Somalia is a country that has been without a functioning national government for 18 years. In southern Somalia Ismlamists have stoned a man to death for adultery. His pregnant girlfriend was spared until such time as she gives birth.

Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in the port town of Merka, in front of a crowd of approximately 300 people. This is the third time Islamists have stoned a person to death for adultery in the past year.

Read more about Somalis’s horrific numbers of people stoned…

There are many who dream of being Top Dog with the top job. There may even be a few who have the qualifications to fill the bill. However, before you go chasing that illusion, take a look at some of the criteria that goes with the job, particularly if you had been in it for the past 100 Days.

• The worst economic crisis in living history
• Hot wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Ongoing threat and confrontation with terrorist group al Qaeda
• Rising nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran
• Broken Middle East Peace Process
• Potential global flu pandemic
• Lack of effective international policies on energy and climate change
• Somali pirates who receive up to the minute information on cargo and locations of ships and act fearlessly in the face of an International naval presence
• A depleted treasury
• An over-stretched military
• An impatient American public
• Voters who want a return on having made you Top Dog

You will be expected to:

• Tirelessly jet-set the world, making friends with neighbours and long time enemies
• Touch base with allies
• Deal with other prime ministers blatantly  breaking diplomatic courtesy
• Reach out to potential adversaries
• Diplomatically deal with those who oppose your views
• Build your team of advisers from scratch
• Assign some of the nation’s best diplomats to work on global challenges
• Restore America’s reputation as a leader on the environment and international law

You need to know that:

• Any victories you have will not be permanent
• Lasting gains require a long term effort
• Every issue must be approached on its own terms
• Progress comes not dramatically but gradually in organic growth
• You must be able to move at a brisk but sustainable pace, with energy in reserve
• You must keep a sharp look out for what your competitors may be plotting
• You will rise or fall by the decisions you make
• You will be damned by some if you do and damned by others if you don’t
• When a wordwide broadcasting TV station has nothing else to say they will discuss (at length) your ’swagga’

Finally, somewhere among all that you have to retain your sanity and health and remain a family man. It’s a tall order for any one person to fulfill.

Now, however, if you still feel you are up to being Top Dog, I suggest you knock on the door of the White House and present your credentials. You never know what kind or reception you may get!

We can’t promise you the Top Job, but we can give you the back door to being a millionaire overnight. If you’re intersted, check it out. Its for REAL. You could go from Rags to Riches, just like Michelle Obama, went from slave family to being the First Lady. Dreams do come true.

While all eyes have been focused on the battle between the Hamas and Israel, for the Gaza strip, there is another battle that gets a lot less international television time. The ‘Terrorist War of the Pirates’ in the Gulf of Aden, now known as ‘Pirate’s Alley’ and the Somali coastline, one one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

A naval force is currently gathering in the vast expanse of pirate-infested waters off Somalia, under the leadership of the United States. The more than a dozen warships include vessels from US, Britain and Russia, as well as the emerging powers such as China, India and Iran. It is believed that over 20 countries will take part in the mission. However this appears to be little more than another joint international exercise.

The task force has the authority to come to the aid of any attacked ship, or battle the pirates on the open seas. However, they do not have the power to go to the aid of ships already under pirate control, or attack the pirates in Somalia waters, even though the UN Security Council passed a resolution last month, that allowed an international force to fight the pirates on Somali land.

Update on MV Sirius Star:

After languishing for two months in the Gulf of Aden, the world’s largest oil tanker, the Sirius Star, with its $100 million worth of crude oil, has been released. The $3 million ransom, reportedly paid, was dropped to the pirates from a light aircraft. It was originally rumoured the pirates asked $25 million for the return of the tanker.

The pirate’s boat carrying the ransom, overturned and sank during a storm on Friday, drowning five of the pirates, who it was reported had been arguing over how to spend the money. The $3 million ransom is now little more than an added swimming obstacle for the fish, on the bottom of the ocean. Will the salvage rights to the $3 million add a new dimension to the already volatile and dangerous situation?

“The boat was running at full speed because of the fear of being attacked from the patrolling warships,” said Abukar Haji, uncle of one of the deceased pirates.

35% Increase In Piracy Incidents:

165 ships were assaulted during 2008 and 42 commandeered by the Somali pirates. This is an increase of 58, on the 2007 figures. More than 300 merchant marines and 17 ships are still under the control of the pirates, who ask huge ransoms for the return of the crew and ships. The pirates however, have a lack of volunteers willing to carry the ransom to them.

In a report by the think tank, Chatham House, it is estimated $30 million was been paid in ransom during 2008.
“Right now there is no major deterrent to the continued attacks,” said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center. “The military maybe chases away the pirates, but under the leadership of Abdul Hassan, based in the run down and decrepit fishing village of Eyl, the new pirate capital of the world, they quickly regroup and come back to attack another ship. Piracy will continue until their networks and land bases are decimated.”

International Network:

The pirates have a massive international network from Somalis expats around the world, feeding them information. Those who assist the pirates, receive a percentage of the booty, just like any other business. Many people feel that until the feuding politicians in Somalia, each with their own militia, are brought under control, the pirate raids will continue unabated.

Ships traversing the troubled waters are forced to fend off the pirates as best they can. On Christmas day, a German military helicopter managed to save an Egyptian cargo vessel which was under attack. New Years day a Malaysian military helicopter frightened pirates away from an Indian tanker.  A French warship stopped an attack on a Panamanian cargo ship, while managing to capture several pirates. Because of the vast stretch of water involved, very few pirates are actually captured.

