Somali pirates

[Friday]

If anyone is looking for something interesting to read, this is a really well-done article about the hijacking of a "French" (the article explains why I put that in quotes) luxury yacht by Somali pirates.  I'm not familiar with the guy who wrote it, William Langewiesche, but I suspect he may have libertarian tendencies.  It talks about how shipowners use the laws of the sea to their advantage, how there can be freedom in lawlessness, and how poor, hungry Third Worlders aren't necessarily disorganized or naive.  A handful of scruffy guys with kalashnikovs made a mockery of the entire military might of the nation-state of France.  When it was all said and done, the hijackees saved themselves via successful negotiation with the pirates and knowing when to cut their losses.  They haven't been intimidated out of continuing to sail by Somalia, but now they take extra measures to protect themselves.  Overall, the article points out how both sailors, business owners and pirates can get along just fine without any assistance from a nation-state.  And how the version of the news that makes it on TV can be laughably far from the truth. 

[I'd insert some pirate smileys here, but am having trouble pulling them up at the moment.    ]

The Pirate Latitudes