Comments on: Spy kids

By: Scott Martens

Scott Martens — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 22:32:52 +0000

My wife tells this story of her German prof at Chico once saying that the best times of his childhood were in the Hitler Youth. They marched around and camped in the woods and played games and sang songs about their wise and good Führer and the supremacy of Germans over Untermenschen.

I can’t imagine anyone holding this against my wife’s now quite elderly prof. He was in his early teens during the war - what did he know of the larger issues? He had fun with his friends. He certainly expressed no Nazi sympathies as an adult as far as I know. My wife says that his class on contemporary German history certainly did not shrink from or justify the events of the Nazi era.

In the same sense, I would think it reasonable that people who were mere children, or even young adults of a forgivable age, when the Securitate still held sway in Romania might be let off the hook.

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 20:50:46 +0000

We sold Romania the old BAC-111 airliner production line, and they produced quite a lot of them, which are now crashing in various parts of Africa.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 03:41:00 +0000

The Secret Prisons thing might be a great new industry for Romania. Only problem is, if it takes off, how do you keep it secret? And how do you advertise it?

By: Doug M.

Doug M. — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:15:13 +0000

Funny you should ask, Oliver. No, they can’t build jet fighters any more. (That was one of Ceausescu’s crazy-ass schemes — he wanted to turn Romania into a major power in aviation.)

However, they do still have a lot of aeronautical engineers floating around, and they have parts factories that are supplying international buyers. They’ve had protracted negotiations with both Airbus and the Russians, although I think these days most of the parts are for smaller planes and helicopters.

IOW, they do still have a small, but fairly successful, aviation industry. I’m told that the quality of their products is pretty good. At least one factory is still locally owned, too.

Doug M.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:51:32 +0000

I guess we can conclude that Romania won’t nuke anybody. While we are at it, yes Romania retained the capability to build jet fighters?

By: Guy

Guy — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:13:43 +0000

@Godzilla: Any wise on-topic thoughts on Romania?

By: Godzilla

Godzilla — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:40:20 +0000

My take on the middle east is this. 6.6 Billion people on this planet 1.3 billion (Jews & Muslims) are the retarded troublemakers with their stupid tribalism, which are holding back progress of human civilization.

Human nature says they will end up nuking each other, which from my point of view will be OK as they take the lower end of the Bell Curve of human evolution, so the rest of us 5.3 billion can concentrate on the future.

It is sad but it is human nature. Yes, there will be energy shortage and $10 a gallon of gas and economic hardship, and some terrorism, but 20 yrs out will be all better for it. Sort of like a two day case of food poisoning.

By: Godzilla

Godzilla — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:39:50 +0000

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:20:11 +0000

Thanks for the reply, Guy. Running a blog can be time consuming. I know.

It’s just that, we could be witnessing the beginning of WW3 what with nuclear weapons, George and Olmert and all. Mightn’t be any real work or real world either all too soon. Got your address off Barista. His is a little too whimsical for me. I need blood and guts all over the floor.

I’ll keep checking. You might have something serious soon. Cheers!

By: Gag Halfrunt

Gag Halfrunt — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 23:29:24 +0000

According to the Guardian:Several alleged recruiters were promoted through the ranks of the secret police after 1989, and some brought their young spies to work alongside them when they left school.Romania is also one of the suspected locations for the CIA’s secret prison in eastern Europe. It sounds as if there’d be no shortage of local expertise in interrogations, torture, etc.