Nomads I dug up deep into my old list of suggested topics today after a few weeks of absence from the forum, this topic appealed to me, maashaAllah, so tighten up your belts, I mean conveyor belts to you know where! (Aakhirah) I mean, hang in there! well if you don't know how to hang in there, you will know by the conclusion of this impromptu write-up. Caro Paesano, If I tell you that there is Someone Special in your life that is credited to all of your successes, yet you hardly stop to notice, what would be your reaction? Well, most nomads would want to meet this Special Person, and you are no different. So, can you believe that all of your successes are credited to a single person other than you? if you don't think so, then you are the right person to read this write-up, if yes, then, you are ahead in this class, sit tight for next module of your homework. Paesano, in one of my old write ups, I discussed success. We said that success is fitness for a purpose, so, once a purpose is defined, success can be likewise scoped. Let us stretch this logic a little bit further, if there is a purpose behind every success of yours, then what would that purpose behind it be? Any Clue? Let us start with success at school, purpose is to get a good job. The purpose of getting a good job is to make a decent living. The purpose of decent living is to serve by responding to a higher calling, like saving humanity from poverty and disease, educating the ignorant, saving the whales, the rain forest of the Amazon valley, endangered species like the Somali Pirates, American Neocons, the Kalahari pygmies, and the list goes on and on. Well, what is the purpose behind saving the whales? Without whales, the Antarctica krill population will undoubtedly swell so much that there wouldn't be enough phytoplankton to go around, which may endanger other species like penguins and seals to vanish, and that is enough to make the planet a boring place for our summer vacations to Marine World. So what is the point in taking vacations? I guess it is for getting rid of our yearlong stress at school or at work, This concludes the circular logic of our existence, that we work to live and live to work! Can we Break This vicious Circle? Yes We Can! , but not the wishy washy Obama Way! You see paesano, the purpose for being here on planet earth is to prepare for meeting that special One. Who we said is credited to all of your successes and happiness in this temporal life, while misery and failure is our own making. How much do you value your health? Your wealth? Your family? Friends? Free Time? Pizza? Sports? Well all of the above are for your joy and comfort. But you! yes, I mean YOU!, you are here for that special someone. That special someone is your MAKER!, before you meet your maker you need to rehearse what you are going to say to Him. Wait a minute Nomad, do you know what you need to remember for that eventual meeting? in few trillion years ( time stops for you after your death, so a one year and trillion years are the same, when you wake up, you will find a new reality, new skies, new world ruled by a new no nonsense King!) All you need to remember that day are two things! Only Two!! That is right saaxib! If you pay attention, usually you read about them every Friday as a reminder! Where? The last Verse of Surah Kahf Nur 2009 eNuri Softwano Series Dressed Up and Somewhere to GO! Jannah InshaAllah!

Jazaakellahu kheiran Rose Easy tasks indeed that get us closer to Allah SWT. Nur

Walaal Sheikh Sharif Assalamu Caleykum Wa Raxmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh. Walaal. Muddo dheer ayaan lasoo socday dhacdooyinka waddanka oon kala socday dhacdooyinkaas waddanka gudihiisa (muddooyin gaagaaban) iyo dibedda (muddo dheer). Marka hore aan iskaa baro. Waxaan ahay qof Muslim ah marka hore, oo Somali ah marka labaad ( u fiirso sidaan u kala hormarshay labada sifo). Waxaanan muddo dheer ahaa mutadawic ( volunteer) fidinta diinta Islaamka mawaaqicda Internetka gaar ahaan Somaliaonline oon sidddeeddii sano oo tagtay aan wax ku soo qori jirey. Walaal, qoraalkan waxaan kugu xasuusinayaa dhowr arrimood. 1. Inaad Allah hor is taagi doonto. 2. In lagu xisaabin doono. 3. In la soo saari doono waxa laabtaada ku jira ood qarin jirtay. 4. In dabadeed Allah uu ku abaal marin doono waxaad istaahisho asagoon ku dulmin. Walaal, anigoo tix raacayaa afartaas qodob, waxaan jecleystay inaan kula taliyo anigoo jecel inaad aakhiro iyo adduunba aad ku guuleysatid. Walaal, Allah nolosha adduunka wuxuu ka yeelay mid imtixaan ah, meel aan lagu nasanin, meel shar badan, meel kheir laga shaqesyto, loona tartamo waddooyinka nabadda ( Subul Al Salaam), meel dadka hodda,( Daarul Ghuruur) oo dad badan ku lumaan dad yarna ay ku mitidaan oo qabsadaan xarigga Allah oo adag. Talo waxaa ugu quman midda Allah uu raalli ka yahay, dadkuba ha diidaanee. Talooiyinkana iney xaq yihiin waxaa lagu ogaadaa cidhibtooda dambe, oo ah daarta aakhiro, maxaa yeelay Dunidu waa daarta loo qurxiyey kuwa daarta aakhiro laga xarrimay, taasoo macneheedu yahay, in marna aan DUNIDA DARTEED talada umadda lagu dhisin ee talada lagu dhiso Wanaagga Aakhiro, iyo badbaadada laga badbaado cadhada Allah SWT. Maanta waxaa ku horyaalla talooyin badan, waxaana la hubaa, haduusan Allah ku sugin addimahaaga dariiqa toosan inaad talo qaldan aad raaci doonto. Ogowna, walaal, in qof walba oo kuu qosla uusan aheyn saaxib, mid walbaa oo ku caayana uusan ahaeyn cadow. Cadow waa kan xaqa kaa fogeeya, haba kuu qoslee, saaxiibna waa kan xaqa ku xasuusiya naftaadoo dhibesaneysa, haba ku caayee. Maalinka aakhiro, intii isku jecleyd adduunka dartii, wexey isu noqon doonaan Cadow. Al akhillaa u yawma idin bacdhuhum li bacdhin caduw, ilal muttaqiin Walaal, adduunka ma hagaajin karo qof qalbigiisu jeceylka adduunka uu ku jiro, Qofka Aakhiro jecel una shaqeysta darteed, xikmadna ku dhaqma ayaa laga yaabaa inuu Adduunka iyo addoonta hagaajiyo, Aakhira guusheedana waxaa lagu xidhay Taqwada Allah, taasoo ah, Cabsida Jaliilka, ku dhaqanka Tanziilka (Quraanka), u diyaar garowga geeddiga Aakhiro, iyo ku sabirka waxa yar ( magac, mansab, iyo hanti adduun). Intaas waa iga xasuusin! Waxaan kaloon ku xasuusinayaa taariikhdii gabneyd aa Maxaakimta Islaamka iyo sidii qurxaneyd ee ummaaddu ugu nasatay lixdii bilood ooy hoos yimaaddeen xukunka Allah. Walaal, 20 sanadood ayaa nalagu dhex jirey, niman mujrimiin ah oo kulligood laga wada xukumo meeshaad taqaan, ayaa dhiigii rayadka magac qabiil ku daadshey, oo na dhex dheigay colaad iyo dakano, taasoo danta cadowgeenna ka lahaa ay aheyd in annagu aan is nacno, si Cadowgeenna aan u jeclaanno. bi'sa li dhaalimiina badalaa , ilaaa Tigreegii Somalida gumaaday aftirsigeennii lagu soo daray. Islaannimadii iyo raximkii naga dhexeyayna la gooyay. Mujirimiintii, ayagoo fulinaya amarka cadowgeenna ayaa wexey gumaadeen culimadeenna, si loo tirtiro diinta, dadkana looga fogeeyo Rabbigooda xaqa ah. Allah ayaa mujriniintaas, uga yimid hoostooda, meel ayan fileyn, markaasuu saqafkii dushooda ku soo dumay, markaasey badda ku carareen ayagoo naf ka raadinaya kuwey u shaqeynayeen. Allah ayaa ku galladeystay masaakiinta la dulmay guul ayan filaneyn, una diyaargoaroobin, oo siiyay guul la mid ah tii banii Israaiil fircown ay uga guuleysteen. Adiga ayaa markhaati ka ah in lix bilood oo barwaaqo, midow, walaalnimo, iyo cadaalad leh iney waddankii kulmisay, taasooy suuro gelisay naxariista Allah. Markii umaddii lagu kala dhex jirey 15 sano ay isugu imaatay Islaannimo dhab ah, oo keentay cadaalo, iyo sinnan xuquuqda ah, ayaa mar labaad Cadowgii waddankii soo weeraray, asagoo haddana adeegsanaya Mujrimiintii waddanka burburiyey. Walaal waa adigii ku dhawaaqay Jahaadka, dhallin yaro badanna dhawaaqaas ayey soo jiibiyen qaar badanna waa ku shahiideen, baaqaagii, Allaha ka aqbalee. Dowrkaagii Horseedka Jahaadka ahaa ood dhallin yaradaas ugu baaqday jahaadka waad ka maqnaatay, waxaanad doorbidday dowr siyaasadeed, taasoo keentay iney kuugu muuqatay in hagaajinta wajiga siyaasadeed uu ka muhim san yahay kan is-caabbinta. Waxaad haddana ka baxday midnimadii is-caabbinta markaad si gaar ah ula heshiisay Mujrmiintii 20ka sanadood waddanka burburiyey. Ka siibashadaadii Jahaadka, iyo ka bixiddaadii ururka is-Caabbinta ayaa wexey keeneen in aad u suuro gelisay cadowga umadda wexey ku keeni waayeen duullankoodii. Maanta, Jahaadkii aad ka tagtay, waad ku so laabatay, laakin rasaastaadii dhinaca walaalahaa ayey u jeeddaa, waxaanad ku saf tahay mujrimiintii Culimada Umadda madaxooda iibsan jirey. Walaal, wax weyn baa kaa qaldan. Walaal, askar shisheeye haddey wax tarayaan, 1993gii 30 kun oo askar ah ayaa nabad ka suurogelin waayay waddanka, maxaa yeelay nabad dhab ah ma aheyn, hadaba, Indonisia, Turkiya iyo Burundi nabad uusan Allah suuro gelin ma dhalin karaan ayagoo u shaqeeynaya marka horeba kuwii ka dambeeyay burburka waddanka. Walaal, Allah Xisaabta ha ka saarin, hana ku tiirsan daalimiinta si ayan cadaab Allah kuu taabanin Wa laa tarkanuu ila ladiina dhalamuu, fa tamassakumu naar Walaal, ogow mansabka ay cadowgu ku qirsan yihiin inuu ku dhisan yahay inaad Allah ka fogaato, iyo walaalahaa aad shalay meel ka soo wada jeeddeen. Ogowna, hadduu cadowgu ka gacan sarreyn lahaa is-caabbinta, inaadan maanta qiimo u lahaateen, maxaa yeelay, Somlalidu wexey ku maahmaahdaa, ninuusan warankiisu ku gelin weedhiisu kuma gasho, Walaal, ogow sirta guusha Ururka Maxaakimta uu Allah siiyey 2006-gii ineysan ku dhisneyn xeelad siyaasadeed iyo fadhiyaal Hotellada Nairabi iyo Jabuuti, guushaas wexey ku dhalatay daacadnimo Allah iyo dulmi xad dhaaf ah oo Mujrimiinta dadka ku sameeyeen iyo baryada Allah ee Masaajiddada lagu Allabaryay, hadaba haddey maanta kuu muuqatay in xeelad siyaasadeed oo qura loo bahan yahay, ogow in raggaad dheeshaas la cayaareyso iyo kuwa aad kooxda ka dhigatayba ay kaa yaqaannan cayaartooda, dabin weynna iney kuu dhigeen. Ogowna inaad dabinkaas ugu dhici doonto siduu ugu dhacay Cabdullahi Yusuf, maxaa yeelay markii danaha laga lahaa Cabdullahi Yusuf lagaa dhameystay, sidii kaba dhamaaday ayaa loo tuuray, adigana waxaad tahay kabahii cusbaa oo la dhalaaliyey si loogu gaadho meeshey ku gaadhi waayeen dayaaradihii iyo tankiyadii cadowga Somalida. Walaal, maanta waxaa kula gudboon dhowr talo: 1. Inaad ku socotid talada cadowga 2. Inaad Walaalahaa usoo laabatid taladoodana raacdid. 3. Inaad is casishid. Talada hore, waa ila qaldan tahay, Nabadda Somalia kuma istaageyso Xoog dibedda ka yimid, intuu raboo ha gaadhee. Talada labaad, aad bey u fiican tahay, Somalidoo badankoodna wey ku farxayaan ( marka laga reebo mujrimiinta dagaallka sokeeye iyo inta nafci adduun raadiska ah oo xisaabta Aakhiro moog), midnimadii walaalahana isku baheystay Allah dartiisna wey soo noqoneysaa inshaAllah. Talada seddexaad, waa mid ka dhib/nafci yar labada talo, waa mid meel dhexdhexaad ah, waana mid gaar ahaan adiga ku badbaani karta Allah agtiisa maalinka xisaabta, maxaa yeelay masuuliyadda umadda ma aha mid sahlan. Walaal, Diintu waa nasiixa, wixii aan ku qaldamay Allah ayaan warsanaya cafis, waxaan ku qumanahayna waxaan rajeynayaa inuu Allah ku waafajiyo raaciiddeeda. Nur 2009 eNuri Softwaano Series A Mind Once Expanded With An Idea, Can't be Shrunk Back To It's Original Size! We Demand Real Islam, Not Mannequins!

