India: Pirate 'mother ship' left in flames

An Indian warship that exchanged fire with a pirate vessel off the Horn of Africa sunk the ship in the Gulf of Aden. The skirmish took place on Tuesday when the frigate spotted the pirate ship towing two small speed boats. The pirate ship was left badly damaged and in flames but the captain of the frigate could not confirm it had sunk. The battle followed a recent pirate strike seizing the Saudi-owned supertanker. The oil tanker was carrying an oil cargo worth up to $100 million, which the pirates anchored of the coast of Somalia. So far no confirmation of a ransom can be made. The owner of the ship "Sirius Star" were negotiating with the pirates. The frigate that opened fire on the pirate vessel the Tabar, demanded that the ship stop so it could be inspected. The pirates replied by threatening to destroy the frigate and opened fire on the Tabar. The International Maritime Bureau in London quotes the "it has never seen a situation like this before". Of the 39 succesful pirate captures 17 of them are still in pirate hands. The risks are low for pirates in these areas and the return that they can get outweigh the risks. The pirates are taking advantage of this low-risk opportunity to loot and hold for ransom the valuable ships that pass through the Gulf of Aden.

This is sort of a surprise to me that pirates nowadays still exist and are seizing giant ships such as oil tankers. I never knew that Somali pirate's have acces to enough resources to take on the navi of many different countries patroling the Gulf of Aden let alone hijack cargo ships. I doubt that there are not enough military ships around to stem the piracy. Nowadays most people when they think of pirates they think of Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in the Pirates triology. It seemed that for a while that piracy was extinct until this year when Somali pirates have succesfully captured over 39 ships. I think that the only reason these pirates have succesfully captured so many ships is that the countries and shipping companies of the world have become careless by forgetting there is a risk other than weather on the high seas. I am sure that the crew of members of these cargo ships would at least be trained to deal and avoid pirate attacks. After all these ships carry million of dollars worth of cargo it would be absent minded not to protect them with an armed crew or more naval ships patroling. The only problem with an armed crew is that if the pirates succed the crew may be killed so it is up to the naval ships to intercept the pirates before they attack an unsuspecting trade ship.

Impossible task for UN in DR Congo

The UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest, most expensive and powerful in the world. Yet it still has been unable to prevent civilians from being killing in the conflict. The force was sent under the UN's most powerful piece of legislation - Chapter Seven. This gave the peace keepers the right to use and means necessary to impose their will. This tactic should have proved effective as it gives them the right to use lethal force in any situation. An additional 3,000 troops have been sent to Congo after an urgent appeal for troops made by the civilian head of the missions on the ground, Alan Doss. Since then thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and many have been slaughtered. Both sides of the conflict, the rebels and the government troops have been accused by the United Nations of committing war crimes. The UN force in Congo is made of soldiers from 18 different countries, India being the largest contributor. Yet with about 16,500 troops in the Congo the UN force is still outnumbered by 1000 to 1 by the civilian population needing protection. The former commander officer of the UN forces in the Congo resigned after stating that he believe that the mission in the Congo was "doom to fail". However, despite the great challenges facing the troops in the Congo they have managed to secure the capital Goma which is definitely a main target of the rebel forces. 

It is relieving to know that there are efforts being made by the UN that they have not done before. I think it was a good idea to allow the soldiers the right to use lethal force if necessary to impose their will. I also think that one of the great successes of this mission was securing the capital Goma. The UN is really making an effort this time by stationing the largest force it has there. Yet there are still atrocities being committed on both sides of the war. Both the government and the rebels are committing war crimes and this should be taken very seriously by the international community. Since the government is committing these crimes the UN should forcefully change the leadership in the government because obviously they are no better than the rebels themselves. People are being murdered and raped by both the rebel and government troops. I can understand why the commanding officer of the UN resigned because the force that the UN is against is a massive array of rebel forces who are driven by ethnic hatred and the desire to control the countries mineral wealth. What I cannot understand is the intensity of the ethnic hatred shown by these people. I do not know what can make a human hate another so much that he would be happy to slaughter his family as well as anyone associated with him.  

Congo rebels make roadblock out of bodies

The road that leads into rebel-controled Congo has been blocked by the two bodies of government soldiers laid across the road. The two soldiers were blocking the road that led into Congo's capital Goma. The scence was meant to warn government troops who fought the rebels recently. For the terrified civilians it is seen as a clear message that Congo's ruthless civil war is easing.  Over 250,000 people have been displaced in the vicious fighting between the army and the rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda despite having the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world stationed there. Eastern Congo has been unstable since the millions of Tutsi and Hutu refugees fled across the border in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Many of the Hutu extremists have remained in the region and are prompting the Tutsi-held Rwandan government to send troops into the Congo to flush them out. 

