Pirates: b/w 1-2 million; Western society: 0

Salaam. Another coup for the good guys. Not as impressive as the Sirius Star, but these guys made more in two months of rougery than I will make in the next 20 years. Good on 'em. Towards the bottom of the story, you'll notice some impressive stats from our boys around the Horn:

"A maritime watchdog said Friday that pirates seized an unprecedented 49 ships and held nearly 900 crew members for ransom worldwide last year, mainly due to the surging number of attacks off Somalia's coast.

Seafarers suffered 293 attacks globally in 2008, up from 263 recorded in the previous year, the International Maritime Bureau said in a report from its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Somali pirates were responsible for 111 of the attacks, most of which struck the Gulf of Aden, the London-based bureau said. Those attacks, aimed at hijacking vessels for ransom, peaked between September and November.

Attacks off Somalia accounted for 42 of the hijackings and 815 of the crew abducted, the report said. Other hotspots for brigands include Nigeria with 40 attacks last year and Indonesia with 28."

All in all, a banner year for the Somalis. Now, the corsairs around Indonesia really need to pick up the slack; you know when Nigeria's beating you in anything (religious warfare, oil warfare, civil warfare, and now, sea warfare) you're game is in need of a change.

I'm proposing the first annual Summit of the Pirates, kinda like that scene from the awful third instalment of Pirates of the Caribbean, but without the stereotypical costumes or Keith Richards (or maybe Keith Richards, he's obviously welcome to stop by), where the farers of the high seas can get together to discuss torture tactics, ransom negotiation skills, and the latest additions to maritime navigation.

REAL PIRATES:

FAKE PIRATES: