That doesn't answer the question, what makes the Capitol so important? It has a bunch of trashed buildings, a small seaport and an airport. What else?

So why should Xamar be so strategically important to Shabab? Why doesnt Shabab just go around it and capture the rest of the country?

Originally posted by Sayid*Somal: ^he can pronounce 'international community' perfectly but with slight hint of disdain. but i understand he prefers to speak Arabic. as for how paltalk works - go to their website and follow the instructions. Perhaps we have at least one thing in common then. I hold the same disdain.

Does he speak english?

Yes, I am serious. Ive never used Paltalk, does it work good?

Originally posted by nuune: How strange, that in one thread you look for Somalis to speak in a discussion panel, while at the same time congratulating them for being the top spot of terror. Ps: The way I see you, you enjoying the unfortunate moments that Somalia is in. Moment...do you live in a shell? I wouldn't call twenty years of country raping a "moment". And not at all, I just call a spade a spade and this is published news. Ive risked my *** the past two years jeopardizing my entire career in trying to promote productive programs in Somalia. Stats, data and numbers of these studies dont lie and another fact that remains are there are many here that support and sympathize with Shababs, one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter and all that. I would love for someone to attend the panel that is a Shabab sympathizer as I also respect that these supporters have their own views that drive them and a fair and balanced debate is necessary. Would you hold or attend a panel that is just one sided (?).... wouldn't be very interesting to hear the "party line" only expressed or productive would it?

Shabab supporters should feel proud right about now. Perhaps now that you hold the top spot A.Q. support will now increase for your "cause". Somalia tops terror attack list Published: Nov. 18, 2010 at 7:53 AM LONDON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Somalia now is the world's top terror state, surpassing Afghanistan, Pakistan and Colombia for the dubious honor, a British global study indicates. Somalia was first among 16 countries rated as facing an "extreme risk" from terrorist attacks, the Maplecroft global risks advisory firm said in a release. Maplecroft's Terrorism Risk Index was developed to help organizations identify and monitor terrorism risks to human security and international assets. The index released Monday uses data from June 2009 to June 2010 to assess the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks, including the number of victims per attack and the chances of mass casualties occurring, Maplecroft said. It also includes a historical assessment of the number of attacks between 2007 and 2009 and examines whether a country is at risk from a well-established militant group operating within its borders. In moving into the No. 1 slot from No. 4, Somalia experienced 556 terrorist incidents, in which 1,437 people died and 3,408 were wounded from June 2009 to June 2010, Maplecroft said. It had the highest number of deaths from terrorism per population, and more fatalities per terrorist attack than Iraq and Afghanistan. The index indicated the greatest threat in Somalia was from the fundamentalist militia al-Shabaab. "For business, assessing exposures to terrorism is becoming increasingly necessary," Maplecroft Chief Executive Officer and Professor Alyson Warhurst said. "Business assets are vulnerable in certain high risk countries."

Originally posted by Sayid*Somal: quote:Originally posted by Amistad: They also wanted someone from Shabab to show up and speak for a balanced discussion, so here is your chance if you are a supporter in mind, spirit, sympathizer whatever to speak your stuff. p.m. me for details. can they part take thru Paltalk? Sure, why not. We could out a paper cutout photo of a Shabab seated next to the other group members with a speaker and mic.

Originally posted by NGONGE: No such people post on this site. We are all Taxi drivers (for now). yeah, ya know Ive heard that about a few present and former government members...all former Taxi Drivers & restaurant workers. I guess the idea then would be to PASS IT ON then huh.

This black guy is a *****. Originally posted by nuune: quote:Originally posted by Amistad: They also wanted someone from Shabab to show up and speak :cool: yeah, funny huh? I had to kindly inform them that could be slightly difficult, unless they wanted to pay first class air from Mogadishu.

Once again

Esteemed SOL Members, I am assisting in organizing another Somalia Panel/Forum discussion in the Washington D.C. area at Washington University the 3rd of December. Prefer higher education, current of former TFG, Puntland or Somaliland, Ministers, Cabinet Members, Governmental Authority members or at least previous public speaking experience and in depth current knowledge of all things Somalia. They also wanted someone from Shabab to show up and speak for a balanced discussion, so here is your chance if you are a supporter in mind, spirit, sympathizer whatever to speak your stuff. p.m. me for details.

