Saturday, April 18, 2009

Pirates vs. Superpowers

Oo ar, me hearties. It's been a week of bad news for pirates. The US used its mighty power of might to rescue a captain being held hostage by Somalian pirates. Of course, it helps to have the former fishermen turned pirates on the end of a line, reeling them in slowly before bumping them off. They have irony in Somalia, don't they?

Meantime, reports behind what motivates a bunch of fishermen to become high seas ransom factories points west. Europe has been accused of disposing of atomic, bacterial and chemical waste in the Somalian waters using its super powers of Shitting in Other Peoples' Nests. Whatever non-mutant fishing stock is left has been greatly depleted by competing fishers. With no fish in the sea, who wants to become a millionaire bounty hunter? Sounds more glamorous than starvation.

The MPAA and friends, using their super powers of attorney, have managed to get the founders of Pirate Bay found guilty of assisting copyright infringement in Sweden. The four men have been sentenced to a year in jail and a NZ$6.2 million fine (MPAAetc were asking for $24.8 million). Even so, the Swedes are far from mashed. Never underestimate the power of parley (appeals).