Originally posted by Caamir: According to former Somali government, Four out of the five districts in Sanaag are inhabited by Maakhir people, but the community also reside the western side of Bari including Bosaso. Very interesting. Could you please elaborate on what you mean by that and what these four districts are. Where and when did the former government say this? What will happen to the other reer Sanaag who are not "Maakhir people" since - I'm assuming - the 16 cabinet does not include them? Enlighten me my brother ... Paragon Maybe you're the calm head among them that could answer these questions. MMA's question was straight-forward and didn't need all that song and dance from Hunguri.

^^ Those are no "age-gaps", here's one great example ... A father at 90 earns Rajasthan farmer popularity By ANI Tuesday August 7, 03:07 PM By Lokendra Singh Panch Imli (Rajasthan), Aug.7 (ANI): By becoming a father at 90, Nanu Ram Jogi of Rajasthan's Panch Imli Villge, about five kilometres from Pratapgarh town, has turned a hero of sorts for people in neighbouring villages and in different parts of the country. (<- under-statement of the year ) As news about Nanu Ram travels to far off regions via media and hearsay, people from all of walks of life are amazed. A farmer, Nanu Ram fathered a son from this fourth wife Sadhu Devi, 50, who delivered the child on Wednesday (August 1). Eager to have a son, Nanu Ram married his daughter-in-law after she was widowed. :confused: Having failed on eight earlier occasions to have a son, Nanu today is delighted by the change in his filial fortunes. Jogi, who claims to have married for the first time at the age of 20, boasts of having 21 children and an extended family of 125. Sporting a white beard, Nanu Ram says he enjoys playing with the infant whenever he gets time. When asked about the secret of his health he said, " I had a special diet that included fresh camel milk, eating meat, fish, eggs and clarified butter and other things." He didn't vasectomise himself, as he felt it would make him weak. The family, however says, they would be happy to have another addition to the brood, provided Ram retains his good health. "My father has four wives and my youngest 'brother' has recently been born. We feed him well and take care of him. My father is a good man and he is still very young. We all are very happy," said 60-year-old Bhim, Jogi's eldest son. Health workers say that they will carry out a paternity test to confirm the news. "It is rare for someone to have a child at 90. If it is true, it is a matter for detailed study. We should conduct a medical test to determine the paternity," :eek: said Maninder Deep, a medical practitioner. Earlier, an 88-year-old farmer had turned a father in Barmer, Rajasthan. (ANI)

Originally posted by Khalaf: [QB]Hmm, admire kulaha. He is the only one on SOL that i have yet to understand anything he is saying or writes to this day, other then when he is calling people wretched and little piglets, i undertstand that clear. He threatened to bury nomad me alive, has used very hateful messages, the dude needs help jalle. You understood him alright. You understood him enough to give brotherly advice. No cyber character can physically "bury" another. Just words on the screen (ask Ngonge) coz no-one's gonna get hurt. Honest. I would advise you or any other easily-spooked kid out there in the cyber world against watching a horror straight movie after reading Oodweyne's post . Understood? Good. Fahiye Is this "nostalgia ain't what it used be" an annual topic or am I suffering deja vu all over again? Calaa kulli xaal, demanding mental (or any other kind of) stimulation from SOL folks is asking a lil bit too much, me thinks.

As around 2,500 delegates and observers gathered for a closing ceremony in northern Mogadishu amid tight security, diplomats called for a new approach to solve Somalia's chronic anarchy. "We know this conference has gone nowhere. The problem is blind confidence in the TFG (transitional federal government)," a foreign diplomat told AFP, but Somali elders argued that at least such talks had been managed. These diplomats don't understand that the more unscrupulous uncles attend this sort of events, the less remittances they demand from cheerleading nephews abroad. Lucky for some.

