Pirates

What are your thoughts about the latest pirate hype? I have mixed feelings. One thing I do not understand and where there is very little info: Where does all the ransom money go to? Does it feed back to the people of Somalia in one way or an other; and then, which people? Everybody is talking about the heroic adventures in the gulf of Aden, nobody explains what lies behind it. Who then is afraid to talk?
It is actually interesting to point out, that until now the people in their speedboats are being called pirates - and not terrorists. Why? The common approach had been always to stamp any agitation as terrorism that goes against the grain of imperialistic capitalism. Why now this sudden change of mind?
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update by Lindsay, a moderate and very knowledgeable person:

Somalia piracy arose after the invasion by Ethiopia (you will recall large-scale backing by the USA for Ethiopia to invade Somali as part of the so called war on terror) leaving the country in a perpetual state of anarchy without effective coastal patrol to quell the rising opportunistic overseas illegal fishing within its coastal waters.

Somali fishermen were able to obtain small-arms and portable rockets left over from the civil war and joined together to attack against these illegal fishing fleets.

Over time that purpose changed completely along with their growing sophistication in armory to finally represent the current piracy and ransom demands directed against ships operating in the nearby busy shipping routes.

Not much is known about the money trail except it would have to be supported by bankers - probably in Africa and Europe.

I doubt if much money materially goes back to the Samalian peoples although presumably the pirates will want to keep various groups ‘on side’ so to speak. But there are reports that most of the money goes back into re equipping the “Mother ships’ which guide the speedboats. - Recent reports estimate refurbishments of over $ 300 Million.