Adam Zaylac bro. If peace is achieved in Somalia against increasing odds, eNuri Mass Transport Consultants have the blue print of the first inter-Somalia Train Network. Imagine taking a high speed light train from Kismaayo along scenic Indian coastal line to Bossaaso in 15 hours! riding a luxury coach with wide windows, arriving at Bossaso True-Union-Station! hopping on the air conditioned green line to Djobouti via Burco, Hargeisa and Borama to Djibouti! that is right! the Conceptual designs, cutting edge technology, approximate costs per Km. and economic benefit to nation and investors are also available from eNuri Capital, your Kurtunwaarrey based Infrastructure Projects Venture Capital Consultants. Nur

If these crimes committed by the western moral authority is exposed after so many years, what could be happening to Somali kids in the west TODAY? Nur

Thousands beaten, raped in Irish reform schools By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press Writer DUBLIN – A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades — and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation. High Court Justice Sean Ryan on Wednesday unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland's Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse, which is based on testimony from thousands of former students and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions. More than 30,000 children deemed to be petty thieves, truants or from dysfunctional families — a category that often included unmarried mothers — were sent to Ireland's austere network of industrial schools, reformatories, orphanages and hostels from the 1930s until the last church-run facilities shut in the 1990s. The report found that molestation and rape were "endemic" in boys' facilities, chiefly run by the Christian Brothers order, and supervisors pursued policies that increased the danger. Girls supervised by orders of nuns, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse but frequent assaults and humiliation designed to make them feel worthless. "In some schools a high level of ritualized beating was routine. ... Girls were struck with implements designed to maximize pain and were struck on all parts of the body," the report said. "Personal and family denigration was widespread." Victims of the system have long demanded that the truth of their experiences be documented and made public, so that children in Ireland never endure such suffering again. But most leaders of religious orders have rejected the allegations as exaggerations and lies, and testified to the commission that any abuses were the responsibility of often long-dead individuals. Wednesday's five-volume report sides almost completely with the former students' accounts. It concludes that church officials always shielded their orders' pedophiles from arrest amid a culture of self-serving secrecy. "A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment, permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys. Children lived with the daily terror of not knowing where the next beating was coming from," the report concluded. The commission said overwhelming, consistent testimony from still-traumatized men and women, now in their 50s to 80s, had demonstrated beyond a doubt that the entire system treated children more like prison inmates and slaves than people with legal rights and human potential. The report proposed 21 ways the government could recognize past wrongs, including building a permanent memorial, providing counseling and education to victims and improving Ireland's current child protection services. But its findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions — in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report. No real names, whether of victims or perpetrators, appear in the final document. Irish church leaders and religious orders all declined to comment Wednesday, citing the need to read the massive document first. The Vatican also declined to comment. The Irish government already has funded a parallel compensation system that has paid 12,000 abuse victims an average of euro65,000 ($90,000). About 2,000 claims remain outstanding. Victims receive the payouts only if they waive their rights to sue the state and the church. Hundreds have rejected that condition and taken their abusers and those church employers to court. Wednesday's report said children had no safe way to tell authorities about the assaults they were suffering, particularly the sexual aggression from church officials and older inmates in boys' institutions. "The management did not listen to or believe children when they complained of the activities of some of the men who had responsibility for their care," the commission found. "At best, the abusers were moved, but nothing was done about the harm done to the child. At worst, the child was blamed and seen as corrupted by the sexual activity, and was punished severely." The commission dismissed as implausible a central defense of the religious orders — that, in bygone days, people did not recognize the sexual abuse of a child as a criminal offense, but rather as a sin that required repentance. In their testimony, religious orders typically cited this opinion as the principal reason why sex-predator priests and brothers were sheltered within the system and moved to new posts where they could still maintain daily contact with children. But the commission said its fact-finding — which included unearthing decades-old church files, chiefly stored in the Vatican, on scores of unreported abuse cases from Ireland's industrial schools — demonstrated that officials understood exactly what was at stake: their own reputations. It cited numerous examples where school managers told police about child abusers who were not church officials — but never did this when one of their own had committed the crime. "Contrary to the congregations' claims that the recidivist nature of sexual offending was not understood, it is clear from the documented cases that they were aware of the propensity for abusers to re-abuse," it said. Religious orders were chiefly concerned about preventing scandal, not the danger to children, it said. The commission also condemned Ireland's Education Department for aiding the abusive culture through infrequent, toothless inspections that deferred to church authority. Inspectors were supposed to restrict the use of corporal punishment and make sure the children were adequately fed, clothed and educated — but the report called those inspections "fundamentally flawed." It said a lone inspector was responsible for monitoring more than 50 industrial schools, schools were told about the visits in advance and inspectors rarely talked to the children. Wednesday's report also highlighted the rarity of human kindness in the institutions. "A word of consideration or encouragement, or an act of sympathy or understanding, had a profound effect. Adults in their 60s and 70s recalled seemingly insignificant events that had remained with them all their lives," the report said. "Often the act of kindness, recalled in such a positive light, arose from the simple fact that the staff member had not given a beating when one was expected."

Great and Timely Topic! I hope the writer visits this page to see this response. Bismillah I am one of those who support the implementation of Sharia in Somalia, I am a senior volunteer moderator at Somaliaonline Islam page. The purpose of applying Sharia is to Make peace in the land, and it did it for six months in Somalia when the Islamic Courts had a control of land. The Significance of the application of Sharia is that Allah ordained application of Sharia, and we are his slaves, if Allah is not significant player in running affairs of His creatures, then, who is it? Benefits of Applying Sharia: 1. Peace ( in 20 years of civil war, Somalia experienced 6 months of peace under the Islamic Courts, and it was only the message that did the trick, very few areas were applied, while the Sharia encompasses the criminal aspect. 2. Legal Regulation ( Property law, Corporate Law ( Fiqhul Mucaamalaat), Riba Free, asset based economy that dos nit crash like the current one) 3. Governance: No system on earth has ever implemented Justice like the Islamic Sharia, every other system has beneficiaries and loopholes, Sharia is authored by the creator of mankind, cant be bought, if you do the crime, you do the time. 4. Sharia is the only law that combines a Constitution, power transfer, personal, business and civil law, war and peace treaties, food and drinks, family law etc. There are no negative aspects of Sharia, Allah has no flaws, humans do when they apply. Sharia Law is authored by Allah, delivered by His Messenger, Allah is sovereign, which amon many things means, he has no one to answer to, and that right and wrong, good and bad are what He designates as such. therefore, if you are trying to set another benchmark to measure the Sharia, you are actually suggesting that there is another Sovereign, higher in rank than Allah who can. Its true that our times are different, for example we have men marrying men, and women marrying women! which is tolerated by those who have no belief in Allah or his revelations. Ancient people had little knowledge about the world around them. Answer: The fact that the ancient people did not have as much material knowledge as we do does not mean that they were intellectually inferior that we are, the ancient Greeks came up with the idea of Democracy that the west follows. But Allah has more knowledge than them, and than us , the Modern day people, and has sent Muhammad SAWS as the last Messenger, which means that message ( Sharia) holds until the day of judgment. Fallacies that need correction: 1. The Ancients had No Education ( Geography and Science). Answer: Do we know more than Allah today? 2. Their own lifestyle suited the Sharia. This fallacy is an insult to Allah's foreknowledge and wisdom. 3. The Western Media Reports about Sharia Implementation in Afghanistan is 100% true! 4. Taliban represent the Sharia 100% and they don't make mistakes applying it!. Therefore, applying Sharia in Somalia is Wrong! What a fallacy! Saaxib, Unless you are your own GOD, I think you have to get used to the idea that you are a slave, its may not be comfortable being a slave, but at least, Sharia law makes you slave to your creator ONLY Does Religion follow our whims or do we follow religion against our whims? Author seems to prefer warlords over Islamists, Are the warlords better than "Extremists!", they did not kill anyone last 20 years?, did not lead Ethiopia to annihilate Somalia?! As for the challenge, to show that Sharia is not the way the author described is far greater than I, the authors challenge will be met though, not by poor me, nor by any other human being, this challenge is between you and Allah, no one else will interfere in this fight, let us see who wins at the end! This eNuri piece may help the author. http://www.somaliaon line.com/ubb/ultimat ebb.php?/topic/3/233 7#000000 Nur

