This is what you call guts!!

[Chetan Parekh]

Somali pirates hijack world's largest ship

[Arvind Mahendra]

The Saudis should take some lessons from the English and how they had an entire fleet from their navy dedicated to protecting the assets of their oversea corporations like the East India company in the 1700s. Having an army just for the the control and protection of corporations can also lead to annexation of entire countries over time as one of its perks.

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

This story cracked me. Which side do you root for?

[Frank Silbermann]

Originally posted by Arvind Mahendra:
The Saudis should take some lessons from the English and how they had an entire fleet from their navy dedicated to protecting the assets of their oversea corporations like the East India company in the 1700s. Having an army just for the the control and protection of corporations can also lead to annexation of entire countries over time as one of its perks.

It is difficult for me to understand why there is no simple military solution to the piracy problem. How difficult can it be for a nation with satellite surveilance, satellite telephones and video, and drone airplanes with guided missile to identify and sink a pirate boat?

[Paul Sturrock]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:
This story cracked me. Which side do you root for?

Port.

[Ulf Dittmer]

Red or white?

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
It is difficult for me to understand why there is no simple military solution to the piracy problem. How difficult can it be for a nation with satellite surveilance, satellite telephones and video, and drone airplanes with guided missile to identify and sink a pirate boat?

The ocean is really, really big and there are thousands of boats in those waters engaging in perfectly legal commerce.

[Arvind Mahendra]

Though there is a moral dillema here, you really gotta hand it to these robbers. I thought i was being bad ass downloading stuff from rapidshare all the time.
The ironic thing is the ship is carrying- shall we say highly flammable cargo so out goes the option of using fire power to recapture the vessel. Maybe they should use MS's approach of directing illegal windows user's to a website where they can pay some money and everything will be forgotten like it never happened.

[John Smith]

This is what I call guts:

[Henry Wong]

Originally posted by Joe Ess:


The ocean is really, really big and there are thousands of boats in those waters engaging in perfectly legal commerce.

Also, Somalia doesn't really have a government. It is more like a country ruled by lots of warlords. It is very easy for a pirate ship to run and hide in small ports, in small towns, that are paid off.

Henry

[Paul Clapham]

Originally posted by Ulf Dittmer:
Red or white?

I didn't know that port came in red and white varieties.

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Henry Wong:
It is very easy for a pirate ship to run and hide in small ports

And let's be clear here. A "pirate ship" is not this:


But something more like this:

Image above from this news story on Somalia.

[Henry Wong]

Originally posted by Paul Clapham:

I didn't know that port came in red and white varieties.

All the port that I have seen is red. But I believe that you can also get it in pink and white.

Personally, sweet wines are "not my cup of tea"...

Henry

[Arvind Mahendra]

Originally posted by Joe Ess:

And let's be clear here. A "pirate ship" is not this:


But something more like this:

Image above from this news story on Somalia.

They will own the tanker now that they've captured it.

[Henry Wong]

Originally posted by Arvind Mahendra:

They will own the tanker now that they've captured it.

Did the article explain what the heck are they going to do with the tanker?

It is not exactly small enough to hide. And the fuel is unlikely to be processed, so it probably won't be able to power their machine gun armed waverunners...

Henry

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Henry Wong:

Did the article explain what the heck are they going to do with the tanker?

Hold it for ransom:

Eleven vessels are currently being held by pirates hoping to secure ransoms for their release, according to AP. They include the MV Faina, which was hijacked along with 20 crew and a cargo of weapons and T-72 tanks.

Pirates anchor supertanker off Somalia

[marc weber]

Sometimes I pay my dominatrix an extra $250 to wear a pirate costume during sessions.

[Ulf Dittmer]

All the port that I have seen is red. But I believe that you can also get it in pink and white.

The overwhelming majority is red, but I was once served a white when I didn't specify the color, so I'm alert to that now. Didn't like it, either, it tastes rather different than the red.
[ November 18, 2008: Message edited by: Ulf Dittmer ]

[Ulf Dittmer]

Joe accidentally linked to the wrong picture. This is what real pirates look like:

[Sri Anand]

For Ships worth so many millions and goods they are carrying evey more, Can't they have a armed units and a bomber planes on board (atleast 1) to smash the encoutnered pirates.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

I thought pirates were more like this:



(Pirates of the Caribbean parts 1 & 2 in 30 seconds as enacted by bunnies)

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Originally posted by Ulf Dittmer:
Joe accidentally linked to the wrong picture. This is what real pirates look like:

Yes, my son has a replica of a real pirate ship and it looks exactly like that. Plus Captain Jack Sparrow would never be caught on that little inflatable rowboat thingy Joe showed us.

[Chetan Parekh]

How to become successful pirate?

[Akhilesh Trivedi]

Originally posted by Chetan Parekh:
How to become successful pirate?

How I became a pirate!

[Chetan Parekh]

Originally posted by Akhilesh Trivedi:


How I became a pirate!

I guess Pritam is the biggest pirate of India. Let me check if he is offering any parttime course.

[R K Singh]

just off the topic.

Is western media covering this news ??

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by R K Singh:
Is western media covering this news ??

The first link I posted is ABC (American Broadcasting Company) and the second is CNN, so yes, western media is on the case.

