4.12.2009

Pirates these days don't go ARRR anymore

"(CNN) -- U.S. forces killed three pirates Sunday and rescued cargo ship Capt. Richard Phillips, held hostage in a lifeboat since Wednesday, after seeing him in "imminent danger," a senior defense official told CNN. [...] Three of the pirates on the lifeboat with Phillips were shot and killed, the official said. A fourth pirate was aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge negotiating Phillips' fate when the shootings occurred, he said. Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged ship Wednesday morning, according to Maersk. The pirates retreated to the lifeboat with Phillips, leaving the Alabama with its crew.

At the White House, President Obama issued a statement saying he is "very pleased that Capt. Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer."

"His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew," Obama's statement said. "We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region. To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes.

As the sailors described their clash with the pirates, a crew member pointed to one shipmate and said, "This guy is a hero. He and the chief engineer, they took down the pirate. ... He led him down there to the engine room, and then they jumped him." The shipmate added that he stabbed the pirate's hand and tied him up. "Capt. Phillips is a hero," another crew member shouted from the deck of the freed ship.


Okay, maybe I'm just weird but what of the pirates? Don't they have a life as well as the captain?

I am very well aware of their evil and cruel deeds, but couldn't this have been solved w/o the deaths? Esp. when the 4th pirate was in a negotiation?

Maybe I am extremely ignorant and perhaps naive, but I'm just disturbed by the media's bias.

Enlighten me.

41 comments:

Kat. said...

Also this was taken from

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/12/somalia.pirates/index.html

SpazJaz said...

Well, at least America proved it still kicks ass like none other, what with the whole business in the Middle East and that whole dragging down the world's economy thing.

I mean, really, Somalian pirates hijack Russian ship. It's never recovered. Somalian pirates hijack an American ship. In two days, the ship is recovered without military help. In less than a week, with military help, the pirates are all dead, except the one that bothered to negotiate.


And media exists to be biased. I cite Fox News on this one.

SpazJaz said...

Well, at least there wasn't a media circus about this one. Still not sure how much of a victory it is.

SpazJaz said...

Oh dear, it seems my Internet Explorer no longer supports our Jazznkat website.

H'rk. That's what I get for supporting Internet Explorer.

Kat. said...

CNN is supposedly "The Most Trustd Name in News", amirite.

Yes, I trust CNN over other news networks, but you're right-
Media exists to be biased.


Get Firefox!

Longsword7 said...

Chrome FTW, well anyway the pirates live lives as pirates, they would rob another ship if they were released unharmed...

SpazJaz said...

I think the whole getting hunted down by the strongest military force in the world would counteract that pirate instinct, don't you?

Longsword7 said...

can you define "whole" "strongest military force" "pirate instinct" and "you"?

SpazJaz said...

You: you
Strongest Military Force: The U.S.A.
Pirate Instinct: You said so yourself, they would live to steal.
Whole: Stop trying to play word games, you suck at it.

SpazJaz said...

Did you get the hidden message?

Longsword7 said...

Ohh... (feeling a debate of nothingness begins...) But think of the successful pirates, not every ship robbed is reported by the media, and definetely not the ones that failed and that bush didn't want to release. (Thats why we r the best military, because we never show our mistakes) (except the hindenburg, but that was a i think german blimp and george bush wasn't up at the white house) (BTW freadom of speach) (excuse my typos) (and the parenthesis.)

Kat. said...

"they would rob another ship if they were released unharmed..."

Ahem. I believe the world is civilized and justified enough to enforce punishments upon criminals, e.g. prison?
Just not capital punishment, please.

"Thats why we r the best military, because we never show our mistakes"
One word: GITMO.
And that statement must be a fallacy, anyways.

Oh, the humanity!

SpazJaz said...

"GITMO"

I lol'd.

Okay, I'm not debating politics with you, strange-person-i-met-by-talking-to-seventh-graders. Because you suck at it.

THAT'S RIGHT, AN ARGUMENTATIVE AD HOMINEM, BISHES.

Longsword7 said...

I don't think the military believe in tazers now do they? OK, maybe they do....

Blog said...

BTW you should stop "aggressively" attack innocent commenters...

SpazJaz said...

correkt ur english.

Blog said...

i dun use teh speel chekor

hey this recaptcha is actually a word! "messed"

SpazJaz said...

Bzzt. Bzzt. This is Tazer squad 18 reporting in. Encountered some hostile ground units, engaging enemy in standard flank procedure.

*Squawk- buzz* "Don't taze me bro, don't do AGHHHHHHHHHH*bzzzzrruut*

Hostile ground units neutralized. Tazer squad 18 moving into rendezvous point Charlie.

Kat. said...

Excuse Spaz here.

If I (or spaz) has offended anyone in any slightest way, we apologize for our rude impression.
I don't know about him,
but I'm simply trying to rid irrational or biased thinking, as those very things are corrupting minds today.

I may be (and probably am) a hypocrite, but hey-
we're all human, amirite.

SpazJaz said...

