The answer to the above question is simple: NOWHERE! In reality, pirates really seem to be making a comeback. In talking about how the Spanish convoy system protected silver being transported across the Atlantic from pirates in an age of a global flow of silver, my mind took me to ships in need of protection from pirates in this age of a global flow of oil. In fact, pirates in today's world are more effective and more dangerous than ever before. If you look closely at the map on the left, you will notice the surge in pirate activity just in the past 11 months in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. For some reason, pirates merely exist in people's minds as these jolly characters from the old days that they see in Disney movies. Nothing could be more of a complete misrepresentation of the truth! The pirates in the news currently are based in Somalia and pose quite a threat to industry (especially oil) and security. In fact, just today, the top story in African news is, you guessed it, Somali pirates. Click here to read the latest on a Somali hostage situation with a Ukrainian cargo ship. In reality, the situation in Somalia as a whole is the current crisis that the world is largely IGNORING. If you have not been following closely the dire situation there, I strongly encourage you to do so by exploring the BBC's special report-- "Somalia in Crisis" (you can do so by clicking here).
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Where Have All the Pirates Gone?
The answer to the above question is simple: NOWHERE! In reality, pirates really seem to be making a comeback. In talking about how the Spanish convoy system protected silver being transported across the Atlantic from pirates in an age of a global flow of silver, my mind took me to ships in need of protection from pirates in this age of a global flow of oil. In fact, pirates in today's world are more effective and more dangerous than ever before. If you look closely at the map on the left, you will notice the surge in pirate activity just in the past 11 months in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. For some reason, pirates merely exist in people's minds as these jolly characters from the old days that they see in Disney movies. Nothing could be more of a complete misrepresentation of the truth! The pirates in the news currently are based in Somalia and pose quite a threat to industry (especially oil) and security. In fact, just today, the top story in African news is, you guessed it, Somali pirates. Click here to read the latest on a Somali hostage situation with a Ukrainian cargo ship. In reality, the situation in Somalia as a whole is the current crisis that the world is largely IGNORING. If you have not been following closely the dire situation there, I strongly encourage you to do so by exploring the BBC's special report-- "Somalia in Crisis" (you can do so by clicking here).
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33 comments:
PIRATES!!!! I love them! AND HATE THEM! it is so sad. i love fictional...and some real-just the legends- pirates...potc ok... I know they are horrible but the freedom and open sea and sword fighting but the lack of water and food and scurvy among other things...
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and looks like pirates are worse than ever... ugh. thanks to modern technology and much sea trade.
they've always been malicious pests and the governments hated em for it. but potc doesn't show the violence and lack of mercy shown-except with Davy Jones a bit. so at least they are making clear a bit. and we can see the general methods of pirates, so we know they do cruel and annoying things. but our main character is amazing and not like the rest to an extent of violence. our veiw is to hate the traders and gov.s and be a rebel. just like any school rebel, there will always b. with school comes a rebel. with sea trade, comes a pirate.
It's really hard to imagine how a 2008 pirate and pirate ship look like. I mean the ships are going to be made out of metal. right? and without cannons? And gold replaced by oil?
I am keep having to remind myself that pirates are merely theives. not johnny depp or orlando bloom, or maybe even captain hook.
If there are so many pirate activities, why are they not choosing a different location or path? or not restarting the convoy system? ( is it too expensive?)
Now the pirates are in small motor boats armed with machine guns. Modern pirates outside of Somalia have taken over a French cruise ship, but most cruise ships are actually able to outrun pirates now.
So disneys Pirates of the Carribean lied to us? That changes everything about my childhood. Ive always wanted to be a pirate after that movie. I guess everything isnt as it seems. So how can pirates hold on to a ship for two and a half months? Like couldnt we just get on there and take them out? How did pirates even get on that ship? Wow i wonder what choices they made to get into that career? Weird i just can't picture pirates today.
these pirates have been raiding the oceans around and far from soamlia, in the indian ocean i think...i read this other newsarticle with my dad about how the Indian navy stopped/sunk a somalian pirate ship that was going to attack them....this is getting to be like the old days, with pirates and all, but thes people have to go to pirating because they have their big problems in Somalia and they cant get money....modern pirates..hurmmm...are we going backwards or is somalia?
Disney lies about EVERYTHING! Aladdin, Pocahontis, now Pirates of the Carribean. That is so sad. I can't believe that they're still around. Well, I only say that because of the image they've given us from POTC and other pirate movies. But how can they keep such a firm rap on oil tankers for such a long time? I mean, you would think SOMEONE would have been able to stop them by now. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
The caribbean right??
WOW...eyeOPENER!!! jeez..I think I've watched a little too much of Pirates of the Caribbean...
These pirates don't mess around.