HornAfrique Gen. Barre legacy boils down to what he said he his mission was and what he actually did. He and his fellow military men wrestled power from a civilian government claiming they came to rescue peaceful Somalia from "evils". What did he come to rescue Somalia from and where did where did leave it 21 years later? (Reminds me of that Ethio ambassador who claimed they came to Mogadishu to save Somalis from an evil sub-clan). What was Gen. Barre's stated agenda and was it accomplished? If it wasn't accomplished, then he's being rightly "vilified" because Somalis are still paying the price for his adventure that ended civilian rule. As person, he was a classic Somali nomad; stubborn, arrogant, proud, vindictive but nobody's poodle. As a leader, he squandered initial popularity and in desperate attempt to retain power he was not only forced to recall politicians he originally accused of being corrupt but also signed off Killil5 - consequently discrediting his all excuses for 1969 coup. In the end, he left the country in a much poorer state - to put it mildly. His supporters can't blame attempted coups (or rebels) for this because it was his Junta that removed all the procedures that facilitated peaceful transfer of power the people had. Unlike Mengistu's Ethiopia, his Junta (and other insiders ) spent the last years in power dismantling the State like there no tomorrow! To use Iraq as an analogy, he butchered his citizens like Saddam and destroyed the country like the occupying foreigners. The likes of you may have something to shout about the Barre's reign but a lot of Somalis are singing the blues. Btw - I was impressed by the back-handed way the article lays blames on Gen. Samatar boots. Really sly. For those who still don't know what a Siadist or an Afweyniste is, that's one helluva an example.

Originally posted by Nephthys: Meel Duke yiri qabiil baan ka dhaaranaa, kkkkkkk . *I'm laughing so much my lungs are about to explode* Such a cynic. The man's got a lot of experience in this field and I for one believe him. You may excuse and call this has nothing to do with qabiil and everything to do with politics, but in Soomaali politics, everything is qabiil and has to do with it. MMA if that's case, how could anyone involved in politics (including contributors of this section of SOL) claim they can put their hand on the Qur'an regarding this issue?

^^ It keeps getting better and better! To quote that old Bedouin; if such are the priests God bless the congregation!

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: I dont mind commenting Barre threads. But I need more of Kismayo threads, Horn! hurry up and get me some before Ramadan dawns on us... People with savings in Switzerland can surely afford better scribbler of the late General's legacy than that sorry attempt. Says a lot about the standard of education under the October Revolution, does it not? HornAfrique Can you please comment on the sections you chose to highlight . Thank you in advanced.

^^

As a Somalilander, I feel amazed to hear this loosely accurate folk story but as a Lascanooder, I feel insulted at the suggestion that my nine Garaads and statesmen like Qaybe, Galaydh, Afqudhac could have been held at gunpoint during Burao conference and kept silent about it. How can some fellow Lascanooders sell themselves short by attributing?How could they attribute to our elders such unflattering and baseless behaviors? Why do they promote these lies?No one could bully the late Garaad Abdi Qani to sign, at gunpoint, unwarranted deal subsequently get away with. Deeply insulting. Originally posted by Naxar Nugaaleed: But even if we grant, for the sake of argument, that the participants agreed to the secession, freely and without undue pressure, that in itself would not accord it any legitimacy and make it binding on the people of SSC. Shocking admission !!!

“ Madaxweyne Rayaale doraad ayaanu wada qadeynayno, oo waa lana heshiisiiyey inuu Ceeshku I qabtaan ka baqayaa, horta anigu halkaa daarimaayo Madaweynaha iyo Dawlada oo walaalkay Cabdiraxmaan ayaa ii yidhi” ayuu yidhi Siilaanyo. Af wax cunay ...

“ Madaxweyne Rayaale doraad ayaanu wada qadeynayno, oo waa lana heshiisiiyey inuu Ceeshku I qabtaan ka baqayaa, horta anigu halkaa daarimaayo Madaweynaha iyo Dawlada oo walaalkay Cabdiraxmaan ayaa ii yidhi” ayuu yidhi Siilaanyo. Af wax cunay ...

