1. “Obama and the Pirates
A foreign policy “success” may backfire
The administration of President Barack Obama is certainly owning the successful rescue of Americans held hostage by pirates in the seas off Somalia, holding it up as the epitome of what our rulers would like us to believe is a pragmatic, tough-minded, and decisive administration, and touting it as the Obamaites first overseas military success. Yet, barely a few hours after the dramatic rescue was made – complete with a display of sharp-shooting skills surpassed by none, and a tale of derring-do that featured a self-sacrificial captain and a crew determined to see him safely home – the problem with this sort of grandstanding was and is all too clear: the pirates are back, and with a vengeance, hijacking four more ships in 24 hours.
Which brings us to the question: is the United States military going to be rescuing each and every victim of pirates in the seven seas, ceaselessly sailing in whenever some off-course yacht is boarded by bad guys in the troublesome waters off the East African coast? If so, they’ll be plenty busy for the next decade or so, and they will doubtless have to cut down on their other activities – say, guarding our own coastline – in order to play superheroes of the seas.
An earlier rescue, that time carried out by the French, underscored the dangers inherent in such operations: one hostage was killed, along with three of the pirates. Aside from the problematic nature of such military actions, however, is the practical question of when to attempt a rescue and when to refrain from doing so. Is every act of piracy on the high seas a casus belli, insofar as these modern-day incarnations of Captain Hook and his crew are concerned?
The answer is that it can’t be. With Somalia a “failed state” and its neighbors unable or unwilling to take up the slack in policing East African waters, the problem is firmly embedded in the region. The solution, say all too many pundits and alleged experts, is for the U.S. military, or some combination of the U.S. and its allies, to intervene on land and nip the problem at its supposed source – the poverty and statelessness of Somalia.
Yet this is no solution at all, and it raises the same kind of open-ended commitment – because the same conditions prevail in, say, Mexico, where drug gangs are now competing with the “legal” gang in Mexico City for control of the country, or at least some significant portions of it. Kidnapping-for-profit is a burgeoning industry – indeed, the only industry that is enjoying boom times. Will the U.S. send in the Marines every time an American citizen is kidnapped and held for ransom on land? Or does this newfound anti-piracy militancy apply only to kidnapping on the high seas?
The principle appears to operate like this: if a hijacking is high-profile enough, action is warranted. If not – if, say, some hapless American kid on spring break is scooped up by kidnappers in Tijuana, his parents are presented with a ransom note, and no one outside the immediate circle of family and friends takes much notice – then the “principle” disappears.“
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/obama-and-the-pirates/
2. Not unexpected:
“ What resulted was the first known interview with a Guantanamo captive by a major media outlet.
In the interview, Qaraani described being beaten by a group of US troops, and tear gassed repeatedly. “This treatment started about 20 days before Obama came into power, and since then I’ve been subjected to it almost every day,” he said.
Though President Obama has banned harsh interrogations and is planning to close the facility, one lawyer for a human rights group representing some of the detainees reports that conditions in the facility are deteriorating.“
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/04/14/gitmo-detainee-calls-tv-station-tells-of-abuse/
3. “How Goldman Posted a Profitable Quarter: They “Skipped” December
Nouriel Roubini wrote in March that Goldman Sachs was insolvent:
So for the Treasury to hide behind the “systemic risk” excuse to fork out another $30 billion to AIG is a polite way to say that without such a bailout (and another half-dozen government bailout programs such as TAF, TSLF, PDCF, TARP, TALF and a program that allowed $170 billion of additional debt borrowing by banks and other broker-dealers, with a full government guarantee), Goldman Sachs and every other broker-dealer and major U.S. bank would already be fully insolvent today.
Yet Goldman reported a $1.7 billion dollar profit for last quarter.
How did Goldman do it?
Well, as Floyd Norris – chief financial correspondent for the New York Times – explains, Goldman simply didn’t report results for December 2008, a month in which it took huge write-downs.
Its easy to look profitable when you can cook the books . . .”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/04/how-goldman-posted-profitable-quarter.html
4. “Enough Dead Pirate Porn:
The Press is Relishing the Killing of Three Teenage Pirates With Disturbing Zeal
I’m relieved that the Navy SEALs rescued the American hostage from Somali pirates. Their skill and professionalism was indeed impressive.
But really … Two days after the rescue, the banner headline on the front page of the Washington Post should not read “3 Rounds, 3 Dead Bodies.” And if that’s the front page headline, surely they don’t need a second story about pirate-shooting in the same edition.
The American public is relishing the deaths of the pirates to a degree that’s downright unseemly.
Gates said the four pirates involved in taking Phillips hostage were 17 to 19 years old — “untrained teenagers with heavy weapons.” The pirate whom Reza wounded in the hand asked the USS Bainbridge for medical attention, effectively surrendering. [WaPo]
All the jubilation is distracting from some serious questions about U.S. policy towards piracy.”
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? 
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