Blog for Democracy

I gotta lotta sailors* in my life…

iconSo this whole pirate thing was a bit keen to me.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Navy snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain in a surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas Easter Sunday, ending a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world’s most powerful military.

It was a stunning ending to an Indian Ocean odyssey that began when 53-year-old freighter Capt. Richard Phillips was taken hostage Wednesday by pirates who tried to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. The Vermont native was held on a tiny lifeboat that began drifting precariously toward Somalia’s anarchic, gun-plagued shores.

It’s still unclear who did the shooting, if it was USN snipers or a Navy Seal team. They now say-it was a Seal Team.

Christensen said Phillips was now “resting comfortably” on the The USS Boxer, which was in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. More unfolding, here and here.

Big “D” reminded me that the US Marine Hymn’s second line is From the Shores of Tripoli well geesh, every Marine must be like “Let me at’em Captain” when they even hear the word pirate since that’s what the Marine Corp was basically founded to do, go after the Barbary Pirates.

Other interesting facts, the ship that had the snipers, and shot the pirates, is the USS Bainbridge-any chance it was named after Commodore William Bainbridge, who fought in the First Barbary War? Um yeah it was. Oh and Bainbridge Georgia, also named for the Commodore.

I guess the only question is, who plays who in the movie? Will Steven Seagal make a come back as the cook and play Captain Richard Phillips? Hey why not this guy is being played by George Clooney! Will Russell Crowe play the Commodore in flash backs? The script-it just writes itself.

Regardless, the family members of the Captain are very happy tonight in Vermont.

*Brother, Grandfather, Uncles, cousins and friends..

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30 responses to “I gotta lotta sailors* in my life…”

  1. vam Avatar
    vam

    Well said, Giselda. I’m not saying that either side was completely in the right or the wrong. But we have to stop addressing these situations in terms of violence and nationalism. These Somalians did what they did for a reason. Reasons which the USA has a very large stake in. Nationalism is dangerous and detrimental because it distracts people from the reality that there is a global exchange taking place everyday, whether through the economy or military, or just communication. Killing individuals who have been subjectively labeled as “pirates” or “terrorists” and then celebrating that violence as a national success only adds to this problem.

  2. Giselda Avatar
    Giselda

    Woooohoooooz go Obama! Git them 3 poverty stricken teenagers in that there lifeboat off Somalia! Blow their brains out good! Tell them they don’t mess with our billionaire military contractors and yachts!!!! It don’t matter how many bombs we drop in Somalia or governments we coup d’etat, or nuclear waste of their coasts, them damn pirates!!! Obama 2012, Y’allzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. Giselda Avatar
    Giselda

    Woooohoooooz go Obama! Git them 3 poverty stricken teenagers in that there lifeboat off Somalia! Blow their brains out good! Tell them they don’t mess with our billionaire military contractors and yachts!!!! It don’t matter how many bombs we drop in Somalia or governments we coup d’etat, or nuclear waste of their coasts, them damn pirates!!! Obama 2012, Y’allzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Jason D. Avatar
    Jason D.

    You were what, in middle school, during OIF I? Anyways, there is absolutely nothing wrong with national cheerleading, especially when the things to rah rah over are few and far between these days. Our boys did some top-of-the-line, elite, hooah stuff that other countries are unable, and in some cases, unwilling to do. What’s not to be proud of? Was it violent triumphalism that prompted hundreds of thousands of Americans to parade in the streets in celebration of our victory over Germany and Japan, or was it pride that through our best efforts, investment, training, and sacrifices that we were able to ensure our safety and security for generations to come. I don’t think that the mentality there is much different than with these pirates. We are able project our strength and protect the lives of our citizens, whether civilians or warfighters, in a way never before seen in history. It’s a reality that’s given comfort to many a family that’s had a loved one experience a 15-month deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. And it will certainly continue to give comfort to those families who have loved ones who serve aboard merchant vessels, charting foreign and in some cases, hostile waters.

  5. Sarawaraclara Avatar
    Sarawaraclara

    This has nothing to do with “taking out their frustration on our navy.” They seized the Maersk Alabama for pure profit, almost certainly without knowing the nationality of the captain or crew. They didn’t know the U.S. Navy would ever become involved until the captain gave himself up to save his crew and the ship, and they were stuck with an American hostage. Even then they had numerous opportunities to give him up or let him escape, and instead they continued to demand millions and to tell him that they intended to kill him. That wasn’t “frustration” borne of U.S. policy in Somalia– that was criminal enterprise.

