Since we are hearing so much about the African Coast pirates these days it's probably appropriate to scan the subject a little deeper. Some years ago, when many of the ships passing through the China Sea had pirate problems, the various cities and ship owners quickly solved the problem. They hired a salty old pirate hunter who had a very fast craft and the latest cannons.
The present Somalian problem apparently arose when large fishing trawlers from many affluent countries stripped most of the fish from the Somali waters. Having no way to make a living any more, the fishermen got together and formed some unofficial Coast Guard units to take on the smugglers and Fishing usurpers. These clan-based alliances have had great success for several reasons that never get in the news.
First, the shippers consider the few million they paid out cheaper than what they would pay out in claims against any dead hostage problems. Second, they quickly implemented a surcharge on the containers passing by the dangerous areas.
The $20 or so per container they get adds up to $250,000,000 a load in many cases - and this easily covers their losses. Since the Somalian pirates have held back from killing hostages and minimized their abuses, it would seem the problem is not about to get resolved any time soon.
Since those who take the earnings of others are considered pirates according to Webster's, we have far more to fear from the many governments and Bernard Madoffs of the world. We now have thousands of bureaucrats and Wall Street pirates tearing our earnings to shreds at every turn.
It's easy to get sucked in by greed and the media propaganda. I fell for 18% interest paid out by an offshore bank a few years back. Jim Straw only got about ten grand to teach me a good lesson. What I learned was simple: Never let your nest egg get away from your own hand control. There are pirates in every field and dressed in every cloth. Many have on uniforms.
I'm reminded of the police in Punta Reynes, Costa Rica. Our valuables and shipboard gear just happened to get stolen after a brief shore stop. It seems the officials believed they could buy back our valuables for hefty pay-offs. No one who has much seaport savvy will enter most of the Latin ports due to all this usual corruption. It's the same all over much of the backwater areas of the world. Even the port and docking fees are getting outrageous. I saw "unplush" expatriates hanging out in Tahiti at one time. No more.
Officials and governments are getting hungrier, and changing the rules faster each year. The larger governments are a little more sophisticated in their assaults, but still act on behalf of the corporate pirates who rule our world. Their think-tanks recommended cutting down the populations a few decades ago, and now we are assaulted by poisoned food, water, and media propaganda.
We are told we can save the planet, and solve the global warming problem, by signing away further freedoms and following our corrupt leaders. Never mind that Al Gore can make billions as a middle-man for the carbon credit scams, or that Bill Gates owns most of the weather modification methods that will wind up being put in place if the scam works.
It should be obvious to all of us with any brain circuits still functioning, that the current Leaders and money systems are not working. History proves it.
The only logical solutions may just be to find an honorable Leader (or a God of ethics and honor) in person.