• Pirates seize tankers off Somalia
• Somali pirates hijack Seychelles yacht

The pirates have been extending the range of their attacks, and the taking of the Seychelles boat looks like another long-distance strike.

• NATO resuming anti-piracy mission
• Somalia pirates could hit Gulf

And here’s a couple that aren’t from Somalia. Thailand:

• British yachtsman ‘beaten to death’ by pirates off Thai coast
• Vicious pirate attacks ‘too often ignored’

And Indonesia:

• Sea piracy rampant in Tanjungjabung

Atlantis… not yours:

• Atlantis revealed at last… or just a load of old Googles?

‘In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process.

‘Bathymetric (sea-floor) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea-floor.

‘The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data.’

Sea Shepherd boarded by Australian police, video footage seized:

• Police swoop on protest ship

After violent clashes with Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, the Steve Irwin was met by Australian Federal Police when it docked in Hobart about 5.30pm.

The police, who had search warrants, kept the crew on board as they searched cabins.

Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said he was not told whether the police action stemmed from a complaint by the Australian Government or from the Japanese.

Nothing to do with anything, but of interest to the naval nerds:

• ‘Superguns’ of Elizabeth I’s navy

And of course, pirates. The first one has video of pirates shooting at a ship.

• African pirate attacks ‘spreading’
• Somali pirate patrol: Day one
• NATO planning new anti-piracy mission off Somalia
• Somalia to create maritime corridor to fight piracy – ambassador

Mohammed Mahmud Handule said at a RIA Novosti news conference that the Somali government had already worked out the legal and technical issues involved in opening the corridor.

“The new [Somali] government will rigorously work on this [problem of piracy],” he said. “We want to create a corridor where from Point A all ships will be put in groups of 5-7, and then our friends, including Russia, will escort them to Point B. Vessels not travelling through that corridor will be considered pirates or poachers.”

• Challenges loom as Obama seeks space weapons ban

“There’s still a lot of wiggle room” in the administration’s statement on military space, said analyst Victoria Samson with the private Center for Defense Information. “But just the sheer fact that they are discussing it represents a real shift from the Bush administration.”

• Lunar Camera More Sensitive Than Expected
• Russia: No more space tourists after 2009

This might actually be good news for the law and order crowd, although supporters of human rights won’t be so happy:

• Ethiopia withdraws last troops from Somalia
• Islamists seize Somali MPs’ base

The usual post-soviet geekery:

• Nato has ‘no will’ to admit Georgia or Ukraine
• Russia plans base in Georgia rebel region:report
• (Kosovo) B92: Situation in northern Mitrovica calm after blasts

And finally, you know I can’t resist a good crime story, especially when it makes the police look like idiots:

• 14-year-old boy impersonates cop, police say

The boy, who has been charged as a juvenile for impersonating an officer, walked into the Grand Crossing District station, 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave., dressed in a Chicago police uniform, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. The boy, who reported for duty about 1:30 p.m., partnered with another police officer for about five hours.

The boy identified himself as an officer from another district but was detailed for the day to Grand Crossing and also was savvy enough to sign out a police radio and a ticket book, according to a source. The source also said the boy went on traffic stops with the officer he went on the street with.

Rosetta Blog: Comet Chaser encounters asteroid Steins
Rosetta Steins fly-by timeline
If you’re following this live today, I think all their announced times are six hours ahead of us on the Left Coast.

Somali pirates extend spree, seize Egyptian ship

Angry Argentine commuters torch train in rush hour
“Robin Hoods” steal at the store, give to the poor?

Greek anarchists stormed a supermarket on Thursday and handed out food for free in the latest of a wave of raids provoked by soaring consumer prices.

About 20 unarmed people, mostly wearing black hoods, carried out the midday robbery in the northern city of Thesaaloniki, police said.

Catlin Sponsors Major Arctic Survey

Ukraine in snap election warning
Cheney in Ukraine as political crisis deepens
Human Rights Watch Says Both Russia, Georgia Used Cluster Bombs
Polish parliament wants push for Georgia, Ukraine to join NATO
Cheney Promotes Pipelines in Baku
Kosovo rules out using force to extend authority in whole territory
U.S. Commandos Hit Pakistan; Islamabad Howls

Not bad for a quickie, huh?

Russia has informed Norway that it plans to suspend all military ties with NATO, Norway’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday, a day after the military alliance urged Moscow to withdraw its forces from Georgia.

NATO foreign ministers said Tuesday they would make further ties with Russia dependent on Moscow making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions in Georgia. However, they stopped short of calling an immediate halt to all cooperation.

The Nordic country’s embassy in Moscow received a telephone call from “a well-placed official in the Russian Ministry of Defense,” who said Moscow plans “to freeze all military cooperation with NATO and allied countries,” Espen Barth Eide, state secretary with the Norwegian ministry said.

More from Georgia:
South Ossetian Martial Law Creates a No Man’s Land
Russia warns NATO against re-equipping Georgia’s military
Russia may recognise S Ossetia’s freedom
In Georgia, a Claim Russia Is Making More Advances
Russia, Georgia Near Monitor Deal; NATO Seeks Unity
Troops will leave Georgia in their own time, Russian spokesman says

Ukraine:
Ukraine PM rejects traitor accusations: report
Ukraine to beef up military potential in areas at risk from Russia
Poland, Ukraine and the Baltics: Nervous neighbours

Oil pipelines:
BP says testing begins on BTC pipeline
First BTC oil to be loaded at Ceyhan on Aug 25-26
Kazakhstan considers to divert oil export route from BTC to Russia

Piracy:
Pirates Attack Commodity Ship in Nigeria, Reporting Bureau Says
Sailing couple robbed by pirates

Dubious diplomacy in the land of the former Soviets:
Skopje sabotaging talks, FM says
German foreign minister to travel to Georgia, Abkhazia and Russia

NATO Hires a Coke Executive to Retool Its Brand

“Brands do go to the basic purpose: what is the point of this organization?” he said. “NATO lost its primary rationale on the day the Warsaw Pact closed up business. It has been casting around for a different identity and role so it remains relevant. The jury seems to be out on whether it has succeeded.”

Maybe instead of having an institutional identity crisis (how boringly post-modern), NATO should just disband. The North Atlantic Treaty may still be a good idea, but it’s quite possible to maintain the defensive treaty without an offensive treaty organization.

Global Warming Changes to Snowmelt Patterns in Western US Could Have Larger Impact Than Previously Thought