(In the above video, Capt. Richard Phillips was interviewed by Matt Lauer yesterday about his capture by Somalian pirates.)

My father was in the Merchant Marines in WWII. He won a medal almost 50 years later and that is something he's very proud of. Capt. Phillips makes sure to give big props to all the union members. This is via a press release form the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:

I want to thank the management of Maersk and Waterman Steamship Corp. who handled the situation, the crew and our families with great care and concern. And equally important, I want to publicly commend all the officers and crew aboard the Maersk Alabama who responded with their typical professionalism in response to this incident.

The Licensed Deck Officers who are members of the Masters, Mates & Pilots Union, the Licensed Deck Officer and Licensed Engineers who are members of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, and the unlicensed crew who belong to the Seafarers International Union are dedicated merchant mariners, typical of America’s merchant seamen who are well-trained and who are ready and able to respond when necessary to protect the interests of our country. I am honored to come before this Committee today to discuss my views on making commercial shipping safer, and worldwide sea lanes more secure from the threat of piracy

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When you listen to the Fox freak shows, all you hear is union bashing. So that may explain why Phillips hasn't appeared on Fox yet ...

So, how well-liked do you think Rush Limbaugh is? Shane Murphy, who was kidnapped by the Somalian Pirates, isn't one of his fans:

Shane Murphy, the second-in-command aboard the American merchant ship seized by pirates, lashed out at Rush Limbaugh for the talk show host's racial characterization in discussing the rescue of the ship's captain by the Navy.

Murphy, who returned to his Seekonk, Mass., home Friday, called Limbaugh a purveyor of "hate speech."

In commenting on the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips by the Navy Seals who shot and killed the three Somali pirates who were holding him captive, Limbaugh generated controversy when he called the pirates "black teenagers."

"There you have it, three teenagers shot on the high seas at the order of President Obama," said Limbaugh according to a transcript of an April 14 broadcast on his Web site.

"Just imagine the hue and cry had a Republican president ordered the shooting of black teenagers on the high seas," Limbaugh said.

Murphy said Limbaugh's remarks were unacceptable.

"It feels great to be home," Murphy said. "With the exception of Rush Limbaugh who is trying to make this into a race issue. It's disgusting."

"The president did the right thing. It's a war. It's about good versus evil. And what you (Limbaugh) said is evil, that is hate speech. I won't tolerate it," Murphy said.

Good for Shane, because what Limbaugh said was disgusting. But then, that's what we long ago learned to expect from RushBo.

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As Susie noted The Independent covered the toxic dumping and illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia and she asked which corporate media outlet would point out the big picture in this story. I'm still waiting for that to happen but as usual, Amy Goodman is doing the job the corporate media refuses to.

From Democracy Now:

President Obama vowed an international crackdown to halt piracy off the coast of Somalia Monday soon after the freeing of US cargo ship captain Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage by Somali pirates since last Wednesday. While the pirates story has dominated the corporate media, there has been little to no discussion of the root causes driving piracy. We speak with consultant and analyst Mohamed Abshir Waldo. In January, he wrote a paper titled “The Two Piracies in Somalia: Why the World Ignores the Other?”

Transcript below the fold.

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April 13, 2009 MSNBC