Brits Force Pirates to Row Home in Shame

Brits Force Pirates to Row Home in Shame

www.military.com

Nine suspected pirates had to row themselves back to the Somali shore "with their tails between their legs" after the British Navy confiscated their whaler, moved them into a tiny boat and blew up their motor and weapons, an international naval task force said Monday.

"One cannot help but get a sense of satisfaction at the sight of a bunch of chastened suspected pirates being landed ashore, tails between their legs and the tools of their trade disappearing with a boom and a flash of flame," British Col. Mark Gray said in a news release.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The respectable trade of Pirating certainly has fallen on more difficult times now that over 20 nations have combined to ensure that the coastal waters off of Somalia can safely stay a toxic waste dump.

Ships from such wide ranging nations as Switzerland and Iran along with a Blackwater/XE warship ply these waters to keep international shipping safe, yet apparently lack the resolve to join forces to return Somalia itself to some semblance of order and normalcy.

We live in a world where commercial interests far outweigh human ones.

Yet we also live in a media driven world, where the news itself has become as much about marketing as selling commercial products. Coined words and buzz words like Enemy Combatants, Insurgents, War on Terror, Detainee, Homeland Security, the Patriot Act, etc. etc all become more palatable ways to mask the true human element and plights of people, as these words themselves are designed to shape our opinions of who they are being applied too.

Yet what I loved about this story was this particular quote at the end "Once the suspected pirates were safely ashore, the whaler was rigged with explosives and destroyed along with the other confiscated pirate paraphernalia."

I really would love to know what Pirate Paraphernalia is!

It makes me think of gift shops in the Florida Keys and the Carolina Outer Banks selling ashtrays, T-shirts, coasters, flags, and bobble head dolls decked out with the Jolly Roger!

You have to hand it to the real modern day pirates, the media, perhaps one day they will relinquish our hijacked minds!


www.military.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Interesting find Proto, I would say this has set these Pirates back some, they won't be pirating any ships for a while.

Wonder why they were let go, maybe by putting them in a little boat to sail away into the sunset was more humiliating.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


This is dubiously entertaining
Well...
I suppose not for the pirates but the comments on the Jolly Roger and "pirate paraphernalia" I found to be entertaining. I suppose that the true pirates of the world who embrace the skull and crossed swords don't want anyone muddying up their grand and great work by attempting to stop the illegal dumping of toxic waste.

This is like laughing at someone who gets kicked in the nards or falls down a flight of steps.

But I will say that I would much rather row home than become yet another prisoner with a black hood over my head and electrodes on my body.
I too question the reasoning for letting these fine young pirates (arrrrrrrr) row home Aquarius.

I suppose that is a question that we will never be able to answer.
But it would not surprise me if the sociopaths who are in the military find joy in humiliating and degrading someone.
See Abu Ghraib.

ahh Proty

Good find my friend and agree 100% on your supposition

Amusing stuff, a show of might without any casualties.

This is how it should be done.

Russians did the same before. Seems like a fair deal for all involved.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

don't know if there is any truth to it... But I had read somewhere[can't remember where]
That is what the Russians said they did ...but the Pirates where never seen or heard of again...

It seems a more likely Russkie thing to do ....sending them to Davy Jones Locker.

Why let them go...?

So when they get back to shore the Warlord running'em can Re-Arm them and send them right back to work.

I hope admiral Dipstick had a cup of tea with them before sending them sculling.....

reply to post by spoonbender


Why let them go? Because when you capture them you have to accommodate them, feed them, and then ultimately release them to their defunct government to be released anyways and return back to the job. Sending them home in a row boat is fair compared to blowing them out of the water, especially considering these pirates have no other industry thanks to all the commercial vessels and warships poluting their fish stock.

why don't we just make solmalia waters a no go zone except for somalia local traffic if you aren't going to or from stay 150 miles off its coast any body caught dumping should have ship seized sold off for salvage and money used to fund relief efforts for local fishermen.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

Sending them home in a row boat is fair compared to blowing them out of the water, especially considering these pirates have no other industry thanks to all the commercial vessels and warships poluting their fish stock.

Fair From everything I've read about Pirates....[from the Golden Age of Piracy To Current] I can't recall Fairness ever being a Factor..?

Piracy is Piracy.... I say no quarter ....International waters ....all bets are off ....

Polluted Fisheries.... that excuse doesn't jive for me ....

Deep Six Them.... more than fair

reply to post by spoonbender


Then perhaps you should re-consider your choice of words on the matter. Are these traditional pirates riddled with scurvy who aspire to steal the riches of merchant ships? No, they are pirates because that's part of media sensationalism. Ransom is a big industry world-wide these days, and these guys find money in ransoming ships.

And here's some info on the origins of Somali pirates:

Root Causes of Somali Pirating: Nuclear Dumping and Seafood Looting

Turns out Western and European governments have been dumping nuclear waste there after since the Somali government collapsed in 1991. Here's a quote:

"As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died."

"At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters.""

So how do you expect these coastal people in a government-less land to feed their families? Maybe they should sell their land to global corporations to create a tourism market, just like what happened in the aftermath of the 2005 tsunami in Sri Lanka because the government couldn't afford reconstruction costs. I'm sure Blackwater and associates will also get some good contracts, "clearing out" these pirates in such an event

reply to post by spoonbender


I agree spoonbender. The people who feel so much sorrow and compassion should just jump out there and lead the pack at helping these poor misunderstood pirates. I sure many more will follow shortly. I'll just stay behind and watch while these good samaritans waste their time. People only improve their circumstances when they want to improve, no amount of charity and understanding will ever do the job.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


I love it. I was going to point out the same thing. There are two sides to every conflict and yet the people of the western world still continue to fall for the media sensationalism and divisive reporting.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


um every african nation except egypt and south america is terrible. lybia was great under british rule after the natives took over it is a slum thts in debt and has more problems every month... if something happens 5,000 times in a row is it "racist" or "fact" african countries have never had a successful self government save for the two exceptions i named

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I love how people in the US will encourage rebellion agains the tyranny of corporations, yet as soon as the media labels them "terrorist", "pirate" or any of the other buzzwords you mentioned the populus sees them as a bad guy.

reply to post by dbloch7986


Okay ....

Please enlighten me to the correct term to use when talking about a group of individuals who take up weapons, get in watercraft, and go out to the open ocean looking to commandeer other nations watercraft by Violent Force of Action....? And after successfully doing so take the crew[against their will] plus said watercraft and hold onto for as long as it takes to get large sum's of money from aforementioned nation...?

whats that called where you come from


wait I'm gonna coin a phrase "Somaili Yacht Tag"

Sorry, but saying these people are poor doesn't do it for me to justify what they're doing. There are lots of poor people in the world. You don't see all of them picking up guns and kidnaping people, do you? Being poor is no excuse for what these pirates do. Now they've been caught, and had to pay the price. They're criminals, and they need to be treated as such, regardless of whaever reasons they have. Because when we hurt and threaten innocent people, we get punished. That's the way it should be in a civilized world.

M only beef is they were set free, but the current legal influence and power that the international naval forces have in the region doesn't allow for them to arrest the pirates and put them to trial, unfortunately.