Wednesday - November 17, 2010

pirates to world … just business, nothing personal. ransoms to fund more hostage taking

Now here’s a slightly different take on pirate stories. You’ll love this one Drew.
And don’t we all just love pirate stories?

All the kings horses and all the kings men whatever blah,blah.

You’ll remember the couple taken hostage a year ago and held by Somali pirates.  They asked for a ton on money thinking that the couple had insurance. Turns out they didn’t.  The pirates are used to dealing with the large shipping companies who do carry ins and so assumed that everyone did.  Hmmm. I hadn’t expected that species capable of thought like that.  Guess I was wrong.
Well anyway ... they released the couple as you might know by now, saying that they’d use the ransom to finance more “business.”

Here ya go.  Read it all here.
It’s quite interesting actually. I think I might be changing my ideas about these folks. No, not that I approve what they do. But it seems like the countries that could really put a stop to it won’t.  There are people here who fear that capturing pirates might open the door to many of them requesting asylum in this country.  And the way these idiots have been dealing with that issue, well.  I understand the concern of the natives here.  It should be a question of an open and shut case. Capture and shoot them.  Bomb the hell out of their sanctuaries.  Send in special extermination teams with no exceptions to be made.  You’d soon see an end to the problem.  But no. The powers that be will not do what is necessary to end it.  And so the pirates know that and know too that even if caught, the penalty will hardly be life threatening. So why not risk it?
It’s not personal. It’s just business. Right?

Pirates boast of plans to ‘reinvest’ ransom in more kidnappings

The pirates who held the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler boasted last night that they would spend the ransom money on staging more kidnappings.

By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi
Members of the gang, who held the British couple for more than a year, said they would use their estimated £500,000 bounty to “reinvest in our business”, to increase their reach in the Indian Ocean.

Others are planning to put part of their windfall towards “celebration purchases” such as new houses or cars, they said.

The admission came as the war-ravaged east African country’s beleaguered government confirmed that it had paid a substantial tranche of the ransom itself, topping up contributions from friends, family and the Somalian community overseas.

It is understood that some of the hostage takers have personal and family ties to Britain, even keeping a close eye on how the news was being reported in the British media.

One of the kidnappers was quoted as joking only a few days ago that he was planning a trip to Britain.

The couple were making their way from the Seychelles to Tanzania in their 38ft yacht, Lynn Rival, in October last year when they were captured by Somalian pirates.

They spent the following 13 months being held in remote camps deep inland, while family and friends attempted to raise the cash to secure their freedom.

A total of about £500,000 was passed through negotiators to the gang’s leaders on two separate occasions, most recently on Sunday morning, when the Kent couple was finally released.

The bounty will now be shared by as many as 40 different individuals, from guards and cooks to senior financiers likely to be outside Somalia.

“There will be some celebration purchases, maybe a vehicle, maybe a better house,” a senior member of the pirates, who gave his name only as Yusuf, told The Daily Telegraph via contacts in Mogadishu.

“But most of us have to pay off debts, and we need to use the money to reinvest in our business, to find new boats to go back to the ocean.”

Posted by peiper     on 11/17/2010 at 09:40 AM   
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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