How many lies in the Captain Phillips movie?

[Scottishhh]

So, captain Phillips, the movie!!!, has grossed over $70 million USD so far. I'm a sailor, and I've seen it. It is a great movie, made entertaining by Tom Hanks. Great, great actor.

 

I just thought I engage in some confirmation bias, and propaganda bashing.

 

In real life, the peak of piracy kidnapping in Somalia was around 2008, with over 1000 sailors kidnapped that year. The Maersk Alabama was hijacked in 2009.

 

I was the there a few days before on a passenger ship, and I can tell you that there was a lot of activity. And it is almost impossible to identify a pirate until he starts shooting at you, since all of the local fisherman are armed for self defence as well.

 

There has been some controversey in the New York Post regarding the competency of the real life captain Phillips. As a mariner I'd just like to point out two things, which may be of interest to those of you who know a bit about the Admiralty Law Vs Common Law, Straw Man trickery dating back to the great fire of London.

 

Firstly, sea captains are not Captains. Their proper legal title is 'Master'. The contract between a ships crew is literally a 'Master', slave relationship.

Secondly, the 'Master' is the shipowners representative on board, however since the East India Company days, almost all ships are individually owned by dummy corporations, LLCs.

 

So, somali piracy was caused by governments, destroying somali fishing grounds etc, and governments are responsible for the violence in somalia. Merchant Vessels are heavily regulated by the state and the UN, and have been disarmed decades ago by states, who wish their Naval Boarding parties safe access to board ships for 'customs checks', etc. Easy.

 

The movie however, is a sneakily quiet bit of propaganda.

And as Stefan Molyneux has often pointed out, 'when a problem is close to being solved by the free market elements, the state is always there to take credit.'.

 

After 2009, the International Association of Classification Societies capitalised on raised public awareness of the Somali problem for seafarers. Vessels transitting the horn of africa were allowed to start employing private security firms whilst transitting the Horn of Africa.

 

Self Defence from a ship is very easy if you have a few assault rifles, etc. One ship I was on employed 4 Israeli guys, to protect a 700ft passenger ship, with 1000 people on board. This has now become common practice.

 

A little self defence goes a long way. from over 1000 sailors kidnapped per year in 2008 / 2009, there have been NO HiJackings in 2013. ZERO! There are still 250 people and 8 vessels held captive right now in Somalia, according to the ONI weekly bulletin.

 

Allowing self defence again, and letting private firms find the optimal solution, have completely solved the problem in a matter of a couple of years.

 

So cue the Propaganda to justify the massive Naval presence in the Middle East, Africa & Indian Ocean.

 

So, time the release of the Captain Phillips movie, which presents the military as the all powerful defender of freedom, to coincide with the end of the problem.

Here is a video that will make your skin crawl.

 

Overview%20Piracy%20Incidents%20CN%2030%20Apr%2013.pdf

[Cornellius]

So, somali piracy was caused by governments, destroying somali fishing grounds etc, and governments are responsible for the violence in somalia. Merchant Vessels are heavily regulated by the state and the UN, and have been disarmed decades ago by states, who wish their Naval Boarding parties safe access to board ships for 'customs checks', etc. Easy.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Captain Phillips is a statist propaganda flick.

[wdiaz03]

It always intrigued me how a group of pirates can board a tanker and hold it hostage. Wouldn't a pair of M134 miniguns solve the problem? You woulnd't need to buy the guns, it'll be a rental service. You are going in the area, you stop by a port get the guns mounted on each side and go on your way, on the other side of of the hot zone you get the guns removed and they get fitted to a ship travelling the other way.

Problem solved.

http://www.dillonaero.com/videos.html

[Cornellius]

It always intrigued me how a group of pirates can board a tanker and hold it hostage. Wouldn't a pair of M134 miniguns solve the problem? You woulnd't need to won the guns, it'll be a rental service. You are going in the area, you stop by a port get the guns mounted on each side and go on your way, on the other side of of the hot zone you get the guns removed and they get fitted to a ship travelling the other way.

Problem solved.

http://www.dillonaero.com/videos.html

 

Too right. It's alarming to see, that people actually fall for the story that Somali pirates are a threat. I mean for god sakes. They have documentaries on tv about those next-gen navy destroyers with the fancy little precision turret on the front deck that are deadly to specifically small boats, and then we're supposed to believe that you can't even get the Captain of a freighter a pistol! XD Fire hoses? What?! Isn't that just absurd?! Oh my god! And we DO fall for that!

 

Come to think of it, Captain Phillips is also pro-gun control propaganda. You have the Dubai traffic control lady from the us military or whatever telling Captain Phillips to have his fire hoses ready before help arrives in the form of a tremendous military operation. "It"s mommy here. Yeah dear son, prepawe your little fire hoses while daddy arrives to beat the crap out of the bad bad kid with the plastic boat." Whoa. Don't tell me this is also feminist propaganda.

[Scottishhh]

Yes. Piracy is no threat to a naval vessel.

 

Merchant Vessels are entirely regulated by the UN, and have been disarmed. We are not allowed to carry guns, and therefore have no right of self defence against those with guns.

 

This is because 'Nation States' make the rules at the UN, & IMO (UN agency called International Maritime Organisation).

They are the ones who legitemise state claims of ownership over the seabed & continental shelf, entirely so that they can tax anyone who decides to generate wealth from the un-owned wilderness of the sea.

And, merchant vessels being armed would certainly interfere with tax collecton and boarding.

 

The state hates competition.

[Stefan Molyneux]

Thank you so much, it's fascinating info, do you think that the movie is worth a review on this show?

