Anyone catch this?

 

http://www.bloomberg...ter-moment.html

 

 

What a rag article

 

Reckless gun use at sea could put the whole industry at risk of reputational damage, said Stephen Askins, a partner at the London-based law firm Ince & Co., who has negotiated with Somali pirates for the release of hostages.

 

No conflict of interest here [/sarcasm off]

 

Daren Knight, a maritime security consultant and former U.K. Royal Marines commando who leads on-board security teams and who viewed the video after hearing about it from a colleague, also concluded that the armed guards hadn’t fired warning shots, turning their weapons immediately on the skiff with the gunfire appearing to quickly spiral out of control.

 

‘Just Not Acceptable’

 

“The rate of fire that went down was just not acceptable at all,” said Knight, who is based in Dublin. “All force has to be proportionate, that’s the rules for the use of force.”

“I look at that video in horror,” said Chris South, deputy director at West of England Insurance Services, a protection and indemnity club that protects ship owners against marine risks. South said the guards appear to use excessive force.

 

“I don’t necessarily think they were acting with a graduated, proportional, necessary response.”

 

One risk is that armed guards inadvertently kill fishermen, said John Boreman, marine director for the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), the industry’s biggest trade group. He cited the killing of two Indian fishermen in February, allegedly by Italian soldiers detached to the Enrica Lexie tanker, as well as the difficulty in distinguishing between fishermen and pirate boats.

 

Spotting a gun on an approaching boat doesn’t guarantee that those aboard are pirates, he said.

 

Yeah fishermen always come at a commercial vessel at high speed

 

But as you read through lost in middle is this little tidbit

 

No ship with armed guards aboard has been hijacked by Somali pirates, according to Peter Cook, chairman of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, a group that has created an accreditation system for private guard companies. And the proportion of attacks that lead to hijackings has plummeted.

 

I can't wait for Bloomberg to fade away into his little daydream world.

With billions at his disposal, I doubt that will happen. He will use his money and influence to keep lashing out at freedom as he sinks into decrepitude. Lautenberg can be his role model.