Somali pirates are...

[Occam Bandage]

Poll question: Somali pirates are...

[AllieB]

1. Other: depends on the circumstance

[Maru Kitteh]

51. no

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Vitally necessary to stave off global warming

The FSM tells me so!

[Junkdrawer]

3. Ever see "Dog Day Afternoon"???

Sometimes, in life, there are shades of gray...

Sometimes...

[WeDidIt]

7. "Some times, in life, there are shades of gray"

Three Fuckhead Pirates who had a guy hostage with an AK47 aimed at his head isn't one of them.

[Junkdrawer]

16. What about that 16 yr. old kid?

Fuckhead? Victim? Fuckhead-in-training?

What about the pirate's families? If we bomb their bases, are they inhuman and deserving of death too?

[WeDidIt]

24. A 16 year old murderer in the US

is tried as an adult.

Yo ho.

[ddeclue]

44. Tell it to the Columbine Shooters...

:eyes:

[Occam Bandage]

9. And sometimes, in life, there are people

who make the conscious decision to violently exploit the lack of rule of law for personal financial gain.

[baldguy]

13. And sometimes, in life, there are people

who make the conscious decision to violently exploit the lack of rule of law to allow them to protect & feed their children.

[Occam Bandage]

19. The fact that someone can make money doing something is not a very good justification.

You will note they are not demanding increased USAID shipments to Somalia, nor are they demanding lower carbon emissions, nor are they demanding fishing restrictions.

[baldguy]

26. So if you were put in the same position -

No govt, constant violence going on all around you, with fishing being the one area that was still good - and thats being poisoned by foreigners dumping their waste.

What would you do?

[Maru Kitteh]

52. Billions of people, every day, choose NOT to become criminals and brutes.

No society enjoys life without order. Millions are desperate. The rare minority that devolves to outright thuggery SHOULD be removed from society, and if they do not have the good sense to surrender - I do not feel poorly about an outcome they signed onto at the outset of behaving in such activities.

[obiwan]

54. Not have any children.

[WeDidIt]

25. And sometimes in life there are fuckheads

who become apologists for pirates.

[baldguy]

31. Your kid is starving.

You used to be able to feed her by catching fish, but the fishing grounds have been poisoned. The ships that poisoned the fishing still go by every day & dump their shit.

You've got a boat & you and your friends have weapons. What would you do? Let your kid starve or go get the people that took the food away?

[anneboleyn]

50. Well and succinctly put (given your nom de plume) Occam.

[LynnTheDem]

12. Apparently we don't do much "shades of gray" in this country.

Unfortunately.

[Junkdrawer]

32. "Shades of gray" just doesn't work if your aim is to dehumanize a people...

just before a bombing or invasion.

That needs Good vs. Evil.

[WeDidIt]

4. Other

"Like Johnny Dep in that Disney Movie"



:evilgrin:

[meegbear]

5. I don't know - I'm being lied to about them

[Common Sense Party]

30. Really? You should start a thread about that!

Or 10 threads!

[meegbear]

33. That's a good idea! Thanks!

:hi:

[rucky]

42. You're a good citizen.

[mainegreen]

6. The major source of gdp for Puntland, just above goats.

[Taverner]

8. Oh oh oh I got it "Eco Warriors"!

Yes, they're not interested in money. That's why every time they hold a ship ransom, they ask for reduction in carbon emissions in lieu of ransom money. They are also known to only use solar powered craft, and they are all vegans.

:sarcasm:

[DevonRex]

28. ROFL! Brave eco warriors!!! A branch of Greenpeace!! The Somali branch!

[baldguy]

10. Brave victims of oppression who have, through desperation, become marauding thugs.

Nothing is as simple as the American MSM makes it.

[Occam Bandage]

14. I will not deny that piracy is significantly more profitable than substistence farming,

or than small-scale fishing, both in direct and indirect competition with multinational corporations. Similarly, back-alley robbery can be more profitable than working at McDonalds. Is "the alternative is more unpleasant" a justification for armed hostage-taking and robbery?

[baldguy]

21. Well, when the field becomes a battleground

and the fishing banks become toxic waste dumps, is there an alternative?

