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So who are the real pirates?

Mon, 01/12/2009 - 1:05am — lambert

Go read at once.

Looks like Africom might find the need to move its headquarters closer to the action than Stuttgart, at some point...

NOTE Via, once again, the great "I don't know how she does it" Avedon

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The US has been and always will be

By Xenophon on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 4:08am

I suggest you look at 2006 and 2007 posts to see where this is headed and why.

"Cast your buckets down where you are"

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this makes me ill...

By Paul_Lukasiak on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 7:51am

... an international armada is created to save oil tankers from 'pirates" but no one gave a flying fuck when illegal dumping (and illegal fishing) was being done in Somali waters.

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Worth keeping an eye on

By herb the verb on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:36am

There is no reason this force shouldn't do what was previously required: police the waters to prevent illegal activity of ALL kinds. Just because it was formed in reaction to pirates doesn't mean it can't work to stop illegal dumping and fishing. In fact, most times when a force is tasked with one thing, they end up doing something else entirely. We shouldn't expect the worst, after all, Obama is president now, so peace and justice should prevail! (Har).

Aand yes, they are pirates, at least the ones who are kidnapping and holding hostage legitimate crews and threatening to destroy the ecology of the region by blowing up oil tankers if they don't get their money.

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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.

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Thank God

By pie on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 9:37am

for Avedon. It's good to see some clear-eyed analysis, especially of the Obama administration (which is why I hang out here).

The Somali situation is disgusting. Anyone know which European countries are involved?

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The illegal dumping/fishing source

By herb the verb on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 10:02am

Apparently is Aljazeera.

Update: I mean the source of the story, not the SOURCE. Also, they have much more detailed information than that blog post, which basically is an unsourced regurgitation of the Aljazeera piece.

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I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.

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Thanks,

By pie on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 10:08am

but i find this hard to believe:

"I must stress however, that no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible," he said.

At the least, it's clear that no government has done anything to stop it either.

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actually...

By Paul_Lukasiak on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 12:11pm

the source of the story was the United Nations... see http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2...

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