Topic: More CNN Breaking News

[bill440cars]

     Just got this , on CNN breaking news:


- U.S. sinks pirate skiff and captures mother ship after pirates fire on USS Nicholas in Indian Ocean, Navy says.

 
    All Right!

[bucky katt]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

[Caaveman82]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

Man I want so badly to agree with you... most of these guys are not ruthless killers, they are doing it out of necessity, I am not saying it makes it right either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself.

[bill440cars]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

   Yeah, THAT'S what I'd been thinking. You can't let people like that intimidate others! Others SHOULDN'T have to be concerned about those low life Pirates! Let those Pirates put all of their efforts into something HONEST, instead of taking away from OTHERS!

[bill440cars]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

Man I want so badly to agree with you... most of these guys are not ruthless killers, they are doing it out of necessity, I am not saying it makes it right either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself.

   Caave, I understand where YOU are coming form, just seems like there should be some other way. Course a person NEVER knows, unless they have been in THEIR position. But to TAKE from others.
Somewhere along the way, SOMEBODY needs to step up and try to work something out. I DON'T know what the exact answer is though. The U'S. can't support everyone AND hardly anyone else seems to put pout the effort, far as I know.

[BeSeeingYou]

It's easy to hear the news and think of some big mother ship but here is a photo posted with the news story.  Most of these guys are fishermen who know their way around boats and the ocean.  You won't find to many landlubbers 1000 miles out in small boats like that.  Somalia is a failed state that has lost control of it's territorial waters and international fishing fleets have stripped it of fishing stocks and others have used it's waters as a dumping ground further destroying the ecosystem.  So they have turned to this to survive.  The Gulf of Aden along with the Straights of Malacca have always had a certain amount of piracy ever since ships have traveled these routes.  Navies have been patrolling this region for years and it still goes on.  Until the root of the problems is fixed this is all just a bandaid.  The only time it gets to be a big news item is when an American ship is involved but there is nothing new here.

Bill does have a point about getting others involved.  Most of the shipping in this area is bound for Europe, China, Japan, etc and these countries need to step up.  There are some Europeans involved but we don't need to be the policemen for every problem.

[bill440cars]

  Yes, I DIDN'T know the full story, you are right. Fact is, WE'VE been the "Policeman" for too many for too long now! That IS a fact. It is a REAL shame that ALL of the larger countries won't step up and give a hand to the smaller ones, instead of just dumping on them. Of sours, it would take years for SOME of those larger countries to even think of catching up to all that the U.S. has done (in this respect) over the years. I'm not saying that We've not been guilty of somethings like that over the years either. We probably have.

[coldright]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

Man I want so badly to agree with you... most of these guys are not ruthless killers, they are doing it out of necessity, I am not saying it makes it right either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself.

Seriously?  Hoardes of men (I speak generally here) roaming the earth terrorizing people with guns and it's acceptable because they come from unfortunate circumstances?  I can't say that I would agree if it were my boat or house.  I'm a sailor and I can't imagine how horrific it would be... to be terrorized because someone is desperate.  No, hell no. 

[bucky katt]

i was just telling my wife the other day when we were discussing the piracy problem and i said back then that all that is needed to stop this #$%* is a few ounces of well placed lead 

[Caaveman82]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

Man I want so badly to agree with you... most of these guys are not ruthless killers, they are doing it out of necessity, I am not saying it makes it right either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself.

Seriously?  Hoardes of men (I speak generally here) roaming the earth terrorizing people with guns and it's acceptable because they come from unfortunate circumstances?  I can't say that I would agree if it were my boat or house.  I'm a sailor and I can't imagine how horrific it would be... to be terrorized because someone is desperate.  No, hell no. 

Have you ever been hungry enough to kill for food? Have you ever watched your family rot in front of you and you couldn't do jack about it?

I doubt it.

I am not excusing them, I am saying that when you come from a deprived country you do depraived things for survival because you do not know any better. If all you ever knew was stealing to live then that's all you know, the morals don't come into the equasion untill some one teaches them to you and they have been reinforced for years.

Don't think I am some liberal bleeding heart, but do think about how crappy it is to be in some one else's shoes. It's easy for us to judge because we know better.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

maybe this'll make those as$#oles think twice about hi-jacking ships 

Man I want so badly to agree with you... most of these guys are not ruthless killers, they are doing it out of necessity, I am not saying it makes it right either, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to feed yourself.

