Today's guest host was Indira Naidoo Harris.

It's Friday, November 21st.

The U.S. Senate is seeking the President's approval for a bill that would extend benefits to Americans who find themselves unemployed for a prolonged period of time.

Currently, And on his accountant's advice, President Bush plans to sign it.

This is The Current.

Part 1: Somali Pirates - Muse

Earlier this week, a giant Saudi oil tanker called the Sirius Star dropped anchor in the Indian Ocean ... a little more than 800 kilometres off the coast of Somalia. Those are dangerous waters, rife with piracy. But the crew figured they were safe since no one had ever struck that far out at sea. They were wrong. And now the Sirius Star, along with its 25 crew members and the two million barrels of crude oil it was carrying are being held off the coast of a small Somali fishing village -- and well-defended pirate base called Eyl.

There have been three more hijackings since then. And more than a third of all the pirate attacks in the world now take place off the coast of Somalia. Muse, as he calls himself, is a Somali fisherman who says he hijacks ships traveling off the coast of Somalia. He says he's not a pirate, he's defending his country. We contacted him with the help of freelance journalist Abdul Rahman Warssameh in Mogadishu. And because of the quality of the phone line, The Current's Kennedy Jawoko helped out with a voice-over.

Somali Pirates - Security

Now the waters off the Horn of Africa are part of one of the world's most important shipping routes especially if you want to move oil out of the Persian Gulf. So it's not surprising that the companies that rely on those waters see things a little differently. Sunil Ram has been fielding calls from some of those companies. He's a a Security Consultant with Executive Security Services International and Sunil Ram joined us today from Huntsville, Ontario.

Canada has had a presence in the Gulf of Aden, as part of the international naval patrols, but the Department of National Defense was not willing to provide us with an update on our mission.

Listen to Part One:



Part 2: Clinton Goes to the White House

This week, Hillary Clinton's name has been batted about as the most likely candidate to be Barack Obama's Secretary of State ... one of the most important and high-profile positions in the U.S. administration. But along with that speculation is talk that her husband, you might have heard of ... Bill Clinton, might be dragging down her chances. There have also been suggestions that he could hurt her ability to do the job if she gets it.

Since he left the White House, Bill Clinton has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for his philanthropic foundation and made plenty more from personal business deals. That includes deals with the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, deals that many people say could put Hillary Clinton in a conflict of interest if she were to become Secretary of State.

Lanny Davis is a former special Counsel for Bill Clinton and a friend of Hillary Clinton's. He's also a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and he was in Washington.

Now, Bill Clinton has commented on the donations his foundation gets. We aired a clip of him discussing the process with philanthropy.com.

Clinton - The Administration

Obviously, Hillary Clinton isn't the only person being vetted for the Obama Administration. And she's hardly the only person in Washington with baggage.

So for a sense of what other challenges might be waiting in the wings, we were joined by David Paul Kuhn. He's a Senior Political Reporter for Politico.com and he was in our New York studio.

Clinton - New Blood

So far, Barack Obama has filled his administration with a number of people with ties to the Clinton Administration. It's a hard thing for any Democratic President-Elect to avoid. But Robert Kuttner thinks Obama should be doing a better job of bringing in new blood. He's the author of Obama's Challenge and he was in New York City.

Listen to Part Two:

Part 3: China's Economy - Simon Li

Despite the gloomy economic news, it's business as usual in the busy streets of Shanghai, where building projects like this one are carrying on full steam ahead.
With the notable exception of the United States, most countries aren't exactly throwing around money these days.

Most (Canada included) are battening down the hatches and getting ready for some turbulent economic times. But not China. Earlier this month, it revealed an ambitious economic stimulus plan ... one that's worth an estimated 4 trillion yuan or 586 Billion U.S. dollars. So instead of scaling back, China is planning major new national infrastructure projects including 60 new airports, roads and 17,000 kilometres worth of new subway lines.

And it doesn't end there. The Chinese Government is also offering subsidies for farmers and investment incentives for businesses - all part of an effort to stave off recession and help keep this Asian lion's economy growing.

Simon Li has been watching those efforts unfold. He is a Canadian who teaches politics to college students in Hong Kong. He has just returned from a trip to the main land and he was in Hong Kong.

China's Economy - World Analysis

Many economists believe that -- unlike most developed countries -- China's economy will continue to grow at a pretty healthy clip, something that could have a huge impact on financial markets all over the world.

For their thoughts on the global implications of China's economic strategy, we were joined by Linda Yueh. She is a Fellow in Economics at Oxford University and she was in London, England. And Shih-Fen Chen is an Associate Professor of International Business at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He just returned from a trip to China and he was in London, Ontario.

Last Word - Bill's Last Days

Later today on CBC Radio One, it's The Point with host Aamer Haleem. Norway has mandated a minimum number of women in company boardrooms. Is it time for Canada to follow suit? That's on The Point at 2 o'clock -- 2:30 in Newfoundland and Labrador. And tonight on The National at 10 o'clock on CBC Television, the survivors of the Springhill mine disaster will share their stories.

Earlier in the show, we talked about Hilary Clinton's prospects for being named as Barack Obama's Secretary of State and the ways that her husband -- former President Bill Clinton -- might undermine her chances because of his international business and philanthropic activities.

And it got us thinking about Bill Clinton's last days in office. Back in 2000, President Clinton produced a little video that poked a little fun at himself as a lame duck President in his dying days in office. We ended the program this week with an excerpt.

Listen to Part Three:



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