Fact: Last year Somalian pirates reaped $50 million in ransoms

[cali]

Fact: There is evidence that some European and Asian countries have been dumping toxic waste and over fishing.

Fact: There is no evidence that any American ship has done either. And no accusation of it either.

Fact: There is no evidence that Somali pirates have ever captured a ship to draw attention to the illegal dumping and fishing. They simply ask for money.

Face it, the vast majority of the pirates conducting these hijackings are in it for the money. That doesn't lessen the crimes of those doing the dumping and fishing, but it doesn't make the pirates some kind of noble citizens' coast guard, either.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. How much money does the legal market in Somalia bring into the economy?

What is the Somalian government doing to stop any of it?

How much of that $50 million are the pirates spending on getting their side of the story covered by the media?

[cali]

3. There really is no government in Somalia and there hasn't been for

almost 2 decades. I can't answer your question about where the money goes after the pirates get it, but there has never, as far as I can discern, any ship that's been taken for the purpose of publicizing the toxic dumping and fishing.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Have the pirates ever advertised their intentions after any hijacking?

Do they have a PR division?

[joshcryer]

7. The money is used to enrich the major players with a tiny bit being given to the poor to...

...get the poor on their side. They act like Robin Hoods but they're just elite power mongers who spend most of the money on weapons and riches for themselves and their small cliches.

[Hoopla Phil]

2. It's all for profit and nothing else. Just easy pickens. Not so easy if it's

got a U.S. flag flying on it though.

[varelse]

4. It's kind of frustrating that even DU'ers can't seem to get this

Somalian pirates = criminals

Somalian fishermen and other peaceful citizens = victims of international crimes

It's not unusual for any nation or region to have BOTH types of residents.

[joshcryer]

8. Victims of international crime because of warlordism and a refusal to build a government.

The warlords are consistantly against any kind of government, it is against their interests. This is why government and pro-democracy people are killed on a regular basis. If you want democracy in Somalia you will have a target on your back.

[bkkyosemite]

11. Exactly!

[DainBramaged]

15. Yup, And the White folk here think they have a solution all neat and tidy

with a bow to solve the problems of Somalia and the pirates. Don't ya love message boards?

[bkkyosemite]

10. Exactly!

[malaise]

6. That's less that a Wall Street CEO's bonus

:evilgrin:

[DURHAM D]

9. The ransom is paid by the insurance carrier - not the ship owner.

Who is in the business of insuring these ships? AIG.

[Karmadillo]

12. $50 Million? OMG! They're too big to fail! How soon can we get a bill passed make sure

they have a steady stream of US taxpayer cash?

[msongs]

13. somalia needs some sort of religion to get them to live peacefully really nt

[Thothmes]

19. Somalia is a Muslim country.

[rollingrock]

14. Fact: This year Wall Street pirates reaped >$1 trillion in ransoms

from the US taxpayer.

[cali]

16. um, and?

how does this realate to my OP? Did you actually think I was defending Wall Street?

lame.

[rollingrock]

17. I'm not criticizing you

just pointing out who the real pirates are.

[Hippo_Tron]

18. The US Navy was completely justified in doing what they did

Not that I think these pirates are evil, by any means. Their crime was out of desperation and in an ideal world they would be put on trial and that would be taken into consideration.

But in the non-ideal world, it is justifiable to shoot them if it is the best way to get the hostage back. They know that is the risk when they engage in piracy and they become pirates anyway. It's a shame, but it's the way it is.