One of the running conversations I've been having at work involves the reemergence of Piracy off the coast of Somalia. These pirates have hijacked a number of ships, including a Saudi tanker with over $100 million of oil on it. The recent cultural obsession with Pirates has caused many in the media to joke about these guys. The truth is, while I'll admit I chuckled when I first heard about the Somali Pirates maybe a month or so ago, the more I've read about them, the less funny it becomes. The shipping industry is now avoiding the Somali coast, and the Gulf of Aden, in order to avoid engaging the Pirates. As I'm sure most of you are no doubt aware, Somalia is a desperately impoverished nation. As the helpful video in the Yglesias post I linked to above points out, the food aid that comes into Somalia, does so largely from the sea. These selfish Pirates could jeopardize the livelyhood of hundreds of thousands of people. This is no laughing matter. Some form of action really needs to be considered, I hope the international community concurs.