[Occam Bandage]

23. Yes. Significantly more Somalians are not pirates than are pirates. nt

[Taverner]

34. Brave victims?

Um, no - not at all

Need I mention most of the pirates are in fact criminals (and were back when Somalia had a government)

This is what happens in a complete governmental breakdown - the thugs rise to the top because they can use fear, violence and death to achieve their goals. The "brave victims" are either hunkered down on land, have left the country or are dead at this time.

IN essence, Somalia is a Republican's and Libertarian's wet dream

[baldguy]

35. So, are they all criminals? Or are they just entrepreneurs?

I think they're trying to make the best of a bad situation.

[Taverner]

36. They're criminals who, after stealing everything in Somalia, have turned their attention to the sea

[baldguy]

38. They're not the ones who stole everything in Somalia.

They're the people left after everything was stolen. Remember, this shit has been going on for almost 20 yrs. The people who looted the wealth of that country are long gone.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Terrifying bogeyman gearing up to invade Manhattan in speedboats.

[JVS]

29. woohooo

[ColbertWatcher]

15. Some talking head on the GOP-controlled media hinted that they may be Al Qeda. n/t

[stillcool]

17. a threat to humanity..

We need a little shock and awe to mop up these terrorist/pirates. Drain the swamp. Otherwise this stuff is going to keep on happening! What are we waiting for? After all what would happen if 4 Americans robbed a ship off the coast here?

[flvegan]

18. ...one result of allowing gay marriage.

[stray cat]

20. Environmentalists! (ie warlords who kidnap people, take money for their own benefit)

Not intended as an insult to real environmentalists. Pirates are probably desparate people in need of a job or at least weed to chew or a few who thrive on power and cruelty.

[Truth2Tell]

22. How the heck would I know? nt

[DevonRex]

27. And they're murderers and thieves.

[Renew Deal]

37. The Pittsburgh Pirates AA team

:D

[Occam Bandage]

39. kick.

[Occam Bandage]

40. kick.

[Occam Bandage]

41. kick for more votes.

[JustinL]

43. other

They're marauding thugs, but somehow I doubt that they'd be doing so much marauding if they had been born and raised in an affluent American suburb.

[depakid]

45. Or simply in a stable country...

Seems a bit beyond some folks' ability to grasp complex situations without breaking them down to simplistic emotional judgments.

(that goes in both directions on these threads)

[JustinL]

47. good thing we have people in charge who aren't so limited

Vice Admiral William Gortney, starting at 2:15 into this video:

Well, we would hope that pirates will conclude that they should not attack U.S. flagships, or any of the ships out there, in the future. And we think that the shipping companies should conclude that they should consider very strongly following the measures we've suggested that they adopt: embarking security detachments, which include...armed security detachments. And we would hope also that the tribal elders in Somalia will persuade their young men to look for the(?) livelihoods, recognizing unfortunately that the lack of opportunities in Somalia is what drives young men to piracy in the first place.

Imagine that...nuance.

[depakid]

48. Now that's getting a bit closer to where folks need to go

Thanks for that.

There are arguments for and against armed security aboard commercial vessels (especially oil, LNG and chemical tankers).

See: Captain’s Rescue Revives Debate Over Arming Crews

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/world/13shipping.html?hp

- but yeah, international coordination and commitment to the dealing with the problems in the area on several levels- I think we a leader who gets the need for that (and has the skills to pull it off).

[mentalsolstice]

46. Other...sad people caught up in unfortunate circumstances

Everything going on in Somalia is tragic, and I, myself, can't judge one Somalian against another...I just don't know enough about the facts (and I try not to judge anyone). It's tragic that there was a loss of life in the current situation. However, I'm glad that Capt. Phillips is coming home safe and (hopefully) sound.

I'm not going to celebrate the event, as it sucks that conditions in the world encourage piracy and terrorism. However, I'm always happy to see an innocent bystander make it back home to her/his family.

[opihimoimoi]

49. Criminals who care less about nothing but money

[obiwan]

53. Somali pirates are...

...frustrated "Price Is Right" contestants.