^^ Aamiin to that. Mabruuk DADDY DUKE.

^^ My understanding was the letter was planned before the arrests and the timing of it's release was coincidental. Here's one people behind the letter in today's Times: Why Muslims must rise up now and join the battle against extremism Shahid Malik ON FRIDAY last week I agreed to add my name to a letter to the Government from Oxfam, other non-governmental organisations and individuals to express, in the wake of the Middle East crisis, our commitment to the fundamental humanitarian principle that all innocent lives should be valued equally. As has been made apparent to me over the past few days, the letter was open to several interpretations. It has never been my contention that the Government ought to change foreign policy because of terrorist threats within our borders. We must never be held to ransom by those who would deliberately shed innocent blood in the name of their cause. I firmly believe that justice, righteousness and national interest should be our policy compass. So when ministers such as Kim Howells and Douglas Alexander argue that “no government worth its salt would allow any policy to be dictated by threats of terrorâ€, we are at one. I doubt if many would question my commitment to fighting terrorism. I have vociferously argued, ever since it was revealed that the leader of the 7/7 bombers was my constituent, that no policy, domestic or foreign, can ever justify or excuse British-born Muslims strapping on suicide belts. Yes, foreign policy causes anger among many British Muslims but this does not in itself cause terrorism. Unquestionably, the lethal ingredient is a twisted, perverted interpretation of Islam whereby you can legitimately kill yourself and other innocent people, and you will go to Heaven. The notion that you change foreign policy to save civilian lives in, say, Lebanon, or Palestine, by slaying innocent men, women or children in the UK or US is perverse and profoundly abhorrent. Furthermore, all it does is create tremendous misery for the overwhelming majority of Muslims who reject the terrorist ideology. On a recent visit to the US, I was shocked to learn that tens of thousands of Muslims left their adopted country after 9/11 — with more planning to continue the exodus because of increased domestic hostility. Even in Britain, fear has propelled some Muslims to build homes abroad, just in case. While being tough on terrorists, however, the Government should be flexible enough to listen to those who have genuine policy concerns. Today I, along with other Muslim MPs, will discuss with John Prescott some of the challenges ahead. The Prime Minister has also indicated that he is willing to meet those with concerns. This is the way forward. Any British Muslims who are in disagreement with foreign policy must follow the path of others by exercising their right as citizens to influence policy through the established route: that is, by engaging in the political process. In this world of indiscriminate terrorist bombings, where Muslims are just as likely to be victims of terrorism as other British and US citizens, we have an equal stake in fighting extremism. But more importantly, given that these acts are carried out in our name (Islam), we have a greater responsibility, not merely to condemn but to confront. As an MP for the constituency with the country’s highest BNP vote, I strongly believe that the BNP will only be defeated by white people taking leadership. Likewise, Muslims themselves must take the lead if we are to defeat the extremism within. With the exception of a very few, mosques in Britain are extremely vigilant about who and what they allow on to their platforms. The greater danger is now posed in the virtual world, by the preachers of hatred accessible on the internet and based virtually anywhere, ever ready to prey on the angry and frustrated. As I said to some 500 Muslims in a hall in Leeds on Saturday, a whole year on from the heinous acts of 7/7, the Muslim community has not yet risen to the challenge presented by extremism in its ranks. This was depressingly laid bare by a recent Times poll that stated that 13 per cent of British Muslims believed that the 7/7 attackers were martyrs. And foreign policy issues are undoubtedly a factor in formulating such beliefs. Is it a sane response to kill more than 1,000 civilians in Lebanon — mainly women and children — for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers (not forgetting the 40 or so civilians killed by Hezbollah rockets)? The answer is unequivocally “noâ€. And that’s before we even touch on Kashmir and Palestine, both of which have UN resolutions 59 and 39 years old respectively with no international will to deliver justice to these people. It is this perception of double standards that fuels anger and hatred and has single-handedly served to undermine our counter-extremism arguments. As a Muslim I believe that there is no better place in the world to live than Britain. After 7/7 we expected a backlash against Muslims but it didn’t really materialise. Yet had 7/7 taken place in Pakistan and the perpetrators done it in the name of Christianity, how many Christians, one year later, would be dead? Ten or 100 or perhaps 1,000? A real-life analogy in that region came in 2002 when some 50 Hindus died on a train in Gujarat .What was the response? Some 3,000 Muslims were butchered, hundreds of women raped, businesses and homes looted and razed to the ground. The freedoms and lifestyle we enjoy here cannot be matched in either the Muslim or non-Muslim world, but they do demand a price. Despite accusations of “sell-outâ€, a barrage of hate mail and the compromising of my personal safety, I would still support the Government’s anti-terror legislation, including the 90-day pre-charge maximum detention period. For British Muslims the fight against extremism is not just for the very soul of Islam but for the freedoms we enjoy as Britons. Shahid Malik is Labour MP for Dewsbury source

