Pirates

From the New York Times

"Pirates commandeered a United States-flagged container ship with 20 American crew members off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the first time an American-crewed ship was seized by pirates in the area.

The container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was carrying thousands of tons of relief aid to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, the company that owns the ship said."

Our President's response:
"The White House is closely monitoring the apparent hijacking of the U.S.-flagged ship in the Indian Ocean and assessing a course of action to resolve this situation."

Meanwhile, the Americans have apparently taken the ship back. I hope the crew "accidentally" executes all of them, because I fear the new administration will do the same thing they did in reaction to the North Koreans shooting a rocket over Japan:
"..................."

Number of ships hijacked under the 8 years of president Bush = 0
Number of ships hijacked under the first 100 days of president Obama = 1

Number of rockets launched by North Korea under the 8 years of Bush = 1 (it failed)
Number of rockets launched by North Korea under the first 100 days of Obama = 1 (it went over Japan)

Response of Bush to the N. Koreans = strong condemnation and sending anti-missile defenses to Japan.
Response of Obama to N. Koreans = "The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now is the time for a strong international response..."

EDIT.
So the captain sacrificed himself to save the crew. The pirates apparently tried to get away in a little motorboat that has run out of gas or broke down. The FBI has sent "hostage negotiators" to the region, as a U.S. Navy destroyer sits back and watches.