Arr!

Pirates took control of a French cruise ship off the coast of Somalia. No word on the status of the bond stooge. It should turn out ok though. Jason Patrick and Sandra Bullock are aboard the vessel and will single handedly take out the bad guys, who are lead by Willem Defoe if I remember correctly.

On a more serious note, this shows the kind of consequences that can result from a failed state. There is literally no central authority in Somalia at all. There hasn't been since the UN pulled out in the early 90's. Stable governments, even horrible represive governments, are often preferrable to states of complete anarchy. As long as there is authority, even a malicious one, they have a vested interest in maintaining their status, which includes control over criminal elements (either as convicts or franchisees) and they can be threatened with loss of status in order to force them to conform to some basic norms. When there is no control at all, as long as the criminals are sufficiently well armed and organized, they can function unchecked (see Bin Laden, Afghanistan).