Zaylici I composed the answer, will post it later inshAllah Nur

Home of the Barricaded, Land of the ‘Fraid By David Michael Green April 17, 2009 "ICH" -- There are few statistics as stunning as the following simple, single number: The United States spends two times more on its military than all the other countries of the world, combined. Yes, that's right. All 200 or so of them. Combined ! . According to GlobalSecurity.org, last year, the US dropped about $625 billion in taxpayer dollars on its military, while all the rest of the world together spent $500 billion. (The aggregate global figures come from 2004, but have been steady over the prior decade.) However, if you also add in nuclear weapons costs handled separately by the Energy Department, Veterans Affairs, interest on money borrowed to fund previous wars, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the total rises to a jaw-dropping one trillion dollars per year. Think of how astonishing that is. Imagine if you lived down the street from a guy who insisted that his house had to be two times bigger than all the other houses in the neighborhood, combined. You and your neighbors live in 2,000 square foot houses, but he has to have an 800,000 square foot house. That's one that would be the length of three football fields long, and three football fields wide. Imagine you and all your fishing buddies tied up next to a guy who had to have a boat that was twice as big as all of yours combined. You guys have 15 footers. His would be 6,000 feet long, or six Queen Marys, length-to-length. Imagine that you knew someone who had to spend double on dinner what everyone else dining in a decent restaurant was spending. The average meal for the rest of you costs 25 dollars. This guy insists on spending $10,000 on one meal, of the same food, prepared by the same chef. This is an astonishing ratio in so many ways. Perhaps the most amazing thing about it is that nobody particularly talks about it. It's one thing to say that military spending has now joined Social Security as the third rail of American politics - you touch it, you die. And, of course, now we are treated to the visage of the "liberal" - even "socialist" and "defeatist" "pal of terrorists" - guy in the White House actually increasing military spending, and doing so at a time when the federal budget is hemorrhaging red ink as if it were the Exxon Valdez, drunken captain at the helm and all. But it's actually even worse than that. Not only can you not seriously discuss cutting military spending in America, you can't even know about this spending ratio relative to the rest of the world, or contemplate what it means. Do you know of any single politician who ever mentions this? It's also astonishing because the Cold War is over, the once Nazi-controlled Germany has turned into one of the most pacifist countries in the world, Japan is all about making cars and TVs, and there isn't a serious enemy of the United States anywhere on either the geographical or temporal horizon. Right now, we are spending vast sums of money to fight gaggles of angry young men armed with box-cutters, and scraggly mullahs hiding in remote mountainous caves. And they're winning. It is conceivable that China might, maybe, someday, spend something like what the US does on its military. But for what? Right now China spends a tenth of what the US does on its military, and considerably less than that if you count the other items that bring the US total up to a trillion per year. If it reached parity, what would that permit it that is now impossible, apart from perhaps taking back Taiwan and creating a twentieth century Latin America-style neighborhood it could dominate even more than it does already? Would it allow China to invade the United States, or bend it to Chinese will for fear of a military confrontation? Of course not. Which is another reason this ratio is so astonishing. Say whatever you want about nuclear weapons from a moral perspective. They have nevertheless changed the dynamic of international politics radically. No state will ever again invade another one which possesses a nuclear arsenal and the means to project it in quantity. The doctrine of mutually-assured destruction may indeed be mad from a psychological perspective, but it works - at least apart from situations in which the attacking country's leadership is either so bonkers or so determined on an issue that national suicide isn't a deterrent. Of course, non-state actors like al Qaeda are a problem, because they provide little target for retaliation, but would spending another $100 billion on more destroyers or fighter jets solve that problem? Of course not. This grossly disproportionate ratio of military spending to other countries is also astonishing, and astonishingly obscene, for what it costs this country in missed opportunities. We are by far the richest country in the world - no one is even close. And we have no real enemies. And, as noted, we spend double the entire world combined in order to defend against those non-enemies. Such thoughtful priorities also entitle our lucky population to have a national healthcare system that is ranked 37th from the top, worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Isn't that special? Morocco does better than we do. So do Colombia, Chile and Costa Rica. And Dominica. Does anyone really even know where Dominica is? All those weapons systems don't just purchase for us a lack of security, they also buy a country where 50 million Americans lack health insurance of any kind, and countless others are grossly under-insured (including those who don't know it yet, but will find out fast if they ever get sick). In part because of this fine health care system, the United States also ranks 29th globally on infant mortality. And the longitudinal trend isn't pretty. We were 12th in the world in 1960, and 23rd in 1990. Now we are tied with Poland and Slovakia. The good news, though, is that we are still by far and away first worldwide on obesity, with 31 percent of the population qualifying for that distinction, over six percent higher than our nearest competitor! The rest of the world can kick us around all day long, but nobody can ever take that distinction away from us. Oh, and we had almost twice as many plastic surgery procedures as any other country in the world. I guess these figures also partially explain why the richest country in the world, by far, is ranked 47th in the world in terms of life expectancy, below Boznia-Herzegovina, Jordan and Guam. Cool. Go USA! Dollars paying for a bloated military are not only not spent on healthcare, they also aren't spent on social development either. The United States had more teen pregnancies per capita than anyone in the world by far - about half-again as many as our nearest competitor. We have the highest number of prisoners per capita, right up there (but still well ahead of) Russia and Belarus. The US has two million prisoners, about half a million more than China, despite having about one-fifth the Chinese population. We also have more crimes committed than any other country in the world, about twice the number as the number two country on the list. Oh, and by far the highest divorce rate in the world. I'm pretty sure you won't see this stuff mentioned in the tourist literature. Expenditures on the military also mean dollars not spent on teaching our kids (especially about comparative national statistics!). The richest country in the world is ranked 39th on education spending as a percent of GDP, below Tunisia, Bolivia, Jamaica and Malawi. As a result, the US shows up as 18th in mathematical literacy, and 15th in reading literacy. Woo-hoo! Spending on rockets and guns does not bode well for economic development, either. Despite being in hock for more national debt than any other country in the world - even before recent events - we rank only 16th in broadband access per capita. And, we are a dismal 92nd in the world in terms of the equitable distribution of family income within our society. Cameroon does better. So does Russia, Uzbekistan, Laos and Burkina Faso. Along with most of the rest of the world. In short, in exchange for the privilege of dwarfing the entire rest of the solar system in military spending, in order to defend ourselves against an enemy we don't have, the United States has purchased a second rate healthcare system, a second rate educational system, and social and economic characteristics within spitting distance of Sub-Saharan Africa. For all of these reasons, our devotion to military spending is really quite amazing, and really begs the question of what could explain so patently foolish a national policy. Undoubtedly, there are many explanations. To begin with, this would hardly be the first essay ever to note the American propensity toward paranoia. A country twisted enough that it can spend six years fighting a brutal and costly war in Iraq on the basis of 9/11 attacks that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with is certainly a country capable of outspending the entire rest of the planet on its military, two times over. What does it say, moreover, about our near-complete failing at the practice of diplomacy, that we feel compelled to sit atop a military arsenal of such outrageous proportions, and to send bombs and military bases, rather than diplomats, as our calling card around the world? Without question, furthermore, such an obscene military budget is grossly inflated because of sheer greed. It wasn't some long-haired, Birkenstocks-wearing , pipe-smoking, Berkeley professor of French literature, after all, who warned us of the dangers of the metastasizing military industrial complex. It was Dwight Eisenhower - conservative Republican president, lifetime military man, commander of NATO and hero of World War II. Eisenhower was right, of course, although it would have been nice had he acted on his wisdom during his two terms, rather than sounding hypocritical warnings about this danger only as he walked out the door. In any case, as in so many other domains - but with an intensity unmatched elsewhere - when it comes to providing military hardware, corporate America has come to see the federal government as little more than a handy centralized collection system, to which it then avails itself. But, of course, everybody is in the act now, with members of Congress from every district in the land fighting to protect their defense dollars, and selfish Americans screaming about deficit spending on Sundays, and then going to work at the local defense boondoggle plant on Mondays. And there is another explanation, as well. You don't need to spend a trillion bucks per year in order to protect the United States from attack by another country. The existing stockpile of nuclear warheads more or less guarantees that that will never happen. You also don't need to spend that money in order to fight some sort of conventional war on land or sea, as occurred during World War II. No country comes remotely near the United States in terms of battlefield and naval hardware, and even those who possess significant quantities of such materiel almost entirely lack the capability of projecting such military power beyond their borders. Finally, you don't need all that money to fight ragtag bands of terrorists either. On that front, smarts go a lot farther than dollars (not that we would know, of course). The only thing that such a seemingly bloated military is good for is power projection. If you want to intimidate developing countries into selling you their natural resources at ridiculously low prices, a giant military is the only way to do it. If you want to force weaker countries into joining political alliances they are otherwise not remotely interested in, some good old-fashioned gunboat diplomacy is the way to make that happen. Or, at least, was. The United States is no longer very much able to shove around other countries like it used to, and yet, even the so-called liberal Obama administration is now seeking to spend even more on the American military than the monsters of the last regime did. It was one thing - albeit still a "stoopid" bargain - to forgo health, education, and the good life for an empire. But what Americans should be asking themselves right now is, whether giving away happiness and prosperity in exchange for a non-empire is finally a bridge too far, even for a country so justly famous for its chronic political immaturity. David Michael Green is a professor of political science at Hofstra University in New York. He is delighted to receive readers' reactions to his articles (mailto:dmg@regressi veantidote.net), but regrets that time constraints do not always allow him to respond. More of his work can be found at his website, www. regressiveantidote.n et.

