Breakfast Granola for 4/13/9

First, congratulations to the FULL crew of MV Maersk Alabama. Second, thanks to "Dear Leader" for passing the order to make it happen (moreover to the SEALs who cleaned up, of course). Third and last, I'm hoping that Dear Leader isn't just jawsing...

President Barack Obama said the United States was resolved to end piracy off the shores of Somalia and welcomed the rescue of cargo ship captain Richard Phillips on Sunday.

I won't be holding my breath for other countries to weep over "American cowboy unilateralism." This piracy IS terrorism, and unless you count paying "tribute," it's only been us and the French, who I won't be able to make fun of for at least a week due to their recovery of the Tanit...

Let's read that again: the U.S. and the French have now done more than the bulk of the world on this issue, but since it's probably been hitting everyone in the pocketbook with elevated ubiquity, they suddenly won't care that we're doing their dirtywork.

Today's trivia: The first USN vessel on the scene of the Maersk Alabama hijacking, USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), is named for Commodore William Bainbridge, who fucked up vs. the Barbary pirates, not once but twice, then helped get Commodore Stephen Decatur, the guy who saved him and finished his job against the pirates, killed in a duel. Let's hope this makes up for things.