Yup. And if 85+% of the hijackers off the Somalia coast don't return, I have a feeling that others will somewhat less eager to go and take those risks. Now the problem is those 200+ hostages that are being held...and I might add, being held due to inaction.
If they are in a legitimate fishing boat, they should be registered and carry the appropriate transponder. If they get within 1 nmile of a merchant vessel, ice the bastards.
AK47s go for as little as $30 in most parts of the world (of course $30 is a lot of money is most parts of the world). The weapon itself only has seven moving parts and can be fabricated from scratch in most machine shops.
I have one and am impressed with how simple the sucker is. Search the web and compare exploded diagrams for an AK47 and an AR15. Heck, even a modern Smith & Wesson revolver has twice as many parts as an AK47!
AK47
U.S. Constitution, Section 8
The Congress shall have the power... To ... grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal*...
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Perhaps the AK parts are simpler than the AR, but surprisingly, according to the drawings in the links, the AK has more parts than the AR.
Interesting trivia: The only letter of marque issued since the war of 1812 was for a dirigible used to patrol for submarines during WW2.
Case in point is Ossama bin Laden. His family is one of the richest in Saudi Arabia.
Uh, I don't think you can find a case where the hungry, the destitute, the deprived of all hope, has, as a group, taken up arms to better their condition.
It takes weapons, planning, and leadership to wage a war. But more importantly, it takes calories. Despots don't retain power by providing a society of plenty; they remain in control by making the populace weak. Weak in spirit and in body.
"Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans. Only the hard. Only the strong."
In most other societies, he'd be in a padded cell, talking to others through a mike.
That's true, and it's worth considering whether, why, how, and by whom their activities are supported - because a fanatic without a support context is just another shouter.
The fanatics feed on perceived unfairness, injustice, and dishonesty - and accumulate power when they succeed at inducing others to resonate with their outrage.
The rest of us have, as I see it, these options:
[1] We can ignore, either by conscious choice or by choosing to not inform ourselves, what's happening in the world around us. [2] We can act to suppress any and all destabilizing influences. [3] We can examine the situation and attempt to reveal truth, ensure fairness, and provide justice.The first is the usual option. The second is generally the knee-jerk response when the first option is removed. The third is the most expensive and least comfortable option.
Yes, I suppose there'll always be fanatics. Some of 'em will simply be crazies - but it's probably worth noticing that at least some will be people acting to provoke the third kind of response.
I'm inclined toward finding criminally insane all of those who believe that any kind of paradise can be achieved through murder.
followed by a link to an article, no doubt about Jefferson and the Barbary pirates, and nothing else.
So, let me see if I have this straight:
Who ordered the SEALs in? The battalion commander? The captain of the ship carrying them? Southern Command? SecNav? DefSec?
No, I'm guessing an overt military act like that pretty much had to come from the Commander in Chief, just like in Jefferson's day. I guess the implication is pretty clear, Obama does have balls, and he deserves as much credit for it as Jefferson gets.
According to news reports Obama twice authorized the military to use deadly force to resolve the situation, but no way will you see Obamaphobes giving him credit for that. If it had gone wrong and Capt. Phillips had been killed it would be a different story, then they'd be blaming Obama every hour on the hour, but since it was successful the President is out of the equation so far as they're concerned. This is what we've come to, hyper-partisanship to the point of absurdity.
Oh pshaw.
In which you're not also participating?
Ok, that's enough for me; I'll go back to waiting for the woodworking threads now.
I'm with you. If some news reports of the pirates ages are correct, Obama should get all the credit for killing the children.
I'm not sure where you're going with that, but a 10 year old kid with a grenade or AK47 or whatever, can kill you just as dead as an adult. When the individual is armed and actively threatening, age is the last consideration.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
It's not last. It's not on the list of considerations.
Gee whiz, it's happy horse shit time.
Has Rush used this one yet?
It's about his speed.
Lew
Yep, you got that right ... but for a short span of time there would now be headlines screaming about Bush murdering 3 black, impoverished, muslim, Somalian teenager's.
Naw, he already has a full ration, they are members of the US military.
Lew
WTF is next? Our friends the Saudis allow marriage to an 8-year old. Why wouldn't somebody from over there arm a 9-year old to " get himself a few of those capitalist pigs"? Just when you think mankind couldn't sink any lower....guess what?
So if I'm wrong you should have no problem pointing me to those folks who would normally crawl over broken glass for a chance to slam Obama but who have given him credit for making the right call on this occasion.
Correct, I'm not. I have no problem criticizing the Obama administration when it screws up, e.g. their incredibly idiotic proposal for making wounded veterans use their own private health insurance to pay for their medical care. That was one of the worst plans ever to come out of Washington, the home planet for bad plans, the only bright spot is they quickly dropped it when even their own party treated it with the contempt it deserved. However unlike some folks I'm also prepared to give them credit when they get it right, that's the difference.
I visited the College of the Redwoods fine woodworking campus last week. I think I saw some future stars in their formative years--very cool place.
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