^^ It's an admission of lots of things including: 1. The Somaliland ban on stooge-only T-Passport (Tolka Passport) has stung warlord-cheerleaders hard and it was a good decision. 2. This knee-jerk reaction shows how weak they are. Their attempt to extort money from people who are not close family members of warlords has failed miserably. 3. Somaliland is not part of their country. How can you ban flights to a place you claim to be "part of your country" when there are no security reasons involved?

Originally posted by Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar: quote: He's been going to Addis for years, what's up with the protests these days? Flying to his master's den, first of all, is getting quite frequent. Secondly, of all wixii ka dhacay Xamar, xasuuqii and bililiqadii, the least he could have done is stay away from there. He did not only stay away, but is smiling and enjoying to be in his master's aqal in every few weeks. That is disgusting. I agree to a certain extent. The frequent trips might be because Meles thinks Riyaale's days are numbered because the Somaliland election date is fast approaching. Riyaale's policies have been one-dimensional to most analysts. No cards up his sleeve. The only excuse given by his admin is there were elements in Xamar that backed the killers of aid workers and other foiled attacks on Somaliland. He does not even hide his support for the Ethio action let alone stay away from them. He stance - however immoral - has always been "nothing to do with us .....". This is somewhat expected since most of us Somalilanders encouraged this stance when the Ethios were creating the the TFG in Mbagathi and therefore hard for opponents to criticise. Criticise I will. It's also about time to remind the likes of you, who supported the creation of warlord-government, how wrong you were. As for Meles, well, he just continued where Mengistu left off. He knows that he is a product of Somali interference,doesn't he? He knows his cousin Afewerki is a product of Somali interference. He's weaker and more vulnerable than Mengistu but there's no-one (Somali that is) taking advantage of it, that's all. But for how long?

Alla maxaa xumbo la cuskaday! Ali Nayruus, what happened to your usual comical intro-rant? Your posts are just not the same without them and I feel let down The stooges are upset because Somaliland banned the T-Passport (Tolka Passport) and this is their reaction. A lot of southerners complained the T-Passport were unfairly being issued to close family members of Yey and Co for obvious reasons. The sort of people who were turning up in Somaliland holding the Tolka-Passport proved beyond any doubt that it was being used to give certain warlord-cheerleaders an unfair privilege over the rest of citizens of Somalia and it was rightly banned. This is the embarrassing reason why Ali Nayruus did not give the usual intro-rant. What would he say? "you don't accept our passport so we're banning flights to erm.. erm .... State of ..."

Interviewee: Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor August 22, 2007 Terrence Lyons, author of the Council Special Report Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea, says the United States sees the global war on terrorism as a reason for concern in the Horn of Africa. But what is fundamentally driving events on the ground, he says, are “local rivalries and more regionally based conflict dynamics,” primarily the continued bitter animosity between Ethiopia and Eritrea. full article

Interviewee: Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor August 22, 2007 Terrence Lyons, author of the Council Special Report Avoiding Conflict in the Horn of Africa: U.S. Policy Toward Ethiopia and Eritrea, says the United States sees the global war on terrorism as a reason for concern in the Horn of Africa. But what is fundamentally driving events on the ground, he says, are “local rivalries and more regionally based conflict dynamics,” primarily the continued bitter animosity between Ethiopia and Eritrea. full article

Hargeisa Downtown more images and travel blog

^^ He's been going to Addis for years, what's up with the protests these days?

