For unstated reasons, the country is denying entry to former President Jimmy Carter and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Now I’m positive the reasons are entirely wrong. Zimbabwe is run by thugs who’d be horribly embarrassed to have their actions further exposed to international scrutiny. There are much better reasons to keep these two out of your country. Annan was head of the UN during the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, which tied directly to his son. And Carter? He’s a leftist (which wouldn’t overly concern the Zimbabwean government) who has contributed exactly zero to lasting international peace or prosperity. [Please list even one Carter accomplishment which has had a long-term positive effect.] Heck, those are two good reasons to deny these guys entry into the U.S.!
…after collecting a ransom. Continuing a craven policy that only encourages more piracy.
New methods are being developed to fight malaria. Of course, they’re in limited supply and rather expensive. You know, we already have a sure fire way to make a huge dent in this major killer. It’s called DDT, and if it weren’t for environmentalists who care more about harming animals than the deaths of almost 900,000 humans annually, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
One round to the good guys. This is exactly the correct way to combat piracy. Kudos to the Indian Navy for taking their responsibility seriously. The Brits took out a pirate vessel a week ago, too. Her Majesty’s Navy is laudable, but don’t tell that to English bureaucrats. The marine director of the International Chamber of Shipping (London) would rather have the pirates arrested and taken to court. Why, exactly? The traditional penalty for piracy is death, a fitting end for these scum that would not be meted out by England’s legal system.
Some, however, aren’t getting the message. The CEO of a Norwegian shipping firm says his company will reroute their ships around the southern end of Africa, at significant expense. He bemoans the lack of action by international authorities but can’t seem to see the obvious solution: take responsibility for your own safety and arm your ships!
Call me ill-informed, but did you know that in England you can’t be a member of one political party if you’re a police officer? Yes the British National Party is racist (whites only), but making it illegal to be a member? We should be thankful for our freedoms here in the U.S. Why in the world is the left so enamored of Europe? Political correctness run amok.
Another day another hijacking. This time it’s a Saudi supertanker full of oil. Are we learning anything from these attacks? Apparently not, as there are more than a dozen pirated ships (and crews) still being held for ransom. Here’s the money quote:
Once pirates get aboard, however, the ship is theirs, because crews on commercial vessels are rarely armed, according to Mr. Choong and other maritime experts. “They are not mentally or physically fit enough to handle weapons,” he said.
Nor do many ship owners use armed contractors — seagoing mercenaries — to fight or ward off approaching pirates. Experts said crew safety and insurance liability were overriding concerns of captains and owners.
“We do not advocate this, having armed escorts on board,” said Lee Yin Mui, assistant director of research at the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships at Sea. Known as ReCAAP, the 16-nation network is based in Singapore.
“Armed escorts could only escalate the situation,” she said, “and perhaps trigger off heavy crossfire.”
Um, yeah. Or the rightful termination of said miscreants could persuade others to choose a different line of work. I’d like to see some evidence that ReCAAP is actually doing its job…combating piracy. The current situation indicates they’re encouraging more of the same.
To (reluctantly) quote Dr. Phil, “How’s that workin’ for ya?”
[Update]
Apparently not so well. This time it’s a shipment of wheat.