TresSugar

Front Page: Thousands Protest in Thailand, Sudan Hijackers Free Hostages, Decline in Number of Uninsured

CitizenSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:57:07 -0700

Thousands Protest in Thailand:
Thai police are trying to remove anti-government protesters who have taken over the prime minister's compound. The protesters are vowing to stay on the grounds until the prime minister, now living in self-imposed exile in London after corruption charges, steps down. The protests started yesterday with more than 30,000 people taking to the streets.

Sudan Hijackers Free Hostages:
Hijackers who seized an airplane leaving the Darfur region of Sudan yesterday have freed all 95 passengers, but six crew members remain onboard. Forcing the plane to land in Libya, one of their demands is for asylum rights and refugee status. Negotiations are ongoing to free the remaining crew members.

Decline in Number of Uninsured:
After rising for six years, the number of Americans without health insurance has dropped by more than a million. The Census Bureau reports that 45.7 million are uninsured. The drop is a result of government-sponsored health insurance programs, particularly those aimed at children. The number of people covered by private insurance continued to decline.

Here Comes a Book About a 9/11 Hijacker and His Stripper

LibertySugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:00:53 -0700

Novelist Andre Dubus III wanted to write a book about a stripper. Instead he ended up telling a story about sordid events leading up to September 11, 2001.

At the center of the 535-page novel - The Garden of Last Days - sits Bassam, one of the 9/11 hijackers, who spent time at a Florida strip club four days before the attack. The story follows a few other characters as well, including a stripper who takes her child to work while she dances for the would be terrorist, a drunk patron, and an elderly landlady.

In a note to book reviewers, the author explains his motivation for telling this story:

In the weeks after that brutal September morning, we began to learn something of the hijackers. We learned that many of them had trained in Florida, that they'd been seen visiting strip clubs. This was confusing. How could these young men be self-described holy warriors but also frequent strip clubs? But what lingered for me even more than this was the image of cash on a bedroom bureau in Florida, money earned by a woman who'd danced for one or more of them.

Are you intrigued by the internal struggles of a 9/11 hijacker and the stripper who danced for him? Will this appeal for even minimal empathy change the way readers think about terrorism?

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A Pirate's Life For Me! Hijackers Bring Boom to Somalian Towns

LibertySugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:30:35 -0800

In chaotic Somalia, economic stimulus packages come in the form of pirate booty. The country's weak central government cannot stop rogue seamen from hijacking huge commercial ships and demanding millions of dollars in ransom. Right now, these pirates are asking for a record $10 million in exchange for a Saudi oil tanker carrying over $100 million worth of cargo.

Thanks to the surge of cash, pirates bring a surge of commerce most places they go. CNN reports on life in the pirate-centric towns:

Savvy Somalians have created a pirate economy, selling cigarettes, food, and orange soda to pirates coming back to shore daily.
Since pirates often take things without paying, sellers have set up a special credit program for them, hoping to be reimbursed when the ransoms come in.
Formerly destitute towns are now lively centers filled with restaurants, luxury cars, and cyber cafes.
More income has allowed residents to purchase generators that provide day-long electricity, previously unattainable.
Pirates treat their captives well, hiring caterers to cook Western favorites like spaghetti and grilled fish.

Can you think of any way for pirates to channel their capabilities toward positive contributions to Somalian society that doesn't involve pillaging and plundering?

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Front Page: Pirates Anchor Largest Oil Rig Ever Hijacked

LibertySugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:17:15 -0800

A giant Saudi oil tanker seized by Somali pirates Saturday has been anchored off the coast of Somalia. The cargo in the biggest tanker ever hijacked is estimated to be worth $100 million. - BBC News
US officials warned lawmakers that more economic aid is urgently needed, even though the Bush administration has decided not to spend more of the $700 billion bailout funds approved in October. Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared at a congressional hearing today, where they described a gloomy economic situation and defended their actions. - New York Times

Washington DC officials are preparing for as many as four million people to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama, a tally four times larger than any other event. The city hopes to avoid a situation similar to the 1976 bicentennial, when millions were stranded in cars and buses for hours. - Washington Post
Finland's government plans to raise the alcohol tax by 10 percent, not to raise money but to discourage heavy drinking. Officials say alcohol is the country's most common cause of death.- AP

The Devil Walks Prada

GiggleSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:17:16 -0700

Well, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. Sacha Baron Cohen is up to some new tricks. Instead of just punking Spring Break yahoos in Miami, he's going after Milan Fashion Week designers! Somehow, he got backstage access to the other Prada show in Milan and walked the runway until startled (and I imagine, pissed off) fashionistas gave him a well-heeled boot. All this for his upcoming movie Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America For the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male. And honestly - I can't wait! Go Bruno! (To read more about his antics at Milan's Fashion Week, click here.)

