When Somali pirates chose to board a Chinese cargo vessel flying they received more than they expected.

The captain of a Chinese cargo ship spoke proudly of the efforts of his crew to fight off Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. “Armed only with only beer bottles, fire hoses and homemade incendiary bombs, the crew battled against the pirates  who boarded our vessel. After thirty minutes the pirates called it off.”

Fully aware of the threat to shipping in the area, the Chinese sailors made themselves as prepared as they possibly could, without having access to firearms, in spite of facing very heavy odds stacked against them.
In an incident early in the month, three British ex-soldiers were picked up from the water, after jumping over the side of a ship, because of the intensity of the attack they found themselves under.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu Jianchao, confirmed, “Over twelve hundred Chinese mechant ships pass through the gulf this year. Seven have been attacked.”

Now the Chinese government will join the other international warships in the gulf in a concerted effort to stem the growing tide of pirate attacks in the area. A Beijing newspaper reported that the Chinese navy was likely to send two destroyers and a supply ship to the area.

It is great to read of some fighting people back against what is nothing less than highly organized high seas robbery and extortion. The renegades have to learn they cannot rule international waters and hold an entire globe to ransom.

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The world’s biggest fraud in history was revealed when Bernard Madoff, 70 year old Wall Street guru and trader and ex chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market was arrested last week. He allegedly masterminded a $US50 billion fraudulent Ponzi scheme. Madoff’s arrest and liquidation of his company adds further fuel to the spiraling costs of a financial world, already in crisis.

Madoff, who was said to be of ‘impeccable reputation’, headed a firm which was supposedly a market-maker for around 350 Nasdaq stocks.

“Madoff’s investors included captains of industry, corporations, (some publicly traded),  that used Madoff ‘s company as if it were a high-yielding cash management account, including endowments, universities, foundations and many high-profile funds of funds,” said Douglas Kass, head of the hedge fund, Seabreeze Partners Management.

A Ponzi scheme is an illegal investment vehicle, that pays off old investors with money from new ones. Like any pyramid scheme it is totally dependent on a constant stream of new incoming investment. Because the invested capital is not able to earn a sufficient return on its own, such schemes eventually collapse under their own weight, as investors are paid with money that isn’t there.

Prior to the arrest, some investors had questioned how Madoff was able to generate annual returns in the low double digits in a variety of market environments, come rain or shine. Many wondered how US regulators were able to ignore the numerous red flags, in regards to Madoff’s operations. However, such niggling doubts were not enough to stop the high-profile organizations, individuals and companies from continuing to take the high return offered by Madoff. A case of grinning all the way to the bank, until you get your fingers burnt.

Continuing in the style of his grandee nature, Madoff is accused, by prosecutors, of wanting to distribute as much as $US300 million to employees, family members and friends, before turning himself in. Just too bad if you are not on the receiving end of such a deal.

Charged with one count of securities fraud, Madoff could face up to 20 years imprisonment and a $US5 million fine. The US Securities and Exchange Commission have filed separate civil charges.

A hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon in US District Court in Manhattan on the SEC’s request, in order to grant powers to the court-appointed receiver to oversee the entire operations of the advisory business known as Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securites LLC.  It is believed that at least $15 billion has totally disappeared before the firm’s assets were frozen.

“The hearing was cancelled after the matter was resolved,” said a deputy for US District Judge Louis Stanton. No other details were immediately available. Madoff was released on $US10 million bond.

Billions of dollars were entrusted through the firm’s clients by high-profile organizations and individuals. Believing it to be a once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunity,  such charities as set up by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg used the company’s services and invested money with Madoff.  Other victims were a foundation set up by Mort Zuckerman, one of the world’s richest media and property magnates in the US, Frank Lautenberg’s foundation, besides dozens of Jewish organizations, sport team owners and a senator from New Jersey. The tragedy is that those charities will now suffer along with everyone else’s financial misery.

US authorities are presently liquidating the company.

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In May 2002, Robert Ballard led a National Geographic expedition, that found the sunken remains of John F Kennedy’s PT-109. It has taken six years for the US Navy experts to declare that the wreck found in 360 metres of water is actually the boat JFK’s skippered.

American troops were based on various islands of the South Pacific, after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbour during World War11, including a base of Santo in Vanuatu, where 100,000 Americans arrived in May 1942. A second base was on Efate, Vanuatu, where 25,000 troops were stationed. The task of the American troops was to halt the Japanese advance down the South Pacific chain of tropical islands.

Nearly 60 years ago a Japanese destroyer appeared suddenly out of the dark around 2.00a.m. in the morning. It ploughed over the top of a PT-109, skippered by 26 year old JF Kennedy, millionaire heir, ambassador’s son and soon to be US president. The Japanese destroyer sliced through a PT-109, killing two crew members and leaving the rest clinging to the still-floating bow section.

Fearing that there would be no rescue for them, the sailors decided to make a several-hour swim to a nearby deserted island. Kennedy was suffering from a back injury, but managed to assist one of his crew by holding onto the sailor’s vest with his teeth.

Exhausted, thirsty and starving, the men were eventually rescued by some Solomon Islanders in dugout canoes. The Islanders were able to move around in the daytime, undetected by the Japanese. They had discovered a coconut carved with a rescue message from Kennedy and passed it onto a coastguard.

Kennedy and his crew were finally hauled aboard a sister ship, six days after their boat was destroyed. The coconut that saved the men’s lives sat on the Oval desk at the White House during Kennedy’s presidency, reminding everyone that in life there are Blue Moon Opportunities, if you have the courage to act on them. Opportunities that change lives.

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