Xavier Cromartie

Today's pirate news: Today was the beginning of the anti-piracy effort that is known as Atalanta—the European Union's first maritime operation. AFP, quoting the International Maritime Bureau, says that yesterday's attack off of the coast of Tanzania indicates that "the pirates have already modified their tactics." We also have a "news" article in the IHT by Mark McDonald that opens in the following manner: He presents the second paragraph as if that scenario actually happened. Then he begins the third paragraph by admitting that he made it up. Nothing written thereafter indicates why that scenario is plausible. I'll remember your terribleness, Mark McDonald. He does, however, report some actual news later in the article:

Neoconservative Max Boot writes an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal entitled Pirates, terrorism, and failed states. Key quotes:

Today's pirate news: The pirates on the MV Faina are unhappy that the ship's owners are taking too long to hand over the US$3,500,000 ransom. Source: AFP. Somali pirates are not only in the Gulf of Aden. They tried to capture a Dutch ship off of the coast of Tanzania, but the ship sped up and got away. Source: AP. We'll capture another one soon.

Today's pirate news: The Mindanao Examiner (Philippines) has a roundup of recent news. I am most interested in the section of the article that questions a Danish warship's destruction of a Somali vessel. Key quotes: [sic]

Today I'm going to play a game: COMMENT BATTLE: AMERICA VS. THE WORLD! I will check fairly current news articles and compare the first substantial American comment with the first substantial non-American comment. A point will be awarded when there is a clear winner. The format is best 3 out of 5. 1. Somali pirates free Yemeni ship (Al Jazeera English) USA: 0 World: 1 2. Cruise ship Britons in brush with Gulf pirates (The Times) USA: 1 World: 1 3. Somali pirates seek 'honest' talks (Al Jazeera English) USA: 1 World: 2 4. Hong Kong grain ship seized as Somali pirates hold world to ransom (The Times) USA: 2 World: 2 Let's settle it with this 'neutral' story: 5. Navy 'sunk Thai trawler by mistake' (Al Jazeera English) This post exemplifies a typical American's simplification. He acts as if the Thai ship were just minding its own business. In fact, it was one of the many ships that have robbed the Somali coastline of its fish. Thus... USA: 2 World: 3

Today's pirate news: Since Douglas R. Burgess, Jr. used The New York Times today as a medium to sell his shitty piracy book, we should respond with the following excellent article: What I learned from the Somalia pirates. Key quotes:

What's odd is that Mr. Miller, speaking like a Tamarian, still makes more sense than Mr. O'Reilly. Most Somali pirates are 20–35 years old.[1] The MV Sirius Star has a length (not width) of 1090 feet—0.2 miles.[2] [sic] for "a disease which." Anyway, the fix is not in.[3]

Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller have a serious, intelligent conversation about Somali pirates (FOX News): FUCK THE HECK?

Today's pirate news: 1. Drudge links to a short IHT article that the AP wrote about China's sending ships to combat piracy. Key quote: 2. The UN spies on pirates from space and makes pretty maps. (Wired.) 3. Excellent article alert: Spiegel writes more in-depth about the struggles of Somali fishermen. Key quotes:

Pfft, a flotilla. A tortilla would be more effective, because, as Yusuf Hassan says in one of the videos that accompanies an excellent CNN article, "People are hungry. People are, you know—the UN estimates nearly 3 million people need food assistance in Somalia this year." From the written article:

I looked for more technical information about the audio device and its effect on the human body. The Wikipedia article long range acoustic device contains this interesting (although uncited) bit:

Today's pirate news: Salon has an excellent interview with Nick Davis, head of Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions. I've added this article to the list of excellent articles in the first post. Key quotes: (lol)

Today's pirate news: NBC News interviews the captain of Al Mansoura, an Egyptian cement cargo ship that was captured on 3 September 2008. The pirates eventually received US$600,000 in ransom. This ship is currently absent from Wikipedia's list of attacked ships. NBC's Charlene Gubash quickly dispelled any notion that Charlene Gubash objectively reports the news. "Mistreatment" of captives mentioned in the article: 1. Don't move. 2. Did they fire the gun? No. The pirates shot into the air (not at anyone) while crew members attempted to thwart the pirates' chance at a huge ransom. The pirates listened to and accepted the captain's suggestion in regard to the safety of the crew. So, the pirates got food for everyone. And the captain understands that they wanted only money. The deal: Oh come on, Ms. Gubash. The negotiations determined how much money the pirates would receive. The pirates accepted a lower offer than they had demanded after listening to the reasons that their demands were too high.

