Johann Hari: You are being lied to about pirates - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
The words of one pirate from that lost age, a young British man called William Scott, should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: "What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirateing to live." In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.
Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.
You'll notice now that liberals will argue with you too because they are defending Obama. They forget that the US is a bully to the rest of the world and does wrong to the rest of the world whether we have a dem or republican in the white house. They just hate us a little more when the GOP are in charge. For example, I went to Greece in 98 and they had anti Clinton flags flying in a protest I saw. I remember saying, "they think they hate us now? They better hope Bush doesn't win". Man was I right.
I'm not blaming Obama, but I can see how the US might be agitating the people over there. It wouldn't be the first time we've pissed people off in other parts of the world.
I didn't hear about nuclear dumping, but I did hear about how big US fishing vessles may have taken all the fish out of this area and these pirates are forced into piracy?
Why can't we keep an open mind everyone and examine if this might be the truth? Afraid of what you might find? If we find out we are wronging the people by polluting there or stealing their fish, don't you want to know? I do.
When did piracy become a new hot issue? Did it all start after 2000? Because I have read articles on how Bush spreading us so thin by starting 2 wars at once is partially why piracy is happening a lot more lately. We have all our ships averted to the Gulf so pirates know they can get away with whatever they want.
Sounds pretty easy to get away with and highly lucrative. LOL.
Anyways, we need to examine when pirates started gaining popularity, because it has been going on for 100's of years, if not thousands. But not until recently did it become a major issue. Why is it happening so much lately? Why is it happening more now than it did in the 90's, or 80's?
We can't ignore the conversation. Or, we could just do what Republicans want and "nuke em". Right? Wrong!!!
Bill Press was saying that they are hijacking multi million dollar ships and thats not comparable to their fishing incomes.
So what? Who cares? If you ruin my livelyhood and I'm forced into crime, I'm going to probably try to rob a big bank. Just because I only make $100K now doesn't mean I'm only going to take $100K from a bank robbery. I'm going to go for millions.
I guess liberals have to act tough too because if they don't, the conservatives try to make them look weak.
