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Penn State International Law Review

First Paragraph

"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."' It is doubtful that Mark Twain would have such an impression of the exciting life of a pirate if he actually knew what a modem Somali pirate's life is like. Somalia has been described as a "black hole in the international community, divorced from the world economy, regional and global institutions, and the rule of law." United States President Barack Obama has stated that "[t]he poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow." In essence, Somalia is not the place of fairy tale "yo-ho-ho" pirates that the world believes it to be. Mark Twain would be sorely disappointed.

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