The pirate problem

last SG · 2009-04-16T20:37:56+00:00

why no put soldiers on board the ships to guard their safety? If anyone approaches them, give them a warning, if they still approach, shoot to kill. I would...

Arapahoe SG

So many blind folks in this forum.....Let me present it this manner.

1) IF it is an issue of illegal international toxic dumping there are United Nation to approached to bring up complaints and investigation.

(Economically we call it externalities, Example if indonesia burn their forest and smoke cover SEA. The regions govt negociate with Indonesia govt to reduce the smoke) We don't send in Planes to bomb their villages.

The reason why Somalia govt cannot do it is because they are busy fighting.

2) Protecting their fishing stocks...Most Somalia fishing capabilities are offshore fishing they don;t have sophsicated fishing Thrawler to fish beyond the depth of their nets nor their boat can hold...

The reason why Somalia cannot afford bigger fishing thrawler because they are busy fighting.

After fighting they need more money to buy more weapons.

The world try to help at different times but their are still busy fighting. Not even their african neighbours want to send in peace keeping force to helps.....Why because they still want to fight among themselve.

you can only help them if they stop fighting among themselve. So it is not because of toxic and illegal fishing.....!!!

Ah Chia SG

When civlisation is at stake, we MUST do what is necessary to ensure our own survival.

What cock talking you?

Ah Chia SG

Claiming that one must 'look deeper' when the depth is already fully explored and had been for decades is nothing more than procastination and be deluded, fear of facing up to the facts.

So you support or oppose the repressive PAP regime?

http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=2680

http://wayangparty.com/?p=7759

Yaw Shin Leong

I refer to the article ‘Discretion in public order’ (TODAY, 14th April 2009) and the parliamentary speech on ‘Public Order Bill’ by NCMP Sylvia Lim (WP, 13th April 2009).

Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam’s attempt to package the public order bill as a ‘substantial relaxation’ of regulations is done in a rather oxymoron manner. A reading of the Public Order Bill will certainly give any readers an immediate concern over the luxurious amount of discretion that the Public Order Bill grants law enforcers.

The police will now have even more pre-emptive powers to deal with cause-related activism, instead of just participant-numbered activism. Police will also have the powers to deem a person or a group of persons to be a threat to public order and hence the right to exercise a ‘move on’ discretion of the said person or groups of persons from any particular area.

What that also came to pass is that, now the police have the authority to direct any person or stop filming and spreading photos or recordings of police operations or investigations. This is such a direct contradiction to the spirit of the citizenry journalism.

The importance of citizenry journalism is best exemplified by the Ian Tomlinson incident, recounted by NCMP Sylvia, whereby London police’s account of his death on April 1, the eve of the G-20 meeting was contradicted by a citizenry journalist who captured on video the police’s action of violently pushing Tomlinson to the ground when he was merely doing nothing but walking away from the area peaceably.

NCMP Sylvia further questioned that ‘if the above case were to happen here, how does this government expect truth and justice to prevail without the presence of footage recorded by public-spirited citizens?’

Unfortunately, Minister Shanmugam’s response was far from satisfactory. He cited the Mumbai terrorist incident and reiterated that such powers were necessary in the light of new media technologies, where intelligence or counter-terrorism operations would have been compromised. Did he answer NCMP Sylvia’s questions? Apparently he chose not to.

Furthermore Minister Shanmugam’s over-arching rationale that the Public Order Act ‘applies only to cause-based activities’ but ‘does not ban such activities per se; it only requires the getting of permits’ is PAP-regime-centric and politically motivated. His explained that ‘about 50% of the activities (sporting & recreational activities organised by statutory & charities) that now require permits will not longer require permits.’

The operative variables above are ‘statutory & charities’. Many will still remember the government’s explanations why WP didn’t get a permit for a sporting initiative - a proposed cycling activity to commemorate WP’s 50th Anniversary, amongst the justifications was the Machiavellian-like legal contrast that the PAP Community Foundation is a registered charity and not a political party.

