Dear EU; Good Luck With That

(Photo/Courtesy of english.ahram.org.eg)

As the thousands try to flee the hell holes where they live;

Put to sea upon a boat that's leaking like a sieve,

Drowning by the hundreds...  Know the dangers - do not care.

Willing to risk anything to get away from there.

If you were in their position, you would flee as well.

They've come from a situation that's a living hell.

Half the region's population is a refugee.

Many leave from Libya and try for Italy.

The Italians say they need more help from the E.U.

They're now meeting, trying to decide what they should do.

Nothing that the E.U. does will change the basic fact;

Staying in the region's the more death-defying act.

No one wants to see more over-crowded boats go down.

We can't stand aside and watch more desperate people drown.

We might stop the traffickers exploiting human prey,

But we won't persuade those refugees to want to stay.

Unsolicited Advice for Nigerian Voters

(Mr. Jones' artwork/Courtesy of www.cagle.com)

There is an election in Nigeria next week;

Yet another term that Goodluck Jonathan will seek.

Vote has been postponed for weeks 'cause fighting grew intense

When the army finally came to the North-east's defense.

Boko Haram's terrorized Nigeria for years.

Thousands died but only as this new election nears

Has the fight grown serious, 'cause controversy swirls

As the whole world questions why they can't Bring Back Our Girls.

General Buhari (the opposing candidate)

Stands a chance to make Goodluck a former Head of State.

Suddenly his war on terror has new urgency.

Jonathan's now interested in security.

It sure took him long enough...  And still more girls are gone.

6 years he's ignored the fighting that's been going on.

'though I'm glad he's ordered Boko Haram be attacked,

If I were Nigerian I'd vote to have him sacked.

Cancer of the Extremists

Boko Haram's pledged allegiance to the ISIL group,

Cutting out their old, Al-Qaeda allies from the loop.

Both gangs are barbaric so they make a perfect match

But it makes these terrorists more difficult to catch.

Moving into Africa like cancer that has spread:

Lots of open territory that the natives fled,

Schoolgirls they can sell as slaves or kidnap for a bride,

Room to build a Caliphate, a place for them to hide.

Drive them out of Syria or kill them in Iraq;

Doesn't matter... Tumors like these guys keep growing back.

But, as cancer patients know, that's no excuse to quit.

There is nothing we can do but keep on fighting it.

Africa - I'd Take ISIL Any Day

Hemorrhagic fever in West Africa has spread.

Thousands are infected now; 2,000 plus are dead.

Doctors there were overwhelmed - the system broken down -

As Ebola moved from rural village into town.

This outbreak got out of hand 'cause locals didn't trust

Guys in plastic suits insisting quarantine's a must.

Scary strangers came to take their relatives away

Since, without a cure, there's nothing else to do but pray.

Doctors Without Borders were the targets of these fears.

Villagers threw stones, sometimes, at health-care volunteers,

Lied and said they weren't exposed and they were feeling great;

Hiding any symptoms of disease until too late.

President Obama, in a speech he made today,

Just announced he's sending U.S. troops into the fray,

Plus supplies to aid the victims of this dread disease...

I think I'd feel safer bringing ISIL to its knees.

Yes, of course we have to help in any way we can.

They need our assistance; I support Obama's plan.

But I know if I were still in uniform today;

Africa, I'd think, should merit hazard duty pay.

Whacking Moles

Critics are complaining that Obama's stated goal -

Going after ISIL - is like playing "Whack a Mole."

First we hit al Qaeda hard - invade Afghanistan;

Hit again when they reorganize in Pakistan.

Hammer them in Africa; they pop up in Iraq.

When they crawl out of their holes we take another whack.

'though the critics have a point, it isn't quite the same...

These moles want to hurt us and the fight is not a game.

True, these guys are vermin who we'll have to hunt and kill

And this infestation will keep spreading there until

Countries in the region put their differences aside;

Muslim leaders find a way to heal their great divide.

If they cannot pull together things will fall apart...

Still, our coalition to fight ISIL is a start.

Enemies of enemies could, possibly, be friends;

That's the only way extremist terrorism ends.

Dear Mr. President; Wish You Were Here?

Should have stayed in Massachusetts, Mr. President;

Here, on Martha's Vineyard, where your 2 weeks "off" were spent.

Skies are blue and cloudless and the weather's, finally, warm...

But you're back in Washington and face a nasty storm.