[Arvind Mahendra]

Originally posted by Chetan Parekh:
How to become successful pirate?

become a film producer in Bollywood.

[Arvind Mahendra]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:


Yes, my son has a replica of a real pirate ship and it looks exactly like that. Plus Captain Jack Sparrow would never be caught on that little inflatable rowboat thingy Joe showed us.

Man This thing looks like a total blast(The set also come with a hookers?), even cooler than the one Joe posted. Say it say ages 4 and up, does it also have an ages x and below? I also see a number 5736, is that the number of players that can participate to enjoy it fully? I only have 4, maybe 5 friends.

[Joanne Neal]

Originally posted by R K Singh:
just off the topic.

Is western media covering this news ??

Of course they are. It involves oil.
Plus two of the hostages are from the UK.

[Frank Silbermann]

I found out why governments cannot stop this. To the extent navies are involved, it is to protect ships, and free them, and maybe capture pirates alive. Not to kill pirates.

But they have no solution for dealing with captured pirates. They cannot turn them over to whatever claims to represent the Somali "government" lest they be executed or have their hands chopped off. The English navy refuses to bring them to prisons in England lest they cry out for amnesty and permanent residency. (Yes, if you're facing starvation in Africa, even an English prison is a step up -- and maybe you'll get rich as a pirate and _not_ go to prison.)

Because piracy has been tolerated, an entire economy has arisen in some villages based on piracy.

When I wondered why a military response could not solve the problem, I had in mind a policy to identify and destroy the pirates (i.e. blow up pirate boats with the pirates in them). The western countries no longer have the stomach for that. So I expect this threat to spread around the world. After all, if we cannot deal with pirates from a region with no effective government, what on earth would we do if pirates _had_ a government that supported their actions? Make war on it? Like Bush did to Iraq?

[Chetan Parekh]

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
Make war on it? Like Bush did to Iraq?

Any war is just a temporary and easiest solution to issue. Better to find out diplomatic solution.

[Joe Ess]

I'm beginning to think that Frank is a ninja spy in this forum attempting to sully the good name of pirates everywhere. As we all know, ninjas are the sworn enemy of pirates. Perhaps he has something to gain from global warming?

[ November 20, 2008: Message edited by: Joe Ess ]

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Originally posted by Joe Ess:
Perhaps he has something to gain from global warming?

Indeed, that's what this incident brings to mind: excitement at the prospect of a pirate resurgence and the associated remediation of global warming.

Arrrr!

[Joanne Neal]

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
I found out why governments cannot stop this. To the extent navies are involved, it is to protect ships, and free them, and maybe capture pirates alive. Not to kill pirates.

Not all governments think that way
India praised for sinking pirates. It doesn't say whether any of the pirates were killed, but I don't think the navy were trying to avoid killing any.

[marc weber]

SPOCK: "Intelligence reports Romulans now using Klingon design."

[Frank Silbermann]

Originally posted by Chetan Parekh:
Any war is just a temporary and easiest solution to issue. Better to find out diplomatic solution.

OK. Let's say you've been assigned to work out a diplomatic solution with this group of pirates. What sort of agreement do you think you might be able to work out that will be attractive enough that the pirates will accept it, but not attractive enough that others will take up piracy in the hope of obtaining a similar offer?

I cannot think of one myself. So I am guessing that the next response will be the organization of ships into convoys. It will slow shipping down, waiting for fifty ships to gather and ship off together in the company of one or two military protectors, but at least military protection might be feasible this way.

Originally posted by Joanne Neal:

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
I found out why governments cannot stop this. To the extent navies are involved, it is to protect ships, and free them, and maybe capture pirates alive. Not to kill pirates.

Not all governments think that way
India praised for sinking pirates. It doesn't say whether any of the pirates were killed, but I don't think the navy were trying to avoid killing any.

It was through the wholesale killing of pirates that Great Britain made widespread international trade feasible 150 years ago. If the over-civilized western countries have developed sensitivities too delicate for killing pirates and occasionally risking the lives of some merchant seamen, then it's time for them to step aside as World Policemen, and let some rapidly developing countries rise to the task.

Maybe we can find people equally as impoverished as the Somalis who would appreciate the opportunity to risk their lives for high pay serving as combination warrors and merchant seamen. Fight fire with fire.

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
If the over-civilized western countries have developed sensitivities too delicate for killing pirates

The British Navy killed two on Nov. 11. I didn't see anyone getting their britches in a twist about it.
[ November 20, 2008: Message edited by: Joe Ess ]

[marc weber]

Originally posted by Frank Silbermann:
... What sort of agreement do you think you might be able to work out that will be attractive enough that the pirates will accept it, but not attractive enough that others will take up piracy in the hope of obtaining a similar offer? ...

That's a good point. We need to offer them some sort of pie, but nothing too decadent. Maybe raspberry pie (with a not-so-flakey crust)?

[marc weber]

Originally posted by marc weber:
Sometimes I pay my dominatrix an extra $250 to wear a pirate costume during sessions.

Just to clarify: She is the one wearing the pirate costume. I am a lowly cabin boy at Her service.

I'm sorry for any confusion this might have caused.