Navy Warships Repel Pirates!

[Coexist]

Off the coast of Somalia. Pirates were brandishing arms. The Pirates opened fire. The navy won.

Too amusing for words.

This is CNN Breaking.

[Beelzebud]

1. LOL something about a rag-tag band of criminals in a stolen boat

Going after a Navy war ship, is highly amusing. :D

[Coexist]

2. Those cruise ships repelled them, why did they think they could

take on a WARship?!

[Deja Q]

14. Just like Blake's 7 or Firefly... except this is real life.

*splat*

[VTMechEngr]

44. LINK

http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=22784

[Coexist]

3. 'the navy is certainly on the watch now, after this incident today'

well, gee, were they NOT on the watch before this?!

[VTMechEngr]

4. Hell Yeh! GO NAVY!

I have been wanting the Navy to engage those pirates for a while. Piracy is a major problem in that region.

Technically, its not a war to fight pirates, as every Navy in the world has that job.

[Coexist]

6. they said that the pirates essentially drive speedboats

is that correct?

How in the world could a speedboat feel it could threaten an warship?

[VTMechEngr]

9. Usually they try to board tankers and cargo ships

I have no idea why they would attack a warship. Darwin award?

[petronius]

17. Wasn't it a suicide-bomb attack in a speedboat that hit the Cole?

I doubt if a speedboat could threaten a warship if the boat driver wanted to survive, but the navy has to take the little boats seriously as possible kamikaze threats...

[Coexist]

23. Not quite the same, but I had to look it up to be sure.

http://www.cargolaw.com/2000nightmare_cole.html
<snip>
Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives-packed boat next to the U.S. warship as it refueled in Aden harbor at Yemen's southern tip, killing 17 U.S. sailors and wounding 39. Al-Badawi identified his contact as Mohammed Omar al-Harazi, who used the aliases ''Abu al-Mohsin'' and ''Abu al-Hasan,'' the sources said. Al-Harazi remains at-large. Al-Harazi is a Saudi citizen born to a Yemeni family in the rugged Haraz mountain region west of San'a, the capital.

The Afghan connection is one of the tenuous links Yemeni investigators have found between the group involved in the Cole attack and America's No. 1 terror suspect, Osama bin Laden, who also fought in Afghanistan.

U.S. law enforcement officials have said previously that several threads link the suspects now held by the Yemenis to the bin Laden organization.

[Richard Steele]

5. Yarr, mateys, this might not be such a good idea........

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Coexist]

13. Was this guy aboard?

[immoderate]

45. Did you hear about the pirate movie?

It's rated arrgh!

--IMM

[Richard Steele]

52. Ok...

:spank:

[flvegan]

7. Now is that pirate ship aground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle

with Gilligan, the Skipper, too, the millionaire and his wife...

[Bill McBlueState]

8. there *are* many fewer pirates than there used to be

Some say it's a direct cause of global warming:

[Richard Steele]

10. Yup, this should just about finish off those ice caps! nm

[Coexist]

19. Not to mention the earthquakes and hurricanes.

http://www.venganza.org/

<snip>
You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

[Coexist]

15. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is going to be PISSED.

[tanyev]

31. Maybe these were radical fundamentalist followers of the FSM.

[monktonman]

20. Here you go with that pirate thing again.

Dont all you volvo loving, tree hugging hippies know that pirates have no more basis in fact than global warming does? They are both a myth and could never happen. Anyone who says otherwise is misleading you and should be reported to the DHS.

[Coexist]

21. if this post is satire, it is brilliant,

if it is not... there is no help for you!

[Richard Steele]

22. I really hope you forgot the 'sarcasm' smiley on that one! nm

[monktonman]

25. No I didn't forget the sarcasm smiley.

I just figured we were all smart enough to recognize sarcasm when we see it.
am I wrong??

[Richard Steele]

29. Yeah, stick around awhile.

You'll be AMAZED at the stuff that goes over people's heads sometimes.