    You are really twisting yourself in a pretzel to empathize with these guys, Zaid.

  6. Jules Avatar
    Jules

    Zaid, I guess I’m not sure what shows you are watching, but the news reports I read online have neither been jerking off or anything else.

    In fact I think the stories linked to above, clearly were not doing anything like that. It was a stand off that ended with snipers shooting the three on the boat after holding the Captain for 5 days.

    If some in the media have gone all Rambo-I’m not sure a vent here is your best bet- take it up with them.

    Why do you assume that a movie can’t portray the pirates in any other way than you describe?

    They have nearly 10 million people, whose age I’d imagine is quite young, living on $600.00 a year- the national government can’t wrangle the 18 regions, and it’s being run by warlords-some not a whole lot older than the pirates.

    I’d agree it’s a serious mess.. however they really messed up when they took a cargo ship with supplies headed for Rwanda for bounty.

    However, they still managed to take 60 hostages in one weekend..

    Some are living quite high on the hog..

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7650415.stm

    Frankly they are not a whole not different than gang “warlords” in urban anywhere USA. Life spans are probably about the same. I’m not proud of it, I’m just saying- and yeah they made a couple dozen movies about them too.

  7. griftdrift Avatar
    griftdrift

    Violently storming an unarmed ship, taking hostages and threatening to kill said hostages = taking out their frustration.

  8. griftdrift Avatar
    griftdrift

    Kind of like why I ponder even attempting a polite rejoinder to you where I state I’m trying to understand your side when I know it will only lead to another wacko ultra-left rant about how the imperial U.S. lusts for innocent blood.

  9. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    And I don’t understand why the US bombing Somalia pretty constantly for a few years now hasn’t really made much of a blip on the US news radar (fuck anyone who dies in that, they’re black and speak different languages!), but when we go and shoot up a bunch of kids who take out their frustration on our navy it’s proud American heroes USA NUMBA ONE

  10. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    I’m just saying, America kills innocent people all over the planet, but if one of us were to die as an act of revenge, we would mourn it, because they’re still human beings and we understand it.

    You’re not paid? Do I give a fuck who pays you? You’re a Libertarian, aren’t you? I think that already makes me write off your opinion on anything ever, mate :p

  11. griftdrift Avatar
    griftdrift

    I don’t know anything about them? I portrayed exactly what they did and nothing more.

    And it wasn’t about revenge. It was about ending a situation where a group of violent criminals held a hostage and threatened to do him harm. And it was ended. And to that I do not celebrate but I say good.

    And to somehow twist this into Americans dying to balance your notion of a karmic equation? Fuck empathy. I’m not a psychiatrist. I am not paid to attempt empathy with the insane.

  12. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    And it’s a streak of violent triumphalism that goes a long ways back. I remember back when the US Army took Baghdad. Every news station was masturbating to it.

    I was thinking the whole time, So you just beat the shit out of this country that’s like 150th in HDI in the world? You’re proud of that? Get some fucking balls, America.

  13. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    “Teenagers with guns. Who had already committed a violent crime and threatened to do more.”

    You don’t know anything about them, and neither do I, all I know is it’s sick to celebrate their deaths and pathetic to be so triumphalist about the world’s most powerful military overpowering a bunch of poor illiterate teenagers.

    We can all be happy the captain is safe, but I don’t see any grand cause for celebration beyond that, it’s just a tragedy.

    If we’re talking about how great it is to get revenge on people who’ve committed a violent crime I wonder how many Americans would have to die to make Iraqis happy if that’s the logic to be used…

  14. griftdrift Avatar
    griftdrift

    Teenagers with guns. Who had already committed a violent crime and threatened to do more.

    I’m trying to have empathy for your position, Zaid, but those facts present a huge barrier.

  15. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    I concede that the situation maybe was inevitable to end this way, but I don’t think we should go around being like “RA RA WE ROCK” because the most powerful military in the world could kill a few developing world teenagers. That’s what bothers me.

  16. griftdrift Avatar
    griftdrift

    I don’t give a damn about any movie, but I’m curious Zaid. What would have been a satisfactory solution in your mind?

  17. innerredneckexposed Avatar
    innerredneckexposed

    F*ck Xinhua. The reporters are nice enough but I hate their editors.