By Katie Nguyen NAIROBI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Ethiopian soldiers are accused of burning homes, seizing livestock and killing civilians in its toughest crackdown yet on rebels in a remote, forgotten part of the vast Horn of Africa country. Rights groups say abuses escalated in ****** when the government launched a campaign two months ago to root out separatist insurgents who attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April, killing 74 people. But Prime Minister Meles Zenawi -- facing armed if low-level opposition in most corners of Ethiopia -- shows no sign of ending his push against the ****** National Liberation Front whom he calls "terrorists" bankrolled by arch-foe Eritrea. Shrugging off some pressure from the West which fears the conflict may further destabilise the Horn, Meles asserts his right to rid the region, bordering lawless Somalia, of the ONLF's "cold-blooded murderers". "No stone will be left unturned," he has vowed. With several thousand gunmen thought to be in their ranks, the ONLF says they want greater autonomy for their homeland, which may be rich in natural gas and oil. Known for hit-and-run attacks on military targets, the ethnically Somali rebels often melt into villages across ******'s grassy plains when retaliation is threatened. Few experts expect Meles, equipped with one of Africa's biggest armies, to waver from his hardline stance. His campaign benefits from the remoteness of the area, which is largely cut off to aid workers and journalists, and the lack of leverage available to the West to stop it, they say. "None of the rebel groups threatens the government, although the ONLF has been the most active," said one Western academic who follows the Horn but did not want to be quoted on ******. "Many of them are in the outlying hinterland regions and aren't close to central Ethiopia. They operate in a very remote area that Ethiopia could let burn." The ONLF, which sprung up in 1984, has long traded on a deep sense of marginalisation felt by the ******is against a central government -- dominated by former rebels from the northern Tigray province -- to fuel its rebellion. It says it has the support of the mostly nomadic ******is, who number anywhere between 4 and 10 million people. ENERGY INTERESTS But analysts say the ONLF is held back by the lack of a consistent political aim, with demands for total independence and inclusion in a "Greater Somalia" made at various times. They say the group exploited a security gap that emerged when Ethiopian troops in ****** moved to bolster Somalia's interim government across the border. Despite the rebels' allegations that a trade blockade is squeezing food supplies and causing starvation, the government may ride out any Western backlash. "The Ethiopian government has proven to be quite capable of weathering international criticism," the academic said. "There isn't much leverage the international community can use. Major donors don't want to suspend programmes and the United States needs an ally in its counter-terrorism war." Moreover Addis Ababa ploughs significantly more money into ****** for roads and other services than it receives in taxes. A crucial factor that may be driving Meles' crackdown is energy. Several oil and gas firms have shown interest in ****** including Malaysia's Petronas, China's Sinopec and India's GAIL. Several experts on the region suspect energy explorers who signed deals with the government are putting pressure on Meles to ensure security in gun-infested ******. "What hit the government was that all the oil companies operating there left the region (after the April attack)," said another foreign analyst. "Now they are all in talks with the government about solving security, the political situation with the ONLF and making sure there's fair distribution of profits." He said the government had hoped for a fast campaign. "They were probably hoping six months was enough before the focus on human rights gathered momentum." Although the ONLF has been accused of targeting civilians and blamed for a spate of grenade bombings, its complaint of political inequity touches a nerve with many ethnic groups. Critics say the government has failed to uphold Article 39 of the constitution, which espouses the unconditional right of "Every Nation, Nationality and People in Ethiopia" to self-determination, including secession. The concept of ethnic federalism was meant to cement together a nation of 81 million people living in nine states, encompassing a myriad ethnic groups, scores of languages and three major religions. But, Abdulkader Sulub Abdi, the Geneva-based international coordinator of the ****** Human Rights Committee, accused Meles of favouring his Tigrayan ethnic group since 1991 when he ousted Amharic military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. "The Tigrayans and the Amharas before -- the highlanders -- see themselves as the elite with the God-given right to rule other people. They see themselves as the masters of the land." "Meles' government and his policies are forcing people to join the rebels," Abdi told Reuters.

^ Rudeness! Take it easy on the old man and don't go below the belt. Maybe the "Dukes" that surround the Colonel feeding him "half the story" are to blame.