Church of England Reaches Out to Those "Living in Sin"

TresSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Accepting that modern couples may be turned off by traditionally rigid morals, the Church of England is making an effort to welcome families who have had children out of wedlock.

Today, the Church unveiled a new "hatch and match" service that offers a two-for-one wedding and baptism ceremony. Now couples can get married and have their children baptized all in one day!

But not everyone is happy by the Church's effort to stay relevant. Some argue that it condones having children before marriage, while another member of the faith said: "It's a shame that what should be a bride's day now stands to be hijacked by screaming kids."

The Church hopes the new offering will atone for the tradition of shunning unmarried mothers by welcoming them back into the Church without judgment. Now let's just see if the women (and their partners and children) will take the offer.

Source: Flickr User Cornell University Library

Front Page: Hillary Clinton to Mexico as Drug Violence Rises

CitizenSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:03:56 -0700

Just in time for Spring Break, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will head to Mexico today to discuss plans to curb exploding drug-related violence. - Washington Post
Illinois ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich guest hosted a Chicago radio show this morning, telling listeners that he was hijacked from office. - AP
A rise in factory orders, after six months of decline, is the latest glimmer of economic hope. - New York Times
President Obama will soon name a task force charged with overhauling the US tax code. - Bloomberg
Applications to refinance existing mortgages were up 41.5 percent last week, after the Fed announced historically low interest rates. - Wall Street Journal

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Front Page: Taiwan Arrests Its Former Leader

CitizenSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:00:06 -0800

The ex-president of Taiwan was detained by his country's police on charges of corruption and money laundering today. The defiant Chen Shui-bian raised his handcuffed hands above his head while shouting “Long live Taiwanese independence."- New York Times
In his White House meeting with Barack Obama, President Bush indicated that he would support another economic stimulus package, which includes aid to the auto industry, if the Democrats stopped opposing the Colombian free-trade agreement. - International Herald Tribune
Somalian pirates captured a Philippines chemical tanker, carrying 23 crew members, marking the 83rd hijack in Somalian waters this year. - Associated Press

After the Mars Lander ran out of batteries last week thanks to a dust storm, NASA announced that the mission has ended. - CNN
The surrogate grandmother in Ohio that gave birth to her triplet grandchildren last month, told Good Morning America that she is feeling fine, and was happy to serve as his daughter's surrogate at the age of 56. - Associated Press

Front Page: Foreclosures Grow by 70%, US Hands Province to Iraqis, Pirate Attacks Up 75%

CitizenSugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:58:31 -0700

Foreclosures Grow by 70%:
The number of homes in a state of foreclosure grew 70 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared with the same time last year. Almost 766,000 homes received at least one foreclosure related notice between July and September. By the end of the year it's thought there will be a million bank-owned properties for sale, or a third of all houses on the market.

US Hands Province to Iraqis:
Iraqis have been given control of security of the province of Babil by the US military. This marks the 12th of 18 provinces to be given back to Iraqi control. Babil has seen much sectarian violence including a clash two days ago between militants and tribesmen which killed 15 people.

Pirate Attacks Up 75%:
On the Ukranian arms ship hijacked by Somali pirates, food and water are running low. So far only $1 million has been collected toward the pirates' initial $20 million ransom demand. Pirate attacks are up 75 percent this year off the coast of Somalia. A NATO flotilla is sailing to the waters now to begin anti-piracy operations in the next few days.

Source

International Flotilla, Maybe Mercenaries, to Take on Pirates!

LibertySugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:00:23 -0700

Warships from 10 countries are joining together to take on some of the world's most dangerous, and successful, pirates. (Can you say "arrrrrrrr" in 10 languages?) Not even the presence of US military vessels is enough to prevent these hijackers from seizing commerce ships, grabbing booting, and demanding ransoms.

Since 250 international ships use the pirate-infested waters to move goods each day, the world's trading powers worry that it could be too expensive to conduct business. The pirates also pose a threat of increased terrorism, as they use their proceeds, as much as $30 million this year, to fund more crime and extremist groups.

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But officials in Somalia, which has a weak central government, have little faith in the flotilla. To see who they might hire to fight the pirates, read more.

An adviser to the Somalian president said: "I don't think they will succeed in their attempt to scare away pirates, Bringing warships will not solve the problem unless they cooperate with local administrations affected by the scourge." Well guess who the Somalia government is thinking of bringing in? Mercenaries. And the paid-fighters from none other than Blackwater, the company at the center of scandals in Iraq, have volunteered to do the job.

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