We all know that the Somali pirates are out of control. Several navies are patrolling the area off the Horn of Africa. They haven’t deterred the attacks. Instead the pirates adapted tactics. They are using bigger ships to carry skiffs out to sea and then using the skiffs to attack the ships. The tactic allows them to make raids further out to sea and away from the heavy patrol areas.
When the pirates tried to seize the ship the Maersk Alabama, the captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, surrendered himself in order to secure the safety of his crew. The crew also fought back and captured one of the pirates. In exchange for the captured pirate and safety of the crew, Phillips gave himself to the pirates.
What followed was a high seas standoff. The pirates were surrounded and monitored by the U.S. Navy.
The onsite commander ordered nave sharpshooters to take out three of the pirates on the skiff when one raised an AK-47 to Phillips’ back. The fourth pirate was onboard a ship negotiating. Just like that, three dead pirates. The fourth was arrested and Phillips was rescued. Incredible!
President Barack Obama left standing orders that the navy should use force if Phillips’ life was in danger. When that AK-47 was pointed at Phillips the commander issued the order to shoot.
I fully applaud the actions of all involved, from the President to the commander to the sharpshooters and to Phillips.
Phillips exchanged himself and potentially his life when he agreed to become the pirate’s hostage. He put himself before others. On ships and navies, the captain is responsible for the ship. And that means responsible for everything. Someone else’s mistake can cost a captain his career. Phillips took that responsibility to the highest level. He was willing to put himself in danger so that the ones under his command could leave safely.
One thing I think most people fail to appreciate is what an incredible shot the sharpshooters made. Making a kill shot is no easy feat on land. A shooter must take a ton of factors before the shot. In addition to factoring in the usual shot checklist, the navy sharpshooters have to account for one more item. They must account for the roll of the sea. Their ship is rolling with the waves and so was the lifeboat the pirates were on. That is a lot of side to side and up and down motion to consider. To make one shot like that is incredible. That three sharpshooters were able to do it and not hurt Phillips is beyond my comprehension. On top of it, they had to all do shoot near simultaneously to prevent a pirate from hurting Phillips. It was an incredible feat. My hat off to them.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Big Muddle
Note: Once again I'm late in posting something I wrote. Between packing, working, moving, working, unpacking and assembling furniture, I've had very little time to write or update my website lately.
The following article from the Motley Fool pretty much sums up how I feel about the federal government dipping its nose into my business: Bring Back Our Free Markets.
As I’ve gotten older (and coincidentally earned more), I’ve become more fiscally conservative. My social views are completely independent of my fiscal views. The thing the two have in common is that less government is a good thing. Government’s job is to ensure defense of the people, ensure rights are protected and to provide infrastructure. These come in the form of the military, the courts and public roads and utilities. After that the free markets forces rule.
That’s not to say I’m completely against government regulation. Some regulation is required but within reasonable limits. One area that was somewhat deregulated with disastrous results was allowing banks to leverage themselves and get in over their heads. I think regulation is such areas keep a check on the human nature of greed. Just because I believe in free markets doesn’t mean I believe that people who run business should run wonton over their customers and clients.
In the current bailout plan, the government is delaying the inevitable. GM and Citigroup should be allowed to fail and reorganize under bankruptcy laws. It will be one giant suppository for the economy but it will eventually lead to a better system. There is no sense in propping up failing businesses. GM has been a black hole for years and throwing money down that black hole will not help. Time to let the patient die.
How will this all shake out is still a big question. Despite all the gloom and doom the American economy will emerge from this mess.
No one knows the answer to the $64,000 question: When will the economy bottom out and start rising? The answers, according to self appointed experts and the lot, run all over the place. The predictions run from the end of the year to decades. My guess? Some where in between. In other words, I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We just keep on, to use John Mauldin’s term, muddling through.
Speaking of Mauldin, the article Reality Bites by Michael Lewitt comes via Mauldin’s “Outside the Box” newsletter. It paints a bleak picture. In my opinion, it probably is the most realistic scenario playing out. Then again, what do I know?
All I know is I will continue to invest my money in what I believe are companies that are wrongly undervalued and that will rebound in the long term. My time horizon for my personal portfolio is nil. I’m not counting on it for my retirement. It’s something I do with a little bit of my income. I hope to earn money on my investments but I won’t be devastated if I lose it.
That’s it for now. I’d like to update my blog more often but I’m balls to the wall at work and trying to move. It’s a bitch. I can start moving on March 21st but I don’t have to be out of my current place until the end of the month. I’ve started packing now so the end of the month won’t sneak up on me. Now if I can just get away from work long enough.
The following article from the Motley Fool pretty much sums up how I feel about the federal government dipping its nose into my business: Bring Back Our Free Markets.
As I’ve gotten older (and coincidentally earned more), I’ve become more fiscally conservative. My social views are completely independent of my fiscal views. The thing the two have in common is that less government is a good thing. Government’s job is to ensure defense of the people, ensure rights are protected and to provide infrastructure. These come in the form of the military, the courts and public roads and utilities. After that the free markets forces rule.
That’s not to say I’m completely against government regulation. Some regulation is required but within reasonable limits. One area that was somewhat deregulated with disastrous results was allowing banks to leverage themselves and get in over their heads. I think regulation is such areas keep a check on the human nature of greed. Just because I believe in free markets doesn’t mean I believe that people who run business should run wonton over their customers and clients.
In the current bailout plan, the government is delaying the inevitable. GM and Citigroup should be allowed to fail and reorganize under bankruptcy laws. It will be one giant suppository for the economy but it will eventually lead to a better system. There is no sense in propping up failing businesses. GM has been a black hole for years and throwing money down that black hole will not help. Time to let the patient die.
How will this all shake out is still a big question. Despite all the gloom and doom the American economy will emerge from this mess.
No one knows the answer to the $64,000 question: When will the economy bottom out and start rising? The answers, according to self appointed experts and the lot, run all over the place. The predictions run from the end of the year to decades. My guess? Some where in between. In other words, I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We just keep on, to use John Mauldin’s term, muddling through.
Speaking of Mauldin, the article Reality Bites by Michael Lewitt comes via Mauldin’s “Outside the Box” newsletter. It paints a bleak picture. In my opinion, it probably is the most realistic scenario playing out. Then again, what do I know?
All I know is I will continue to invest my money in what I believe are companies that are wrongly undervalued and that will rebound in the long term. My time horizon for my personal portfolio is nil. I’m not counting on it for my retirement. It’s something I do with a little bit of my income. I hope to earn money on my investments but I won’t be devastated if I lose it.
That’s it for now. I’d like to update my blog more often but I’m balls to the wall at work and trying to move. It’s a bitch. I can start moving on March 21st but I don’t have to be out of my current place until the end of the month. I’ve started packing now so the end of the month won’t sneak up on me. Now if I can just get away from work long enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