The government has cleverly-postured the ‘move on’ orders under new Public Order Act as a ‘low key matter’, yet police now has the power to issue orders to persons or groups suspected of ‘undesirable’ behaviour, including being ‘disorderly, indecent, offensive, or threatening’ to passers-by.

My concern is that political development & alternative political expressions in Singapore will potentially take a back seat, as police may now exercise high degree of discretion in issuing move-on orders to political groups reaching out to fellow Singaporeans on the ground.

If the above is to happen, the only recourse for political-alternative activists is to make a case to the Commissioner of Police, but prior to that, complying is a must, otherwise, a fine up to $20,000 or jail term of up to 12 months, or both could be possible. Such draconian laws & punishments seem to be the signature handicrafts of hardcore soviet regimes.

Minister Shanmugam argued further that between enough space for political expression and society’s need for stability. He said that ‘stability has to be given greater weight’. From a political development and political defence point of view, his argument is nothing but myopic. This is because on the contrary, stability would have been enhanced, if a society’s propensity to accept diversity is widen & deepened rather than curtailing it.

Lastly, regardless of international events or ‘special events’, I conjure with MP Sin Boon Ann’s views that government “had gone for the overkill” and “Surely, there are other security-related instruments under our legislative armoury that could have dealt with such issues?” Indeed.

http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com

skythewood SG

last i remembered, was talking about pirates.

than someone linked to somalia... ok, not too far a stretch.

than someone link to PAP... that i have to say... no link.

Stevenson101 SG

Claiming that one must 'look deeper' when the depth is already fully explored and had been for decades is nothing more than procastination and be deluded, fear of facing up to the facts.

So you support or oppose the repressive PAP regime?

http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=2680

http://wayangparty.com/?p=7759

Yaw Shin Leong

http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com

Can you don't hijack the bloody thread?

brainerror SG

so fierce.

Ah Chia SG

Okay, my fault.

Ah Chia SG

Yo ho ho ho time in Somalia! What’s the bestest present kids dream of in faraway Puntland, where piracy is more than a Disney marketing gimmick? A supertanker, that’s what. A Saudi supertanker is the ultimate in stuffed stockings: 100 million gallons of pure crude.

What an Xmas morning that had to be for some sleepy fishing village on the Somali coast! Little Abdul Jihad goes to sleep dreaming of sugarplums-dreaming of picking them off from a hundred meters with his AK—and wakes to find the horizon blotted out by a ship that’s bigger than the whole village.

Every day I love these Somali pirates more. You know that Lefty line, “this is what democracy looks like”? Well, this is what Robin Hood looks like: a bunch of black skeletons swarming over the side with RPGs. These guys used to be humble fishermen, till the Taiwanese and Korean trawlers took advantage of the fact that Somalia has no government to scoop every last sculpin out of the waters they used to fish. No government means no coast guard, so who was going to stop them?

Well, karma went out and traded in its fishing boats for a few fast outboards and some Yemeni guns, and made a career move into the piracy business. Now they are what the NT would call “fishers of men.” And getting rich off it, bling and all the nomad girls you can buy.

So a big hundred million ton shout out to my perps, showin’ your fat Jack-Sparrow-worshipping kiddies what piracy is all about. Keep thinking big, boys. Today that supertanker, tomorrow the cruise ships! All those overfed retirees have relatives who’ll pay big to see their crumbly old folks back in Arizona! Just a word to the wise, just a hint for next time! You can’t miss’em, big white ships that smell like buffet tables and used Depends!

http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd

Well, now we know my pals the Somali pirates are loyal War Nerd readers. At the end of my column saluting them for taking on a supertanker, I suggested they go for a cruise ship next:

“Today that supertanker, tomorrow the cruise ships! All those overfed retirees have relatives who’ll pay big to see their crumbly old folks back in Arizona! Just a word to the wise, just a hint for next time! You can’t miss’em, big white ships that smell like buffet tables and used Depends!”

Well, they gave it the old Somali college try, according to a story in today’s Telegraph.

A couple of Somali pirate boats, those fast open boats they use for boarding, zoomed toward the Oceana Nautica and fired a few shots at it by way of saying, “Hi! Why not take a break ashore in our new Hostage-Cave Hilton?”

