What is Digg?143 Comments
- techguru2006, on 12/04/2008, -1/+45Aaar! Send in the Navy Seals... Have them take over the pirated ships and make the stealing bastards walk the plank.
- Myztry, on 12/04/2008, -1/+42Turn the pirates against each other with bounties...
- rodon, on 12/04/2008, -5/+43Solution:
A boat full of ninjas? - inactive, on 12/04/2008, -2/+29Seals (or expensive privately funded counterparts) are NOT really needed for this problem. The solution is an end to the stupidity of maritime "gun control" (victim disarmament) but that's the CHEAP solution, so it won't be considered. Instead, we'll be presented by the media with a "choice" between expensive professional security forces and totally-unarmed, as if old shotguns and rifles do not exist. It's incredibly stupid, just like ALL victim disarmament, but politics keep the stupidity going in the face of logic.
- Trekhawk, on 12/04/2008, -2/+28Problem: Pirates
Solution: http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/Iowa-gun-shock-w ... - BoneStamp, on 12/04/2008, -2/+22I wonder if they have pirate flags on their little boats. I mean, that's the main benefit of being a pirate... the cool flag.
- TheDougem, on 12/04/2008, -0/+20I'm still waiting for a freighter to make itself a huge target, the pirates begin to board... to find marines armed to the teeth waiting for them.
Perfectly valid tactic. The pirates disintegrate any time they come across trained, armed resistance. That, in combination with drones and a carrier battle group would go a long ways towards solving the problem. - inactive, on 12/04/2008, -2/+19For the price of ONE DAY of private security, I could equip (at great profit to me, but I'm tired of funding Blackwater with my taxes, so let THEM fund me for once!) any ship with at least 3 12GA shotguns and at least 3 old semiautomatic rifles with open sights, along with plenty of assorted ammo for both. This is the cheap option, but it won't even be considered.
Instead, this piracy will be painted by the news media as a choice between "totally unarmed," like today, and expensive private security teams. The cheap option of self defense by crews will be ignored, as it was in the linked WaPo story. - swiftekho, on 12/04/2008, -2/+19NO! Have you noticed that global warming is finally starting to fade away! And look the population and presence of pirates is sky rocketing. I for one respect the inverse relationship between the population of pirates and temperature of the planet.
- angusm, on 12/04/2008, -3/+191. Charter cargo vessel.
2. Fill holds with angry venomous snakes.
3. Sail off Somali coast until boarded by pirates
4. Give up without a fight, and retreat to snakeproof room.
5. Repeat until no more pirates
6. Announce "They've had it with these mother-***** snakes on this mother-***** ship." in best Sam Jackson voice
7. ???
8. Profit! - Shiftgood, on 12/04/2008, -2/+17What about some good ol fashioned barbed wire and a junkyard dog?
- 9bpm9, on 12/04/2008, -1/+15From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli...
- artfiend77, on 12/04/2008, -1/+14You're an idiot (by birth might I add)
- chadsmith729, on 12/04/2008, -3/+16If we took down an entire country (Iraq) to the point of complete destruction ... surely we can take out a few pirate boats? Maybe we all seriously consider looking into the possibility of cloning Chuck Norris?
- NonLeftistDiggr, on 12/04/2008, -2/+14The U.N. is involved??? Being a pirate is a relatively safe occupation as long as the U.N. is involved. Shoot I could come up with a U.N. approved solution right now... let's throw a party with cavier and chapagne in our New York or European offices, then in the morning we will procure little foam stress balls with silk screening that says "piracy is U.N.cool," that we will hand out to somalis. They will of course cost four times the normal market price because the business owner will be related to one of our members and therefor recieve our special rate. After procurement we will have dinner on the UN at a 5 star resteraunt followed up by more drinking at the most expensive hotel we can find. Then the next morning we will invite President Mugabe from Zimbabwe to lead our planning efforts for future economic recovery and corruption reduction for Somalia.
- boatspeed, on 12/04/2008, -2/+13"Private security guards will shoot it out with bandits for $5,000 to $20,000 a day, but many ships carry flammable cargos, so seaborne firefights between thugs and testosterone-soaked mercenaries are best avoided. "
hahahaha - theDunedan, on 12/04/2008, -4/+14What to do about it? (In my little old opinion)
If funding is not prohibitive:
Have a naval rapid strike force that would include a small carrier able to launch helicopters and drones. Use the drones to find then follow the pirates' small craft to learn their patterns. Are they really using mother ships? How long do they stay at sea?
After a month or two of surveillance, start using the drones to fire on them -- sometimes in their small craft if their identity can be ascertained with some certainty -- sometimes firing on the base ship. (Of course, the navy could still engage using aircraft and vessels -- the whole dressout. I focus on drones because of their long-term dwell capabilities.)
Also, on some pirate sorties, not all pirates should be killed. This is so the survivors can go home and tell about the attack. If piracy continues, start sinking the pirate boats. The folks on shore who are thinking about making another sortie will notice that, say, Clyde's ship never came back, and we can't find out for sure, but it may be because a naval vessel totally obliterated his ship.
Also, we ought to be penetrating their informant network. Sure some of the pirates probably just ride around the gulf of Aden until they find a ship, then shoot at it. But the recent captures of the oil tanker and the tank transport suggest that there are informants selling departure, route, and scheduling information. If there is a human network, it can be infiltrated and it can be eavesdropped-upon. Then that information can be used to surprise somebody deserving. - BoneStamp, on 12/04/2008, -1/+10I agree with you on all accounts, except for letting some pirates live to tell about it. Just chopper the bodies back and drop them in the middle of the village. People will get the idea pretty quickly.
