Pirate stock exchange helps fund hijackings

This only works because the "gangs" are actually all members of the same tribe (Majeerteen.) If anyone else wanted to join in with capital, they wouldn't see a dime back.

Majeerteens are such pain the ass, they have civil war conflicts open in three fronts; they're fighting in the south for pan-Somali presidency seat while still maintaining their own sovereign entity in the North East as "Puntland". They're fighting the unrecognized Somaliland for territory. They're being paid by the U.S. to catch al-Qaeda and fight Islamists. And still, they're maintaining a successful business in piracy and smuggling, not to mention their own exports in livestock.

Only reason they haven't been cracked down on harder by the U.S. is that they're bonafide mercenaries and bounty hunters, chasing Islamist groups everywhere in Somalia.

(they never were fighters, btw; Somali lore is full of anti-Majeerteen poetry, calling them sissies. Every time the Somali tribes raided Ethiopia the Majeerteen were the first to roll and return the loot. They're making up for lost thievery.)

It's fascinating/ironic that the original joint-stock companies were formed for seagoing trade: The East India Company (of England, later of the United Kingdom), sometimes referred to as "John Company", was one of the most famous joint-stock companies. It was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intention of favouring trade privileges in India. The Royal Charter effectively gave the newly created Honourable East India Company (HEIC) a 21-year monopoly on all trade in the East Indies.

Soon afterwards, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

During the period of colonialism, the joint stock company Europeans, initially the British, trading with the Near East for goods, pepper and calico for example, enjoyed spreading the risk of trade over multiple sea voyages. The joint stock company became a more viable financial structure than previous guilds or state-regulated companies. The first joint-stock companies to be implemented in the Americas were The Virginia Company and The Plymouth Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_stock_company#Early_joint...

"I am waiting for my share after I contributed a rocket-propelled grenade for the operation," she said, adding that she got the weapon from her ex-husband in alimony. I am really happy and lucky. I have made $75,000 in only 38 days since I joined the 'company'."

So many questions from these two statements.

Quite a misleading title. From what i read, this is absolutely nothing like eBay. It's more like a stock exchange. It's a place where gangs of pirates can receive funding for their exploits from outside investors.

"Offline ebay for pirates" suggests to me an auction house to sell stolen wares, but this isn't what the article is about at all.

They are called "auctions" and have been around for hundreds of years before ebay or even the internet. Wikipedia should have more information on the concept.