'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy By Najad Abdullahi April 15, 2009 "Al Jazeera" -- Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8m ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste. The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said. "The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas." The pirates are holding the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and military hardware, off Somalia's northern coast. According to the International Maritime Bureau, 61 attacks by pirates have been reported since the start of the year. While money is the primary objective of the hijackings, claims of the continued environmental destruction off Somalia's coast have been largely ignored by the regions's maritime authorities. Dumping allegations Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline. "I must stress however, that no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible," he said Allegations of the dumping of toxic waste, as well as illegal fishing, have circulated since the early 1990s. But evidence of such practices literally appeared on the beaches of northern Somalia when the tsunami of 2004 hit the country. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reported the tsunami had washed up rusting containers of toxic waste on the shores of Puntland. Nick Nuttall, a UNEP spokesman, told Al Jazeera that when the barrels were smashed open by the force of the waves, the containers exposed a "frightening activity" that has been going on for more than decade. "Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there," he said. "European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne. "And the waste is many different kinds. There is uranium radioactive waste. There is lead, and heavy metals like cadmium and mercury. There is also industrial waste, and there are hospital wastes, chemical wastes – you name it." Nuttall also said that since the containers came ashore, hundreds of residents have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections and other ailments. "We [the UNEP] had planned to do a proper, in-depth scientific assessment on the magnitude of the problem. But because of the high levels of insecurity onshore and off the Somali coast, we are unable to carry out an accurate assessment of the extent of the problem"he said. However, Ould-Abdallah claims the practice still continues. "What is most alarming here is that nuclear waste is being dumped. Radioactive uranium waste that is potentially killing Somalis and completely destroying the ocean," he said. Toxic waste Ould-Abdallah declined to name which companies are involved in waste dumping, citing legal reasons. But he did say the practice helps fuel the 18-year-old civil war in Somalia as companies are paying Somali government ministers to dump their waste, or to secure licenses and contracts. "There is no government control ... and there are few people with high moral ground ... [and] yes, people in high positions are being paid off, but because of the fragility of the TFG [Transitional Federal Government], some of these companies now no longer ask the authorities – they simply dump their waste and leave." Ould-Abdallah said there are ethical questions to be considered because the companies are negotiating contracts with a government that is largely divided along tribal lines. "How can you negotiate these dealings with a country at war and with a government struggling to remain relevant?" In 1992, a contract to secure the dumping of toxic waste was made by Swiss and Italian shipping firms Achair Partners and Progresso, with Nur Elmi Osman, a former official appointed to the government of Ali Mahdi Mohamed, one of many militia leaders involved in the ousting of Mohamed Siad Barre, Somalia's former president. At the request of the Swiss and Italian governments, UNEP investigated the matter. Both firms had denied entering into any agreement with militia leaders at the beginning of the Somali civil war. Osman also denied signing any contract. 'Mafia involvement' However, Mustafa Tolba, the former UNEP executive director, told Al Jazeera that he discovered the firms were set up as fictitious companies by larger industrial firms to dispose of hazardous waste. "At the time, it felt like we were dealing with the Mafia, or some sort of organized crime group, possibly working with these industrial firms," he said. "It was very shady, and quite underground, and I would agree with Ould-Abdallah’s claims that it is still going on... Unfortunately the war has not allowed environmental groups to investigate this fully." The Italian mafia controls an estimated 30 per cent of Italy's waste disposal companies, including those that deal with toxic waste. In 1998, Famiglia Cristiana, an Italian weekly magazine, claimed that although most of the waste-dumping took place after the start of the civil war in 1991, the activity actually began as early as 1989 under the Barre government. Beyond the ethical question of trying to secure a hazardous waste agreement in an unstable country like Somalia, the alleged attempt by Swiss and Italian firms to dump waste in Somalia would violate international treaties to which both countries are signatories. Legal ramifications Switzerland and Italy signed and ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which came into force in 1992. EU member states, as well as 168 other countries have also signed the agreement. The convention prohibits waste trade between countries that have signed the convention, as well as countries that have not signed the accord unless a bilateral agreement had been negotiated. It is also prohibits the shipping of hazardous waste to a war zone. Abdi Ismail Samatar, professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota, told Al Jazeera that because an international coalition of warships has been deployed to the Gulf of Aden, the alleged dumping of waste must have been observed. Environmental damage "If these acts are continuing, then surely they must have been seen by someone involved in maritime operations," he said. "Is the cargo aimed at a certain destination more important than monitoring illegal activities in the region? Piracy is not the only problem for Somalia, and I think it's irresponsible on the part of the authorities to overlook this issue." Mohammed Gure, chairman of the Somalia Concern Group, said that the social and environmental consequences will be felt for decades. "The Somali coastline used to sustain hundreds of thousands of people, as a source of food and livelihoods. Now much of it is almost destroyed, primarily at the hands of these so-called ministers that have sold their nation to fill their own pockets." Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping. "The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment," he said. "What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs."

"Their skill and professionalism was indeed impressive." Oh yeah, indeed: Shooting three men huddled together in a small craft, tied by rope (in tow) to a destroyer; from a distance of 25 meters, in the dark, with night-vision scopes clamped to high-powered rifles! Truly a magnificent, outstanding performance by truly American heroes, i.e. highly trained killers, who can convert to be mafia hitmen once they quit the state sponsored murder squads. You are all (well most of you) so full of sh...t! " ( Klein) Not only did it take a fleet of US destroyers to subdue three teenage "pirates", but (also), it only took a cave dweller with kidney disease and 20 of his friends with box cutters to overcome the entire US defense system. (Steve) US Has Won a Huge Victory! US Aircraft and Elite Navy SEALs Defeat Three Somalis in a Lifeboat By Glen Ford April 15, 2009 "Black Agenda Report" -- - “An estimated $300 million worth of Somali sea life is pirated by foreigners every year.” What a weekend for American foreign policy! The United States Navy, backed up by warships from 20 other nations, knocked off three Somali guys crouching with rifles in a lifeboat tied by a rope to a U.S. destroyer. To hear the U.S. corporate media tell it, the Americans had won a huge victory over the forces of evil. The sole surviving Somali was in custody – a 16-year-old who essentially gave himself up, earlier, after being hurt in a scuffle with the American cargo ship captain who is now celebrated as a hero of the seven seas and defender of United States national honor. There is something obscene about a superpower whose media and population find great satisfaction, and some sick form of national catharsis, every time they manage to overcome a weak and desperate opponent. Some dreaded seagoing Somalis began taking up piracy in 1991, when the Somali government disintegrated and there was no one to patrol the country’s coasts. About the same time, and not coincidentally, commercial fishing fleets from around the world took advantage of the lack of a Somali coast guard, to steal every fish they could find in Somali waters. That’s “robbery on the high seas,” the definition of piracy. An estimated $300 million worth of Somali sea life is pirated by foreigners every year. Other kinds of pirates nowadays often leave something behind – the piratical poisonous waste dumpers. They seem to be mafia-connected outfits that dump the radioactive waste from European hospitals into Somali waters, along with heavy metals and dangerous chemicals of all kinds. A survey by the Somali news agency Wardheer News shows that 70 percent of Somalis “strongly supported piracy as a form of national defense of the country's territorial waters." Having seen their coastal waters pirated by foreigners since 1991, Somalis were then forced to endure the land and air piracy of the Ethiopians and the United States, who collaborated in late 2006 to invade the country and oust the only relatively effective government Somalia had had in 15 years. Occupied by Ethiopia with the backing of the American superpower, Somalis were stripped of the last thing they had on land or sea – their national sovereignty. The foreign super-pirates had taken everything. “70 percent of Somalis ‘strongly supported piracy as a form of national defense of the country's territorial waters.’" But the Somalis kept fighting back, anyway, driving out the Ethiopians and making the Americans fume with rage. The Somalis refused to roll over and die, or beg. Black U.S. Congressman Donald Payne’s airplane was targeted by mortars when he visited Somalia’s ravaged capital, Mogadishu, over the weekend. Payne opposed the U.S.-Ethiopia invasion of Somalia, but some of the Islamist fighters battling for control of the country may not make distinctions among the foreigners who pass through or over their land – and who can blame them? Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the United Nations, a young Black woman named Susan Rice, is positively rapid when it comes to beating Somalia into submission. She was more gung-ho for the U.S.-Ethiopian invasion than George Bush. Susan Rice is no doubt searching for a military solution to Somali piracy – which would amount to more piracy by the same foreigners that have driven Somalis to such desperate measures. For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaRepor t.com. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgend aReport.com

Ethiopia / USA / Somali Pirates’ Cover-Up By Thomas C. Mountain April 16, 2009 "Online Journal" -- ASMARA, Eritrea -- One of the best kept secrets in the international media these days is the link between the USA, Ethiopia and the Somali pirates. First, a little reliable background from someone on the ground in the Horn of Africa. The Somali pirates operate out of the Ethiopian and USA created enclaves in Somalia calling themselves Somaliland and Puntland. These Ethiopian and USA backed warlord controlled territories have for many years hosted Ethiopian military bases, which have been greatly expanded recently by the addition of thousands of Ethiopian troops who were driven out of southern and central Somali by the Somali resistance to the Ethiopian invasion. After securing their ransom for the hijacked ships the Somali pirates head directly to their local safe havens, in this case, the Ethiopian military bases, where they make a sizeable contribution to the retirement accounts of the Ethiopian regime headed by Meles Zenawi. Of course, the international naval forces who are patrolling the Horn of Africa know all too well what is going on for they have at their disposal all sorts of high tech observation platforms, ranging from satellites to unmanned drones with high resolution video cameras that report back in real time. The French commandos started to pursue the Somali pirates into their lairs last year until the pirates got the word that for the right amount of cash they were more than welcome in the Ethiopian military bases in their local neighborhoods. Ethiopia being the western, mainly USA, Cop on the Beat in East Africa put these bases off limits to the frustrated navies of the world, who are no doubt growling in anger to their USA counterparts about why this is all going on. Now that the pirates have started attacking USA flagged shipping, something that was until now off limits, it remains to be seen what the Obama administration will do. One thing we in the Horn of Africa have learned all too well, when it comes to Ethiopia, don’t expect anything resembling accurate coverage by the media, especially those who operate under the cloak of “freedom of the press.” Stay tuned for more on this from the Onlinejournal.com, the only site willing to expose the truth on matters no one else will touch. Thomas C. Mountain, the last white man living in Eritrea, was in a former life an educator, activist and alternative medicine practitioner in the USA. Email thomascmountain at yahoo.com. Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal

MaashaaAllah, TabaarkaAllah! Toosiye, Xiin iyo Geeljire brothers This is the kind of Discussion that was missing at SOL for a long time, ( since 2004), runtii, aad baan ula dhacay habka talooyinka aad u soo jeediseen, sidaa aad taariikhda uga soo qaadateen duruus, ha noqoto taariikhdii Somalia, ama tii islaamka ( Nabi Muse), iyo falanqeeyo ( Analyses) aad ku shaandheyseen ( integrated) si xikmad badan iyo caqli uu ka muuqdo. Waxaa la hubaa, mar walboo wadahadal ( discussion) la falanqeeyo, in runta ay soo shaac baxdo, sidaa darteed, haduu Eebbe idmo, anigana waxaan ku soo darsan doonaa labadeyda dhururuq ( 2 cents)! Baarkallahu Feekum Nur

