Snowmail: 21st century pirates
Updated on 20 November 2008
It seems tricky to write this in the early 21st century. But the UN has been in session discussing pirates.
They have decided to tighten their action on Somalia. Problem is, Somalia doesn't actually exist any more. Its society does, its warlords do, and so do a whole lot of teenagers who seem to be about to take control of what is left of the rubble and the lives of the people.
Meanwhile, offshore, there is a bit of a spat between the British and the Saudis. Talking of the hijacked vessel on which there are two Britons, Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said there should be no negotiations over any payments, no ransom.
The Saudis are refusing to condemn the shipping company for trying to negotiate. And the problem, of course, is that ultimately the Saudis have the money to pay the ransom.
Here, the National Union of Seamen wants just that, and the freeing of their two members. And the pirates will simply use the money to build ever more elaborate homes on the coast and buy ever faster speedboats and better weaponry.
Pear shaped
Well, you don't need me to tell you that Woolies is for sale for a pound, and Marks & Sparks have got 20 per cent off all clothing and household goods today. And there's a big push by all the retailers to get rid of old stock.
But interestingly, today's retail figures are not bad at all. In the month of October, spending was down 0.1 per cent. But more recent figures from John Lewis suggest that November is going pear-shaped.
Tonight we are looking at the retail sector and what it tells us about how bad things are likely to become.
Congo disaster
There's a disasters emergency appeal on all TV channels tonight for the victims of the fighting in eastern Congo. Besides looking at the scale of the need, we'll be looking at the effect of these appeals.
Tonight's is to be made by Jonathan Pryce. His presence alone may assist. But people may be more reluctant to give money to the victims of civil strife than they are to those who suffer as a result of natural disasters. Lindsey Hilsum is on the case.
Toolbag boldly goes
OK, so she dropped her toolbag and swore. Probably the most heavily transmitted space verbiage since "One small step for mankind..." Tonight our man Tom Clarke is in space - or should I suggest he is on space, reporting space?
The question posed by the expansion of the space station with an extra lavatory, shower and bedroom, is: is it worth it?
Interestingly, the Europeans, and the British in particular, are spending no money on it, preferring to do unmanned space work through the European Space Agency.
Is this a rare instance of somebody daring to turn their back on the "special relationship"? Is manned space a waste of money? We'll be sparking off on that one, at seven.
Why fi?
For those of us who lie awake at night wondering about the next generation of 3G broadband access, Benjamin Cohen is on the case. He's investigating WiMAX. In the immortal words of the prophet, "Wi-fi, WiMAX?" Answers on a postcard - virtual, of course.
