The Salty Dogs of ... Mexico?

So let's get this straight: the brain trustees of Northern Mexico have pooled their resources and come up with a grand idea: piracy against ... Texans.

No, seriously.

McALLEN — Heavily armed Mexican freshwater pirates have been shaking down U.S. boaters on Falcon Lake, a reservoir and bass fishing haven that straddles the Rio Grande.

Oh, I predict that this is not going to end well for these little lake "pirates". Giving Texan outdoor sportsmen a legitimate reason to blow your head off? Texans?

[Janet Jackson voice]

I like this part.

[/Janet Jackson voice]

South Korean Warship Chases Pirates Away

North and South Korean soldiers aim loaded weapons at eachother across the DMZ that separates their two countries. But in the Gulf of Aden, they are best pals.

Just yesterday, a South Korean warship responded to a distress call by a North Korean freighter, and was able to chase away some pirates who were threatening that vessel. The South Koreans tenderly watched over their North Korean brothers to keep them safe, and make sure the icky pirates stayed away.

Too bad the North Korean cargo ship was smuggling ballistic missiles to Iran.

Truly, the seeds of our destruction are within us.

Predictions: Somali Pirates Will Team Up with AQ

On NPR this morning I learned about a Somali jihadist organization called al-Shabab, which apparently has attracted the attention of our military. According to NPR:

...The al-Shabab camps have a kind of open door policy — they don't just train al-Shabab recruits; they will welcome anyone who arrives claims to fight for jihad. Two recent suicide bombings targeting South Korean tourists in Yemen were linked to the al-Shabab camps.

There was some earnest bloviating by the NPR sources about whether it would be a good idea or a bad idea to flatten al-Shabab training camps with airstrikes. (The answer of course is that its a good idea to kill fanatics who blow up Korean tourists, but a bad idea to make all the other Somalis angry at you if you do it. Thanks guys, that's helpful.)

But the real point is that there is a well-trained Somali group with a ready supply of fanatics and explosives. Eventually they will team up with these pirates or maybe just imitate them. Either way, we're going to see container ships targeted by guys with speedboats full of explosives.

And then, when the rescue operations start, a helpful fishing trawler will turn out to be packed to the gunwales, not with red snapper (very tasty) but Semtex.

It will get messy very quickly.

Whats the Best Round for Pirates?

I think we're going to ask this question more frequently in the coming weeks.*

The pirates have Vowed Revenge and will now be attacking more American shipping, after we shot 3 of them in the head instead of paying them millions of dollars to give our captain back.

Just today there was another attack on an American ship that was apparently driven off, even though the pirates shot it up with RPGs and assault rifles.

This should be a very interesting situation as it develops. We don't have enough naval forces in the region to guard every ship, so eventually the pirates will get one. When they do capture some American sailors, I wonder if they'll execute them.

In response we may start convoying ship or putting armed guards or even more powerful weaponry on some of the cargo ships. We may even see the return of the Q-ship.

Lets just hope we don't see another Blackhawk Down scenario on a cargo ship.

Random thought: ever since the Mumbai attacks Ive started to wonder if life isn't imitating video games -- Rainbow Six: Vegas, to be precise.

*The answer is probably a toss up between 7.62x51 or .308 ,cause that's what the military uses, but I bet you there is a strong case to be made for 7mm magnum with a 160 grain bullet, or even .338 Lapua which can drive a 250 grain round at over 3000 fps for about a quarter mile, and a 300 grain pill at about 2850fps.