Pirates have been long maligned and cursed as thieves and sea dogs, but according to one economist they formed vanguard capitalist democracies, with constitutions, elections and healthcare plans.
Peter Leeson, economics professor at George Mason University, says he has found evidence that some 18th-century pirates wrote down rules and principles that foreshadowed the US Constitution by decades. There are three or four surviving accounts of pirate constitutions, he added.
Pirates had concluded through their rules that "we are going to use democracy to determine a lot of our decisions, we are going to split up the booty this way, we are going to establish a workers' compens-ation scheme, a system of social insurance," Leeson said. "The leaders were leaders only by virtue of the fact that the guys at the bottom had selected them."
In one instance, injured or older crew members were even given a share of profits for as long as the group existed, despite being unable to take part in raids. (AFP)
Pedal power helps catch bag thief
An 80-year-old German woman whose handbag was snatched from her bicycle basket by a passing cyclist gave chase on her own bike and recovered her stolen property.
As she pedalled in pursuit of the 41-year-old thief through the western town of Buerstadt, she alerted a driver who stopped the culprit and held him until police arrived.
"The woman had the guts to say, 'I'm not taking that'," a police spokesman in nearby Darmstadt said on Thursday.
Police retrieved the bag and returned it to its owner. (Reuters)
Cats, dogs meet online in Colombia
Not satisfied with social networking sites for humans, a Colombian engineer has launched mypetbum.com, which aspires to become a Facebook for cats and dogs.
My Petbum users can search the site for other pets, get advice from veterinarians or schedule muzzle-to-muzzle or paw-to-paw outings.
Site founder Paul Becerra, an industrial engineer and journalist, said the idea for a site came when a friend owning a boxer dog whose type is rare in Colombia was desperate to find a partner for the pet.
After the first 500 users signed up in Colombia, Becerra obtained a new server to boost access, with hopes to make the site a regional model. (AFP)
Man dresses as dead mother for benefits
A New York man has been charged with fraud after dressing up as his dead mother so he could collect more than US$100,000 in welfare benefits, prosecutors said.
Thomas Parkin, 49, and accomplice Mhilton Rimolo, 47, face a 47-count indictment for collecting social security benefits amounting to US$52,000 and US$65,000 in rental assistance.
"These defendants ran a multi-year campaign of fraud that was unparalleled in its scope and brazenness," District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the pair doctored Parkin's deceased mother's death certificate and provided a false social security number. (AFP)
Men-only carriages in Japan ?
Many women taking the crowded trains in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers. Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some men are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.
False accusations of groping were highlighted when Japan's Supreme Court in April overturned the conviction of a professor for groping a girl on a Tokyo train. Judges pointed out the need to be careful in such cases when the accuser was the only source of evidence, media said. (Reuters)