Russian Method . . .

No Airshow here. The grandkids of the gang that dug 'em out of Berlin can still play hardball.


The video shows Russian Navy commandos on a Somalian pirate ship shortly after the pirates had captured a Russian oil tanker. The Euro Union navy that patrols these waters would not interfere because they feared there could be casualties.... So what are they there for?

All explanations are in Russian with a single exception of when a wounded pirate says something in English and the Russian soldier says, "This is not a fishing boat." All conversations between the commandos are in Russian. If you don't understand Russian, the pictures speak for themselves.

The soldiers first freed their compatriots and the tanker. Then the Russian Navy Commandos moved the pirates back to their own (pirate) ship, searched the pirate ship for weapons and explosives, and then they left the ship and exploded it with all the remaining pirates hand-cuffed to it.

The commandos sank the pirate ship along with the pirates and without any court proceedings, lawyers etc. by using the anti-piracy laws of the 18th and 19th centuries where the captain of the rescuing ship has the right to decide what to do with the pirates. In those days they were usually hung.

I would think from now on, Russian ships will not be targets for Somalia pirates.

Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup

Globe and Mail : November 20

"The Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating a purchase of Citigroup.
The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking numerous ships, including most recently a $200
million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final stage, Ali said.
"You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the shareholders anything," said Ali.

*WILL REQUIRE ALL CITI EMPLOYEES TO WEAR PATCH OVER ONE EYE

Oh sure, yuck it up, G&M, when there are much more serious matters at stake.

How, for instance, is this sudden rise in the number of pirates going to affect the global average temperature?



Didn't think about that, did you?
Arrrgh, maties. RAmen.

They're back! And they're still not Johnny Depp.

Somali pirates had quietened down for quite some time. Now, all of a sudden, with the resurgence of the war-lords, they're back.

Three Somali police speedboats and a U.S. military vessel were headed Monday toward a U.N.-chartered cargo ship hijacked by pirates, a senior police official said. Piracy has been rampant off the Somali coast.

Somali pirates boarded the MV Rozen - which had just delivered a total of 1,884 tons of food aid in northern Somalia - on Sunday, taking the crew hostage, officials said. It is the third U.N.-chartered ship to be hijacked in Somali waters since 2005.

Police boats were within sight of the ship ``but we asked them to stop going further because our biggest concern is the safety of the crew of 12 on board,'' said Col. Abdi Ali Hagaafe, police chief of the Bari region.

``We have asked the U.S. navy in the Red Sea ... to help us in the operation, and they told us they have started to move towards the ship,'' he said.

The ship is not in international waters, but ``U.S./Coalition forces are in the area and are monitoring the situation,'' said Lt. Denise Garcia of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command based in Bahrain.

Somali pirates are trained fighters, often dressed in military fatigues, using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and Global Positioning System equipment. They typically are armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades, according to the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia.

Just in case anyone thinks this is funny, these guys aren't above killing the entire crew just for the hell of it.

So, why is the UN shipping food in unarmed merchant ships without a naval escort? This is now the fourth UN World Food Program ship high-jacked by Somali pirates. Two of them sat with the crews held hostage for over three months.

Escort work isn't sexy, but it is effective.