vaughn wrote:
> JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
> said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
> bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
> in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
> by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
> evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
> Hezbollah.

> Complete article at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html

> vaughn wrote:
> > JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
> > said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
> > bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
> > in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
> > by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
> > evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
> > Hezbollah.

> > Complete article at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html

> Don't you just love the idea that the company who owns the ship had no
> idea what was in the containers.

> Having been involved is shipping some stuff internationally by sea in
> recent years I know that everyone wants to see bills of lading,  and
> most carriers won't even consider shipments to or from some countries
> unless their agents can fully inspect the cargo prior to loading.

> If you want to send a cardboard carton of stuff to anywhere in the
> middle east you'll only get to seal it after the carrier's agent  has
> inspected it and made sure that what's in the box is what the documents
> say is in the box.

> Send a couple of pallets that aren't wrapped in transparent plastic and
> it'll be opened at some [point.

> Send a container and you can be pretty sure that at some point someone
> from the shipper or their agents will want a look inside...

> --
> William Black

> "Any number under six"

> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> single handed with a quarterstaff.

Jack Linthicum wrote:
> On Nov 4, 10:37 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> vaughn wrote:
>>> JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
>>> said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
>>> bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
>>> in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
>>> by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
>>> evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
>>> Hezbollah.
>>> Complete article at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html
>> Don't you just love the idea that the company who owns the ship had no
>> idea what was in the containers.

>> Having been involved is shipping some stuff internationally by sea in
>> recent years I know that everyone wants to see bills of lading,  and
>> most carriers won't even consider shipments to or from some countries
>> unless their agents can fully inspect the cargo prior to loading.

>> If you want to send a cardboard carton of stuff to anywhere in the
>> middle east you'll only get to seal it after the carrier's agent  has
>> inspected it and made sure that what's in the box is what the documents
>> say is in the box.

>> Send a couple of pallets that aren't wrapped in transparent plastic and
>> it'll be opened at some [point.

>> Send a container and you can be pretty sure that at some point someone
>> from the shipper or their agents will want a look inside...

>> --
>> William Black

>> "Any number under six"

>> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
>> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
>> single handed with a quarterstaff.

> Gee, that's funny. We had a thread here some months back that said
> just the opposite. Live and learn I guess.

> Jack Linthicum wrote:
> > On Nov 4, 10:37 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> >> vaughn wrote:
> >>> JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
> >>> said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
> >>> bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
> >>> in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
> >>> by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
> >>> evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
> >>> Hezbollah.
> >>> Complete article at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html
> >> Don't you just love the idea that the company who owns the ship had no
> >> idea what was in the containers.

> >> Having been involved is shipping some stuff internationally by sea in
> >> recent years I know that everyone wants to see bills of lading,  and
> >> most carriers won't even consider shipments to or from some countries
> >> unless their agents can fully inspect the cargo prior to loading.

> >> If you want to send a cardboard carton of stuff to anywhere in the
> >> middle east you'll only get to seal it after the carrier's agent  has
> >> inspected it and made sure that what's in the box is what the documents
> >> say is in the box.

> >> Send a couple of pallets that aren't wrapped in transparent plastic and
> >> it'll be opened at some [point.

> >> Send a container and you can be pretty sure that at some point someone
> >> from the shipper or their agents will want a look inside...

> >> --
> >> William Black

> >> "Any number under six"

> >> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> >> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> >> single handed with a quarterstaff.

> > Gee, that's funny. We had a thread here some months back that said
> > just the opposite. Live and learn I guess.

> I remember.

> But this isn't shipping stuff in and out of major Western ports.

> As I said then,  everything I've shipped 'surface',  which ranges from
> cartons to half a dozen pallets,  gets inspected closely by both
> officials and shipping agents.

> Asia and the Middle East is full of very paranoid people who know that
> someone is out to get them,  and governments who employ thousands of
> cops and customs officers because they know that three out of four
> people who cross their borders are either CIA men or drug smugglers or
> worse.

> Nobody ships containers into the Middle East without knowing exactly
> what's inside them unless they've been paid a very great deal of money
> not to ask...

> --
> William Black

> "Any number under six"

> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> single handed with a quarterstaff.

Frogwatch wrote:
> On Nov 4, 11:14 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> Jack Linthicum wrote:
>>> On Nov 4, 10:37 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>>>> vaughn wrote:
>>>>> JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
>>>>> said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
>>>>> bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
>>>>> in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
>>>>> by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
>>>>> evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
>>>>> Hezbollah.
>>>>> Complete article at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html
>>>> Don't you just love the idea that the company who owns the ship had no
>>>> idea what was in the containers.
>>>> Having been involved is shipping some stuff internationally by sea in
>>>> recent years I know that everyone wants to see bills of lading,  and
>>>> most carriers won't even consider shipments to or from some countries
>>>> unless their agents can fully inspect the cargo prior to loading.
>>>> If you want to send a cardboard carton of stuff to anywhere in the
>>>> middle east you'll only get to seal it after the carrier's agent  has
>>>> inspected it and made sure that what's in the box is what the documents
>>>> say is in the box.
>>>> Send a couple of pallets that aren't wrapped in transparent plastic and
>>>> it'll be opened at some [point.
>>>> Send a container and you can be pretty sure that at some point someone
>>>> from the shipper or their agents will want a look inside...
>>>> --
>>>> William Black
>>>> "Any number under six"
>>>> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
>>>> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
>>>> single handed with a quarterstaff.
>>> Gee, that's funny. We had a thread here some months back that said
>>> just the opposite. Live and learn I guess.
>> I remember.

