Me? Just Raising Questions.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/06/somalia.spain.pirates/index.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/30/yacht.pirates/index.html

For several years the world--or, as publicized, many "western" nations--has dealt with the problem of Somali pirates hijacking ships.

Now there is a new dimension.

Somali pirates are now capturing "western" people and demanding ransoms, prisoner swaps, etc.

Before it seemed to be that such westerners were simply part of ships' crews. But now they are the crews. And so the thinking is changing.

Should western governments pay a ransom for their citizens' rescue?

What should Britain and Spain do--especially Spain, since they are holding several "pirates" for trial?

Where lies the line between racism and nationalism?

When Bosnia (and the rest of the region) was suffering from a regional conflict, how much attention was paid to the hundreds of thousands of people dying in Africa?

There are no easy answers here, yet it is clear that favoritism on the world stage, in the world's media, is playing an important part . . . and that favoritism is a reflection of the inhumane bias that continues to exist in the world today.