Tzer squad 18, cornered aand-bzz-encountering heavy enem-psssh-man down, repeat, man dow-rahminey-need immediate backup, repeat, send in the LaZerKaTs!

Kat. said...

uh. pewpewpew?

Blog said...

Tzer squad 18 calling in evac *buzz* over *buzz*
Nah im not offeneded but how was the media biased? I dun c it... yesh im still not gona use the speel checker XD

Kat. said...

How is the media biased, Mister Longsword?
Think of the purpose of media.
Contemplate on which and what views it is able to represent.
Then you'll get it.

Blog said...

True to the fact that those pirates didn't do any harm but they should of chosen to do something better, they knew the risks and they took it. They probably were greedy people who wanted money... or poor people needing money... either way they could of chose a different route...

SpazJaz said...

Like joining the Tazer Squad!

Graet health benefits, and flexible hours!

lan mao said...

Current events! I love 'em.
Longsword actually understand what you're saying before you say - or type - it. What's the meaning of random idiotic posts like "I don't think the military believe in tazers now do they? OK, maybe they do...."

However, according to Michael Crichton in State of Fear, the media is biased. It can be easily manipulated and controlled. Don't beat me into senseless pulp, or try to - *again* - it's his opinion. Read the book first, at any rate, if you desire to bash me again.

Btw, Somali pirates hijacked another what, 4 ships and took I believe 60 hostages. To call them foolhardy, idiotic, and brave would be the understatement of the year. I don't CARE if the year didn't end yet, alright!!

Blog said...

But i like random :P yah i just like random.

lan mao said...

And btw, there is no way in, well, to refrain from employing profanity, heck that bias will be eliminated - unless some advanced form of brainwashing is created. But then, I'd be more worried about the implications of the brainwashing than bias. Eliminate bias? Fallacy indeed. All we can do is hope we don't degenerate into a worse state: say a Fahrenheit 451 world.

lan mao said...

And about the no deaths thing.
What would you have us do to them, release them back into the world so they can resume the pirating activities? They might not, of course, but they blew it by doing it the first time.
As you can see, I'm for capital punishment.

Kat. said...

A life sentence is better than death.

lan mao said...

Opinion. Why exactly, though?

Kat. said...

Hurr, well my opinion is mainly religious.
Because these poor souls resorted to stealing and killing and whatnot,
we can assume that they don't have Christ in their lives, and would therefore go to hell.
However, there are chances that they can turn over a new leaf, and well, be good.
I'm not sure if they have teachers or ministers preaching in Middle Eastern prisons, but hey-
That's better than taking their life away without a second chance..

Regardless of religion, I still think it's not right to kill a human being, because my conscience simply speaks to me so. I'd rather pay to keep Hitler in jail than have him executed, for the sake of saving a life and giving him that slight chance to realize his wrongs and love God.
(I know that was a radical statement; please don't hurt me.)

Also, I have no experience in capital punishment, which is why I argue with morals.

lan mao said...

Actually, this is a rather difficult debate. To me, the problem is some people convicted can change; others cannot. Some have the capacity to love still. On the other hand, others can't. Therefore, a dilemma presents itself - capital punishment kills off everyone with or without the "spark", but imprisonment costs plenty.
Speaking of capital punishment, what is with the fancy electric chairs and stuff? A shot to the head works fine as well...and costs a LOT less. Or, stuff the guy with medicines. Stab him. Decapitate him. Poison him. Why do we have to spend thousands on fancy injection systems or chairs?

lan mao said...

!!! Hitler supporter! Neo-Nazi! She's planning to start the Fourth Reich!
Lulz jk, but seriously, I bet those Nuremberg trial people are turning in their graves. 360 degree rotations times 9001.
Lulz, all in good fun.
Haha, the hte mchne has turned a new leaf!

SpazJaz said...

I don't gt how the death sentence deterrs crime at all. And the point of fancy killing masheens is to lessen the pain as much as possible.

Kat. said...

"To me, the problem is some people convicted can change; others cannot."

I'd rather keep in mind that even at least one person's soul can be saved, as opposed to all of em dying.


I detest the Nazis bitterly, don't get me wrong.
I was only trying to use an effective example.

lan mao said...

Yeah, but in the end people are forced to be practical. We don't have infinite funding, so imprisoning everyone doesn't work that well, unless crime can be reduced.
Keep in mind logic is bereft of moral responsibility. It is characterized by the absence of morals. And the decisions made by the higher-ups need to be logical, due to something called separation of church and state.

I've never experienced getting shot in the head, but wouldn't it end a life quickly, without pain?
How about you take the guy when hes asleep and BAM!

lan mao said...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying life imprisonment is bad.
However, sometimes there isn't an alternative to death.

Kat. said...

Yes, we have to be practical when it comes to funding, but when there are cases involving life and death, I believe that morals should come first, regardless of who's involved.

lan mao said...

You know, Spaz has a good point. We don't need a punishment system. We need a way to deter crime. We need to catch the criminals, too.
However, it could be argued crime is decreasing; it has been (according to http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm) since 1994.

lan mao said...

Morals have to be considered, I concur.