"In his City of God, Saint Augustine tells a story about an encounter between Alexander the Great (the last ruler successfully to garrison Afghanistan) and a pirate captain he had caught on the high seas. Ordering the pirate to heave to, Alexander demands: "How dare you molest the seas as a pirate?" "How dare you molest the whole world?" retorts the plucky pirate. "I have a small boat, so I am called a thief and a pirate. You have a great navy, so you are called an emperor, and can call other men pirates." Substitute terrorist or rogue state for pirate and the episode neatly encapsulates the morality of the new world order. ." Seumas Milne; The Guardian, October 25, 2001 "Could someone tell me why the majority White Americans are scared of the hungry, poor, and destitute?" (Anon) "The picture is not quite complete without the Nuclear waste hosting service our warlords offered Italian and European governments to use Somali coasts for a dumping ground of Medical and Nuclear waste, in a wasted land inhabited by a wasted people. (ENN eNuri News Network, 2004) You Are Being Lied to About Pirates By Johann Hari April 12, 2009 "Huffington Post" --- Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-should er pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menace of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell -- and some justice on their side. Pirates have never been quite who we think they are. In the "golden age of piracy" - from 1650 to 1730 - the idea of the pirate as the senseless, savage thief that lingers today was created by the British government in a great propaganda-heave. Many ordinary people believed it was false: pirates were often rescued from the gallows by supportive crowds. Why? What did they see that we can't? In his book Villains of All nations, the historian Marcus Rediker pores through the evidence to find out. If you became a merchant or navy sailor then - plucked from the docks of London's East End, young and hungry - you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off for a second, the all-powerful captain would whip you with the Cat O' Nine Tails. If you slacked consistently, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages. Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied against their tyrannical captains - and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls "one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the eighteenth century." They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed "quite clearly - and subversively - that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal navy." This is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves. The words of one pirate from that lost age - a young British man called William Scott - should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: "What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirating to live." In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas. Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury - you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention." At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish-stocks by over-exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea-life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas. The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters." This is the context in which the men we are calling "pirates" have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a 'tax' on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and it's not hard to see why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters... We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas." William Scott would understand those words. No, this doesn't make hostage-taking justifiable, and yes, some are clearly just gangsters - especially those who have held up World Food Programme supplies. But the "pirates" have the overwhelming support of the local population for a reason. The independent Somalian news-site WardherNews conducted the best research we have into what ordinary Somalis are thinking - and it found 70 percent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence of the country's territorial waters." During the revolutionary war in America, George Washington and America's founding fathers paid pirates to protect America's territorial waters, because they had no navy or coastguard of their own. Most Americans supported them. Is this so different? Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our nuclear waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome? We didn't act on those crimes - but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit-corridor for 20 percent of the world's oil supply, we begin to shriek about "evil." If we really want to deal with piracy, we need to stop its root cause - our crimes - before we send in the gun-boats to root out Somalia's criminals. The story of the 2009 war on piracy was best summarised by another pirate, who lived and died in the fourth century BC. He was captured and brought to Alexander the Great, who demanded to know "what he meant by keeping possession of the sea." The pirate smiled, and responded: "What you mean by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you, who do it with a great fleet, are called emperor." Once again, our great imperial fleets sail in today - but who is the robber? POSTSCRIPT: Some commenters seem bemused by the fact that both toxic dumping and the theft of fish are happening in the same place - wouldn't this make the fish contaminated? In fact, Somalia's coastline is vast, stretching to 3300km. Imagine how easy it would be - without any coastguard or army - to steal fish from Florida and dump nuclear waste on California, and you get the idea. These events are happening in different places - but with the same horrible effect: death for the locals, and stirred-up piracy. There's no contradiction. Johann Hari is a writer for the Independent newspaper

It's a Lieberman Government By Uri Avnery – Israel April 04, 2009 "ICH" -- -On the first day of the new Israeli government, the fog cleared: it's a Lieberman government. The day started with a celebration at the President’s office. All the members of this bloated government – 30 ministers and 8 deputy ministers – were dressed up in their best finery and posed for a group photo. Binyamin Netanyahu read an uninspired speech, which included the worn-out clichés that are necessary to set the world at ease: the government is committed to peace, it will negotiate with the Palestinian Authority, bla-bla-bla. Avigdor Lieberman hurried from there to the foreign Office, for the ceremonial change of ministers. He, too, made a speech – but it was not a routine speech at all. “Si vis pacem, para bellum – if you want peace, prepare for war,” declared the new Foreign Minister. When a diplomat quotes this ancient Roman saying, the world pays no attention to the first part, but only to the second. Coming from the mouth of the already infamous Lieberman, it was a clear threat: the new government is entering upon a path of war, not of peace. With this sentence, Lieberman negated Netanyahu’s speech and made headlines around the world. He confirmed the worst apprehensions connected with the creation of this government. Not content with quoting the Romans, he explained specifically why he used this motto. Concessions, he said, do not bring peace, but quite the reverse. The world respected and admired Israel when it won the Six-day war. Two fallacies in one sentence. Returning occupied territory is not a “concession”. When a thief is compelled to return stolen property, or when a squatter vacates an apartment that does not belong to him, that is not a “concession”. And the admiration for Israel in 1967 came from a world that saw us as a little, valiant country that had stood up to mighty armies out to destroy us. But today’s Israel looks like a brutal Goliath, while the occupied Palestinians are now viewed as a David with his slingshot, fighting for his life. With this speech, Lieberman succeeded in stirring the world, but even more in humiliating Netanyahu. He exposed the peace declarations of the new Prime Minister as nothing but soap bubbles. However, the world (as I wrote last week) wants to be deceived. A White House spokesman announced that as far as the American administration is concerned, it is Netanyahu’s bla-bla-bla that counts, not Lieberman’s straight talking. And Hillary Clinton was not ashamed to call Lieberman and congratulate him on assuming office. That was the first test of strength inside the Netanyahu-Lieberman- Barak triangle. Lieberman has demonstrated his contempt for both Netanyahu and Barak. His political base is secure, because he is the only person who can topple the government at any moment. After the Knesset debate on the new government, only 69 members voted for it. If one adds the five Labor members who “were present but did not participate in the vote” (a voting device that is less negative than abstaining), the government has 74 votes. Meaning: without Lieberman’s 15 members, the government does not command a majority. His speech was intended to underline this political reality. He as much as told Netanyahu: If you intend to shut me up, forget it. In fact, he held a pistol to Netanyahu’s head – in this case, it could be a German Luger Parabellum, a pistol whose name derives from the Roman saying. The full extent of Lieberman’s Chutzpah came to the fore only an hour later. From the Foreign Office ceremony he hurried to another ritual ministerial handover, this time at the Ministry for Internal Security (formerly called the Ministry of Police). What business did he have there? None. It is highly unusual for a minister to attend such a ceremony in another ministry. True, the new Internal Security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, belongs to Lieberman’s party, but that is not relevant. After all, he did not attend the similar ceremony at the Immigration Absorption ministry, where another member of his party was installed. The riddle was solved the next day, when the freshly installed Foreign Minister spent seven hours in a police interrogation room, answering questions about suspected bribery, money laundering and such, in connection with huge sums that were transferred from abroad to a company that belongs to his 23 year old daughter. That explains his presence at the police ministry ceremony. He was photographed standing next to the chiefs of the criminal investigation department. It would be hard to see his appearance there as anything other than a crude and shameless threat against those who were to interrogate him on the morrow. His presence at the ceremony declared: I am the man who appointed the minister who is now in charge of each of your careers, for promotion or termination. And the same message went out to the judges: I have appointed the new Justice Minister, and I shall decide upon the promotion of all of you. It all reminds me of a diplomatic reception at the Egyptian embassy exactly 10 years ago. There I met most of the members of the new government which had just been formed by Ehud Barak. All of them were depressed. Barak had done something that bordered on sadism: he had appointed every minister to the post most unsuitable for them. The gentle and polite Professor Shlomo Ben-Ami was appointed Minister of Internal Security (where he failed miserably during the October 2000 disturbances, when he failed to prevent his police from killing a dozen Arab citizens.) Yossi Beilin, a diplomat with a very fertile mind, a natural candidate for the Foreign Office, was appointed Justice Minister. And so on. In private conversations, all of them vented their bitterness against Barak. Now Netanyahu has trumped Barak. The appointment of Lieberman as Foreign Minister borders on the insane. The appointment of Yuval Steinitz, a professor of philosophy and a personal friend of Netanyahu’s wife, Sarah, a man devoid of any economic experience whatsoever, as Minister of the Treasury, at the height of the world financial crises, crosses the border of the absurd. The appointment of the No. 2 Likud leader, Silvan Shalom, to two junior ministries has made him into a deadly enemy. The creation of a long list of new and hollow ministries, just to provide jobs to his cronies, has turned the government into a popular joke (“a Minister for Incoming Mail and a Minister for Outgoing Mail”). But a government is no joke. And Lieberman is no joke. Far from it. Already on his first day he made clear that he – he and not Netanyahu or Barak – will set the style of the new government, both because of his strong political position and his massive personal presence and provocative character. He will maintain this government as long as it suits him and overthrow it the moment he feels that new elections will give him supreme power. His rude and violent style is both natural and calculated. It is intended to threaten, to appeal to the most primitive types in society, to draw public attention and to assure media coverage. All these are reminiscent of other countries and other regimes. The first one to congratulate him was - not by chance – the ex-fascist Foreign Minister of Italy. This week, earlier statements by Lieberman were quoted again and again. He once proposed bombing the huge Aswan dam, an act that would have caused a terrible Tsunami-like deluge and killed many millions of Egyptians. Another time he proposed delivering an ultimatum to the Palestinians: At 8 am we shall bomb your commercial centers, at noon your gas stations, at 2 pm your banks, and so on. He has proposed drowning thousands of Palestinian prisoners, offering to provide the necessary buses to take them to the coast. Another time he proposed deporting 90% of the 1.2 million Arab citizens of Israel. Recently he told the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, one of the staunchest allies of the Israeli leadership, to “go to hell”. In the recent election campaign his official program included the demand to annul the citizenship of any Arab who did not prove his loyalty to Israel. That was also his main slogan. This, too, is reminiscent of the programs of certain parties in history. This is coupled with an open hostility to the Israeli “elites” and everything connected with the founders of the State of Israel. Some people believe that Lieberman is really not a new phenomenon at all and that he simply brings to the surface traits that were there all the time but were buried beneath a thick layer of sanctimonious hypocrisy. What is his solution to the historic Israeli-Arab conflict? In the past, he spoke about a regime of cantons for the Palestinians. They will live in several enclaves in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which will be disconnected from each other and dominated by Israel. No Palestinian State, of course, no Arab East Jerusalem. He even proposed adding to these cantons some areas of Israel inhabited by a dense Palestinian population, whose Israeli citizenship would be revoked. This is not so far from the ideas of Sharon, nor from those of Netanyahu, who declares that the Palestinians will “govern themselves” – of course without a state, without a currency, without control of the border crossings, without harbors and airports. At the Foreign Office ceremony, Lieberman declared that the Annapolis agreement, which was dictated by President Bush, is invalid, and that only the “Road Map” counts. The Foreign Ministry spokesmen hurried to explain that the “Road Map” also speaks about “two states”. They forgot to remind the world that the Israeli government had “accepted” the Road Map only with 14 provisos that rob it of any content. For example: that Palestinians must “destroy the terrorist infrastructure” (What is that? Who decides?) before Israel shall make any move, including the freeze of the settlements. (That may remind one of the rich Jew in the Shtetl, who dictated his Last Will and Testament, dividing his wealth between his relatives and friends and adding: “In case of my death, this Will shall be null and void.”) As far as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is concerned, the controversy between Olmert and Livni on the one side and Netanyahu and Lieberman on the other is about tactics rather than strategy. The strategy of all of them is to prevent the creation of a normal, free and viable Palestinian state. Tzipi Livni was for a tactic of endless negotiations, decorated with pronouncement about peace and “two nation-states”. Not for nothing did Netanyahu mock her: You had several years to achieve agreement with the Palestinians. So why didn’t you? This debate is not about peace, but about a “peace process”. But in the meantime Tzipi Livni settles into her new job as the Leader of the Opposition. Her first speeches were vigorous and hard-hitting. We shall soon know if she can fill this job with content. If having to speak about peace will convince her of its value and turn her into a real alternative to the government of Lieberman and Liebermania. - Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.c om.

