Another point of view on Somali pirates

AlterNet has cross-posted this article from the British newspaper The Independent, reporting that while many Somali pirates are indeed thugs, others are trying to prevent things like illegal fishing and the dumping of nuclear waste.

The Independent also reports that US snipers have killed three pirates who were holding a US sea captain hostage. The crew of the Maersk Alabama had repelled a pirate attack, but the retreating pirates had taken Captain Richard Phillips, who had offered himself as a hostage. Also, Somali insurgents fired mortars in the direction of US Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) as he was leaving from a visit to that troubled nation. Payne, who has been in the House since 1988, chairs the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.