Score one for the Somali government flack

CURRENT EVENTS

I expected a healthy dose of reality, if not irony, to follow this Los Angeles Times headline: "Somalia says: Let us handle the pirates." I mean, they might as well title it: "Utterly powerless bureaucrats in most corrupt country on earth say: Give us money and we promise we'll fix your problem." Yet, the LA Times' story mentions "corruption" just once, and even then stuffs into a list. We do find out, eight grafs in, why the country hasn't been included in the international community's anti-piracy coalition:

That's largely because the Somali government, which has no coast guard and no money to pay its disintegrating 3,500-person army, is barely holding its own against insurgents in Mogadishu.

Oh yes. That does seem pertinent.

[Did you think it was 'flak', not 'flack'? If so, check out this marvelous mnemonic: She said she'd rather catch "flak" (censure) as a "flack" (a press agent) in the newsroom than be known as a "flake." (eccentric person)]