Some of you may have seen the news recently that Blackwater is putting together a crew to act as escort for ships in the Gulf of Aden.  This is an encouraging development, as efforts by regional and US forces to counter the pirates have been only somewhat successful.  There simply aren't enough resources being dedicated to the effort to do more than scare the pirates away.

You may recall the example of the Ukrainian vessel Faina, which was seized with 30 Russian tanks onboard.  Piracy has the potential to seriously affect not only world economies but also regional conflicts.  So, here's hoping we kill some of them soon.

Weekly Piracy Report
14-20 October 2008

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 14 to 20 October 2008.

ALERT

Gulf of Aden
Masters using the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) while transiting the Gulf of Aden are not relieved of their obligation and should continue to maintain a strict 24 hour look out using all available means to get an early warning of an approaching threat. Early indication of a piratical incident will enable the master to contact the Coalition Navies, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre and respond appropriately to prevent boarding.

Nigeria
Violent attacks carried out by pirates on board vessels at anchor and vessel carrying out STS operations. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution in these waters.

Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh
The number of attacks has reduced since 2006. However, the area is still listed as a high risk area and mariners are advised to be cautious especially while approaching the anchorage and while at anchor at Chittagong

Suspicious crafts

None reported

Recently reported incidents

16.10.2008: 1700 UTC: Posn: 12:44.0N – 045:52.0E: Gulf of Aden. A VLCC underway noticed, via radar, the echo of three high-speed boats approaching. Master increased speed, commenced evasive manoeuvres and altered course to prevent the speedboats from getting closer. Master attempted to contact the coalition warship via VHF Ch. 16 but failed to get any response. Later coalition warship responded and advised master to take evasive manoeuvres. As the speedboats approached the vessel, master noticed one speedboat with three men armed with machine guns. The evasive manoeuvres of the vessel prevented the boats from coming closer and later the speedboats aborted their attempt and disappeared.

15.10.2008: 0409 UTC: Posn: 13:33.92N – 050:10.70E: Gulf of Aden. Armed pirates in speedboats boarded and hijacked a bulk carrier underway along with its 21 crew. The pirates are sailing the vessel to an undisclosed location in Somalia. The vessel was enroute from Aqaba, Jordan to a port in China.

13.10.2008: 0600 LT: Posn: 10:14.6N - 107:26.3E: Vung Tau anchorage, Vietnam. Robbers boarded an anchored container ship unnoticed by crew. They stole ship’s stores and escaped. Crew on routine patrol noticed store padlock was broken and ship’s stores stolen. Authorities informed.

10.10.2008: 0900 LT: Posn: 15:10.0N – 051:45.0E: Gulf of Aden. Armed pirates in a speedboat chased a bulk carrier underway from astern. Master increased speed and made evasive manoeuvres to prevent boarding and contacted coalition warship on VHF Ch. 16. Later, the boat aborted the attempt. Coalition warship was monitoring the situation.

09.10.2008: 1700 UTC: Posn: 014:04.52N - 050:52.24E: Gulf of Aden. Armed pirates in speedboats boarded and hijacked a general cargo ship underway. They hijacked the vessel and sailed it to an undisclosed location in Somalia. Eleven crew members taken hostage. The vessel was enroute from Salalah to Bossaso, Somalia when hijacked. Further details awaited.

Piracy prone areas and warnings

Mariners are warned to be extra cautious and to take necessary precautionary measures when transiting the following areas:

S E Asia and the Indian Sub Continent

• Bangladesh : Although the number of attacks has fallen, the area is still listed as very high risk. Pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor. Most attacks reported at Chittagong anchorages and approaches.
• Indonesia : Anambas/Natuna island area, Belawan. Pirates armed with guns and knives. Generally be vigilant in other areas. Many attacks may have gone unreported.
• India : Kandla. Most ships were attacked while at anchor.
• Malacca straits : Although the number of attacks has dropped due to the increase and constant patrols by the littoral states relevant Authorities since July 2005, ships are advised to continue maintaining a strict anti piracy watch when transiting the straits.
• Philippines : Manila - Pirates target ships at anchor.
• Singapore Straits : Only one reported incident in the last quarter, but vessels are advised to continue to be vigilant and maintain anti piracy watch. In the past pirates seen attacking ships while at anchor and underway.