FOX News wrote a similar article today about the pirates' general unstoppableness. Key quote: And the concluding line:

Today's pirate news: Apparently, a deal has been reached for the release of the Saudi oil ship, the MV Sirius Star. The pirates may get the US$12,000,000 ransom they want, although the Saudis do not want to admit it. Source: RIA Novosti (Russia). The Yemeni steel cargo ship, the MV Amani, will be released without a ransom. Maybe the pirates traded the ship for "future considerations." Actually, it probably has to do with the good relations between Puntland (Somalia) and Yemen. Sources: Gulf News (Dubai); Independent Online (South Africa).

I would guess that the owner of the MV Sirius Star (carrying US$100,000,000 worth of oil) would be willing to pay for the piracy security/insurance that costs "as much as $60,000 for a single journey through the Gulf of Aden." (Source: Al Jazeera.) But, the aforementioned Thai ship was transporting fishing equipment. I doubt Sirichai Fisheries can afford private security or insurance for every trip.

India tried Agent's "torpedo their asses" method on 18 November with the FV Ekawat Nava 5. Key quotes from the stories: Daily Times (Pakistan) Bangkok Post Newsweek

Today's pirate news: A ransom deal, possibly for US$3,000,000, has been reached to release the Ukrainian ship MV Faina, which was captured on 24 September 2008. Source: Al Jazeera. It's a notable victory for the pirates since they still got what they wanted after two months and made the international forces look powerless.

Somali Pirates Tell Their Side: They Want Only Money By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN Published: 30 September 2008 NAIROBI, Kenya — The Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition said in an interview on Tuesday that they had no idea the ship was carrying arms when they seized it on the high seas. “We just saw a big ship,” the pirates’ spokesman, Sugule Ali, said in a telephone interview. “So we stopped it.” The pirates quickly learned, though, that their booty was an estimated $30 million worth of heavy weaponry, heading for Kenya or Sudan, depending on whom you ask. In a 45-minute interview, Mr. Sugule spoke on everything from what the pirates wanted (“just money”) to why they were doing this (“to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters”) to what they had to eat on board (rice, meat, bread, spaghetti, “you know, normal human-being food”). He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” he said. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” The pirates who answered the phone call on Tuesday morning said they were speaking by satellite phone from the bridge of the Faina, the Ukrainian cargo ship that was hijacked about 200 miles off the coast of Somalia on Thursday. Several pirates talked but said that only Mr. Sugule was authorized to be quoted. Mr. Sugule acknowledged that they were now surrounded by American warships, but he did not sound afraid. “You only die once,” Mr. Sugule said. He said that all was peaceful on the ship, despite unconfirmed reports from maritime organizations in Kenya that three pirates were killed in a shootout among themselves on Sunday or Monday night. He insisted that the pirates were not interested in the weapons and had no plans to sell them to Islamist insurgents battling Somalia’s weak transitional government. “Somalia has suffered from many years of destruction because of all these weapons,” he said. “We don’t want that suffering and chaos to continue. We are not going to offload the weapons. We just want the money.” He said the pirates were asking for $20 million in cash; “we don’t use any other system than cash.” But he added that they were willing to bargain. “That’s deal-making,” he explained. Piracy in Somalia is a highly organized, lucrative, ransom-driven business. Just this year, pirates hijacked more than 25 ships, and in many cases, they were paid million-dollar ransoms to release them. The juicy payoffs have attracted gunmen from across Somalia, and the pirates are thought to number in the thousands. The piracy industry started about 10 to 15 years ago, Somali officials said, as a response to illegal fishing. Somalia’s central government imploded in 1991, casting the country into chaos. With no patrols along the shoreline, Somalia’s tuna-rich waters were soon plundered by commercial fishing fleets from around the world. Somali fishermen armed themselves and turned into vigilantes by confronting illegal fishing boats and demanding that they pay a tax. “From there, they got greedy,” said Mohamed Osman Aden, a Somali diplomat in Kenya. “They starting attacking everyone.” By the early 2000s, many of the fishermen had traded in their nets for machine guns and were hijacking any vessel they could catch: sailboat, oil tanker, United Nations-chartered food ship. “It’s true that the pirates started to defend the fishing business,” Mr. Mohamed said. “And illegal fishing is a real problem for us. But this does not justify these boys to now act like guardians. They are criminals. The world must help us crack down on them.” The United States and several European countries, in particular France, have been talking about ways to patrol the waters together. The United Nations is even considering something like a maritime peacekeeping force. Because of all the hijackings, the waters off Somalia’s coast are considered the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world. On Tuesday, several American warships — around five, according to one Western diplomat — had the hijacked freighter cornered along the craggy Somali coastline. The American ships allowed the pirates to bring food and water on board, but not to take weapons off. A Russian frigate is also on its way to the area. Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Navy spokesman, said on Tuesday that he had heard the unconfirmed reports about the pirate-on-pirate shootout, but that the Navy had no more information. “To be honest, we’re not seeing a whole lot of activity” on the ship, he said. In Washington, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to discuss any possible American military operations to capture the ship. “Our concern is right now making sure that there’s a peaceful resolution to this, that this cargo does not end up in the hands of anyone who would use it in a way that would be destabilizing to the region,” Mr. Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon. He said the United States government was not involved in any negotiations with the pirates. He also said he had no information about reports that the pirates had exchanged gunfire among themselves. Kenyan officials continued to maintain that the weapons aboard were part of a legitimate arms deal for the Kenyan military, even though several Western diplomats, Somali officials and the pirates themselves said the arms were part of a secret deal to funnel weapons to southern Sudan. Somali officials are urging the Western navies to storm the ship and arrest the pirates because they say that paying ransoms only fuels the problem. Western diplomats, however, have said that such a commando operation would be very difficult because the ship is full of explosives and the pirates could use the 20 crew members as human shields. Mr. Sugule said his men were treating the crew members well. (The pirates would not let the crew members speak on the phone, saying it was against their rules.) “Killing is not in our plans,” he said. “We only want money so we can protect ourselves from hunger.” When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from hunger, Mr. Sugule laughed and said, “Because we have a lot of men.” Wikipedia links: Somalia Piracy in Somalia List of ships attacked by Somali pirates Eyl (pirate haven) Xarardheere (pirate haven) Economy of Somalia Anarchy in Somalia Excellent articles: Better off stateless: Somalia before and after government collapse (3 February 2006, WVU.) Somalia after state collapse: chaos or improvement? (30 November 2006, Independent Institute.) The rule of law without the state (12 September 2007, Mises Institute.) Life in Somalia's pirate town (18 September 2008, BBC.) The dismemberment of Somalia (6 October 2008, Somali Musings.) Pirates live the high life, transform villages into boomtowns (19 November 2008, AP.) The physiology of a nation at war (27 November 2008, Wardheed News.) No way to stop us, pirate leader says (1 December 2008, CNN.) Captured by pirates, ship captain recounts ordeal (2 December 2008, NBC.) Mercenaries, sonic blasters no match for pirates (2 December 2008, Wired.) Pirates don't like loud noises (3 December 2008, Salon.) How do you pay a pirate's ransom? (3 December 2008, BBC.) Somali pirates thrive after U.S. helped oust their Islamic foes (4 December 2008, Bloomberg.) The poor fishermen of Somalia (4 December 2008, Spiegel.) What I learned from the Somalia pirates (5 December 2008, Mareeg.) The unlicensed and undocumented privateers of Somalia (9 December 2008, Garowe.) Piracy is not terrorism: it's something else (14 December 2008, BlackState.) Pirates outmaneuver warships off Somalia (15 December 2008, The New York Times.) Q&A: Somali pirate explains how to steal ships (18 December 2008, Newsweek.) Somali national self-determination (23 December 2008, Somali Musings.) The US role in Somalia's calamity (29 December 2008, Huffington Post.) International Maritime Bureau live piracy map (Current, ICC-CCS.) How does forums.thesmartmarks.com feel about Somali piracy privateering? Is it "nothing short of terrorism"[1] or is it, as quoted above, "like a coast guard" that, considering the circumstances in Somalia, is justifiable?

