News for November 20
November 20, 2008 by Barbara
Filed under News and Analysis
Testing the Waters
The international maritime community is scrambling to deal with Somali pirates, who Tuesday hijacked a Saudi oil tanker carrying about $100 million in oil. The pirates are asking a $25 million ransom for the crew, which includes personnel from various nations. News organizations worldwide have been examining piracy in international waters and the current crisis. BBC News’ site on Somalia is particularly good, providing an in-depth Web portal with up-to-date information about the crisis, Somalia’s history and people, and views on what’s in store for the country and the region. Other links include:
Associated Press | “Somalia’s increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women — even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages. And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.”
Democracy Arsenal | “Implications for maritime terrorism aside, the cost of negotiating and retrieving hijacked cargo ships is a growing problem and one that will challenge both the Bush and Obama administrations sooner than either would have probably liked.”
CSMonitor.com | “The pirates’ recent seizure of a Ukrainian ship transporting military hardware and a Saudi oil supertanker has prompted the world to take action, with many countries sending warships to patrol the area around the Somali coast and Gulf of Aden. A longer-term solution may prove simpler and less costly: Forget about freight and focus on fishing. … This option will address a root cause of the piracy problem, rob the modern-day buccaneers of their legitimacy, and be more acceptable to the region as an enduring part of the solution.”
Foreign Policy Passport | “The International Chamber of Commerce’s Commercial Crime Services have created a live map showing pirate attacks around the world, as they are reported to the International Martime Bureau. The map shows only attacks from 2008.”
Fatal Flaws in Gas Lines | Truthout
This week, Bill Moyers Journal and Exposé: America’s Investigative Reports present an investigative story on tragic accidents resulting from natural gas explosions. The report is part of Blueprint America, a PBS-wide series on the nation’s infrastructure.
- Related link: A Reporter’s Journey Through the Gas Fields | ProPublica
- Related link: Piling Up Monuments of Waste | New York Times
Why is Brazil Ahead of the US … Fuel | Angry Bear
Now, you may be wondering – how come the Brazilians have tri-flex fuel cars? Why will GM and Ford and Volkswagen sell those vehicles in Brazil but not in the US? Wouldn’t having such vehicles help reduce our dependence on oil? Heck, forget even about gasoline and ethanol – the US and Canada are among the largest producers of natural gas in the world, and as a result, the price of natural gas is lower in the US than most places in the world. Why don’t we even see vehicles running on natural gas, other than the odd city bus or garbage truck in random municipalities?
Fixing Media Problems | GetReligion.org
I love how stories dealing with media bias always paint journalists as the good guys. Imagine a story about some major problem at Enron or in the Bush Administration where it was just asserted that the hearts and motivations of the players were good . . . but some external factor was to blame for the malaise. … But why should we trust the media to tell us that their bias isn’t a problem? Aren’t they somewhat compromised?
At Finish, Bush Faith-Based Initiative Gets Mixed Reviews | The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy
In the final months of George W. Bush’s presidency, reviews are mixed on the Administration’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which has fundamentally altered the government’s strategy to assist America’s poor since 2001. Amid the grumbling of critics and the glowing accolades of supporters, most observers agree that despite relatively little national media attention or general recognition by the American public, the Initiative has become so embedded in government that its impact will carry over into future administrations.
Barbara Schwartz is the editorial director at the Xenia Institute. She lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., and currently is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