Africa and Red Sea

• Lagos & Bonny River (Nigeria) : Pirates are violent and have attacked and robbed vessels/kidnapped crews along the coast and rivers, at anchorages and ports. Vessels advised to be also vigilant in other areas in Nigeria.
• Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) : Pirates are targeting ships in port and anchorages.
• Gulf of Aden / Red Sea : Somali pirates are now attacking vessels in the northern Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden. These pirates are firing automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) in an attempt to board and hijack vessels. Once the attack is successful and the vessel hijacked, the pirates sail towards the Somali coast and thereafter demand a ransom for the release of the vessel and crew. All vessels transiting the area are advised to take additional precautionary measures and maintain strict 24 hours radar and anti piracy watch using all available means. Watch keeping crews should look out for small suspicious boats converging on vessel. Early sighting and accurate assessment will allow Master to increase speed and manoeuvre to escape pirates and at the same time request various Authorities/Agencies for assistance.
• Somalian waters : Recent incidents indicate that attacks have spread to the northern Somali coast. The Somali pirates are now attacking vessels in the northern Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden. Somali pirates are dangerous and are prepared to fire automatic weapons at ships in order to stop them. Occasionally they fire RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) launchers at ships. Pirates are believed to be using “mother vessels” to launch attacks far from the coast. These “mother vessels” proceed far out to sea and launch smaller boats to attack and hijack passing ships. Eastern and Northeastern coasts are high risk areas for attacks and hijackings. The IMB maintains its advice that vessels not making scheduled calls to ports in Somalia should keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast, ideally more than 250 nautical miles until a more permanent and encouraging sign is seen. Mariners are advised to report any suspicious boats to the Centre.

South and Central America and the Caribbean waters

• Brazil : Although the number of reported attacks has dropped in Santos. Ships are advised to continue to be vigilant.
• Peru : Callao

Rest of the World

• Arabian Sea : Sightings and calls from suspicious small boats. In some cases, boats chased the ships with unknown intent.

It may come as a surprise to those who do not follow maritime affairs, but piracy is alive and well in the world.  While the notion of piracy has a certain anachronistic connotation in our modern minds, the reality of the practice is anything but out-dated.  Modern pirates utilize speedboats, automatic weapons, rocket propelled grenades, and even complex infiltration plots.  They have "mother ships" which carry their attack boats and launch them at vulnerable cargo ships, fishing boats and personal yachts.  Kidnapping, ransom and theft of stores are common.

There is a site I happened upon one day, the International Chamber of Commerce Commercial Crime Services Piracy Reporting Centre.  They provide a weekly report on pirate activities, which highlights acts of nautical hijacking, theft and assault.

A certain profile emerges from the reports, one that has a measure of relevance for foreign policy nuts. 

There are several pirate danger zones.  The Straits of Malacca in Indonesia were notorious, but of late have been

Criminal

relatively calm.  India, Nigeria, Burma, Bangladesh...all see pirate activity.  One of the hottest spots for piracy is the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen.  Pirates in this area are often Somali thugs and dispossessed killers forced off the shores of Africa.  They have access to hidden lairs on the mostly unpoliced Somali coast.  The central Somali government, unable to adequately fend off the encroaching Islamic Courts Union on land, cannot begin to curb these sea-going reprobates.  A little glimpse of the future should we abandon the current fight against radical Islam, as we abandoned Somalia?  I won't speculate, as I am not an authority on the religion of these pirates.

Current efforts to control the pirate problem involve a coalition force of warships and aircraft.  Many pirates are captured and many attacks are foiled, but as long as there is turmoil on land desperate men will take to the sea and criminality.

At any rate, the weekly piracy report makes for interesting reading.  Here are a few of the more salacious September entries, taken from the site. 

07.09.2008: 2345 LT: Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.
Four pirates boarded a container ship drifting from the poop deck. Pirates hit the duty watchman causing minor head injuries. Pirates escaped with ship’s stores. Port control informed via VHF. Later, the ship moved 30nm away from fairway buoy.

06.09.2008: 0950 UTC: Posn: 12:54.9N – 047:05.1E: Gulf of Aden.
A blue-hulled vessel was spotted at a range of 6 nm by a tanker underway. A small speed craft was released from the mother vessel and it started approaching the tanker. Alarm raised, speed increased, coalition warship contacted. Speedboat, with five persons armed with machine guns opened fire. When coalition warship and navy helicopter arrived, speedboat aborted attack and moved towards mother vessel. Tanker sustained damages. No injuries to crew. Tanker continued passage.

