Xiin, good points awoowe. I agree that a formal meeting to elect the next generation of leadership should be held inside the country. This is what many Somalis have been calling for years. Faroole has seized that mantle already and the current TFG is now following suit. Having said that, Alshabaab will almost certainly not participate any gathering absent of full AMISOM withdrawal. That very truth may be the one impediment to peace in the South. Remember, there are no warring regions to bring peace to. It is the Al-Shabaab variable that needs to be manipulated. The only way to do so is to either trounce the entity militarily or meet their demands. It is a tough nut to crack and I am afraid the situation will be at a stalemate for some time to come. I will give more thought another time.

So now Sakiin and his sidekicks are arguing about how long that illegal extension should be? Sad indeed.

^Rhetorical? Anytime you hear about demonstrators being stopped by the government and some being killed in the process, it is the current government that should bear brunt of public's wrath. It is hard to believe Maxamed Dheere called his supporter into the streets and killed them after they came out.

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for posting.

iyadoo ay ku dhinteen labo ruux halka afar kale ay ku dhaawacmeen, kuwaas oo qeyb ka ahaa dadkii banaan baxayay ee taageersanaa shirkii wada tashiga Nairobi . Citizens should be allowed to demonstrate peacefully. I know Shariif is working hard to save his seat and that is perfectly fine, but using live rounds on peaceful demonstrators is absolutely unacceptable.

LST stop it with the long winded nonsense Liqaye, let us steer the debate away from distractions and personal sideshows. Awoowe, support your man with vigor, but don’t violate the rules of the debate by personally attacking nomads. I am also the last person to indulge in vitriol against Farmaajo’s persona as I see you doing against Ina Abdirashiid. It would serve everyone on SOL justice if we stay on topic and move the debate away from personal physique and looks. Now, back to the topic. Awoowe, if much of your evidence for “accomplishment” is based on previous team’s “lack of accomplishment”, then sadly, there is not much to debate on here. Let me emphasize an important point for your consumption: Ina Abdirashiid’s tenure was marred by personal conflict and political differences with his partner Shariif. It is not a small box to be in if you know the way the TFG operates. Nothing tangible was accomplished as a result and that point I concede without any commotion. Then Farmaajo came. Before he took office, he came across as a Siyaadist ideologue. But as the events on the ground rendered the early fears unwarranted, the man found his footing in Shariif’s listening ears. Compatibility is an important commodity in the shifting sands of TFG politics. Shariif and Farmaajo are compatible. But that is where the festivities end awoowe. Both Shariif and Farmaajo see some of the major clan in the country as adversaries that need to be silenced. It is not only Shariif/Farmaajo that hold that view as the first article you posted clearly indicates. Theirs is a shared political thinking lacking of any practical high-mindedness. What the two men have in common is a derivative of that old and dirty “We-have-a-common-enemy” filtering; a filtering which is hardly the tool to build a failed nation around. Having said that, Farmaajo is not a man who lacks the intellectual heft to counter tough political challenges. I defended him here when others were questioning his competence. His seizure of the “waxqabad” mantle, for instance, is nothing short of political shrewdness. He nailed the old Siyaadist “Qawda maqashii” political calculus to its decimals. It is dazzling to watch his press releases. That being said, the most important characteristic the leader of Somalia should have today, and the keyword is TODAY, is having the capacity to bring the different clans together. Sadly, Shariif and Farmaajo seem to have positioned themselves as the masters of a failed modus operandi. As experience teaches us, the old sacred “thou shall not alienate major clans” text is thrown out to the political trash heap. It is a calculated choice and one that pretty much will seal their faith in the political hereafter just like others before them. As for Al-Shabaab, Awoowe, the war campaign against Al-shabaab was in the planning stages for a much longer period predating Farmaajo’s tenure. TFG/AMISOM worked hard to build the needed capacity to tackle Al-Shabaab before the top leaders started falling out. Shabaab's faltering popularity in the wake of the suicide bombings was something the TFG was working hard to capitalize on. To award the current team the entire glory in that whole military calculus against Alshabaab is unreasonable. With that being said, the war efforts against Al-Shabaab were just that, efforts. No tangible gains were made to render the country any more peaceful than it was before. I am willing to debate with you on the issue of accountability and merit. Nairobi Fadhi-ku-dirin stories about Ina Abdirashiid stealing money is not something I should get my hands dirty with. It is a waste of energy on my part to take that route. That is my thought.

