The Pirate Life on Somalia’s Coast

by Josh Lew on

The BBC recently ran a feature about the pirates who have been terrorizing ships off Somalia’s coastline. These pirates make their money by capturing ships of all sorts, from cruise ships to freighters, and demanding a ransom. Are these guys modern day eye-patch-wearing rum-lovers? According to BBC reporter Robyn Hunter, they are ambitious young men who have found a niche and are exploiting it to ensure that they live the good life in a troubled country where half of the population relies on foreign food aid to survive.

A resident of Puntland, the semi-autonomous coastal area from which the pirates operate, gave Hunter the lowdown on the attraction of the pirate life:

“They have money; they have power and they are getting stronger by the day…They wed the most beautiful girls; they are building big houses; they have new cars; new guns…Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable. They have become fashionable.”

But the heyday for these cowboys of the Gulf of Aden may be coming to an end. Shipping companies are planning on hiring security contractors to guard ships passing through the area. That will significantly lessen the chance of pirates being able to take a ship and its crew hostage without a fight. It is doubtful though, that the presence of a few armed contractors will lessen the lure of the easy money of the pirate life.

New TSA rule aims to improve security and cut down on hassle

by Meg Massie on

Up until now, airline passengers have only been required to provide as much as their first initial and last name to get a plane ticket. However, due to the high rate of false matches to names on the government’s terrorist watch list, passengers will soon be required to provide their full name and birth date before they can fly.

If your name resembles a name on the watch list, you might get held up at security. It has happened to Senator Edward Kennedy as well as to numerous children, but the TSA says that if they have a full name and birth date for every passenger, they won’t get all the false matches they get with the current first initial and last name system.

Airlines have resisted because of the cost and hassle of updating their computer systems, but as of July 2009, full names will be mandatory. Travelers who book flights without giving all the required information will be unable to print or receive boarding passes until they confirm the missing information with an airline ticket agent.

While the TSA is confident that the new procedure will greatly reduce false matches, it’s not clear that it will actually improve security. Security expert Bruce Schneier says terrorists could get around the rule by buying a ticket using someone else’s name.

The Atlantic on the TSA’s “security theater”

by Grant Martin on

This month’s The Atlantic has an interesting article by Jeffrey Goldberg on the flaws and loopholes inside of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. In it, Goldberg tries to get to the bottom of why some of these ridiculous polices exist and how easy it is to get around them.

In on example, to circumvent the 3-1-1 liquid policy (where one is only allowed 3.4oz of any particular liquid onto an aircraft) he donned a beer belly and brought two full beers through the security checkpoint. He also manages to get through with multiple questionable items, including giant Hezzbollah flags, Osama Bin Laden t-shirts and other “dangerous” goods. Even when he’s trying to get caught.

Through these experiments, Goldberg asks the simple question: Why put these securities in place when they can be circumvented? And eventually he gets the chance to speak with Kip Hawley about this. The director of the TSA concedes that there are risks that still prevail, but also that they’re working on ways to tighten up security. From way Goldberg frames his article, it seems like they’ve got a lot of work left yet to do.

Drunk Man Tries to Hijack Turkish Airlines Flight

by Josh Lew on

A man on a Turkish Airlines flight from the resort town of Antalya, Turkey to the Russian city of St. Petersburg threatened to blow up the plane unless it was diverted. The man, who appeared to be drunk, approached a flight attendant and handed her a note to give to the pilot: “I have a bomb. If you don’t take me in (the cockpit) I will blow it up,” As he stumbled toward the front of the plane, he was overpowered by passengers. No explosives were found despite his insistence that there was a bomb strapped on his body. He appeared so inebriated that passengers did not take him seriously.

Turkish journalists have reported that the man was an Uzbek national, but his identity and true nationality have not yet been confirmed. After he was subdued, the plane continued on to its destination, though Turkish Airlines officials briefly considered setting it down immediately as a precaution. There were 167 passengers on board the aircraft, an Airbus A-320.

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Tell airport security what you think without getting into trouble

by Anna Brones on


For those that get upset while going through airport security, here’s a way to make yourself heard without getting pulled aside for questioning. Artist Evan Roth is working on a new project which will bring new excitement to your carry-on luggage. Pack that metal plate into your bag and the message will appear when x-rayed.

The project isn’t quite finished yet; Roth still needs an x-ray machine to test the plates out. If you happen to have access to an x-ray machine, he’ll give you a set of the plates in exchange for use of the machine. Find out how to email him here. Pretty humorous, although I don’t know how TSA officials will feel about it.

[Via Boing Boing]