[Skybird]

I am quite brutal in hostage issues. I never accept to pay for hostages' release. It is like getting killed in any form of accident - it is brutal, too, but it happens. Let people know about areas and endavours that are risky to their security - reeders could avoid such waters and add the additonal costs to their prices, or they pay higher wages to crew willing to accept the risk, or they could enage oprivate combat power. So, the market here would regulate it. Regarding porivate travels, if people want to do holiday in countgries that are rated as danegeorus by their goivernments, doing so should free the government from needing to take care of rescuing efforts in case travelers ignored the warnings against better knoweldge and advise.

People are free - free to be stupoid, too, and free to take risks. If they chose to do that, I see no moral or legal obligation to necessarily come to their rescue.

If accidents and mishaps take place without people inviting risks or ignroing warnings - that then should be something different for their government, it should act.

But paying ransoms and make compromising deals with criminals? Never. Totally unacceptable. It'S a trategdy for the single case beign actual. But in the long run, it prevents more tragedies from happening. Paying and letting them escape just encourages and strengthens crime.

Priority is the arrest or killing of the criminal/attacker. No payment. No escape.