Gabbal;711223 wrote: Armuu Cumar Cabdirashiid kaa dhex hadlayaa Libaaxoow? attacking Farmaajo by saying he hasn't done anything tangible when he is being hailed from left and right as the most constructive post-Siyaad national leader during his short tenure says a lot more about you than him. lool@most constructive. If giving himself an illegal term extension makes him the “most constructive”, then you and I clearly live in different universes. Malaha our good Gabbal is behind all those hollow press releases giving Al-shabaab 20 days to "surrender". That was a joke Awoowe. :D Jokes aside, Gabbaloow, Ina Abdirashiid is a retired man. It probably would have been entirely permissible to bring him into this debate had I been a tireless supporter of the man. But I see your only yardstick for articulating a disapproval is that based on clanish assumptions. It is fine and dandy awoowe, if you want to take that route. But instead of indulging in unsubstantiated suspicions, wouldn’t it be entirely beneficial to base your defense of Farmaajo on tangible facts rather than on clannish narrow-mindedness? Gabballow, inadeer Tell us all that is tangible (the keyword is tangible) about Farmaajo’s accomplishments which qualifies him to that highest pedestal of political superiority you so fervently identified.

What Shariif and Farmaajo have tried to do by extending their term beyond what the charter calls for, is intolerable. The current TFG should not be afforded any opportunity for extension. The nation needs a leadership that will respect the TFG charter, not a manipulator trying to destroy whatever little democratic system we have. Shariif and Farmaajo haven’t done anything tangible for the country other than make PR noises and complain about "interferences" in order to cling to power. It is time for the country to move on. All this noise about useless Mahiga and "enemy of the nation" is nothing more than a political smokescreen. Shariif and Farmaajo would be the first ones to attend any meeting if the "masters" were fully supportive of their term extension. A work in progress it shall be I say … till we find the right leadership. That is my opinion.

So the West finally ousts the Christian fundamentalist President (Gbagbo) in favor of Alassane Ouattara , a muslim moderate. Woow, that is change you can believe in. I thought the C-Street (Republican fundamentalist organization) connection with Gbagbo was interesting. Chief among Gbagbo's American supporters is Inhofe, who is the most influential Republican in the Senate when it comes to African affairs. Inhofe has been traveling to Africa regularly since the late 1990s and, while the trips are paid for by the taxpayer and typically involve some official business, the senator also engages in missionary work. He has been to Ivory Coast nine times and knows Gbagbo personally. That's why, early on in the post-election crisis, when the State Department was frantically looking for intermediaries to reach out to Gbagbo to try to convince him to leave the country peacefully, the Obama administration asked Inhofe to talk to Gbagbo. But, according to a source familiar with the situation, Inhofe declined to do so. http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/senator-inhofes-madness-he-calls-new-el Hopefully peace will prevail in the end. Ivory Coast's great North-South divide will not disappear overnight, but I hope the Ivorians reach a common ground and save their country from the abyss of sectarian madness.

Alot of the pictures Liqaye posted are actually hosted on our SOL server and the guys just liked them. Just FYI

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2011/03/201132863311584728.html

Last year, Israel's Channel 2 interviewed two Israeli women of Libyan origin who claimed to be Gadhafi's Jewish relatives. A journalist named Mary Pace wrote a book last year called "Gadhafi's Secret" in which she claims that Gadhafi should be considered Catholic because he was born to an Italian officer who impregnated a Libyan girl and then took the baby to Venice, where he was baptized at the age of 8 or 9 months. AOL News spoke with Magariaf about what he learned about Gadhafi's origins, including the "Da Vinci Code"-like rumors surrounding his birth. AOL News: Why is there so much mystery surrounding Gadhafi's childhood? Magariaf: No one knows exactly which year he was born or exactly where he was born. Nobody knows which day or month. There are so many question marks about it. Everything the average person knows -- and there isn't much -- was a story he invented. But aren't there people from his tribe around today who knew him back then? This is the bizarre thing. Tribal traditions are everything in Libya, and everyone is always known by their cousins and uncles. In the case of Gadhafi, no one has ever mentioned that he is from his uncle's tribe. Who are his uncles? For someone like Gadhafi to be so powerful, it would be normal for his uncles to come out and say he is our nephew. Gadhafi never mentions his uncles. How legitimate are the reports that have circulated for years in Libya that Gadhafi has Jewish roots -- especially the one where he was born out of a wedlock to a Jewish girl and an Italian soldier? There have always been rumors in Libya about this. But then came two facts. In the early 1970s, the Italian newspaper Oggi published a story saying Gadhafi was born to a Jewish mother. I have no idea why or where it came from. In 1973, Gadhafi told two journalists who were interviewing him for a local Libyan magazine called Al Blagh that he had some cousins of Jewish background. One of the cousins was born to a Jewish mother. This cousin, who has since died, looks very much like him. But Gadhafi retracted the line about his Jewish cousin, and it was never published in the magazine. I interviewed one of the journalists, Ahmed Dajani, in 1980, and he confirmed all this. READ MORE AT AOL NEWS