And even more amazed at the TROLLS who post nonsense much worse,
and actually MEAN it!

That 'sarcasm' smiley saves a lot of headaches, ItellyaWhut!

[Coexist]

30. "TROLLS who post nonsense much worse, and actually MEAN it!"

:rofl:

[monktonman]

37. Dude

First of all I was kinda ragging on you. Also look at that name. are you a porn star? Your not afraid of freepers because of the content of my post, your buggin because of the number of post's.
Also cant something just be funny without being analyzed to death??
Jeeze.
Pirates / global warming? funny!!!!

[Coexist]

38. you obviously need to meet the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

http://www.venganza.org/index.htm

[monktonman]

40. ok thats funny but wheres the sarcasm smiley???

[Richard Steele]

42. No, THIS is a porn star:

I, on the other hand, am a pretty, pretty man.....
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[ArbustoBuster]

32. DU gets "boarded" by pirates from Freeperland...

...all the time. So it's often important to make sure people don't think you're a Freeper when you make a good sarcastic remark like your comment was. Because there are people who aren't being sarcastic, but in fact actually believe the crazy crap that's coming out of their mouths.

It's sad but it's true.

[Richard Steele]

36. "Boarded by Pirates from Freeperland", ROFL!!!!!

Is that the perfect metaphor for this pirate story,
or is it the other way around?

[immoderate]

48. I never use the sarcasm smilie...

unless I use it sarcastically. It's like making "Get it?" the punch line of every joke.

--IMM

[monktonman]

55. Thank You

[htuttle]

11. Arr! Somebody made the grog a bit too strong this morning!

[RB TexLa]

12. Hey

Why you wanna be posting the same thing I'm posting at the same time?

Huh? I mean what's up with that? What is it?




:toast:

[Coexist]

16. Great minds!

:toast:

[TAPat]

18. I've said it before and I'll say it again

we are returned to the middle ages! :applause:

[lpbk2713]

24. Note to Somalian pirates:

Don't ever take a knife to a gunfight.


(USN 1965 - 69)

[Submariner]

27. Definitely Darwin Award candidates

(USN-SS 1965 - 69)

[Coexist]

28. Only the dead pirate gets one though.

the rest will have to wait for that honor.

http://www.darwinawards.com/

<snip>
We salute the improvement of the human genome
by honoring those who remove themselves from it.
Of necessity, this honor is generally bestowed posthumously.

[Coexist]

26. Pirates were brandishing "shoulder-fired grenade launchers"

Holy shit - what idiots.

[Richard Steele]

35. Well, if that's the best weaponry they had....

...then I can understand how they couldn't resist the temptation
of all those shiny new Cannons, Missiles, Torpedos, and Heavy machine Guns
just floating there, ripe for the plucking!

[Coexist]

39. Arrgh! You think like a pirate!

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

33. I've got MSRNC on they just reported it as "breaking"..

Little slow on the draw there, aren't they....

[manic expression]

34. Huzzah!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[spanone]

41. Now we've pissed off the Pirates?? The last straw!

Our Navy rose to the occasion. What the hell were these guys thinking?

[suffragette]

43. Yesterday I took a cab and the cab driver was from Somalia

At the time there was a report of a spill in the bay here and we started talking about that.
This led to him talking to me about the situation in Somalia and he said some things that shed a different light on these incidents.
He noted that because of the civil war, Somalia has had no protection for its coastal waters - no Coast Guard protecting its rights. Ships have been dumping hazardous waste there for years, including chemical and nuclear waste. He said that many children in particular have suffered horrendously, since kids being kids, they would go swimming. He spoke of them having flesh peeling from their bodies due to the contamination.
He said that armed men started taking to boats and going after ships, of course they were in small boats and going after very large ships, to try to chase them away before they dumped more waste there. A really desperate act by mostly powerless people to try to stem the horror. He noted that he thought they should instead be pursuing this through the United Nations to try to get UN help in protecting the coast.
I poked around the net this morning to see what I could find on this and found some info that the UN is reporting on the dumping situation and that there are also some reports that the tsunami ended up breaking many of these barrels open, making the contamination even worse.


Here are some links and info from those:

UN warns of nuclear wastes in Somalia waters
http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=13962

The environmental impact of the deadly Asian Tsunami was laid bare yesterday as it emerged that it stirred up nuclear and hazardous waste deposits dumped in the Somalia coastline.

Fears were also expressed that the situation in the war-torn Somalia poses "a very serious environmental hazard" to the east African countries following possible contamination of the environment by radioactive waste.

United Nations Environment Programme report
Note: this is a pdf

http://www.unep.org/tsunami/reports/TSUNAMI_SOMALIA_LAYOUT.pdf

Further, Somalia is one of the many Least Developed Countries that reportedly received countless
shipments of illegal nuclear and toxic waste dumped along the coastline. Starting from the early 1980s
and continuing into the civil war, the hazardous waste dumped along Somalia's coast comprised uranium
radioactive waste, lead, cadmium, mercury, industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other
toxic waste. Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking
barrels which ranged from small to big tanks without regard to the health of the local population and
any environmentally devastating impacts.

The issue of dumping in Somalia is contentious as it raises both legal and moral questions. First, there
is a violation of international treaties in the export of hazardous waste to Somalia. Second, it is ethically
questionable to negotiate a hazardous waste disposal contract with a country in the midst of a protracted
civil war and with a factionalized government that could not sustain a functional legal and proper waste
management system.

The impact of the tsunami stirred up hazardous waste deposits on the beaches around North Hobyo
(South Mudug) and Warsheik (North of Benadir). Contamination from the waste deposits has thus
caused health and environmental problems to the surrounding local fishing communities including
contamination of groundwater. Many people in these towns have complained of unusual health problems
as a result of the tsunami winds blowing towards inland villages. The health problems include acute
respiratory infections, dry heavy coughing and mouth bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages, unusual skin
chemical reactions, and sudden death after inhaling toxic materials.


It is important to underscore that since 1998, the Indian Ocean has experienced frequent cyclones and
heavy tidal waves in the coastal regions of Somalia. Natural disasters are short-term catastrophes, but
the contamination of the environment by radioactive waste can cause serious long-term effects on human
health as well as severe impacts on groundwater, soil, agriculture and fisheries for many years. Therefore,
the current situation along the Somali coastline poses a very serious environmental hazard, not only in
Somalia but also in the eastern Africa sub-region.

Nothing I've found mentions the armed men in boats in connection with the dumping and given the conditions there, I wouldn't be surprised if some are trying to raid or pirate, but the more I look at this, the more sense, if any "sense" can be found in such an awful situation, the driver's explanation makes.

[manic expression]

47. Wow

I had no idea about this at all.

[suffragette]

50. I didn't either

Apparently the dumping has been going on for years, as the unscrupulous have taken advantage of the chaos there.

If I hadn't been running late yesterday, I would have walked rather than taking that cab. Glad I did, if only to learn more, even though learning this has enraged me.

On another note, I sometimes think this is what our government fears most, that we will break through the barriers of nation and culture and talk to and learn from each other. I think that is one aspect of why they find it important to conduct the wiretaps and let us know they are doing this. So we are afraid to talk to one another.

[tammywammy]

46. Which pirate thought

"hummm, it's a warship....but I think we can take it."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Richard Steele]

49. They obviously have access to MUCH better grog than I do!

[Seabiscuit]

51. Opening at a Vegas casino soon! Pirates battle Navy warships! n/t

[Coexist]

53. WaPo: All three were wooden boats!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801162.html

<snip>
"All three were wooden boats," Breslau said in a telephone interview from Bahrain. "They were about 25 miles off the coast and heading west, toward shore." Breslau said the incident occurred at 5:40 a.m. local time.

[Tera Moran]

54. Haha

Arr, I don't know what I'm doing.