Oh Dear,

The Victorians went in preached religion and kept control with biggger and better weapons than spears and bow and arrows, known as guns.

Now the tribal leaders who skipped hundreds of years of natural development now have guns, religion (in a western sense) and other weapons too! It takes very special kind of person such as Nelson Mandela to see beyond this.

We forced many of our values on to the Africans (along with the French and belgians mainly I think) and now are aghast that the way we taught them to live - by military and religious rule - is backfiring on us. For once the Americans can claim complete innocence on the intial causes although they still practice the same stupid methods as we did back then - Go in with guns backing up religious fervour and highly developed democratic processes where now the new trinity of money, guns and democracy rule, changing sides and prioroties as often as the british weather changes.

I don't know the answer, I wish I did, what is happening is mayhem and carnage and I feel very responsible (on behalf of my ancestors) but neither money, guns, democracy or religion is!

We should also remember the genocide we (under the guise of new Americans) practiced on the indiginous American populateion too - redskins, Indians, call them what you may, leaving behind another country with a gun culture second to none.

Is this, in biblical terms, the sins of the fathers manifesting themselves 10 fold on their sons.......?

we pretty much stuffed up in many other regions too who still have similar problems to Kenya and Pakistan.

Anyway - my say thoughts for what they are worth - better go and do some work now.

Andy