One pirate claims: “We are eco-warriors. Marines defending Somali waters from foreign exploitation.” One has to ask, just who are the true exploiters, as the pirate attacks continue to escalate? It’s time Somalia was treated like any other war zone and the pirates treated as the international criminals and terrorists they are.

While the pirates think this is their once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunity, a world away there is a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity. Take a few minutes to check it out at Win A Resort

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.

To learn more about the author and a genuine once in a life time blue moon opportunity spend a few minutes and take a look at Win a Resort It could be the thing to completely change your life.

If you book an ocean cruise that goes through the Suez Canal and the Gulf Aden, past the pirate-infested coastline of Somalia, you will find your ticket entails a lot of extra expenses.

Hapag-Lloy, the German Hamburg-based cruise operator, announced on Wednesday that its 246 passengers, from the MV Columbus, would now disembarked at the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. The passengers would be flown by charter plane to Dubai, where they will spend three days in a five-star hotel, waiting for their 150-meter ship to arrive. Should the MV Columbus manage to survive running the gauntlet of the pirate-infested waters, the passengers will re-embark at the Omen port of Salalah. They will then continue their around-the-world tour, which commenced in Italy. In this way the company hopes to minimize the piracy risk to the passengers.

Abdul Haasan has led the Central Regional Coast Guard, formed only three years ago. This group has unleashed a storm of terror and fear on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. They claim: “We are eco-warriors, or marines defending Somali waters from foreign exploitation.” Yet the Saudi Arabia, state-owned Sirius Star, the world’s largest oil tanker, was hijacked on November  18th 833 km off the Somali coast.

The remote decrepit Somali fishing outpost, Eyl, has become the piracy capital of the world. Secondary school kids education and head for Eyl, enticed by the alluring promise of making big dollars.

“Armed guards will now be posted on vulnerable cargo ships using the Gulf, in the first such deployment of military personnel, in the international fight against piracy,” says the European Union’s anti-piracy mission in a statement yesterday. Warships from Greece, Britain and France, plus two maritime surveillance aircraft from France and Spain will police the area. It is expected that a German war ship will join the anti-piracy mission mid December.

Merchant vessels owned by Indian shipping companies will place armed guards on vessels moving through the Gulf of Aden. “Once the ships are out of the danger zone, the armed guards will disembark. This will be a very expensive exercise,” stated Captain Anshul Rajvanshi of the Mumbai-based Ebony shipping company. “However, once the pirates have boarded a vessel, negotiation is the only safe way left open to us.”

Armed with information from relatives in custom offices, a typical ‘day-at-the-office’ for the 350 Somali pirates, with their mother ships and 100 small crafts, it is merely a matter of deciding which ship to attempt to hijack next. With the world in financial crises it seems the Somali pirates have created their own ‘pot of gold’.
40 ships have been hijacked, of the 90 attempted attacks this year. To view the full extent of world-wide piracy it is worth taking a few minutes to Google a live IBM Piracy Map.

To learn more of the author take a quick look at a genuine once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunity at Win A Resort

Many shipping companies are abandoning the shorter sea route through the Suez Canal in favour of the safer, longer and rougher  sea- route around the Cape of  Good Hope. This will not only add 12 extra days to the typical voyage, it will increase the freight rates by 25 – 30%. Add to this, the steep increase in insurance for shipping firms.

In the biggest ship hijacking in history, of $100 million worth of crude oil, the hijackers have warned against being offered fake money for any ransom payment. It is still unconfirmed they have demanded $25 million, after having seized the  Sirius Star, a 318,000 tonne crude Saudi oil tanker, one of the largest oil tankers in the world, off the coast of Kenya, on November 18th. The fate of the 25 crew is still unclear. The hijack took place in spite of the fact there were was a NATO warship in the area, protecting commercial shipping.

“The Sirius Star is said to be anchored about 17 miles east of the port of Haradheere, 10 miles out to sea, with 30 Somali pirates on board,” said Ahmed, an associate of the pirates. Three more ships have been hijacked since the Sirius Star was taken.

In 2006 there were 31 attacks on shipping, 60 in 2007, with 20 crew members killed and over 150 injured. There have been 199 recorded attacks in 2008 to September, earning the sea pirates millions of dollars in ransoms. At least 12 of the 2008 ships and more than 200 hostages,  are still under the control of the pirates. Previously the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia had been considered the most dangerous waters. However, recent figures confirm the greatest increase in incidents have occurred off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden.

The international community believes there can be no end to piracy, in spite of increased sea patrols,  until there is peace among the feuding politicians, with their own militia, in Somalia. Yet Somali security forces threaten to attack and release a Yemeni cargo ship, if the pirates won’t release it without the $2 million ransom being paid. Minister of the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region said, “We have friendly relations with the Yemeni people.” In mid-October the Puntland forces raided and retrieved a Panama flagged ship, the Wail, arresting 10 pirates during a gun battle.

It is a tragedy that the Somali pirates cannot find more rewarding Blue Moon Opportunities, instead of resorting to gangland style piracy on the high seas. It is also an amazing fact that the nations of the world are unable to stop a tiny band of 350 terrorists with their 100 small boats.

If you would like to know more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity, take a quick look at Win A Resort