KEEP ON ROCKIN’ IN THE FREE WORLD: Euro telecoms sell spy tech to Iran: Dissidents Monitored. “Two European companies — a major contractor to the U.S. government and a top cell-phone equipment maker — last year installed an electronic surveillance system for Iran that human rights advocates and intelligence experts say can help Iran target dissidents. Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), a joint venture between the Finnish cell-phone giant Nokia and German powerhouse Siemens, delivered what is known as a monitoring center to Irantelecom, Iran’s state-owned telephone company.”

AVIATION WEEK on the F-22 / F-35 affair.

MORE ON PIRACY: Ruth Wedgwood: The Law Adrift. “The West is tangled in a postmodern confusion over the law of armed conflict, human rights law, solipsistic views of national criminal jurisdiction and, above all, a stunning lack of common sense. This should arrest the attention of any legal historian. In the origins of international law, piracy was considered the gravest act against the good order of the state system.”

Further thoughts from Eric Posner. “President Obama has every reason to be concerned. He also has little room to maneuver. Having just returned from a trip promoting internationalism, he has raised expectations that any anti-piracy endeavor will have an internationalist flavor. This will mean costly, time-consuming negotiations for the sake of largely symbolic contributions by other countries, if history is any guide. Having also raised expectations that his administration will act with the utmost respect for legality, Obama will either have to direct American forces to walk on eggshells or risk exposing his words as empty. If the pirates continue to take American hostages, he will have trouble maintaining these commitments while giving satisfaction to the inevitable nationalist backlash driven by the mounting sense of powerless and humiliation that we haven’t seen since the Carter years.”

GAY PATRIOT: “Tea Parties” and their critics. From the comments: “They are nervous because if successful it will cause a split within the democratic party as the blue dogs flee the liberals.” I suspect, actually, that a lot of people in the Republican Party are nervous, too. As I suggested on PJTV the other day, while there’s an obvious upside potential for the Republicans, if the GOP isn’t careful this could turn into a third-party movement.

“ACTIVISTS” WHO RUIN LIVES. “I have some lingering questions. How did they get such power in a supposedly democratic society? Who gave it to them? Is there any way to take it away from them, or is it too late?”

POLITICO: AP Chair Takes On New Media.

As a start, I’d recommend that he learn how YouTube works.

MICHAEL YON: Thailand Cracking?

DAN RIEHL: Tea Party Advice from a Very Liberal College Prof.

DANIEL HANNAN: Blogs have changed politics forever: good news for libertarians, bad news for Lefties. He’s talking about Britain — does the same apply here? (Via NewsAlert.)

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND, if you were out, you know, having a life:

Why the “Tea Party” protests?

Reports from Tea Party protests in Pittsburgh and San Diego, plus “A New Way Forward” rallies in DC, Chicago, etc. With bonus Jane Hamsher interview-dodging.

Disappointment with Obama on Civil Liberties.

More Murtha and Visclosky scandal questions. And still more of those here.

Chris Dodd faces blooming scandals, looks old on HDTV.

Support for gun control plummeting, according to CNN.

A KIND OF ENERGY OUR POLITICS HASN’T SEEN LATELY: I’ve got some thoughts on the Tea Party movement in today’s New York Post.

FABIUS MAXIMUS: Why we don’t hang pirates anymore.

DOES GREED MAKE YOU A BAD PERSON?

What about greed for power, a trait exhibited by many of those who denounce greed for money? Which is worse?

UPDATE: Related thoughts here.

SAME AS IT EVER WAS.

IT’S A STIMULUS! Tea Party Protests Create Online Sales Boom. I like the “I’m equally Tea’d Off” logo.

UH OH: “Reversing its role as the world’s fastest-growing buyer of United States Treasuries and other foreign bonds, the Chinese government actually sold bonds heavily in January and February before resuming purchases in March, according to data released during the weekend by China’s central bank. . . . China has lent vast sums to the United States — roughly two-thirds of the central bank’s $1.95 trillion in foreign reserves are believed to be in American securities. But the Chinese government now finances a dwindling percentage of new American mortgages and government borrowing.” Not that I really blame them, given the kind of fiscal management we’ve seen lately.

STRATEGYPAGE ON THE SOMALI PIRATES. Plus this: “Ironically, while international law does not deter the pirates, it does deter their victims.”