Somalia:
* Who, in his right mind, would voluntarily go to an Islamic nightmare country, a dreck-hole that has seen nothing but uncivil war for more than 20 years, a country that is ruled by war-lords and anarchy, knowing that he or she would be nothing more than a target for kidnapping?
 Giuliana Sgrena is a propagandist for the Communist daily rag Il Manifesto. Her writings do not reveal a bias, they reveal that Sgrena is an enemy of the United States of America and responsible for supporting terrorists and the murder of American soldiers and civilians.
* We do not imply that Mr Brennan, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout are commie-moonbats who are on the side of our enemies, but their folly is of concern.
What was their intention? What were they looking for? Whose side are they on?
The footage aired on Al Jazeera reportedly shows kidnapped Australian journalist Nigel Brennan and a Canadian companion
*  So yes: who are the people for whom we are  made to feel sorry now? Check these reports and come back to us if you know more than we do:
Newslink:Â Jihadists force closure of Mogadishu airport
The footage, showing 35-year-old Mr Brennan, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, 27, and their translator and guide, Somali reporter Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, has been aired on Al Jazeera television, Reuters reported.Â
They were kidnapped at gunpoint on August 23 just outside the Somali capital Mogadishu.Â
The footage aired yesterday showed Mr Brennan and Ms Lindhout along with armed men.Â
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A man claiming to be Mr Brennan said: “We are very well now mentally and physically”.Â
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the footage was being investigated.Â
“We are aware that a video has been broadcast claiming to include footage of two journalists held captive in Somalia,” DFAT said in a statement.
“Relevant Australian agencies are currently assessing the footage.”Â
Australian Federal Police and extra diplomatic staff have been sent to Somalia to investigate the kidnappings.Â
*
Herald Sun: Â Nicola Berkovic
Nigel Brennan and Amanda Lindhout kidnapped in Somalia
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August 25, 2008 08:51am
A QUEENSLAND photojournalist believed to have been abducted in Somalia has been described as a positive, street smart person.
Nigel Brennan, 37, was travelling with Canadian photojournalist Amanda Lindhout, 27, when they were kidnapped at gunpoint on a road about 25km from the Somalian capital, Mogadishu.Â
The pair were on their way to visit a refugee camp.Â
Brennan’s family told The Australian he had been living in Scotland. “We are deeply concerned that our son Nigel Brennan may have gone missing near Mogadishu in Somalia yesterday,” they said in a statement.Â
“He is a freelance photographer who arrived in Kenya just over a week ago.”Â
A Somali translator and two drivers were also believed to have been taken by the rebels.Â
Brennan’s friend Larine Statham, who worked with him at a local newspaper in Bundaberg, described him as “the life of the party”.
“He’s just a great person to be around, always positive and full of energy,” she told The Australian. “He’s very street smart and he’d be the rock of the group right now.”Â
She said Brennan and Lindhout had been friends for years and had travelled to Iraq together a few years ago.Â
Somalian police yesterday confirmed the abductions.Â
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the Government was “urgently investigating” the reports.Â
“The Australian high commissioner has made contact with Somali authorities to seek further information about the incident and to confirm the welfare of Mr Brennan,” she said.Â
Zane Jackson, who also worked with Brennan in Bundaberg, described him as “fun-loving and charismatic”.Â
“It’s like you were working with a teenager,” Mr Jackson said. “He just had that energy and charisma.”Â
Mr Jackson said Brennan had been very excited about his trip to Africa when he saw him about a month ago.Â
Abdifatah Ajos Sanura, the director of the Shamo Hotel, where the pair were staying, said they had not returned from their trip as planned and had not reached their destination.Â
Australian Federal Police will be sent to Nairobi within 24 hours to help officials from DFAT.Â
The department has warned Australians not to travel to Somalia because of widespread armed conflict.Â
“Westerners have been targeted and killed in terrorist attacks throughout Somalia, including Mogadishu,” it says.
Brennan’s Brisbane’s family yesterday released a statement saying they were deeply concerned for their son.
“We understand that the Australian Government is making urgent contact with relevant Somalian authorities as well as the Canadian, French and British embassies to help locate Nigel,” the statement said.
