Somalia

A table was set up for two, an advertisement table, a table with a photo of a giant turkey, two elegant plates, and a U.S. flag sticking out into the air.
“Thanksgiving at Angkor Royal Cafe”, a flier read. And: “23rd November… Join us for a traditional Thanksgiving Feast”.

Last week’s US air operation in Somalia took the total number of strikes carried out in 2017 to a record 29, raising the possibility of an expansion in military operations outside of conventional battlefields under President Donald Trump.
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had already escalated strikes in Somalia to 14 a year, reflecting the growing number of attacks by al Shabaab insurgents.

You’ve been avoiding this for a long time.
You prefer to remember the times he took you to the park, that amazing camping vacation a few summers back, the funny things he often says at the dinner table, that beautiful dog he gave you on your 12th birthday.
But you can’t deny it any longer.  The truth is painful.  But . . .
Dad is an alcoholic and he beats mom.
Do you hate him?  Do you reject him as your father?
No, but things have to drastically change and very soon.

Back in July, we looked into Trump's ties to the Russian Mafia in general and Semyon Mogilevich-- Russia organized crime's boss of bosses-- in particular. Mogilevich is back in the news... this time tied to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Betsy Woodruff broke the story at the Daily Beast.

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — In the Somali capital of Mogadishu, nearly 400 were killed, hundreds more were injured, and dozens are still missing after a car bomb was detonated at a busy intersection.

From Ochelii.com

New details emerged Tuesday about the possible motivations behind a bomb attack that killed more than 300 people in the Somalia capital of Mogadishu over the weekend—the deadliest such violence in the nation’s history—with the information suggesting the bombing may been in direct retaliation for a raid by U.S. soldiers this summer that left 10 civilians, including children, dead.
The Guardian reports:

If you find yourself lost and confused in a dark wood, then perhaps following this network of knots strung on a long string of dates listed below will help you find your way back home, where the bread of truth awaits you on the kitchen table.

Earlier this year, the Sisters of St. Brigid invited me to speak at their Feile Bride celebration in Kildare, Ireland. The theme of the gathering was: “Allow the Voice of the Suffering to Speak.”