Trust me, if the masters of the actual East India Co. could have employed ghost ships from hell to guard their opium-laden merchantmen against pirate attacks while en route from India to Hong Kong, they would have done so gladly.

Now imagine those ships are stocked with your favorite beer...

Seriously, as someone whose childhood was destroyed by alcoholics, I am so bored by alcohol users who take dramatic poses like this against other addictive drugs.

Do they ever stop to think about the role their drug of choice has played in the world at all, when they get up on their high moral horses like this?

And how much of the world do they have to lock up in dirty steel cages before they begin to sense their own cruelty and hypocrisy at work?

The movie is fun - there's no denying it, but the movie does glorifies pirates. But they are not people you want to marry your daughter or invite home for drinks.

Piracy is very scary and going on right now. They steal the cargo, murder the crew, and sell the boat to the highest bidder. It is not friendly business, and ship owners are reluctant to either report or directly address piracy for several reasons. The result is that only 10% are reported. Maybe you noticed this little news item tucked in the corner of our media: "A cargo ship carrying food for poor Somalis refused to leave Kenya yesterday because of rampant piracy.."

Google "shipping piracy" if you want to check out a world we don't hear much about.

Have not seen Carib Pirates 3 yet...very likely will at some point due to family members giving DVD's for Xmas gifts. I now have both Pirates 1 and 2 due to Xmas family gift giving. It is a truly remarkable Disney movie franchise considering how dubious the premise of being based on a theme park attraction was originally viewed to be. It has all the feel of becoming another Star Wars saga--that franchise was equally viewed dimly when it first appeared as being another "space opera" or Saturday Matinee fare.We all know now of course that initial viewpoint was as wrong as the design plans/close-in defenses for the DeathStar evidently tended to be. Looks like Disney has found another mouse... :-)

As A.Leonard touches on a bit of East India Company history here is some more. For those who tour around the planet I suggest visiting Singapore at some point during your travels. It is indeed a hybrid of many cultures and historical circumstances-- economic,political,religous and martial. This is a very old part of the world in the sense that the patterns of trade and cultural threadweave found in Singapore go way back into the mists of time.

From 'SINGAPORE ARCHITECTURE',an architecturally focused book authored by ROBERT POWELL comes this partial capsule of Singaporean history...

The origins of Singapore are clouded in myth and conjecture.It may have been the 2nd century 'Sabara' of Ptolemy's Golden Khersonese or the 'P'u Luo Chung' (island at the end of the peninsula) referred to by K'ang T'ai, a Chinese explorer in 231AD. Arab sailors mention the port of Ma'it, which existed in the 9th Century, and the Venetian traveller Marco Polo wrote of the settlement of Chiamassie. Both may have been referring to Singapore.Less circumstantial evidence suggests that a settlement of Temasek(Singapura in Sanskrit) came into existence in the 13th Century. According to Malay annals(Sejarah Melayu)Raja Chulan,a South Indian King,married a local princess,and their son Sang Nila Utama(who took the title Sri Tri Buana) became ruler of the Indianised Sri Vijaya Empire,based in Sumatra. In 1297 or 1299 Sri Tri Buana landed on the island and gave it the name Singapura(Lion City).

In 1390 Iskander,also known as Parameswara,a Sailendra Prince of Palembang,renounced his allegiance to Majapahit and arrived in Singapura. In due course he orchestrated the assassination of the local chief who owned loyalty to Siam, but in fear of retribution from the rising state of Ayuthaya he decamped to Malacca in 1402-1403. Some sources say he was driven out by the Raja of Pahang. With his departure,the settlement of Singapura went into a steady decline and became a refuge for pirates. In 1613 the Portuguese reportedly burned down a Malay outpost at the mouth of the river.Thereafer little is known of the island but Captain Alexander Hamilton referred to it in an account of a voyage from England to China via Johore in 1703.

The island eventually became part of the Johore sultanate, and in the early years of the 19th Century a kampong was re-established on the former site of Singapura by Temanggong Abdul Rahman,who was beholden to his elder brother Sultan Hussein Mahomed Shah,Sultan of Johore.

An English East India Company flotilla of eight ships,commanded by Sir Stamford Raffles,dropped anchor off St.John's Island at the mouth of the Singapore River on 28th January 1819.

Excerpts from 'SINGAPORE ARCHITECTURE'---A SHORT HISTORY' authored by ROBERT POWELL--2004/Periplus Editions(HK)Ltd.

From 1819 onwards the British would continue to expand their presence in Singapore and by the 1870's it was firmly established as a part of the British Empire out of India. As the 19th Century unfolded China would be besieged by the British which led to HongKong becoming a British Crown Colony. Singapore of course would chart a course that eventually leads to the Japanese invading Singapore in late 1941 just after the Imperial Japanese Navy attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war the British returned to govern Singapore but the epoch of British Empire was in its' sunset years. In 1959 Singapore became self-governing and in 1965 became an independent nation.

Arab,Indian,Chinese,Malay,Javanese,Spanish,Portuguese,British blends of culture,cuisine,relgious belief,trade,politics and martial affairs have passed through Singapore. It is an interesting travel destination while in South Asia. While in Singapore seek out the Asian Civilisations Museum where the vibrant tapestry of history in this part of the world is well exhibited.

Finally then...Sir Stamford Raffles---he of the East India Company---his last name today is world famous as it came to be used for the well known,world famed Singapore hotel---'Raffles Hotel'---a name branded nowdays also for high end luxury goods and services signature. That East India Company had reach---to the ends of the Far East and beyond it would seem. :-)