A Facebook page dedicated to Brennan and Lindhout was created at the weekend, urging friends to pray for the journalists.
Brennan lives in Brisbane and has freelanced for several regional and national newspapers.
The pair are believed to be long-time friends.
Alarms were first raised when neither returned to their rooms at the Shamo Hotel, Mogadishu, on Saturday afternoon.
A hotel security guard said they were “taken under the threat of firearms. It was an abduction.”
The Somali Government confirmed it was trying to find the pair. One media outlet said Islamist group Al-Shabaab was the culprit.
A DFAT spokeswoman said the Australian High Commissioner, Lisa Filipetto, based in Nairobi, had contacted the Somali Government yesterday.
AFP and DFAT officials will be sent to help the High Commissioner.
The war-torn country is a particularly dangerous place for journalists, with many killed and kidnapped since civil war erupted in 1991.
Australia does not have an embassy or consulate in Somalia and the DFAT website said its ability to provide consular services was extremely limited because of the dangerous security situation.
A Somali policeman confirmed the attack occurred on a road between Mogadishu and Afgoye.
-Â with James O’Loan
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Sydney Moonbat Herald:
Kidnapped Aussie in TV footage: report
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The broadcaster said the pair had urged their governments to do all they could to secure their release, Reuters reports.
Mr Brennan, 35, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, 27, and their translator and guide, Somali reporter Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, were kidnapped at gunpoint on August 23 just outside the Somali capital Mogadishu.
They are believed to have been abducted after interviewing and taking photographs in a refugee camp.
Australian Federal Police and extra diplomatic staff have been sent to Somalia to investigate the kidnappings.
The footage, aired on Tuesday, showed Mr Brennan and Ms Lindhout along with armed men. Ms Lindhout could be seen speaking to the camera but the audio of the track was not aired, Reuters reports.
Their kidnappers, calling themselves the Mujahideen of Somalia, accused Australia and Canada of helping to destroy Somalia and demanded an end to such policies, Al Jazeera said.
A traditional chief in contact with the kidnappers said earlier this month that the kidnappers were demanding a $US2.5 million ($A3.08 million) ransom.
“The kidnappers demanded 2.5 million dollars and we are trying to secure their release,” said Dahir Farah, who has been participating in negotiations to free the hostages.
Another person claiming to be an intermediary for the kidnappers who contacted AFP spoke of the same ransom demand. He also allowed two people claiming to be the foreign journalists to speak briefly.
A man claiming to be Mr Brennan said: “We are very well now mentally and physically.”
Journalists and humanitarian workers are frequently abducted in Somalia, a country torn apart by unrest since 1991. Most kidnappings include ransom demands.
Two Italian aid workers kidnapped near Mogadishu were freed on August 5 after being held hostage for more than two months.
© 2008 AAP
Here’s the part of the report that matters: “Their kidnappers, calling themselves the Mujahideen of Somalia, accused Australia and Canada of helping to destroy Somalia and demanded an end to such policies, Al Jazeera said. A traditional chief in contact with the kidnappers said earlier this month that the kidnappers were demanding a $US2.5 million ($A3.08 million) ransom.”
Got that? – 2.5 $million ransom. THAT’s what it’s all about: snatching hostages and getting money to pay for more jihad.
As far as I can see, despite the jihadists’ trying to make us think that this is retaliation for Australia and Canada ‘trying to destroy Somalia’ (????!!!), all there is to this – all we need to realize – is that both Australia and Canada are seen as rich, humane countries that will pay large sums of money to get their citizens back alive.
This kidnapping is all of a piece with the repeated acts of jihadist piracy off the Somali coast, with Muslim pirates capturing (mostly non-Muslim-owned) merchant ships and demanding huge amounts of ransom money.
We are back to the days of the Barbary Pirates, the Muslim pirates who ran a kidnapping/ protection/ extortion racket off the coasts of North Africa. Today it’s the Somali Jihad Pirates.
We’re dealing with the Islamomafia – the largest and oldest organised crime ‘family’ on the planet, which also happens to be a cult more dangerous than the Thuggees.