Oh and why did the pirate say, "Maybe some of the crew are frustrated and we are feeling the same but our boys never opted for violence, this was a provocation," ?????
That's ridiculous right?
well the situation surely is not clear cut. provocation could certainly be claimed when you look at the realities on the ground in somalia.
and no, this isn't the caribbean, check out the map.
I'd like to remind this isn't about comparing a Disney movie to now, but commenting on the news articles Mr.Prill gave you, take the time to read them instead of commenting about what you always thought about pirates for a free, easy post.
It is obvious from the first article, that pirates have not gone anywhere since they first sprung up when sea trade began. However, much like civilizations, with the addition of weapon technologies, they are becoming much more fearsome and dangerous. They show, like any other human, some tolerance, and a willingness to negotiate. They said it was confirmed that the ship owner and the pirates struck a deal to return the ship, so they don't seem to want to destroy vessels, and aren't innately evil and destructive. In the words of Genghis Khan, "Submit and live, Resist and die." They are very unlike the Spanish Inquisition and the reconquista, who persecuted and killed non-Catholic Christians, including Muslims and Protestants, etc.
The famine in Somalia is devastating, and with half the population dependent, and continuing conflicts and violence, making it hard for the country to obtain aid or provide aid for themselves. I think we should step back and let them sort it out, it isn't a smart idea to have them dependent on outside aid. If we let them solve it, conflicts could be resolved from a growing need for a solution, and without aid, it will give the people pressure to independently provide themselves with a solution. Just my thoughts...
I was telling my parents that one thing wrong with America is the division of "Liberal and Conservative", and Democratic and Republican. They argued that it was a process of checks and balances between too arguing parties. Of course I told them its arrogant to believe that two parties destroying each other and refusing to interact with one another is what helps our gov't to keep balanced. Also, checks and balances were admitted into our Constitution and our governmental system of the division between Judicial, Legislative, and Executive power. Just wanted to throw that out there.
jes, Jack Sparrow could have held it for 2 months... well, maybe not. He could hardly keep a hold on the Black Pearl, and with warfare now his amazing sword skills would not be of much help.
I think I should remind everyone that POTC was not in Somalia, and was not during this time period. It was set during the period we're discussing in class. You should've caught how they mentioned the Eastern Indian Trading Company, the fancy wigs and the vessels loaded with HEAVY firepower. They didn't necessarily lie, cause these technologies were not present at that time, which pirates exploit now. That's also not saying that POTC was a historical movie and was based on facts, but they captured the kind of pirates that were present at the time...Unless that's not true, Mr. Prill, knower of all things historical and non-physical science?
The reason noone has been successful in stopping them is because of their large numbers, their position on the globe, and especially their firepower. You can't pinpoint them as a country and declare war, it's a matter of protection, not counter-assault.
yeah...so i definately did not know that there were really pirates in this world, until about two weeks ago when i heard about this story in the news. I definately thought they were Disney fictional characters and that Jack Sparrow was the best pirate in the world.haha! Anyways, i think pirates are crazy, but also very smart. I mean why would you want to raid ships for a living, i mean is there nothing better to do?...but they are also very smart because i guess thats a good way to get a lot of money (as long as they don't get caught):)
I can't believe that pirates still play a major factor in the world economy. I had no idea that they still existed and thought that they were just something from the olden days. I don't understand why we can't stop them and just take them out. I understand that they are much more powerful now but don't we have the means to suppress them?
To tell you the truth......i didnt even know they still existed. This is kinda scary. Didnt you say that pirates raided a ship with over 1/4 of the daily usage of oil, today in class? How can pirates even conquor this large of a ship? I cant wait to follow up on this to find out if we can even get the ship back...ohh the millions of dollars lost if we dont...it kinda puts a new twist on the pirates of the carribbean
I saw on BBC that pirate leaders have lawyers and accountants now. Now this seems far from the "Scurvy dags" and peg-leg clad pirates of old. Now, instead of pirates taking tobacco, spices, and gold they are after our oil! Maybe the re-surfacing of pirates int his region of the would is from a lack of navel power in Somalia. Other countries often send ships to this area to help protect ships from pirates but a lack of world attention on the matter has lead to pirates becoming stronger and stronger.
Disneys awesome but it sucks that they never get the stories or the history right...i still luv it though!
This is another example of how the power of a gun changed the way our world works. I've heard that pirates still exist before, but I've never really paid that much attention to them. But don't they take over big vessels carrying oil on small, fast ships. All they have to have is a gun to scare the crew, and there really isnt much the crew can do against them.