It gets more interesting ... Iman al-Obeidi Free After Claiming Rape, Libya Detains Several Men TRIPOLI, Libya -- (AP) A woman who rushed into a hotel to tell foreign reporters that Libyan troops had raped her is free and with her family, the government said Sunday. Iman al-Obeidi was tackled by waitresses and government minders as she told her story to journalists Saturday after running into the hotel where many are staying. She said that troops had detained her at a checkpoint, tied her up, abused her, then led her away to be gang-raped. The Associated Press only identifies rape victims who volunteer their names. The government says four men were interrogated in the case, including the son of a high-ranking state official. Sky News is indicating there may be a fifth man who was also detained: The son of a high-ranking Libyan police officer is thought to be among five people arrested after a woman claimed she was raped and tortured by men connected to Colonel Gaddafi's regime. In a conversation with Sky News, Libya's deputy foreign minister Khalid Kaim said the men were being detained as part of a criminal investigation into the rape allegations made by Iman al-Obeidi. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim claimed in an interview with The Associated Press that the woman was a prostitute who refused to undergo a medical examination, and that she is now with her sister in the Libyan capital. "This girl is a prostitute. She has her rights completely, but the girl is not what she pretended to be, this is her line of work," he said. But at a news conference in Tripoli several hours later, he did not repeat that allegation. He said she had named her attackers, which claimed was against Libyan custom. "It's about the honor of family of children and people," Moussa told reporters. Al-Obeidi had said she was detained by a number of troops at a Tripoli checkpoint on Wednesday. She said they were drinking whiskey and handcuffed her. She said 15 men later raped her. "They tied me up ... they even defecated and urinated on me," she said, her face streaming with tears. "The Gadhafi militiamen violated my honor." Then hotel employees and security personnel jumped her and dragged her out of the hotel as she tried to tell her story to journalists on Saturday. Her story could not be independently verified. The waiters called her a traitor and told her to shut up. She retorted: "We're all Libyan brothers, we are supposed to be treated the same, but this is what the Gadhafi militiamen did to me, they violated my honor." The scene quickly turned chaotic, with journalists attempting to protect the woman from government minders who physically attacked and intimidated her. Journalists who tried to intervene were pushed out of the way by the minders. A British television reporter was punched, and CNN's camera was smashed on the ground by the minders. Associated Press

:D

A crying Libyan woman shows up at a hotel in Libya to tell the world what the Gadafi militiamen did to her. After a short scuffle with journalists, Gadafi loyalist took her to what is known as the "bureau" and her faith is unknown.

lool@Maryooley.

As expected ...

It is quite strange why Farmaajo went for this specific firm . Hiring Park Strategies, a lobbying firm run by a man marred by accusations of shadiness, is not a move that inspires confidence in the vetting competence of the TFG. The irony is that this comes against the backdrop of another "foreign firm" fiasco, the Saracen. Farmaajo's camp put out a press release after Buffalo New reported the deal. D'Amato profile: After a series of investigations in 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee reprimanded D'Amato for allowing his brother Armand, a lobbyist, to use office stationery to help solicit million-dollar Navy contracts for Unisys. Armand D'Amato was convicted on 7 of the 24 counts of mail fraud in May 1993. A federal appeals court reversed Armand D'Amato's mail fraud conviction, finding insufficient evidence against him. Al D'Amato blames William Weld, at the time a federal prosecutor, for an overzealous prosecution against Armand. The senator's brother was also partners with Lucchese crime family captain Paul Vario and mob associate Phillip Basile. When Basile was arrested for getting mob associate Henry Hill a no-show job at one of his discos, Senator D'Amato testified on Basile's behalf.[5] During the Don Imus radio program on April 4, 1995, D'Amato used a mock Japanese accent to impersonate Lance Ito, a Japanese American judge overseeing the ongoing O.J. Simpson trial (though Ito, born and raised in the United States, has a characteristically American accent). He later apologized on the Senate floor for his comments. In 1994, he insulted Betsy McCaughey Ross, the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York; he joked that in order to get an endorsement for her running mate, George Pataki, she should have sex with New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had endorsed Mario Cuomo. In October 1998, D'Amato was criticized for insulting Congressman Jerry Nadler. According to USA Today, D'Amato "referred to the heavyset Nadler as 'Congressman Waddler.' He also did a physical imitation of Nadler (D-NY) waddling like a duck."[6] D'Amato subsequently apologized, saying, "It was a poor attempt at humor, and I was wrong, and I apologized to him." Source: wiki Former Senator D’Amato is scheduled to testify next week, in NY State Supreme Court, June 15 -16, 2010 as to his alleged role as the lobbyist who influenced New York State officials to include a MOB related construction firm onto a list of qualified contractors after they had already been disqualified by the quality control people within the New York State Dormitory Authority (DASNY). Thomas Murphy, then Executive Director of DASNY, testified that Richard Nasti told him to add the Scalamadres onto the list of qualified contractors even though Joseph and Fred Scalamandre both pleaded guilty to paying off the MOB and stealing tens of millions of dollars from several government agencies. Source: http://www.phillyimc.org/en/alphonse-d%E2%80%99amato-testify-dasny-contract-procedure-violated-after-adding-mob-firm-bid-list

