http://blog.folkwolf.net/articles/2008/06/18/this-makes-me-sad-on-a-lot-of-levels en-us 40 Number 1, and least consequential, it makes me feel old.&nbsp; When I lived in Somalia, they had an effective central Government.&nbsp; Not fair, not just, but effective.&nbsp; Number 2:&nbsp; WTF?&nbsp;&nbsp; The last time the Somalis had an effective government, the Cold War was still on.&nbsp;&nbsp; Younger folk (like <a href="http://www.thedustyfoot.com/">K'Na'an</a>, an amazing hiphop artist), don't even remember a time when Somalia had a government, and have lived their whole lives in conditions too atrocious to comprehend.&nbsp; My mother worked there a few years back, as a Red Cross hospital administrator.&nbsp; When she saw two people shot in a hospital Mogadishu, she asked what happened, and the local administrator said:&nbsp; "They were just walking down the street, and got caught in a gun battle, it happens every day" Every day.&nbsp; 17 years.&nbsp; Damnit. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7342292.stm">BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Pirates release French yacht crew</a> <blockquote>Somalia has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity. </blockquote> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:10:24 -0400 urn:uuid:56dd89e1-ad52-4ef8-862b-8bda8435e76d Matt Rose http://blog.folkwolf.net/articles/2008/06/18/this-makes-me-sad-on-a-lot-of-levels