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Africa Horn
Pirates who seized Ukraine ship reduce ransom demand to $20-mln from $35-mln
2008-09-30
Posted by:Fred

#11  Pray they aen't smart enough to fire a tank main gun, if yes, they're all smart fish food.
(Chum, if that large, more like a fine mist mixed with steel chunks.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-09-30 19:36  

#10  Make 'em a Michael Corleone offer: "Nothing."
Posted by: mojo   2008-09-30 14:50  

#9  many more ships anchored out there and Somalia is gonna need a port authority to keep trak of all the comin's and goin's....
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2008-09-30 14:09  

#8  ransom's been marked down...

poor Ukranians, they've been abducted by K-Mart!
Posted by: Querent   2008-09-30 13:02  

#7  I wonder when the SEAL team will get there...
Posted by: Old Patriot   2008-09-30 11:53  

#6  So somoli pirates understand risk vs. return...
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-09-30 11:20  

#5  "We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid," pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite phone. "Nothing has changed."

So they are muslim, hmm?
Posted by: Ptah   2008-09-30 10:50  

#4  Some dissension in the ranks perhaps?

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Pirates holding a Ukrainian ship laden with tanks and weapons claimed Tuesday they were celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr despite being surrounded by American warships and helicopters. They also denied a report of a shootout aboard the seized ship.

"We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid," pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite phone. "Nothing has changed."

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program said there was an unconfirmed report that three Somali pirates were killed Monday night in a dispute over whether to surrender, but he said he had not spoken to any witnesses.

But the pirate spokesman insisted that was not true."We didn't dispute over a single thing, let alone have a shootout," Ali told the AP.

There was no way to independently verify either account. The U.S. 5th Fleet also said it had no new information to report Tuesday on the six-day standoff.
Posted by: tu3031   2008-09-30 09:36  

#3  What goes wrong is they do not have lending power. Old wolves demolish the pittance, Moral Hazard ensues, The US Government has an immediate bill to pay for it's reckless use of regulation.
Posted by: newc   2008-09-30 01:11  

#2  Don't worry, the Dhimmicrats will modify the Community Reinvestment Act to include any distressed areas in Somalia. That will let the pirates apply for a 0% down, seller-financed mortgage on the ship. Fannie Mae will guarantee it. Lehman Brothers will securitize it. AIG will insure the security. I mean, what could go wrong?
Posted by: Steve White   2008-09-30 00:25  

#1  Wow, that's a pretty good sale price. More than 40% off list.

This economic stuff even effects Somali pirates. ;>)
Posted by: Intrinsicpilot   2008-09-30 00:23  

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