The liner outran them, apparently, so it didn’t even get a chance to use the wonderful hi-tech defense system the article mentions:

“When threatened, some liners possess long-range acoustic devices (LRAD), which emit high frequency noise, to deter potential attackers.”

Oooo, scary! Loud noises! Got those pirates on the running, begging for mercy: “Please, don’t aim loud noises at me!” Come on, for God’s sake. Somali pirates probably don’t have that great hearing to begin with, not after a lifetime of firing heavy weapons from the backs of pickup trucks. And they’re not sensitive plants, either, because in a place like that the sensitive types get planted early. You think they’re going to be deterred by a Brit recording? Benny Hill screeching, “Ooo, you wicked poi-ruts, go stick yer fingers in yer ears and go ting-a-ling-a-loo!”

I have a better defense system to suggest to the cruise lines. It’s called the LRHLD, or “long range hot lead dispenser,” also known as a heavy machine gun. I would love, totally love, the job of Secretary of Defense on one of these love boats, sunning on deck and drinking whatever those tropical drinks are called and every few days getting the call, “Oh Gary, pirates off the stern!” I’d sigh and moan and waddle over to the machine gun and turn the barrel a few degrees and watch the little splashes get closer and closer to the speedboat until I got full Halo 3 points for it, then go back to the serious work of tanning. I hereby volunteer for this hazardous duty. You think my pals the pirates would grudge me a little sun time on the deck, a little easy money? I don’t; they’re pros, just like me. They know what time it is.

So you bring the machine gun, I’ll bring the sociopathy and the trigger finger, and we’ll meet up in the Gulf of Aden.

Or if you don’t like the machine gun idea, I can also yell real loud and I do a mean Benny Hill.

http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd

Stevenson101 SG

So many blind folks in this forum.....Let me present it this manner.

1) IF it is an issue of illegal international toxic dumping there are United Nation to approached to bring up complaints and investigation.

The reason why Somalia govt cannot do it is because they are busy fighting.

The reason why Somalia cannot afford bigger fishing thrawler because they are busy fighting.

After fighting they need more money to buy more weapons.

you can only help them if they stop fighting among themselve. So it is not because of toxic and illegal fishing.....!!!

I just bring out the information that i've been reading and presenting my assessment in my perspective. If that is considered blind then we're all blind because you can't exactly give a more accurate assessment unless you're living there.

Somalia was already attempting to stablize under the Islamic Court Union but was overthrow by warlords backed by the Ethiopians (Your foreign "peacekeeper" force) and some say tacit US support. Even during the conflict the US conducted air strikes against supposedly Al Qaeda links. That's what they claimed, it's not like we can get a Somali to share with us what really happened.

They can't exactly stablize when foreign countries try to get their preferred government in power and it doesn't help that their best hope was an Islamic one.

The problem is that the foreign trawlers are not bound by quotas like in their own countries. They can fish all they like and bear no responsibilities. Potentially that could devastate the fish population because they're not allowed the time to reproduce and grow. In the end, it's still going to affect the average Somali fishermen.

There's a lot more factors to be considered than the ones we see on the news. Reporters and Journalists are not trained to be all knowing, they can only report the truth from their limited perspectives. Basing our assessments because of the different medias we consume and thinking that it is the only Truth is laughable at best.

Stevenson101 SG

last i remembered, was talking about pirates.

than someone linked to somalia... ok, not too far a stretch.

than someone link to PAP... that i have to say... no link.

Chey you say pirates during a time where Somali pirates are on the headlines of course i'm going to make the association what.

brainerror SG

you know, till now i kept imaginating those priates dresses like the 'hi-ya' captians.

Ah Chia SG

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6043764.stm

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/sep2006/soma-s27.shtml

http://www.historycommons.org/context

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/soma-d28.shtml

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/soma-j17.shtml

skythewood SG

Chey you say pirates during a time where Somali pirates are on the headlines of course i'm going to make the association what.

I didn't say you no link what.

skythewood SG

you know, till now i kept imaginating those priates dresses like the 'hi-ya' captians.

