Got Internet, got News

1955-2011

Having free Panamanian supplied WiFi means I actually get to know a little about what’s going on in the world.
He was definitely a game changer and visionary. RIP
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Really interesting New York Times article on Somalia pirates and the taking of the British yacht Lynn Rival
Taken by Pirates

Navies from more than two dozen countries patrol Somalia’s coast, burning around a million dollars of fuel per day.
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Paul figures it was costing Buggas nearly $20,000 a month to hold them hostage: with around $300 per day spent on khat; $100 a day on goats; maybe a couple hundred more for tea, sugar, powdered milk, fuel, ammunition and other supplies. Then there’s payroll— in the Chandlers’ case, cash for the pirate raiding party and their 30 henchmen who rotated as guards on shore. On top of this come the translators, who charge a hefty fee to interact with the hostages and negotiate a ransom.

After Somalia’s central government collapsed 20 years ago, the 1,900-mile coastline became an unpatrolled free-for-all, with foreign fishing trawlers descending to scoop up Somalia’s rich stocks of tuna, shark, whitefish, lobster and deep-water shrimp. With no authorities to fear, the fishing boats were especially unscrupulous and used heavy steel drag nets that wiped out the marine habitat for years. Somali piracy was born when disgruntled fishermen armed themselves and started attacking the foreign trawlers. They soon realized they could attack any ship and get a ransom for holding the crew hostage.

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You’ve heard the saying ‘We’re from the government and we’re here to help you’. Well looks like Google has taken over that position: ‘Trust me, I’m from Google’
Google's "Trusted Stores"
Paul