Pirate Action Group

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Nemo55

I severely doubt that the root causes of Piracy are anything to do with being poor,,except maybe some poor farmers/fishermen who are ganged into working for the local Cartels.
These are the same warlords (loose term) who are there pulling the strings, as they where twenty and thirty years ago.
That they have continued largely unchallenged by our Western nations is suspicious at best.
If Piracy had anything to do with alleviating poverty or hunger, do you truly believe we would not have known it by now??

So i say "Release the Safeties" and let loose a few rounds in their direction, often enough to make the enterprise too costly for them.

As i believe hunger is an unrelated issue all to-gether.!!

Yep, nothing like a cruise missile in your bedroom window at night to diminish your gusto for being a criminal!

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

you got to be kidding right

Nope.

Why is a cruising forum a place to have a wank over piracy half the globe away, especially if you have no interest in a genuine, permanent solution?

Sorry...I'm just tired of people entertaining themselves with Ramboesque solutions to real problems.

Are you an accountant? They got Capone on tax evasion. Maybe the same will work in Somalia.

(please - less bs, more sailing here)

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

The event that brought me the most joy in the recent Olympics was Mo Farrer winning the 5,000m for Great Britain. He had already won the 10,000m. Mo of course came to Great Britain a Somalian refugee who could not speak a word of English. That the English embraced him as their own was the "feel good" moment of the games for me.

Originally Posted by Therapy

That is great.

Maybe he will go home now and help others.

What an unbelievably bigoted comment. He is home. He has made a life in a place that has accepted him, and he has a won a gold medal for his country in a sport that requires enormous discipline and hard work.

Unless you live in the Caucasus your ancestors were immigrants from somewhere. They must have screwed up because apparently, by your logic, they were supposed to go back to their country of origin after they had earned some success to help others.

I can't believe your post has remained. It's disgusting.

[KnuckleDragger]

Originally Posted by minaret

Note the disparity in costs in that article-pirates took 160 million in ransom in one year but it cost shipping companies 7 billion dollars of insurance to cover their shipping. Who are the REAL pirates? Who really stands the most to gain from this political situation in Somalia continuing? Pirates or insurance companies and companies that illegally dump nuclear and toxic waste on the Somali shoreline?

Actually the article said that it cost the "world economy" 7 billion dollars. Not the insurance costs.
Personally...I like the idea of the cruise missle in the bedroom window.

[Sabbatical II]

This was a fun thread to hi-jack. My point being that all our "civilised" countries have a significant lawless minority that if they weren't held in check, we would all be living in anarchy. It's easy to get a "lets blow their brains out" response from sections of this forum but that will not solve the problem for the vast majority trapped in that country, whose numbers exceed the passing yachties immeasurably. I too was wanting to travel that way soon but there is an alternative route for those up to it and we don't have blow people up or shoot things along the way.

[bobconnie]

Its easy to say put the rocket thru the window or turn the damn place into a shiny slick piece of glass !! We could do this but what else will happen after that ?? I understan these feelings don't get me wrong, but they will not happen so lets go a different way !! I feel lucky cus Connie and I have done our roundy bout a long time ago, and things need to changed so others can do the same ! I feel that the navys of the countrys that have has folks messed with both cruisers and commercial vessels, should be used to CURE the problem, buy sinking all vessels used for this type of criminal use, and useing Live ammo to do this !! theres no other answer I can see no amount of money or official peaple are going to do a damn thing and unless we wish to take the whole damn country to Raise we will have to do something a little more damageing !! And Ive raised my kids and don't wish to support any more !! Just my 2 cent rant !!!

[roverhi]

Crime causes poverty.

The piracy situation in Somalia got bad only after there was some form of government. During the total collapse of government, piracy dropped ot near zero. Before and after when there was some semblance of government, piracy flourished. No direct evidence that the varous Somali governments are involved in the actual commision of piracy but certainly seem to benefit from it.

[Nemo55]

I am not advocating putting a Cruise Missile through any-ones window, but our ships captains in the area should not have their hands tied by bureaucrats who just sit there wringing there hands.
Rather they should be protected by any means necessary, because bad language hurled at them doesn't seem to work.
Bob/Connie, you are as always correct in your take on the situation.
Take the profitability away by policing the oceans and the piracy will stop, as it did hundreds of years ago.

