Three pirates killed, U.S. captain tastes freedom, yo ho!

As you know by now, Navy SEALs cut down three seafaring rogues who kidnapped a U.S. freighter captain, ending a five-day standoff along the Somali coast between pirates and America's armed forces. Reports say the snipers busted just three caps.

I'm a pirate lore fan and found a way to explore the fascinating bygone era of anarchist seafaring societies thanks to a dearly departed East Bay pirate wares seller.

A few times, I wrote about the shop and interviewed owner Don Hatcher for the Oakland Tribune:

Despite their fierce reputation, pirates created one of the first true democracies aboard their ships, where Don said "every man got an equal say and an equal vote," and crew members were guaranteed their freedom after a certain time or a certain amount of loot had been pillaged.

The annual NorCal Pirate Festival is coming up in June at the Vallejo waterfront; get details here.

For more tidbits about pirates, the now shuttered store named SeaWolf Trading Co. and so on, CLICK HERE.