Thats a question she should've sought answers to long, long ago like from "hello" on. Marriage is very, very difficult relationship to maintain and nurture. The person you marry is not his own island; he comes with lots of baggage. So if your friend understands him, loves him, and is confident they can last. Then, nothing else matters. But if she has doubts about the cultural differences that might come out later on, then I'd say leave it alone because they will come out and it will be harder.

From Legal standpoint, the company made a mistake. IT IS a violation of privacy if SHE didnt request the bundle up. Ehem..from Moral standpoint, she, the adultress, should be stoned to death. Istupidh waaxid dheh. Where is al-shabaab when you need them. LOL!

NG, Oo hada waxaad i leedahay wax kalaad igu maagto baad weeyday? Ma sidaasaan spotless u ahay? LOL! Waan ku fahmay. Now go home and unwind bal. I think you need a break.

I wanna join you. Though I think it depends where in the US one lives. There are ignorant and stup1d people in all countries. In some countries, the stup1d and ignorant people run the government and wage wars on countries where women dress in burqas. Got a litte love/hate thing going on for USA. Come join hands with us. Americans love their rights. Thats all they talk about, argue about and think about. Yes, there are ignorant people in every country, America won't make it a law though. They will however call you names on news channels and debate your humanity because it is their RIGHT to speak freely P.s I assure the Burka had nothing to with the wars. We are capitalist, we are after people's stuff(aka oil)not the clothes on their back dee.

What kills me is that you claim to be an English teacher. Horta Adeer whenever I disagree with you, must you point out my profession? Whats being an English teacher got to do with this? Have I used the language incorrectly or are you implying I lack aptitude for its duality? :confused: Mideeda kale, dhagax maxaad isaga dhigtaa? I know you see clearly how inappropriate such pictures are in this particular thread but you insist on defending JB who doesnt need defending. What JB did was like saying to a mother in mourning "Oh, your older son(the dead one) was magnificant and legendary but your younger son is murderous *******." Very inappropriate for the occasion.

Somalida ha noolaato!

Saas dheh. They can build a Cultural center that has a Mosque in it. New Yorkers love their cultural centers and their arts. It will even attract tourists. General, I know Muslims died but not as much as other people.

No I wont. I dont think in abstract. Realistically, it will incite hate crimes simply because the people who lost their loved ones will not bear to see a mosque anywhere around there. So I say, find another freaking space and leave ground zero alone.

There shouldnt be any Mosque anywhere near Ground Zero simply because it would incite more hate.

Dont lose hope Malika. Odaygi waan cafiyey aniga iyo Ibtina we came together. LOL!

C&H, inappropriate thread, yes, performing at a funeral NO; let’s not get too ahead. Al shabaab is not a rumor or something he made up for attention seeking. IT is a bigger reality than everything else in Somalia (including SL) put together which is facing us. The only point I wanted to make was: It was inappropriate and it seems like you agree with me. He didnt make Al-shabaab up, we know that. I dont get this whole SL v.s. Somalia thing. I havent met a single Somali person who takes joy in South's misery(they might say iyaa isku keenay but never I'm glad). Like Juxa, I'm glad that there are some places in Somalia that are safe. There is no cuqdad. Just a misunderstanding.

I could say few things back but you'll only admonish me and tell me edeb yeelo gabar yahay, so Adeer keep going...

I'm glad I live in America.Europe is behaving like it did before the Natzi years. I hope the woman got a good *** whopping.

OMG! When did it go from JB making a comment to "WE"??

What exactly is cheap about comparing the youth of yesterday and the youth of today? It is an actually more important discussion than the naval gazing going on in this thread. Jb's picture (for the kids with no sense of irony) is nothing but a virtual shake of the head. Alla! You want to know whats so cheap about comparing legends, people who actually liberated their country and people from cadow to people who are defacating on the same country? If JB wanted to discuss politics, he could've started another thread but no he had to come in swinging with horrifying pictures. It's like performing at a funeral: cheap and inappropriate. Like I said, I dont think it was anything sinister more like a joke that didnt generate laughs.

SYL has a special place in Every Somali heart. JB took a cheap shot but I dont think inuu neceb yahay dadkiisa regardless. It's blasphemy to compare SYL to Al-xayawaanadka today.

^C&H, my bad hon. With all due respect, If what I replied to you still makes you nitpick through the argument like you are walking a landmine, there isn't much sense in engaging in this discussion :cool: Shabeel , Yes and that isnt the only damage.

The way I understood was the inner/outter she was referring to were minora and majora! Cuz the way she shows it in the movie is as though the scaring could be seen if she just lifts her undergarment...Which could be miss leading...Anigii baaba shaki igalay!!! KK, this is that kind of Fircooni she is talking about. There are pictures if you want to google : excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening.Extensive tissue removal of the external genitalia, including all of the labia minora and the inside of the labia majora. The labia majora are then held together using thorns or stitching. Nothing remains but the walls of flesh from the pubis down to the anus, with the exception of an opening at the inferior portion of the vulva to allow urine and Menstruation|menstrual blood to pass through, NG, you're confused. LET IT GO! Seeker wasnt talking about her profession.

