Yaaaaaaaaarg!

Pirates are in the news again. Of course it isn't the cool ones with the spiffy clothes, it's the Somalians with the assault rifles. It seems they've highjacked a chemical tanker with a North Korean crew. I'm not entirely sure why, but hey- why are there pirates in this day and age anyway? The reason is simple. These people don't have the technology to compete with the armed forsec that are trying to stop them, but they still have more guns than sense. It is easy to see the leap from I have nothing but the clothes on my back and this gun, to maybe I could take stuff from other people by attacking them with this gun?
These Somalian pirates don't have a whole lot to lose. The transitional government in Somalia has a somewhat tenuous grip on power simply can't afford to divert their atention to stopping these pirates. So who suffers most? Everyone else in the world. I think it is fairly easy to shrug off a major problem if it's just hurting others and not greatly affecting you. So who is filling the role of the protectors? The Un lead by U.S. again. Some shipping companies also employ mercenaries to protect their ships when sailing through troubled waters. What does this have to do with me? very little. I just think it's cool that piracy still exits in a way not involving music. It means that I might have the chance someday to meet a pirate. I hope I will be properly armed.