- lewystud, on 12/04/2008, -4/+13If I had a boat in the area I would say *F* it to international law and bring out the big guns ----::_:_:---:----:::::--- - - - -
:-:-: - rheaume, on 12/04/2008, -1/+9Holy *****, diaf, buried and blocked.
- PigGeneral, on 12/04/2008, -2/+10Yeah. Because dropping bodies by helicopter into a village REALLY wins hearts and minds.
- doctechnical, on 12/04/2008, -0/+8Excuse me, but why should the US taxpayer foot the bill for this? What's our (the citizens) interest in the problem?
When the insurance companies get desperate enough they find a way to get a few trained and armed men on those ships - perhaps use a helicopter to put them on/take the off the ships while they're at sea.
Given the boats and weapons these pirates are using, a handful of men with simple weapons can keep them at bay without much problem.
But I don't see why we need to get involved. - phreak79, on 12/04/2008, -2/+9Not before time too.
- vondrak, on 12/04/2008, -1/+8Or a junkyard cat.
I know where we can find one name Agent Jack Bauer - jimmies, on 12/04/2008, -0/+7Then you have a witchhunt on your hands. Too much innocent blood will get spilled.
- yayster, on 12/04/2008, -1/+8Are you from Alaska?
- doctechnical, on 12/04/2008, -0/+7How are you going to work that out? These pirates are basically nobodies - fishermen who have been driven out of business by overfishing (some by other nations) and have turned to piracy to make money. It's not like we have names, pictures, DNA samples or fingerprints of these guys.
You're just going to say "turn in a pirate, get $10,000"? How do you know whether person X is a pirate or not?
Sorry to shoot down your idea, but I can't see how it would be practical. - merrickx, on 12/04/2008, -0/+7I hate dealing with these ***** pirates. For the last 4 years on 3 deployments I've had to deal with these annoying *****. 2 boats of about 6 Somali per boat start shooting wildly toward us with 7.62. None could be more than 15 years old, scarred up from previous gunshot wounds. All dead, and no longer stupid. It's like the fly thought he could attack the cannon and do something.
The Iraqi pirates are cheeky little ***** too. - allthumbs22, on 12/04/2008, -0/+6A pirate walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Hey, Pirate! Do you know you have a steering wheel sticking out of your fly?"
The pirate answers, "Aargh! It's drivin' me nuts!" - BoneStamp, on 12/04/2008, -0/+6Dugg for "snake proof room."
- Codename, on 12/04/2008, -2/+8This isn't like the Pirate movies I've seen, usually they have cool sword fights and have epic moves. Looks like the other ship just gave up...
- Ubermann, on 12/04/2008, -3/+9Have the US government bail out the seized ships.
- martyogelvie, on 12/04/2008, -2/+8I think Caesar had the right idea.
- BoneStamp, on 12/04/2008, -0/+6@PigGeneral
I don't think they're trying to win hearts and minds, I think they're trying to send the message that pirates will not be tolerated. Dropping off the dead bodies is gruesome (kinda like the things that pirates do), but it sends the message loud and clear.
The most attractive woman compete to marry pirates because they are the richest men in town. Those women don't see what their men do to other people to get those riches. The young people grow up wanting to be pirates because they see it's a ticket to wealth and attractive women. The village needs to see that pirates are not heros, but thieves and killers who don't get away with it. - doctechnical, on 12/04/2008, -0/+5No, they have RPGs, and they're not accurate at the ranges where a halfway decent long rifle (with optics and someone who knows how to use it) are. Before they get close enough for their little boats (very hard to shoot from in any case) to open fire they should already be taking rounds from the rifles.
- mrbecker, on 12/04/2008, -0/+5The need to get @michael_bay on the case.
- SirFragsMore, on 12/04/2008, -0/+5How long before the movie comes out?
- jerrycan, on 12/04/2008, -0/+5Holy crap. It's rainin MEN!
- whorunbartertwn, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4Mount a .50 cal on each side, both high enough to have firing arcs almost to stern and bow.
Effective range over a mile is well past anything they are shooting, plus the stopping power to disable anything they're riding in. - duffman03, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4My friend mark is almost done with puberty, which is bragable.
- inactive, on 12/04/2008, -1/+5Chuck Norris once walked down the street with an erection...
There were no survivors... - BoneStamp, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4Ok, you can't go on said mission. Don't ask, don't tell kinda thing.
- Daxx22, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4Cept for you know all those nasty underground insurgents still killing troops today. They are pretty much the land equivalent of pirates, and most of same problems apply.
- Balanced, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4I really don't think the US needs to be involved in another international incident at the moment.
- diggThis77, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4I was just going to add that comment myself. If you let a few ships (of varying size) course "slip" out and let the pirates board to a ship full of marines they'll think twice about any target they go after.
I thought after they took the tanker full of oil that the good ole U.S. of oil would say no, no, that's ours. Thanks for playing and here's your very own tomahawk missle...and by tomahawk missle I mean the aimed at you and deployed kind. - plaunie, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4who exactly do you tell in Somalia?
- TheDougem, on 12/04/2008, -0/+4@whorunbartertwn
That's the exact kind of attitude that encourages piracy. It is very realistic to take these guys out - and having a squad or two of marines hitching a ride on freighters would not be that expensive. The main part of it however, would be deterrence - introduce doubts into the minds of the pirates, so that they're never sure if they'll be ambushed or not when boarding a ship. The reason why they can be so rash right now is that they expect zero resistance. Introduce some heavy handed resistance, and you have the start of your counter piracy strategy. This ideally would not be the only solution - but one method in many.
And the cost of ransoms and insurance, long term, would be more expensive then some military action. - ryusen, on 12/04/2008, -0/+3i think them starving is at least part of the cause of the problem...
- subterfuge, on 12/04/2008, -0/+3how about a nice orbital laser? that would take them by surprise.
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