Hilarious Piracy (voluntary Coast Guard)

[custosnox]

I've only recently been posting again, but I apparantly say some stuff some people don't like, because everytime I get one, it get's knocked back down   

[guido911]

I've only recently been posting again, but I apparantly say some stuff some people don't like, because everytime I get one, it get's knocked back down   

It ain't me. I have never Karma'd anyone. I think that whole idea is stupid, and I have posted that previously.

[RecycleMichael]

I gave guido +1 karma. I have given him + karma a couple of times. I guess I am the only one who appreciates his humor.

I used to have good karma, but lately I seem to be losing three or four a day. I guess I need to stop arguing.

[TURobY]

I used to have good karma, but lately I seem to be losing three or four a day. I guess I need to stop arguing.

The trick is to stay under the radar. That way, there is no incentive to take away karma. 

[Hawkins]

So the question is this:  should we have conceded and pay the ransom?  I'm glad they did what they did.  It sends a pretty clear message to the terrorists (and these pirates are equivalent to that) that we will not negotiate and won't tolerate these kinds of acts.

But, we also have to be careful, especially in this country (Somalia).  We do remember that the movie 'Blackhawk Down' was based on the Blackhawk shot down in Mogadishu.  These extreme Somalis, for all their barbarism, know how to co-ordinate.  That's a dangerous combination, especially in a country with no real government.

No, they don't. We killed hundreds of them and lost 18 soldiers. Some say they lost thousands.

The Somalis are some of the dumbest humans that walk the planet. No central government... that place can't even rise to the title of "3rd World." That is saying something, folks.

I mean, really, lets look at some of their recent activity...

They take a Saudi Oil tanker, work out a ransom deal, then drown on their way to retrieve the money that was air-dropped into the ocean. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479045,00.html

Then in this latest publicized incident, the "pirates" (if you can even call them that--the ghosts of pirates of the days long past laugh at these fools as they pass the rum) try to hijack an American ship with unarmed sailors... and fail.

They end up taking the captain in a lifeboat?? and being the idiots that they are, end up surrounded by the U.S. Navy within a day.

Now, completely overtaken by the world's most efficient navy, only two options remain. You surrender, or you get taken out. But no!! In the mind of an uneducated Somalian, you ask the U.S. military for a ransom!! 

And so they died. Three shots, three kills. They never knew what hit them. They left this world just as clueless as they were when they entered it.

These are young, uneducated, extremely poor, extremely small-minded people, carrying AK-47s that they are completely lacking in proficiency with.

Any ship with 2-4 trained security guards with semi-automatic rifles could stop ANY of the hundreds of Somali pirate attacks that have occurred thusfar.

Port-to-port international firearms laws, and skimpy shipping company owners who don't want to pay for ship security, are the reason why the attacks continue. 

No Somalian pirate attack has circumvented an armed security detail. And they never will.

Due to the lack of security on these ships, sending our military after them may be the best deterrent at this point, but doing so is like rolling a tank over an anthill.

--

Hoss, President Clinton pulled us out of Somalia because he didn't want us to have to kill any more of THEM. Not the other way around. He felt sorry for them, tried to help them out with humanitarian aid.  When they jacked with a couple of our helicopters, they lost 800 people, and he pulled the plug on the operation.

--

[guido911]

Well stated Hawkins.

It's being reported that these dumba$$es tried to hijack another U.S. cargo ship, but were unsuccessful. Obama was reportedly on board the vessel and personally stopped these pirates.

[custosnox]

looks like they are wanting to raise the stakes

MOMBASA, Kenya – French forces raided a pirate supply ship and detained 11 brigands off the coast of Kenya on Wednesday, as pirate attacks and counterattacks racheted up tensions in one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

The French forces launched their early morning attack after observing the pirates overnight. A French surveillance helicopter spotted the pirates' vessel Tuesday, the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The raid thwarted the sea bandits' planned attack on a Liberian-registered vessel, the ministry said. The ship was intercepted 550 miles (900 kilometers) east of the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

A mothership usually is a seized foreign vessel that pirates use to transport speedboats far out to sea and resupply them as they plot their attacks.

Meanwhile, Somali pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter loaded with food aid but the ship escaped and was heading to Kenya under U.S. Navy guard.

The Liberty Sun's American crew was not injured in the latest attack but the vessel sustained some damage, owner Liberty Maritime Corp. said. The sailors successfully blockaded themselves inside the engine room — the same tactic the Maersk Alabama crew used to thwart last week's attack on their ship.

Still, the attack foiled the reunion between the American sea captain rescued by Navy snipers and the 19-man crew of the Maersk Alabama who he saved with his heroism.

Capt. Richard Phillips was planning to meet his crew in Mombasa and fly home with them Wednesday, but he was stuck on the USS Bainbridge when it was diverted to help the Liberty Sun.

Despite President Barack Obama's vow to take action against the rise in banditry and the deaths of five pirates in French and U.S. hostage rescues, brigands seized four vessels and more than 75 hostages since Sunday's dramatic rescue of an American freighter captain.

That brought the total number of sailors being held by Somali pirates to over 300 on 16 different ships — a distinct surge in the number of captives over the last few days.

Pirates can extort $1 million or more for each ship and crew seized off the Horn of Africa — and Kenya estimates they raked in $150 million last year.

One of the pirates whose gang attacked the Liberty Sun said Wednesday his group was specifically targeting American ships and threatened to kill Americans.

"We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them," said a 25-year-old pirate based in the Somali port of Harardhere who gave only his first name, Ismail.

"We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades," boasted Ismail, who did not take part in the attack.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy
The last bit of it is what tells me that we need to start arming our merchant ships, and get the navy in there in more force so we can put an end to this

[Gaspar]

Well Sharpton is chiming in about the Somali Pirates "Voluntary Coastguard".  Not long until this becomes the official terminology. 

[Hawkins]

See, look at this article. A few, well-trained security personnel repel these "pirates" every time.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517955,00.html

[swake]

The kid of a friend of mine is in the Navy and is being deployed on Pirate Duty in the next couple of months.

[custosnox]

And here is the latest...

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92536?fp=1

[cannon_fodder]

Holy crap!

380 feet long, 3000 tons, up to 125 men (crew, airmen, Marines, etc.)

Armament:    

    * BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun (machine cannon)
    * RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles
    * 45? or 60? NETFIRES PAM missiles in the ASuW module[3][4]
    * 2 .50-cal guns

Aircraft carried:    

    * 2 MH-60R/S Seahawks (Navy version of Blackhawk helicopters)
    * MQ-8 Fire Scout (targeting drone)

Speed:    45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h)

It can also serve as a "mother ship" and launch the modern equivalent of PT boats from either a ramp or a stern waterline door. 

The USS Freedom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Freedom_(LCS-1)  (wiki page because the ship's website exceeded bandwidth and down)

That's crazy.  A 380 foot warship backed with weapons and ammo, launching aircraft, and cruising towards you at 50 MPH.  This could really help change the game.  This is one of 3 in existence apparently, and more to come.

[Gaspar]

No trolling motor, or rod holders?

Worthless!

[custosnox]

No trolling motor, or rod holders?

Worthless!

You don't think those navy guys don't have something rigged up to drop some serious deep sea lines? 

[Conan71]

45 kts.  That would make short work out of long-lining.