>> But this isn't shipping stuff in and out of major Western ports.

>> As I said then,  everything I've shipped 'surface',  which ranges from
>> cartons to half a dozen pallets,  gets inspected closely by both
>> officials and shipping agents.

>> Asia and the Middle East is full of very paranoid people who know that
>> someone is out to get them,  and governments who employ thousands of
>> cops and customs officers because they know that three out of four
>> people who cross their borders are either CIA men or drug smugglers or
>> worse.

>> Nobody ships containers into the Middle East without knowing exactly
>> what's inside them unless they've been paid a very great deal of money
>> not to ask...

>> --
>> William Black

>> "Any number under six"

>> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
>> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
>> single handed with a quarterstaff.

> This has been a problem for my company in shipping sensitive
> instruments to the ME.  We try like hell to make the crates nearly
> bombproof and idjit proof and then they go and open them and handle
> the stuff causing scratches and misalignments.  The customer does not
> understand why the unit that was freshly painted before shipping has
> scratched and needs alignment.  It is not worthwhile doing business in
> the ME for this reason.

> Frogwatch wrote:
> > On Nov 4, 11:14 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> >> Jack Linthicum wrote:
> >>> On Nov 4, 10:37 am, William Black <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> >>>> vaughn wrote:
> >>>>> JERUSALEM -  Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials
> >>>>> said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons
> >>>>> bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.  The pre-dawn seizure
> >>>>> in the waters near Cyprus was a rare interception of a suspected arms shipment
> >>>>> by Israel, which has long accused Iran of arming its enemies. Israel offered no
> >>>>> evidence to support its claim that the weapons came from Iran and were meant for
> >>>>> Hezbollah.
> >>>>> Complete article at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571548,00.html
> >>>> Don't you just love the idea that the company who owns the ship had no
> >>>> idea what was in the containers.
> >>>> Having been involved is shipping some stuff internationally by sea in
> >>>> recent years I know that everyone wants to see bills of lading,  and
> >>>> most carriers won't even consider shipments to or from some countries
> >>>> unless their agents can fully inspect the cargo prior to loading.
> >>>> If you want to send a cardboard carton of stuff to anywhere in the
> >>>> middle east you'll only get to seal it after the carrier's agent  has
> >>>> inspected it and made sure that what's in the box is what the documents
> >>>> say is in the box.
> >>>> Send a couple of pallets that aren't wrapped in transparent plastic and
> >>>> it'll be opened at some [point.
> >>>> Send a container and you can be pretty sure that at some point someone
> >>>> from the shipper or their agents will want a look inside...
> >>>> --
> >>>> William Black
> >>>> "Any number under six"
> >>>> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> >>>> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> >>>> single handed with a quarterstaff.
> >>> Gee, that's funny. We had a thread here some months back that said
> >>> just the opposite. Live and learn I guess.
> >> I remember.

> >> But this isn't shipping stuff in and out of major Western ports.

> >> As I said then,  everything I've shipped 'surface',  which ranges from
> >> cartons to half a dozen pallets,  gets inspected closely by both
> >> officials and shipping agents.

> >> Asia and the Middle East is full of very paranoid people who know that
> >> someone is out to get them,  and governments who employ thousands of
> >> cops and customs officers because they know that three out of four
> >> people who cross their borders are either CIA men or drug smugglers or
> >> worse.

> >> Nobody ships containers into the Middle East without knowing exactly
> >> what's inside them unless they've been paid a very great deal of money
> >> not to ask...

> >> --
> >> William Black

> >> "Any number under six"

> >> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> >> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> >> single handed with a quarterstaff.

> > This has been a problem for my company in shipping sensitive
> > instruments to the ME.  We try like hell to make the crates nearly
> > bombproof and idjit proof and then they go and open them and handle
> > the stuff causing scratches and misalignments.  The customer does not
> > understand why the unit that was freshly painted before shipping has
> > scratched and needs alignment.  It is not worthwhile doing business in
> > the ME for this reason.

> You're going to have to do what a lot of people shipping to sensitive
> areas do,  which is to develop a method of packing that allows full
> inspection of the contents.

> You're still not going to stop half educated cops and customs men
> opening the pack to make sure you're not shipping bomb parts into their
> homeland (not that could spot a bomb part unless it was ticking),  but
> you'll stop most of it...

> --
> William Black

> "Any number under six"

> The answer given by Englishman Richard Peeke when asked by the Duke of
> Medina Sidonia how many Spanish sword and buckler men he could beat
> single handed with a quarterstaff.