06.09.2008: 0707 UTC: Posn: 12:57.8N - 047:01.6E, Gulf of Aden.
About six pirates armed with RPG in a white speedboat approached a LPG tanker underway. Alarm raised, foghorn sounded, crew mustered and chief officer directed fire hose towards the boat. The pirates signalled to reduce speed and pointed RPG at the chief officer, who dropped the fire hose and entered the accommodation. Master increased ship speed to maximum and took evasive manoeuvres by giving large helm orders. This resulted in the speedboat rolling heavily, causing four pirates to fall overboard. The speedboat recovered the pirates and resumed chasing the tanker again. Mayday broadcast made and SSAS activated. UKMTO Dubai and IMB Piracy Reporting Centre informed. The Centre immediately informed the coalition forces. The speedboat came close to the tanker, but later gave up the chase and met up with a pirate mother vessel that was a raft with an orange cover. A passing ship informed that coalition warships were proceeding for assistance and were calling the tanker on VHF.

03.09.2008: 0930 LT: Posn: 14:27N - 049:40E, Off Al Mukalla, Yemeni coast, Gulf of Aden.
12 pirates, armed with automatic guns and RPG in a small high-speed craft attacked, boarded and hijacked a ship along with her 25 crewmembers. They stole crew personal belongings and all cash onboard. Further details are awaited.

Stolen from Electric Firefly.  My comments are in...forest green.

******* The Analysis Starts Here *******

Neal has a healthy imagination and displays a fair amount of trust. He lets new people into his circle of friends. He uses his imagination to understand new ideas, things, and people.  I would say this is fairly accurate.  I enjoy meeting new people...but usually through friends.

Neal is sarcastic. This is a defense mechanism designed to protect his ego when he feels hurt. He pokes people harder than he gets poked. These sarcastic remarks can be very funny. They can also be harsh, bitter, and caustic at the same time.  Me?  Sarcastic?  Well, I prefer to think of myself as brutally direct.

Neal is capable of seeing far into the future. He plans two, three, even ten years in advance. Neal has high goals and can literally see them being reached. He is very self-confident and has a high self-esteem. Neal will reach whatever level of success he desires. Neal has the self-concept that is possessed by less than two percent of the population. That two percent contains the most successful people in the world. When a person has a high self-esteem, he frees himself to achieve an unlimited world of success. Neal has achieved this frame of mind. Congratulations. He has the self-confidence to take great risk, thus reaping the rewards. If he does fail, it doesn't break his confidence. He knows he can do it! In retrospect of our research, this trait is one of the most desirable to possess, because it releases the writer to achieve his full potential. We recommend everyone raise their self-esteem to this level.  I'm blushing a little bit, really.  I didn't know my t's were that jaunty.

In reference to Neal's mental abilities, he has a very investigating and creating mind. He investigates projects rapidly because he is curious about many things. He gets involved in many projects that seem good at the beginning, but he soon must slow down and look at all the angles. He probably gets too many things going at once. When Neal slows down, then he becomes more creative than before. Since it takes time to be creative, he must slow down to do it. He then decides what projects he has time to finish. Thus he finishes at a slower pace than when he started the project. He has the best of two kinds of minds. One is the quick investigating mind. The other is the creative mind. His mind thinks quick and rapidly in the investigative mode. He can learn quicker, investigate more, and think faster. Neal can then switch into his low gear. When he is in the slower mode, he can be creative, remember longer and stack facts in a logical manner. He is more logical this way and can climb mental mountains with a much better grip.  I knew I was smart, but this is kind of interesting.  I do tend to start things quickly and then slow the pace down.  I prefer it because it allows me to accomplish the groundwork and then have more time for the fine details...

Neal is secretive. He has secrets which he does not wish to share with others. He intentionally conceals things about himself. He has a private side that he intends to keep that way, especially concerning certain events in his past.  Too true...though most of my secrets are purely embarrassing rather than ominous.

Neal will demand respect and will expect others to treat him with honor and dignity. Neal believes in his ideas and will expect other people to also respect them. He has a lot of pride.  Yes.  I have been accused of being a bit haughty.  Some on Vox would surely use stronger language to describe my conviction.

