Captain Phillips -- the movie

Just saw the movie yesterday. Very realistic! I had no plans to take my trawler anywhere near Somalia even before I saw the movie, but know darned well that I will not go there now!

John

Walk-the-Plank

Haven't seen the movie yet, but a while back I suggested a possible solution to eliminating some of this piracy.

Why not treat some of the hi-jackers like pirates of old might have....make them 'walk-the-plank'. Catch a few of those small boats of them (particular the 'host/command boats') and then make them walk off the boat to be left to swim back to shore. And film it so you can broadcast that film to the host country, with the message that this is how piracy is now dealt with. I don't imagine a lot of them swim that well that they would ever make it back, and/or surely they would have a good tale to tell to their 'brothers'.

At least then we have not committed any assassination, and we have not committed to bring them to justice back in this country at a HUGH expense for the rest of their lives.

In the late 70s and early 80 I used to travel to Somalia on business, supplying equipment to the two sugar plantations in the country One built by Italians when it was a colony and one by the British in the 70s. It was peaceful then, the Somalis I worked with were friendly, the few foreigners around could walk around Mogadishu with no problems, I did often. Ivory carvings were of good quality and I picked up a few. The president, Sayed Barre was a strong dictator but kept the locals peaceful. I used to visit 2, maybe three times a year about a week at a time most of it spent out in the bush at the plantations and never had a bit of trouble. Once Barre was gone different factions started fighting amongst themselves, the al-queda types came in and now it is the mess we hear about on the news.
Below is a picture I took of the old harbor in Mogadishu, the country has some very nice beaches and plenty of good farmland. The food used to be good too, the Italians taught them to cook when it was a colony.
Steve W
Attached Thumbnails

I suspect that the predominantly Muslim country is another by-product of our renewal of the 'crusades' with our stupid war in Iraq.

I worked over in SE Asia for a while in the mid-late nineties. I was in Indonesia on a number of occasions, and we even had an Indonesian crew on some of our offshore projects. Would I go back now?,....I'd have to give it careful consideration, and be careful where I went...largest Muslim population in the world. Bush/Cheney did a great job for our foreign relations.

Just saw a special on cable, on H2 I believe, with interviews with Capt. Phillips, as well as several crew members giving their first hand accounts...interesting story...

Yes they had a replay of an interview with that captain on Morning Joe this morning. In general he thought the movie makers gave a pretty good accounting.

brian eiland said:

Bush/Cheney did a great job for our foreign relations.

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Yup Bush did it. If one forgets Middle East and African history before Bush and Cheney came along you'd have a (very small) point.

The Italians, French, Germans, Dutch and British unfortunately predicted what would happen in Africa as the colonies were shut down and laws, regulations, government systems, checks and balances never replaced - except of course with Islamic law and the point of a gun.

I spent some time working in West Africa in the mid-nineties. I was quite taken with Mali and the apparently good transition they had made from being a French Colony to an independent country. At that time they were concerned about NE Mali and the difficulties of "foreign" influences from the Middle East. Last year they called in the French Foreign Legion to restore order there and boot out the Islamic fringe that had taken control.

I won't even mention Rhodesia, err Zimbabwe. Or at least to mention Mugabe seems to have kept the Islamic fringe at bay.

sunchaser said:

Yup Bush did it. If one forgets Middle East and African history before Bush and Cheney came along you'd have a (very small) point.

The Italians, French, Germans, Dutch and British unfortunately predicted what would happen in Africa as the colonies were shut down and laws, regulations, government systems, checks and balances never replaced - except of course with Islamic law and the point of a gun.

I spent some time working in West Africa in the mid-nineties. I was quite taken with Mali and the apparently good transition they had made from being a French Colony to an independent country. At that time they were concerned about NE Mali and the difficulties of "foreign" influences from the Middle East. Last year they called in the French Foreign Legion to restore order there and boot out the Islamic fringe that had taken control.

I won't even mention Rhodesia, err Zimbabwe. Or at least to mention Mugabe seems to have kept the Islamic fringe at bay.

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I thought Black hawk Down was before Bush

A case can be made that after Reagan, when many factions saw that they could do anything with wanted in Africa with no repercussions from the US, then the Sh.. really hit the fan and still is. And Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama have pretty much had a hands off policy that continues to work wonders.

It's the fashion lately in both pop culture and academics to slam Western culture in every possible way, and slam everything that comes with it - but for all its faults and even (ultimately self-correcting) atrocities like Nazism, nothing in global history has ever equaled the prosperity, order, and stability it offers. It's so powerful that Britain's colonial echo is still a template for order for a now-independent giant like India. Those without that influence are either ordered through profound cultural and political authoritarianism (China, N. Korea) or they live in savage chaos, pain, and disorder.

Sorry, double-posted.

Wxx3 said:

I thought Black hawk Down was before Bush

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From the website Miltary.com:

"On the eve of his departure from office, President Bush responds to U.N requests and orders Operation "Restore Hope" in December of 1992. The mission: to defend famine-relief efforts in the country of Somalia. For months prior, U.N officials and relief workers are thwarted by armed Somali clans in their attempts to deliver desperately-needed food and supplies to a starving country. Food is stolen from the docks and airport. Convoys are high jacked. And relief workers are attacked and sometimes killed.