^^ Joking aside, I meant it when I compliment you. Unlike some phoney "somaliweynistes" in here, you don't say things for worthless SOL brownie points and your "analysis posts" - however inconsistent - seem to reflect what you genuinely feel at any pointing time. Enough with the pleasantries. "Here is another probing inquiry for you blowhard, why are the majority of Somalis cower and hide at home and not show their resistance, in the field, against the “occupation”? I don’t see one fifth of tumin of the eight million strong or so taking stand against bad Tigre boys. Don’t they see? What’s stopping them…please some1 help me out? I knew all along that the era of Somalinimo was over. What I’m trying to understand is what happened to Muslinimo? And how come Ayoub is not pressing the arsenal reserved for PL’s offensive for the defense of the Mogadishu brethren! Halkay beladu iska qaban la’dahay?" What arsenal? What offensive? The little I have is for defensive purposes only. Even if I try, will I not have to trample allover PL on my way south? What will you have say about that? If the little I have makes it all the way there, who are Ethios eyes and ears on the ground? I doesn't stop here either. Baashow, the people of Mogadishu delivered their end of the bargain when they opposed the warlords' "Satan alliance " and chased them out. In return, they enjoyed a brief period of peace and progress. If there was something worth build on, that was it. You can't downplay the role Yey's PL militias played in reversing the what the people of Xamar gained. Col. Yey's immediate cry was "I'll be the man to crush the wadaads so back me". The rest is history ... Back 1977-8 war with the Ethio, future SODAF/SSDF colleques of Yey betrayed and executed Somali fighters in Jigjiga in an effort to undermine the war so that it makes it easier for them to gain power. The point am trying to make is; for some, it does not matter if all Somalis deliver their end of the bargain ... their "right to rule" comes first and everything else comes a distant second. They either change their thinking or they'll always be war. Do you now see the case for negotiation so the opposing part can be reconciled? Do you see if they strike a deal (practical and fair) both Addis and Eritrea’s leverage and influence on the so called stooges will evaporate overnight? Short of surrendering, what's there on the negotiating table? Is Yey even sincere about negotiations? How many times has he broken or pulled out of agreements that he disliked? Remember what happened when elders chose Ali Jama rather than him? What about promises he made to Col. Aweys or Gen. Barre? Cirrid Yaambo & Co? Maybe I'm just a pessimist but the actions and rhetoric coming from the TFG back my views because they don't even want to sit down with their opponents. Finally, what IF the was geniune negotiations and they produce an agreement not acceptable to you, like Burco 1991? Just a thought .. . [ August 24, 2007, 03:43 AM: Message edited by: Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar ]

^^ Oh I feel touched and moved by your part clanish, part patriotic words HornAfrique.

Another day, another doq*n.. Originally posted by Faarax-Brawn: quote: Originally posted by Nayruus: When Yey comes with the mighty army of the world, I presume it will a cake walk because Mel and Tigrean militia are already in all areas of Hargeisa-Burao-Barbera region. Translation: My uncle has no strong brave soldiers to fight for him & defeat his enemies. Waxaan maqli jiray,Timirtii horaa dab loo waa. Adeer,perhaps your Uncle should first deal with the "little Problem" in Xamar. Give him credit for figuring at least that out. If the UN really cares for Somalia, it should show it by sending in an army of psychiatrist armed with antipsychotic medications. I suggest the name "Operation Restore Sanity". Originally posted by HornAfrique: Nayruus, at the end of the day Somalia is one and will continue to be it. Even if Somalia does get its act together and forcefully tries to bring Somaliland back into the fold setting off a long separatist movement, the world will still continue to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic. Really? Is that why n Ethio Gen. Gabre and his army - with the help of stooges - against UN resolutions invaded and occupies the country? Is that why American bombers do night-time raids on villages and "president" responds by saying "heard it on the radio". What about the Asian fishermen all over your territorial waters while European vessels dump toxic waste. Don't forget shady businessmen signing underhanded mining contracts with criminal warlords. The world has a very peculiar way of showing "respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity" to the Somalia.

JB According to the man in your signature, the admin has agreed to to release the trio. So much for "it's a court's decision". They've gained nothing but bad publicity. Lost not only lots of support (and respect) but some senior members. Not worth it all and it was a shame you went with it.