Neal has difficulty making decisions. His mind changes constantly. He lives in an emotional tug of war. Neal could be described like a thermometer. Today warm and friendly, yet tomorrow he may be distant and cold, not wanting to be close to anyone. Some research indicates that people with a severe variety in the slant of their handwriting have an inability to tolerate sugar and are suffering the side-effects of too much sugar in their diet. If moods swings are a reoccurring issue, investigate the diet. If Neal encounters a situation he cannot handle he frequently pulls into himself. He feels his emotions are secure if he is withdrawn. When he has solved the problem he can be very outgoing and again need other people's companionship. Some see Neal as very moody, but it it would be more accurate to say he has two complete personalities that he chooses depending on the circumstance. This type of person is often hard to understand because no one knows what personality he is exhibiting today. He may not be bothered by something one minute, then the next minute become upset at the same thing. It is very difficult to pin down Neal's emotional expressiveness.  Uh, yeah I think this is true to an extent.  Actually...it's almost entirely accurate.  CRAP!

Neal tends to write a bit smaller than the average person. When a person's letters are small and tiny, this indicates an ability to focus and concentrate. This character trait is a huge asset in careers like math, science, race car driving, and flying planes. However, if Neal writes tiny all of the time, he will also display characteristics of someone who is socially introverted. Neal will often sit on the sideline and watch others get the attention at parties. he might be willing to open up and be warm, but only in small groups or a select group of people. When he is busy working on a project, it is common for all other noises and distractions to just fade away and his ability to focus is incredible. When he says he didn't hear you... really, he didn't hear you.  Haha, if I didn't hear you it's because I wasn't paying attention.  What they fail to tell you is that I've made a judgment that what you're saying isn't important enough to listen.  They are dead on about the social thing though.  I don't like to stand out too much, I rather like to engage people one on one and meet them through acquaintances.  I like the sample writing they used.  End Clinton Democrat partisanship.

Stolen from a new friend, Sexton Blake:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Michael Moore's 'Sicko' Leaked Onto Web

Every Movie Marketer's Worst Nightmare Becomes Grim Reality for Weinstein Company

By Claude Brodesser-Akner

Published: June 15, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko" has been pirated and is now widely available for download on peer-to-peer content sites like www.thepiratebay.org.

Michael Moore's controversial 'Sicko' movie is now available for free online.

Photo Credit: AP

Canada stash
Last week, the Oscar winning director announced that he'd decided to stash a copy of "Sicko" in Canada, in case the federal government decided to impound it over an apparently unauthorized trip to Cuba made during its filming. As it turns out, the hard part won't be getting the film released, but getting audiences to pay to see it now that its available for free.

If the breach is as wide as it appears -- and this reporter downloaded a copy and watched it late Thursday night with ease -- Mr. Moore and his distributor, Weinstein Co., have a every film maker's worst marketing nightmare on their hands -- how to persuade people to go to the theater to see a show that's available free on the Internet. (Officials at the Weinstein Company were unavailable for comment late Thursday evening.)

Al Gore steps in
Mr. Moore had recently hired Al Gore attorney David Boies, who has said he believes Mr. Moore is being unfairly harassed by the U.S. Treasury Dept. over his trip to Cuba because he'd criticized the current Administration in his penultimate documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11."

While it remains to be seen if that is simply Moore's famous showmanship and posturing, or actually true, what is clear is that the blogosphere isn't reacting to the leak with anything approaching apolitical neutrality: One pirate link encouraged potential downloaders to view the film online saying," Watch this free copy and keep $ out of that fat f---s hands."

"Sicko's" general release date is June 29

Good enough for me, pirate.  I actually want to see this movie. 

I'm 23.  So much for their vaunted under-20 theory.

My mom has sensitive hearing too.  Don't know about frequency but she can hear me call her a name from 2 floors away.  By the way, I stole this from lollerkeet.

My Post Piracy continues.  The victim this time is memtony, who probably didn't realize what a crook I was when he added me to his neighborhood.  Live and learn, new friend.

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: 1.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 2.97

Authoritarian
Left		Right
Libertarian

Quite an interesting find from http://politicalcompass.org/index.

But what does it mean?  According to the site I am clustered near Jacques Chirac.  Pope Benedict is about where I am as far as "authoritarian" scores, but Left where I am Right. 
I am sort of dismayed.  George Bush is way higher than me in authoritarian!  I am sure that is only Bush Bias.

Did you know if you go the Hobbit Name Generator and type in "George Bush" it gives his name as Squinty of Simpleton?  Don't believe me?  Try it and find out.