[Rhodes22-list] Breaking News : Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup

Sat Nov 29 14:29:53 EST 2008

Guys;

Didn't we "re-flag" a bunch of foreign tankers during the Iran-Iraq war? It
seems to me we did in order to escort them through he Persian Gulf. I think
that may have been when the frigate USS Stark got hit by an Iraqi exocet
missile. Seems like 100 years ago now.

Ben C.

Robert Skinner wrote:
> 
> About the scarcity of usa-flagged vessels:
> Perhaps "flags of convenience" will become
> inconvenient...
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_convenience
> 
> "A specific example of the type of advantage
> flying a flag of convenience offers is
> bypassing the 50% duty the United States
> government charges on repairs performed on
> American-flagged ships in foreign ports."
> 
> Protectionism?
> 
> Perhaps we shot ourselves in the foot - but
> perhaps some (Exxon?) will choose to pay rather
> than running around the Horn.
> 
> Wonder where Lloyds of London is on this issue?
> 
> /Robert
> 
> brad haslett wrote:
>> Robert,
>> 
>> Ah yes, Jefferson got tired of that crap and the Marines put a stop to
>> it.  There's only one small problem with your theory, there are few US
>> flagged vessels plying the seas these days. Hmmmmm, maybe if we imposed a
>> "surcharge" for the US Navy to keep the sea lanes open and allowed
>> foreign ships to fly our flag as an honor, we could retire our debt and
>> lower our taxes.
>> 
>> Nah, not "touchy-feely".
>> 
>> Brad
>> 
>> 
>> --- On Sat, 11/29/08, Robert Skinner <Robert at squirrelhaven.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> From: Robert Skinner <Robert at squirrelhaven.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Breaking News : Somali Pirates in
>>> Discussions to Acquire Citigroup
>>> To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>>> Date: Saturday, November 29, 2008, 9:09 AM
>>> Have the Somalis touched a USA-flagged vessel yet?
>>>
>>> "... to the shores of Tripoli..."
>>>
>>> Just ask for volunteers.  Problem removed.
>>>
>>> /Robert
>>> ---------------------------------------------------
>>> Brad Haslett wrote:
>>>> Bill,
>>>>
>>>> Let's give the pirates a shot, they couldn't
>>> do any worse.  What's
>>>> that German word for "things will improve once we
>>> elect 'The One"?  Oh
>>>> yeah, 'hopenchangen'.  Attached is what the
>>> Germans have in mind.
>>>> Brad
>>>>
>>>> -------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 11/25/2008 04:56 PM
>>>> A NEW WAR ON PIRACY?
>>>> Germany to Deploy Up to 1,400 to Fight Pirates
>>>>
>>>> The uproar over pirates off the Gulf of Aden has led
>>> the German
>>>> government to contribute a naval frigate to an EU
>>> mission along the
>>>> Somali coast. More soldiers may be on the way. In the
>>> meantime German
>>>> helicopters have defended a pair of merchant ships
>>> from pirate
>>>> speedboats.
>>>>
>>>> As European enthusiasm for the American-led "War
>>> on Terror" continues
>>>> to wane, Europe is assembling a substantial military
>>> force to send to
>>>> the Gulf of Aden. Call it the "War on
>>> Piracy" -- and Germany, this
>>>> time, has not been shy.
>>>>
>>>> Although the German Defense Ministry refuses to
>>> confirm the number, a
>>>> report on Tuesday in the Frankfurter Allgemeine
>>> Zeitung says that the
>>>> government is considering deploying up to 1400 troops
>>> to combat Somali
>>>> piracy. By way of comparison, Berlin currently
>>> contributes about 3,500
>>>> troops to the war in Afghanistan.
>>>>
>>>> The government has already announced its intention to
>>> send a frigate
>>>> to region as part of the EU mission "Operation
>>> Atalanta," which is set
>>>> to deploy sometime in mid-December. First, however,
>>> Germany's
>>>> parliament may have to expand the country's legal
>>> mandate for the use
>>>> of force, which some believe does not currently allow
>>> for an
>>>> aggressive anti-pirate mission.
>>>>
>>>> In addition to the 500 sailors who would staff the
>>> frigate, the
>>>> government may also send troops to serve as security
>>> forces on German
>>>> trade vessels.
>>>>
>>>> According to the East African Seafarers'
>>> Assistance Program, Somali
>>>> pirates hijacked yet another ship over the weekend,
>>> this time a Yemeni
>>>> freighter called the Amani.
>>>>
>>>> And on Sunday afternoon, the German navy received
>>> emergency calls from
>>>> a pair of German merchant ships indicating they were
>>> being attacked by
>>>> pirates in speedboats. In response, the German frigate
>>>> Mecklenberg-Vorpommern sent naval helicopters to
>>> scene, after which
>>>> the pirates reportedly fled.
>>>>
>>>> Somali pirates are thought to be in possession of a
>>> dozen ships and
>>>> over two hundred captured sailors. Among the captured
>>> vessels is a
>>>> Saudi Arabian tanker called the Sirius Star, which the
>>> pirates are
>>>> trying to ransom to the tune of $15 million (€11.6
>>> million). This
>>>> represents a discount from their original demand of
>>> $25 million.
>>>> cpg -- with wire reports
>>>>
>>>> URL:
>>>>
>>>>     *
>>> http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,592647,00.html
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 7:40 AM, Bill Effros
>>> <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>>>> Breaking News : Somali Pirates in Discussions to
>>> Acquire Citigroup
>>>>> By Andreas Hippin
>>>>>
>>>>>   November 28 (Bloomberg) -- Somali Pirates,
>>> renegade Somalis known for
>>>>> hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden,
>>> are negotiating the
>>>>> purchase of Citigroup.
>>>>>
>>>>>  The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and
>>> their existing cash
>>>>> stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking
>>> numerous ships,
>>>>> including a $200 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker.
>>> The Somali pirates
>>>>> are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup,
>>> pirate spokesman
>>>>> Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations
>>> have entered the final
>>>>> stage, Ali said.  ``You may not like our price,
>>> but we are not in the
>>>>> business of paying for things. Be happy we are in
>>> the mood to offer the
>>>>> shareholders anything."
>>>>>
>>>>>   The pirates will finance part of the purchase by
>>> selling new Pirate
>>>>> Ransom Backed Securities.  The PRBS's are
>>> backed by the cash flows from
>>>>> future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf
>>> of Aden.  Moody's and
>>>>> S&P have already issued their top investment
>>> grade ratings for the PRBS's.
>>>>>    Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu , said "we
>>> need a bank so that we have
>>>>> a place to keep our ransom money.  Thankfully, the
>>> dislocations in the
>>>>> capital markets has allowed us to purchase
>>> Citigroup at an attractive
>>>>> valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to
>>> grow the business at
>>>>> an even faster rate."
>>>>>
>>>>> Shandu added, "We don't call ourselves
>>> pirates. We are coastguards and
>>>>> this will just allow us to guard our coasts
>>> better."
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>> 
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>> 
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