Current Recession Already One Of The Longest Ever

With the latest economic news showing that the nations economy shed over 531,000 jobs in just the month of November alone it would appear that the current recession is not only showing no signs of slowing down but is in fact picking up speed. As recessions go it is already one of history's longest. As of December of 2008 this recession is now officially in its 12th month. There have only been three others since the Great Depression that have lasted this long. From May of 1937 till June of 1938 the nation suffered a 13 month long recession. From November of 1973 till March of 1975 we had a 16 month recession. From July of 1981 till November of 1982 another 16 month long recession occurred under President Reagan. After these three the current one is the longest and being that it is showing no signs of improvement we have yet to see if it will in fact end up being the longest period of economic contraction in the last 70 years.

Somali Pirates Get More Daring With Each Attack

A lot of people in the world were surprised to find out that piracy still existed when news came out of Africa that ships were being hijacked on the high seas off the coast of Somalia. The total so far is that 17 vessels have been successfully attacked and held with a total crew of over 300 who are being held for ransom. What is surprising to many is the size of the vessels that are being gone after. A cargo ship captured on September 25, 2008 was over 500 feet long. A Saudi oil tanker captured on November 15, 2008 is over 1000 feet long. The most recent news is that a cruise liner was attacked but it was able to get away by simply outrunning it's would be hijackers but not before several shots were fired at it and some bullet holes were pierced through its hull. Several naval vessels from countries around the world are now patrolling the area where the attacks occurred in an attempt to cut down on this activity but even they admit they cant be everywhere all the time and that this action still may not stop all the hijacking. The problem is getting so bad that many shipping firms that do business in the region are considering avoiding the waters around Somalia all together and just sailing their vessels around the entire continent of Africa to get around the problem. This move is both more expensive and time consuming and will add cost to the amounts payed for the goods shipped when they finally reach consumers.