Pirates seize U.S. freighter, hold captain for ransom

**Husar** · 04-20-2009, 16:29

Originally Posted by Furunculus

and of course people are perfectly rational when they are staring down the barrel of a warship whilst committing an illegal act which gives carte blanche to anybody to retaliate against you..............

Yes, you're right, it would have been less dangerous for the captain without all those warships around...

**Seamus Fermanagh** · 04-20-2009, 17:10

Originally Posted by Husar

Yes, you're right, it would have been less dangerous for the captain without all those warships around...

Absolutely. And it would be far less dangerous if we just paid the ransom for the ship & crew promptly -- after all, the pirates have the primary rights to that property anyway. We should probably be thankful that they set the tolls so reasonably.

**Furunculus** · 04-20-2009, 17:33

Originally Posted by Husar

Yes, you're right, it would have been less dangerous for the captain without all those warships around...

awesome idea, and when i'm being mugged the police shouldn't intervene either, as that may introduce additional risk to both myself, the mugger, and the police themselves.

it would be a brutal violation of all of our inalienable human right to personal safety, at all times, and in all circumstances, available to all, without discrimination of any kind (including common-sense), and supplied with a free bunny for all involved (not a living creature of course, that would be cruel).

**Husar** · 04-20-2009, 17:38

Yes, protection is a good keyword, so where were those warships before the captain was taken hostage?
A sealane is not a big, busy city with millions of people, it should not be too hard to set up protected convoys but I guess it's easier to solve such hostage situations...

**Swoosh So** · 04-21-2009, 17:11

Wow 6 pages and not 1 mention i can find of the reports that the reason behind the piracy is mainly due to illegal fishing and waste dumping in somali waters by the west.... Not saying i believe it but its the other side of the story not just theyre black and poor and have too which seems to be the position of many people on this thread, According to several news reports ive read most of these pirates were fishermen who can no longer make a living due to illegal fishing off their coast. I know that many of the pirates now are there for randsom money etc but from what i read it dident start out that way, many fishermen started doing it and the warlords got involved when they saw there was money to be made.

Some links if anyone interested

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/583781.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4312553.stm

http://www.voanews.com/english/archi...2-23-voa23.cfm

**rory_20_uk** · 04-21-2009, 17:18

Yeah, we had those mentioned.

Amazing eyesight those chaps have to see hundreds of kilometers to those fishing.
And of course to illegally dump off someone's coast when there's deeper trenches further from land is just spiteful - and illogical.

**Swoosh So** · 04-21-2009, 17:29

And yet there was a un report about somalis falling sick from the waste that dredged up after the tsunami.. Its cheaper to dump there than in other waters of course as theres no active goverment.

**Tribesman** · 04-21-2009, 17:47

Amazing eyesight those chaps have to see hundreds of kilometers to those fishing.

Yes amazing , like those cornish fishermen being able to see the morrocan based spanish boats all the way over in Africa .
Oh but they don't see that far do they , they see them when they are out on the fishing grounds