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Somali pirates build up defences after making ransom demand

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MOGADISHU (AFP) — Somali pirates built up their defences around a captured Saudi Arabian super-tanker Friday after demanding a 25 million dollar ransom.

As foreign navies sent warships to Somalia’s dangerous waters and shipping companies sought alternative routes, extra clan militia and other fighters were brought in at the pirate lair of Harardhere, residents said.

“Some of them are inside the town and others are taking shelter in a nearby village and can be called if need be,” local resident Mohamed Awale told AFP. He said the fighters had come from neighbouring Gulgudud and Mudug regions.

Local militia and hardline Shebab fighters also arrived in Harardhere in what some residents said was a move to position themselves for a share of any ransom paid.

“There are two armed vehicles belonging to al Shebab. They have reached the town of Harardhere but there are no intentions of attacking the ship from here,” a Harardhere Islamist official told AFP by phone.

“There are many militiamen who have arrived in the town and they want to get a share from the pirates if the ransom is paid,” said Ahmed Abdullahi, a local elder. “They believe this ship is huge and the owner will pay a lot of money.”

The Sirius Star, the biggest ship ever hijacked, and its 100 million dollar load of oil was seized last Saturday and taken to Harardhere, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of lawless Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

The pirates on Thursday gave the owners 10 days to pay a 25 million dollar ransom.

Speaking from the tanker, a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said threatened “disastrous” consequences should Vela International, shipping arm of the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, fail to comply.

“The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous,” he said.

He did not specify the threatened action but the 330-metre (1,000 foot) long tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil.

Environmental groups have warned of a huge catastrophe if oil from the super-tanker was released.

Some experts have told AFP that the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship seized by the same pirates in September with a cargo of tanks and other weaponry, was booby-trapped by the hijackers.

With close to 100 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this year, the pirates now pose a growing threat to international trade.

Pirates with no confirmed links to bigger organisations and relatively modest means have seized ships of all sizes and in an ever-growing area.

Two speedboats with pirates armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-launchers seized the Saudi tanker in 16 minutes on Saturday, according to a military report obtained by AFP.

The United States said it would seek support at the United Nations for a resolution to tighten international measures against Somali pirates.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he was opposed to any negotiations with pirates.

“Like terrorism, it is an evil that has to be eradicated,” Prince Saud told reporters in Oslo.

In Nairobi, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed “everything must be done to eradicate piracy.”

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula warned that the current efforts to fight piracy are doomed if they not coordinated.

“It will be difficult to fight this criminal enterprise, we need to have a coordinated approach so that we are not all operating at individual country level because this is no longer an individual country issue,” he said.

The Indian frigate INS Tabar, one of dozens of warships from several countries protecting commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, sank a Somali pirate ship Tuesday after coming under fire.

Russia announced it would send more warships to combat piracy and also called for an international ground military operation to crush piracy.

After the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the pirates were now “out of control,” Arab nations bordering the Red Sea meting in Cairo on Thursday and pledged cooperation to end the threat — but offered few specifics.

Oslo-based Frontline Ltd, the world’s biggest oil tanker company, said that a more aggressive military approach was needed.

“I think that’s the only solution,” Martin Jensen, the company’s acting chief executive officer told AFP.

Other maritime groups have decided to steer clear of Somalia’s treacherous waters by diverting ships to the Cape of Good Hope, despite the extra delays and costs.

Danish group A.P. Moller-Maersk has ordered some vessels to re-route.

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Financial crisis could have happy ending

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By Andy Serwer,CNN Money.

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NEW YORK (Fortune) — I was thinking about the financial mess the other day and I came up with this theory. I’m wary of it because it’s comforting, even uplifting, and by definition any economic supposition that has a happy ending is suspect. So with that caveat here goes:

I remember talking to a wise man at the end of the last decade who was pointing out to me how much the market had gone up during the 1990s and how stocks couldn’t possibly continue to go up at that rate. The market’s historical annual mean gain is about 8%, and yet between 1990 and 2000 the market had climbed some 15% per annum.

There is only one way to revert to the mean, the wise man pointed out, and that is for the market to go up less than that for quite some time. So we were looking at low single digit gains – or worse – for years.

But how could that be, I asked? Remember, the world looked pretty damn good back then. Sure tech stock prices were ridiculous, but other than that, what could possibly make the market tank? I have no idea, the wise man said, it’s just very likely to happen.

