Ron Paul’s Buccaneers

b-b-b-but I thought pirates were those “sixteen or seventeen year old Black kids” that our newest Black Activist cum Leader of the Conservative movement cum, well, just plain come, when it comes to teabagging, if you know what I mean, said when he accused Obama of killing ‘em simply because they were Doing Whatever it Was they Were Doing While Black.
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Just to make political points, not less…

Oh, FYI, there’s “Driving While Black” or DWB, so that is actually DWIWTWDWB.
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Rush Limbaugh is such a great Black Activist, ain’t he…

On a more serious not, even a libertarian has cronies.
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In the “contractor” trade…

“Tricked-out yachts,” perhaps? “Tripped-out” suggests a psychedelicized crew.

So Ron’s advocating a sort of Black Water on the high seas? Just a month or so ago a Thai fishing vessel was mistakenly identified as a pirate ship and sank by an Indian crew. I could just see this happening more and more. The whole idea just seems preposterous. Better to address the piracy problems at its root source in Somalia, while working with professional navies to curb the pirates in the mean time.

Plus, they might go under and we’d then have to bail them out too!

I’m not sure how well buccaneer ships would work, but I think what would work to defeat these pirates is to give coastal Somalians geater incentives to pursue a productive and honest living on the mainland. The U.S. strategic foreign aid budget could help catalyze this process, and an increase in funding in this highly successive department is necessary. The Borgen Project has good info on the estimated cost of ending global poverty:

$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

$550 billion: U.S. Defense budget.

“sixteen or seventeen year old Black kids”
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Maritime organizers.

Evidently, Jay Newton-Small and Time magazine haven’t gotten word of the new, politically correct word for what Newton-Small maliciously calls “pirates”. Race baiter Al Sharpton has now declared said “pirates” are to be called the “voluntary coast guard” of Somalia. Get with the program, Time magazine.

the booty incentives
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There’s a teabag joke in here. I’m just too tired to find it.

textee: I’d imagine those Somalis probably prefer the term priate, if one were to ask them. Much cooler.

53_3: very witty, re: bailout.

FlownOver: tricked out is probably more apt, though I’m not sure that pimping out the yachts would help catch the pirates, except to blind them in the sun. I meant tripped-out, like crazy.
JNS

jarais: LOL.

From http://www.illegal-fishing.info:

“An estimated 700 foreign-owned vessels were engaged in unlicensed fishing in Somali waters in 2005, according to the Somali fishery country profile compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). However, the agency said it was ‘impossible to monitor their fishery production in general, let alone the state of the fishery resources they are exploiting. There is also strong suspicion of illegal dumping of industrial and nuclear wastes along the Somali coast.’ ”
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So this piracy isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere. I’m just saying.

If tripped-out is what you really meant, fine. I’d have thought the crew might be tripped-out, but not the vessel.
Maybe that’ll become the Refrain of the Repentant Pirate, per Donovan circa 1966: “Could’ve tripped out easy but I’ve changed my ways.
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In any event, the response is much appreciated.

The idea of swashbuckling privateer heroes ridding the seas of these parasites is a grand one, but a romantic dream symbolic of past foreign excursion blunders. Anyone ever year of human shields? The International Maritime Bureau reports at least 260 hostages reported I wonder if Commodore Paul would make the call to “Take ‘em out, me hardees!” with hostages sitting in the bow?.
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We need to move on to more intelligent options in the short term and work on righting the ship of Somalia for its people in the long.
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Where’s demwoman when you need her? Arggggh.

Oops, re-proofing always good when one’s been interrupted.
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s/b The International Maritime Bureau reports at least 260 hostages being held in the country by pirates.

Sorry – neglected to close Donovan quote from “Sunshine Superman.”

While certainly this solution would be a cheaper, free market way to deal with pirates
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I don’t believe that for a second. Give some proof for it.

Since it was Ron Paul that suggested it, I guess we don’t have to worry about it ever happening.

Commenter 2B named later: On another blog I frequent, the author posted recommendations for Somalia. The blog was immediately invaded by Somalian commenters, furious at his hubris.
After talking with them for a little bit, several mentioned what you did – that the pirate fleets come as a response to illegal fishing in their waters (which I hadn’t known before).

Ron Paul is intelligent, serious and lucid. For a right-winger.

53_3:

At least buckets shouldn’t be too expensive if they need bailing out?

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So, while Queen Elizabeth I rewarded Sir Francis Drake..
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If we can get Ron Paul to dress up in Queen Elizabeth drag, I’ll happy to let Ron Paul write Letters of Marque to his heart’s content…
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…Mr. Paul? Ralph Nader called to remind you that your 15 minutes are up.

Ron Paul dressed up in Queen Elizabeth drag? Doesn’t Rudy Guliani have some kind of GOP copyright protection in that area?

“At least buckets shouldn’t be too expensive if they need bailing out?”
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Depends on just which sea they’re sinking in…

Ron Paul dressed up in Queen Elizabeth drag? Doesn’t Rudy Guliani have some kind of GOP copyright protection in that area?
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I just want you two to know that I will NEVER get over the extreme psychological damage that mental image has seared into my brain.

