Kunj07/openwebtext · Datasets at Hugging Face

In May, the advisory Joint War Committee of Lloyd’s Market Association designated the strategic channel at high risk of “war, strikes, terrorism and related perils”.

“But it’s just a recommendation, and some underwriters may not follow it for their very important clients,” Mukundan told Reuters. “Costs have not gone up. Of course, if you are hijacked they go up quite significantly. But there is no contingent cost to piracy.”

Somali pirates are currently holding about 130 crew members hostage on at least seven vessels, including huge chemical tankers and bulk-carriers. Gunmen are holding vessels from Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, Germany and Iran.

REBELS BEHIND ATTACKS?

Attacks at sea have boomed as lawlessness increased in Somalia, where there has not been a working government since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Since the start of last year, more than 8,000 civilians have been killed in fighting between allied Somali government and Ethiopian soldiers and Islamist rebels. Another 1 million have been driven from their homes.

There are many theories about who exactly is behind the latest spate of hijackings. Most captured ships bring ransoms of more than $10,000, and in a few cases much more.

Some security experts say there are signs insurgents may receive some of the ransoms and use them to fund attacks on the government. Last week, the rebels seized the key southern port of Kismayu. The United States says they have links to al Qaeda.

Other experts point to ties forged between Somali pirates, most of whom are based in the northern Puntland region, and criminal networks in Yemen during years of people-smuggling.

The Islamists deny masterminding the recent attacks at sea, and other analysts say the insurgents get most of their money from wealthy Somalis abroad, as well as backers in Arab nations.

Analysts say some members of the interim government, many of whom are former warlords, may also profit from piracy. All agree that the inability of Puntland’s administration to crush organized crime has fed the chaos offshore.

When the mineral-rich region declared itself semi-autonomous in 1998, it hoped to provide a model for a future, stable Somalia — clan-based federal governance with free elections and an effective parliament.

“Now we are seeing Puntland essentially breaking down as an entity,” said Rashid Abdi, Somalia expert at the International Crisis Group thinktank. “You’re seeing a gradual takeover of the state by criminal gangs.”

COALITION TASK FORCE

Puntland officials have been powerless in the face of sophisticated pirates equipped with speed boats and heavy weapons. Onshore, the authorities have also failed to stop money counterfeiters and kidnapping gangs.

That has created a climate where the pirates’ new homes, lavish weddings and flashy cars attract more and more young men desperate for work in the one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Locals say recruitment is also fed by resentment at European fishing fleets harvesting tuna from Somali waters, and what they say is regular dumping of toxic waste on their shores.

“The problem of piracy has to be looked at in the broader context of the failure of Puntland,” the ICG’s Abdi said. “It cannot be dealt with separately”

The insecurity has also put a choke on the ability of the United Nations to get food aid to the fast-growing numbers of needy. That figure has leapt 77 percent this year to more than 3.2 million — more than a third of Somalia’s population.

Canadian naval ships are escorting World Food Program shipments to Mogadishu until September, and U.N. officials say it is hoped that French and then German forces will take over.

Further north in the Gulf of Aden, the recent attacks have also stung the anti-terrorist Combined Task Force 150 into action. The multinational unit, part of Washington’s Operation Enduring Freedom, is based in neighboring Djibouti and has come to the aid of many ships attacked by pirates.

This week, it announced a string of waypoints marking a Maritime Security Patrol Area or safe corridor, which navy warships will patrol while coalition aircraft fly overhead.

“It focuses our longer-term efforts to improve security and counter destabilizing activity in the region,” Lieutenant Stephanie Murdock, spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, told Reuters by telephone from Bahrain.0999329-edace7666aa26f3560046396158d6ba1.txt0000644000000000000000000001043100000000000015053 0ustar 00000000000000Spread the love

Pocatello, ID — There is a saying among law enforcement when they are questioned for writing asinine tickets for non-crimes and arresting well-meaning people who may be in possession of a plant to treat their child — ‘Just doing my job.’ This phrase is uttered countless times a day as police officers write tickets for everything from window tint to license plate lights — as they somehow think it justifies this level of extortion.

The most recent case of extortion for non-crimes is getting a lot of attention in Idaho because police extorted a man who was actually providing a community service.

When it snows in his community, Mitch Fisher is ready to help.

“I take care of the neighbors. They’re all elderly and I like to help them out,” Fisher said.

Fisher’s community service of plowing streets and sidewalks — for free — is so highly regarded that he was featured in a segment on a local news station in December.

“I try to clean my spot and all the neighbors around me so we have a nice area to park and pull in,” Fisher said las month. “Also, hopefully, so no one gets stuck in front of my house.”

But his good deed did not go unnoticed by the revenue collectors. On Wednesday, a Pocatello police officer came prowling and issued Fisher a citation for ‘depositing material on a public right of way.’ Fisher will now be extorted for over $200 for helping the city clean the roadways.

Naturally, according to Local 8 News, Fisher was baffled.

“I tried to talk (the officer) out of it and tell him what I was doing, that I was trying to get it out of the street because (the street) hasn’t been plowed since the beginning of snow season,” he said. “Of course, he was doing his job, wrote the citation and went on his way.”

The law used to extort Fisher was Chapter 9 of Pocatello’s city code which states, “It is unlawful for any person to deposit, place or allow to remain in or upon any public right of way any material or substance injurious to persons or property.”

Obviously depositing trash, debris, or anything else that would obstruct the street is a dangerous practice. However, Fisher was doing the opposite of this as he moved the snow into a pile right next to his curb.

“I didn’t want it in front of (my neighbors’) houses because they can’t park. I don’t care if it’s in front of mine,” Fisher explained of his community service.

Fisher’s ticket received heavy backlash after he posted it on Facebook in the group “You know you grew up in Pocatello when…” However, the administrator took it down after the conversation apparently got too heated.

To highlight how caring of a man he is, Fisher posted to the group yesterday — apologizing for sharing his ticket in it and didn’t mean for it to start any controversy. Within that post, Fisher was praised by his neighbors and community for providing the service and the overwhelming majority of people are on his side.

“Sounds like they should fire a cop with too much time on his hands and use that money to hire a snowplow contractor,” said one neighbor.

“Inept city hacks hate competition. I saw a neighbor with a plow accomplish more in our neighborhood in 1/2 an hour than the city has all year,” said Facebook user Brad.

“The city refuses to clear the street, but punishes a good citizen for doing their jobs for them? Proof that in a police state, it is about collecting revenue. And NOT about protecting public safety,” said Scott.

Also, there is good news to this story as Fisher says he will not back down. “I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. I don’t care about the city,” he said.

According to Local 8, Fisher plans on fighting the ticket. However, even if he loses — he will continue to help.

“If it cost me 206 dollars a year so be it, I’ll have peace of mind knowing it helps them out,” Fisher said in the Facebook group.

It is quite heartening to hear of such resistance to petty tyranny. Unjust laws will remain unjust until they are disobeyed by good people like Fisher. Had brave individuals throughout history not risked imprisonment or worse to challenge tyrannical, racist, and immoral laws, society today, would be much less free.

Thank you, Mitch Fisher, for standing up for what is right.