I've never really been big on these things, preferring to think that the world, messed up and crazy as it is, is pretty upfront. But this Mali thing? Where did it suddenly spring from? Of course I do realize that news from Mali has been smouldering on the sidelines for some time ... maybe less visible than news of Jodi Foster's sexual preferences, or Lance Armstrong's upcoming cofession to, OMG, Oprah

But, all of a sudden, it's all Mali. From a background irritation, it's become the prime battleground for the War Against Terror. So, is there a conspiracy to manipulate the news? I don't know; but the whole thing is a tad surreal ... and the frogs taking the lead in combat

Or maybe it's something simple ... like journalists would rather avoid dumps like Mali where the per capita share of the GDP is less than a thousand bucks a year ... it's not the asshole of the world, but you can sure smell it from there. Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but there is something not quite right about it.