power to these ladies. I really like the first rule, it shows these ladies have ALOT of common freakin sense. Now if only the men could play by them Somalia could begin to repair itself in a matter of weeks, and this is a good example of how it could happen. The Safest Place in Somalia by Eliza Griswold http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and- ... riginalsR6 In the world's longest running failed state, Dr. Hawa Abdi took it upon herself to start a civil society on her land, complete with a justice system that imprisons men who beat their wives. Eliza Griswold, author of The Tenth Parallel, talks to the Mother Teresa of Somalia and her daughters. On her family farm a few miles outside of the city of Mogadishu, Dr. Hawa Abdi runs a camp for 90,000 people fleeing war. Two out of three are women and children. Here’s what it looks like: In a sea of sand dunes, a patchwork of bright fabric moves against itself, as new arrivals weave the bramble igloos, like upside down bird nests that they’ll be living in. Almost everyone arrives hungry, traumatized, sick and wounded, and seeking the protection of this 400-acre oasis run by Dr. Abdi and her doctor daughters, Deqo, 35, and Amina, 31. For the tens of thousands of displaced people who’ve left everything behind and choose to live here, the women have only two rules in exchange for free medical care, fresh water and living without paying kickbacks to anyone. Displaced women and children at Hawa Abdi refugee camp in the outskirts of Mogadishu. (Mohamed Sheikh Nor / AP Photo) The first rule: There’s no talk of clan, the family and political ties that divide Somalis. “We are all Somalis here,” Dr. Abdi says. The second: Any man caught beating his wife goes to jail—an old storeroom with barred windows, until his wife and the camp council of elders decide to let him go. This means usually just a few hours in the dusty, hot cell, but its effect is revolutionary: This is the first time in history that Somali women have formed the basis of their own society, and it’s working. Dr. Abdi is a 65-year-old Somali gynecologist who recently survived a brain tumor. She is also one of the world’s greatest unknown heroes, perhaps until now. The camp is a case study in what Somalia could look like. The international community is beginning to notice. Last week, Dr. Abdi and her daughters arrived in New York for the first time to be honored for their work as Women of the Year for Glamour magazine. Bear-hugged by Cher and Julia Roberts, the three doctors welcomed the attention, but only so far as it served those they’d left behind. “We’re lucky if only one child dies in a day,” Deqo said quietly amid the glitz and hubbub. They are even training former child soldiers to work as nurse’s aides in the hospital, instead of going to war. Visiting as a reporter in 2007 and 2008, I was dumbstruck by the innovative work of these women, and by their utter moxie. After two decades and at least 17 failed attempts at government, Somalia has the dubious distinction of being the world’s longest running failed state. It’s a black hole in international news, in part because militants kill local journalists and aid workers—an effective policy to keep control through fear and to make it easy to forget the lives of those like Dr. Abdi and the thousands of people who rely on her. But Dr. Abdi and her daughters dispel the common thinking that this badland is beyond saving. This remarkable place began as a one-room hospital, which Dr. Abdi started 20 years ago. Today, the hospital has 140 beds. Or, at least it did until last May, when a gang of Islamist thugs, called Hizb-ul-Islam, attacked Dr. Abdi’s camp, and demanded that, since she was a woman, she hand control over to them. (The Daily Beast broke the story in the Western press.) As The Daily Beast first reported, when the militants hung up their black flag in her hospital to show their power, Dr. Abdi ripped a bed sheet off a hospital bed and hung a white flag. “This is a neutral place,” she said. “This is a place of peace.” Dr. Abdi refused to surrender. "Fine, you're men. But what have you done for your society?" she challenged. So she and five of her nurses were held hostage for days by the group, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a militant leader who has been on the U.S. State Department terrorist watch list since late 2001. And this wasn’t the first time Dr. Abdi faced down men armed to the teeth. In 2007, a warlord named Mohamed Dheere, then mayor of Mogadishu, sent his militia to attack the camp and seize a rare shipment of food aid. He failed. Once again, this past May, as news of Dr. Abdi’s captivity spread, thousands showed up to demand her release. Those whose lives she’s saved were saving hers. The militant thugs agreed to leave. But Dr. Abdi refused to go back to work until her kidnappers wrote an official letter of apology, which they did. They also smashed everything in the hospital—including four incubators, more than 100 hospital beds, and every door, window, and piece of equipment.) Today, the hospital lies in utter ruins, and Dr. Abdi and her daughters are determined to rebuild. It’s a daunting task, but if anyone can do it, these three women can. “The Somali people need to stand on their own two feet now,” Dr. Abdi says. Already, with almost no international aid, the people who live at the farm are finding ways to feed themselves. After 20 years of being fed by the international community, Somalis have grown dependent on aid,” she says. This, she says, is one of the worst effects of so much more. So, she parcels out land for growing crops and puts those who can farm to work. She has wrangled half-a-dozen rowboats so that people can fish in the sea nearby. Families share the boats by fishing in shifts. But fishing in Somalia is low-class work, like making shoes, so it takes some encouraging to break these old taboos. The same goes for cutting the vaginas of 5- and 6-year-old girls. (Ninety-eight of 100 Somali women are survivors of female genital mutilation.) The doctors don’t tell parents not to follow traditions. Instead, they educate both men and women about the health risks associated with the practice, and let people decide for themselves. Education is a major component of camp life. Relying on small international donations, the doctors have managed to start a school for 850 children. There are plenty of out-of-work teachers in the camp, so the school provides them a small salary to work. They offer continuing-education classes—including foreign-language training—to 100 women. They are even training former child soldiers to work as nurse’s aides in the hospital, instead of going to war. “If you save a life,” her sister Amina added matter-of factly, “it makes your own life worth living.” To see the camp on Google Earth, click here. To help rebuild the hospital, go to vitalvoices.org. Eliza Griswold, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Tenth Parallel. Like The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates all day long. For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.

Ya just gotta love Amnesty.... the best part being the folks who want it, have to admit guilt before it is granted.

Originally posted by Xaji_Xunjuf: Why should we allow this in our country? What's in there for somaliland. To help them with their logistics. Huge port fees, Intl recognition that Somaliland is a playa in assisting the GWOT and not supporting Shabab, forwarding someones else's meaning of democracy etc etc etc part two would seem to be getting the goods overland by truck in one piece all the way to the south. No need for locals to be wary of ICAO. It is simply an Intl airport safety standards, rules & regulations organization with no ill intent or ulterior motives in mind, they should be welcomed in any capacity building in SL despite what UNSOA wants. If SL opens an ICAO maintained airport it really puts them on the Intl Airport map and would have many benefits on the road to progress.