Aussie yacht mystery solved?

Maybe, as set out here:

THREE men who disappeared from their yacht last week were most likely washed overboard in a violent squall or freak wave, according to police.

The “ghost yacht”, Kaz II, was found listing in Queensland waters with the table laid for dinner, the global positioning system and laptop humming, and the engine idling - yet with no crew.

Original post on this boat here.
Although, if the original report was right, how does a boat lose its crew in a squall or wave, but keep food on the table?

UPDATE (4/23/07): More mystery set out here:

Adding to the mystery were neatly folded clothes at the stern of the luxury boat. The only sign of distress was a tattered sail.
***
Sailors point out that a table laid for a meal and neatly folded clothes don't jibe with the rough seas that Webber says may have tipped the trio overboard.

David Dellow, a Townsville sailor, told Australia's ABC Radio that he suspected the boat had been boarded by pirates.

"How do you get three guys to disappear at once?" he asked.

His scepticism about a weather-related catastrophe was echoed by Whitsundays Yacht Club chief Jeremy Cooper.

"Even two is explainable, with perhaps one going in after the other. But three? You just can't imagine why that would happen," Cooper said.

Unless one got into trouble swimming and the other two went in to rescue him and somehow the boat drifted away....but it does seem silly for all of them to get off the boat at once, under any conditions, without a line tied to the boat for self-rescue or going swimming where the bost couldn't e anchored... and going swimming with the sails up as they clearly were.

Pirates discounted here:

One theory is the men fell overboard in rough seas.

Another is that another vessel came alongside and they boarded it, either willingly or unwillingly, as if they had been attacked by pirates.

But Townsville Chief Superintendent Roy Wall ruled out foul play.

"They were all known to each other for some time, all good friends," told the Nine Network on Monday morning.

"There's certainly nothing that's come forward at this stage that would indicate anything other than a tragic accident."

He also ruled out an apparent attack by pirates.

"I think that's stretching it a bit too far - we've had no information or reports of piracy off that part of the Queensland
coast," he said.

I doubt pirates would just take the sailors and leave wallets and expensive electronics gear.

I guess one question that might be helpful to know is how much beer was aboard...

UPDATE: Updates here, here

Can't be good news...

WMDs in Iraq- this guy says he found 'em but they are now in the hands of Syria, etc:

Saddam’s nuclear research, scientists and equipment, he says, have all been relocated to Syria, where US satellite intelligence confirms that uranium centrifuges are now operating — in a country which is not supposed to have any nuclear programme. There is now a nuclear axis, he says, between Iran, Syria and North Korea — with Russia and China helping to build an Islamic bomb against the West. And of course, with assistance from American negligence.

‘Apparently Saddam had the last laugh and donated his secret stockpile to benefit Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. With a little technical advice from Beijing, Syria is now enriching the uranium, Iran is making the missiles, North Korea is testing the warheads, and the White House is hiding its head in the sand.’

I love a mystery: Australian "ghost ship"

Ah, a mystery at sea: Australian "ghost ship" mystery puzzles rescuers:

Australian rescuers were on Friday trying to solve the "Mary Celeste" style mystery of a yacht found floating off the coast with its engine running, food on its table ready to eat, but no crew.

The 12-metre (36 feet) catamaran was found 80 nautical miles off Townsville on the northeast coast, but there was no sign of the three crewmen who had set sail from Queensland state bound for Australia's west coast on Sunday.

"What they found was a bit strange in that everything was normal, there was just no sign of the crew," Jon Hall from emergency management in Queensland told local radio on Friday.

Hall said the yacht's sails were up but one was badly shredded. He said the engine was running, there was food on the table, a laptop was turned on, and the radio and global positioning satellite (GPS) were working.

I say it was "UFOs."

UPDATE: Updates here, here, here

Reminds me of when we left Vietnam except it might get worse

When the United States abandoned our ally South Vietnam (something about Congress cutting off funding - maybe even in a "bipartisan" manner):

Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment on 19 June, 1973. This Act specifically forbade any further U.S. military activity in Southeast Asia, beginning August 15, 1973. It passed by a vote of 278-124 in the House of Representatives and 64-26 in the Senate. That vote would have been adequate to override a Presidential veto.

The party makeup of the 93rd Congress was composed of the following at the time of the Case-Church Amendment:

House - 242 Democrats, 192 Republicans.
Senate - 54 Democrats, 44 Republicans.

Now, it shouldn’t take a mathematics major to do the math on this. Clearly, a significant number of republican members voted in favor of the legislation. So many, in fact, that the Bill was veto-proof. And Nixon certainly would have vetoed the Bill if he had an inkling of a hope that he could have sustained it.

So, one could very well argue that it was actually members on the republican side of the aisle that made it possible to cut funding for the Vietnam War. In fairness, it would be better to say that there was enough bipartisan support for Case-Church to cut funding for the war.

In any event, the "reunification" of Vietnam was ugly - and deadly:

In Vietnam, the new communist government sent many people who supported the old government in the South to "reeducation camps", and others to "new economic zones." An estimated 1 million people were imprisoned without formal charges or trials.[1] 165,000 people died in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's re-education camps, according to published academic studies in the United States and Europe.[1] Thousands were abused or tortured: their hands and legs shackled in painful positions for months, their skin slashed by bamboo canes studded with thorns, their veins injected with poisonous chemicals, their spirits broken with stories about relatives being killed.[

Few of us who were around at the time will forget images of the desperation of the South Vietnamese trying to escape what they knew was coming. See also here.

