You should see the Vanguard piece they did on the pirates of Somalia . Check out also the history of the East India Trading Co .

Yknow religion is a cause of a great many of the world's problems... but not ALL of them. This incident has nothing to do with "radical islam" and everything to do with extreme poverty vs. extreme opulence.

You would know, mr. worldly.

Nonsense - they don't have the time to ponder over religious matters, they are simply trying to survive after we have emptied their sea of all its fish and dumped countless tons of our most toxic wastes in their sea and on their shores.

a mentor? No, a shrink.

But is it okay, in your mind, for us to dump our most toxic wastes off the Somali coast after having trawled all their fish, thus depriving them of their food and income while poisoning them?

Ummm they didnt shoot them because its part of international law? Hell even in the old days pirates werent summarily executed on the spot... they would be taken back to port and made an example of.

Absolutely disgusting and mendacious, psychopathic comment.

This was not about the bible or islam, so try to keep that out of it. The pirate issue has been going on for many years now, and most people are staying away from that region because they know it is dangerous. The pirates have collected enough ransom to up their equipment and now they are going further out to sea to capture their victims. My condolences to all families involved. This however is not about religion and we should stop that fear mongering and hate spreading. The pirates are wrong, period.

Yeah, that won't do anything to discourage him. Pretty much the only reason he comes to this site is to tell us all how the dirty muslims should all be wiped off the planet for not being Christians. Best thing to do is just stop feeding the troll.

Thanks mr tibbles. Aloha :-)

We ruined them by dumping toxic waste in their waters for many years, effectively killing-off all the fish, and thereby killing-off their income and food. We are the ones to blame, not them.

i'm not talking about a war, just the pirates.

So am I. Check the links I posted higher up.

Sorry , i did realize you already said that . V+ .

right, but i still don't think they were justified in taking these particular hostages off of a yacht. if they are determined to take hostages, why not an oil tanker or a freighter?

They take the hostages they can, off whatever ship they can. They don't pick and choose.

vierotchka, I am not denying that there was a lot of wrong, but still it does not justify what they are doing now. There is no right in wrong, ever. Yes, initiatives to help Somalia should have been underway with more sincerity, after all it is survival that motivates these pirates. So we should focus on bringing aid to help them build an infrastructure. Right now there are just a few wealthy towns, the ones who live off the ransom fall out.

THAT is what i mean . They may have just wanted the ship or ransom , , but still , this makes no sense . There is more to this story . Usually they just take the valuables and leave the crew unhurt .

So, does that mean that in your opinion they should simply stay at home and die of starvation?

Take your meds.

Read a real history book .

Indeed; senseless deaths. Even for pirates, a dead hostage is worthless. I don't understand why they killed them, it doesn't make any sense.

I think it is a set up . What is the US doing there , exactly ? What are our interests ? This is part of a much bigger story .

You forgot to take the valium

What are you implying?

No , YOU forgot to take the Lithium .

You are so into your religious opposition , you would not understand the greater geopolitical issues if i explained them to you . You'll have to figure it out for yourself . : )

Lithium? You're too kind. Haloperidol more likely.

What is the US doing there you ask? What are international forces doing there then? They are protecting the thousands of cargo ships going back and forth carrying commercial goods. These crews on those cargo ships are all unarmed and multi national naval forces are protecting them. Another tax subsidy that the Waltons and others do not want to admit to. The piracy in that region has been going on for many many years, and without a political solution for Africa there won't be any changes soon. It is becoming a way of life for many now.

We brought this piracy on ourselves, we can only blame ourselves:

http://www.wardheernews.com/Articles_2010/June/Bashir/Toxic_waste_dumping_in_Som...

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_waronterror25.htm

http://www.hiiraan.com/op2/2010/apr/toxic_waste_behind_somali_pirates.aspx

http://www.harvestdream.org/index.php?/archives/369-Toxic-Waste,-Lost-Fish-and-Somali-Pirates.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-you-ar...

Sigh . You are probably correct , vierotchka . : )

Yes , and those former Somali fishermen , get to watch , at the wealth of the world passes by , while Other nations ( Japan , US . ext ... decimated THEIR fishing stock and dumped toxic waste into THEIR OCEANS . " Their are EVIL pirates there now !!?? Shocked , I tell you !? " In shanklin mike's perfect world , when good people cannot survive , they turn pirate . Robin Hood . Butch Cassidy . It is an old story , and part of human nature .

What does religion have to do with it? I asked you what you were implying by your comment. It was an honest question.

Rubbish. We did not bring this on ourselves anymore than the ships from Ghana or the Indian ships or the Russian ships that have been hijacked.

Do you ever at all take responsibility for the consequences of your actions? I doubt it, because you seem oblivious to the dynamics of cause and effect but prefer to spew venom on others and blame the victims.

I try to take responsibility for my actions and to understand how my actions will impact others at all times.

Your posts and my posts speak for themselves. I have not blamed any victims nor will you see me spewing venom. Can you say the same?

I had replied to crystalman's comment . 'Twas HE that brought up religion . I was disagreeing with him . It has god's balls to do with religion . Are you friends ?

You wrote to me that I was into "religious opposition.................." I have no idea what you meant by that or why you made that comment to me in response to asking what you were implying in your previous thread on America's involvement. It was an honest question on my part.

I don't know Crystalman but I believe the truth can set us all free.

Apologies . I replied to you by mistake . Too bad the "insane" comment was removed , you might understand if you read it !

No worries. I am glad to have the understanding. Thank you.

Hey glad to know when i made a mistake . Glad you asked , sam .

Of course I can say the same - I counter-attack when attacked, true, but never venomously, and I have never blamed any victim whatsoever, contrary to you.

You have straight up attacked me on many occasions and venomously applied labels to me.

Which victim did I blame? The victims here are the four American people sailing!

I have indeed counter-attacked you on several occasions, never venomously. I have also pointed out your lies and errors.

As for the victims you have systematically and frequently blamed - the innocent Palestinian civilians victims of Israel.

As for the four Americans sailing in a pirate-infested area, how stupid of them to sail there in the first place.

Current TV had a pretty interesting piece on the pirates some time ago. No, it is not that easy that the fat cats have only themselves to blame. The piracy however has been a problem for many many years now and due to lack of political will things have not been changed at a much earlier time. Conditions for Somalis could have been improved, but who cared?

I watched it with interest . I was so inspired that i researched it some . Did you know Xe is doing a lot of contract work down there now ?

You have attacked me venomously many times and usually without addressing my point that you disagree with. Character assassination is the norm.

I have made errors, as we all do, but you will never find me in a lie on this site. Perhaps your disagreement with my points causes you to use venomous terms like "lies" when people disagree with you.

I have never blamed "innocent Palestinian civilians victims of Israel."

In your last statement about the dead Americans, you blame the victims. Oh what irony!

No I haven't, and you know it.

I didn't blame the victims, they brought it onto themselves - sailing into pirate-infested waters earned them the Darwin Award.

Your statement blames the victims for stupidly being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's reminiscent of blaming rape victims for what happens to them. You ignored my question before. If it were someone from Ghana would it still be their fault?

I could pull out the statements of what you have said to me and the vitriol with which you do it. You have accused me of being racist, Republican, a liar, a homophobe, etc---none of which I am.

Go ahead, pull them out - I haven't accused YOU of any of those things. At most, I may have stated that your comments, not you, were racist, right-wing and mendacious. I never make such statements without excellent reason.

I won't embarrass you for I enjoy the dialogue on the rare occasions it actually happens. Your comments speak for themselves.