Originally posted by HornAfrique: Negotiations are still underway to ending this so far non-hostile incursion in a peace manner. Non-hostile? You make sound as if Meles sent shoulder-wiggling girls to do a little dance for you.

Xiin For a person who said they supported the Courts for "ideological reasons", this "time to part" pledge makes you appear as someone practicing NIMBY politics. There's virtually no difference between your new stance and Duke Smith's about turn - when he felt Yey's Baidoa seat was under threat. Whatever happened to the emotional pledge of allegiance to the Courts? Go on, explain it all away..

^^ I thought the local elections were meant to end all that. Here's informative video from home web page

^^ It's Sunday and our mate Socoto has had sip or two of holy blood Well done to Farah

Nobody's victory, but in the end Israel could not defeat Hizbollah Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor Sunday August 13, 2006 The Observer A month of fighting, more than 1,000 dead, upwards of 800,000 Lebanese displaced and $2bn worth of damage - for what? Who wins in this bloody debacle, assuming it is coming to an end? Given the continued fighting, that is still a big assumption. Not Israel, certainly. Even while the authors of this military adventure continue to try to carve out some notion of victory to sell the Israeli public, increasingly fewer people are buying it. The likes of deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres have tried to promote the notion that Israel has got everything it wants out of the war - and from Friday's disgracefully late UN resolution calling for an immediate cessation of violence (on which Israel is still being permitted by the US to drag its feet) - but the reality is that the prosecutors of this war have lost more than they have won. Whatever Israel does now, it is seriously diminished. In military terms it has been confronted successfully for a second time by the guerillas of Hizbollah. Again and again, its heavily-armoured Merkava tanks have been rocketed to a standstill. All its technology and its large army have been shown lacking the deftness and determination of a vastly smaller force lacking armoured vehicles, bombers and aircraft. Most seriously, its vulnerability to missile attack has been amply demonstrated to any enemy, despite its possession of US anti-missile batteries. Israel has lost one of its most powerful weapons - the psychological sense of its military invulnerability. It is something for which Israelis are unlikely to forgive those behind a war which evidence now suggests was being planned long before the kidnap of two Israeli soldiers. Even before the UN resolution was agreed, support for the conflict, though still substantial, was steadily beginning to erode, confronted by a constant stream of casualties from the fighting for little geographical and strategic gain. Indeed, Israel's only major victory thus far was the 'capture' of the largely Christian town of Marjayoun - peopled with its former collaborators with Israel's allies from the South Lebanese Army - a few kilometres across the border. Instead, in the past two weeks both the Israeli military and its political masters have come under attack for their prosecution of the war. And if one figure now appears most at risk it is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a cold fish who tried and failed to be tougher than his mentor, Ariel Sharon. For what Israelis have not been slow to notice is that Olmert has signally failed to achieve what he set out to do: destroy Hizbollah. The victory being claimed is diffuse and very partial: in securing a UN resolution sort-of-on-its-terms and by reducing (by who knows what amount) Hizbollah's capability. Beyond that Hizbollah has survived largely intact, but pushed back a little further from Israel's border. Then there are the imponderables. The nature of the Israeli campaign in Lebanon, with its scorched-earth policy designed to drive out local populations, its mendacious claim that it had allowed humanitarian corridors when it had not, its lack of concern for the killing of civilians (and callous explanation that dead civilians should have fled when threatened) has amplified the increasing sense abroad that this is a country which does not care about international law. Though the world has long demonstrated a habit of forgetting Israel's misdemeanours, this war has dramatised the urgent need for a return to a proper Middle East peace plan, a negotiated process that will be less generous to Israel than its own unilaterally-applied 'convergence' plan. There is a danger too that if America's unconditional support for Israel in this affair damages its wider policy in the Middle East - in Shia-majority Iraq, where there are tens of thousands of US troops, and over Iran - Israel may feel that it squandered a high point in its relationship with Washington for little real advantage. So who has won? Not Israel. Certainly not Lebanon or its fragile democracy, the development of both of which will have been pushed back half a decade and more. But what about Hizbollah? What can be said is that, on its own terms, it has not lost. Not yet. It has resisted Israel and thus far at least has survived, which was all it had to achieve. If it continues to survive until an international force is deployed - which seems likely - then the issue of its disarmament will have disappeared again into some vague future. In psychological terms, it can claim that its few fighters have inflicted disproportionate damage on the Israelis for a second time, and put the issue of the Shebaa farms on the negotiating table. But the real test for Hizbollah will be applied not by the international community but by Lebanon itself, which must decide if the price it paid for Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to claim bragging rights was far, far too high.