Steve Schippert at ThreatsWatch Rapid Recon posts about concerns for what may happen should the U.S. "declare victory" and abandon the Iraqis to their fate in 'Plan B' Anyone?:

A withdrawal of US ground forces to the periphery cedes entire provinces as al-Qaeda havens. Air power can disrupt but not break a motivated terrorist organization internally. And what would almost certainly happen as a result is an eventual return of many al-Qaeda terrorists to AQ points of interest, particularly back into Saudi Arabia. They will not be returning for retirement benefits.

Consider also that, at the end of the day, Musharraf’s grip on power in Pakistan exists largely due to the fact that the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance in the tribal areas has not made a concerted push eastward upon Islamabad yet. But, with the needed chaos reigning unfettered in Iraq and their fighters returning to the Arabian Peninsula, the time will be right for the push with the dominoes lined up for the fall.

Recall that Hamid Gul has openly called for an Iranian-Pakistani military alliance and a Pakistani “Islamist nuclear power that would form a greater Islamic state with a fundamentalist Saudi Arabia after the monarchy falls.”

More on this in greater detail in the coming days. But for now, it is sad commentary that there is practically no political will or support from Washington behind the mission tasked General Petraeus in Iraq. He has effectively been handed the keys while our elected leaders work diligently to wash their hands of any ownership of the situation in Iraq.

They must recognize that they cannot wash their hands of the consequences of failure borne of non-support. We will all own a stake in the aftermath, which could well mean the black banners of jihad from al-Qaeda and Iran gracing nearly all of the western and eastern shores of the Persian Gulf.

Steve links to a Cliff May piece here and to a therein linked piece here (pdf) from the Brooking Institute about which Steve writes:

Byman and Pollack call for a plan to effectively cordon off Iraq as best as possible, serving also to guard refugee camps heavily populated by Iraqis fleeing the internal bloodletting

Which paragraph is the lead in to the longer quote above.

But all of which points out that the defeatists are fishing in very troubled waters. They are proving Osama bin Laden right - the U.S. can be sent packing by a small number of thugs who are willing to use extreme measures to kill opponents (and even their allies, as they see the need). Having previously shown our lack of endurance in Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, the First Gulf War, Somalia, etc, the trend will simply continue.

As our own troop losses slow, we are unwilling to find and punish those who are inflicting harm on what, under at least some version of the Law of War, should be our duty to the Iraqi people:

SECTION III. -- ON MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER HOSTILE TERRITORY
Article 42
Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.

The occupation applies only to the territory where such authority is established, and in a position to assert itself.

Article 43
The authority of the legitimate power having actually passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all steps in his power to re-establish and insure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.

The Law of Unintended Consequences will surely come into play if we abandon the world to al Qaeda thugs, just as it did when we abandoned South Vietnam to North Vietnamese thugs. Only this time, it has the potential to be much, much worse.

War in Iraq: IED Chlorine tanks destroyed

Coalition getting handle on the bad guys latest "chemical" atack ploy? CentCom reports: CHLORINE TANKS DESTROYED, TERRORISTS KILLED...:

BAGHDAD - Coalition Forces further disrupted terrorist cells using improvised explosive devices Friday morning when eight terrorists were killed and 41 suspected terrorists were detained during operations around Iraq.
Near Mahmudiyah, Coalition Forces detained eight suspected terrorists.
Another raid uncovered a building containing seven tanks of chlorine, which Coalition Forces destroyed.
Seven armed terrorists were killed after they fired upon Coalition Forces entering a building. Forces on the scene detained 15 suspected terrorists who are allegedly tied to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Guarding Arctic Sovereignty

"Way up north by the ice bound ocean" sang Tim Rush about a county, I guess, in New Hampshire. But way up above that, national interests put troops in the field, working their way across rugged and very cold ice fields to maintain sovereignty claims over parts of the "high Arctic." The Canadian effort is set out here:

Battling high winds, 25-foot ice walls, mechanical breakdowns and whiteout conditions, a Canadian military team, including Eskimo reservists, last week completed a 17-day trek designed to sustain Canada's claim to sovereignty over the high Arctic.
***
Canada has always fiercely guarded its sovereignty over its Arctic archipelago the triangle of more than 36,500 islands that reaches from its Arctic coast almost to the North Pole. Some of the islands are no larger than a man could stand on, while others, like Baffin Island, are nearly the size of France.
But as higher global temperatures peel back the ice casing from the land and ice-choked waterways give way to lapping waves, what was once seen as a wasteland now offers a potential mineral bonanza including gold, diamonds, oil, emeralds and a long-sought northern sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Canada is not alone in such patrols- as Hans Tino Hansen of Protocol emailed in follow up to this- the Danes have long had a sovereignty patrol for northern Greenland- The Sirius Sledge Patrol:

What is the SIRIUS sledge patrol?

It is a defence unit that was created in 1950 under administration of the Danish Defence Command. In 1994 it was placed under control of the Admiral Danish Fleet. SIRIUS is comprised of 14 soldiers. Twelve are stationed in the patrol at Daneborg and 2 are located at the Defence guard in Mestersvig.

Assignments:

a) To maintain Danish sovereignty in North and North East Greenland.
b) Police authority the Northeast Greenland National Park, which is the worlds largest.
c) Conduct military surveillance over 160,000 square kilometres by dog sledge.

Where is SIRIUS located?

