Piracy FAIL

[unixronin]

More on those Somalian pirates:

After sticky negotiations, which several people involved likened to bazaar-style haggling, a deal seemed to be close in which the pirates would be paid millions of dollars and the ship would be freed.

The pirates on the Ukrainian ship have said that after the money is paid — in American dollars and preferably in $100 bills, they will release the ship, its cargo and the 20 sailors on board.

From an initial demand of $35 million down to $8 million, and they stipulate US dollars.  SMART pirates would have demanded their ransom in a currency that isn't tanking....

(Still, I suppose it's better than the Zimbabwean dollar, currently inflating at 231 million percent.  No, that wasn't a typo.  The Zimbabwean dollar was revalued 1000:1 on August 1 2006, then again by ten billion to one on August 1 2008.  Prior to that second revaluation, a single egg cost 50 billion ZWD, and the ATM withdrawal limit was 100 billion.  From 2000-2002, the Zimbabwean dollar — now referred to as the "first dollar" — traded for about 55 to the US dollar; two revaluations later, one US dollar would now buy roughly 2x10¹⁹ Zimbabwean "first dollars", or two billion "third dollars".)

Comments

[smandal.livejournal.com]

I imagine US dollars are still easier to fence/launder than Euros, but that may change in the near future.