OT: Somali Pirates

This has got to be a 4/01 joke.

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Somali pirates try to hijack a US destroyer? Don't they have anything in their training manuals about steering clear of the ships with the big guns?

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Paul Hovnanian  paul@hovnanian.com
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Paul Hovnanian P.E.
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It's hard to tell from the article if the pirates actually fired on the Navy ship in an attempt to hijack it, or if the Navy ship was fired upon because it was investigating boats in the area and these guys panicked. I would think it would be the latter, as it is indeed hard to believe in the former case that anyone could be that stupid.

Reply to
Bitrex

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Maybe they mistook it for a freighter, it seems to happen from time to time.

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Bitrex

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Obama got elected, many people are that stupid!

RogerN

Reply to
RogerN

Isn't 'D from BC' enough of a joke for you?

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Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!'
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

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We all know Demonicrats are stupid. Here's your typical Demonicrat congressman in action:

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Reply to
krw

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They are stupid. They tried to steal a Dutch warship twice, and got arrested in both cases.

Reply to
Sjouke Burry

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Maybe they aren't so stupid? They get three hot's and a cot when a NATO warship picks them up, which is more then what they get at home.

They also know they may be able to get into a decent country even if it is just for a trial. One of our jails is probably better then the guys mud shack.

Then again they may just be really dumb??

Reply to
Hammy

As someone who just last week was defending Reagan and his alzheimer's... Hank Johnson there has hepatitis C., and it clearly has affected his ability to form and express intelligent, coherent sentences. The likelihood that he

*really* thinks the island could "tip over" is far, far less than the likelihood that his disease has left his confused and he can't express himself properly.

Granted, it would be reasonable to ask whether or not he should still be attempting to perform his duties as a representative given his medical problems. (Whereas in, e.g., Reagen's case I don't think his problems were nearly that yet, although clearly some would debate this.)

It doesn't help anyone when we go around characterizing "the other guys" as idiots, morons, demons, etc. Liberals and conservatives are both just about as bad in this regard, and overall it makes our country weaker than if more of us managed to disagree civilly and argue vehemently without resorting to trying to demean the other side.

---Joel

Reply to
Joel Koltner

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Pirate mnemonic:

"If its covered in rust, attack you must. If its painted gray, just sail away."

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Paul Hovnanian     mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
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Paul Hovnanian P.E.

..

in

guns?

I don't know...? On the open seas, it might actually be pretty easy to mistake a warship for a commercial vessel?

I'm thinking of all those great WWII submarine movies where the Captain has to check his various sillohette charts to identify his target before he launches his torpedoes at it.

Reply to
mpm

guns?

Hint: if it's got guns bigger than yours, don't shoot at it.

When they all have big guns it's good to know which ones are friendly. When you don't have any big guns, none of them are friendly.

Reply to
krw

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Perhaps they simply have little understanding of what's out there, and think that their own guns are as good as it gets.

Sylvia.

Reply to
Sylvia Else

re...

ing in

big guns?

=A0When

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I would agree that the presence of "big guns" are an obvious reason for a would-be Somali pirate to re-think his attack plans. However -- ask yourself:

Have the big guns ever been used to fend off a pirate? During the attack?

What if, instead of a destroyer, it was a tender, or some other large navy vessel that did not hve big guns? Do you think a Somali pirate boarding-by-force would work in that instance, or would the training of US Troops and small arms fire be enough to fend off the attack? And by small arms, I mean other than "big guns".

Don't get me wrong: The Somali would-be pirates are either stupid, or desperate, or both. They would have been better off to choose a different target.

Reply to
mpm

in

guns?

'Little guns" means things like .50 cal machine guns. They'll make kindling out of a skiff in seconds.

Now, I'm not a Navy guy. But I'd venture a guess that practically everything the Navy operates (outside of tugs in port, etc.) are equipped with such 'little guns'. Heck, our Coast Guard has a speed boat with a .50 cal running around Puget Sound.

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Paul Hovnanian P.E.

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Could be true. The people that go out to hijack the ships are teenagers. The warlords that organize the operations stay on dry ground.

Perhaps we need to do some live fire naval exercises right in front of a few of the pirates' favorite departure ports. Tow a few derelict ships (the ones we confiscate from them) just off shore and do some target practice. Nobody gets hurt and all the kids rethink their career options and maybe take up farming.

Big guns firing at the wrong times could drown out the daily call to prayers.

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Paul Hovnanian P.E.

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Why not just shoot up a few pirate ships and let them go back to port limping with their tail tucked between their legs.

First hand "Word of Mouth" is better then a "Show of Force".

hamilton

And if a few of these kids get shot up, the more convincing.

Reply to
hamilton

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Those that are demonstrably pirate ships do get shot up, as those who attacked the US destroyer discovered. But the civilised world has not yet become willing to shoot up boats just because they're there, even if it seems likely that they're up to no good.

I remain of the view that allowing merchant ships to carry weapons adequate to defend themselves is the way to go.

Sylvia.

Reply to
Sylvia Else

in

guns?

The size of the gun isn't important. It's a gun. Something that tells any idiot that this isn't likely to be a profitable venture.

The point is that it is *obviously* a NAVY vessel. It's not going to be their most profitable moment trying to hijack it. It will bite back. Don't mess with hornets nests unless you're certain you can get them *all* before they know what hit them.

How about other "small" arms, like 50cal. machine guns? You think every man on that ship chips paint for a living?

Ya' think?

Reply to
krw

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One shot across the bow as the universal warning, if they insist on getting up close, the next into it. There is no good reason to close on another ship, uninvited, at sea.

Seems the cheapest. The legal hassles in port are one big problem. International law of the open seas is another biggie, AIUI. Screw 'em.

Reply to
krw

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