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humano Probably because it seems like we'd like to believe we live in a "civilized, modern" world. But it would be an effective deterrant.
Abbreviated Pundit Round-Up
Daily Kos —
... that officials in Washington have ignored the crucial role of job creation as the cornerstone of a thriving economy is beyond mind-boggling. It’s impossible to understand. Impossible, that is, until you realize that bandits don’t waste time repairing a building that they’re looting. Eugene Robinson says that the country has two economic captains; one who can give orders, but won't, and the other who wants to, but can't. Bret Stephens wants to return to the days of yore, and hang pirates. No mention of walking the ...
Actual Headline
Shakesville —
Why Don't We Hang Pirates Anymore? The Wall Street Journal: Now that the economic nooz is so depressing, we're just gonna talk about hanging pirates. Arr, matey. Tomorrow: Should Paulson be made to walk the plank?
Slow Posting
Transterrestrial Musings —
... (still have two functional ones). They were dilated in the process, so it will be a while before I spend much time on the computer. Meanwhile, here's an interesting discussion on arming ships against pirates in modern times. We seem to have managed to deal with this a lot better in the past. I think that we should bring back letters of marque, for not just pirates, but lawless terrorists in general.
[Early afternoon update]
A related question: why don't we hang pirates any more?
...the number of attacks keeps rising. ...
Pirates Have a Friend in Virginia
Weekly Standard Blog —
... a return of Islamist rule in Somalia for the measure of stability it would bring -- even if that stability allowed the state to become a safe-haven for al Qaeda affiliated terrorists. There are others who think we should embrace the pirates as the "secular, liberal capitalists of Somalia," who might serve as a bulwark against what now seems to be the inevitable return of Islamist rule.
Must we accept a choice between pirates and terrorists? Shouldn't we be for killing them all?
"Why Don't We Hang Pirates Anymore?"
The Volokh Conspiracy —
Piracy appears to be on the rise in the Indian Ocean. Is it because international law and individual nations are too light on pirates? Bret Stephens thinks so . By the 18th century, pirates knew exactly where they stood in relation to the law. A legal dictionary of the day spelled it out: "A piracy attempted on the Ocean, if the Pirates are overcome, the Takers may immediately inflict a Punishment by hanging them up at the Main-yard End; though this is understood where no legal judgment may be obtained." Severe as the penalty may now seem (albeit necessary, since captured ...
McCarthy: Pirates Test the Rule of Law
Articles on National Review Online —
... commander-in-chief, concentrating in the presidency all the power the nation could muster to preserve itself by repelling evil. It did not regard evil as having a point of view, much less a right to counsel. That s not our position anymore. The scourge of piracy was virtually wiped out in 19th century because its practitioners were regarded as barbarians enemies of the human race ( hostis humani generis , as Bret Stephens recently reminded us in a brilliant Wall Street Journal essay ). They derived no comfort from the rule of law, for it was not a mark of civilization to ...
