Proposed Strategy for Fighting Pirates: USMC

It’s Day 3 of one man’s plea for the country that he loves to go out and fight pirates.  They’re out there just waiting to be run through or made to walk a plank and we sit idly by.

Yesterday the British announced they would be putting together a European armada - an armada for God’s sake - to defeat the pirates in the Gulf of Aden.  When was the last time you heard the word ‘armada’ used?  Reading some 18th or 19th century history?  Watching Master and Commander on DVD?  This is some cool stuff and we’re on the sidelines : (

Q:  Another issue. What is the U.S. going to do about the Somali pirates? And has the President been briefed about the situation? Is unilateral or a concerted effort planned?

MS. PERINO: The President has been briefed about it, and ensuring the safety and well being of the crew is of paramount importance in preventing or dealing with issues of piracy. We’re working with other members of the Security Council right now to see if there are actions that we can do to more effectively fight against piracy and prevent it.

It’s a very complicated issue. There’s a lot of international laws that factor into these efforts. One of the things that’s clear is that piracy is something that is affecting a lot more — many more waters than any of us would have known about. I mean, if you look at some of the charts that have come out, that piracy is not something that just happened back in the 1500s. This has been going on for a while. The problem is now that it’s much more dangerous and they have a lot more weapons that they’re using. And the goal would be to try to help get this ship to safety, secure the crew, and then work with our international partners to try to alleviate the piracy problem full stop.

“There’s a lot of international laws that factor into these efforts,” said Perino.  Are you crazy?  There’s one supreme law on the high seas: No Freaking Pirates!  Unbelieveable.

I saw a commercial for the U.S. Marine Corps the other day, and guess what?  They’ve got swords.  And, guess what a pirate’s weapon of choice is?  The sword.  Need I say more?  I’m calling on W to immediately gather as many leathernecks and swords as possible and ship them to the pirates’ lair.  One thing that would be extra cool and send a strong statement to the rest of the world - and potential would-be pirates - is if we actually parachuted them in.  It’s a known fact that most pirates prefer to enter battle by swinging from ropes from one ship to another.  Can you imagine if about 500 enraged, sword-wielding U.S. Marines started dropping from the sky - without ropes - onto one of the remaining pirate motherships?  I guarantee they would shit down their wooden legs.

Indian Navy Destroys Pirate Ship - Is This How Far U.S. Has Slipped?

WTF? 21st Century Pirates - Opportunity for Bush or Obama

Ahoy!

There be pirates about the seven seas and they are the real deal.

A couple of months ago I remember a story about pirates taking control of a Ukranian ship laden with arms.  It seemed silly that there are pirates capable of doing such things in the 21st century - and getting away with it - and I didn’t write about it. 

In the last two days however there have been more spectacular pirate attacks.  The Sirius Star, a 1000 foot-long oil supertanker carrying $100 million worth of Saudi crude oil lies at anchor off the Somali coast after being hijacked.  There are reports that the pirates are negotiating with U.K.-based lawyers on a ransom.  A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship was seized by pirates off the coast of Yemen this morning.  It’s carrying thousands of tons of wheat to Iran.

The problem is Somalia.  The country has been without a legitimate government since 1991.  It’s essentially lawless.  A review of news reports shows most contemporary pirates are considered to be Somali.  The problem is also the governments and businesses who own the ships.  I was pretty surprised to find out that it is de rigeur to negotiate with pirates and essentially pay ransoms to secure the crews and cargoes taken. It pays to be a Somali pirate.

Political Opportunity?

If you think about it, it’s just ridiculous in 2008, with all of the resources, large navies and technology in the world that we have pirates.  Aaargh!

The opportunity for George W. Bush is apparent.  He is the black and white thinking president of modern times.  This pirate stuff is just that: good versus evil - black and white.  Bush is unpopular at home and abroad.  What a great way for him to go out than by declaring a war on pirates!  This one would actually be a winner.  We’re not pissing on anyone’s sovereignty, we’re going after those who are already doing that.  And, what could be a more true-blue American move than to rid the world of an evil menace.

I think if Bush captures or kills pirates on his way out, he moves the old legacy bar up a notch.  This shouldn’t be a hard sell for the president.  Pirates bad!

How about the Obama play?  If Bush demurs, there’s still a winner - the next president. 

Can you imagine the political and public relations capital Barack Obama will gain with the public and media if he goes after pirates?  Obama hasn’t taken his first steps as president and the media have already annointed him Franklin Delano Obama.  Can you imagine if this guy goes out and kicks some pirate ass?  The sky’s the limit for him then.

Somebody needs to do something about these pirates.  The whole notion of pirates who are so well resourced, trained, and lawyered up that they can ransom a supertanker is just incongruous with a civil world society.