Hezbollah leader a hero to many Arabs By HUSSEIN DAKROUB ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER Image from television shows Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaking on the militant group's Al-Manar television in a broadcast aired Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006. Nasrallah said on Saturday the militant organization would abide by the U.N. cease-fire resolution but would continue fighting as long as Israeli troops remained in southern Lebanon. (AP Photo/ Al-Manar television) BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Despite the terrible toll in death and destruction in Lebanon, even enemies and critics say the stature of Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has risen dramatically from his guerrillas fighting toe-to-toe with the Israeli army. Some have even taken to comparing the radical Shiite Muslim cleric to the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, who enjoyed wide popularity in the Middle East for standing up to the West and pushing for Arab unity. "Hassan Nasrallah has won militarily and politically and has become a new leader like Nasser," Lebanese lawmaker Walid Jumblatt, a harsh critic of Hezbollah's alliance with Iran and Syria, said in a television interview. Hezbollah was already popular among Lebanon's 1.2 million Shiites, mainly from the armed struggle that led Israel to end an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon but also because of the group's network of social services and charities for the poor. Now, Israel's ferocious bombing has rallied many more Lebanese around Hezbollah, regardless of politics or religion, said Gen. Antoine Lahd, who led a now defunct militia that helped Israeli troops police the occupation zone before they withdrew six years ago. Beirut's leading newspaper, An-Nahar, has long been critical of Hezbollah - especially its harassing rocket attacks on Israel before the war began - but it urged all Lebanese to stand behind Nasrallah's group to achieve victory against the Jewish state. "When we look around we find in this battle two commanders: On the battlefield Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and on the political and diplomatic front Prime Minister Fuad Saniora," An-Nahar executive editor Edmond Saab wrote. Ironically, Saniora - a staunch foe of Syria, which along with Iran is a strong supporter of Hezbollah - also has seen his fortunes rise at home, for getting Lebanon's fractious politicians to work together and for resisting U.S. pressure to accept a truce more favorable to Israel. But in the wider world, it is Nasrallah's popularity that has shot up, among both his fellow Shiites and among Sunnis in the Middle East and with Muslims elsewhere. Arab Americans rallied outside the White House on Saturday waving Lebanese flags and chanting "Israel get out of Lebanon now." Earlier in the week in Moscow, Muslims carried a big picture of Nasrallah and waved Hezbollah flags outside the Israeli embassy. Some of the fiercest sentiment in support of the militant Shiite cleric has erupted during anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protests in predominantly Sunni countries like Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait - all key U.S. allies in the region. Demonstrators have voiced outrage at their leaders for failing to back Hezbollah and Lebanon. "Arab majesties, excellencies and highnesses, we spit on you," read one banner at near daily rallies in Cairo that have lashed out at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for what is seen as his failure to support Nasrallah and his fighters. A delegation of Egyptian intellectuals, actors and artists visited Beirut last week to show solidarity with Lebanon and express support for Hezbollah. "The resistance (Hezbollah) will stay and the occupation will go," said Hussein Fahmi, one of Egypt's leading actors. Protests have even broken out among the normally quiet Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia, where demonstrations are rare - though the demonstrators have been cautious not to criticize the ruling family, which initially was highly critical of Hezbollah for its July 12 raid inside Israel that killed eight soldiers and captured two. In Kuwait, thousands of people have taken to the streets in several demonstrations - two in front of the U.S. Embassy - to protest the Israeli offensive. Protesters held Nasrallah posters and Hezbollah's yellow flags and burned American and Israeli flags. Abdul-Mohsen Jamal, a Shiite former lawmaker and columnist, wrote in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas on Saturday that even though Nasrallah had no military training "he succeeded in making the army of Israel a 'joke' for the world to laugh at."

