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Can You Pirate Piracy?

We’ve been watching the wandering meaning of the word “piracy” over the last few weeks, as it stretches and shrinks to accommodate the modern world. The re-emergence of honest-to-goodness sea piracy shares headline space with the high-profile trial of Swedish internet pirates and the debate over just what to call “digital piracy.” The Wall Street Journal reports that another group is bristling under the shifting definition of the word: re-enactors and enthusiasts who dress up as classical pirates. These would-be Jack Sparrows hate sharing their identity with lowly East African marauders. Maybe they’re just anxious about having to learn Somali in time for the next International Talk Like a Pirate Day. [%comments]


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