Yes Again we fire up the engine pon we cruiser to head out inna deeeepa wata. Ayeee,,

we see dem deh a wait pon we.. lurkin and loomin fi di burn out.. we nah bend and we nah bow, we are BADGALS, Unnuh Nah Seet ! OVASTAND Dis -

from when we a come forth we nah come fi hol a place, we come fi fill the space..

A Liveliness deh bout today, and whey dem site it, dem know it mus hotta,, cau it follow serena inna thong. PUNASH Rule dis !

ever had something just disappear ?

like a webpage you built long ago, and used as a reference; and only linked to by way of another page ?

well Google is doing a lil house cleaning apparently…

they did’t notify their Googlepages users that pages would be deleted; and because of that some of ours have gone POOF !

how rude..

we wonder how they’d feel if nobody went to the main google.com site anymore.. and the internet just ate it up ?

anyway this is not about Google, this is about us moving the remaining pages to our own domain again, since we can’t trust google to do the right thing, when they’re our repository.

this is just a warning, if you have any google pages – quickly back them up and move them off google to a more friendly repository host , if you want them to continue to be accessable.

This is our Archive of What’s Left of our Podcast Site; that was on Google.

• Meet Johnny Ringo; the dancehall met Ringo and it was love at first site..

• Meet Organs of Trenchtown – was our First Organs Podcast

• Edi Fitzroy Meets Mama ASID – Our First Edi Fitzroy Podcast

• The Real Mikey Dread Meets Mama ASID – Our First Mikey Dread Podcast

• Bob Andy Meets Mama ASID - this is a compliation of two pods on Bob

• Remembering Lucky Dube - this is a memorial podcast which is still hot

• and of course Mama ASID Revealed..

Pirate Bwoy dem chop the numba, fi fear dem ticket soon punch. yeah Mon,  it soon done google

YOW !

Pirates have been holding the MV Faina off the town of Harardhere

Pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons have received a ransom and have left the vessel, reports from Somalia say.

The pirates seized the Kenya-bound MV Faina and its crew in September 2008.

They initially demanded a ransom of $20m (£14m), but reports suggest that a figure of $3.2m was agreed following months of negotiations.

The MV Faina was the highest-profile vessel held by pirates. The intended destination of its cargo was disputed.

The Kenyan government says the tanks, rocket launchers and small arms on board belong to it, but the manifest suggests the arms were heading for South Sudan.

‘Counting the haul’

Gunmen took control of the MV Faina and its crew of 20 on 25 September 2008 as it headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

It has since been moored off the town of Harardhere, along with a number of other vessels seized by the pirates.

MV FAINA Pirates seized the MV Faina on 25 September 2008 Cargo consisted of 33 T-72 tanks, rocket launchers and small arms Kenya says the cargo belongs to it; some reports say it was destined for South Sudan High stakes remain on Somali high seas Pirates reveal Sudan’s arms race

The US navy said a ransom appeared to have been dispatched on Wednesday and Mikhail Voitenko, said to be a spokesman for ship owner Vadim Alperin, later said that the pirates were “counting the haul”.

Early on Thursday groups of pirates began leaving the vessel, reports from Harardhere said. Representatives of the pirates then told journalists that the ship had been freed.

“We have released MV Faina. There were only three boys remaining and they delayed the release for one hour, but now the ship is free,” one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, told AFP news agency by phone.

“No huge amount has been paid, but something to cover our expenses,” he added.

Victor Shapovalov, the father of a senior officer on the ship, told the BBC Ukrainian Section that relatives did not have direct communication with the ship.

“We have direct contacts with other people,” he said. “[The crew] are alive, but whether they are in a good health, that is a big question.”

“I think that the negotiations lasted very long time – four months. But of course I am very happy with the result,” he said.

Cargo of weapons

The Russian captain of the ship died shortly after the seizure – apparently of a heart attack.

The rest of the crew – 17 Ukrainians, two Russians and a Latvian – were healthy and safe, a statement from the Ukrainian presidency said, and the ship would head to Mombasa under the protection of the US navy.

A number of warships from foreign navies had been diverted to the area to monitor the situation, in part to ensure that the cargo of weaponry did not get into the hands of Somali insurgents.

Once the ship is under way, the focus is likely to shift to its cargo of weapons and its final destination, says the BBC’s Peter Greste in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The Kenyan government would be highly embarrassed to be found supplying arms to South Sudan, analysts say.

It was Kenya that helped broker an end to the civil war between South Sudan and the government in Khartoum in 2005.

Somali waters are among the most dangerous for pirate activities in the world.

Last year pirates in the area collected an estimated total of $50m (£35m) in ransom. But a recent BBC investigation has found that it costs as much again to negotiate and deliver these ransoms.