Originally posted by WaTerLily: I don't thik these women look happy, at least not happy about taking the picture. The night was young, that's all.. May I wish The Tall Man well and I hope this double-barrel wedding lasts.

Originally posted by Oodweyne: What that means, is that their two years of a charade that was intended to bamboozle the rest of the world into thinking that they are a government, which eventually will go to Mogadishu is almost over, and everyone can see that they have never had the intention of even coming close of ruling Somalia from it’s constitutional capital; but all along they genuinely thought that this TFG, was a means to milk the gullible westerners, particularly the European Union(EU); by way of saying keep supporting us and one day of not-that-too-distant into the future we will land in Mogadishu; but not yet, and in the mean-time, we just keep moving from one provincial city to another, as our temporary capital; provided you lot in the western world do not stop the rent money coming into our coffers. Spot on. Two years in Nairobi before this version of "transitional government" was formed and another two years after; the talk of Khartoum Peace Process started. We've only seen the Peace Process tour of handful of countries, i'm sure fans in other African and Middle Eastern countries cant wait for show to hit their nearest warehouse. Soon, Somali kids will want to be "Peace Process Delegates" when they grow up. And why not,some people are having wonderful careers of being PPDs.

Miss Addis Ababa University She can serve me her ajeeras and raw meat anytime.

Toumani Diabate Toumani Diabate is the 71st person in his family line to play the kora In a HardTalk Extra interview screened on 15th May, Noel Thompson talks to one of Mali's greatest musicians, Toumani Diabate. Toumani Diabate is the 71st person in his family line to play the kora Click here to watch the full interview Toumani Diabate is a master of his art: the kora, or African harp. Revered in Mali as the "prince of the kora", he has recently come to global attention thanks to a Grammy award for the album In the Heart of the Moon. This was the result of a collaboration with another Malian music legend, Ali Farka Toure, who died this year. Toumani Diabate tells Noel Thompson about the pressures of being the 71st in a family line of kora players. He also explains why Ali Farka Toure - regarded by many as the living embodiment of the original blues sound - made such an immense contribution to African, and world, culture.

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: My positions, political or otherwise, good Ayoub, stem from solidly rooted convictions and seldom do they wither when subjected to scrutiny! Needless to say spinners like your type would naturally have a hard time to crack my arguments. Despite of all your attempts, my argument in this thread stands unscathed! My original observation is also still valid! Wow! Your views are a bit shifty, to say the least. One minute you say it was all for sake of argument, and to entertain and the next you declare them solid. Unconvincing "Deep-rooted convictions" was Blair's excuse for his Iraq ventures Xiinow, what else have got apart from that? Puntland's H-ism is for all to see and how can one find "political value" and "pride" in her, while claiming their "loyalty lies not with the clan but with reason and faith"? Are you proud of the north-south Gaalkayco division too? And how you can you justify your claim for Kismaayo when you support H-ism in your neck of woods? What you call H-tsm, to me is a political mechanism that when done right produces wonders of sort in a country whose central goverment collapsed. Well done to them, but why don't you judge Somaliland on it's merits as well? Originally posted by xiinfaniin: That being the verdict let me lend you a piece of advice---the reason I came back to this thread. When refuting points or arguing for a position learn to erect your case without resorting to such a cheap charges! I acknowledge that they are convenient and expedient to use! But try to debate without---I know you could. And you should, I say. Saxiib you jumped on a (moral) high horse (horses even) with dodgy knees, so I had to take you for a run, that's all. Even the Xamar courts do know their clan connections, and for someone with your sort of views to make the claims you have is somewhat disingenuous, in my humble opinion.

Ngonge Maybe they haven't miss no trick and the aim of the game was (as the other "transitional governments" before them,)to collect as much money from as many sources as possible while it lasts.

