STOIC;832266 wrote: I promised to update this page after I attend the conference on May 18 in Washington DC. So to keep the promise i decided to write about my take of the conference. Many Somalilanders were bustling around the northern VA area this weekend. It was great to see many faces I have only seen on youtube clips. The likes of David Shinn, Somaliland foreign affairs minister Dr. Mohamed Omar,the iron-lady of Somaliland Edna Adan and Faisal Ali Warabe (I'll talk about Feisal and the lunch I had with him later) The highlight of my day was a funny historical speech delivered by Former undersecretary general of united nations Abdirahmi Abbey Farah.There was an entertainment party at night hosted by Nur Dalaac and Nimco Yasin.My favorite song was Somaliland allow dhowr by Nuur Dalaac. The conference was well organized. A rigorous and at times very moving speeches were delivered by the guest speakers, some were funny, other boring and some downright informative. The conference was not degenerated into numbing litanies of past history. The organization of such conference reflects the realities Somaliland people. It provided a principle of organization and motivations. There were many things that could have been changed by the conference organizers, but I will leave the complains to others. There were a sustained body of scholars, who were present making a persuasive argument for Somaliland secession. Having listened to their presentations Somaliland now banks on a pedigree of college professors to put the words out about their aspirations (a good move if you ask). Many of the guest professors advised Somaliland to join the World trade organization (an organization I suspect doesn't need a country to be a recognized to be a member). I believe Soon or later Somaliland will be freed from force-feeding the rest of the world their aspirations down the narrow throats. Let me say first i was honored to have lunch with Feisal Ali warabe.Somalis say "Garashaa horteet haainaciin" I must profess ( disclaimer: I share same sub-clan with Feisal) I was never his big fan .But after getting to talk to the man I realized he was simply not a man who derived prestige from the pips on his shoulders. He has recently emerged as one of the most defiant opponent of the current government leadership. He was simply a unrivalled politician who kept the government in check. He was honest in both his public and private speeches. He was straight forward with his words. A rationalist who believed in the Somaliland unfinished journey! He maybe the most tenacious and unsparing when it comes to Somalia and Somaliland issue, but at least the man is honest and says what he believes. Ahh, I never seen this post. Have you met up with I.Gaas kid from Jersey?

STOIC;807078 wrote: Xiin, i live nearby so I'll not miss it (If only i can drag along she-who-mus-be-obeyed)..You are more than welcome to join us...You will probably be bored with the special place and veneration we will accord with SL..I'll probably be giving my time and effort for the first time.... Were you there last weekend?

Che -Guevara;830437 wrote: Seek Help! Its just politics, nothing personal. Duke knows what that means.

Qandalawi;830294 wrote: ^Adeer maxaa kugubay, we have never seen you make such comment when Xujuf posts about 'Garowe clan enclave', and believe you me he post them all the time. You can't miss it. I don't know about the others, but I personally can't want until the next killings take place in the garowe clan enclave.

^^soler? WTF

Coofle;829542 wrote: Only if in Arts it is worthless....But Some of it is Super Super Worthy, like mine! Like what? BA is not a stand-alone degree (in my opinions), it barely qualifies you to get a decent job decent in North America.

^^ What are you talking about? I pm you about your lousy uncle trying to start something with Jonathan Starr and you got emotional over it? stop the nonsense...Tell your people that they don't own Abaarso, Send the memo now.

^^^ You might be onto something, but a BA degree is worthless...(no disrespect to those.......)

What did you go to school for? Note: Not interested in your postgrad education.

What did you go to school for? Note: Not interested in your postgrad education.

What did you go to school for? Note: Not interested on your postgrad education.

NGONGE;828077 wrote: ^^ Early days, saaxib. London was a precedent and the same "concessions" are likely to be made again for SL. Turkey, certainly, does not want to be looked upon as a lesser "power" to that of the UK. They'll pull all the stops to get SL to particapate. Simple diplomatic horse trading really. Wow..a big shocker. NG decides to go against the grain YET again.

AsadSL;827232 wrote: Good. No more meeting with the rest of the Somalis for another 21 years. LOL I

General Duke;821447 wrote: Puntland's constitution will be amended when the Federal one, its even clear on the Puntland Constitution that it will come under the authority of the Federal Government. However things will have to be worked out by committees of experts. Puntland accepts the Federal Republic, the flag the capital being Mogadishu. The rest is just details. Which means, until the federal one is set (whenever the time) puntland is operating as an independent nation (just read your own constitution please) Drafting the federal one will be very complicated after the process is overtaken by bad faith. I wish all my Somali Unity dreamers a good-luck, really.