No one picked Washington. The two people who were eliminated early didn't select any team.

You are now on the hate list, also.

I've hated Hillary passionately, but she just gave Barack about a 5 or 6 point bounce. We need her until November. You know whom I hate right now? JOHN McCAIN

Heh. It's going to take a lot more than 4 short years for America to get anywhere close to electing a black president, no matter how good of a speaker he is. Besides, NO WAY the Democrats EVER would vote for a black man to be President. The first black President will be a Republican. -=Mike

Rielle is kind of a milf when she's all dolled up. John Edwards cummed inside of her vagina and the spermatozoa reached her egg and fertilized it.

Since the group of 64 ladies was hastily put together, I will use this space to list lasses who should be considered for inclusion next year: Dillan Lauren (Spain) Amber Lee Ettinger (USA) Jelena Jensen (Germany) Defrancesca Gallardo (Italia) Taylor Hayes (USA) Tia Bella (Greece) Heather Wild (Czech Republic) Asa Akira (Japan) Amy Reid (Germany) - not cute but has an outstanding body Christine Alexis (USA) Monique Fuentes (Colombia) Lisa Ann (USA) Catalina Cruz (Mexico) Hana Melonova (Czech Republic) Kianna Dior (South Korea) Sarah Vandella (USA) Denise Milani (Czech Republic) Lacey Duvalle (USA) Paola Rey (Brazil) Samantha Lucci (USA) Kayden Kross (Sweden)