Piracy? or are we becoming a world of wimps?

[Prem]

This thread is the most entertaining read on the entire forum!

Auntie M has it right. You have to take out the wasps at their nest.

You know what the Romans did to barbarian tribes who pirated their ships right?

[Alfred]

This thread is the most entertaining read on the entire forum!
You know what the Romans did to barbarian tribes who pirated their ships right?

Well, at the risk of exposing a gap in my knowledge of world history, I'll bite, what did the Romans do?

I'm thinking they probably went in, cleaned house militarily, then assimilated the local culture and commerce into the empire to address the root cause of the piracy? Or am I missing the mark entirely?

Al in Asheville

[Prem]

I'm thinking they probably went in, cleaned house militarily, then assimilated the local culture and commerce into the empire to address the root cause of the piracy? Or am I missing the mark entirely?

You've got it...with an emphasis on "cleaned house militarily."

Two excellent recent books on the subject:

Are We Rome and Empires of Trust

[Alfred]

I'm thinking they probably went in, cleaned house militarily, then assimilated the local culture and commerce into the empire to address the root cause of the piracy? Or am I missing the mark entirely?

You've got it...with an emphasis on "cleaned house militarily."

Two excellent recent books on the subject:

Are We Rome and Empires of Trust

Re: "Cleaning house militarily", I put some thought into the best way to word that, before I posted...

As far as reading, I'm knee deep in Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative Anthology and also reading "The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science", right now (great books by the way), oh...and sometimes I'm building a camper, too. But as soon as I dig my way out, these sound like interesting reads, too. The Romans are always a fascinating subject.

AL in Asheville

[Prem]

the Romantic Generation

When we use the word "romantic" we inadvertently give the Romans credit for too much in the love department.

[afreegreek]

Liberalism is a mental disorder, and until we are willing to address that issue, we will continue to be victims of violent crimes, piracy and terrorism.

[Prem]

Yee Haw! Wez havin' fun now! Go git em!

[afreegreek]

:beerhat: Yee Haw! Wez havin' fun now! Go git em!

is the bounty paid on left ears or right??

[Prem]

Ask Sarah.

[rebapuck]

I see where pirates just attacked a Navy warship. How ambitious is that?

[mandy]

I just read that on MSN. I wonder what in the world were they thinking attacking a warship?

[rebapuck]

That the USA would let them.

[caseydog]

That the USA would let them.

Um, the warship sank the skiff that fired on them, took the crew into custody, and took a pirate mother-ship, too.

The monsoon season is over in that part of the world, so we can expect to see an increase in pirate attacks over the next few months. Before anyone makes any connection to health care reform (or any other totally unrelated, politically motivated nonsensical claims), the increase will come from smoother seas which allow the pirates to venture out into shipping areas far from the coast.

As much as I would like to see these pirate boats hunted down and sunken, it seems that they are like the needle in that proverbial haystack when they get into open water -- where there are also thousands of non-pirate vessels. For some reason, these boneheads shot at a US Navy vessel. Man, was that a bad decision.

There is a lot more to this problem than a lack of will to go after them.

CD

[48Rob]

There is a lot more to this problem than a lack of will to go after them.

CD

Well stated.

Rob

[Alfred]

5/06/10: Russian forces storm oil tanker, 1 pirate killed

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_bi_ge/piracy

ABOARD THE CARLSKRONA – A Russian warship hunted down an oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates and special forces rappelled on board Thursday, surprising the outlaws, who surrendered after a 22-minute gunbattle. Twenty-three Russian sailors were freed.

The dramatic Indian Ocean rescue came a day after pirates seized the tanker, which was heading toward China carrying $50 million worth of crude. One pirate was killed and 10 others were arrested, officials said.