At first my impression is pirates of carribean those kind.

than it got downgraded to terrorist.

Ah Chia SG

Ethiopia / USA / Somali Pirates’ Cover-Up

By Thomas C. Mountain

April 16, 2009 "Online Journal" -- ASMARA, Eritrea -- One of the best kept secrets in the international media these days is the link between the USA, Ethiopia and the Somali pirates. First, a little reliable background from someone on the ground in the Horn of Africa.

The Somali pirates operate out of the Ethiopian and USA created enclaves in Somalia calling themselves Somaliland and Puntland. These Ethiopian and USA backed warlord controlled territories have for many years hosted Ethiopian military bases, which have been greatly expanded recently by the addition of thousands of Ethiopian troops who were driven out of southern and central Somali by the Somali resistance to the Ethiopian invasion.

After securing their ransom for the hijacked ships the Somali pirates head directly to their local safe havens, in this case, the Ethiopian military bases, where they make a sizeable contribution to the retirement accounts of the Ethiopian regime headed by Meles Zenawi.

Of course, the international naval forces who are patrolling the Horn of Africa know all too well what is going on for they have at their disposal all sorts of high tech observation platforms, ranging from satellites to unmanned drones with high resolution video cameras that report back in real time.

The French commandos started to pursue the Somali pirates into their lairs last year until the pirates got the word that for the right amount of cash they were more than welcome in the Ethiopian military bases in their local neighborhoods. Ethiopia being the western, mainly USA, Cop on the Beat in East Africa put these bases off limits to the frustrated navies of the world, who are no doubt growling in anger to their USA counterparts about why this is all going on.

Now that the pirates have started attacking USA flagged shipping, something that was until now off limits, it remains to be seen what the Obama administration will do. One thing we in the Horn of Africa have learned all too well, when it comes to Ethiopia, don’t expect anything resembling accurate coverage by the media, especially those who operate under the cloak of “freedom of the press.”

Stay tuned for more on this from the Onlinejournal.com, the only site willing to expose the truth on matters no one else will touch.

Thomas C. Mountain, the last white man living in Eritrea, was in a former life an educator, activist and alternative medicine practitioner in the USA. Email thomascmountain at yahoo.com.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22436.htm

Seems like USA had a role in backing and protecting the land bases of the Somali pirates.

brainerror SG

At first my impression is pirates of carribean those kind.

than it got downgraded to terrorist.

same.. so unsurprising if there were still those pirates out there.

Ah Chia SG

than it got downgraded to terrorist.

That is politicising the pirates and the issue.

skythewood SG

same.. so unsurprising if there were still those pirates out there.

i think those are high class pirates.. normal pirates cannot afford to dress so bling bling...

googoomuck SG

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6043764.stm

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/sep2006/soma-s27.shtml

http://www.historycommons.org/context

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/soma-d28.shtml

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/soma-j17.shtml

The US has no role in the truce and introduction to sharia law.

Arapahoe SG

They can't exactly stablize when foreign countries try to get their preferred government in power and it doesn't help that their best hope was an Islamic one.

The only US strategic interest in somalia after black hawk down is preventing the growth of AL QAEDA cell. I believe generally A stable circular govt was what is necessary to establish LAW and Order Rather than creating a taliban regime. It was US intel in the region but with Jordanian special force on ground that took out AL Qaeda in Somalia. (Read killer elites) like i say you cannot stop internal fighting unless they "Somalian" agreed to stop fighting among themselved.

The topics of over fishing; over used of earth resources .....is a global problems. I can tell you right now is not happening only to Gulf of Aden....... But for Somalia fisherman can only do coastal fishing. There is something you need to know marine mammals reside in deeper depth are not going to feed on coastal fishing. Similarly marine fishes habita is at 40 - 50ft aren't going to be found at 100ft and beyond. Any other creature that can move between the 2 depth probably too big for Somalian fisherman to catch.

Somailia fisherman probably would know that if he caught a Shark he will cut off the fin and the tail because he knows those would fetch a better price for Chinese Shark fin soups....economics demand dictate.

Sometime issues are so simple that we don't accept it. so don't spend too much time in it.

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