Somalia - A Place We Should Probably All Know About

One of my main issues with the American media (besides the the fact that most of them are liberal elitists who wouldn't know the real world if it smacked their annoying propaganda spouting faces) is what I call the "Blinder Issue." Most American media is entirely domestically-centered. Next to no attention is paid to any international issue, no matter how important. If an event does receive coverage, it is often lopsided. Human rights issues in Sub-Saharan Africa receive media attention, but the fact that millions have starved in North Korea is little known. International politics, even in places as influential as the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Egypt are widely ignored in favor of "horse race" coverage of US politics (with the notable exception of Fox News' "Special Report with Brit Hume"). It's not that I believe that domestic coverage isn't important. It is. But the reality is that we live in an increasingly globalized world and what happens over there effects us over here. Plus, knowing the failures of socialism (like France's failing medical care system) can arm you in the fight for capitalism and the free market. Basically, knowledge is power and the American media (and public) refuse to acknowledge this. They have blinders on.



Take, for instance, Somalia. The Economist calls Somalia the world's most failed state (I have included a map for those geographically challenged people). It has no legitimate government. None. The country is ruled by mobs, gangs and whomever has the biggest gun. The problem: Somalia's coast borders one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The lawlessness encourages piracy, which has increased this year. Pirates off the coast of Somalia have taken over 60 ships this year alone. Many Somalian pirates are bankrolled by gangs in Yemen or wealthy Somalians in Dubai. They pay off the Islamic insurgents who control the coast. Pirates off the Somalian coast have taken over $100 million in ransom this year alone and we have no idea where that cash goes. Some suspect that some pirates have ties to Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups. Even if they aren't connected to Middle Eastern terrorists, the pirates do enough damage on their own making it more expensive and dangerous to ship goods, often damaging naval and merchant vessels in the process. And given how small a terrorist underworld it is, it would not be surprising if some piracy-made money got into the hands of terrorists even without direct ties. So, Somalia is probably a place we should all know about. Too bad the American media doesn't think so.