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Somalian Pirates Set Ransom For British Couple
- Thread starter Yelkcub
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This site ROCKZ!
goldenecitrone
post tenebras lux
Are they your grandparents then? You should have advised them to stick to the Norfolk Broads.
longdog
What is it you can't face?
The hull of a tanker doesn't have to be up to tank standard or anything like it as long as there is sufficient gap between the skins. Anti-tank RPGs are designed to take out tanks not tankers and it's a case of horses for courses.
As for the engine section. Have you seen the size of a supertanker engine?
Spion
I hear ya
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
I see. Perhaps the Somalis could upgrade to some of those Stingers. They must have the wedge by now
Who were you calling 14?
I can you lend you the DVD....
longdog
What is it you can't face?
I counted over 40 rounds with no sign of a sinking.
It certainly does and it could very well see an arms race that the pirates would lose.
Merchant vessels only have to start arming themselves with these and the whole pirate problem would go away pretty quickly.
JHE
.
If you are a pirate - or anyone else whose business is robbery, kidnap and extortion - it is extremely useful to have a reputation as a ruthless, murdering bastard who does what he has threatened to do. A reputation like that is best earned by living up to it. The next lot of people you try to persuade will be influenced by your previous crimes and a wish to avoid a repeat performance.
(Is there anywhere but U75 where this would need spelling out?)
longdog
What is it you can't face?
You're right to a large extent but the Somali pirates have not shown themselves to be prone to killing their hostages although that might be down to the fact that so far things have been going their own way.
There's been a tendency by a lot of the governments with a military force in the area to err on the side of caution when it comes to the legalities of dealing with the pirates to the extent they will disarm them and let them go on their way. That's no deterrent when they are only losing a few hundred dollars worth of AK47s, they can be back home and rearmed within 24 hours.
I suspect that if the pirates started killing hostages sooner or later a government is going to say 'fuck the legal niceties' and take serious military action against them on land as well as at sea.
There's been a tendency by a lot of the governments with a military force in the area to err on the side of caution when it comes to the legalities of dealing with the pirates to the extent they will disarm them and let them go on their way. That's no deterrent when they are only losing a few hundred dollars worth of AK47s, they can be back home and rearmed within 24 hours.
I suspect that if the pirates started killing hostages sooner or later a government is going to say 'fuck the legal niceties' and take serious military action against them on land as well as at sea.
klang
🎵
I'm all for the pirates.
As stated before, they are very poor people (some of them ex-fishermen), living in a war-torn country with no hope of help from the international community. I'm sure a lot of them would opt for an honest living, given the choice. But being fucked over by multi nationals, having their waters fished empty, and having toxic waste dumped along their coast line leaves them with little choice. Somehow they have to feed their families and support their communities. A lot of money earned by pirate activities goes straight back to little seasite villages that used to be plagued by poverty, but are now, with the help of pirates, more prosperous (though still far off prosperity). So I see it a little like a modern-day Robin Hood story.
The only thing that worries me is the prospect of another war in the Horn. Somalia is seen as an 'Axis of Evil', with Al Qaeda blossoming, and the pirates making important international shipping routes unreliable. Plus the location of Somalia could be strategicaly very important, due to its close proximity to Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea and Kenya. And the last thing the Horn needs is another war.
As stated before, they are very poor people (some of them ex-fishermen), living in a war-torn country with no hope of help from the international community. I'm sure a lot of them would opt for an honest living, given the choice. But being fucked over by multi nationals, having their waters fished empty, and having toxic waste dumped along their coast line leaves them with little choice. Somehow they have to feed their families and support their communities. A lot of money earned by pirate activities goes straight back to little seasite villages that used to be plagued by poverty, but are now, with the help of pirates, more prosperous (though still far off prosperity). So I see it a little like a modern-day Robin Hood story.
The only thing that worries me is the prospect of another war in the Horn. Somalia is seen as an 'Axis of Evil', with Al Qaeda blossoming, and the pirates making important international shipping routes unreliable. Plus the location of Somalia could be strategicaly very important, due to its close proximity to Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea and Kenya. And the last thing the Horn needs is another war.
longdog
What is it you can't face?
A lot of what you say is true or at least arguable but in the medium to long term piracy is not the answer to the problems of Somalia and is probably only benefiting a very small number of people.
One way or the other the current wave of piracy is going to come to an end and I doubt its end will be pretty.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
No. They're well aware, I imagine, that the people they take hostage normally have no interest whatsoever in defending the property of their employers, and that they are backed by immensely rich multinationals who have the insurance and simple capital to pay ransoms which work out to what the CEO earns while he's wiping his arse. The last thing they'd want to do is encourage boat crews to think that they had to carry guns and fight for their lives.
In this case it seems that the pirates concerned have picked the wrong target, that's all. They have no practical interest in keeping them as they're not likely to get any money out of them, and harming or killing them would just make their future lives that much harder, even if they were the sort of psychopaths who would do that in the first place. However I imagine they'll probably hang on a bit just in case there's some ransom to be had.
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
Backatcha Bandit
is not taking your calls
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
That would be very much a job for the SBS, and only then as a last resort. The lads from 'Shaky Boat' are the acknowledged world leaders when it comes to maritime anti-terrorism (MAT) operations as far as I know.
E2A:
It may be the case that, while serving operatives of British special forces are unlikely to be sent to deal with the pirates, former members of special forces (going under the euphemistic title of 'trainers') may well be on their way to do the job instead:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ries-hired-to-take-on-the-Somali-pirates.html
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