Fists fly in Somali assembly over vote Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:25 PM BST BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Some Somali lawmakers threw punches and wrestled on the floor after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi survived a crucial confidence vote that could have led to the collapse of his government. Armed police entered parliament to separate four brawling members of parliament and escort Gedi out during several minutes of chaos after he survived the censure motion, witnesses said. Gedi won 88 votes to his opponents' 126 -- short of the two-thirds majority they needed to censure him in an old grain store converted into Somalia's temporary parliament. Defeat would have sparked the dissolution of the interim government's executive, already in some disarray over the threat from an Islamist movement that has taken the capital, Mogadishu, and a large part of southern Somalia. "Whatever we were accused of we will try to rectify," Gedi told about 200 supporters who celebrated later outside his home. "I thank those who brought the motion because they proved that we have democracy," he added in a conciliatory tone. The anti-Gedi faction had argued his performance was incompetent and his removal necessary to create a post for Mogadishu's new Islamist rulers to come into government. However, the Islamists' top leader said machinations within government did not affect their position of refusing talks until pro-government Ethiopian troops leave Somali soil. "We don't care whether it's a single soldier or a whole battalion ... as long as they are in our country, we will not attend," Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told Reuters of efforts to get both sides to a negotiating table in Sudan. TRADITIONAL ENEMY The Islamists took Mogadishu and other southern towns last month from U.S.-backed warlords, denting the Western-backed government's aspiration to restore central rule to Somalia for the first time since the 1991 overthrow of a dictator. Based in the provincial town of Baidoa, a former agricultural and trading town set in flat bushlands, the internationally-recognised but effectively powerless government was set up in 2004 to try to end anarchy in Somalia. Some anti-Gedi members of parliament and cabinet members are also angry at him for the government's controversial ties to Ethiopia -- Somalia's traditional enemy -- which is believed to have sent hundreds of soldiers over the border. President Abdullahi Yusuf has long been close to Ethiopia, and Gedi is accused by some of "selling out" to Addis Ababa too. Sunday's brief brawl was not the first time Somali legislators had turned violent on the job: a 2005 parliamentary session at a Nairobi hotel degenerated into chair-throwing. As he comes from the same clan as many of the Islamists -- and thus occupies the position agreed to be given to that clan in the interim government -- Gedi's position had long been seen as the one most likely to attract them into government. The Islamists, however, have not said if they even want power-sharing. And some fear they seek a complete takeover by military means to create an Islamic state based on sharia law. Surviving the censure gives Gedi a much-needed boost. His executive began unravelling last week with the resignation of 18 ministers and assistant ministers, who said they were stepping aside to promote the Sudan peace talks. Then gunmen shot dead a cabinet minister outside a mosque on Friday, which sparked riots and ratcheted up tension in Baidoa. In a separate development, the first conventional passenger plane in 15 years landed at Mogadishu's recently reopened international airport on Sunday, residents said. reuters =--------------------------------------- Booliska Dawlada Federaalka Soomaaliya ayaa maanta kala dhexgalay Laba mudane oo lakala yiraahdo Xuseen Caraale iyo Maxamuud C/laahi (Sifir) oo maanta isku feeray xarunta Baarlamaanka ee Magaalada baydhabo kadib markii ay lakala safteen Xukuumada raisalwasaare Geedi iyo Xildhibaanadii Mooshinka soo bandhigay. Posted to the Web Jul 30, 06:49 Booliska Dawlada Federaalka Soomaaliya ayaa maanta kala dhexgalay Laba mudane oo lakala yiraahdo Xuseen Caraale iyo Maxamuud C/laahi (Sifir) ayaa maanta isku feeray xarunta Baarlamaanka ee Magaalada baydhabo kadib markii ay lakala safteen Xukuumada raisalwasaare Geedi iyo Xildhibaanadii Mooshinka soo bandhigay. Wararka laga helayo Baydhabo ayaa sheegaya in labada xildhibaan ay isku dheceen kadib markii uu dhexmaray muran la xiriira guusha raisalwasaaraha oo uu taageersanaa Xildh.Xuseen Caraale iyo guuldarada Xildhibaanadii Mooshinka keenayoo uu taageersanaa Xildh.Maxamuud C/laahi Sifir kaasoo markii danbe isu bedelay iney gacanta isula tagaan inkastoo ay badbaadiyeen Booliska Xukuumada. Wasiirka waxbarashada Dr Cali C/laahi Cosoble ayaa sheegay iney kala badbaadiyeen labada mudane si aaney arintu faraha uga bixin lana xalin doono qilaafaadkooda maadaama ay dhamaatay wixii laysku qabsaday. Xildhibaan C/laahi Geedi Shadoor ayaa isna sheegay iney jirto wax ay xildhibaanadu ka caroodeen oo uu ku sheegay iney jirto laaluush lakala qaatay isagoo umuuqday inaanu ku qanacsaneyn Natiijada ay Maanta udhacday codkii kalsoonida ee loo qaaday xukuumada Raisalwasaaraha. Bishii Maarso ee sanadkii 2005 ayey aheyd markii ay is farasaareen Mudanayaasha Baarlamaanka oo xiligaa ku shirsanaa Magaalada nairobi iyagoo ka doodayey Keenis Ciidamo shisheeye oo markii danbe ay Magaalada Baydhabo ku ogolaadeen. Cabdilaahi Hilowle Idamaale News,Muqdisho