Akhi Libaax This dialogue invitation thread is four years old, have you given up on the Prof? Nur

A reminder to Nomads, To Remember That Our Days On Earth Are Indeed Numbered, poor or rich, oppressor or oppressed, just or wrong, man or woman, black or white, Pr prestigious or lowly, everyone will taste death at one point, after which, there will be an eternal life, either in happiness or misery, depending on one's resume while on earth, so pay attention to what Allah has conveyed through His Messengers to mankind. Nur

Nehanda sis If you are not sure of which sect of Islam you belong to, then CONGRATULATIONS sis. Smile, You escaped FITNAH! An old illiterate woman was once told that there was a very knowledgeable man who has 100 proofs of Allah's existence, the old illiterate woman responded, "I don't need him, I have no single doubt!" You see sis, things used to be simple during the first generation of Islam, no volumes of books, no thousands of Islamic websites, no sects, no confusion, just simple following of the Prophet of Allah SAWS. Then, people started asking more questions while coming short of doing what they have known already. They indulged in the art of polemics, the more they argued the more they divided into sects, causing the current mess that we live in. Going back to original simplicity of Islam means taking Islam as a practical everyday code of life. Nur

In 2003, eNuri Satirical Predictions wrote: The Somali Anarchist Declaration Against The Iraq War We, the association of Anarchists, representing all Somali Factions for unregulated world without a government, condemn the Iraq invasion. In the Meantime, we are against the proliferation, sale, production, and usage of Bananas as a Weapon of MOSS destruction, we will never be the first to use a banana , but will not hesitate to use our bananas for a deterrent. We the anarchists union envision an unregulated world without any WMD, no nuclear, Banana, botanical, biological, insects, camel-dung, or any forms of advanced weapons for terrorizing the masses. We propose that the USA stop the war, and in return we will work together to disarm the rest of the world. All weapons shall be banned except for swords, and sticks, that way there will be zero civilian casualty, and only the brave soldiers will fight and the cowards will stay home. The problem as we the anarchists see is that smart bombs equipped with exact GPS location of an enemy, or the weapon's ability to ask neighbors of the enemy's whereabouts, is threatening the future of anarchy, we are afraid of a controlled world like the Nazi Fuhrer regime in Germany, but this time with sophisticated technology, We do not like Technology to do the fighting, we want men to fight like men, one on one, so we demand to go back to the old days, when two armies clashed led by their leaders and later, the survivors were declared as winners. We feel that America with 11000 warheads needs to destroy all these nuclear warheads , in return we offer that we freely dispose them and to sell them as scrap, in case America is worried about their disposal, (we do not mind the radiation). Our dream is wars with only swords and sticks, sizes of which shall NOT be regulated by the United Nations. Anyone who wants to see the future of wars shall visit our official site: WWW.ISTUNKA-AFGOI .ORG Where Bones Are Broken, NOT The Will Of Nations The official site of the Istunka Afgoi. 2003 Somali Anarchist Declaration ( SAD) Eldoret, Kenya

