Pirate Prison

What is the point of thwarting a hijacking of a tanker by pirates off the Somali coast and then releasing them so they can try again tomorrow?

The Huffington Post reports: Special forces on a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on an oil tanker but later freed the 19 men. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, another band of pirates hijacked a cargo ship.

19 men? OK. Many nations are spending millions of dollars running warships aimed at interdicting pirates and protecting commerce in the waters off Aden and Somalia. When these forces catch hijackers in process, what do they do? The Portuguese and Canadians release them.

That is insane. Is there no international law against which these men can be held? What's the point of catching them if you then enable them for another day?

Right now piracy pays pretty well, and there's little risk. What we know is these guys are becoming more sophisticated and shipping companies are willing to pay ransom.

So how do we turn this piracy business into a lose-lose for them?

Here is the CIA playbook on Somalia:
1. Appoint Dick Cheney as a special envoy to Somalia. Give him free reign.
2. Get Sylvester Stallone to lead a team of warriors to take out the nucleus of the piracy operation.
3. Install and empower a powerful War Lord to command order among the lawless by any and all means.

The common sense solution - development - seems to be a difficult one. Somalia lacks a credible government and an economy and this piracy thing seems to be working. But where do you store tens of millions of dollars in ransom once it's paid? Do the pirates have credit cards or accounts at Citibank? Do we have any pirate spies infiltrating the operation?

This whole piracy thing defies logic. Still, there has to be a solution. How about a setting up a United Nations Pirate Prison? Or appointing Vladimir Putin as UN Special Piracy Czar? I vote for Putin.

NY TIMES: Transcendence-Race Inspired by Sri Chinmoy

The New York Times blog today featured runners in a multi-day race inspired by my Guru Sri Chinmoy who believed that sports can be a powerful means of unlocking personal capacity. Over the years, Sri Chinmoy and his students have organized countless running races and triathlons, including a 3,100 mile race and this week's Self-Trancendence Six and Ten Day Races where ultra-distance runners can clock over 90 miles a day, generally averaging 50 to 70 miles every 24 hours. Props to my friend Viddyut Ballmer, a violinist I perform with in the Bay Area, who is running sixth among men in the Six Day Race.

I am personally not built for the ultra-distance format; running around a loop was never my cup of tea. Still, I did engage the concept of 'Trancendence' daily but my explorations were in expanding the physical scale, size and scope of projects and programs. In particular, I applied Sri Chinmoy's teachings to creating and organizing the world largest relay run for peace (now named World Harmony Run), in my work for clients at my public relations firm, and in my own music with friends like Viddyut. And I wrote about expanding personal capacity in this prior post.

The idea that we can achieve unbelieveable results if we simply believe it and do it is fundamental to many belief systems, including The Law of Attraction and The Secret, both of which reinorce a belief system that Sri Chinmoy enabled in me and for which I'm profoundly grateful.

And I admire all the 80 or so runners - many of my friends actually - who are out there to experience, know and live the Infinite and unlimited Bliss called Transcendence. Sri Chinmoy's Spirit and Joy are living through the experience of these runners who remind us that everything is possible if we simply go forward and believe in infinite possibilities.

Read more.

Reigning in Credit Card Companies and How They Gouge Consumers

Ever missed a payment on your credit card? I rarely do, but many hard working families are struggling to make ends meet. Some are relying on credit cards to feed their families and cover rent.

Credit card companies successfully lure in customers with zero or low interest deals and then, once you've accrued thousands of dollars in credit, your interest rates rise either by default or penalty. If you're late on just one payment either through error or circumstance, you're completely screwed forever because your penalty is often an interest rate rise of 10-30 per cent. That is how credit card companies gouge consumers. Lure them in and soak them for every dollar they can

Those days are over...well they will be as of July 2010. The Obama Administration and the House have approved The Credit Card Bill of Rights - legislation that will eliminate sudden increases in interest rates and late fees, prohibit so-called double-cycle billing and retroactive rate hikes and would prevent companies from giving credit cards to anyone under 18.

This is a good deal. Except the bill should take effect immediately and I hope the Senate pushes the implementation date forward. July 2010 is too long to wait - especially if you're facing down 27% interest in a credit card balance of $12,000 a year.

TESLA Model S: Reserve Yours Today

Tesla: the only electric car that operates like a high performance car, had its debut with David Letterman. The Tesla Model S goes for $49,900 and you can reserve yours today for delivery in 2011. It runs over 300 miles on a 45 minute charge, and goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds. And there are some federal and, in some parts of the country, state tax incentives for owners of alternative fuel vehicles like Tesla.

I remember when I felt helplessly surrendered to the reality of the Bush/Cheney administration as they destroyed the nation and decimated the Constitution.

With the Obama team, we are liberated. I get a similar feeling with Tesla in terms of the enslavement we have to have to gas. Tesla means no more gas!