^^ I don't see how that would work after reading your new constitution. The puntland constitution reads like they're an independent state. People don't just charge you for pursuing secessionist ambitions, you're a reasonable man, don't deny this fact. How do you see the current puntland constitution changing when "harmonized" with the federal one? What powers will the state give up?

General Duke;821374 wrote: So much for the secessionist arguments... The whole Makhir Community elders, leaders business men 120 delegates took part in the constitutional ratification.... Fair enough...now what unity do you have if every state drafts similar constitution? How would they be united?

Xaaji Xunjuf;821427 wrote: You mean selection I honestly think that's a better system for them. Democracy isn't fit to every society as it brings unnecessary drama. Let a council choose a leader and that leader chooses his cabinet.

General Duke;821423 wrote: Ohio is more important for the GOP than MN, that would make sense. What about Mark Rubio? Like Bobby Jindal, Mark just isn't ready yet. I see them both as future GOP leaders.

This is amazing...Africa rise.

General Duke;821407 wrote: I agree with Jacpher, this will be an interesting election, with a Billion or so dollars being used to campaign. The Black man seeking a second term and competing with the Mormon moderate who is pretending to be a conservative. Africaown, what is so special about Rob Portman, I thought he was going for Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota? Portman is well respected with really good track record that includes executive experience from Ohio ( swing state). He has consistently won his seat in ohio with high percentage.

^^ The bottom-line is the state of the economy. Obama's economic stimulus has failed and Romney and his team will exploit that. The other bs variables on the side like race, religious and social issues and the flip -flopping of romney will be just fun to watch, but real Americans don't give a.... about that.

^^ I highly doubt that, especially when some are speculating Romney will pick Rob Portman as his running mate.

The religious south may not like Romney but when given a choice between Obama and Romney who do you think they'll rather have? Its clearly Romney. Obama may well be the most unpopular president in modern history going for re-election. On the other hand Romney represents the privileged class of the US and is disconnected from women voters. One thing's for sure, this race will be a very close race..get your popcorn's ready?

Africans shocked by uncivilized antics of European savages DAKAR. Africans say they have little hope that Europe will ever become civilized, after a week in which Spain’s King Carlos went on an elephant-killing spree and the Swedish Culture Minister was entertained by a racially offensive cake. “You can take the European out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the European,” sighed one resident of Kinshasa. August Mwanasa, of Libreville in Gabon, said the latest atrocities didn’t surprise him as Europeans were still “savages”. “I don’t want to sound racist, and some of my best friend are white, but let’s be honest: violence is hard-wired into their DNA,” said Mwanasa. “I mean, Europeans killed over 20 million other Europeans in the 1930s and 1940s. That’s barbarism on a scale unprecedented in history.” Jenkins Odumbe, a Nairobi milliner, bemoaned ingrained attitudes of entitlement in Europe. “If they’re not going on the dole they’re asking for bail-outs,” he said. “Why can’t they just get up earlier and work harder, that’s what I want to know?” Liberte Aidoo, a Ghanaian travel agent, said she had been “shocked and disgusted” by what she found on her first trip to Spain. “The brochures promise sea and sun, but they’re still incredibly backward in Spain,” she recalled. “Basically they all live in mud huts called haciendas, and they sleep for two hours in the middle of the day. In Europe they call it a ‘siesta’. In Ghana we call it ‘being ****ing lazy’.” But, she added, this kind of “depressing inertia” was to be expected in a country with more debt than most of Africa combined. Meanwhile, most Africans have dismissed calls for Swedish Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth to resign following the debacle in which she was photographed eating a cake designed to look like a racist caricature of an African woman. “The only people calling for her to resign are European liberals hiding behind a thin veneer of civilization,” explained Burundian sociologist, Descarte Tugiramahoro. “We Africans are not shocked in the slightest. “All she’s doing is engaging in two ancient European rituals: giggling at people who look different, and symbolic cannibalism, as introduced by the Catholic Church. It’s all completely normal.”

Now that the primaries over and the stage is set for Obama vs Romney. This will be an interesting summer for US politics.