C&H You said, Separate the issues You and I agree that FGC should be banned. You and I agree that there has to be some awareness of the issue. What I am trying to convey here is the fact that before the Western society came galloping on its white horse with their anti FGM slogans, these societies were working on eliminating the practice. The educated, literate part of the society had medicalized the procedure. It was a step in the right direction that got derailed by the war. My response, First of all, I never thought you were for FGM. Second, there is nothing to seperate in my mind. Yes some community members have been working on eradicating this practice. More awereness and funding wont take away from that now will it? Say, some Norweigan woman finds out that such practice existed. Say, she gets outraged on behalf of the victims and decides to raise funds. Where will that money end up? Do you think she'll fly solo and knock on doors? No, she'll get in touch with people who are already doing ground work. So I dont see how more publicity takes away from those people. Mideeda kale, Medicalizing FGM might've decreased infections and mortality rate but it is certainly not the right way to go. We don't need to DO it safely and we need to be done away with this shit. Change is not instantaneous and won't occur from an outside source. True and everlasting change is going to have to come from within the society and implemented by the society. The new generation (the ones in the West) are not going to practice FGC. So who is practicing it? The ones who are illiterate and uneducated and live in a closed community. Yes again, We NEED funding and awereness. You can hand out brochores full of horrible images all day long in the rural areas but if you DONT have grants and manpower, you have nothing at the end of the day. Do you really think if you want these women to change their ways ostracizing them is the way to go about it? Dee, if all you want is people to read your book due to the shock factor, follow the storyline that most FGC stories follow, I got mutilated, I got forced into marriage, I ran away, I came to the West and I got saved! No one is ostracizing them. In fact, they are the true victims. And I dont understand about "The Shock Factor" you're alluding to. If those things happened to Warris, why can't she talk about it?? And why can't she disclose that she isnt the ONLY victim of such circumstances. But if you want to stop this practice there are ways to go about it that will actually eliminate the practice. It has been done by many societies including the Bedouin society in Isreal.Educate the people, create a health dissemination system, debunk the myth of religiosity, get the men to pledge they don't need infibulation to prove virginity, provide a different source of income for the traditional women who perform the surgery, provide a lesser alternative like nicking (yes I said this for really even a cigarette smoker needs nicotine in another form when quiting), research the traditional values of the procedure and find ways to override these societal values. BUT I repeat that the women who live in the boonies mentally or physically are not going to change their ways just because an outsider, informed by Weris narrative, comes and tells them to. All the steps you've listed are good. And why are you so sure that someone who lives in Somalia will not understand the evils of this practice? I am not against her talking about it nor do I care what her occupation is. She should absolutely be free to talk and I am free to point out the sensationalism of the tale and the ripple effect it has on the very people who deal with it on a daily basis. There are many narratives of FGC and each one is different. What her tale does is give a single brush stroke to an entire mural and she should frame it thusly The whole "sensationalism" comments baffles me because I fail to see how relating to what happened to you is sensationalizing. Say, I left my office today and got into my car and as I was putting the key in, some drunk person smashed into my car rendering me unconcious. Say I woke up and related the event of that day and how drunk driving is bad and that it kills more people every day. Can I be accused of "sensationalism"? NO! So why is it when Somali women open their mouth about REAL life experiences, they're media whores? It is not as IF she made the whole thing up. :confused: Here is a statistic for you, only 15% of all FGC are infibulation or fircoon. You know what the media portrays.........? Every black, muslim woman from Africa is infibulated. And who do you think stokes those fires? 15% might be the estimate of all that practice FGC or FGM but in our case and in Ethiopa's, Egypt and even Iraq it is waaaaaaaaaay over 15%. Also, anything other pricking as found in the Sunnah is playing with fire wether it is type I or II. Finally C&H, talking specifically about the state you and I both reside in. Some women, of a certain age set,skip out on yearly visits to the docs because of the whole FGC issue and recently have taken to applying a certain gel from some Middle Eastern country that re-suture their openings after birth. Are you really going to stand there and tell me that Weris' book or movie is actually going to make a difference for them? That they will be able to talk to their doctors openly and honestly? Or worse find compassion from doctor's informed by rhetoric that terms them as barbaric? I didnt get this last part at all. Are they not seeing their doctors because of the FGM or because they want to be born-again-virgins ?? I'm more concerned with children being forced to go under this procedure. If grown women want to open and shut genitals for whatever reason it is up to them.

LOL! JB, waan party gareeynayey buu maqlay markaasuu u xiisey club haye? I wasnt talking about that kind of partying, more like graduation get together with heaping plates of food, good weather and good friends. Hello, Juxa cadeey.

Ani koley hadey is qaawiso iyo hadey James Bond movie ka qeyb qaadato wax igama galin, ilaa iyo hada waxaan dhaafi la'ahay the way ee gudniinka usheegtay in the movie...The whole cutting 'inner' and 'outter' then sewing whatever that's left together baa iga dhaadhici la'...If that's the case, what's there left to sew baan fahmin? She didnt exaggerate. She is on point. * Warning: Graphic The cutting of the inner she is talking about is the *thing* they cut off first, then they scrape it clean(or attempt because there is muscle under the fat?), then they tighten the opening even more, then trim the labia :eek: What people dont understand is, this is a MAJOR surgery thats being performed by people with no medical training. Seeker , It is no HER dirty laundary but rather that of a sick society and it needs to be exposed. She is NOT alianating anyone worth attracting. If the mere fact of her occupation has people running for the hills, then those arent the type to take on this kind of struggle to begin with.

Is the Sopranos worth renting? I watched few episodes when the show was all the rage.

Nice poems Adam. We all have/had those days where all you can see is the dark.

Morning folks. I have been partying all weekend and now I'm crashed!

Lewis Black is one hilarous comedian.