Unemployment is at a 14 year high. Banks and insurance companies are failing. Thousands of homeowners are in foreclosure. Our schools, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure are failing. But at least we don’t live in the worst place in the world right now.

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said 3,000 more UN peacekeeping soldiers were needed in Congo to bolster a 17,000-member UN force.

Ban also called for a ceasefire so aid workers could get help to at “at least 100,000 refugees” cut off in rebel-controlled areas.

“The conditions in (the refugee camps) are as bad as I have seen them anywhere in Africa,” World Vision spokesperson Kevin Cook told CTV’s Canada AM on Wednesday morning.

Displaced people are in urgent need of water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and other supplies and protection from escalating violence.”

Cook said aid workers are also concerned about the spread of diseases such as malaria, cholera, measles and diarrhea. He also noted that he is not sure how long relief workers would be able to stay in the country if the situation worsens.

UN officials have noted that both sides in the dispute have committed crimes against civilians, including rapes.

“This is probably the worst place in the world to be a woman or a child,” Cook said.

A little perspective is a good thing. Thanks to CTV for the quote.

Today is Monday January 12, 2004. It’s Coming of Age day in Japan, a national holiday. Here is a description from the Japan Information Nework.

The second Monday of January is Coming-of-Age Day, a
national holiday to encourage those who have newly entered adulthood to
become self-reliant members of society.

Municipal governments host special coming-of-age ceremonies for
20-year-olds, since an “adult” in Japan is legally defined as one who
is 20 or over. They gain the right to vote on their twentieth birthday,
and they’re also allowed to smoke and drink. But along with these
rights come new responsibilities as well, and so age 20 is a big
turning point for the Japanese.

Coming-of-age ceremonies have been held since time immemorial in
Japan. In the past boys marked their transition to adulthood when they
were around 15, and girls celebrated their coming of age when they
turned 13 or so. During the Edo period (1603-1868), boys had their
forelocks cropped off, and girls had their teeth dyed black. It wasn’t
until 1876 that 20 became the legal age of adulthood.