Associated Press. "NATO sending ships to tackle Somali pirates." CNN.com 9 Oct 2008 1. 9 Oct 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Pirates of the Somalian Coast
When we think of pirates, we think of a huge ship with a burly crew that has a win or die trying mentality trying to get treasure from other ships on the seas. We still do have pirates, but like in the movies. They are beginning to become a problem in Somalia’s coast, so NATO is sending ships to protect the seas. According to the article, pirates have seized a Ukrainian ship that was carrying weapons and hostages. Sugule Ali has been the voice of the pirates who have put the ransom at $20 million. He supposedly lowered the ransom to $8 million because of international pressure and the fact they are surrounded by six United States warships with a Russian tanker on the way. The hostages are safe and healthy, but they are still scared and uncertain of the future. The concerns of piracy aren’t just the hostages, but millions of food is sent to people who need it and they will starve without it. NATO plans are not certain as of now, but I’m sure any aid is appreciated and will help immensely. This article was very interesting to me because I thought that piracy was something very uncommon, but that does not appear to be the case. Ships are just going to have to step up security because we cannot cover the entire ocean. This relates to the theme of the first quarter books we are reading, which is a journey. These pirates feel that their journey is to seize this ship and try to earn money off of innocent people. Everyone on the ship had a journey of their own, but it took a very bad turn when they were kidnapped. I would read this again because you really don't read about pirates very often.
Associated Press. "NATO sending ships to tackle Somali pirates." CNN.com 9 Oct 2008 1. 9 Oct 2008.
Associated Press. "NATO sending ships to tackle Somali pirates." CNN.com 9 Oct 2008 1. 9 Oct 2008
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4 comments:
Kyle, you did a great job with the analysis. I had no idea that pirates were still a big problem. I especially didn't know about the hostage situation you wrote about. I also enjoyed you comparison to Siddhartha. Until you mentioned this connection i didn't especially see it.
I would imagine that pirates would be very common, though not in the romantic way we portray them. Pirates are essentially high-investment robbers. Still, I guess the reason we don't hear so much about them is the fact that buying a ship and crew for no sure pay is high-investment, so perhaps you are right and they really are uncommon. It'd be interesting to know how they flourished so much when they did, pirates, that is, and what it had to do with the security and mental romantism of the time. Then again, these days we're so caught up in Pirates of the Caribbean that we probably wouldn't recongnize a pirate if we saw them...
I had heard of some pirate problems, but it is interesting to hear about a specific situation in which they are involved. I am not quite sure what you meant in your relation to the novel, but I could see that it could possible show a journey. I liked you thoughts.
I have heard of modern day pirates but I have always assumed they are rare commodities. This is a very interesting article and I would be interested in finding out how the situation ended. I agree with Monica in saying pirates are simply high-investment robbers and I would think that more pirate pillagings would be uncovered in the news. Your comparason to Siddhartha I thought was a bit convoluded but I understood the idea that both have ideas of journey in them.
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