Somali Pirates

About every week there is in the news mention of Somali Pirates taking over or attacking shipping off the Somali coast. I thought that piracy was universally condemned and that all countries were bound by agreement to act against it. So far little is being done it seems for the attacks continue. What to do about it?

The attacks on shipping must be by boat, right? Why not then blast every boat over the size of a row boat to smithereens along the Somali coast; particularly those coastal regions from which most of the attacks are coming from?

A second method would be to use Q-boats like that used against German U-Boats during WWII. Q-Boats were armed boats disguised as merchant ships. When a U-Boat surfaced to sink the ship the "merchant ship" transformed into a gun boat as covers were thrown back to reveal naval artillery. Surprise!

The third less desirable course would be to arm every merchant ship that sailed pass Somalia. Not a very practicable solution.

So far I haven't heard any mention of doing anything about the Somali pirates, except after a ship was already hijacked; I wonder why?

What Makes Sarah Palin Qualified?

Much, generally speaking, has been made of Sarah Palin's experience in energy and being an executive; i.e., her experience as Mayor and Governor. So far all I have heard are statements of "fact", that she negotiated a natural gasline for Alaska and that she had "executive" experience, being a Mayor of a small town and that she oversaw 20,000 government employees. No one has said explicitly what she did or how she gained her energy and executive knowledge. Who did she gain this knowledge from and how knowledgeable of those subjects was she? Was her knowledge as general as her statements? In other words shallow?
How much knowledge would you have to have in energy in order to "negotiate" a pipeline deal? No one has asked her these things yet everyone, it seems, takes her at her word that she has "real" experience. I don't think so.

Where The Republicans Went Wrong

Other than a bankrupt philosophy they depended on "propaganda" to win over and hold public opinion. It did work for eight years, but ended up with the least respected and approved of administration in recent history. Propaganda won the American people one of the worst Presidents ever and that fact will live with us, and the world, for many years to come.
The Republicans took power and rubbed that fact in Democrats faces for eight years: the result was partisan warfare, which the American people had to watch from the sidelines; souring many on the whole political process. What did the Republicans lose?
An alienated world, international unpopularity, a revived autocratic Russia, a hostile Middle East, out of sight debt, a bankrupt economy, and a deep recession or maybe even a depression. What did the Republicans win? A richer upper-class is about all. Trickle down theory is about bust.
What could have been done? Energy efficiency in the auto industry, a greener world by encouraging alternative energies, more domestic manufacturing jobs, bringing back to the U.S. needed industries, affordable health, and non-partisan domestic politics, and honesty and integrity in government; something the Republicans need strive for in the years to come.
The Republicans have been asking the "question", "where do we go from here"? The above would be a good start.