BTW this post just SCREAMS for Pirate Wench commentary! Where is our resident buccaneer?

Cliff, fishing may just be the least of it:
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Jeremy Scahill @
http://rebelreports.com/post/95749163/when-will-the-media-interview-somalis-about-the

OT, but a couple of weeks ago my MIL came out into the living room dressed for church in a new outfit. She asked us if she looked good. I told her that she looked better. Looking good was just wishful thinking. She looked like a fat-@ssed George Burns in drag.

jcapan, thanks for the link.
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JNS, that sounds like something worth further investigation.

BTW this post just SCREAMS for Pirate Wench commentary! Where is our resident buccaneer?
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Aye! The resident seadog be fallin’ down on her job! I do be hopin’ her archnemesis CP in FL hasn’t done her in!

And what Rose said – thanks for the link.

People opposed to them being armed kind of reminds me about when some people were opposed to pilots being armed in the cockpit post 9/11. I remember one even saying they shouldn’t be armed because “they really need to be in control of that airplane”.
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And I didn’t believe that Al Sharpton thing at first but then I remembered that he is Al Sharpton so it’s probably true. Just for laughs, I found the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUbsLKNCUoA

“Aye! The resident seadog be fallin’ down on her job!”
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Have some respect. How do you know she wasn’t taken out on a raid on the galley?

And further context, re: media coverage and western narrative-making about Africa:
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http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Workshop/chavis98.html
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A little dated (goes back to my grad school days), but most of his pts. remain operable. However, China’s stunning rise alters his closing sentiment–exploitation obviously can’t be reduced to race alone.
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So, when indigenous Nigerians attack oil rigs or Somalians attack western vessels, I always take it with a grain of salt.

Great, so overzealous ships can blow fishermen from other countries out of the water.

“Hey, we’re just fishermen” (said in Somali language)
“Yeah, right, I’ve heard THAT one before!” (armed merchant)
BOOM!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_re_us/piracy_suspect
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Now if only the world could see Cheney & co. shackled like this kid.

The real “Pirates” are Congressional Representatives and Senators. It is truly that simple.

Of course it would work, and it is the Constitutionally correct solution. If Letters of Marque were used to capture Osama bin Laden – as Ron Paul advocated at the time of 911 – he would have been captured and tried long ago at a fraction of the cost, without the bloody Iraq and Afghanistan distractions. Air piracy is piracy too.

I be here, mateys, I be here…but I just be readin’. It be not be a particular good time t’ be a pirate – wench or otherwise these days. Me comments keep windin’ up in th’ moderation brig !
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YARR!

Yay!
Pirate Wench:
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Do you think you could see your way to sinking Rusty’s garbage scow?
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With all hands, preferably…

53 – rusty be right adept a’ sinkin’ ‘is own garbage scow, don’t ye be thinkin’? Firin’ down right through ‘is decks willy-nilly wi’ ‘is cannon? Rusty’s sorry wee raft o’ soggy ideas be not worth botherin’ t’ pull out th’ blunderbus fer, by my lights…it be wallowin’ an’ sinkin’ wi’out any o’ th’ rest o’ this fine crew troublin’ themselves on ‘is account. We wouldn’t be wantin’ t’ be gettin’ our own fine boots covered wi’ rustycrud, me hearty!
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Now, let’s be seein’ if this ‘ere comment be making it through th’ moderatin’ armada…
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Arrgh!

True, true, piratewench. Just put your bow on him and leave him to the sharks.
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Now, for pure enjoyment, take a look at this:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/21/alleged.pirate.new.york/index.html
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Now I ask anyone who cares to answer, just why does this guy seem so happy? I can think of a couple reasons, but a want to hear others…

Now I ask anyone who cares to answer, just why does this guy seem so happy? I can think of a couple reasons, but a want to hear others…
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My reasons are probably the same as yours, but he’s now in the US, he’s probably had more food in his captivity than in his whole life, and even if he’s a prisoner (and most likely will be for a very long time) he’ll have a life beyond his imagining in the US. That’s enough to make any kid with little understanding of the whole situation happy.

I think you hit that on the nail, yutsano.
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Maybe we should threaten to send him air drop him near the inland border of Somalia. That way, he’d have to take his chances hiking back…

Maybe we should threaten to send him air drop him near the inland border of Somalia. That way, he’d have to take his chances hiking back…
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Even worse: any and all Somali pirates get deported to…Ethiopia. That should be fun.

“Even worse: any and all Somali pirates get deported to…Ethiopia. That should be fun.”
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I’ll go for that. There’s something about this whole thing that appeals to that inner Republican in all of us, don’t you think?

I’ll go for that. There’s something about this whole thing that appeals to that inner Republican in all of us, don’t you think?
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Well my excuse is I’m slightly sadistic like all Scorpios are. However I wonder how much I feel towards this particular suspect. It’s kind of like the whole torture mishegas: he’s just a low-level player. Get the head pirates involved and things might get more, uhh, vengeful.