Somali pirates 2 sides to a story

[The Stranger:Me]

It didn't take long. I had a brief look at their front page. My bullshitometer has gone kaboom and I am badly injured in the explosion. Please, somebody call an ambulance!

You should get that thing repaired by someone competent, cause the last person to calibrate it was useless.
They first seized foreign fishing vessels that were plundering their waters. They had no govt to enforce their territorial waters and the foreign fishermen knew that and plundered the fuck out of their fisheries.
The fishermen were only doing what they had to do to survive. In the same situation, I'd do the same thing - and you would too or would you take it lying down and die?
What option did they have?

[jonbuoy]

Somalia.....

Too poor to buy food for its people.
Too poor to buy materials for infrastructure.
Too poor to form even a basis of democracy.

But can have weapons and equipment that costs heaps.

Mmm its not state of the art, I don't think weapons are that hard to get in Africa - probably cost less than the outboards and the boat. I don't think these pirate warlords give a toss about the environment, making a quick dollar is more like it. Not that you can blame them, can't help but respect the fact that they take those shitty little boats in the open ocean and manage to scramble up some pretty big hulls with no help from onboard. I get the jitters from climbing up pilot ladders and that's when the crew are helping.

[Skyryder]

That's some source, dude. A paragon of accuracy and reliability. Not.

Yep looked a bit dodgy to me too but I see you missed the other link. It sorta confirmed the dodgy one.

I Don't recall the name of the documentary some English investigative journo confirmed that the Somali fishing grounds were pillaged by the a number of large fishing companies. Of course I was not there and it could be all bullshit but on the other hand............................??? True.




Skyryder

[86GSXR]

Totally not surprised to read this. Having spent a small amount of time on the east coast of Africa it's very easy to see how this can happen. It's an entirely different world altogether and the rights of ordinary people really don't rate very highly at all.

[Street Gerbil]

You should get that thing repaired by someone competent, cause the last person to calibrate it was useless.

Nah, dude, sorry to disappoint but my bullshitometer is spot on. I calibrated it on 5 'dancing' 9/11 'mossad agents'. I do not know anything about Somalians. For all I know they might be the the poorest people on Earth and evil oil companies may have shitted into their cooking pots for eternity. I cannot judge the accuracy of the source by that claim. But "Jews did it" article on the front page automatically invalidates the rest of articles from the same source.
You know, it is the same story as with that silly kid that cried "wolves". How could I believe them that this particular conspiracy theory is accurate if the rest of them is pure bullshit. And if, G-d forbid, the story about Somalians is true, this weblog has done them huge disservice, because from now on, when someone tries to make a point about their plight, the most plausible counter argument would be - "and you learned about that from that kooky 'Juice control Amerikkka' website?"

[Mikkel]

If that is indeed true - and it might as well be - then it is a monument to human greed (as if we needed another).

A failed state with no authority to uphold its area of influence would indeed be an easy target for exploitation, such as what is alleged. As a matter of fact, the free market forces, in a way, would actually dictate that it be done - just like there will always be some guy willing to sell you and ounce of coke no matter what the penalty might be.

[The Stranger:Me]

I cannot judge the accuracy of the source by that claim.

Exactly. Thank you. As I said, your bullshit meter is broken.

[Street Gerbil]

Exactly. Thank you. As I said, your bullshit meter is broken.

Taking words out of contex, are we?
As I said, they lie about things I know about. How can I trust them on things I do not know about?

[SARGE]

i think we should help Somalia come into the world through Tourism...

To The Point is excited to offer the ultimate adventure cruise along the pirate-infested coast of Somalia !

We board our luxury cruise ship in Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea, and disembark in Mombassa , Kenya seven adrenaline-charged days later.

Starting at $5,200 per-person (double occupancy, inside room) and $6,900 (veranda complete with bench rest), you'll relax like never before.

That's because you are welcome to bring your own arsenal with you. If you don't have your own weapons, you can rent them from our onboard Master Gunsmith. Enjoy reloading parties every afternoon with skeet and marksmanship competitions every night!

But the best fun of all, of course, is Pirate Target Practice.

For the object of the cruise is to sail up and down the Somali Coast waiting to get hijacked by pirates. The weapons rental costs are as follows.

Rent a full auto M-16 for only $25/day with ammo attractively priced at $16 per 100 rounds of 5.56 armor-piercing:

On a budget? Rent a full-auto scope-mounted AK-47 for only $9/day with 7.62 ball ammo at $12 per 100 rounds:

Hello! Nothing gets a pirate's attention like a Barrett M-107 .50-cal sniper rifle; only $59/day with 25 rounds of armor-piercing ammo affordably priced at only $29.95.

Need a spotter? Our professional crew members can double as spotters for only $30/hour (spotting scope included, but gratuities are not.)

Want to make a real impact? Rent an RPG for only $175/day with three fragmentation rounds included!

Also included: Free complimentary night vision equipment - and throughout the night, coffee, pastries and snacks are always available on the main deck from 7pm until 6am.

Our deluxe package comes complete with gourmet meals and all rooms offer a mini-bar.

But that's not all! Twin mounted miniguns are available for rental at only $450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire!

We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking attempts by pirates or you'll receive an instant $1,000 refund upon arrival in Mombassa.

