Arrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Somali pirates have been thriving - capturing a Saudi oil tanker and a Russian cargo ship laden with military cargo amongst others. That takes balls by any measure. What is amazing is that they have been allowed to thrive. The reactionary nature of the nations patrolling the Indian Ocean have emboldened the Pirates who live in luxury in a Barbary state. Somalia has not been a truly sovereign nation for sometime. The meddling by foreign groups - including Clinton's abortion of an operation in the '90s - have created a poor, fractured country in a state of perpetual civil war. The international community, sadly, frowns on arming the crews for the defense of their ship. As an American I fins this fundamentally wrong. The pirates have no real fear of loss and this emboldens them. Only one way has been proven to stop piracy: sink their ships, hell their ports, and hang the captains. The US Navy was formed to battle the Barbary Pirates. The Marines Hymn enshrines the "...shores of Tripoli...". You must be more ruthless then them; history prove s this. Sink captured vessels to deny them ransom and cargo - though that gets expensive in a hurry. Shell/bomb safe havens - a perfect job for a BB - if we still used them. If you make piracy have a significant cost you will curtail it.Obama's Appointments and Such...
I just have to laugh. The man worked his way up through the Chicago political machine. Patronage is an important component of that. If anyone really thought he would do things differently they are a diluted fool. Even the Huffington Post is crying about this. You are getting exactly what you voted for. Those of you on the left are only seeing the beginnings of what many on the right had predicted would be the shape of his administration. If you are unwillinhg to take a critical look at your canidate before an election; don't act surpised when he does thinks you don't expect or disagree with.
On a somewhat related note... something that I had noticed during the summer, but never mentioned (I wasn't in a writing mood much of the summer): Doesn't the Oboma 'Hope' graphic look a little like the common Che Guevara image? I think it does, and it is quite telling of his belief system.
Money...
Here is an interesting artical in the Finacial Times. Apparently the Germans get it. It is a real shame that politicas and class warfare have gotten in the way of solving problems.