This is bad, but I find myself not surprised that it's happening and at the same time very surprised. First of all I'm not surprised because of all the places easy to rob, a ship would be a first choice. You get control of another ship, and there you go! They're screwed! No police or help in sight. But I'm surprised at the same time because, like Mr. Prill said, our view (mine at least) of pirates is based on movies. Hollywood likes the danger of ships: look at Pirates if the Caribbean and shipwreck movies. I thought these kind of problems were over with.
My feelings on this are very mixed. More definitely needs to be done about this kind of thing. Maybe enough isn't being done BECAUSE our views of pirates are so corrupted, maybe that's why this tragedy so ignored. That's a scary thought. What else has Hollywood done to us?
This is what I enjoy reading about; companies that don't do fair businesses getting taken down a notch. Piracy, though bad in all ways, is a fun way for the economy to fall, atleast better than the goverment's just racking up a debt(a debt so large, mind you, that the tracker in Wall Street or wherever actually reached it's limit).
Also, piracy is good business. You can get all the stuff you need to be a good pirate for relatively cheap, and it doesn't take much effort to take over a ship, especially if you're willing to out a few people who offer resistance. Some friends and I were acutally joking about this, after reading how few pirates there are in the world nowadays, and how rarely they get caught. Quite a business venture, eh?
if crime still exists, then of course piracy is still going to exist. it's like it always has been, only now the pirates have "funner" weapons. it's like at the beginning of the year when prill said that humans are the same people we've always been.
i think with this situation u can't really think about disney movies, mainly for the fact that it won't be as glamorous. piracy is just like normal crime, only on water. it happens out of desperation, and of course acts are committed that arn't very nice.
Wow, ive never really thought about pirates being a crisis in our world today...ever. But i can see how big of an impact and issue it is. Instead of swords, what do they use? Guns? I cant imagine what these present 2008 pirates look like at all. All i picture is a similar "Jack Sparrow" in Pirates of the Carrabean. Hah. How do you even get into that career?
Weird..
wow, thats so weird. How would you even raid a ship anyway?? And why? It is crazy how much they really do affect the oil economy, i thought a lot of that was the middle east! I really never expected them, thats crazy...and sad. wow!
This could be serious problem considering the ship has weapons and ammunition that the pirates might sell to the fueding lords in Mogidishu as well as other parts of the country. It seems in this article also that the Somolian pirates are trying to make the Ukranians sound like bad people for attacking people who are holding them captive. I don't feel bad for the wealthy shipping companies that this falls upon it makes me more think of the people of Somolia and how poverty has led them to lead a life of crime.
Lora Persyn happily supports Nicole's Pirate obsession.
yeah pirates seem so old and like they were only in the olden days. what do they wakeup one day and say i want to be a pirate. and i am guessing they raid ships for an easy pay, or just the though of being a b.a.
again, i encourage you all to read up on BBC's special report on Somalia's Crisis. The reality is that nobody just becomes a pirate or just decides to start raiding ships for no reason. we have a humanitarian CRISIS on our hands in somalia at the moment and so many have literally been pushed into a life of piracy for survival. i am in no way condoning illegal activity, but i'm also saying that so many have been left with so few options. please read up on the real situation folks. sure it's disheartening, but it will indeed answer many of your questions.
Im surprised that pirating is still going on. I thought it all ended when the oceans were mapped out. Are the U.S. going to do anything about it? and how advanced are the pirates weapons?
Hey on the yahoo news thing it said that the Indian Navy captured 23 pirates off Somalia.
Well, I must say, I am feeling kinda silly right know. I knew there were pirates (my g-pa was one, freaky I know) but I didn’t realize how widespread the problem was. I try to imagine the Black Perl taking over an oil tanker and it doesn’t really work. Again, Disney has taken another piece of my heart.
one of the articles mentioned that pirate attacks in the past year have increased by 300%!! its sad that world leaders have let it get this bad before any action had begun to take place. i really feel for the people of somalia. they not only have to deal with the threat of pirates, but also while the world is focusing on solving that issue, there are SO many people in somalia starving to death and trying to live in complete poverty like we couldnt even imagine, and yet theyre being ignored... such a sad situation...
Pirates?..what? they're still around? hah. i guess from watching The Pirates of the Caribbean(whick i know you hate lol) i got the wrong idea. i thought like you said "from the past"
This makes me think about the simarities and differences between the pirates from the past and the pirates in 2008..
Pirating seems like an easy way to do business, and from what I read it seemed that they were only interested in money. When I think of pirating the first thing that comes to my head is stealing programs off of the internet, but this is on a grander scale.
I hate how disney movies give us the wrong image of pirates. The first time i learned pirates still existed was back in 6th grade. I first imagined them in pirate ships with skull and crossbone sails, but later learned they were technologically advanced and traveled in jet skis with navigation systems and stuff. Way different then what you see in Peter Pan
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