When I was a kid, we used to have an expression "Coals To Newcastle" ....
... Which an expression pointing out superfluous or pointless actions.
The reason being, that even by the time the expression was first recorded in writing in AD 1538, Newcastle was well known for its exports of coal, so why would anyone ever take coals to Newcastle?
This came immediately to mind, when I read a story that the European Union has given Mauritania, a North African desert country, 250 camels. The reason being ostensibly for the camels to be deployed in Mauritania's military camel cavalry units, to help with patrols of the desert to discourage Islamic Jihadist terrorist groups active in the remote regions.
But of course there are a number of Alice in Wonderland aspects to this EU aid gift .... the most obvious being that Camels are not native to any area in the EU. So presumably the EU had to buy 250 camels from somewhere in North Africa or the Middle East ... very possibly Mauritania itself.
Then there is the fact that Mauritania is actually overflowing with camels, with an estimated 3 million camels in a country of just 4 million people .... so they could have simply rounded up any number of wild camels for free and gratis, which makes the gifted camels look like a another bit of wasted aid money, by an organisation that hasn't balanced its budget in its existence.
In fact the more you think on it, the more pointless this aid is ... surely something to give the Mauritanian armed forces the edge against terrorists who are often better armed and equipped would have been better ... perhaps some Toyota vehicles for long range desert navigation, or maybe advanced systems for surveillance and communications such as satellite phones (the EU recently gave Morocco a new radar system).
To be fair to the EU, the Mauritanian military has only recently started deploying their century old Nomad Group camel-back units to remote border areas, claiming that their advantages, compared to other border patrols, is their ability to move fast in the desert wilderness. However, this may them simply putting a brave face on the necessity of deploying such a force, against the Islamic Jihadist terrorist groups in 4x4 vehicles.
As you might expect, the locals are not impressed, with many claiming the EU gift was an insult and mocked the Mauritanian people. I'm afraid that I tend to agree.
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| Coals To Newcastle Is An Old Trope ... |
... Which an expression pointing out superfluous or pointless actions.
The reason being, that even by the time the expression was first recorded in writing in AD 1538, Newcastle was well known for its exports of coal, so why would anyone ever take coals to Newcastle?
 |
| SAHEL Terrorism Is A Big Problem ..... |
This came immediately to mind, when I read a story that the European Union has given Mauritania, a North African desert country, 250 camels. The reason being ostensibly for the camels to be deployed in Mauritania's military camel cavalry units, to help with patrols of the desert to discourage Islamic Jihadist terrorist groups active in the remote regions.
But of course there are a number of Alice in Wonderland aspects to this EU aid gift .... the most obvious being that Camels are not native to any area in the EU. So presumably the EU had to buy 250 camels from somewhere in North Africa or the Middle East ... very possibly Mauritania itself.
Then there is the fact that Mauritania is actually overflowing with camels, with an estimated 3 million camels in a country of just 4 million people .... so they could have simply rounded up any number of wild camels for free and gratis, which makes the gifted camels look like a another bit of wasted aid money, by an organisation that hasn't balanced its budget in its existence.
 |
| Jihadist Terrorists Are Too Strong For Local Forces ... Even On Camel Back. |
In fact the more you think on it, the more pointless this aid is ... surely something to give the Mauritanian armed forces the edge against terrorists who are often better armed and equipped would have been better ... perhaps some Toyota vehicles for long range desert navigation, or maybe advanced systems for surveillance and communications such as satellite phones (the EU recently gave Morocco a new radar system).
 |
| The Camel Corp Is An Old Institution In The Sahel ... |
To be fair to the EU, the Mauritanian military has only recently started deploying their century old Nomad Group camel-back units to remote border areas, claiming that their advantages, compared to other border patrols, is their ability to move fast in the desert wilderness. However, this may them simply putting a brave face on the necessity of deploying such a force, against the Islamic Jihadist terrorist groups in 4x4 vehicles.
As you might expect, the locals are not impressed, with many claiming the EU gift was an insult and mocked the Mauritanian people. I'm afraid that I tend to agree.
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