The main SIRIUS station is at Daneborg (74 degrees N) in North East Greenland. Until 1974 there was a Danish civilian weather station at the same location. For four months in the spring and for two months in the fall, 6 sledge teams, consisting of 2 men, 11 dogs and 1 sledge each, patrol North and North East Greenland. In summer, about 65 depots are laid out by the patrol itself for the coming winters’ sled journeys. Depot lying is carried out by cutters, planes and helicopters.

More here and here (in Danish). A look at one of the men who was on the Sirius team here.

A brief history of military operations in Greenland here:

In 1940, most Americans who knew that Greenland existed thought of it as a nondescript white blob near the tops of their world maps. That the place might have any military significance to the great powers had occurred to scarcely anyone - least of all to the people who lived there. But in the next five years Greenland was to become a small but significant theater of war, and was to confront the U.S. Coast Guard with some of the most arduous duties it had ever been called upon to perform.

Greenland is a largely deserted island of about 827,000 square miles, most of which lies above the Arctic Circle. Scientists believe that the interior is covered by mountains and steep gorges, but since prehistoric times they have been buried under a mass of ice that covers 80 percent of the land area. (If the Greenland ice cap ever melted, the world's oceans would rise by about 20 feet.) In the winter, the arctic winds blow unimpeded for hundreds of miles over the ice cap, covering it with snow and driving the temperature as low as 90 degrees below zero.

Sirius sledge team photo from here (also some remarkable photos of the "largest National Park in the world):

The Sirius Sledge patrol uses the Greenlander dog. At the age of only half a year the puppies will join their sledgeteam, normally consisting of 11 dogs. A full-grown dog weighs 40 - 50 kg and pulls its own weight for an average of 30 - 40 km (up to 100 km) each day.

Some more facts about Sirius:

The sled patrol is under command of the Admiral Danish Fleet stationed in Århus. From here the patrol is managed by the Patrol Branch North and North East Greenland (PNG), which is stationed at Naval station Auderød (Also basic training station for sailors). People in active service in PNG are all former members of SIRIUS. The main field headquarters of SIRIUS is at Daneborg (74 degrees N). There is an additional support station at ELLA Ø in Kong Oscars Fjord. (72 degrees N). This station is only active in summer, when 4-6 SIRIUS members live there and are busy laying out depots by boat.

During summer, various levels of SIRIUS members are present. These include personnel that are about to return to Denmark after 2 years service, ones that have a year to remain and then recently arrived men who are starting their 2 years of service. In addition, 3 or more people from PNG are present, helping with many logistical activities during the short summer period.

In addition to the 12 men stationed at Daneborg, PNG has 2 former members of the patrol stationed at the former mining airport at Mestersvig (260 km south of Daneborg). These 2 men are part of the SIRIUS surveillance and radio service and also maintaining the airport runway and 10 large buildings.

During the summer about 30 research and pleasure expeditions visit the National Park. Each must obtain special permits from the Greenland Government and SIRIUS controls them.

SIRIUS patrols the world’s biggest National Park with an operation area of 160.000 km2 (about three times the size of Denmark).

During the 54 years that SIRIUS has been operational, more than 750.000 km have been patrolled on dog sled. In the same period, cutters in association with depot lying have traversed more than 100.000 nautical miles.

SIRIUS is scheduled for one supply ship visit per year. However, two years of supplies are always maintained on hand because of the chance that the ship will not be able to navigate through coastal ice in a season.

About 150 hours of flying are used for depot lying each year.

About 30 tons of supplies are yearly transported out to the 65 sled depots.

SIRIUS maintains about 65 of the 350 cabins, which are located in the National Park.

SIRIUS has build 34 of the cabins being used for depots and workshops at Daneborg where the average yearly temperature is – 10 degrees. VENSLEV HYTTER designed the cabins specifically for use in North East Greenland. The cabins are prefabricated in sections, and SIRIUS men can build one in about 50 work hours.

The yearly precipitation is about 200 mm in south and about 100 mm in north. For comparison the precipitation in Denmark is about 600 mm in April through June. Measured wind speed in the area is up to about 125 knots (64 knots is hurricane) The lowest temperature ever recorded in the area is minus 55 degrees.

About 260 officers have served duty at SIRIUS. Calorie consumption for men is about 7000 per day and about 5000 per day for dogs. The average time of service for a SIRIUS dog is 5 years. Only the ones NOT run-out are allowed to live on after their 5th year, and in that case they are distributed between Station North, Danmarkshavn and Mestersvig. SIRIUS breeds their own dogs. The optimal dog is shorthaired with erect ears, “square”, long legged, with a weight between 40 and 50 kg. By the time a dog is retired it will likely have travelled more than 20,000 km in a sled team.

Tough work, tough people. And it's more than lines on maps.

(clicking on the maps and pictures makes them bigger)

Al Qaeda's Offensive to Defeat the Hearts and Minds of the American Government

Bill Roggio at his best in Al Qaeda on the Offensive:

Al Qaeda in Iraq has clearly discovered a seam in the increased security inside Baghdad, and is directing its bombing campaign for political and sectarian effects. This bombing blitz is projecting an image of failure of the nascent Baghdad Security Plan. Al Qaeda clearly hopes to destroy any remaining political support inside the U.S. government and the American people for the security operation, which is still in mid deployment.

