, when Romania joined the Union, it was never hinted at that they would include a few more millions and another big province in the near future.
The European Union definitely should think hard about bargaining the return of some former satellites into Moscow’s sphere of influence against energetic security for the next decades.

Posted by: CluelessJoe | Apr 16 2009 8:42 utc | 4

@Parviz – FT-interview: Mir-Hossein Moussavi alternative link

FT: Would Iran agree to suspend uranium enrichment if you were president?
Moussavi: No one in Iran would accept suspension.
FT: And you would not accept it, either?
Moussavi: No. The problem is that we had a bad experience with suspension. It was first done [2003-2005] to discuss issues and remove suspicion but it turned into a tool to deprive Iran of having access to nuclear technology. There is a bad memory in this regard.

He thinks there are “technical solutions”, i.e. verification
Not sure the U.S. (and the lobby) will agree to that.

Posted by: b | Apr 16 2009 9:39 utc | 5

b, what he says is perfectly logical: He speaks of the ‘bad memory’ of the previous suspension. There are a million ways to ease Iran’s fears.
The fact remains is that there is now a strong will on both sides to end 30 years of B.S., and for the two nations to enter into a working and workable relationship, because of the win-win nature of such a change.
And I wouldn’t take statements by either side at face value till after the Iranian election. By autumn the birds should be singing sweetly.

Posted by: Parviz | Apr 16 2009 11:04 utc | 6

On Hatley’s rank, I think in the US Army a First Sergeant outranks a Master Sergeant

Posted by: Father Ted | Apr 16 2009 12:56 utc | 7

@kao_hsien_chih – I don’t see anything “fundamentally wrong” about Romanians offering Moldavians who would take them citizenships
I’d say that depends where the person lives. Offering ones citizenship to someone who lives in foreign country and plans to stay there is a off in my view. It can only lead to trouble later on when ‘protection of ones citizen’ becomes an argument for a war.
As for independence – Moldavia has been Romanian, then Russian, Romanian again – Russian again – independent … all through history. As it has a significant 20% minority of Russians and Ukrainians it is probably better off as an independent state.
Anyway – that is for the people of Moldova to decide, not for the Romanian government.
@Father Ted – I think in the US Army a First Sergeant outranks a Master Sergeant Upps – my bad, yes you are right – they degraded him (for what as the case was still open?) – I’ll correct that.

Posted by: b | Apr 16 2009 13:31 utc | 8

how are US banks posting billion dollar 1q profits? how many shit assets have been shifted to the Fed? what kind of sensitive information about the stress test will Obama release?

Posted by: Lizard | Apr 16 2009 14:29 utc | 9

Second-largest US shopping mall owner files bankruptcy.
biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history

General Growth’s filing is the “beginning of the distress cycle” and may lead other companies to fail.
“This is kind of the beginning of the end,” Fasulo said. “This bankruptcy will drive down the values of mall assets in the United States. It’s going to put, I believe, more supply on the market than can be absorbed by investors.”

Posted by: annie | Apr 16 2009 15:38 utc | 10

@10 – Now I wait for little Tommy Friedman’s great column on General Growth demise (his wife’s family own(ed) it) and what that means for U.S. foreign policy …

Posted by: b | Apr 16 2009 16:10 utc | 11

b, i wondered if this was the same company..
a little taxday update. yesterday along w/some of my local palestinians activists cohorts descended on some of the post office parking lots in our area and handed out fliers to call the representatives and ask for a hearing about the continued apartheid funding for israel. only one person i encountered seemed hostile to our presence. lots of people stopped and talked and reacted positively to our message. we also invited them to the next free showing of occupation 101 at the local community college. the comfortable hall seats over 400, i hope it is as packed as it was recently when i went to see amy goodman.
ypu can watch clips from the film here.
people seem to be waking up. ok, i am off. i am attending a meeting w/the local congresscriter regarding ‘afghanistan and the middle east’ and the lobby of a hotel. a somewhat private affair. i think there will only be about 6 of us. naturally i will be giving her an earful on what i learned here re baluchistan. nobody here seems to know what i am talking about when i mention baluchistan. ‘where?’. and of course i’ll bend her ear about palestine.
ok, i better go dress myself, no denim today 😉

Posted by: annie | Apr 16 2009 16:28 utc | 12

A long Ken Silverstein article here about oil fixers and in particular Ely Calil. I wonder if MoA readers will admire him as much as Silverstein seems to?

