Boring as it may seem -- the news

Two items seem to keep appearing in the news on a regular basis, one of these of course is Zimbabwe, the other are the pirates around Somalia with their hijacking of vessels and the demand for millions of dollars in ransom.

I wonder, when I look at these two situations in particular, what the hell the United Nations was created for? If memory serves, there was a great deal of displeasure with the former international body that was developed after the First World War ie. The League of Nations because they were simply unable to take any action internationally that could prevent the horrors that are represented today by the Zimbabwean and Somali situations.

In the case of Somalia, if ever the description of a failed state could be applied it should be here. Half the country is in the hands of rebels the other just less than half is in the hands of pirates while the remainder is in the hands of the so-called government. In a situation like this, if the legitimate government of Somalia called upon the United Nations for assistance I wonder what would happen? Would United Nations actually get support from the nations around the world who would come in with their military and other forces ready to blow the crap out of the rebels and the pirates at the same time as restoring some form of democracy Somalia as an end result?

Unlikely.

Of course it could be argued that it's a 'been there done that' situation, after all the Ethiopians were in there trying to assist for some time and didn't seem to get any support from anyone else.

Now there are forces from various nations in the form of naval vessels steaming around the Gulf but apparently not doing much good if the current news about the hijacking of a German tanker is true.

Zimbabwe, a country that was once the breadbasket of its locale is now greatest failed state of all within the region with an economy that has completely failed and a government that is in tatters. In this case of course it would be difficult to receive a request from the official government to the United Nations for assistance after all the current head of government seems to be the problem together with his military and other commanders. This is another failed state in Africa with a different facade and it's another place where millions of people are starving and from which they are fleeing in their thousands and being foisted on the world as refugees.

As countries around the world settle them into their own societies and train them in their languages and hopefully integrate them into their ways of life, I wonder how many of them will see work over the next few years as economic depression rather than a so-called recession hits most of the "developed"world?

This is not the time to be a refugee, this is not the time to be an immigrant, this is not the time to be homeless, this is not the time to be dependent on charity. As those who in the past have enjoyed a reasonable way of life contemplate their immediate future of poverty or at least least less economic freedom than they have known, so their thoughts are likely to turn to the preservation of their income and their assets for their own use and not to charity.

The next few years are likely to see a great deal of "me me me" without any reference to "you."

On this particular occasion I do not want to be a prophet to the future, but what I see around me is a lot of doom and gloom for a lot of people. I'm not sure what the Rudd government can do on this occasion, even with the surplus that it had to spend from previous years economies and I am certainly not sure what if anything the current opposition is likely to bring the subject.

If you want to see more about the Somali hijackings try the following link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7847351.stm

As for Zimbabwe don't bother to look, the news is just too depressing!