UPDATE: And The Counterterrorism Blog explains some of the motivation behind the attacks and why they will go on regardless of whether the U.S. withdraws:

Salafi-Jihadist groups in Iraq are not merely interested in ending the occupation and are unlikely to rest their activities if and when the occupation will eventually end. As Zarqawi has made clear before his death, his group was “not fighting to chase the occupier out or preserve national unity or keep borders delineated by the infidel intact. We are fighting because it is a religious duty, just as it is a duty to take Shariah law to the government and create an Islamic state.” Everyone who stands in the way of the establishment of the future Caliphate is a heretic—a kaffir—and must be fought. Hence, Salafi-Jihadists target not only the occupiers, but all those who resist the attempt to create an Islamist super-state ruled in accordance with the strictest Salafi-Jihadist tenets.

Salafi-Jihadist ideology also has an endemic religious quarrel with Shiites, most strikingly expressed by members of Al Qaeda in Iraq. While anti-Shia violence in Iraq is in part instrumental, the origin of the hatred between the Sunni Salafi-Jihadists and Shiites has deeper, doctrinal foundations. Shiism, which was borne out of the succession crisis that followed the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, implies a challenge to the idea that there can be one Sunni caliphate—a core tenet of Salafism. It is for that reasons that Salafi-Jihadists, who are Sunnis, regard Shias as infidels.

"Convert or die" in other words.

UPDATE: I guess Senator Reid is weak enough to have fallen under the sway of few thugs in Iraq:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday the war in Iraq is "lost" ..."I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and — you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows — (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday,"

For his brilliant analysis and clever way of supporting the forces in the field, continuing the Democrat strategy of protecting national security by playing politics with it and running away in the face of difficulty, I award an EagleSpeak Dodo award to the Democrat leader of the Senate




Moron.

Dolittle Raid? SJS got you covered

Maybe you forgot that 18 April was the 65th Anniversary of the Dolittle Raid. Steel Jaw Scribe didn't and covered it well here.

I wonder, considering how risk adverse we seem to have become, if we would put two (out of six, I think) of our carriers in harm's way like our fathers/grandfathers did?

Photo from here.

Flags of convenience: Cambodia

Very nice piece at Asia Times Online concerning nations that offer a "flag of convenience" service- in this case Cambodia is the main focus:

Many small countries in the world have resorted to unorthodox methods of obtaining much-needed currency. Although these methods may be legal, they often assist unscrupulous individuals and governments in conducting illegal activities. One popular method of obtaining cash is through flags of convenience (FOC). Countries, even land-locked ones, register other nations' ships under their flag for a price.
***
One of the most notorious FOC countries was Cambodia. In 1994, Cambodia established its own ship registry - Cambodian Shipping Corporation (CSC), based in Singapore - and began immediately flagging ships of other nations.
***
As more and more foreign ships registered with CSC, it soon became apparent that a large number of the ships were involved in illegal activities. Cigarette smuggling operations were discovered near Crete and Albania; during the oil embargo of Iraq, oil was smuggled out of that country; human trafficking and prostitution operations were discovered near Japan and Crete, and, of course, drug trafficking.

And then it gets worse- the North Koreans come into play:

Perhaps the best-known of these Cambodian-registered North Korean ships was the Song Sang. In November 2002, a freighter believed to be carrying weapons departed a North Korean port and was tracked by American satellites and American naval ships. In December, as it made its way through the Indian Ocean, it was stopped by American and Spanish naval forces and inspected.

The United States justified its actions by claiming that it was flying no flag and thus was considered a pirate ship. According to Richard Boucher, the State Department's spokesman, "At first we couldn't verify the nationality of the ship because the ship's name and the indications on the hull and the funnel were obscured. It was flying no flag."

On investigation it was found that the ship was the So San, which claimed to have Cambodian registry. The So San's manifest stated it was transporting cement to Yemen, but an examination revealed 15 Scud missiles with 15 conventional warheads, 23 tanks of nitric acid rocket propellant and 85 drums of unidentified chemicals all hidden beneath the bags of cement.

It is believed that the North Koreans tried to disguise the ship (Song Sang) by painting over the last two letters in the first name and the final letter in the second name (So San) to help prevent identification. The ship was eventually allowed to continue on its course after it was determined that it had broken no laws.

A suggested read.

An earlier post on "flags of convenience" here.

Latest ONI Worldwide Threat to Shipping Report (to 11 Apr 07)

Latest ONI Worldwide Threat to Shipping Report (to 11 Apr 07) found here. Highlights:

1. SOMALIA: On 06 Apr, the M/V (ROZEN) and cargo dhow (NIMATULLAH)
were released by Somali pirates after completing ransom negotiations. Both vessels
were reportedly being held 3 km off the Somali coast near the small fishing village of
Dhighiley in Puntland. (ONI background note: This conflicts with previous reporting
claiming the cargo dhow was being held farther south off Haradheere). Per 08 Apr
reporting, the (NIMATULLAH) safely returned to the port of Mogadishu after their
five day ordeal. The dhow is expected to commence cargo offload operations before
returning to Dubai, UAE. Per 12 Apr reporting, the (ROZEN) safely returned to
Mombasa, Kenya after their 41 day ordeal. The vessel’s owner, Karim Kudrati, gave
thanks and praises to the brave crew. However, he said it is high time now for the
Kenyan government to act. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Kenya and the
Deputy Country Director for the World Food Program said that there is an urgent need
for the regional authorities and the international community to put more efforts in curbing
the piracy menace off the Somali coast. (ONI background note: All four of Karim
Kudrati’s vessels (SEMLOW, TORGELOW, MILTZOW, and ROZEN) have been
hijacked by Somali pirates over the past two years while delivering aid under charter
of the UN World Food Program. The victimized crewmembers of these vessels were
Kenyan and Sri Lankan nationals. To date, Kenya has successfully prosecuted 10 Somali
pirates)(SAP, LM, ONI).
***
2. NIGERIA: Oil rig (BULFORD DOLPHIN) boarded, worker kidnapped 31 Mar
at 0400 local time, 40 NM off the coast of Nigeria. The gunmen first targeted a support
vessel moored to the Bulford Dolphin rig, overpowered the crew, then climbed onto the
rig and seized an expatriate worker. A company spokesman explained they had recently
suffered a breakdown in relations with local communities and that discontented factions
might be behind the abduction. The worker was released on 04 Apr and the oil rig will
not restart operations until a full review of security of has been completed. Eight expatriate
workers were kidnapped off the same rig in Jun of last year and freed two days later
(REUTERS, BBC, LM: The Herald).
***
1. INDIAN OCEAN: Heavy Lift vessel reported suspicious approach, 12 Mar while
underway in position 12:42N-056:44E, east of Socotra, Yemen. A suspicious fishing
vessel kept calling on VHF-16 to the heavy lift vessel asking them to keep clear of their
fishing net(s), and all of a sudden they changed and started asking for water and food.
The master decided to alter course in order to maintain his distance from the suspicious
vessels (IMB).
***
3. INDONESIA: Tanker (AI MARU) boarded 14 Mar at 1630 local time while underway
in position 01-07.29N 105-03.66E approximately 30NM east of Pulau Bintan. Ten heavily
armed pirates intercepted and boarded the product tanker in two navy grey fiberglass speed crafts with outboard engines. The men were dressed in camouflage and carried shot guns, rifles and daggers. One of them had on a ski mask. They boarded the tanker and tied up all crew members and blindfolded them. The master of the ship was punched several times with no serious injuries. The gunmen also damaged the ship’s radio communications equipment and took the ship’s documents, crew passports, seaman books, cash, and hand phones before they fled in their speedboats. After steaming for 45 minutes the pirates smashed all the communication equipment. The ship’s engines stalled 40NM from Horsburgh, Lighthouse. When the pirates could not restart the engines they abandoned the ship and escaped in their speedboats. All crew were accounted for with no injuries and all cargo intact. The master reported that there was not a single shot fired by the men during the incident. The ReCCAP ISC Focal Point (Singapore) advises ship-owners and masters to exercise vigilance while transiting this location (ReCAPP ISC, IMB).
***
7. MALACCA STRAIT: Bulk carrier reported attempted boarding 28 Mar, at 0707
UTC while underway in position 04:40.0N-099:15.5E. Four men in a 15 meter speedboat
with a grey wooden hull were observed drifting across the vessel’s course line. The speedboat
suddenly approached the vessel. The master raised the alarm and took evasive maneuvers;
the crew mustered and activated the fire hoses. The pirates attempted to board the bulk
carrier with ropes and a long stick with steps. After 20 minutes, the pirates moved away
(IMB).

Guyana to get tough with sea bandits

As reported here:

After months of incessant attacks on fishermen by gangs of sea bandits, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee yesterday announced that legislation to make high seas piracy a non-bailable offence is being drafted and cooperation is being sought from Interpol to help track down the pirates.
***
"The best protection we can give to the affected fishermen is to rid the waters of pirates and put them behind bars," Rohee said, adding that he was upset over the criticisms his ministry has received as a result of the sea piracy.

War in Iraq: Chemical Bomb News

Two reports : (1) Here:

One terrorist was killed and eight suspected terrorists linked to al-Qaeda foreign fighters and improvised explosive device networks were detained Wednesday in two separate Coalition Forces raids.
One armed terrorist was killed and Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists west of Taji. The suspected terrorists are believed to be tied to al-Qaeda in Iraq and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device network known to use chlorine in its attacks. They are also allegedly involved in facilitating foreign terrorist movements.

(2) Here:

Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers seized a large cache consisting of 600 five-gallon containers of nitric acid during an operation in eastern Baghdad April 12.

Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, uncovered the nitric acid cache inside a warehouse during cordon and search operations in the Baghdad’s Rusafa district.

“Operation Dixon” was aimed at disrupting local vehicle-borne improvised explosive device networks operating in the area and gaining additional information and intelligence on the VBIED networks.

Nitric acid is commonly used as a primary ingredient in explosives.

Protecting ourselves from things that go bump in the night

What to do about the rare but deadly wack jobs who occasionally walk among us spreading death? At the risk of offending those who have a vision of a return to gun-toting Tombstone, I think Phil Bowermaster at The Speculist: A Third Option is on a better track:

So let's go back to the firearm advocates' assessment of yesterday's tragedy. If there were students or faculty members at various points around campus carrying legal, concealed firearms, might there not have been an opportunity to stop this monster before he killed 32 people? Seems to me there might have been. But if you had an equal (or greater) number of people armed with Tasers, wouldn't they have had a similar chance of taking the shooter down?

Opponents of the concealed carry argument argue that students and faculty members would be shooting each other, or that cops would accidentally target an armed good guy rather than the shooter. But that equation changes somewhat if the good guys (including the cops) are all carrying less-lethal weapons.