Tear gas clouds from Ferguson are drifting down your way;

Turbulence across the pond as borders start to fray,

Plague winds out of Africa, a Middle Eastern front,

With you at the epicenter - where you'll bear the brunt

Of the rain of fecal matter critics throw at you,

Blustering in outrage at 'most anything you do.

Come on back to Massachusetts.  Stay 'til Labor Day.

(I'd still be exhausted...  That's a lot of golf you play.)

Not as if you don't deserve it.  If we're keeping score,

You've had less vacation time than most who came before.

Not as if you're really out of touch so don't feel bad...

W. took twice as many days as you have had.

Dear CDC... Never Mind

(Photo of Ebola virus courtesy of itv.com)

CDC's too busy to investigate my claim;

Seussilitis on the rise and me the one to blame.

They've got bigger problems that they need to focus on.

I will try again once this Ebola threat is gone.

Right now I'd prefer them keeping both eyes on that ball;

Drop this one and it could be a death knell for us all.

With two recent incidents when other balls were dropped

And Ebola's spread in Africa - which hasn't stopped -

I don't want the CDC to waste its precious time

Worrying some Typhoid Mary's out there spreading rhyme.

My disease won't kill you, it will only drive you nuts.

I want those folks working hard on saving people's butts.

Sykes and Picot Were Idiots

During World War I, the major powers drew some lines;

They decided who got oil and who got diamond mines.

Sticking to those borders, which were drawn without regard

For the locals' feelings on the subject's, proving hard.

They're the cause of "civil" wars, attempts at genocide;

Hard to estimate how many people may have died,

All because we started drawing lines upon the sand.

I suspect this isn't working quite the way they planned.

Africa, the Middle East... Religious sects and tribes;

At each others throats (when they're not out collecting bribes.)

All those simple lines they drew aren't easy to erase.

Even now we feel the need to straighten up the place.

Seems to me we've done enough; we'll only make things worse.

Rising tide of change is something we cannot reverse.

Militants will not be stopped by lines drawn on a map

But by locals who decide they're tired of this crap.

South Sudan - I Wouldn't Call That Tranquil

It may look peaceful, but...  (Photo/Courtesy of usaid.com)

South Sudan's in turmoil when it needs tranquility.

U.N. got the government and rebels to agree;

Hoping it will give the farmers time to plant their crops...

Something that they cannot do unless the fighting stops.

Even if it's tranquil, starving farmers ate their seeds;

Therefore, they aren't able to fulfill the country's needs.

Those who still have seeds to plant will need a lot of luck.

Once they put them in the ground - if war resumes - they're stuck.

They would have to take the chance their crops (and they) will live.

In their struggle to survive there's not a lot of give.

South Sudan is facing famine; future's looking grim

If it cannot keep the peace - and hopes for that are slim.

Take Back Our Girls

Leader of Boko Haram is threatening to sell the kidnapped girls. (Photo/Courtesy of The Guardian)

Parents in Nigeria are frantic for their girls

3 weeks after Boko Haram swine kidnapped their pearls,

Still not knowing where the pigs who stole their daughters are,

Angry 'cause their President's done nothing much, so far.

He still isn't sure how many girls the rebels took;

Didn't send the army in to help the parents look.

Boko Haram says they took the girls to sell as slaves.

I suspect the terrorists are digging their own graves.

Now they've got the world's attention and the world is pissed

And, unlike the girls they've taken, these guys won't be missed.

I hope Goodluck Jonathan does not make any deals

That exclude a visit from the U.S. Navy's SEALs. 

Imagine That

Hippies. (Photo/Courtesy of RockIndia.net)

"Imagine there's no countries...  No religion," Lennon said.

Dared to be dreamer until someone shot him dead.

'though his vision for the world is one I'd like to join,

Real life comes around with news that kicks you in the groin.

Borderlines imposed on lands and cultures not our own

Only led to conflicts and the conflict's only grown.

Fortune, faith, and fighting fit like 3 peas in a pod...

Wars fought over resources or someone's "One, true God."

Africa, the Middle East, now Russia and Ukraine;

But I always wonder what these countries think they'll gain.

I know what their leaders get; their pockets lined with cash.

Never mind the refugees left picking through the trash.

Lennon had a good imagination...  So do I.

But I can't imagine what would happen should we try

Implementing even one of Lennon's fondest dreams,

Faced with such a plethora of power grabbing schemes.