3654617? Kids today...

JWSmythe ( 446288 )

How about you try not spamming. That would go over a lot better.

Video or it never happened.

No, really. I want to see 180dB ultrasound light someone up. I already know uBeam is bullshit.

Be nice. Slashdot readership is no longer technical. Be happy that he (almost) did better than Hollywood screenwriters.

Why bother run an open poll to name the boat, if you're going to refuse the winning name?

Well, I guess they raised awareness about ... umm ... the fact that they have a boat.

Not a woosh. I know it was a joke. It was horribly executed. That's why I gave some examples of what would work.

And sadly, lots of people see stuff like that and believe it.

If you're going to make up a conspiracy, at least try to make it somewhat factual. The estimated range for birth would have been Apr 17, 1948 to Apr 23, 1948. None of them were born then.

Jun 22, 1933 - Dianne Feinstein
Mar 26, 1940 - Nancy Pelosi
Nov 11, 1940 - Barbara Boxer
Dec 11, 1943 - John F. Kerry
Aug 19, 1946 - William Jefferson Clinton
Oct 26, 1947 - Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mar 31, 1948 - Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.
Nov 17, 1948 - Howard Dean
Nov 23, 1950 - Charles E. Schumer

You do have some legitimate choices to use.

Apr 17, 1948 - Alice Harden - Teacher and politician.
Apr 18, 1948 - Regis Wargnier - Director, producer, screenwriter
Apr 19, 1948 - Stuard McLean - Radio personality and author
Apr 19, 1948 - Rick Miller - Baseball player
Apr 20, 1948 - Merlin Hay - Army colonel and politician (Scotland)
Apr 20, 1948 - Remy Trudel - Teacher and politician
Apr 21, 1948 - Gary Condit - politician
Apr 22, 1948 - Bishop John Pritchard
Apr 22, 1948 - Jancis Robinson - journalist
Apr 22, 1948 - Larry Groce - radio host
Apr 23, 1948 - Pascal Quignard - author and screenwriter
Apr 23, 1948 - Serve Theriault - actor

It has been found that heavy users of social media have become deficient in both vitamins I and Q. Total avoidance of social media has helped some return to normal levels.

In other news, people who frequently use the Internet see how stupid most other people are.

Representatives from the National Institute of Health (NIH), United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) all recommend avoiding interactions with stupid people.

Most importantly, avoid places both real and online, where they may congregate. Specifically mentioned as such dangerously stupid locations are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn.

"While you may think that you can help guide some stupid people away from their stupidity, it will only hurt you. Many very intelligent people have tried, driving them to believe this planet is occupied by absolute morons. There are other studies being performed to determine if we have passed the point of idiocracy."

I was agreeing with you. :) I haven't been there, and really don't see a need for it in the near future.

With as much as they've changed, according to the current public information, I can understand someone thinking there was no law. There is always a law. As you said, there is the government, and there are warlords. Any good gang or self-declared local gov't, has some sort of organization and laws. In anarchy and chaos, someone will always strive to have power over others. They have to adopt at least some sort of legal system. They may not *say* it, but it's there.

As I understand it, and I could be far off base here, much of Africa works in similar ways.

Honestly, we have the same here. We don't have "warlords" exactly, but we have elected officials who may bully their way into a position. Once they're in power, they can tend to take liberties, which may not be exactly legal. Sometimes those leaders aren't elected. Gangs, "clubs", and other groups fill voids, installing their own beliefs on how things should work. Look at street gangs, the mafias, and even the Y'all Qaeda. Only one of those groups forget to bring snacks. :)

And I think what you were looking for in your last paragraph is ribbons, medals, and insignia.

I guess it's good that I haven't gotten into the piracy business. I could do well with "liberating" the ships and cargo from the previous owners. :)

Hostages have to be clothed, fed, and otherwise taken care of. It's easier to just let them go at the first safe port.

A while back, I wrote up a theoretical plan on amassing a flotilla of pirate ships. It looked good on paper, and could probably make a great piece of fiction. In real life, I'm allergic to things like having my flotilla being blown out of the water by any of a number of well armed navies.

Being in the middle of an ocean without a ship is similar to flying without an aircraft. It may be fun for a few minutes, but can have dire consequences after that.

That depends on the country. Most would say no. You could check with DHS. As I understand it, if you brought an armed ship within the US EEZ (200 nautical miles), you would find out that it isn't exactly welcome.

Simple breakdown chart

A NOAA breakdown of distances from shore with brief descriptions of each zone.

News outlets keep referring to it as ungoverned. We were all taught to trust the news, so there should be little reason to research a fact that is repeated without being contradicted. Except, news outlets can be wrong.

News outlets have gotten very good at copy & paste. It isn't just within a single story passed around. They'll keep copy & pasting pieces from stories, assuming nothing has changed, and that the fact checkers at the previous publication did their job.

It's trivial to check with respected sources for correct information. If they did, they would see that the US resumed formal recognition of the Somalian government just over 3 years ago.

CIA World Factbook

US State Department

United Nations

There are legal issues about having weapons on a ship. That is, when they transit different national waters, they may, or may not, be allowed to have some, or any, weapons on the ship, regardless if it's stored or not.

Simpler. Say your boat leaves a country where you can legally have Gatling guns. You transit inside another nation's waters where you can't legally have one, such as the Canada, US, or Mexico. You could end up in jail over it. Depending on the rules and policies, it could be the responsible party, captain, or crew. Unmounting the Gatling gun, and placing it in a locker isn't usually good enough.

Cargo ships can be transiting the waters of many nations during their cruise.

I wouldn't really focus on the chance of escalating force. The pirates that are committing most of these crimes are working on a real shoe-string budget. Like, a small boats, where the pirates are armed with knives, rifles, and the (very) occasional RPG. Clicking through the pirate activity map, I couldn't find any reports stating heavier weapons than rifles. Most were unarmed, or armed with knives. If they could afford, or steal, better ships and weapons, they'd be doing it already.

Pirate activity map

Here is a writeup on the issue

Ya, I know, it was just an easy joke to make. :)