During night of December 9th, U.S. Marines hit the beach while under the intense spotlights from dozens of TV cameras. They are the first of 25,000 troops sent to patrol the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. Within months, the situation in Somalia is under control and food is finally able to reach a starving population. Although various warlords and their clans move about the streets, they are reluctant to tangle with U.S. troops.

As President Clinton settles into office in the early part of 1993, he expresses a will to decrease U.S. troops in the region. By June, only 1,200 combat troops and 3,000 support personnel remain. Meanwhile, the question of 'what next?' is answered with the idea of 'nation building' by many in the United Nations. The original mission of securing humanitarian relief gives way to rebuilding Somalia's infrastructure, restoring law and order and establishing a new government by forming a coalition of the Somali clans.

But General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, leader of 3 clans, continuously threatens the process. After 24 Pakistani soldiers are ambushed and massacred, a $25,000 reward is placed on Aidid's head. Admiral Jonathan Howe, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General and responsible for mediating the peace process, asks the U.S. to send special forces to apprehend Aidid.

After 4 American soldiers are killed by a remote detonated mine, the U.S. forms Task Force Ranger, a group of Delta Force commandos, Army Rangers, and pilots from 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the "Night Stalkers"), led by Major General William F. Garrison.

On August 26, more than eight months after the Marines first landed in Somalia, 440 troops of Task Force Ranger arrive in Somalia with the mission to capture Aidid and his lieutenants. Task Force Ranger performs a number of missions with mixed results, as commanders in Somalia ask the U.S. for Bradley Fighting Vehicles and AC-130 Spectre gunships. The requests are denied by Secretary of Defense Les Aspen.

On the morning of October 3rd, members of Task Force Ranger receive information that Aidid and some of his lieutenants will be meeting in a house next to the Olympic Hotel.

A detachment of Army Rangers and Delta commandos suit-up and head out via Blackhawk helicopters and MH-6 "Little Birds," flying above the streets of Mogadishu, towards their target." ...End quote...

The rest you know...two Black Hawks were shot down; in the ensuing urban gun battle, 18 American soldiers were killed and another 73 injured.

I saw the movie last night. What a ride! Then I read this earlier this morning:

Crew members: ‘Captain Phillips’ is one big lie | New York Post

What a bummer. But, hey, Hollywood is about entertainment, not facts. And the movie was very entertaining.

The Kenyan coast is beautiful! Malindi is one of the earth's beauty spots, the people are/were lovely, the seafood is extraordinary but occasionally some Kenyans rise up and kill a few hundred of their neighbours; the Somalis sneak across the border and rob, kidnap and kill the tourists from time-to-time, so it's not paradise. I was there when Hillary Clinton was there, having talks and doing trade deals. I'd love to go back, the Europeans flock there, but it's less certain than the Mexican drug cartels.

BaltimoreLurker said:

Crew members: ‘Captain Phillips’ is one big lie | New York Post

What a bummer. But, hey, Hollywood is about entertainment, not facts. And the movie was very entertaining.

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Same same with Argo. Exciting but not close to reality. As you say - that's Hollywood! :lol:

Greetings,
Is this the movie where Captain Phillips wakes up after a booze filled party night aboard an 18th century square rigged sailing vessel with the 1980 Russian women's weight lifting team as crew and did he have a pet monkey called Shirley?

Yep. Scary stuff.

Rufus, how about posting a video from that movie? I'd particularly like to see that Russian women's weight lifting team.

Africa has loads of minerals China wants , it will be a hot spot in the future.

brian eiland said:

I suspect that the predominantly Muslim country is another by-product of our renewal of the 'crusades' with our stupid war in Iraq.

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So Brian please explain how the pirate situation in Somilia has anything to do with our war in Iraq?

Please expand on your post a little.

Thanks!

Greetings,
Mr. H. I must admit I haven't seen the movie. The synopsis was relayed by a friend. The best clip I could find was evidently taken "off set" where a couple of the athletes were "caught" dancing. (I suspect from the sound tract the women were from Beserkistan (part of the old USSR)). The Russians are quite taken with dancing you know. Bolshoi Ballet for example-poetry in motion I've heard.

FAIL fat dance OH YEE - YouTube

Rufus T, you are the best!

Mr RT, As George Takei would say: Sent from my iPad using Trawler

This thread is going down hill fast!

HopCar said:

This thread is going down hill fast!

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.....

Saw the movie last night, don't know about the crews version of what happened. Do know the US Navy portion was for real, also would like to know the real story behind the yellow t-shirt the SEALS wanted Capt. Phillips to wear. Anyway 4.0 NAVY, from this old MCPO USN Retired.

HiDHo said:

, also would like to know the real story behind the yellow t-shirt the SEALS wanted Capt. Phillips to wear.

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You think maybe it was for some reason other than to make him highly visible, especially if he didn't remain in seat 15?

Rule #4 - know your target, know what's behind it.