David's Musings

I promised myself I wasn't going to start a new blog until I got my blog-novel (Diary: Alone on Earth) published. I originally intended to go the self-publishing route. However, after investigating this some more, I decided I would go for broke. Either I get a traditional publisher to publish my story or, unfortunately, it just won't ever get published. But, I am far from giving up on that quest. I do have a couple of "feelers" at the moment concerning my story. Hopefully, something will turn up.

One thing I am always being asked by either literary agents or publishers is more examples of my work. Since Diary is my only real work, I decided to start writing again while continuing the fight to get my story published. The new blogs' name will be "David's Short Stories." If you have followed me here on this blog and on Diary, you will know that a "short story" will be a challenge for me. This time it will not focus on the supernatural. It will be mostly fictional stories again. But, there will be some stories that are true. I know they are true because they happened to me. But, for the most part, "David's Short Stories" will be fictional stories that are heart warming (at least to me), funny, ironic and, perhaps, stories of revenge. I'll make note here and on Diary: Alone on Earth that the blog is ready. Right now, I am considering doing it on WordPress since there already is a "David's Short Stories" on Blogger. Again, I'll let everyone know when it is ready.

To me, this is a no-brainer. In fact, I'm puzzled why it hasn't been used before to combat the Somali pirates operating off the coast of Somalia. There is some BS rule the UN has incorporated that inhibits the crew of these merchant ships from arming themselves from attack. I've always felt one of the basic "human rights" is the right to defend yourself. Apparently, that doesn't meet UN guidelines for human rights for some odd reason. Regardless, just yesterday [article link], the Somali pirates proved two things; one, they are going to continue these attacks until it cost them dearly. Two, they aren't very smart. Once again, the pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama which they attacked once before in April. It took a courageous effort by the U.S. Navy to rescue the captain of this ship from the pirates. Yesterday, armed guards on the Maersk Alabama used small arms and sound detractors. It worked and the ship was saved.

Now, some marine security experts are saying this is a major escalation of the war with the Somali pirates. They fear that the pirates will board the ship and continue firing if fired upon. I must disagree. The Somali pirates started the escalation by hijacking ships and demanding ransom. Furthermore, it is impossible to tell what the pirates will do if they are fired upon by well trained security guards. If enough are killed or captured, there will come a time when they decide this isn't worth dying over. Sure, it is a risk you take by having armed guards to protect the ship and crew. But, odds are that you will save that ship and crew by giving them the means to protect themselves.