And of course it did happen. First tech stocks crashed – and for sure, a few people saw that coming. But who envisioned the horror of 9/11 and its fallout? Who saw Enron, Worldcom and the wave of corporate scandals? Who saw Hurricane Katrina? And who saw this current financial meltdown. No one did. Back then our big concern was Y2K.

At the end of 1999 the Dow was around 11,400. Today the Dow is at 8,400, which means the index has fallen some 26%, a decline of almost 3% per year. With just one year left in this decade – even if 2009 is a humdinger – it is increasingly likely that first 10 years of this century will be one big washout for investors. A lost decade. (Just fyi, if the Dow had climbed up 8% a year from 11,400, the index would be over 22,000 now.) As for the Dow since 1990 – the entire 19-year period – the market has climbed on average some 6% per year.

The next big thing: Green tech?

So what does this mean for us going forward? Well, we don’t really know, but we can make assumptions. First, at some point the carnage will end. The government and the markets will somehow figure a way out of this mess. Stabilization and confidence will return, and the economy will recover.

Second, at some point stock price returns will revert back up to the mean. In fact, to revert to the mean, stocks will at some point have to exceed the mean, in other words go up more than 8%. I know it could be years off, but you see my logic. It’s just math.

And there’s the rub. I believe that in order for the market to achieve a sustainable advance that is above the mean, we are due for some unforeseen positive event or events. Think about it. In the 1990s stocks went way up because of an unanticipated revolution in technology, i.e., networking and the Internet. In this decade we had a slew of unexpected negative events – bookended by 9/11 and this current meltdown. At some point, and it may be a few years from now, we will likely be subjected to an unforeseen positive.

What will it be? Of course no one knows. If we did, it would be priced in. But you could see how something like this might work. Take, for example, the discovery of a sustainable energy source or sources. You can see the incredible boost this would be to our economy and our markets. Imagine the geopolitical benefits. (And how it might defang our enemies.) Imagine the boost to our national psyche. And on and on.

I know you might think this is wishful thinking. And, of course, it is. Right now we are in for the toughest slog we’ve had in decades. We are going to have sacrifice in unimaginable ways. It’s probably even true that George Soros is right and that we are at the end of the era of American dominance. (That’s okay. Who wants to dominate anyway?)

The bigger point is this: Somewhere over the horizon is an unrealized economic benefit that will lift us up in a way that right now, in the gloom, we can’t even imagine. We have much work to do in the meantime, but some day it will come.

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Reference:http://money.cnn.com/

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Lawyer: Michael Jackson to testify in London

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LONDON (Google AP) — Michael Jackson has agreed to appear in person at a London court to respond to a Bahraini sheik’s $7 million lawsuit, the singer’s lawyer said Thursday.

Jackson had asked to testify by a video link from the U.S. because of an unspecified illness. But his lawyer, Robert Englehart, informed the court Thursday that Jackson “has been cleared by his medical advisers to travel in two days’ time.”

The singer is scheduled to give evidence at the High Court on Monday.

Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the second son of the king of Bahrain, says Jackson reneged on a contract for an album, a candid autobiography and a stage play after accepting millions in advances. Jackson claims the money was a gift.

Jackson, 50, and the Bahraini royal first made contact when the King of Pop was fending off accusations of child molestation in California and Al Khalifa offered to help him. Once Jackson was cleared of the charges in June 2005, Al Khalifa invited him to the small, oil-rich Gulf state to escape the media spotlight.

Al Khalifa, an amateur songwriter, says the pair even moved into the same palace to work on music together.

But Jackson dropped the project in 2006, leaving Bahrain and pulling out of the contract. Al Khalifa’s lawyer says the sheik considered the move a betrayal.

The soft-spoken sheik took the witness stand Thursday, agreeing when Jackson’s lawyer described him as a “devoted fan of Western pop music” and an extremely wealthy man.

“I would see myself as somebody who is very fortunate, yes,” said Al Khalifa, 33.

He rejected Englehart’s suggestion that Jackson was emotionally and financially fragile. Part of Jackson’s defense is that the sheik took advantage of his vulnerability and lack of business acumen.

“Michael is an individual who is very switched-on,” Al Khalifa said. “He is a fantastic intellectual.”

“There’s nothing unusual about him?” asked Englehart.

