somali pirates hijack Americans' yacht

[shitstorm]

Thank you, Mo, for saying you'll check on where to get the type of covering the lady is wearing.

That's interesting about the knives/daggers. I wondered about that as I noticed them in the photo of the lady. Is every boy/man trained to use them?

The Kalashnikov - a Russian rifle?

I didn't know it was Marxist. Does that mean the commies invaded and had a slaughter, in the past? Also sorry to hear of the influence of the Saudis.

Is there some kind of revolution or war going on there?

[Mohammed]

Good morning everybody,

and it's another bright and beautifully blue morning up here 2400mt above the sea in Sana'a.

Well, like I said, the Djambias are more of a status symbol, and depending on the material they are made off, their age and who owned them, their prices can be in the hundreds of thousands of Dollars, so nobody is really using them as a traditional knife. But yes, a boy would get his first one when he is about 3-4 years old. They are much smaller than the normal ones and look seriously cute.

Yes, the Kalashnikov is the AK 47 from Russia, and as Nicolas Cage mentioned in Lord of War, the real weapon of mass destruction. That thing lacks any sort finesse but you drag it thru mud and dirt and it will shoot perfectly. As well as shooting incredibly acurate. From Africa to South America to Asia and the Middle East it is the prefered choice of any of the legal and especially illegal armies.

The commies didn't really invade, but it was during the Cold War era, when pretty much each country was devided between East and West. America had a strong foothold around the rest of the Red Sea area, so Yemen looked like a perfect spot for Russia, as it controls the entrance to the Red Sea and thereby Suez channel traffic.

Yes, at the moment we have a kind of revolution going on here, but unlike in the Northern African countries, the folks here are way more peaceful and so far not too much damage has been done and it is pretty much contained in one area in Sana'a. In Aden it is wider spread and actually quite amazing what all happened in that sleepy little fishing town. At the moment the biggest worry is the Sheik's closing off the capital as they want to change the President. That means supply routes are being blocked which resulted in a mass exodus of expats at the moment. Security at the moment is on high alert.

If you are a foreigner, not much will happen to you I believe as it is a fight among themselves, but what everybody worries about is that you get stuck in a cross fire, so that's why about 80% of foreigners have left by now. However, most companies and Embassies have given a 29 day period, meaning that they expect to return after that.

Let's see.

[Cracker]

Don't poke the bear, Mohammed. And have money ready in case the bear wants to poke you.

[shitstorm]

I found another photo of the outfit piece. It seems to be called a jilbaab or jilbab, but the word is confusing because it's very general, like long clothing. It's this flat piece of fabric I'm curious about because it would make a great bedspread!

[shitstorm]

So, how do the Yemenis feel about the Somali pirate situation? It must hurt coastal businesses for them, as well. Seems like the surrounding Arab states would get fed up with that shit.

While looking up info on the jilbab, I drifted into Oman, which looks just as exotic as Yemen. It made me think of the film with Debra Winger where she played an early 20^th traveler whose husband died while in that part of the world. Beneath the Sheltering Sky, I think. Looking at the pics I think it should be sweltering.

[Mohammed]

Oman is absolutely gorgeous and way better off than Yemen as they only have 10% of the population.

Yes, the piracy hurts a lot as a large amount of income is by the fisheries along the coast. However, when you look at it by now, the Pirates are now more active much further out as they know they gonna get their ass kicked closed to this coast by now. So you find them from the south of Kenya over the Seychelles all the way close to India.