So where can I plug it in for a recharge? That's the next challenge: charging stations. Stay tuned on this one. I like Tesla.

A Very Competent White House: I Agree

Assessing Obama's first 100 days is David Brooks: "This has been a very, very competent White House... They've negotiated a lot of tricky issues... in a sophisticated way. They've corrected for some mistakes."

A far cry from the Bush White House - a bunch of incompetent fools - in retrospect.

Read Bob Burnett's great piece in the Huffington Post.

Flu Viris: Overkill or Prudence

Why are we taking the H1N1 Flu Virus so seriously? Why is it the story of the moment?

Well, in Mexico where this appears virus was born, the number of confirmed swine flu deaths increased to 12 today, from eight yesterday, with 270 confirmed cases of human infection. Those are scary numbers especially for a disease with no cure.

In the USA we have 109 confirmed cases in 11 states with one unfortunate death, according to the daily tracking of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So, the World Health Organization, the CDC and the White House, have done the needful. They have given adequate attention to the problem as a way of preventing the uncontrolled spread of the H1N1 virus. Obama even requested $1.5 billion in funds and put a bunch of pandemic management protocols into place to position Tamiflu and make it available to states as needed. And several US governors have already declared health emergencies as a way of activiting additional personnel and other resources. More than 300 schools are closed in the USA until we get a handle on the virus. President Obama even opened his news conference last night with preventive measures for families.

Why? Because this virus has already killed too many people and there's no cure. Makes sense to me because I've got a cold which a friend spread to me, and I'm trying hard not to spread it to anyone else.

Still, this is such a big story. Why? Simple: The 24 hour cable news channels are a giant amplification system for sensational stories like this. They turn the stories into a mystery and conduct endless interviews with health officials seeking to understand the problem, and analyze the responses by government leaders. Some networks even fan fear as a way of selling their coverage. And with 24 hours to fill on so many cable channels, Fox, CNBC, CNN, and MSNBC need lots of stories. So there's a bit of overkill on the flu story, agreed.

I'd still much prefer an over-reactive government going to war on a flu virus vs. bombing the hell out of Iraq. Obama and team have their priorities in order on this one.

We Must Investigate Bush/Cheney

I think Congress or some body of government must investigate the Bush Administration's arrogant use of executive power and war crimes. I don't buy the argument that we cannot survive it. We need to cleanse the system of the kinds of corruption that enabled the Bush/Cheney crowd to pull a coup, fake the evidence for war, torture, and enrich their Enron, Halliburton, Oil Company, and Blackwater pals.

I definitely agree with John Nichols who wrote in The Nation:

On the matter of presidential accountability, the House has been less than it should be ever since. The chamber that refused to hold Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and their henchmen to account for Iran/Contra abuses--and that took impeachment "off the table" even after revelations that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney had committed acts that former White House legal counsel John Dean identified as "worse than Watergate"--has remained a bystander as successive presidents have engaged in ever more sinister abuses of authority.

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Constitution subcommittee, who has long urged Congress to get more serious about checking and balancing executive excess, is now rightly arguing that evidence of the Bush administration's complicity in torture must be addressed. "Horrible abuses were committed in the name of the American people, and we cannot look the other way or just 'move on,'" he says. But Congress must also confront its own complicity: members must recognize that their repeated refusals to address abuses by sitting and former presidents have facilitated a breakdown in the constitutional order.

From Senator Robert Byrd: Our Obligation to Investigate

G.E.’s Breakthrough Can Put 100 DVDs on a Disc

Trends to watch: batteries becoming stronger, more elaborate and available in rechargeable formats. And data storage: GE has invented a holographic storage format that can store 100 DVDs on one disc. Wow!

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Coryell, Mouzon and DeFrancesco

I think back to the superb trios and a few bands that I've heard in concert and a few amazing concerts come to mind: pianist Bill Evans in NYC with Paul Motian (drums) and Scott LaFaro (bass), guitarist Jimi Hendrix with Mitch Mitchell (drums) and Noel Redding (bass), ensembles like guitarist John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Beatles, any ensemble with Pat Metheny, and the list goes on.

I recently heard an amazing trio that blew my mind so much that I caught all 4 of their performances at Yoshi's in San Francisco. The group was Larry Coryell (guitar), Joey DeFrancesco (organ) and Alfonse Mouzon (drums).

My connect to Larry goes back to the 70s. Larry was one of my fave guitarists, and among a few musicians who gave birth to jazz/rock fusion. What I did not know the late 60s was Larry was a devotee of my Guru Sri Chinmoy. Larry also was a mentor to John McLaughlin who also became devotee, and came to great fame as the leader of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a name given to him by Guru Sri Chinmoy.

This summer Coryell may tour with Joey and Alfonse. Catch it if you can!!!