1.   Modern-day pirates have been on a winning streak.

2.   Most genuine discs are now programmed to prevent copying, but the pirates are on the ball, often finding ways to beat the system.

3.   And the swashbuckling pirates are just as likely to be found in the nursery changing diapers.

4.   And you thought pirates were terrible people.

5.   After all, pirates were independent contractors, while class-action lawyers, for all their flamboyance, are supposed to work on behalf of their clients.

6.   Officials said some pirates have been remarkably brazen, some even boasting of their feats on their own Web sites.

7.   On both counts that means, presumably, pirates with guns are out, and so are Al Gore, Hillary Clinton or George W. Bush masks.

8.   Only rarely is the pirate defeated and victimized by its prey.

9.   Pirates were flat-out astonishing.