Oren Ben-Dor: Who are the real terrorists in the Middle East? What exactly is being defended? Is it the citizens of Israel or the nature of the Israeli state? Published: 26 July 2006 As its citizens are being killed, Israel is, yet again, inflicting death and destruction on Lebanon. It tries to portray this horror as necessary for its self-defence. Indeed, the casual observer might regard the rocket attacks on Israeli cities such as Haifa and my own home town, Nahariya, as justifying this claim. While states should defend their citizens, states which fail this duty should be questioned and, if necessary, reconfigured. Israel is a state which, instead of defending its citizens, puts all of them, Jews as well as non-Jews, in danger. What exactly is being defended by the violence in Gaza and Lebanon? Is it the citizens of Israel or the nature of the Israeli state? I suggest the latter. Israel's statehood is based on an unjust ideology which causes indignity and suffering for those who are classified as non-Jewish by either a religious or ethnic test. To hide this primordial immorality, Israel fosters an image of victimhood. Provoking violence, consciously or unconsciously, against which one must defend oneself is a key feature of the victim-mentality. By perpetuating such a tragic cycle, Israel is a terrorist state like no other. Many who wish to hide the immorality of the Israeli state do so by restricting attention to the horrors of the post-1967 occupation and talking about a two-state solution, since endorsing a Palestinian state implicitly endorses the ideology behind a Jewish one. The very creation of Israel required an act of terror. In 1948, most of the non-Jewish indigenous people were ethnically cleansed from the part of Palestine which became Israel. This action was carefully planned. Without it, no state with a Jewish majority and character would have been possible. Since 1948, the "Israeli Arabs", those Palestinians who avoided expulsion, have suffered continuous discrimination. Indeed, many have been internally displaced, ostensibly for "security reasons", but really to acquire their lands for Jews. Surely Holocaust memory and Jewish longing for Eretz Israel would not be sufficient to justify ethnic cleansing and ethnocracy? To avoid the destabilisation that would result from ethical inquiry, the Israeli state must hide the core problem, by nourishing a victim mentality among Israeli Jews. To sustain that mentality and to preserve an impression of victimhood among outsiders, Israel must breed conditions for violence. Whenever prospects of violence against it subside, Israel must do its utmost to regenerate them: the myth that it is a peace-seeking victim which has "no partner for peace" is a key panel in the screen with which Israel hides its primordial and continuing immorality. Israel's successful campaign to silence criticism of its initial and continuing dispossession of the indigenous Palestinians leaves the latter no option but to resort to violent resistance. In the wake of electing Hamas - the only party which, in the eyes of Palestinians, has not yet given up their cause - the Palestinian population of Gaza and the West Bank were subjected to an Israeli campaign of starvation, humiliation and violence. The insincere "withdrawal" from Gaza, and the subsequent blockade, ensured a chronicle of violence which, so far, includes Palestinian firing of Kasem rockets, the capture of an Israeli soldier and the Israeli near re-occupation of Gaza. What we witness is more hatred, more violence from Palestinians, more humiliation and collective punishments from Israelis - all useful reinforcement for the Israeli victim mentality and for the sacred cow status of Israeli statehood. The truth is that there never could have been a partition of Palestine by ethically acceptable means. Israel was created through terror and it needs terror to cover-up its core immorality. Whenever there is a glimmer of stability, the state orders a targeted assassination, such as that in Sidon which preceded the current Lebanon crisis, knowing well that this brings not security but more violence. Israel's unilateralism and the cycle of violence nourish one another. Amidst the violence and despite the conventional discourse which hides the root of this violence, actuality calls upon us to think. The more we silence its voice, the more violently actuality is sure to speak. In Hebrew, the word elem (a stunned silence resulting from oppression or shock) is etymologically linked to the word almut (violence). Silence about the immoral core of Israeli statehood makes us all complicit in breeding the terrorism that threatens a catastrophe which could tear the world apart. okbendor@ yahoo.com The writer teaches the philosophy of law and political philosophy at University of Southampton PM urged: Stand up to Bush and call for ceasefire

