Some potential silver lining from global economic downturn and commodity price deflation - if the price of oil holds below $60/bbl for any significant length of time, Iran will go bankrupt.
The falling price of oil is producing another problem, national bankruptcy. The government admits that if the price of oil falls below $60 a barrel (which it has) and stays there (which it may, at least until the current recession is over), the nation will not be able to finance foreign trade (which is already having problems with increasingly effective U.S. moves to deny Iran access to the international banking system), or even the Iranian economy itself.
If this is the case, if Iran is truly on the brink of insolvency, then the idea (floated by Watchman earlier today) that one or more of the oil states might be encouraging Somali piracy as a way to increase the risk premium on oil suddenly becomes quite plausible.
HT: The Anchoress
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The Somali pirate activity shouldn’t be able to cause more than a blip in prices. If it is perceived that they are a serious threat to oil flow, they’ll be wiped out.
Not if nobody is willing to engage them, or only under the ridiculous legal doctrine that the Brits used.
So murdering Somali pirates might have to face “justice” from murdering Somali Sharia head-hackers, and this is anyone’s business but Somalia’s, why? Those British FO pukes are closing in on too stupid to breathe, and our own FOs and JAGs are not far behind.
No, the Brits have a glorious history, but that’s sadly all over.
OTOH, If a few thousand motley pirates were allowed, through our self paralysis, to swing the world economy like a cat, well we would deserve it as surely as that lady that lost $400,000 to the Nigerian scam got what she deserved.
It would be cause for laughter among all but the (many) victims of the stupidity.