I Loves Me Some BBC

Just when you least expect it, the mainstream American media go out and keep you fully informed about escalating conflict in Somal...no, wait – that's not right – our media still haven't got past the time of "Blackhawk Down" – so who the hell...?

Oh, yes: the the BBC are the ones helping us Superpowericans stay abreast of events in the 95% of the world we suppose ourselves to be policing that isn't here or Iraq.

Anyhoo, Ethiopian and Somali troops are coöperating (you did read that correctly) in an offensive against the Union of Islamic Courts. And if you're like me, you are now saying to yourself, "I understand each of those words, but that sentence makes no sense!"

Luckily for you, the BBC has not only an article about the latest developments, they also offer contextual information in the form of a timeline, a précis of the Union of Islamic Courts (the Taliban, Somali-style), and a summary of the different interests bearing on the conflict.

Only on the BBC. Or possibly the CBC. But never, ever, on ABCNNBCBS. Or MSNPR. [I leave out Fox because, for a hard-core porno channel, they already do a damned fine job of covering the news.]