“Mogadishu” on The Daily Caller

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Right here on earth. Hell exists. Famine, preventable diseases like malaria, yellow fever and cholera seem almost merciful – because once death comes, the sick are released from their earthly prison.  When the suffering finally abates, there is grace in that moment.  There are things worse than death.  Rape, fistula, sex slavery and child soldiers are becoming ever more common.  For decades, the images of suffering in Africa are pervasive. People make jokes about leaving food on their plate, instead of giving it to the starving children of Africa. It isn’t a joke though.  Just in my lifetime, the “skinnies” in Ethiopia, or hundreds of thousands of others across the continent suffered from waterborne illnesses that steal life through excruciating means – the fevers, the diarrhea and vomiting. The appalling conditions in South Africa under Apartheid.  The stories about Stephen Biko still ring in my ears. Or Mandela. Darfur. Blood Diamonds. Conflict minerals. The Congo. (more)

It’s been a tough few weeks for Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida’s 8th District. First, Daniel Webster, former speaker of the Florida statehouse, entered the race as a potential opponent. Then the FEC ruled that mycongressmanisnuts.com, a site critical of Grayson, isn’t violating any rules. Now the Democrat is coming under fire for a financial connection to the Florida Tea Party. (more)

HARGEISA, Somalia — As the United Nations Security Council expressed a “deep concern” on Wednesday over the continued use of child soldiers and a “readiness” to adopt sanctions against individuals who deploy them, an American lawmaker warned that the United States might have broken several laws by providing assistance to the Somali military, which uses children in conflict. (more)

Somalia’s al-Qa’ida-inspired Shebab rebels have attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu, sparking a battle that left at least 14 civilians dead. (more)

Somalia’s defence minister has survived an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber in the capital Mogadishu. (more)

Three hundred people nearly died in the skies of Michigan on Christmas Day, 2009 when a Nigerian terrorist attempted to blow up a plane destined for Detroit. The terrorist was an operative of an al Qaeda franchise based in Yemen called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The group operated known training camps in Yemen and had indicated a desire to strike American targets, but when the attack occurred, it still took the nation by surprise. Today, across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, another terrorist threat on a par with that of AQAP is growing in Somalia. (more)

Hundreds of Somali insurgents loyal to Islamist group al-Shabab have poured into Mogadishu with artillery and trucks, witnesses say. (more)

Last week the White House listed 14 countries whose nationals were deemed dangerous enough to require extra scrutiny when they travel to and within the United States. Flying in America with a Nigerian or Yemeni passport has never been easy, and now thanks to Umar Abdulmutallab, Nigerians and Yemenis are supposed to put up with a crotch-intensive frisking as well. (more)