The AP has a long and interesting article on the background of the Somali pirates. Not surprisingly, they come from the ranks of the young, poor and unemployed, looking for a way out of despair.

Hostages say they are generally well treated, with the pirates viewing them as common men caught in a wider game: the pursuit of million-dollar ransoms from owners. Some have described the pirates slaughtering and roasting goats on board to feed them, and passing around satellite phones to let them call loved ones back home.

As for a solution, this makes sense:

All analysts agree that the best way to quash piracy off Somalia is to achieve stability onshore, where civil conflict has raged for the last 18 years.

Update below from a Kenyan newspaper:

Things are not looking up in the Gulf of Aden. The Somali pirates have hijacked a U.S. owned tugboat with 16 crew members on board. The boat flies under an Italian flag.

The pirates are threatening "a disaster" if a rescue attempt is made for Captain Phillips.

"I'm afraid this matter is likely to create disaster because it is taking too long and we are getting information that the Americans are planning rescue tricks like the French commandos did," Abdi Garad said.

The warship USS Bainbridge is on scene and other American warships are en route. The pirates intend to move Capt Richard Phillips from the lifeboat to a bigger boat. Experts predict the pirates will cave in. [More...]

Booman writes:

What I know is that we haven't had a president this progressive since Franklin Roosevelt, that we've never had one from our background who instinctively reflects our values, and that we desperately need him to succeed or we won't only lose the White House to Palinesque thugs, but we'll lose the internal battle within the Democratic Party. Are we going to be the party of tomorrow, filled with all races, religions, sexual-orientations, based in social justice and international cooperation? Or are we going to be the socially conservative, business-first, hawkish, Third-Way party that was wiped out between 1994 and 2006?

Let's consider that statement in parts. First is Obama really the most progressive President since FDR? What does that statement even mean? Clearly on civil rights issues, FDR did not exactly demonstrate governing bona fides on civil rights. On that issue, thank Gawd, every Democratic President, and most Republicans, were "more progressive" than FDR. But that makes the point -- you can not judge a President's "progressiveness" outside of the times they governed in. More.

The Obama Administration will take an appeal from the district court ruling granting Bagram detainees the right to a habeas hearing. This reaction sums it up:

Tina Foster, the executive director of the International Justice Network, which is representing the detainees, condemned the decision in a statement.

“Though he has made many promises regarding the need for our country to rejoin the world community of nations, by filing this appeal, President Obama has taken on the defense of one of the Bush administration’s unlawful policies founded on nothing more than the idea that might makes right,” she said.

Though these detainees are held in a battlezone, the argument is they were not captured in a battle zone. That argument should be tested in a court of law.

Speaking for me only

For those, like Brad DeLong, who argue that the Geithner Plan is merely the first phase of the Obama Administration's plan on the financial crisis, this story should be encouraging:

As the Obama administration completes its examinations of the nation’s largest banks, industry executives are bracing for fights with the government over repayment of bailout money and forced sales of bad mortgages.

[More...]

The USS Boxer is en route to scene of the pirate hostage standoff. Who knew we even had such a vessel?

The Boxer is the flag ship for a multination anti-piracy task force. The Boxer resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes.

I wonder how long it will take to get there?

Bruce Springsteen brought his latest tour to Denver tonight. According to the tweets, he was a huge success. He closed with Glory Days.

Here's a 1993 version:

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making another effort to solicit contributions to pay off her campaign debt. This time, contributing will give you a chance at one of three prizes:

• A day with Bill Clinton in New York
• Attending the American Idol Finale
• A tour of D.C. including some time with James Carville and Paul Begala

I'm not sure number 3 qualifies as a prize, but the first two are pretty good.

Personally, I think a better prize would be attending the American Idol finale with Hillary. That would be something to talk about (of course, I've already spent an afternoon with Bill Clinton in New York, so easy for me to say.)

Go on over to HillaryClinton.com, give Hillary a few bucks and make your choice.

More prosecutorial misconduct, this time in Florida in a drug case. Prosecutors improperly taped the defendant's lawyers.

Accusing federal prosecutors of knowingly and repeatedly violating ethical guidelines in a high-profile narcotics trial, a Miami federal judge Thursday reprimanded multiple assistant U.S. attorneys who took part in the case -- and fined the federal government more than $600,000.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold's harshly critical 50-page order takes the federal government to task for acting deceptively and ''in bad faith'' in the case of Miami Beach doctor Ali Shaygan, who was acquitted last month of 141 counts of illegally prescribing painkillers. The $601,795 fine will be paid to Shaygan as reimbursement for much of his legal fees and costs.

[More...]

.... maybe you were kidnapped,
Tied-up, taken away, and held for ransom

That's me today only thankfully, unlike Captain Phillips, I'm imprisoned only by motions and tax return deadlines.

Anyone remember Grand Funk Railroad and "I'm Your Captain"? A better version is available here. (link got truncated, now fixed.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Steve Clemons criticizes the Obama Administration's Advisor on the upcoming Summit of the Americas, Jeffrey Davidow for his answer to Steve's question at a recent conference on Latin America. the exchange on the flip.

Captain Richard Phillips tried to escape from the Somali pirates by jumping off the lifeboat, but was recaptured.

Negotiations are ongoing for his release. Ransom demands have been made. The lifeboat is out of fuel. There are no toilets on the lifeboat.

I think the pirates will release the Captain. I hope I'm right.