It Ain't Pirates In The Carribean! The Modern Day Pirates Are In Somalia!

We've all heard of pirates. They have been quite a nuisance since the ocean started being used as a trade route. The problem really no longer exists in the Carribean Sea. You have to watch "Pirates of the Carribean" to catch a glimpse of that classic era of piracy. But, modern day piracy can be found off the coast of Somalia.The pirates sure aren't seeking buried treasure either. According to CNN:

"More than 60 ships have been attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden this year, compared with about half that many in all of 2007, according to a report released this month by Chatham House, an institute in London, England, that analyzes international affairs.

The report found that the $18 million to $30 million in ransoms paid this year for pirated ships is helping finance the civil war in Somalia.Al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group that is waging a bloody battle for control of Somalia, is reported to be among groups receiving ransom money from pirates."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the rest here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/10/29/somalia.pirates/index.html

It's not just the fact that we are dealing with terrorism in these cases of piracy. It has also posed a huge humanitarian issue as well. There is some really great coverage on both of these issues in TIME magazine. Here's an excerpt:

"For Somalia, it was just another long weekend of mayhem. Shortly after midnight on Friday, Nov. 7, pirates seized a Danish cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden; on Saturday night an aid worker was shot and killed as he walked home from evening prayers in a village 270 miles (435 km) from Mogadishu; on Sunday, fighting between insurgents and African Union peacekeepers left at least seven dead in the capital, and a senior government official was killed in the south of the country; and in the early hours of Monday, bandits crossed the border into Kenya, where they kidnapped two Italian nuns. Somalia is not so much a failed state as a didn't-even-try one. It hasn't had a government since 1991, when warlords took over and embarked on a series of intractable clan wars that have produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises: hundreds of thousands dead and 3 million people desperately in need of aid." (END OF EXCERPT) Read the whole article here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858874,00.html?imw=Y&loomia_si=t0:a16:g12:r1:c0.292138:b19717065&xid=Loomia

Jonestown Memorial Is Erected At Oakland Evergreen Cemetery

It's hard for me to watch documentaries about Jonestown.I think that Jim Jones represents pure evil.The people who suffered really were seeking peace on earth. Jim Jones had the words that so many black people wanted to hear at that time. He spoke of racial accord & unity. That's what they believed Jonestown was. Unfortunately, they met their fate at the hands of a madman who had kept many of them against their will once they got there. Do not think of them as cult members because they were not. No longer will they be thought of collectively as the victims of Jonestown.Most of their names have been placed on a memorial. Here's an excerpt from cbs5.com:

"On the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy, organizers of an annual memorial service in Oakland displayed the first panels of a 37-foot-long stone wall that is to be inscribed with the names and ages of the 918 victims of the violence in Guyana, including U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan and three newsmen.


San Francisco police Officer Yulanda Williams, who escaped from Jonestown twice with the help of Jones' son and a local family who let her use their telephone, said she and her family were "devoted members" of Jones' church for 10 years because they were lured by his promise of "racial harmony and social justice."

"We were willing to sacrifice for racial justice and freedom" but once she went to Jonestown she realized "there was one road in and no way out unless it was in a body bag," Williams said.

The mass carnage occurred after 15 members defected during Ryan's fact-finding mission to Jonestown.

Temple gunmen killed Ryan, three journalists and a defector on a nearby airstrip and all of their names will be on the monument, Norwood said.

But Norwood made clear during the service that James Warren Jones will not have his name in granite.

"To put Jim Jones' name on that wall is an insult ... to all the dead," she said. "(He was) the most evil man who walked on this earth."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the full article here:

Obama Makes History Again By Naming Eric Holder As Attorney General!

Eric Holder will become America's first black Attorney General. He has a pretty good reputation as the deputy attorney general to President Bill Clinton. So, he shouldn't run into any obstacles when it comes time to confirm the appointment.Except for maybe just one possible issue according to a report from the NY Post:
" In the past week, Obama aides have asked Senate Republicans whether they would support Holder. In particular, the aides questioned whether Holder's confirmation would be delayed because of his involvement in the 2001 pardon of fugitive Marc Rich by President Bill Clinton."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the rest here:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11182008/news/politics/obama_to_pick_holder_as_attorney_general_139384.htm

Some folks have been pretty disillusioned with the fact that Obama is picking so many people from the Clinton administration. I say that it is Barack Obama who is at the helm. As long as he produces some positive change, I'm all for it.