links for 2009-04-06

Unfortunately, some sick people will use this tragedy for their political hobby horses. We’d like to think that only the idiots at the fringes would do so, but as my decidedly liberal and decidedly rational friend Tommy Christopher found out, that’s not the case. Markos Moulitsas twittered his list to blame the shooting on the conservative movement, and apparently joke about the murders:

The U.S. and its allies sought punishment for North Korea's defiant launch of a rocket that apparently fizzled into the Pacific, holding an emergency U.N. meeting in response to the "provocative act" that some believe was a long-range missile test.

President Barack Obama, faced with his first global security crisis, called for an international response and condemned North Korea for threatening the peace and stability of nations "near and far." Minutes after liftoff, Japan requested the emergency Security Council session in New York.

No surprise here. The UN has been blocking action against North Korea for years due to China and Russia

President Obama said that North Korea violated international rules when it tested a rocket that could be used for long range missiles, and called on the Security Council to take action.

Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and said the United States has a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to use them.

Obama’s speech was long planned as the centerpiece of his first presidential trip overseas, but it gained new urgency after North Korea sent a multi-part rocket soaring over the Sea of Japan early Sunday morning.

North Korea insisted the launch was meant to put a satellite into space but the U.S. and other nations believe Pyongyang is trying to develop the capability to launch a nuclear warhead.

The president, who was woken up just after 4:30 a.m. local time by news of the launch, spoke to the authoritarian state in remarks hastily added to his text.

The United States will develop anti-missile defences as long as an Iranian nuclear threat persists, and North Korea must be made to change after its rocket launch, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday.

Obama's administration had been cool on a deal reached by his predecessor, George W. Bush, to put radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor rockets in Poland to shoot down missiles fired by countries like Iran or North Korea.

But the issue grabbed the spotlight on Sunday after North Korea launched a long-range missile, drawing condemnation from the international community although Pyongyang said it had only put a satellite in orbit.

During a visit to the Czech capital on Sunday, Obama said Washington would continue with the plan as long as Iran was developing its nuclear programme.

"As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with the missile system," Obama said in a speech.

Defense experts say that Mr. Gates is likely to cut $1 billion to $2 billion from missile defense programs. President Obama and other officials have made comments indicating that they are more interested in systems that protect soldiers from shorter-range missiles than still-unproven ones meant to destroy intercontinental missiles.

Several industry officials said they thought Boeing’s airborne laser system, which would equip a modified 747 jetliner with a laser to shoot down missiles shortly after they are launched, might be killed. They also said that Boeing’s ground-based midcourse defense system, which is also designed to destroy long-range missiles, could be scaled back.