“No,” Al Khalifa said.

The money at issue includes $1 million paid by Al Khalifa into the account of Jackson’s personal assistant, Grace Rwaramba, who is due to give evidence later.

“You are an exceptionally generous person,” Englehart told the sheik.

Al Khalifa replied “thank you,” but denied the $1 million had been meant as a gift.

“To me it was never seen as a gift,” Al Khalifa said. “Many a time he confirmed to me he would pay me back through our venture.”

Al Khalifa says he gave Jackson millions of dollars in all to help shore up his finances and subsidize Jackson’s lifestyle in the small Gulf state — including more than $300,000 for a “motivational guru.”

Al Khalifa’s lawyer, Bankim Thanki, said Al Khalifa considered the money an advance on the profits Jackson would reap from their pop music project.

Jackson’s lawyers are arguing that the musician wasn’t bound by the deal because the contract was signed on behalf of 2 Seas Records, a venture which never got off the ground.

The case is being tried in London by mutual agreement and is due to conclude early next month.

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Reference:http://www.google.com/

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The Glass Cliff: Are Women Leaders Often Set Up to Fail?

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by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

With the recent dismissal/demotion of Erin Callan (Lehman Brothers), Zoe Cruz (Morgan Stanley), and Sallie Krawcheck (Citi), a 2005 article in the British Journal of Management entitled “The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions” is being scrutinized anew.

In this article Michelle Ryan and Alexander Haslam confront the question: what sorts of jobs are women given when they finally make it into senior leadership positions? They make the case that more so than men, women are likely to find themselves on a glass cliff— dealing with situations that are seriously risky. In short, they are set up for failure.

Ryan and Haslam examine a study by Elizabeth Judge that purports to prove that when women are appointed to boards of directors they have a negative impact on a company’s financial performance. First they demolish the basis for Judge’s case – pointing to flaws in the underlying data. They then move on to propose an alternative explanation. In their words, “rather than the appointment of women leaders precipitating a drop in company performance … a company’s poor performance is a trigger for the appointment of women to the board.” Women then become lightening rods–blamed for negative outcomes that were set in train well before they assumed their new roles.

There is a certain amount of anecdotal evidence for this “glass cliff.” Most famously Carly Fiorina (Hewlett Packard), Kate Swan (W.H. Smith) and Patricia Russo (Alcatel-Lucent) were all appointed to top positions at a time of “tumbling share prices.”Not that women are uniquely drafted into crisis ridden situations–plenty of male leaders find themselves in equally rough waters–but women can be especially at risk.

Recent research points to a clear-cut difference between men and women’s ability to weather risk and failure. Data contained in a recent Harvard Business Review report (see The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology, June 2008) shows that when female executives wrestle with stormy weather and fail to right the ship corporate cultures can be unforgiving. Women leaders are seriously isolated, without mentors or sponsors or the equivalent of the “old boys’ network” they find it impossible to rally support in the wake of failure. More so than men they crash and burn. The Athena Factor research shows that a significant proportion of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) believe that when they fail they don’t get second chances.

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Reference:http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/

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Physicists Use Levitation To Solve a Sticky Problem

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Scottish physicists at prestigious St Andrews University have developed a method of making tiny objects levitate by reversing a mysterious force of nature. Normally when you hear that someone is using “the force” to levitate objects, you have to wonder if they’re a confused Star Wars fan trying to be a Jedi warrior. However, these scientists say they are only using their knowledge of real physics to create an incredible solution to a real engineering problem.

Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin have worked out how to turn the normally ‘sticky’ quantum force of empty space from attraction to repulsion using a specially developed lens placed between two objects.

“In order to reduce friction in the nanoworld, turning nature’s stickiness into repulsion could be the ultimate remedy. Instead of sticking together, parts of micromachinery would levitate,” explained Professor Leonhardt.

While it is also theoretically possible for humans to levitate, scientists are a long way off from developing the kind of technology needed for levitation on a larger scale.

“At the moment, in practice it is only going to be possible for micro-objects with the current technology, since this quantum force is small and acts only at short ranges. For now, human levitation remains the subject of cartoons, fairytales and tales of the paranormal,” cautions Leonhardt.

For smaller parts, the levitation will occur using a phenomenon called the “Casimir force”, which was predicted by quantum physicists back in 1948. It wasn’t proven to exist until scientists were finally able to measure it ten years ago. Scientists are still struggling to fully understand it.

