The First Test between Australia and South Africa is a fascinating contest as both teams strive for dominance. Before lunch on the fourth day it is clear that Australia has now clearly gained the upper hand and a tremendous lead over South Africa that is fast approaching 400.
The stars for Australia in this match have been Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin, though it has been a team effort. The only exception has been Matthew Hayden who is still struggling for form and has perhaps reached that point in his career when retirement has perhaps become the clear choice for his immediate future.
BELOW: Report on Mitchell Johnson at the end of the second day (Same footage in both videos)
Somali pirates have captured yet another large ship off the coast of Somalia. This time the ship was carrying military hardware and supplies to the Kenyan government. The Ukrainian freighter had 33 T-72 battle tanks on board, as well as grenade launchers and ammunition bound for the Kenyan military in a legal arms purchase. The shipment is valued at about $30 million dollars.
The ship is called the ‘Faina’ and has a crew of 21 sailors from Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.
When the ship was nearing the Kenyan port of Mombasa, about 320 km from land, it was surrounded by three speed boats with armed Somali pirates on board.
The Somali coast is infested with pirates, with estimates suggesting that there are up to 1 000 pirates operating in the region. Pirates have seized some 25 vessels this year and attacked at least another 25, with 14 vessels still being held by pirates.
In my opinion it is high time, indeed beyond time, to crush the pirates of Somalia. According to reports there are now US and Russian warships patrolling the region. But more needs to be done, with a relentless campaign needed to remove the pirate problem.
Currently vessels are being held for ransoms that on most occasions are being paid. By paying the pirates, the pirate problem is only being encouraged. The pirates must be stopped – not only off Somalia, but in all areas in which they operate, including Nigeria, Aden, Indonesia, etc. Perhaps a force under the direction of the UN Security Council is what is required.
Yes you read the title of this post correctly – there is a major crime wave in Sydney that warrants a massive redirection of funds. According to news reports today, a number of Sydney local governments are keen to test dog droppings with DNA technology in order to crackdown on owners who refuse to clean up after their dogs.
Dog owners are required to pick up dog droppings here and this is generally done by disposable gloves (or the like) and a plastic bag that dog owners take with them when walking the dog. The owners are then required to dispose of the waste in a responsible manner. However, it seems that a number of dog owners just can’t bring themselves to clean up after their dogs – perhaps these owners are simply above doing this type of thing or maybe they can’t stomach doing so.
Dogs are currently required to have an identification microchip installed (for want of a better word) and under the proposed DNA testing scheme, they would then also be DNA tested so that their records are kept on a database. With this done, dog droppings could be DNA tested and the results cross referenced with the database. The owners of offending dogs would then be easy to track and revenue increased for local councils (oops, did I suggest that this was a revenue raising scheme) through the issue of a fine.
According to Sarah Palin, Vice Presidency candidate for the Republican Party in the United States, she is a foreign policy expert because she lives in Alaska – close to Russia. This is because Alaska’s ‘next-door neighbours are foreign countries.’
There are now increasing calls for Palin to resign her candidacy as she seemingly becomes an increasing embarrassment. Observers believe her to be ‘out of her league.’
Palin has been struggling in media interviews and has apparently been making a fool of herself. Perhaps she is another George Bush in the making?
Random Thoughts 