God Save the Qu...Wait, Where Are We?

So, I'd planned to cook my second Algerian dish tonight, but I forgot I was missing a couple ingredients and I've already changed into my comfy clothes... OK, so I'm just being lazy. But, it's raining again and I just don't want to go back out.

While randomly researching something insteresting to write, I came across a nugget of info that seems especially pertinent this week: Algeria has applied for membership in the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly known as the British Commonwealth).*

In case you've missed it, news reports over the last several days have featured numerous snippets about the Diamond Jubilee celebration across the pond, as the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years on the throne.

But, what exactly is the Commonwealth of Nations? This voluntary collective of 54 independent nations - one member, Fiji, is currently suspended due to a coup d'etat in 2006 - have a combined population totaling 2.2 billion people in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. That's almost a third of the world's population, and more than half live in India alone.

The Commonwealth was formed in 1931 to promote democracy, human rights, free trade, egalitarianism and world peace, among other lofty goals. It's described on Wikipedia as "an intergovernmental organisation in which countries with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, not a political union." In theory, it's a forum in which all countries, large or small, rich or poor, contribute equitably.

It gets its fair share of criticism for not upholding those ideals - perhaps most notably with Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe's government began wreaking havoc in the 1990s before walking out of the Commonwealth in 2003 on its own accord.

Still, if countries still seek to join it, then it must be doing something right.

*Interestingly, last week's country Maldives also is a member!