Pirates in Somalia are making a fortune by hijacking ships and demanding ransoms to set them and their crews free – one official estimates the total this year to be around $150m.

There are conflicting reports about how much they want for the Saudi oil tanker they seized last month, the Sirius Star, and its cargo of two million barrels of oil, but how do you negotiate and deliver a pirate ransom in the 21st Century?

The owner hires people to take the money… for the handover of the big bags of cash. Same like the movies. Fahid Hassan, Harardhere

From what can be gleaned – how the negotiations run their course and how the ransoms are paid – what goes on would be worthy of a Hollywood action movie script.

“No matter what process is taken, they always go through a middleman,” advises BBC Somali service analyst Said Musa. “And trust is at the heart of everything.”

Fahid Hassan, who has experience of the negotiations, says that after boarding the ship, the first step for the pirates is to make contact with its owners.

“All the important documents are there on the ship, so the pirates can know easily all the information they need,” he says.

“The talks are by telephone, mostly satellite phone but sometimes even SMS/text messages are sent. The pirates do not negotiate themselves. They hire someone and often this person is a relative; someone they can trust.”

See satellite images showing the hijacked super-tanker, Sirius Star Enlarge Image

“For the Sirius Star, there are two negotiators. Sometimes they are on the ship, sometimes they are in town. The negotiator must work and work and work to get the money which is a very difficult job. It is very difficult to please the owner and please the pirates,” he adds.

“But once the money is delivered the negotiator gets a share, the same as a pirate. Everyone on the ship gets an equal share.”

Mr Hassan says that in the past, the ransom was delivered by money transfer, but that now owners hire a third party to hand over the money directly.

“They come onto the ship or the pirates get onto their boat for the handover of the bags of cash,” he says.

“The men who bring the money then go; they leave the ship to let the pirates count and check. Some of the pirates have counting machines and also machines to detect fake notes.”

Security firms

Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House, says the ship-owners hire professionals, from specialist negotiators to private security firms, to transfer the ransoms.

‘World only cares about pirates’ On patrol with the pirate hunters Q&A: Somali piracy

“They are mostly ex-SAS and British or Australian. A lot are also South African,” he says.

Not much more is known for certain, however, as it is an unwritten rule among members of such firms that there are no kiss-and-tell stories.

Understandably, those involved are also aware of the needs of their clients and the strict demand for secrecy with people’s lives being at stake.

However, Mr Middleton says that such operations cost about $1m, not including the ransom.

“The professional negotiators, acting on behalf of the ship owners, get about $100,000 for their services and the lawyers receive a fee of about $300,000 for ensuring that the shipping companies are not putting themselves in any dubious positions,” he explains.

Regarding what goes on behind closed doors, be it the negotiations and the legal and insurance matters as a result of these hijackings, Mr Middleton says it would be fair to say that, “most of it happens in London,” he adds.

Gavin Simmonds, head of international affairs at the British Chamber of Shipping, agrees this assumption is “highly likely” as London is the centre of the global maritime industry.

“It seems perfectly plausible that the actual facilitation of ransom money is being done by London-based insurers,” he says.

However, Mr Simmonds says he has also heard rumours that some exchanges have taken place in Dubai.

Bags of cash

The pirates ask that the ransom is all in used dollar bills – normally $50 or $100 notes – according to those with experience of such negotiations.

Kenyan sailor Athman Said Mangore, who was held captive for more than 120 days by Somali pirates, says they are known to make many demands and put in place a number of restrictions.

Pirates have generally treated the crew they seize well – so they are paid

“They sometimes say they want $208,000 exactly in $100 bills only,” he says.

“I don’t know why they make those demands. They usually also don’t like dollar bills that were printed in 2000 or the years before. If it was printed in 1999, they say: ‘This is not fit to be used in our shop’,” he adds.

Once the ship’s owners have sourced cash, a private security firm takes over.

They then hire a tug boat, often from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, which they take further north up the coast towards Somali waters.

The security personnel then board the boat with the bags of cash and enough weaponry to keep it safe.

When the ransom has been paid, the pirates are left to count the money and are allowed to leave the vessel freely.

“The navies in the Somali waters of course must have a pretty good idea of what goes on, as they have spy drones and they are watching the hijacked vessels,” Mr Middleton says.

“Whether there’s any coordination between the ransom payers and the navies is unknown.”

The BBC’s Joseph Odhiambo in Mombasa says that on at least two prior occasions the ransom money was delivered to the hijacked vessels via air-drops.

He also says that other payments were flown from Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, into Somalia on cargo planes transporting the stimulant, khat.