I do not think there will ever be peace in the Congo. This area of Africa has been fighting for years. There are just too many minority groups trying to get power. These groups are no willing to compromise for peace. They just want to eliminate the opposition so there is nothing stopping them from gaining absolute power. The UN peacekeepers are doing nothing to stem the violence. They are not positioned between the rebels and the government troops which is the most effective position for peacekeepers. The global community is just sitting back and not interfering with force as it should. This could be another genocide like the one in Rwanda if it is not one all ready. It is disgusting to realize that when a country in Africa is found with a resource of value the local community is displaced by wars. I do not understand how the other countries of the world found peace and but countries in Africa still have ruthless leaders slaughtering people to maintain control. 

Egypt: 4,300-year-old pyramid discovered

Archeologists have recently discovered an 4,300 year old pyramid under the sands of Saqqara. Saqqara is an ancient burial site which is mostly unexplored but has recently unearthed a string of pyramids. The monument is beleived to have belonged to the mother of the founder of Eygpt's 6th dynasty and was built several hundred years after the Great Pyramids of Giza. The discovery was a part of the burial site of the rulers of Memphis, which was the capitol of Eygpt's old kingdom. All that is left of the pyramid 5m tall structure buried under 25m of sand. Zahi Hawass is Eygpt's chief of antiquities. His team was excavating at the site for over two years before they discovered that the structure they unearth was a pyramid. The structure they found was the base of the pyramid. From the evidence the excavating team found at the site they calculated that the pyramid was once 14m tall. This is the 118th pyramid discovered in Egypt so far. The diggers are about two weeks from being able to get into the tomb, but Hawass is sure that grave robbers looted the tomb long before.

This is a very exciting find. I never knew that archeologists were still unearthing pyramids and tombs in Eygpt. I could not beleive that this pyramid is the 118th found by archeologists. It is amazing how much is hidden underneath Egypt's desert sands. I also did not realize that grave robbers werw able to steal so many antiquities and treasures from the tombs. These tombs were buried under the sands for thousands of years how can they find them. The thieves must have stolen the treasures soon after the tomb was built. I was a little disapointed when the article stated that the finding was only the base of a pyramid. I was expecting it to be something like the Great Pyramids of Giza buried completely under the sands.

Ottawa alleges Toronto charity is running a tax-shelter scheme

The Canada Revenue Agency shut down a charity that was taking part in a tax sheltering scheme. The Choson Kallah Fund received numerous donations of malaria and other pharmaceutical drugs bought overseas at a greatly reduced price. Then the charity sold these drugs for $177 million at a higher Canadian retail value. The charity kept 1% of the total as a fee, which is about $1,770,000. In a letter that outlined the allegations, the Canada Revenue Agency stated that the Choson Kallah charity was "promoting a tax shelter scheme. The willful promotion of the for-profit scheme violated its charitable status. The charity was being run as a business instead of a non for profit organization. In 2003 the Choson Kallah had about $6 million in total revenues, donating money mostly to Jewish organizations and schools. None of the donations exceeded $25,000. The Choson Kallah is no longer a charitable organization and is now being taxed as if it was a business.

I think this is mainly the government's fault. They need to realize that their policies have loop holes where tax evaders can slip through. I think the person who was running the Choson Kallah is very lucky to not have been prosecuted yet. Isn't it a crime to make a profit from a charity? There has to be some type of fine he must pay at least. I know if anyone evades taxes for years and gets caught, they have to pay those taxes back plus interest. If they can pay it back they need to get a bank loan or be put in prison. Not only does the owner of the organization need to pay a fine for deceit, he needs to pay the taxes that he was exempt from because his business was registered as a charity.

Palin costing McCain, poll suggests

A recent poll on the United State's elections has suggested that Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is costing Senator John McCain votes for the presidency. The CNN run poll released the results of a survey it conducted showing that McCain's running mate is becoming less popular with the voters which is costing him the votes he needs to win.  The results stated that 57% of likely voters believe that Sarah Palin does not have the personal qualities that a president should have. Surveys down in early September showed that 53% of likely voters would vote for Sarah Palin instead of Joe Biden if there was a separate vote for the Vice Presidency. Now, Joe Biden would beat Sarah Palin by a good 12 points if they were voted in separately. If voting was separate for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, calculations have shown that Sarah Palin is costing John McCain 2 percentage points.

