Somali Pirates Bring the the Terror Alert to oRRRRRange

aka: "What "Rrrrrr" They Thinking??

Where did this major pirate conflict come from?  How come America has been focusing its military efforts on terrorists and Al Qaeda  when there have been ships full of pirates patrolling our seas?  And more importantly, do they wear parrots and still make people walk the planks?

It's not that these pirates have suddenly showed up, they've always been.  As true and everlasting as love, taxes and Twinkies.  The only difference is we haven't heard about it. 

Bill O'Reilly, with all his wisdom, with the help of all his cronies, from the right to the left, don't report about these problems.  Mostly because they happen in an imaginary, far-off, fairy-tale land known as Africa.  (I don't mean to pick on O'Reilly, it's just so easy.  Besides it's not like he'll ever read this and bad mouth me on his show - pllleeeeaaassssseeee!!??!!!)

But similar to Vegas, what happens in Africa, stays in Africa.  I don't believe anyone would

argue that George Bush will go down as one of the worse presidents in our history.  His complete lack of concern with the American people (as evidenced in the above picture), was only overshadowed by his complete lack of concern for the rest of the world's people.  But one great thing that should always be an asterisk upon his record (a footnote - something to follow the eight-thousandth listed mistake and travesty of his administration) should be his aid to Africa.  Billions of dollars were sent to Africa to help with AIDS, vaccines and famine (probably would have been more if Enron or Exxon Mobil believed they could make money off helping the less fortunate).  But in general, to Americans, Africa is a distant land that doesn't really affect us.  A place with strange people, who speak differently, look different, have alien customs and traditions - sort of like Canada.

But pirates are real (unlike ninjas).  They have been traveling the seas and killing anyone in their way for hundreds, if not thousands of years.  But the days of peg-legged sea captains and dual-shot muskets are long gone.  In Somalia, the pirate profession is a booming industry.  In a land of crippling poverty, any opportunity for a quick buck is esteemed.  Take a look at this article from BBC News: "Living the High Life."  It details how the pirate life is one of intelligence and experience.  These abduction, hostage and ransom happenings are not simply dumb luck.  Ex-fishermen are hired to navigate the seas and run the ships.  Armed militia and trained soldiers, many of which with special-ops training, are brought along to use force, plan battles and kill anyone in their path.  And high-tech "geek-squad-types" are hired to hack government communications and satellites, GPS and shipping vessels.  These aren't just a bunch of gangsters randomly causing havoc in our waters.  Imagine the Crips, or their MBA, spending ten years in a Fortune 500 company, working their way up to CEO, owning and operating their own million dollar a year sales campaign, and then using their knowledge and connections to start selling crack rock.

But the point is this: what makes Americans believe they are smarter than the rest of the world?  North Korea just built and launched its very first long-range, guided missile.  

Al Qaeda was able to plan and succeed in attacking the World Trade Center; and they did it right under our noses.  Recent reports claim authorities had known what was going to happen and were even tracking the pilots for months and years prior to the attack.  Yet they still got away with it.  So who are we to think no one is capable of out-thinking the great American machine?  If we trained Osama Bin Laden, supplied him with weapons, and taught him how to be a special-ops soldier against the Russians, what's stopping him from using that information on us?  Or teaching others?   And he's not alone.  There is good money in treason, and using American's intelligence against itself.  You won't find an ad for them on craigslist, but they exist.  

So why are we not focusing on pirates.  Shouldn't they fit under the umbrella term of terrorists?  Aren't they just as much a threat to our security as Bin Laden?  The simple answer is yes, the long-winded answer is it'll never happen.  Not until they attack Wal-Mart, or Marlboro, or Exxon-Mobil, or any other billion dollar company with the power to actually influence our leaders.  The reason we don't focus on them, not now, not before and likely not in the future, is because we don't honestly care about American's safety.  It's all a guise; a sneaky way of building up false security.  I can't bring my toothpaste on a plane, but I can bring a gun into a subway.  I need to take off my shoes before I get through the airport, but there's no reason I couldn't detonate my car in a tunnel (and let me just footnote this point - No I do not plan on doing any of this stuff, just making a point - so Secret Service and the Pentagon, please don't send stealth helicopters to patrol my house and black, undercover SUVs to tail me on my way to the grocery store).

It's all just a facade.  Just a veil to keep you, the sheeple, under control.  The media doesn't care about reporting anymore, just making money.  The government surely doesn't have your best interests at heart, and it never has.  But as long as you don't switch the channel, or stop buying things, getting gas and paying your bills, your use as a civilian is complete.  The danger exists out there, but the only time you hear about it is when a naval office is held hostage.  We're not more safe now then we were September 10th, we only have less freedom and more people telling us we are safe.  

I compare it to paying a Bear Tax.  You pay the tax to protect you from bears in your neighborhood, but how many bears do you see in your neighborhood?  None?  Great, so the tax is working then!!