No-one knows how long it will be until the Sirius Star is set free, but it is fair to say the ransom negotiations will be both complicated and delicate, with its cargo believed to be worth $100m.

And the families of its 25 crew members, who are being held hostage, will be hoping that the pirates stay true to their word that they have no intention of harming them.

A Russian tanker which has just arrived in Kenya’s Mombasa port bears the scars of a recent clash with pirates.

Below the wheelhouse there is a window missing and a dirty great stain where it used to be.

The damage was caused by a rocket-propelled grenade, just one of many daily attacks that threaten shipping throughout the region.

As the Russian ship docked, three cargo vessels chartered by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) were heading out to sea – the start of a seven-day voyage towards Mogadishu.

These days most freighters stay well clear of the Somali coast, but these ships are carrying vital food aid for some three million people.

Pirates hit the Russian tanker with a rocket-propelled grenade

The journey will take these three ships 500 miles (804km) through what is now considered the most dangerous water in the world, and such is the threat from pirates, the Nato warships will stay within 500m (547yds) of the convoy throughout the entire journey.

We were aboard the Turkish frigate Gokova, one of four Nato warships now patrolling the Somali coastline.

Usually the 240 crew of this ship are on duty in the Mediterranean as part of Nato’s Standing Maritime Group 2.

The group includes HMS Cumberland, the Italian flagship Durand De La Penne, and the Greek frigate, Themistokles.

They will stay in the region until the end of the year at the request of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

The crew of the Gokova are on permanent high alert. There are special forces on board and a helicopter crew on 24 hour standby, ready to respond to distress signals they might receive.

The commander of the frigate, Ender Kahya, said usually the helicopter acts as sufficient deterrent. Pirates have been known to abandon their attacks when it appears overhead.

Strategy rethink

But the seizure of the Saudi super-tanker Sirius Star shows that the new brigands of the high sea are getting braver, more ambitious and much more skilled at what they do.

We were held for eight days until the company that owns the ship paid the ransom Captain Anwar Ahmed Siddiqui ‘World only cares about pirates’ Press calls for action on pirates

There is evidence they have staged “dummy” attacks to lure in warships while another gang hits the real target, further away.

They have called in false distress signals to confuse shipping, and so co-ordinated are the clans that run these franchises, they rotate regularly the ports from which they operate.

With the technology in the bridge, the pirates are surprisingly easy to spot – it is not normal to see a small skiff travelling at 20 knots, hundreds of miles out to sea.

They appear as small dots on the radar, usually in groups of three. The mother ships – which they use to refuel – masquerade as fishing dhows but often there is no radio contact with the crew on board.

The Gokova’s lieutenant, Mehmet Elyurek, thinks the high number of attacks seen in recent weeks will begin to tail away as winter weather sets in.

“They need fair winds to board these ships,” he said. “High seas will disrupt their operations.

Pirate vessels can be seen from miles away from the ship’s bridge

“I think they are probably seizing as many ships as they can, before it’s too late.”

But if the attacks do not drop off then surely Nato – and the European force that is now on route – will need to rethink their strategy.

One solution suggested by mariners is to stop the pirates leaving port.

“It is possible,” said Cdr Kahya. “It is a change in tactics that would need to come from higher authorities – say from Brussels – but of course it is possible to blockade ports, if we had to.”

Aid risk

Without this naval escort the three ships that left Mombasa would not have sailed.

One of them, the Victoria, was hijacked in June as it left Mogadishu. Captain Anwar Ahmed Siddiqui said he had spotted the attack early, but his ship can only reach 10 knots at full speed and he was powerless to stop them boarding.

India navy ‘to go after pirates’ Pirates ‘working with Islamists’ IMB piracy map The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

“They came from all directions,” he said. “When the ship is fully loaded she sits very low in the water, so it’s easy to put a ladder against the rail.

“They were carrying AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades. We were held for eight days until the company that owns the ship paid the ransom.”

And that is why the WFP would find it impossible to charter enough ships to carry their cargo without Nato’s help.

Lemma Jembere, the logistics officer for WFP Mombasa, said there was a period in October, when the Canadian navy left them, that they were only able to move some 9,000 tonnes, nowhere near enough to feed three million people.

“These days it is more expensive to move cargo to Mogadishu,” he said. “And that’s if we can find a crew that will dare to travel.”

And it is not just the food aid to Somalia that is threatened by the piracy.

Mombasa is an important hub. If bulk carriers are delayed or fail to reach the port, then aid operations in Kenya, Uganda and southern Sudan are also at risk.

For the moment, Nato keeps the supply flowing, but all parties know this is a short-term answer to a long-term problem.

Yes This is The END..

Original Babyfaddah wit the duttybwoy smile

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