^^ Turning the other cheeck, huh? You joined SOL on TNG's last day and on the eve of Yey's TFG ascent (just a coincidence am sure) so i'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I would'nt be so generous if I never joined this joint on April Fool's Day. If you're not going to defend yourself, i'll leave here. Originally posted by Oodweyne: ...Mr. Duke , who daily demonstrate such glaring disability of parroting whatever inanities that come across from the lips of Uncle Yey , with so much of a discriminating filter to lessen it’s incredulity in our ears!!. No filter, you mean.

^^Farah is running in the London Grand Prix, Crystal Palace tonight 28 July BBC2 6pm (and eurosport?)

Xiin I've hightlighted what does not add up to avoid that sort of question. On one hand, you claim you supported Yey regime only as an act of patriotisim (what's new?) and now support the Islamic courts because your .." loyalty lies not with the clan but with reason and faith".. If you left things there, I might have bought your story but went on to add "to think Puntland and its interest in the south will vanish with the old man’s looming demise is a third grade thinking" and Puntland as a political entity whose tribes are fundamentally opposed to your cause is there to stay !" You support H-ism tribe-based "here to stay Puntland" and "her interest" south at the same time claim being not "clan but with reason and faith". All that in a single breath, but does it make sense to you? Go on explain it away... @Paragon, what say you?

^^ AAMIIN

^^^ It's the infrerioty make you cower under the likes Col Yey, Gen. Siyaad and Mullah Xassan. Ever wondered why it's always peaceful up there when there no-one taking advantage of your complex? Would you like to share with us what the likes of you'll are hoping to gain by supporting the likes of Yey? Perhaps- knowing how low you always tend to aim - he promised to re-instate the likes of you to the Wakaaladdaha as the resented pen-pushing subordinates who used to behave as human isbaaro .. What is it Sam, what is it? Originally posted by xiinfaniin: True that I’ve supported the outcome of Somali Reconciliation Conference in Kenya. But that was not out of political conviction rather it was out of practical consideration of Somalia’s dire human suffering. If the armed warlords were to be crowned and given what I thought was the cause of their fight, I reasoned, then perhaps some semblance of governance could’ve been put in place! Governance, mind you, no matter how weak and primitive, that could’ve lessened the misery of my own people! I am not ashamed of that position ---I continue to hold it and that’s the reason I still think peace talks are the way forward. Now the rise of Islamic Courts is a source of hope for me! In the first time in our civil war history a political group whose political platform is based on ideology rather than on tribe is slowly emerging. You consider me a remnant of the defeated lot, I know I can’t dislodge you from that rotten hole, but I don’t feel so defeated now when I watch the shoots of hope from Mogadishu! Very hard to believe that’s coming from someone whom you think of as a lackey of the old man. My loyalty lies not with the clan but with reason and faith ---alien concepts to some of your secessionist folks. I know. But for the sake of argument, and to entertain you a bit, to think Puntland and its interest in the south will vanish with the old man’s looming demise is a third grade thinking adeer . How could you commit such a schoolboy mistake? Is it because you rascally envision that the relationship between the old man and your political supporter (though reluctant a bit) Ethiopia would end by his demise and hence secessionist’s cause would be better served? Is that how your thinking goes? Adeer face the music as it were and realize that Puntland as a political entity whose tribes are fundamentally opposed to your cause is there to stay ! Clearly that's beyond duplicity if you ask me, but it all makes sense in your mind, does'nt it?