[Nemo55]

Yeah,,its funny how the powers that be stay quiet about such things.

Originally Posted by roverhi

Crime causes poverty.

The piracy situation in Somalia got bad only after there was some form of government. During the total collapse of government, piracy dropped ot near zero. Before and after when there was some semblance of government, piracy flourished. No direct evidence that the varous Somali governments are involved in the actual commision of piracy but certainly seem to benefit from it.

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Crime causes poverty.

The piracy situation in Somalia got bad only after there was some form of government. During the total collapse of government, piracy dropped ot near zero. Before and after when there was some semblance of government, piracy flourished. No direct evidence that the varous Somali governments are involved in the actual commision of piracy but certainly seem to benefit from it.

It's my understanding that, irrespective of the government in control (should there actually be one) the main coastal areas such as that close to Harardhere where pirates operate are essentially lawless. Most rural areas that have any functioning local government are run by tribal factions with the national government able to exert little, if any, control. Much like, um, California .

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Nemo55

I am not advocating putting a Cruise Missile through any-ones window, but our ships captains in the area should not have their hands tied by bureaucrats who just sit there wringing there hands.
Rather they should be protected by any means necessary, because bad language hurled at them doesn't seem to work.
Bob/Connie, you are as always correct in your take on the situation.
Take the profitability away by policing the oceans and the piracy will stop, as it did hundreds of years ago.

You really think sinking some little boats worth a few grand and killing some low level thugs will take the profit away? They have millions of starving desperate people to recruit from, and hundreds of millions a year in income to buy more boats. Unless you approach the problem from the top it won't stop. Where do these pirates keep their money? The people at the top must be using banks like everyone else, how else do you turn bags of money into boats, guns, and new recruits? If the governments of the world really wanted the problem to stop they could make it happen. A million dollars in a duffel bag is great, but if you happen to be in the middle of Somalia where there's nothing to buy with it it doesn't do you much good. It can't be that easy to hide a 150 million a year money trail.

[charliehows]

how about a pirate thread action group - my suggestion; only talk about pirates on international talk-like-a-pirate day...arrr!

[Nemo55]

now thats a chain of logic worth following,,

Originally Posted by minaret

You really think sinking some little boats worth a few grand and killing some low level thugs will take the profit away? They have millions of starving desperate people to recruit from, and hundreds of millions a year in income to buy more boats. Unless you approach the problem from the top it won't stop. Where do these pirates keep their money? The people at the top must be using banks like everyone else, how else do you turn bags of money into boats, guns, and new recruits? If the governments of the world really wanted the problem to stop they could make it happen. A million dollars in a duffel bag is great, but if you happen to be in the middle of Somalia where there's nothing to buy with it it doesn't do you much good. It can't be that easy to hide a 150 million a year money trail.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Crime causes poverty.

The piracy situation in Somalia got bad only after there was some form of government.

Not true. At least one government did a great job against pirates and thugs. The problem being they were fundamentalists and that wasn't ok for GWB & co...

[Thames 4 Blood]

Hi Guys.
1. I am at this point a very proud, chest out, Brit. The Olympics ( all Olympics ) represent a cultural high point in human evolution. It may be aspirational beyond the checks and balances of real life but Mo exemplifies all that can be good in this unhappy world and I am proud of him.
2. Piracy is not new. It has been dealt with before with the Royal Navys yard arm and 12 foot of hemp... I am sorry to say the only solution that will ever work is to kill all pirates. The Warlords and criminals are the reason Somalia is in the state it is in. They are the cause. Not the result! Sadly, even with the will and the resources, western governments have never succeeded in any form of international social engineering. See East / West Germany post WW2 ( The Germans fixed it themselfs in the end ) Korea, Vietnam, Afganistan ( at least 4 times by Alexander the Great, Britain, USSR and the present mess... ), Iraq, Ireland etc etc etc....
I am not an extremist by any stretch of the imagination. I am a realist. The only solution is to exclude all Somali vessels from international waters without prior licensing and then treat all infringements as pirates.