This isn't a Big Mac we're talking about. Waste the f----

[Duke McDukiedook]

Maybe they should form a corporation, call it Blackwater and they could do whatever they please, right??

Then their piracy and mercenary shennanigans would be above any laws. 

[Caaveman82]

Maybe they should form a corporation, call it Blackwater and they could do whatever they please, right??

Then their piracy and mercenary shennanigans would be above any laws. 

That is a good idea Dook.

Like shoot at cops in the Big Easy haha.

[HavocTurbo]

Piracy has been going on for thousands of years. Nothing new.

Only now the internet has made it an instant news item.

Media glorifies pirates (Movies?) as well as what they stand for.

So you're going to raid a ship.... they should carry guns. Lots of guns.

snip..... I'm a sailor..... snip  

What?!?!? Damn girl! Go get em!!

[coldright]

That's Captain Carrie to you mister...

[HavocTurbo]

Shut the eff up!!

You own the boat or just run it? 

[BeSeeingYou]

i was just telling my wife the other day when we were discussing the piracy problem and i said back then that all that is needed to stop this #$%* is a few ounces of well placed lead  

Despite how emotional satisfying it might be it hasn't worked so far as there is always someone else to step in and take their place.  The "War on Terror" has shown us that.  How many tons of lead have been expended on that?  Until the swamp that this activity rises in is drained it will always be there.  It is a problem that involves failed countries, poverty, scarce resources, exploitation, corruption,  etc.  It requires a global solution but I am not holding my breath on that so on it goes.  This piracy is in an area of hundreds of thousands of square miles with 1000's of ships they only catch a small percentage of the pirates.  In the past the shipping companies looked on it as a cost of doing business.  It was cheaper to pay the occasional ransom than to pay for armed security or to disrupt the supply chain by changing routes.  I recently  read a book on the shipping industry and piracy but can't remember the name and it was an eye opener.  The volume alone and the resources devoted to shipping goods is astounding.  This piracy is but a gnat bite on an elephant's ass.

[coldright]

I drive for other people... it's too expensive to own a boat.  My last gig was a 40 ft aluminum sled with 910hp diesel MAN.  I drove 100 miles from Portland to Astoria in 3 hrs.  Took passengers there to sightsee then turned around and brought them home the same day.  

From what I've read, the guys who are the low level pirates are fairly respectful when they do take hostages.  A french cruise ship was taken a couple of years ago with just crew on board and while they used guns and threats, it was apparent that they were just trying to survive.  The crew was scared, but after a few days they settled into a quiet routine.  Brought their own goat meat and refused the french cuisine and wine.  

But still, someone approaches my boat with a gun... I will not play nice.

[BeSeeingYou]

I drive for other people... it's too expensive to own a boat.  My last gig was a 40 ft aluminum sled with 910hp diesel MAN.  I drove 100 miles from Portland to Astoria in 3 hrs.  Took passengers there to sightsee then turned around and brought them home the same day.  

From what I've read, the guys who are the low level pirates are fairly respectful when they do take hostages.  A french cruise ship was taken a couple of years ago with just crew on board and while they used guns and threats, it was apparent that they were just trying to survive.  The crew was scared, but after a few days they settled into a quiet routine.  Brought their own goat meat and refused the french cuisine and wine.  

But still, someone approaches my boat with a gun... I will not play nice.

Did you ever read the article in the sailing mag Cruising World about a running gun battle between two sailboats and  pirates in the Gulf of Aden?  It was several years ago.

[coldright]

See if you can find a link.  Here's one to the Vanity Fair article I read http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/somali-pirates200904?currentPage=1

[Caaveman82]

But still, someone approaches my boat with a gun... I will not play nice.

I hear you loud and clear and I happen to agree. I am not saying turn the other cheek or lay down to be captured, but at the same time a little understanding is okay, it doesn't make you conspirator or anything lol.

[Duke McDukiedook]

So where do you hide your gun, Cap'n? 

[Don R]

They are kidnapping people for ransom, not just stealing a few boats.

[coldright]

So where do you hide your gun, Cap'n?  

I carry it out in the open.

[mark]

....  Somalia is a failed state that has lost control of it's territorial waters and international fishing fleets have stripped it of fishing stocks and others have used it's waters as a dumping ground further destroying the ecosystem......  Until the root of the problems is fixed this is all just a bandaid.  ..

..... and if the root of all those problems turns out to be overpopulation, then what?