Tell Me On A Sunday
Posted by KozwellApr 19
NATO Versus the Pirates
We start our journey Nairobi, Kenya, where NATO forces rescued 20 fishermen on Saturday. Those pesky pirates launched an attack in the Gulf of Aden, were let go because the NATO forces had no authority to arrest them.
Within the recent weeks the number of pirate attacks has increased four times the amount from back in 2003.They have attacked at least 80 boats this year and now hold 18 ships and their respective crews hostage.
The release displays the difficulties of stopping the piracy scourge off the Horn of Africa. There were 2 attacks that were reported on Saturday. The first was in the morning, where pirates hijacked a Belgian-flagged ship and piloted the ship slowly towards Somalia. The second attack came later on Saturday evening, when pirates fired upon a Marshall Island flagged tanker. The Handytankers Magic, was able to get away from the pirates using, “Speed and Maneuver.”
A Dutch frigate from the NATO force trailed the pirates to a Yemeni ship that the pirates were using as a home base. This ship would allow the pirates to extend their range of attacks. Still, the Dutch commandos were to free 20 fishermen and recover 7 automatic weapons and 1 rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at a London based Chatham House said, “NATO sees its main role as deterring and disrupting pirate activity” — not prosecuting brigands. Pirates plucked from the sea by foreign militaries are being tried abroad. French soldiers take pirates who have attacked French citizens to Paris; pirates who have attacked other nations are hauled to Kenya, such as the 11 seized Wednesday when the French navy found them stalking a Lebanese-owned ship. India took 24 suspects to Yemen, since half were from there. The Dutch took five suspects to Rotterdam, where they probably will be tried next month under a 17th-century law against “sea robbery.”
“When you weigh up the benefits — the huge money they can make — against the risks, the benefits are still worth it,” Middleton said. “Piracy has definitely pushed Somalia up the agenda to a place where it probably should have been 12 or 15 years ago. People are beginning to see the consequences of letting the country get into such a mess.”
Naked Kentucky Man Wielding Toilet Seat
Our next stop is Tucson, Arizona, where police say that Gary A. Decker,50, died several hours after officers had to use a Taser stun gun to subdue him. Decker, a resident of Kansas was staying in a downtown Tucson hotel, where police were called early Thursday morning because the staff heard loud banging and music coming from the room.
Sgt. Mark Robinson said that they had to use a pass key to get inside the room after Decker refused to open the door. Once inside they found the room ransacked, furniture broken, and Decker naked wielding the toilet seat he ripped off the toilet. They attempted to tase Decker, but it had no apparent affect. They eventually wrestled the man to the ground and placed him under arrest. Decker was originally in Tucson working as a temporary furniture liquidator.
Dramatic Rescue…For 7 Cows
Going across the pond to Burnham, England, 20 firefighters had complications attempting to save seven cows from a muddy English estuary. The rescue involved twenty firefighters and two hovercrafts on April 19th.
Investigators say that they believe the animals stampeded in the River Parrett in Somerset. The stampede may have been caused by possible gun fire. By the time the firefighters arrived, some of the cows were buried up to their neck in mud.
Firefighters used ropes and tractors drag the animals to dry ground. A Burnham Area Rescue Boat spokesman said the hovercraft were there to provided safety for the firefighters and helped herd the cows out of the river.
“The cattle were returned to their very grateful owner,” the spokesman said. “Throughout the rescue the RSPCA were in attendance, and, as far as we know, the cattle were none the worse for their ordeal. We used ropes, mud mats, tractors and other equipment to help free the trapped animals.”
Extreme Extermination
We close out today at the University of Victoria, were for many years they have been battling a losing battle against feral rabbits. The rabbit issue has gotten so out of hand that it is now spreading off campus.
No one at the university is aware of when the first rabbit appeared, but now they estimate there are over 1500 calling the school home. Now the university is getting demands from nearby neighbors, presuring the school to cull the animals.
“The Rodenator,” according to its U.S. Manufacture says, “it delivers a precisely measured mixture of propane and oxygen into the tunnel or burrow of invasive pests. This mixture is then detonated by the operator, causing an instantaneous underground shock wave of concussive force that eliminates the pests and in some (species specific) cases collapses some of the existing tunnel structure thus preventing immediate reinfestation.”
This option is causing heated debates and not surprisingly, animal rights advocates are upset about the university considering this device. The university says that it plans to try non-lethal approaches first.
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