It has always been my advice that homeowners and boat owners avoid buying Dirty Harry .44 magnum pistols and instead buy shotguns for armed defense. My theory has been that if an exciting moment arises, the danger of killing your neighbors is lessened by using a shotgun while the possibility of actually doing damage to a bad guy is enhanced. Killing your neighbors creates troublesome liability issues.

Further, it seems to me that it would be much easier for us all to get along in public places if we were known to be carrying non-lethal force delivery systems instead of, well, guns or not being armed. I mean, some of you can carry guns if you like and get permitted. And conceal them. It creates an element of doubt in the mind of the potential wrong-doers. Even better if the bad guy knows that not only are some people carrying deadly weapons, but it's virtual certainty that almost everyone else can Tase him or gas him or whatever.

My choice of a Mace product is the Triple Action Fogger, described as a:

Compact, powerful model features flip-top safety cap. This 60 gram cone shaped fogger unit sprays up to 8 feet. Contains 15, one second bursts.

And this Taser web page has a good graphic that makes the point that with a Taser,

A hit anywhere on the body can be effective with the TASER device, making it easier to use and more reliable under stress than any other use-of-force option.

And, in reality, it's hitting the target that really matters.

And, here's a Taser advantage:

TASER devices are not considered firearms by the U.S government. They can be legally carried (concealed or open) without permit required in 43 states.

Prohibited citizen use in DC, MA, RI, NY, NJ, WI, MI, HI & certain cities & counties. CT and IL legal with restrictions. Check local laws on carrying electronic control devices.

Scottish Prayer
Traditional

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

Amen.

UPDATE: The ACLU doesn't like Tasers! One more reason to like them.
UPDATE2: Here's the ACLU anti-Taser logic:

Since 1999, at least 148 people in the United States and Canada have died after encounters with police who shocked them with Tasers. More than half of those deaths occurred in the past year, of which 15 took place in northern and central California.

In eighteen years, in two countries (I guess the numbers weren't high enough if you just used the U.S. 148 people have died after being Tased. That's a little over 8 people a year. And, though the ACLU wording attempts to fluff the issue- there is no indication of how many among that 148 died as a direct result from being Tased. As worded, it's entirely possible that some portion of that numbered were Tased but still acted in some manner that caused the police to have to shoot them with regular weapons.

A Floating Nuclear Power Plant for Russia?

Approving comment found here.

Floating Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) construction discussed here. Which also sees an export marketing opportunity:

And the concept of the FNPP is very promising. Small FNPPs would be a blessing for the Russian regions adjoining the Arctic Ocean. These areas lack centralized energy supplies, and an FNPP would be an independent source of energy. It is specifically this feature of the Russian technological innovation that is attracting attention abroad: Indonesia, Malaysia, and China have all shown interest in the project. The plant off the coast of Severodvinsk will therefore also act as a prototype that can be seen by potential foreign customers.

And more:

The plant will save up to 200,000 metric tons of coal and 100,000 tons of fuel oil a year. It will be fully supported by the infrastructure of the Russian nuclear industry, and will be serviced by rotating teams. The reactors will be loaded with nuclear fuel once every three years and will have a lifespan of 40 years. Every 12 years the plant will be sent home and overhauled.

And, something else to add to the maritime security list.

A few years ago a couple of energy companies in Houston were working on power plants on barges to be towed to energy needful places. I see here that Pacific Gas & Electric seems to be stuck with one of them:

Under fire from environmentalists and skeptical of winning regulatory approval, PG&E Corp. scuttled plans yesterday to moor a floating power plant in San Francisco Bay as protection against future brownouts.

The decision came after company officials concluded that they would not be able to secure needed government permits in time to run the 95-megawatt plant this summer, when demand for electricity is at its highest point of the year.
***
Pruett insisted that the decision had nothing to do with protests from environmentalists, who were enraged at the prospect of stationing the plant's four jet fuel-powered engines on the bay. Some had threatened to board and disrupt the floating power plant should it sail through the Golden Gate.

Greenaction story here.

And a place where you can get a conventional floating power plant built here:

Aker Yards Marine has been designing floating power plants (FPP’s) since 1989 with a total of six medium- speed diesel powered FPP’s having been built to date by a variety of shipyards for a variety of Owners. The plants which have been built range in capacity from 40MW to the latest at 124MW.
***
Why a Floating Power Plant?

In response to this often asked question, there are a number of situations where a floating power plant can be the optimum solution. Some of these are:

For sites in developing nations, the floating power plant can be constructed more cost effectively and rapidly on an industrial site in a fully developed country and then transported to site.

The mobility of the plant can make it easier and less costly to arrange financing for the plant.

If the cost of Real Estate is very high but water frontage is available, the floating power plant can provide a cost effective alternative to the conventional land-based power plant.

The floating power plant can provide a relatively rapid answer to an increase in market demand for power in advance of new, land based plants coming on-line. Photo:

Photo is of a couple of Enron (boo, hiss) plants: 'Enron I&II 55MW Floating Power Plant'


And, finally, it looks like someone at Rand looked at FNPPs back in 1972 here.

UPDATE: And some people in the U.S. have suggested FNPPs, as was referenced here:

By 1970, Westinghouse executives realized that one of the main problems in making nuclear plants competitive was the fact that they were all custom built plants. Company engineers began producing some conceptual designs for smaller, modular plants and checking the reaction of utility executives to the designs.

