Daylife/AP Photo by William S. Stevens
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| MV Sirus Star anchored off Somalia coast after hijacking |
As dawn breaks over the Indian Ocean each morning, elders in Somali pirate bases sip strong coffee and clutch mobile phones to their ears, eager to hear the latest from the gunmen out at sea.
Have any more ships been hijacked or ransom talks concluded? Any news of the Western warships hunting them?
Last weekend’s spectacular capture of a Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with oil worth $100 million has jacked up the stakes in what is probably the only growth industry in the failed Horn of Africa state.
Massive ransoms have brought rapid development to former fishing villages that now thrive with business and boast new beachside hotels, patronized by cash-rich buccaneers who have become local celebrities virtually overnight…
Just three years ago, maritime security experts estimated there were just five Somali pirate groups and fewer than 100 gunmen in total. Now they think there are more than 1,200…
The biggest lure now, of course, is the vast ransoms being paid for captured ships. Kenya says it thinks the pirates have received more than $150 million this year alone.
Next, they’ll be joining country clubs, invited to meetings in Davos.
#5, digby,
You’re an asshole. Get over it. The Bush type of politics ruined the Republican Party.
Good times are coming.
These people were starving due to the illegal overfishing of their waters (by foreigners), the endless meddling of other countries in their affairs, resulting in the general collapse of their society and the resulting loss of virtually all trade with surrounding countries.
Lesson to the world; best not float your expensive junk near the destroyed, lawless and starving people.
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/who_owns_the_federal_reserve_bank.html
#34 – Paddy-RAMBO
Whoa! Paddy-RAMBO posts a link! This is truly a red-letter day! Some of the computer geeks at Radio Shack must have showed you how to do it, huh?
And just as I thought “Nationally, the Federal Reserve System is led by a Board of Governors whose seven members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.” and “The member banks must by law invest 3 percent of their capital as stock in the Reserve Banks, and they cannot sell or trade their stock or even use that stock as collateral to borrow money. They do receive dividends of 6 percent per year from the Reserve Banks and get to elect each Reserve Bank’s board of directors.
The private banks also have a voice in regulating the nation’s money supply and setting targets for short-term interest rates, but it’s a minority voice. Those decisions are made by the Federal Open Market Committee, which has a dozen voting members, only five of whom come from the banks. The remaining seven, a voting majority, are the Fed’s Board of Governors who, as mentioned, are appointed by the president.“.
So much for that asshole with the bullhorn.
#35
More important is the proper management of the money supply. Since the creation of the Fed, monetary inflation has skyrocketed. Also, the set up is ensures that wealth flows into the banking system and out of the economy.
Capitalism at its worst.
Wow, Paddy, that’s an astute observation. Congrats on the clear thinking!
Now we just need an option that doesn’t rob and kill people. . .
#38, Paddy-O
Don’t tell the pirates, they probably aren’t on to this yet.