^^ Just a figure of speech mate, i love semi-deserts anyway so keep your hair on, will you? At least you did'nt dispute the "promised land" bit, huh? *Why is everyone so sensitive these days?* nite nite buddy, don't have nightmares

Originally posted by Oodweyne: But, which ever the case may be, lets hope that we finally have buried in here - once and for all - their conceit of crying a crocodile tears for the notion of “Somalinimo†; least of all from this day onward, given that we have the genuine article of fifth-columnist sort of concrete reality in front of us, in the form of Col. Yey and his treasonable conduct of recent days; If Col Yey failed to deliver our neighbours from the deserts to the promised land, then am certain they will try shove another "Moses" down our throats, and if they have to use "Somalinimo", believe you me they will try. After all, they didn't stop singing his praises even after leaking of the speeches he made when his predecessor (Salad Boy) was niminated "president" , did they? Matter of when not if.. Hornafrique Never meant to hurt your feelings, and apologies in advance. This is what lead me to believe that, care to explain what you meant? SamuraiW I guess Riyaale's plans to contest another Presidential elections when his term runs out. You're the man who used to claim he was on his way to Mbagathi (remember that place?), so i'll take everything you say with a pinch of salt.

Originally posted by Biixi: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's a jigsaw puzzle!

By Tom Knight (Filed: 24/07/2006) Mo Farah finally came good on the promise he has shown when his performance at a meeting in Belgium rocketed him to second in the all-time British rankings for the 5,000 metres, though he could only finish sixth. The Somali-born Farah clocked 13min 9.40sec in the Night of Athletics meeting in Heusden to improve his personal best by over 21sec. Of all Britain's illustrious distance men, only David Moorcroft has run quicker. Now the chief executive of UK Athletics, Moorcroft clocked a then-world record of 13-00.41 in 1982. This was a major breakthrough for Farah, a winner of five English Schools titles who, because of the war in Somalia, came to live in this country when he was nine years old. He has represented Britain since he was a junior and, until now, his best performances have come in cross-country. Farah's time ranks him second in Europe, so, as arguments continue to rage about the poor state of British men's distance running, he can at last be considered among the medal prospects for next month's European Championships in Gothenburg. This, despite his protestations to the contrary. "I hope nobody starts to hang a European medal round my neck now," Farah said. "I set out last night to get under 13min 20sec and qualify for Gothenburg." Farah, who spoke no English when he settled in Middlesex, was taken to his local athletics club by his PE teacher. He has developed into a dedicated runner and is among those who have benefited from their time at UK Athletics' High Performance Centre at St Mary's College, Twickenham, where his training partners have included Australia's Craig Mottram and a host of top-class Kenyans. Farah said his regimen incorporates a "no parties, no drinking, no silly things" lifestyle. He added: "You've got to have a social life and go out with your mates - but the priority is running. "I'm training twice every day, having massages after each one, doing some core stability exercises, a little bit of weight training and sleeping. That's all. I know I still have a lot to learn." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ ----------------------------- Farah was second in the European Cup 3000m in June Farah plays down Gothenburg hopes Mo Farah is playing down his chances of success at the European Championships after becoming Britain's second-fastest runner over 5,000m on Saturday. The Londoner, 23, clocked 13 minutes 9.4 seconds in Heusden, Belgium, to sit behind former world record-holder David Moorcroft (13:00.41) in the rankings. "I hope nobody starts to hang a medal round my neck now," said Farah ahead of next month's showpiece in Sweden. "What happens in Gothenburg just depends on the day." Farah has closed the gap on Ireland's Alister Cragg in this year's European rankings, making him an obvious contender for a podium place in Sweden. But he added: "I may be up there with those guys now, but a lot of them have much more experience than me." Farah lives in Teddington on the outskirts of London with a group of Kenyan athletes, including Heusden winner Micah Kogo. And the Somalia-born athlete believes his regimented lifestyle is helping him produce the sort of times that are making his rivals sit up and take notice. "I'm training twice every day, having massages after each one, doing some core stability exercises, a little bit of weight training - and sleeping. That's all," he said. "Staying injury-free is important. But I know I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, especially in world terms." bbc