Full Text: President George W. Bush, Speech on the Financial Markets and World Economy, Manhattan Institute, November 13

(Source: White House Press Office)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please be seated. Thank you. Larry, thank you for the introduction. Thank you for giving Laura and me a chance to come to this historic hall to talk about a big issue facing the world. And today I appreciate you giving me a chance to come and for me to outline the steps that America and our partners are taking and are going to take to overcome this financial crisis.

And I thank the Manhattan Institute for all you have done. I appreciate the fact that I am here in a fabulous city to give this speech. (Applause.) People say, are you confident about our future? And the answer is, absolutely. And it’s easy to be confident when you’re a city like New York City. After all, there’s an unbelievable spirit in this city. This is a city whose skyline has offered immigrants their first glimpse of freedom. This is a city where people rallied when that freedom came under attack. This is a city whose capital markets have attracted investments from around the world and financed the dreams of entrepreneurs all across America. This is a city that has been and will always be the financial capital of the world. (Applause.) Read more

Bank Failures Surging in 2008

The last couple of times I’ve noticed that banks are failing it’s always on Saturday, as the FDIC quietly swoops in and takes over on a Friday afternoon.  It seems like it’s happening more and more often so I took a look at the FDIC’s website.  There is a spike this year, we’ve had 19 FDIC insured banks fail this year.  The record I found only went back to 2000, there is a chart below.  41% of the bank failures in the last eight years have occurred this year.  33% of U.S. bank failures since 2000 have happened since July of this year. 

Security Pacific Bank of Los Angeles and Franklin Bank of Houston, Texas became casulties on Friday.  I’m looking at these numbers, the jobless rate, the housing bubble, Ford’s and GM’s woes - the list goes on - and I’m thinking that all Barney Frank, George Bush and Henry Paulson have done is throw $700 billion at Wall Street. 

Ohio Electoral Maps: Comparing Obama, Strickland and Bush by County

Editor’s Note: Data for these county maps came from the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

 

 

Text: President Bush Statement on Election

(Source: White House Press Office)

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Last night, I had a warm conversation with President-elect Barack Obama. I congratulated him and Senator Biden on their impressive victory. I told the President-elect he can count on complete cooperation from my administration as he makes the transition to the White House.

I also spoke to Senator John McCain. I congratulated him on a determined campaign that he and Governor Palin ran. The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation. And I know he’ll continue to make tremendous contributions to our country. Read more

Text: President Bush Statement on G7 Meeting, Oct 11

(Source: White House Press Office)

7:54 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Good morning. Secretary Paulson, Secretary Rice and I just had a productive discussion with finance ministers of America’s partners in the G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan. I’m pleased to be with Prime Minister Junker of Luxembourg, who is the President of the Eurogroup of countries, Managing Director Strauss-Kahn of the International Monetary Fund, President Zoellick of the World Bank, Chairman Draghi of the Financial Stability Forum. Thank you all for coming. Read more

Text: President Bush Speech on the Economy, October 10

10:25 A.M. EDT (Source: White House Press Office)

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market — much of it driven by uncertainty and fear. This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being.

Here’s what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We’re using these tools aggressively. Read more

What Crisis? Dow Posts Third Biggest Gain Ever - Most Americans Don’t See the Sky Falling

Look, I know the stock market isn’t “the economy.”  But days like this will make it all the more difficult for Washington’s politicians to convince voters that $700 billion should be staked to bailout Wall Street’s financiers.

I was in a meeting today previewing a presentation I developed to communicate with a group of people over a thorny issue.  At one point, a colleague said to me, “Pelikan, you’re gonna like this.”

“Are we trying to educate or notify? This first part is good - you’re educating, but then you move to notifying.”

My colleague knew I’d like that feedback because she said she heard a political pundit using the same language to describe how the Bush Administration failed to get public support for the bailout.

I don’t know where she heard that analysis, but it’s good.  I still have yet to discuss this whole “crisis” with more than a couple of people who are four-square behind it. 

I think that pundit was right.  Henry Paulson said just in the last couple of months that the issues in the credit and banking system were “manageable.”  Then all of a sudden there’s a plan to make him king of the financial mountain.

There’s another reason why regular folks are skeptical.  It’s the rush.  The Bush Administration has a very poor record when it comes to public policy decisions hastily rammed down their collective throat:

1. WMD & Al-Qaeda running rampant in Iraq - There were no WMD and Al-Qaeda didn’t exist in Iraq until we destabilized the country.
2. Patriot Act - Constitution shredded
3. U.S. Official Torture Policy - Thanks to Dick Cheney, David Addington and John Yoo, Constitution shredded, treaties pissed on, FBI and Dept of Defense ignored, innocent people tortured along with bad guys who were tortured and gave erroneous information, Amerian moral authority erroded.

Now, 30 days before a presidential election, with less than a week to consider the problem, the Bush Administration wants to fork over $700 billion to investment bankers?