At Public Service Electric and Gas, based in New Jersey, the designers found some strong interest in standardized plants. However, Richard Eckert, the main proponent of such plants, had some suggestions of his own.

He suggested that the plants should be utility sized, i.e. on the order of 1000 MWe, and constructed so that they could be moored off shore. As the man in charge of finding new sites for power plants, he had discovered that there were a very limited number of sites available in areas where power demands were high. He realized, however, that many such areas were close to the ocean.

After some give and take between the supplier and the customer, the plant design that evolved was essentially a man-made island that could support two 1200 MWe nuclear plants. The power island would be fabricated in a specialized facility, maneuvered to the site and permanently moored behind a large, protective breakwater. Ideally, the plant would be located a bit less than three miles off shore and the power would be sent via underwater cables.

Westinghouse leaders recognized that they would need a partner with extensive shipbuilding experience, and attracted the participation of Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. The two companies created a 50/50 partnership company that became known as Offshore Power Systems.

The idea bloomed and was on its way but something strange thwarted it:

With all of the positives going for this project, it is important to understand why it failed. Surprisingly enough, the initiating event was the OPEC oil embargo of 1973. Typically, an event that leads to a rapid quadrupling of the price of a competitive product is good for business, but the energy industry does not follow normal rules.

The major industrial loads on the Public Service system were oil refineries and petrochemical plants located in places like Newark, New Jersey. The embargo dramatically reduced the demand for their products, so they reduced their purchases of electricity.

Since Public Service's customers needed less electricity, they did not need the capacity represented by the two large plants that they had ordered from Offshore Power Systems. Even though the purchase contracts required them to cover the supplier's costs, including those of building the manufacturing facility, Public Service desperately needed to slow down their capacity additions.

At first Public Service asked for a two year delay, hoping that the "energy crisis" was temporary, but they eventually canceled all orders.

Since the plants and the facilities that had been designed were specifically designed for the production of 1200 MWe central station power plants for the densely populated and prosperous Northeast United States, there was little hope of finding alternative customers. This was unfortunate, since many areas of the world were desperate for moderately sized, non-oil based electric power sources.

Much interesting discussion of FNPPs at a part of Nuclear.com, which includes a refernce to an shipborne nuke power plant (as opposed to propulsion)
which actually was used:

The MH-1A Sturgis floating nuclear power plant, a 45-MW pressurized water reactor, was the first floating nuclear plant to be built (and the last nuclear power plant built and operated by the U.S. Army). It provided power at Panama Canal during Vietnam war years, allowing more boats to pass through the canal (2,500 a year more is the # we've seen) than otherwise would have been possible.

The ship was an old Liberty hull- more info on her here.

And Popular Science covered this Russian project back in October 2006 with the title "A Floating Chernobyl?.

Latest ICC CCS Piracy Report (to 17 Apr 07)

Latest ICC Commercial Crime Services Piracy Report (to 17 Apr 07) here:

13.04.2007: 1500 UTC: Posn 11:57N 060:23E, 350 NM East of Socotra (arrow points to Socotra on map), Arabian Sea. A speed boat, doing 20 kts was sighted on radar at a distance of 8 nm of a bulk carrier underway. Anti piracy measures taken by crew. The suspicious craft closed to a distance of 2 nm and then aborted the chase. The craft was seen heading towards the African coast.
***
11.04.2007: 0930 UTC: Posn: 15:14N - 052:25E, Gulf of Aden. Pirates in two speed boats chased a product tanker underway with intent to board. The C/O contacted the Piracy Reporting Centre, in Malaysia, for assistance. The centre contacted coalition naval forces at Bahrain and a warship and a helicopter were dispatched to render assistance to ship. Meanwhile ship took extra measures to prevent boarding by pirates. When a helicopter arrived the two speed boats aborted the attempt and moved away. Ship continued her voyage to her destination port. All crew are safe.

"Acid--Laden Truck Bombing Foiled"

Reported here:

A dump truck overturned attempting to deliver its payload of explosives and nitric acid during a foiled attack in Mushada, Iraq April 16.

A coalition patrol approached to assist the driver of an overturned dump truck and found the vehicle loaded with nitric acid containers and explosives.

The driver was taken into custody and confessed that he was paid to attack the Joint Security Station in Mushada, which also houses the town's Iraqi police station.

An explosive ordnance team was called in to assess the contents of the truck and dispose of the material. The team discovered eight containers of nitric acid, eight directional fragmentation explosives devices, and two large rounds of ordnance.

The explosives and munitions discovered will be disposed of by EOD once they are carefully removed from the site.
The driver is being held for further questioning.

More on nitric acid here. Earlier Reuters report here:

The use of nitric acid in bomb attacks could mark another shift in tactics by insurgents, who in recent months have rigged nearly a dozen truck bombs with chlorine gas, mainly in western Anbar province.

If the guy had been a better driver, the plot may not have been discovered.

More Practice

Disaster Preparedness Exercises To Begin In L.A.:

Three days of large-scale disaster preparedness exercises will begin Tuesday with the scenario of a terrorist attack in the wake of an earthquake, officials said.

The California National Guard will host the interstate and interagency exercises, which will be conducted at major landmarks throughout Los Angeles, a guard official said.

Tuesday’s exercise will simulate a terrorist cell taking advantage of the chaos and devastation caused by a large earthquake.

LA Times raises "concerns":

Although no one would dispute the need for emergency workers to be prepared, some residents and providers of services to veterans expressed concern Monday that the drill on the north side of the VA grounds could unsettle neighbors and veterans being treated at the campus.