Assassination by Air Terminator Planet: Launching the Drone Wars By Tom Engelhardt April 08, 2009 "TomDispatch" -- In 1984, Skynet, the supercomputer that rules a future Earth, sent a cyborg assassin, a "terminator," back to our time. His job was to liquidate the woman who would give birth to John Connor, the leader of the underground human resistance of Skynet's time. You with me so far? That, of course, was the plot of the first Terminator movie and for the multi-millions who saw it, the images of future machine war -- of hunter-killer drones flying above a wasted landscape -- are unforgettable. Since then, as Hollywood's special effects took off, there were two sequels during which the original terminator somehow morphed into a friendlier figure on screen, and even more miraculously, off-screen, into the humanoid governor of California. Now, the fourth film in the series, Terminator Salvation, is about to descend on us. It will hit our multiplexes this May. Oh, sorry, I don't mean hit hit. I mean, arrive in. Meanwhile, hunter-killer drones haven't waited for Hollywood. As you sit in that movie theater in May, actual unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), pilotless surveillance and assassination drones armed with Hellfire missiles, will be patrolling our expanding global battlefields, hunting down human beings. And in the Pentagon and the labs of defense contractors, UAV supporters are already talking about and working on next-generation machines. Post-2020, according to these dreamers, drones will be able to fly and fight, discern enemies and incinerate them without human decision-making. They're even wondering about just how to program human ethics, maybe even American ethics, into them. Okay, it may never happen, but it should still make you blink that out there in America are people eager to bring the fifth iteration of Terminator not to local multiplexes, but to the skies of our perfectly real world -- and that the Pentagon is already funding them to do so. An Arms Race of One Now, keep our present drones, those MQ-1 Predators and more advanced MQ-9 Reapers, in mind for a moment. Remember that, as you read, they're cruising Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani skies looking for potential "targets," and in Pakistan's tribal borderlands, are employing what Centcom commander General David Petraeus calls "the right of last resort" to take out "threats" (as well as tribespeople who just happen to be in the vicinity). And bear with me while I offer you a little potted history of the modern arms race. Think of it as starting in the early years of the twentieth century when Imperial Britain, industrial juggernaut and colonial upstart Germany, and Imperial Japan all began to plan and build new generations of massive battleships or dreadnoughts (followed by "super-dreadnoughts" ) and so joined in a fierce naval arms race. That race took a leap onto land and into the skies in World War I when scientists and war planners began churning out techno-marvels of death and destruction meant to break the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western front. Each year, starting in 1915, new or improved weaponry -- poison gas, upgrades of the airplane, the tank and then the improved tank -- appeared on or above the battlefield. Even as those marvels arrived, the next generation of weapons was already on the drawing boards. (In a sense, American auto makers took up the same battle plan in peacetime, unveiling new, ramped up car models each year.) As a result, when World War I ended in 1918, the war machinery of 1919 and 1920 was already being mapped out and developed. The next war, that is, and the weapons that would go with it were already in the mind's eye of war planners. From the first years of the twentieth century on, an obvious prerequisite for what would prove a never-ending arms race was two to four great powers in potential collision, each of which had the ability to mobilize scientists, engineers, universities, and manufacturing power on a massive scale. World War II was, in these terms, a bonanza for invention as well as destruction. It ended, of course, with the Manhattan Project, that ne plus ultra of industrial-sized invention for destruction, which produced the first atomic bomb, and so the Cold War nuclear arms race that followed. In that 45-year-long brush with extinction, the United States and the Soviet Union each mobilized a military-industrial complex to build ever newer generations of ever more devastating nuclear weaponry and delivery systems for a MAD (mutually assured destruction) world. At the peak of that two-superpower arms race, the resulting arsenals had the mad capacity to destroy eight or ten planets our size. In 1991, after 73 years, the Soviet Union, that Evil Empire, simply evaporated, leaving but a single superpower without rivals astride planet Earth. And then came the unexpected thing: the arms race, which had been almost a century in the making, did not end. Instead, the unimaginable occurred and it simply morphed into a "race" of one with a finish line so distant -- the bomber of 2018, Earth-spanning weapons systems, a vast anti-ballistic missile system, and weaponry for the heavens of perhaps 2050 -- as to imply eternity. The Pentagon and the military-industrial complex surrounding it -- including mega-arms manufacturers, advanced weapons labs, university science centers, and the official or semi-official think tanks that churned out strategies for future military domination -- went right on. After a brief, post-Cold War blip of time in which "peace dividends" were discussed but not implemented, the "race" actually began to amp up again, and after September 11, 2001, went into overdrive against "Islamo-fascism" (aka the Global War on Terror, or the Long War). In those years, our Evil Empire of the moment, except in the minds of a clutch of influential neocons, was a ragtag terrorist outfit made up of perhaps a few thousand adherents and scattered global wannabes, capable of mounting spectacular-looking but infrequent and surprisingly low-tech attacks on symbolic American (and other) targets. Against this enemy, the Pentagon budget became, for a while, an excuse for anything. This brings us to our present unbalanced world of military might in which the U.S. accounts for nearly half of all global military spending and the total Pentagon budget is almost six times that of the next contender, China. Recently, the Chinese have announced relatively modest plans to build up their military and create a genuinely offshore navy. Similarly, the Russians have moved to downsize and refinance their tattered armed forces and the industrial complex that goes with them, while upgrading their weapons systems. This could potentially make the country more competitive when it comes to global arms dealing, a market more than half of which has been cornered by the U.S. They are also threatening to upgrade their "strategic nuclear forces," even as Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama have agreed to push forward a new round of negotiations for nuclear reductions. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has just announced cutbacks in some of the more outré and futuristic military R&D programs inherited from the Cold War era. The Navy's staggering 11 aircraft-carrier battle groups will over time also be reduced by one. Minor as that may seem, it does signal an imperial downsizing, given that the Navy refers to each of those carriers, essentially floating military bases, as "four and a half acres of sovereign U.S. territory." Nonetheless, the Pentagon budget will grow modestly and the U.S. will remain in a futuristic arms race of one, a significant part of which involves reserving the skies as well as the heavens for American power. Assassination by Air Speaking of controlling those skies, let's get back to UAVs. As futuristic weapons planning went, they started out pretty low-tech in the 1990s. Even today, the most commonplace of the two American armed drones, the Predator, costs only $4.5 million a pop, while the most advanced model, that Reaper -- both are produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of San Diego -- comes in at $15 million. (Compare that to $350 million for a single F-22 Raptor, which has proved essentially useless in America's most recent counterinsurgency wars.) It's lucky UAVs are cheap, since they are also prone to crashing. Think of them as snowmobiles with wings that have received ever more sophisticated optics and powerful weaponry. They came to life as surveillance tools during the wars over the former Yugoslavia, were armed by February 2001, were hastily pressed into operation in Afghanistan after 9/11, and like many weapons systems, began to evolve generationally. As they did, they developed from surveillance eyes in the sky into something far more sinister and previously restricted to terra firma: assassins. One of the earliest armed acts of a CIA-piloted Predator, back in November 2002, was an assassination mission over Yemen in which a jeep, reputedly transporting six suspected al-Qaeda operatives, was incinerated. Today, the most advanced UAV, the Reaper, housing up to four Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound bombs, packs the sort of punch once reserved for a jet fighter. Dispatched to the skies over the farthest reaches of the American empire, powered by a 1,000-horsepower turbo prop engine at its rear, the Reaper can fly at up to 21,000 feet for up to 22 hours (until fuel runs short), streaming back live footage from three cameras (or sending it to troops on the ground) --- 16,000 hours of video a month. No need to worry about a pilot dozing off during those 22 hours. The human crews "piloting" the drones, often from thousands of miles away, just change shifts when tired. So the planes are left to endlessly cruise Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani skies relentlessly seeking out, like so many terminators, specific enemies whose identities can, under certain circumstances -- or so the claims go -- be determined even through the walls of houses. When a "target" is found and agreed upon -- in Pakistan, the permission of Pakistani officials to fire is no longer considered necessary -- and a missile or bomb is unleashed, the cameras are so powerful that "pilots" can watch the facial expressions of those being liquidated on their computer monitors "as the bomb hits." Approximately 5,500 UAVs, mostly unarmed -- less than 250 of them are Predators and Reapers -- now operate over Iraq and the Af-Pak (as in the Afghanistan-Pakistan ) theater of operations. Part of the more-than-century-lo ng development of war in the air, drones have become favorites of American military planners. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in particular has demanded increases in their production (and in the training of their "pilots") and urged that they be rushed in quantity into America's battle zones even before being fully perfected. And yet, keep in mind that the UAV still remains in its (frightening) infancy. Such machines are not, of course, advanced cyborgs. They are in some ways not even all that advanced. Because someone now wants publicity for the drone-war program, reporters from the U.S. and elsewhere have recently been given "rare behind-the-scenes" looks at how it works. As a result, and also because the "covert war" in the skies over Pakistan makes Washington's secret warriors proud enough to regularly leak news of its "successes," we know something more about how our drone wars work. We know, for instance, that at least part of the Air Force's Afghan UAV program runs out of Kandahar Air Base in southern Afghanistan. It turns out that, pilotless as the planes may be, a pilot does have to be nearby to guide them into the air and handle landings. As soon as the drone is up, a two-man team, a pilot and a "sensor monitor," backed by intelligence experts and meteorologists, takes over the controls either at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, or at Creech Air Force Base northwest of Las Vegas, some 7,000-odd miles away. (Other U.S. bases may be involved as well.) According to Christopher Drew of the New York Times, who visited Davis-Monthan where Air National Guard members handle the controls, the pilots sit unglamorously "at 1990s-style computer banks filled with screens, inside dimly lit trailers." Depending on the needs of the moment, they can find themselves "over" either Afghanistan or Iraq, or even both on the same work shift. All of this is remarkably mundane -- pilot complaints generally run to problems "transitioning" back to wife and children after a day at the joystick over battle zones -- and at the same time, right out of Ali Baba's One Thousand and One Nights. In those dimly lit trailers, the UAV teams have taken on an almost godlike power. Their job is to survey a place thousands of miles distant (and completely alien to their lives and experiences), assess what they see, and spot "targets" to eliminate -- even if on their somewhat antiquated computer systems it "takes up to 17 steps -- including entering data into pull-down windows -- to fire a missile" and incinerate those below. They only face danger, other than carpal tunnel syndrome, when they leave the job. A sign at Creech warns a pilot to "drive carefully"; "this, it says, is 'the most dangerous part of your day.'" Those involved claim that the fear and thrill of battle do not completely escape them, but the descriptions we now have of their world sound discomfortingly like a cross between the far frontiers of sci-fi and a call center in India. The most intense of our various drone wars, the one on the other side of the Afghan border in Pakistan, is also the most mysterious. We know that some or all of the drones engaged in it take off from Pakistani airfields; that this "covert war" (which regularly makes front-page news) is run by the CIA out of its headquarters in Langley, Virginia; that its pilots are also located somewhere in the U.S.; and that at least some of them are hired private contractors. William Saletan of Slate has described our drones as engaged in "a bloodless, all-seeing airborne hunting party." Of course, what was once an elite activity performed in person has been transformed into a 24/7 industrial activity fit for human drones. Our drone wars also represent a new chapter in the history of assassination. Once upon a time, to be an assassin for a government was a furtive, shameful thing. In those days, of course, an assassin, if successful, took down a single person, not the targeted individual and anyone in the vicinity (or simply, if targeting intelligence proves wrong, anyone in the vicinity). No more poison-dart-tipped umbrellas, as in past KGB operations, or toxic cigars as in CIA ones -- not now that assassination has taken to the skies as an every day, all-year-round activity. Today, we increasingly display our assassination wares with pride. To us, at least, it seems perfectly normal for assassination aerial operations to be a part of an open discussion in Washington and in the media. Consider this a new definition of "progress" in our world. Proliferation and Sovereignty This brings us back to arms races. They may be things of the past, but don't for a minute imagine that those hunter-killer skies won't someday fill with the drones of other nations. After all, one of the truths of our time is that no weapons system, no matter where first created, can be kept for long as private property. Today, we talk not of arms races, but of "proliferation," which is what you have once a global arms race of one takes hold. In drone-world, the Chinese, the Russians, the Israelis, the Pakistanis, the Georgians, and the Iranians, among others, already have drones. In the Lebanon War of 2006, Hezbollah flew drones over Israel. In fact, if you have the skills, you can create your own drone, more or less in your living room (as your basic Website http://diydrones.com / indicates). Undoubtedly, the future holds unnerving possibilities for small groups intent on assassination from the air. Already the skies are growing more crowded. Three weeks ago, President Obama issued what Reuters termed "an unprecedented videotaped appeal to Iran... offering a 'new beginning' of diplomatic engagement to turn the page on decades of U.S. policy toward America's longtime foe." It was in the form of a Persian New Year's greeting. As the New York Times also reported, the U.S. military beat the president to the punch. They sent their own "greetings" to the Iranians a couple of days earlier. After considering what Times reporters Rod Nordland and Alissa J. Rubin term "the delicacy of the incident at a time when the United States is seeking a thaw in its relations with Iran," the U.S. military sent out Col. James Hutton to meet the press and "confirm" that "allied aircraft" had shot down an "Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle" over Iraq on February 25th, more than three weeks earlier. Between that day and mid-March, the relevant Iraqi military and civilian officials were, the Times tells us, not informed. The reason? That drone was intruding on our (borrowed) airspace, not theirs. You probably didn't know it, but according to an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, "protection of Iraqi airspace remains an American responsibility for the next three years." And naturally enough, we don't want other countries' drones in "our" airspace, though that's hardly likely to stop them. The Iranians, for instance, have already announced the development of "a new generation of 'spy drones' that provide real-time surveillance over enemy terrain." Of course, when you openly control squads of assassination drones patrolling airspace over other countries, you've already made a mockery of whatever national sovereignty might once have meant. It's a precedent that may someday even make us distinctly uncomfortable. But not right now. If you doubt this, check out the stream of self-congratulatory comments being leaked by Washington officials about our drone assassins. These often lead off news pieces about America's "covert war" over Pakistan ("An intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust, U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say..."); but be sure to read to the end of such pieces. Somewhere in them, after the successes have been touted and toted up, you get the bad news: "In fact, the stepped-up strikes have coincided with a deterioration in the security situation in Pakistan." In Pakistan, a war of machine assassins is visibly provoking terror (and terrorism), as well as anger and hatred among people who are by no means fundamentalists. It is part of a larger destabilization of the country. To those who know their air power history, that shouldn't be so surprising. Air power has had a remarkably stellar record when it comes to causing death and destruction, but a remarkably poor one when it comes to breaking the will of nations, peoples, or even modest-sized organizations. Our drone wars are destructive, but they are unlikely to achieve Washington's goals. The Future Awaits Us If you want to read the single most chilling line yet uttered about drone warfare American-style, it comes at the end of Christopher Drew's piece. He quotes Brookings Institution analyst Peter Singer saying of our Predators and Reapers: "[T]hese systems today are very much Model T Fords. These things will only get more advanced." In other words, our drone wars are being fought with the airborne equivalent of cars with cranks, but the "race" to the horizon is already underway. By next year, some Reapers will have a far more sophisticated sensor system with 12 cameras capable of filming a two-and-a-half mile round area from 12 different angles. That program has been dubbed "Gorgon Stare", but it doesn't compare to the future 92-camera Argus program whose initial development is being funded by the Pentagon's blue-skies outfit, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Soon enough, a single pilot may be capable of handling not one but perhaps three drones, and drone armaments will undoubtedly grow progressively more powerful and "precise." In the meantime, BAE Systems already has a drone four years into development, the Taranis, that should someday be "completely autonomous"; that is, it theoretically will do without human pilots. Initial trials of a prototype are scheduled for 2010. By 2020, so claim UAV enthusiasts, drones could be engaging in aerial battle and choosing their victims themselves. As Robert S. Boyd of McClatchy reported recently, "The Defense Department is financing studies of autonomous, or self-governing, armed robots that could find and destroy targets on their own. On-board computer programs, not flesh-and-blood people, would decide whether to fire their weapons." It's a particular sadness of our world that, in Washington, only the military can dream about the future in this way, and then fund the "arms race" of 2018 or 2035. Rest assured that no one with a governmental red cent is researching the health care system of 2018 or 2035, or the public education system of those years. In the meantime, the skies of our world are filling with round-the-clock assassins. They will only evolve and proliferate. Of course, when we check ourselves out in the movies, we like to identify with John Connor, the human resister, the good guy of this planet, against the evil machines. Elsewhere, however, as we fight our drone wars ever more openly, as we field mechanical techno-terminators with all-seeing eyes and loose our missiles from thousands of miles away ("Hasta la Vista, Baby!"), we undoubtedly look like something other than a nation of John Connors to those living under the Predators. It may not matter if the joysticks and consoles on those advanced machines are somewhat antiquated; to others, we are now the terminators of the planet, implacable machine assassins. True, we can't send our drones into the past to wipe out the young Ayman al-Zawahiri in Cairo or the teenage Osama bin Laden speeding down some Saudi road in his gray Mercedes sedan. True, the UAV enthusiasts, who are already imagining all-drone wars run by "ethical" machines, may never see anything like their fantasies come to pass. Still, the fact that without the help of a single advanced cyborg we are already in the process of creating a Terminator planet should give us pause for thought... or not. [Note for TomDispatch readers: I particularly recommend the Christopher Drew New York Times piece cited above, "Drones Are Weapons of Choice in Fighting Qaeda," which gives a vivid picture of our drone wars at home. In addition, let me offer a small bow to Nick Turse, who, back in 2004, began writing at this site about the way our government has restricted blue-skies dreaming to the military. To keep up on drones and drone warfare, there is no better place to start than Noah Shachtman's Danger Room blog at Wired.com. It's a must. To keep track of drone strikes as they occur in our world, keep an eye on Antiwar.com. And a final note of thanks to Christopher Holmes, whose keen copyediting eye makes this process so much less embarrassing than it might otherwise be.