Posted by: Sgt Dan | Apr 16 2009 18:41 utc | 13

interesting piece, in light of current turns, from last Dec:
Galal Nassar – Israel, piracy and the Red Sea:

One can not help but to ask, as well, how it could happen that a couple of hundred pirates could operate only a stone’s throw away from the place where the warship USS Cole was bombed? Remember, this is an area where US forces are at the ready, in which regional and international navies have command posts, and in which there have been dozens of intensive joint naval manoeuvres. Which brings us to the question, if the US military that is by some accounts prepared to make war on Iran cannot handle pirates then could squads of Iranian boatmen detain US freighters or oil tankers with impunity? Numerous senior military officials in the West have spoken about the training and tactical expertise these pirates possess. Is the purpose to caution ships away from the area? Or is it to excuse the inability of Western forces to deal with the threat? Or is it to rally support for another international interventionist drive?
Are we not reminded of the scenarios that accompanied the build-up preceding every bombardment and invasion of countries in the Middle East? In particular, should we not be alerted by experience with the game that preceded the invasion of Iraq, especially all the media play that was given to weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi military preparedness?
There is also something difficult to believe in the train of events. Suddenly, gangs of pirates have evolved into a standing army with tactics, strategies and plans of offence. From isolated reports of the capture of some small ships of varying ownership, we suddenly have the hijacking of a Ukrainian vessel bearing heavy arms and, more recently, the hijacking of a gargantuan oil tanker! What is happening? Are we to believe that those pirates have suddenly developed all that organisation and combat skill? Is it not more rational, in light of previous experience, to believe that certain powers have plans to establish control over the area and that magnifying the “piracy peril” is one of the means towards this end? Does it not also make sense that this falls in line with a tangential plan to end opposition to the presence of foreign military forces in the Gulf of Aden by twisting the economic screws? Is this not a likely interpretation of the sounding of the alarm that “piracy” will force commercial naval traffic to make the detour around the tip of Africa?

Posted by: Arcturus | Apr 16 2009 21:00 utc | 14

Obama released Bush administration torture memos.
I started reading these and couldn’t finish due to the nausea I was experiencing. Who are these sick twisted sociopaths? They knew damned well that torture was no way to get useful information and yet they coldly discussed what should be done nonetheless.
I feel dirty.

Posted by: Obelix | Apr 17 2009 0:29 utc | 15

In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution. The men and women of our intelligence community serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world. Their accomplishments are unsung and their names unknown, but because of their sacrifices, every single American is safer. We must protect their identities as vigilantly as they protect our security, and we must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs.
This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the strong views and emotions that these issues evoke.

It’s not the hysterical laughter that bothers me, it’s my inability to stop …
“When law break the law, there is no law. Just a fight for survival.” ~Billy Jack

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Apr 17 2009 3:42 utc | 16

The above was from
greenwald…
America the beautiful America’s Song — the Inaugural Song of Barack Obama. (Stand with me everyone)…
If anybody needs me, I’ll be over in the corner, puking.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Apr 17 2009 4:07 utc | 17

Uncle, i just wanted to let you know that rousing tribute to the homeland is the last thing i watched before going to sleep, and i’m afraid BONO will haunt me in my dreams…

Posted by: Lizard | Apr 17 2009 5:04 utc | 18

First Sergeant and Master Sergeant are the same paygrade, E8.
The differences are these–a First Sergeant (1SG) is the senior Non-Commissioned Officer of a Company. A Master Sergeant (MSG) is usually billetted as a principle NCO on a Battalion or Brigade staff.
First Sergeant is not only a rank but a duty position and title. Master Sergeant is a rank.
They make the same money. The difference is in sphere of influence. 1SGs have a larger sphere of influence than do MSGs. It is not uncommon for a 1SG to transfer to Battalion or Brigade staff upon completion of his or her rated 1SG tour while serving overseas or awaiting transfer to the Sergeants’ Major Academy. As you noted in a previous blog posting, he had been selected for promotion.
There are two ranks at paygrade E9–Command Sergeant Major, and Sergeant Major. They are found in Battalions, Brigades, and Divsion HQs, and their duties are roughly analogous to the duties of First Sergeants and Master Sergeants respectively, albiet at a higher level.
If Prisoner Hatley (his new correct title) was a First Sergeant at the time the charges were originally proffered, he would’ve been transferred out of that position to a staff billet of relatively low importance. (more of a holding slot so that he could properly assist with his own defense). Being that he would no longer be in a First Sergeant’s billet, he would then be a Master Sergeant. First Sergeants are very busy people, and Hatley could not have done either that duty position or assisted with his own defense well in that case. It would also be a huge ongoing slam to the morale of the unit to have their First Sergeant constantly gone at his own court-martial.

Posted by: soonergrunt | Apr 18 2009 16:36 utc | 19

@soonergrunt – thanks for the explanation. No wonder I was confused then. The army I served in does not make that distinction between Master and 1st. Sgt based on duty position. Instead they are indeed different ranks and paygrades and the duty position is expressed by an additional title (Spieß for the 1st Sergeant duty).

Posted by: b | Apr 18 2009 17:30 utc | 20

Back to Main