Other practice.

Another Country Notices Kyoto Protocol Downside

The headline reads Kyoto will be disaster for Turkey, says State Planning Agency:

The economic costs of signing the Kyoto Protocol in its current form could result in as much as a 37 percent drop in Turkey's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was $148 billion in 2006, reported a paper prepared by the state agency responsible for charting the progress and possible repercussions of projects.

According to the report presented by the State Planning Organization (DPT) to the Parliament commission investigating the matter, by signing the protocol Turkey would be willingly accepting responsibility to undertake certain measures and the repercussions of these measures could cost between 10 to 37 percent of the GDP.

State of Georgia Port Expansion plan

Reported here:

The Georgia Ports Authority today unveiled a US$1.2 billion capital improvement plan that will triple container capacity and enable Savannah and Brunswick to stay ahead of soaring Asia trade.

"We're making investments today to accommodate Georgia's booming trade with Asia tomorrow," Steve Green, GPA's vice-chairman, told reporters in Hong Kong.

The capital raised for the improvement plan will be derived from internal financing, the state of Georgia and the federal government. More than $400 million will go towards deepening Savannah port and $82.6 million has been allocated this financial year for post-panamax cranes, gantrys, IT upgrades and terminal improvements.

In the five years between 2002 and 2006, Savannah's throughput has grown by 78 percent, and with an average annual growth of 16 percent, it is the fastest growing port in the US. Last year, the GPA handled 2.1 million TEUs of which 53 percent consisted of direct imports or exports from China (including Hong Kong).

Green said Savannah's throughput rose sharply in 2003 with the labor unrest on the West Coast and the port had managed to retain those customers and attract others.

"Shippers and the lines have realised that the East Coast is a viable alternative to the West Coast and that our distribution centres on the landside allow us to move cargo to 14 states that comprise almost 40 percent of the US population," Green said.

This seems to put Georgia and North Carolina in competition for adding port capacity - a report on NC's effort here. Thouhg the NC effort seems to have hit a delay:

A major delay for the proposed international port in Southport.
The project could be on hold for another year.

According to published reports, the Federal Government did not allocate money for a crucial feasibility study. And they won't be able to work it into the budget until next year.

That means the project will be put on hold until then. Reports say the study will cost around $200,000, which will be allocated into the 2008 budget.

Overall, officials say the port will cost around one billion dollars and will take about ten years to build. That means, at the earliest, the port will not be finished until 2018.

The port will be located on a 600-acre tract of land about fourteen miles from the ocean.
Ports CEO Tom Eagar says once it's built, the port will bring thousands of jobs and millions of dollars to the State and make it a major player in the shipping industry.

Despite the latest delay, officials are saying it is not a major setback. It is simply a bump in the road for a large-scale project like this.

In addition, some NC governmental agencies seem to be at odds as set out here:

- A behind-the-scenes tussle between the N.C. State Ports Authority and the N.C. Department of Transportation over roads to serve a proposed new port near Southport took center stage Wednesday morning when a Ports Authority vice president said DOT officials won't talk to his agency about the needs.

The lack of planning could threaten the port's development, as getting goods in and out of the facility will be a major factor in its success or lack of it, said Bill Bennett, vice president of planning and development for the N.C. Ports Authority, during a quarterly breakfast meeting of the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce.

But the real problem, state Sen. R.C. Soles said later from Raleigh, is that the DOT and Ports Authority are each trying to shift road planning responsibilities to the other, a situation he wants to correct.

"When you talk to one, they say it's the DOT," Soles, D-Columbus, said. "When you talk to the other, they say it's the port. It's time they start meeting and talking."

Soles had previously introduced a bill that would have forced a sharing of the costs between the agencies:

State Sen. R.C. Soles, D-Columbus, has introduced a bill requesting a study to determine the feasibility and cost of building a new highway to serve the proposed N.C. International Port at Southport.

The bill should be good news to residents of Brunswick County concerned about what port truck traffic would do to the area's roads. It stems directly from a letter sent to Soles in February by the leaders - mayors or vice mayors - of six of Brunswick County's coastal communities.

According to the bill proposed in the state Senate, the study should determine the most cost-effective way to relieve the traffic congestion on N.C. 211, N.C. 133 and N.C. 87, as well as the feasibility of constructing a new primary highway to the new port from N.C. 87 north of Boiling Spring Lakes or U.S. 17.

Mayor Larry Lammert of Bald Head Island, one of those who signed the letter, said Monday a new road dedicated to the port is needed to handle the volume of trucks and other work vehicles that the port would bring.

"We cannot get a port in here without getting a road in here," he said. "Right now our roads are clogged."

He said he hopes the bill will be a starting point in addressing other infrastructure needs in the county.

The N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. State Ports Authority would share the cost of the study evenly, according to Soles' proposal.

America's Cup Challenge begins

As laid out in handy BBC America's Cup guide, the sailing fun begins with the Louis Vutton Cup cahllenger series and proceeds to the America's Cup starting in June:

Multi million-pound syndicates, using cutting-edge design and technology, and employing the world's best sailors, battle it out head-to-head for the oldest trophy in sport.

The "Auld Mug" was first raced for around the Isle of Wight in 1851 - 45 years before the first modern Olympics. US yacht America won to spark 132 years of US domination until Australia II broke the deadlock in 1983.

Official America's Cup website here.

Weather permitting, of course.