[Wesley]

From the Wiki

 

Reception Box office

As of October 27, 2013, Captain Phillips has grossed $70,074,000 in North America, and $26,700,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $96,774,000.^[2]

Critical reception

Captain Phillips premiered on September 28, 2013, opening the 2013 New York Film Festival. The film was praised for its direction, screenplay, production values, cinematography, and the performances of Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi.^[18][19][20]

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval critic response based on 203 reviews, with a "Certified Fresh" and an average score of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Smart, powerfully acted, and incredibly intense, Captain Phillips offers filmgoers a Hollywood biopic done right—and offers Tom Hanks a showcase for yet another brilliant performance."^[21]Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 83 based on 48 reviews of a "Universal Acclaim".^[22]

 

Controversies

In a New York Post article, crew members of Phillips accused the film of being grossly inaccurate in facts and the portrayal of Phillips. They claim that he had a bad reputation for twelve years prior to the hijacking for being sullen, arrogant, and self-righteous. Eleven crew members have sued the Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line for nearly $50 million alleging "willful, wanton and conscious disregard for their safety" by Phillips. The article states that Phillips received seven e-mails about the increasing threat of piracy near Somalia, but Phillips ignored all the warnings and kept them from his crew. A crew member was also tasked with recording all of the hijackings in the region, however when it was shown to Phillips, he also ignored that and continued off-course through the region with several hijackings. "The crew had begged Captain Phillips not to go so close to the Somali coast," said Deborah Waters, the attorney who is representing the 11 crew members. The article also states that there were two hijackings during an 18 hour period, as opposed to the one shown in the film. The crew was off-route and performing a lifeboat drill when they noticed the pirates approaching the Maersk Alabama. When Phillips was informed of this, he ordered the crew to complete the drill instead of taking pirate defense stations as one crew member quotes: "And he goes, 'Oh, no, no, no—you’ve got to do the lifeboats drill.' This is how screwed up he is. These are drills we need to do once a year. Two boats with pirates and he doesn't give a s- -t. That’s the kind of guy he is."^[23]

At 7 a.m., four armed Somali pirates took Phillips and three other crew members hostage while Chief Engineer Mike Perry led the rest of the crew downstairs to secure them and capture the lead pirate to use as a bargaining chip for the captured crew. Perry and another engineer told CNN that they believed Phillips had a desire to be taken hostage. One crew member believed that Phillips had a death wish, suggesting that "because he went through that area, and the company is sending him e-mails, and I know he saw that chart [of prior attacks] 50 times." Waters was quoted saying "It is galling for them to see Captain Phillips set up as a hero, it is just horrendous, and they're angry."^[24]

In a CNN interview with Mike Perry, the Chief Engineer of the Maersk Alabama, he claimed the film does not tell the true story. He asserted that it was Phillips' recklessness that put the ship in pirate-patrolled waters. Another Maersk Engineer, John Cronan, also stated that Phillips ignored warnings and set a course through the waters to shorten their trip to save money.^[25]

It has been alleged that Captain Phillips was known for ignoring Maersk company guidelines and sailing the Alabama only three hundred miles off the coast of Somalia instead of the six hundred miles that policy dictated.^[26]

It seems that the reception is good and the movie did really well, but that there are a lot of inaccuracies in the movie.

 

I am not particularly interested as I do not want to see the movie, however if it was popular enough then it may warrant a review and it would be pretty easy to rip apart.

[Cornellius]

That'd be great Stef Your call!

[wdiaz03]

Would hate to spend money on propaganda...I think this one calls for bittorrent

[Livemike]

It always intrigued me how a group of pirates can board a tanker and hold it hostage. Wouldn't a pair of M134 miniguns solve the problem? You woulnd't need to buy the guns, it'll be a rental service. You are going in the area, you stop by a port get the guns mounted on each side and go on your way, on the other side of of the hot zone you get the guns removed and they get fitted to a ship travelling the other way.

Problem solved.

http://www.dillonaero.com/videos.html

 

Miniguns?  To fend off pirates that have, at best RPGs?  No way you need that much.  Bear in mind that they have to climb up what is effectively a castle wall.  All you need is a few shotguns, and rifles plus some fortified postions (weight doesn't matter so just weld enough standard grade steel around where you want to fight from).  As long as you have a place you can safely fire on them while they are climbing you can take them out easily.  

 

Remember you're dealing with predators and the number one rule for a predator is "Strong prey are no more nutritious than weak prey, and they get you killed or crippled much more.".   

[wdiaz03]

Miniguns?  To fend off pirates that have, at best RPGs?  No way you need that much.  Bear in mind that they have to climb up what is effectively a castle wall.  All you need is a few shotguns, and rifles plus some fortified postions (weight doesn't matter so just weld enough standard grade steel around where you want to fight from).  As long as you have a place you can safely fire on them while they are climbing you can take them out easily.  

 

Remember you're dealing with predators and the number one rule for a predator is "Strong prey are no more nutritious than weak prey, and they get you killed or crippled much more.".   

 

Well, I wanted to send a clear message. I would not want a pissed pirate a few feet from the hull with an RPG in hand. So the miniguns would be my preferred method. Establish a perimeter of say 500+ meters around the ship...any vessel crossing this line gets a warning burst. At 4000 rounds per minute, it only takes few seconds to deliver a couple hundred rounds....Once the pirates see this white wall of water in front of them they will quickly turn around. or be turned into swiss cheese. 

 

Instead we get this:

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/britney-spears-songs-leave-somali-pirates-saying-arrr-174010868.html