I like the "dazzle" gun...if for nothing else it dazzles the pirates!

The world is getting more pathetic by the minute... every instance of people afraid to defend themselves is another step forward for the bad guys... they are not afraid to not be pansies.

I'm not advocating violence, but at the same token, if brought to violence, then a good defense would be to hold nothing back and eliminate the problem.

"They" should stop wasting all the millions of dollars in research for pansy technology and simply become a hard target with existing technology (such as bullets that don't cause tankers to blow up, simply to spring leaks). The pirates will go for easier prey and you'll have millions of dollars to spend on worthwhile technology, such as finally bringing Battletoads to the PC.

What the hell is with all this non-lethal crap?

Um. People are trying to take over your boat. Armed. Illegally.

Yea, I'm going to try to shoot them with a sound or laser that may or may not work.
(/sarcasm)

More of the remote battle ships is what we need.

Oh no, now the Japanese are gonna use all this stuff against the Sea Shepherd...

I guess an F35 strapped with AG missiles, chillin' on the ship's deck is out the question ha? lol

The reason this non-lethal stuff is growing is because you cant have guns on board your vessel in the ocean. Which is utter crap. If I had my own ship...I'd have secret compartments in it with various guns...those pirates would never set foot on my ship.

Or... they could assign escorts to the freighters and use more effective weapons.

~Mad Vulcan

But it is illegal to have guns onboard a ship. If you have guns, you might be a pirate, and piracy is illegal. So, you see, not allowing ships to arm themselves actually prevents piracy! the only answer is MORE GOVERNMENT. We need more power, Mr. Scott, or Dr. Rush, or Colonel Carter, or whoever.

If memory serves, the age of piracy was brought to an end by two different means. Nations commissioned formidable ships and hoards of men to man their cannons, in order to combat the threat of armed pirates we need real arms with which to fight them.
~Piracy stems from a perceived profit, if ships are well manned and protected...piracy becomes fruitless.

killing pirates or threatening to kill pirates won't help solve the root cause of the problem - why are these people so desperate that they risk their lives on the seas?

and btw, they don't just target oil tankers, they take whatever they can get. so you want every ship passing through that area to be heavily armed??

In times past, two solutions ended the age of pirates:

1 Shoot to kill and execution of the guilty.
2 Convoys for protection by armed naval vessels.

Present rules of engagement allow many captured pirates to be released rather than punished - bizarre but true. So change them to deny pirates comfort and solace.

I think the reason for the non lethal weapons is so that in the event that the ship gets captured the pirates will not be able to take the weapons and then use them to conduct more acts of piracy

Yes. The weapons. Deny the just any means of defense and you deny the unjust any means of offense. What beautiful symmetry. Sure, they may have superior force, but we maintain superior morality. Our belief system is superior to them and so we will prevail because the Universe is Just. I put a slightly used butterscotch hard candy in the collection plate. I hope they make good use of it. Next week, I plan on giving a slightly used cherry sour ball. Baaaaaa...

"Killing pirates or threatening to kill pirates won't help solve the root cause of the problem - why are these people so desperate that they risk their lives on the seas?"

As it stands there is little to no risk involved for these pirates, with the exception of the rescue of the Captain of the Maersk Alabama the worst that has happened to most of these pirates is that they get detained for a short while before getting released to go right back to pirating. Where's the risk? The way I see it the profit to risk ratio is very heavily in favor of profit like 100:1 or better. Now if we start sinking pirate ships and jailing or hanging the pirates and they still persist then we can talk root causes, until then we need to put some actual risk into being a pirate because paying ransoms and talking about root causes certainly isn't accomplishing anything.

Hold on there, Riceball... I think roffe is on to something. The root cause of piracy is the inherent evil of mankind. Think about it. Crime exists in all times and in all places where mankind exists. We only have to eliminate the root problem, which is human nature. So, you see, the fact of the existence of any terrestrial nation is the source of the people who view the world down the barrel of a weapon! Why, it all makes sense.

they should use the slippery-foam thing to make people standing on the top to slide down to the side, and also have the electric wiring installed so if a person slides down, instant death-row-electric-chair sort of thing lol.

I don't quite understand the shape of ships. most of them are flat on the deck, so you can't really slide. Also if you could i think that would elminiate the point of nonleathal weapons. Also just to point out, executing pirates would not really help, while it would lower their numbers, people would still pirate since there is no other significant way to make money in Somalia. Although i think a better solution to this would just be to station some Navy vessels in Somalia to escourt ships when they are nearby (not the entire trip, just in the pirate areas.) Granted we then have the problem of what to do with all the captives, if you kill them then the whiner Americans will protest, if you let them go, then they will just do the same (granted instead of the peaceful whiners, you get the whiners who wear flannel and carry rifles where they go.)

You misunderstand my stand on the issue. We must use the issue of piracy to take over more of the world's wealth and resources. Poverty is not an issue. Wealth is an issue. If it were only poverty, then the face of poverty in Bangladesh would have already launched a thousand ships. Meager means is no excuse for bad behavior. I must control all, and then I will punish with impunity all who do not conform to my commandments. for their own good, of course.

Whatever happened to good old fashioned decoys? Circumvent that pesky "No Guns On Ships" law by having the U.S. Navy send through decoy ships manned by Seals. A few of months of pirate crews going permanently missing should make things less inviting for the pirates. And here's a good object lesson for all you Gun Control Advocates - People denied the ability to protect themselves become targets. Might want to consider that next time Anti-Gun rights measures are up for vote. Don't believe the political hype! This piracy situation is a prime example of what you can expect if you let your government take away your means to protect yourself.

The solution is to give them no safe haven to return to. Bomb the shoreline villages they operate from. Peer pressure at work. When the so-called innocents that harbor them get fire bombed, they will not welcome them home. It will be more like: "Look what they did to us because of you!" The Viet Cong used this very successfully in Vietnam.

Why aren't pirates being tried for violating the "no guns on ships" laws?

The United States was not a signatory of the 1856 declaration of Paris banning the letter of marque. Congress, not the President, can issue letters of marque to private individuals or companies. Congressman Ron Paul has advocated the use of letters as a non-military reprisal against terrorist and pirates.

Slightofhand had the right idea of using Q-ships or commerce raiders. A wide variety of vessels from sailing ships to passenger liners have been used as 'bait' with some success.

I can not believe that these pirates or stone cold opportunistic serial killers are going to be greeted by non-leathal weapons. How pathetic.

I think a few mini-guns and a few armed drones would sink enough of them to warn the rest of the tribe off of a easy diet of transport ships.

Pirates are opportunistic and only exist where there is a power vacuum. Fill the vacuum with enough pirate bodies and they find new jobs. Quit paying ransom for crews and cargo. The lessons in history are very clear on how to deal with them. Death in battle or hanging is the way to deal with them.

Preserving civilization should be a major imperative of every government, alas it is not.

I like the old saying "fight fire with fire" so bullets for bullets. Its my Gods given right to defend myself. God said "an eye for an eye", so fire back at the CHICKEN @&*%#.