  18. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    ”

    WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday that three Somali pirates who were killed by the Navy’s Seals to end a hostage crisis were “untrained” teenagers.

    Addressing an audience at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia, Gates said that the slain pirates, aged at between 17 to 19, were heavily armed but inexperienced.

    They were shot dead on Sunday at the end of a five-day standoff with the U.S. military after they attacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship about 400 kilometers away from Somali and held an American captain as hostage.

    “As long as you’ve got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there’s really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids,” Gates told students and faculty members.

    He also noted that there is no purely military solution to piracy in the region.”

    http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×5449647

    When the smash hit movie comes out, who are we going to get to play the kids, who probably turned to piracy on the behest of a warlord or to pay for antimalarial for their families, who got the bullets in the head?

  19. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    And I’d really like to know why there has been such little media reporting of American bombing of Somalia every now and then for a few years now… pirates and emperors…

  20. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    Obviously self-defense is merited when you are attacked, but the disgusting “ra ra look at us kicking those evil pirates’ ass let’s make a movie guyz” mentality is just stupid-assed.

  21. innerredneckexposed Avatar
    innerredneckexposed

    Yes however a Just War Theory could be the best Catholic defense for the move (and maybe the best catholic defense), I don’t know. Whenever calculi are needed in a moral theory things immediately become less clear cut.

    No one is doubting the endemic problems plaguing the Horn. What people are saying is that it is a “good thing” that villains had some form of justice for attacking innocent civilians (using broad easy to define terms because I don’t think blog threads are conducive to the type of conversation needed to “solve” this question). Yes there are other factors leading to this etc etc the problem is that with this scenario, perhaps the commonly accepted best outcome is what happened.

  22. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    And you’re a catholic right? St. Augustine up on this:

    http://ugaliberal.blogspot.com/2009/04/st-augustine-on-pirates-and-emperors.html

  23. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    As for BAMFs, how you feel about a movie about punching bankers in the face? It’d be a high-grosser in times like these. We could have Dwayne Johnson raiding CFO’s mansions and suplexing them.

  24. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    “Link, please.

    This is a great human story, Zaid. Not just an American story and not just a violent story.”

    http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7318145&page=1

    Why is it a great movie? Another little hostage, shoot the evil foreign bad guys, save the noble army movie? Isn’t that like every other movie out of Hollywood?

    Some of the pirates were as young as 16. This isn’t a great human story. This is the tragedy of the Horn of Africa.

  25. innerredneckexposed Avatar
    innerredneckexposed

    I’m an official BAMF and I want this movie to happen.

  26. CatherineAtlanta Avatar
    CatherineAtlanta

    Sure, there will always be the made for TV suggestions – but those are not usually put forward by “officials”. I would like to hear which “officials” made this request.

  27. odinseye2k Avatar
    odinseye2k

    I don’t doubt there are talks of a made-for-TV film, as there always are for this kind of news item. Of course, the question is whether the thing ever materializes. There’s a big difference between idle talk with Entertainment Weekly and actual production budgets being written.

  28. CatherineAtlanta Avatar
    CatherineAtlanta

    “The second I heard news reports of officials saying they wanted to see a movie made…”

    Link, please.

    This is a great human story, Zaid. Not just an American story and not just a violent story.

  29. Zaid Avatar
    Zaid

    The second I heard news reports of officials saying they wanted to see a movie made I wanted to puke. Can America ever get enough of its jerking off to violence?

  30. BigD Avatar
    BigD

    Well I’m glad you have been listening for 30+ years…. this is a truly great day for the Navy… so many things could have gone wrong in so many way but didn’t.

    (Now for some useless and obtuse additional facts) While Bainbridge was a hero of the barbary wars – the big hero was a guy named Stephen Decatur and he has had a number of ships thought out history named after him the current one in commission is DDG-73 – it would have been quite the historical deja vu had it showed up with the Bainbridge too – Decatur died in a duel his second William Bainbridge. the town of Decatur Georgia is named after him too… my theory why so many of the early hero’s have towns in Georgia named after them was that Georgia pines where of particular importance to an early 19th century wooden navy – the “Naval Stores” of Tar and Turpentine where of immense importance for wooden ships.

    Ohhh and FYI…Charlie Swift the Guantanamo lawyer and I were classmates together at USNA (I can tell you I have never been so proud as I was of his actions – but George Clooney playing him is a bit of a stretch or then again maybe I’m just a little jealous)

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