I think choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate was a big mistake for John McCain and it could be something that could cost him the presidency. Sarah Palin talks to a country as if it was a six year old. She embarrassed herself when she claimed that she had foreign policy experience because Russia is next door to Alaska. She has never met any Russian government official as governor and only sees their planes fly over Alaska. She is somewhat hypocritical in her beliefs especially when it comes to teenage pregnancy. Her daughter is a teen parent yet she is pushing to cut social funding to teenage parents. She has no knowledge on the economy and foreign affairs. She does not know what exactly the Vice President does. Usually someone reads the job description before applying for it. She has none of the experience Democratic Vice President nominee Joe Biden has. I personally think she is a terrible public speaker and that everything she says is 100% scripted and not original. I was not surprised when the news got out of Sarah Palin being prank called by comedians from Montreal who made her beleive that she was talking to Nicolas Sarcozy. 

U.S. authorities uncover skinhead plot to assassinate Obama

On Monday U.S. secret services stated that they have successfully broken up an assassination plot on the democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and 88 other African Americans in the state of Tennessee. The court records state that federal agents foiled the plan of two Neo-Nazi skinheads trying to rob a gun store and target a high school. The two men confessed in the court that they were planning to kill 88 African Americans and of those 88, 14 of them were to be beheaded. Senator Barack Obama was to be their final target after attempting to go on a national killing spree. The two men never actually thought they would be able to pull of their act. One of the Neo-Nazis is Daniel Cowart who is pictured in the top right hand corner. The federal agents who apprehended the two men later found the necessary legal documents that proved that the plotters were planning to "drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows". The men also stated that they were willing to die in the attempt. So there is no evidence that others are involved in the plot. 

The racism that still exists in the world is horrifying. Some would think that the racism in the U.S. would have died down a bit to a point when people are not going to run into schools and shoot every race they hate. It is a very good thing that federal agents know how to deal with these issues and are able to stop these plots from being carried out. It is also very unlikely that the two men part of this plot to assassinate Obama are the only ones involved. IT does not make sense how skin heads still exist. I think the next United States president should really begin to pass legislation enforcing human rights, whether it is McCain or Obama. The fact that these men's plot was to go into a school and after go on a cross country killing spree is unimaginable. If this does not give the government a good enough reason to limit arms distribution in the States I do not think anything will. These men were going to rob a gun store, which sold military grade weapons. What would the average American do with these weapons? You do not need a fully automatic rifle to go hunting. 

Revolutionary paper is stronger than steel

Florida State University just unveiled their revolutionary "Buckypaper". This new material was created using the third form of pure carbon "Buckyball". The scientists who discovered "BuckyBall" did it by accident and were awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1996. Buckypaper looks like an ordinary piece of paper, in reality to it is potentially 10 times lighter than steel and 500 times stronger.  It can conduct electricity as well as copper and silicon. Each sheet of Buckypaper consists of tube-shaped carbon molecules that are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. The unique properties that Buckypaper has could be used to improve technology in light energy efficient, airplanes, cars and improved TV screens. If Buckypaper is used to build huge oil tankers and cargo ships instead of steel it can reduce the weight of the ships and overall improve their speed and fuel efficiency. Researchers are now developing manufacturing techniques for Buckypaper to increase the quantity produced and lower the price. If this happens Buckypaper would be a revolutionary material that could possibly take the place of steel making products 500 times stronger and 10 times lighter. The developers of Buckpaper are hoping that it can be used in conventional aircraft as it will make aircraft lighter and stronger while providing better protection against electromagnetic interferences and lighting strikes. The goal is to make Buckpaper commercially available within 12 months. 

I think this is a revolutionary discovery. This could change how everything from refrigerators to passenger jetliners are made. Governments as well as ordinary people should invest in this composite material because according to the scientists who discovered it said that when Buckypaper reaches full potential it would become the leading composite material. The best feature of this material is that it increases a plane's fuselage and it also protects it from lighting. This material can save the lives of innocent people because of its incredible strength. Its amazing how that any consumer product can last longer if built with Buckypaper. Even though this find is revolutionary I beleive that governments and big companies are not paying attention to it as much as they such. This material can reap huge profits to anyone who begins to mass produce it. It is possible that in the near future Buckypaper may even replace steel.