In chaotic Somalia, economic stimulus packages come in the form of pirate booty. The country's weak central government cannot stop rogue seamen from hijacking huge commercial ships and demanding millions of dollars in ransom. Right now, these pirates are asking for a record $10 million in exchange for a Saudi oil tanker carrying over $100 million worth of cargo.
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Warships from 10 countries are joining together to take on some of the world's most dangerous, and successful, pirates. (Can you say "arrrrrrrr" in 10 languages?) Not even the presence of US military vessels is enough to prevent these hijackers from seizing commerce ships, grabbing booting, and demanding ransoms.
Since 250 international ships use the pirate-infested waters to move goods each day, the world's trading powers worry that it could be too expensive to conduct business.
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Yesterday, pirates captured a Basque tuna fishing boat off the coast of Somalia. Four armed pirates used a grenade launcher to overtake the 26 crew members on the Spanish boat.
Last year, pirates seized 25 ships off the Somalian coast.
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Argh ye mateys! These pirate cupcakes may look tough, but I'm sure they've got soft tasty centers! — Flickr via Cupcakes Take the Cake
Kids have long loved pirate style, but ever since Johnny Depp took on the role of Captain Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean, kids have taken to calling each other, "Matey", are drawing treasure maps and unearthing golden jewels. If you don't want your swashbuckler to have to walk the plank at the playground, stock up on the stuff that lines the shelves of the toy stores that want in on the action. From plush dolls to watches and toiletry bags to bath tub toys, anything and everything has become pirates booty.
We all had those beloved "make-believe" games we played as children. Jack did too. But he played them better.
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