How can we make that guarantee? We operate at 5 knots just beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia , thus in international waters where pirates have no rights whatever. In fact, we make three passes through the area's most treacherous waters to ensure maximum visibility by Somali "mother ships".

We repeat this for five days, making three complete passes past the entire Somali Coast ... At night, the boat is fully lit and bottle rockets are shot every five minutes with loud disco music directionally beamed shoreside to attract maximum attention.

Testimonials from previous participants in the Somali Cruise:

"Six attacks in 4 days were more than I expected. I bagged three pirates, my wife nailed two, and my 12-year old son sank two boats with the mini-gun. This wonderful cruise was fun for the whole family" -- Fred D., Cincinnati , OH

"Pirates 0, Passengers 32! Well worth the trip! Can't recommend it highly enough!" -- Ben L., Bethesda , MD

"I haven't had this much fun since flying choppers in ' Nam . Don't worry about getting shot by pirates... they never even got close to the ship with the crap they shoot and their lousy aim... reminds me of a drunken juicer door-gunner we picked up from the motor pool in Phu Bai!" -- Dan J. - Denver , CO

Come on board and bag your own clutch of genuine Somali pirates! But cabin space is limited so you need to respond quickly. Reserve your package before May 31st and get a great bonus - 100 rounds of free tracer ammo in the caliber of your choice. So sign up for the Ultimate Somali Coast Adventure Cruise now!

[The Stranger:Me]

Taking words out of contex, are we?
As I said, they lie about things I know about. How can I trust them on things I do not know about?

Not at all. It was the crux of your argument.
Or are you now saying you can tell the truth from the article?
Make your bloody mind up, which one is it?

[jimmy 2006]

Taking words out of contex, are we?
As I said, they lie about things I know about. How can I trust them on things I do not know about?

careful, stranger is the front of all knowledge here. no matter what you say he will take it out of contex.

[Swoop]

A failed state with no authority to uphold its area of influence would indeed be an easy target for exploitation, such as what is alleged.

This is why al qaeda is moving into town...

[Drunken Monkey]

i think we should help Somalia come into the world through Tourism...

Where do I sign up? I logged on to flight centre and holiday shoppe, but they don't have that package??

Ever since I picked up that M14 from SAI I've had an itchy trigger finger.

[Swoop]

22 October, 2009: The Somali pirates are now holding six merchant ships and 146 seamen. There have been 147 attacks by Somali pirates in the first nine months of 2009. But the increasing size and activity of the anti-piracy patrol has restricted pirate activity. There were 43 attacks and 6 ships seized between June to October this year, compared to 57 attacks on ships and 23 hijackings during the same period in 2008.

In Mogadishu, al Shabaab again fired mortar shells on a major market and the airport, causing over a dozen casualties. AU peacekeepers fired artillery back at al Shabaab, causing more casualties.

Al Shabaab is making itself very unpopular (despite having suppressed much criminal behavior) by enforcing lifestyle rules. The latest bans are on bras, which are considered a "deception." Women are forced to jiggle their unrestrained breasts to al Shabaab enforcers, to prove they are not deceiving anyone, or risk a whipping. Al Shabaab has also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing, TV entertainment (religious instruction allowed) and playing or watching sports. Two radio stations in Baidoa were shut down for not following the strict Islamic lifestyle rules. Al Shabaab also destroys the mosques and cemeteries of Sufi Moslems. This has led to many Sufis organizing and fighting back against Islamic radicals who consider Sufis heretics (an uncommon attitude in Islam, but one supported by the Wahabi strain of Islam that influences groups like al Qaeda and al Shabaab.) The Sufi fighters have often proved to be more than al Shabaab can handle, and the Islamic radicals have been driven out of several central Somali towns. The Sufis militia is not part of the Transitional Government, but another independent, "local defense force."

Al Shabaab is running into the same problems Islamic radicals encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once the lifestyle police start operating, the faithful become increasingly hostile to the radicals, and eventually organize resistance. That is already happening, and some of the clan militias that agreed to ally with al Shabaab, have now switched sides and joined the Transitional Government.

21 October, 2009: Hizbu Islam and Al Shabaab fighters clashed again 90 kilometers west of the key southern port of Kismayo. Over the last two weeks, al Shabaab has driven rival Islamic radical group from Hizbu Islam Kismayo, after both groups argued over how to jointly run the lucrative port.

19 October, 2009: Somali pirates seized a Chinese bulk carrier (full of coal), 1,300 kilometers off the east coast. This is the farthest from the coast a ship has ever been seized. China responded by insisting that it would do whatever necessary to free the ship (implying the use of force, rather than paying ransom.) China is trying to organize a commando operation, for which is needs assistance from the U.S., to maximize chances of success.

15 October, 2009: A Singaporean cargo ship was seized by pirates, 500 kilometers north of the Seychelles islands, as it headed for the Kenyan port of Mombassa. This is alarming for the Kenyans, whose economy is very dependent on sea access to this major East African port. The pirates are now threatening he waters off East Africa.

[chef]

White guilt anyone?

Best wishes to the 16 y/o white girl who just set sail, solo around the world. Geez you know what these filthy bastards will be thinking.

once shes goes black she aint going back