Muridi bro. The force that is needed to accomplish righteousness in Somalia inversely varies with distance from the power control panel. The closer we are to realize Justice in the land and to get rid of the criminal warlords, the trickier it gets. Nur

Akhi Xiin Waxaad qortay: ^^Ahdaaf ka sarraysa in mujrimiinta aad sheegaysid laga aarsado oo la maxkamadeeyyo ayyaa aniga ii muuqatta. Horaan u sheegay ahdaaftaas oo hadda mar labaad ku celin mayyo.[ Walaal. Waxaa jirta qaacida sharciyah ah oo cilmiga maqaasiddul Shariica oo dheheysa "maa laa yatimmul waajibu illaa bihi fa huwa waajib" Macneheedu yahay, " wuxuusan waajibku ku fuleyn la'aantii, isagana waa waajib" Haddii ahdaafta sare ood soo qortay ay tahay in Shareecada Islaamka Waddanka aaasaas looga dhigo xukunkiisa iyo maareyntiisa, si nabad loo gaaro, taasi waa waajib sharci ah, waxaana loo baahan yahay in qaayadaas lagu gaadho, tab ( Means) ayadana sharciyeeysan oo bannaan sharci ahaan, maxaa yeelay, sharciga Allah laguma suuro-galin karo in asaga la jabiyo ( oo dariiq qaldan loo maro) si hadafkaas sare loo xaqiijiyo. Waxaa is weydiin leh, dariiqa siyaasadeed oo walaalaha Ururka Maxkamadaha ahaan jirey ay maanta mareen, ma yahay, marka lagu eego qaacidadaas, mid aan qilaafsaneyn shareecada? ma yahay mid lagu gaadhi karo, ahdaafta sare ood soo sheegtay? ma dhici kartaa in walaalaha ay qaldan yihiin oo taladooda ay dib u dhigeyso ahdaaftaas gaadhistooda? Haddey dhici karto in ay qaldami karaaan, sow ma fiicna in ay u dabcaan aragtida khilaafsan tooda, ooy dhago nuglaadaan? Waxaad qortay: Raggii ugu sarreeyey maxaakimtii Islaamka e 2006 ayyaa maanta hoggaan u ah dawladan tanaazulka ku timid, hase yeeshee adiga malaha kuwaas waxaad ku dartay mujrimiinta ama kooxdooda! Walaal, haddaad qoraalkeyga si fiican u akhrisay, waxaad ka helaysaa in dadka aan u kala qaybshay siduu Allah dadka u kala qaybshay oo ah labo qayb: 1. Muslimiin 2. Mujrimiin Waxaan ku magacaabay qolada hore " Walaalaha" oo ah qolyahii ahaa ururka Maxaakimta, garabka Jabuuti, Asmara iyo dhallin yarada aad ku magacawday kuwa " Qoryaha sita" Qolyahaas wexey qilaaf caqiido oo uu dagaal ba'an ka dhashay, isaga hor imaadeen niman Mujirimiin ah, oo dul keenay waddanka cadow, fal xun oo badanna ka geystay dib u dhigga ahdaafta aad sheegeysid oo walaalaha ay aad ugu dhawaadeen iney xaqiijiyaan 2006dii. Waxaad qortay: Allow sida san Amin, Allah wuxuu ku waafajiyay duco qiimo badan oo ah tii Rasuulka Alle: Yaa Xayu Yaa Qayuum, Bi raxmatika astaghiith, Aslix lii shaani kulluh, wa laa takilnii ilaa nafsii tarfata acyun, macneheedu yahay: Allahii noolaayow, kii u taagnaa hagaajinta danaha uunkiisow, naxariistaada ayaan u qaylo dhaansanayaa, ii hagaaji danaheyga oo dhan, hana igu halleyn nafteeyda, haba noqotee , il libiqsi" Waxaan halkan ku xasuusinayaa waxaan qoray November 11, 2006, markii aan maqlay in Morgan uu Twobo keenay, kuna biiray isbaheysiga Umadda Somalida, ee Maxaakimta. We are also happy when they ( Warlords) Come back as brothers in faith, repenting to Allah and helping their people in their search for peace. I read at SOL General Forum a news posted by Libaax-san-ka-taabte that Morgan, an ex-Presidential Body Guard turned Warlord who once controlled Kismayo has come to our fold, if the news is true, its indeed a day to celebrate, a soul saved from helfire is a great news, as for skeptics, no one should ever question this man's repentence, he was known to be brave as a fighter, and he was brave to repent to Allah, Let us pray for him and his family's welbeing under a new Somalia, a Somalia of benevolence, trust and justice for all. Let us also pray for Geddi's repentence and that of his boss, inshAllah. Forgivenss and Tolerance, a winning peace formula. Nur Qofkii Allah Tala Saarta, Asaga Ayaa Tirada Ugu Jira, Saa Alle, Waa Mid Gaadha Dantiisee, wax walibana Allah waxuu u yeelay qadar! Suuratul Talaaq, 3.

Akhi Xiin Al Xabiib Walaal, Nabad waaarta waxaa lagu gaaraa cadaalo, haddaan cadaalo jirin, waxaa dhab ah in haddaan maanta u aqbalno " dan" darteed, inaan Mujrimiinta ula heshiino, in berri markey wax is baddalaan, in heshiiskaas laga bixi doono, maxaa yeelay, si heshiis waara u dhasho, waxaa loo bahan yahay labado qolo iney isku mabdaa ( Principle) yihiin, sidaa darteed, ama waa inaan annaga ka tagnaa diinteenna, ama waa inay ayaga Towbo keenaan, taasna wey fogtahay sida muuqata. Waxaa wacan in marba haddaad xaq ku taagan tahay inaad ku adkeysato kuna sabirto xaqaas Allah ku siiyey. Xaqa, sidaan hadda ka hor qorey, ( Halganka Xaqa iyo Baatilka) wax walba oo baatil ah asagaa ka xoog badan. Ma aqaan xaq ka weyn in aan xor noqonno, oon Allah u qura addoon u noqonno, xor ku noqonno waddankeenna ay doonayaan Mooriyaanta qabqablayaalka dagaalka qarribay waddanka iney shihseeye na dul keenaan nagu xukuma waddankeenna. Walaal, dadku aad bey u illoobi la'yihiin wanaaggii Maxkamadaha iyo nabaddey dhaliyeen 2006, haddad leedahay laguma noqonayo wanaaggaas mar kale, waxaad niyad jabineysaa umadda, haddaad ula jeeddo in walaaluhu ayna midoobi doonin sida cadowguudu u mideysan yahay, ayadana waa niyad jab, haddaad leedahay, Mujrimiinta dagaalka hadda dowladda lagu daray waa in umadda lagu qasbaana, taasna waa niyad jab yaa akhi al Xabiib. Walaal Allah dad uusan simin adiga ha simin, taas Allah kaa ma qabato haddad naxariistiisa ay tahay waxaad raadineyso, Allah wuxuu leeyahay: " Afa najcalul Muslimiina kal Mujrimiin? Maa lakum keyfa taxkumuun?" Macnehedu yahay: Ma waxaan sinnaa Mujrimiinta iyo Muslimiinta? Maxaa idin helay ood sidaas ugu xukunteen ( in la simo labadaas)?" Xiinow, waxaa maanta dad isu xiga kuwii shalay is xigey, Shariifka walaalihii wuu dayriyey, wuxuuna soo dhoweystay cadowgiisi shalay, igu soo baro Xiinow, nabadi ineyan ku imaan doonin dariiquu Shariif maray. Nabad waarta oo joogta wexey ku imaan kartaa in Mujrimiinta umadda qayaanay 20 sano, dabadeedna Xabashida umadda dul keenay, oo laayey, haddana diiddan in Sharciga Allah la isku xukumo, in Mujrimiintaas Maxkamadihii Islaamiga ahaa ay la dirireen la soo istaajiyo, lagu xukumo si umaddu ay u dhadhamiso cadaalo waarta. Aragtidaas ayaan ku iri waa kin la soo celiyaa 2006! iyo kheyrkeedi badnaa oo lagu wada farxay, umaddana mideysay, cadowga Allahana ka nixixsay. Inta Mujrimiinta ay aamin yihiin, oo haddana rabaan iney umadda sii xukumaan, ha ku riyoon iney Somalia nabadi ka dhacdo. Nur

An Insight! As I ran again early morning right after fajr, the road ahead seemed too long, my body wanted to give up the run, "just one day off, wont hurt" said my lazy nafs " don't punish yourself, you can always run tomorrow!" continued my evil nafs. " No" my good nafs screamed, "everyday counts" my good nafs responded. Just after completing my 4 mile run ( appx 6 Km), and my daily dose of endorphin drug kicked in, I felt reborn again, my worries slipped behind me and my outlook for the day shined as bright as the early morning sunshine, Allahu Akbar! The thought that crossed my mind was, have we as somalis given up on the long march toward Allah? are we tired? do we just want to rest and forget about our objective of setting up a peaceful nation based on our faith? Nur

Nomads In the following Report: Understanding Sufism and its Potential Role in US Policy by the Nixon Center for Security and Energy Notice the connection between SECURITY and ENERGY aka OIL The Report proposes that the USA invests in SUFI Education in the Muslim World, so that they can get rid of the WAHHABI Interpretation of Islam which is producing TERRORISM against USA Energy Interests in Muslim World . The Strategy is like breeding peaceful Honey bees in areas infested with Killer Bees, the problem is that if the Peaceful bees breed with the killer bees, you may have a new breed that is a cross between the two, that is neither peaceful nor lethal, just disturbing the drilling of oil wells in the region! The Three main Proposals to align US foreign policy strategy with Energy needs of US in the Muslim World are: First is in the preservation and/or reconstruction of shrines of Saints and their associated centers of learning. The Salafis deny the concept of Saints and often destroy and desecrate centuries-old shrines, particularly in Central Asia. Rebuilding and preserving them would fortify the ancient traditions of the people. She reminded the audience that these are the places where people from all over the world would gather to socialize, learn and build bridges of tolerance and understanding. They also are great sources of legitimate foreign-currency earnings because they attract international tourism. Second is in the preservation and translation of ancient manuscripts. Some of the great poetry and science as well as historically important literary manuscripts remain obscure because there is no funding for efforts to disseminate them. With such assistance, the documents could prove to a wider audience the historical precedent for such inclusive traditions within Islam. About the eNuri Forecast of 2002, that USA will get into the Islamic Education Business, here is the last recommendation of the Nixon Center: Thirdly, the US could be helpful in the creation and funding of educational centers that focus on ancient history and civilization of the region, with a particular emphasis on the precedent of religious and ethnic toleration. These centers can also help the community “retrain” those youth who have become disenchanted with the aggressiveness of Wahhabi thought. Read the complete Report here Nur 2009 Sufi Islamic Schools in Somalia Sponsored by ExxonMobile & British Petroleum