The jolly life of a pirate ring

With a reported nine commercial ships hijacked over the past 12 days - including a spectacular strike on a Saudi Arabian oil supertanker - the world has become captivated by pirates. Specifically, a loose band of some 1,500 freebooters drawn from Somalia’s ranks of unemployed fishermen and hardscrabble Islamic militias by the lure of easy money and, one can only assume, a life of high adventure. (More)