The force is caused by a little understood quirk of nature which seemingly enables particles to “pop into existence” from out of nowhere. This creates a force that pushes together two objects placed very close to each other. It can also be demonstrated by a gecko’s ability to stick to a surface with just one toe.

Other scientists are eagerly taking notice of this fascinating research. The Scottish pair’s theory is now being examined by a leading American scientist, who plans to put the ideas into practice.  Dr Frederico Capasso, of Harvard University in the United States, is currently also working on ways to manipulate the Casimir effect. Philbin said, “We’ve shown him our work and he’s very interested.”

The technique has the potential to revolutionize nanotechnology and the design of micro-machines. The scientists predict their discovery will ultimately lead to frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate.

Because the Casimir force has little effect on everyday life—it is usually ignored. Nevertheless, it becomes an extremely important force when trying to develop tiny switches and micro-machines, since their components have a tendency to stick to each other.

Professor Leonhardt explains how controlling this force will revolutionize micro-engineering, “The Casimir force is the ultimate cause of friction in the nano-world, in particular in some micro-electromechanical systems. Micro or nano machines could run smoother and with less—or no friction at all—if one can manipulate the force.”

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Reference:http://www.dailygalaxy.com/

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Where business is booming

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By Jon Birger, senior writer

(Fortune Magazine) — Cold, landlocked, and boasting as its largest metropolis the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan may not be top of mind for most Americans. But the Canadian province is one of the richest spots in the world when it comes to natural resources. It’s the world’s largest producer of uranium. It’s the biggest producer of the fertilizer potash (current price: $1,000 a ton, up from $300 this time last year). It is the world’s largest exporter of green lentils and chickpeas. And it’s home to enormous supplies of oil and gas: The U.S. buys more oil from Saskatchewan than it does from Kuwait. No wonder the CEO of one Fortune 500 company – Jim Prokopanko of Mosaic, which has a potash mine near the town of Esterhazy – describes the prairie province as “the next sovereign wealth fund.”

Indeed, Saskatchewan – for the geography challenged, it shares its southern border with Montana and North Dakota – today enjoys Canada’s fastest-growing economy; its GDP is expected to rise 3.9% this year, compared with 0.9% for the country as a whole, and it has a $3 billion budget surplus. Entrusted with “not screwing it up” (his words) is Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, the pro-business conservative elected in 2007. Wall’s goal is actually much more than not screwing it up. He’s on a mission to tell Saskatchewan’s growth story at home and abroad.

I first met Wall – a glib and personable 42-year-old who’s as comfortable talking NFL football as he is quoting Thomas Friedman – when he was in New York City last spring to speak at an energy conference. He promised not to raise oil royalties, which won him a standing ovation from the bankers in the crowd.

But Wall’s top priority is at home: He needs to fix Saskatchewan’s labor shortage. An area the size of Texas, Saskatchewan has only one million residents. “For any business thinking about building a new mine or expanding an existing one, the top-of-the-list question [in Saskatchewan] is always going to be ‘Can we get the tradesmen?’” he says. Because of the shortage, Wall is reluctant to spend much money on new infrastructure projects, despite having the cash to do it. (The province doesn’t yet have a sovereign wealth fund, but Wall says it’s on his radar.)

Wall wants to grow the population 10% in ten years. So far, his government has launched splashy recruiting campaigns in Alberta, Ontario, and Manitoba, and has sent missions as far as the Philippines to recruit medical personnel.

In September Wall traveled to Toronto along with 50 Saskatchewan employers to sell the province at Canada’s national job fair. During breaks he delivered his sales pitch to reporters. “Saskatchewan is not just a great place to live, it is a great place to make a life,” Wall would say over and over to anyone with a notepad or a microphone, each time referring the listener to the 10,000 job openings listed at saskjobs.ca. (Diamond driller, salary $56,000, for example.)

Of course, life in Saskatchewan isn’t for everyone. The average high temperature in Saskatoon in November is 29 degrees Fahrenheit. The average low in January is 9 below. “We need to focus on finding people who are looking for an economic opportunity,” Wall says. But like any savvy marketer, he knows his limitations. “We have to be realistic,” he says. “We’d better not be going to anywhere with a warm climate saying, ‘Yes, but it’s a dry cold.’”

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Reference:http://money.cnn.com/

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