Pirate Action Group

[sailorboy1]

You know I don't really want to hear about how the pirates are anything more than organized crime!

Pirates grow wealthy

[belizesailor]

Hang 'em high!

[Sabbatical II]

While considering what effective action we can take, for those of us living in the free west imagine what our own societies would decend into if:

The government of the country is overthrown and no effective control can be maintained over the criminal element. Unemployment hits astronomical levels. Even employment pays, at best a subsistence wage. You don't have the money to buy food for your wife and children tonight again. Thugs are roaming the village again tonight and being poor, your humble shack provides no protection for your family. It's cold again tonight and your own family is shivering, huddled together trying to keep warm. Chronic disease constantly grips your community and your own family. In view of your coastline, food, clothing, medical supplies and luxury goods on a scale hard to imagine travel on ships to another world that you can't afford to escape to.

It is true, we need to find an answer to the pirate problem. But there are greater reasons to fix it than just to allow a few yachties to sail their snazzy yachts past the starving millions without being inconvenienced.

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.

[sailorboy1]

you missed my point, I'm not arguing the "what would I do" in those conditions

because the facts are that it is just organized crime now days, does organized crime ever get out of their "marketplace" once in it just because the police etc come after them?

really now, what does Mo have to do with pirates

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

really now, what does Mo have to do with pirates

Really now, what do pirates have to do with sailing in New Hampshire?

If you're not interested in the root causes of piracy, then why start a thread on it? Let's just talk boating.

[tropicalescape]

i think the english held and ran a great games,those pirates seem to have the same level of organization!...manners also!...DVC

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

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.

That is great.

Maybe he will go home now and help others.

[bobconnie]

Or maybe we need to start a Priate section to the Games !! then they can compete for the worlds best Pirates and get medals, of course this wont help cruisers but it will tell us for sure where we can't cruise !! just a thought! ( and it makes as much sense as Mo in the olympics! do to this post)

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

While considering what effective action we can take, for those of us living in the free west imagine what our own societies would decend into if:

The government of the country is overthrown and no effective control can be maintained over the criminal element. Unemployment hits astronomical levels. Even employment pays, at best a subsistence wage. You don't have the money to buy food for your wife and children tonight again. Thugs are roaming the village again tonight and being poor, your humble shack provides no protection for your family. It's cold again tonight and your own family is shivering, huddled together trying to keep warm. Chronic disease constantly grips your community and your own family. In view of your coastline, food, clothing, medical supplies and luxury goods on a scale hard to imagine travel on ships to another world that you can't afford to escape to.

It is true, we need to find an answer to the pirate problem. But there are greater reasons to fix it than just to allow a few yachties to sail their snazzy yachts past the starving millions without being inconvenienced.

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.

amazing how fast you can run with a bunch of bad guys chasing......

[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?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Really now, what do pirates have to do with sailing in New Hampshire?

If you're not interested in the root causes of piracy, then why start a thread on it? Let's just talk boating.

you got to be kidding right

but you are right I'm not interested in the root cause because it is like most crimes everywhere, all I care about is that it stops, but in this case it wouldn't because it has now become organized crime!

I'm a boater not a social worker!

[sailorboy1]

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?

other than the waste part, that's an interesting post/outlook at it

Of course everyone pays that 7 billion price because those costs are passed down to consumers

but still the point is that regardless of how the pirate issue started (even though it goes way back, just with broken periods), all it really is now is organized crime

it probably even has financial backers now looking for a return on investment

[SunDevil]

To figure out how to stop it, you need to know why it happens.

It is a complecated problem, and I'm sure there are lots of good, honest people living amongst the bad pirate gangs. But, individuals are pretty powerless to stop an organized crime syndicate.

The professional militaries aren't doing their job protecting foreign boats if they don't take these pirates out when they are caught committing the crime. And the international community has to be willing to step up support for refuges who want to be good citizens and play by the rules.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

other than the waste part, that's an interesting post/outlook at it

Of course everyone pays that 7 billion price because those costs are passed down to consumers

but still the point is that regardless of how the pirate issue started (even though it goes way back, just with broken periods), all it really is now is organized crime

it probably even has financial backers now looking for a return on investment

Well, just look at how we "stopped" organized crime in the US.

Take out the major players for the benefit of the media, and a little fear factor. Then franchise out certain businesses the others might be interested in, like casinos, resorts, etc..

They get a legit business to hide behind, and all the money they ever dreamed of. And we get to pretend they don't exist anymore

Oh, and make sure atleast a few of them get to run for public offices!

[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.!!