This can’t be good.

Transcript: President Bush Statement on Bailout Failure

(Source: White House Press Office)

7:34 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Yesterday, leaders here in Washington reached an extraordinary agreement to deal with an extraordinary problem in our economy. Working closely with my administration, congressional leaders from both parties produced the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act — a bold bill that will help keep the crisis in our financial system from spreading throughout our economy. Read more

Transcript: President Bush Address to Nation on U.S. Financial Crisis, September 24, 2008

(Source: White House Press Office)

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy. Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand their worry and their frustration. We’ve seen triple-digit swings in the stock market. Major financial institutions have teetered on the edge of collapse, and some have failed. As uncertainty has grown, many banks have restricted lending. Credit markets have frozen. And families and businesses have found it harder to borrow money.
We’re in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the federal government is responding with decisive action. We’ve boosted confidence in money market mutual funds, and acted to prevent major investors from intentionally driving down stocks for their own personal gain. Read more

Full Text: President George W. Bush Speech to U.N. General Assembly, September 22

President Bush Addresses United Nations General Assembly
United Nations Headquarters | New York, New York

10:12 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen: I’m pleased to be here to address the General Assembly.

Sixty-three years ago, representatives from around the world gathered in San Francisco to complete the founding of the Charter of the United Nations. They met in the shadow of a devastating war, with grave new dangers on the horizon. They agreed on a historic pledge: “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, and unite their strength to maintain international peace and security.” Read more

The George Bush Economy – Looks Like a Bailout for the Investment Class

The total silence on the economy and markets this week from the White House was finally broken today when President George W. Bush took to the podium – and said absolutely nothing of real substance.

Bush ran through the bullet points of what his administration has done to calm markets:

• Fannie/Freddie Bailout
• AIG Bailout
• Federal Reserve “adds liquidity” to the market
• Minor moves by SEC to step up “enforcement actions”

This is what he ended with – the reason he cancelled his travel today:

These actions are necessary, and they’re important. And the markets are adjusting to them. Our financial markets continue to deal with serious challenges. As our recent actions demonstrate, my administration is focused on meeting these challenges. The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.

Bush said, “Our financial markets continue to deal with serious challenges.” Yep, so serious it took you four days this week to speak up. “Challenges,” you say. A challenge is something one encounters that is unexpected, most often meant to be a difficulty not of one’s own making. People – or organizations – which overcome challenges are highly thought of; they’re the folks Americans love. The markets aren’t dealing with challenges. The markets are dealing with karma. Bad behavior, poor choices, and greed put “the markets” in the shape they’re in today. Bush also says his administration is “meeting these challenges.” After more than seven years, Bush is still full of it. The Bush administration is rewarding bad behavior and the entire country is paying for it, bailout by bailout.

The financial markets are no longer the playground of just the investment class. The financial markets add to or detract from the bottom line of nearly every American who has anything socked away for retirement. While nearly a trillion dollars of wealth was wiped out this week on Wall Street, Main Street suffered too. If you have money in a 401k or IRA or other investment vehicle, there is less in that account than there was a week ago. You paid for the unregulated free market. Every time the Bush Administration bails out another one of these pigs, or “adds liquidity” (borrows more money from China) you pay again.

It will be interesting to see what Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, Franks, Cox, and all the other politicians come up with on Friday and through the weekend to save the skins of a few more of their campaign contributors. Just remember, you’ll pay while the folks that got greedy wipe the sweat from their brows, say “Phew,” and enjoy another weekend in the Hamptons.

Full Text: President Bush Statement on Economy September 18, 2008

THE PRESIDENT: The American people are concerned about the situation in our financial markets and our economy, and I share their concerns.

I’ve canceled my travel today to stay in Washington, where I will continue to closely monitor the situation in our financial markets and consult with my economic advisors. I spoke to Secretary Paulson this morning, and I will meet with him later on today.

In recent weeks, the federal government has taken extraordinary measures to address the challenges confronting our financial markets. We’ve taken control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the home finance agencies — to help promote market stability and to ensure they can continue to play a role in helping our housing market recover. This week, the Federal Reserve acted to prevent the disorderly failure of the insurance company AIG — a development that could have caused a severe disruption in our financial markets and threatened other sectors of the economy. Yesterday, the Security and Exchange Commission took action to strengthen investor protections and step up its enforcement actions against illegal market manipulation. Last night, the Federal Reserve, in coordination with central banks around the world, took a substantial step to provide additional liquidity to the U.S. financial system.

These actions are necessary, and they’re important. And the markets are adjusting to them. Our financial markets continue to deal with serious challenges. As our recent actions demonstrate, my administration is focused on meeting these challenges. The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.

Thank you.

END 10:17 A.M. EDT

(Source: White House Press Office)

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