Great progress indeed. This is what the state needs.

Ibtisam, Laurent Gbagbo is another megalomaniac who believes the presidency is his birthright just like Gaddafi. As these despots are being phased out by the people one by one, I fully expect the loudest ones to create unprecedented mayhem temporarily. The time has come. It is time for Africa to wake up.

It is not so much a support for Gaddafi. It is the ludicrous double standard and the insincere political games that irks most free spirited Somalis on this site. We have been calling for this despot to be ousted by his people, but watching someone like Sarkozy who is unpopular at home masquerade his political posturing as a morally justified act, is beyond sickening. Yes to Arab Revolution and ouster of Gaddaffi , but no to morrran Sarkozy (Hungarian/ Jew) playing neo-con war games with the lives of Libyan citizens just so that he can boost his dwindling poll numbers in France. Having said that, hopefully madman Gaddafi will face justice for his crimes. He is out to destroy Libya and it seems he will get it. On another news .... a new scandal may be brewing in France. Gadhafi's Son Says Libya Funded Sarkozy Campaign The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says Libya helped finance the campaign of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and now wants the money back. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi has told France-based Euronews television that Libyan funds were poured into Sarkozy's 2007 campaign so France could help the Libyan people. But he said Sarkozy has disappointed them. Gadhafi said Libya has documentary evidence of the contributions and is ready to reveal everything. The French president has led the call for a military intervention in Libya, where fighting has broken out between Gadhafi supporters and rebels calling for the end of his four-decade regime. The Associated Press reports a spokesman for Sarkozy on Wednesday denied the claims by Gadhafi. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Gadhafis-Son-Says-Libya-Funded-Sarkozy-Campaign-118080439.html

Howsha aad ka waddo Gaalkacyo ha socoto Mr. Xeer Ilaaliye. Maalintii waqtigaagu galay ayaad dhimanaysaaye, ha u bixin falalka daciifka ah ee argagixisadu carruurta iyo haweenka ku maaweeliso.

Aliko Dangote Born April 10, 1957 (age 53) Kano, Nigeria Residence: Abuja, Nigeria Nationality: Nigerian Ethnicity: Fulani Citizenship: Nigeria Education: Al-Azhar University, Cairo Occupation: Chairman & CEO, Dangote Group Years active: 1977—present Home town: Kano Net worth: US$13.8 billion (2011)[1] Title: Alhaji Religion: Islam The Nigerian businessman's fortune surged 557% in the past year, making him the world's biggest gainer in percentage terms and Africa's richest individual for the first time. The catalyst was listing Dangote Cement, which integrated his investments across Africa with his previously public Benue Cement; it now accounts for a quarter of the Nigeria Stock Exchange's total market cap. Already the continent's biggest cement maker, he has plants under construction in Zambia, Tanzania, Congo and Ethiopa and is building cement terminals in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia, among other places. Dangote, who recently bought himself a $45 million Bombardier aircraft for his birthday, has been shuttling back and forth to London for months, in anticipation of a public offering there later this year. Dangote began his career as a commodities trader; built his Dangote Group into conglomerate with interests in sugar, flour milling, salt processing, cement manufacturing, textiles, real estate, and oil and gas. Source: Forbes, Wiki

lool@NGONGE. Tell saxiibkaa Juje to cut his beard. I heard he grew beard recently. On a side note, Shariif and Farmaajo are betting on the latest offensive against Al-shabaab will deliver them victory at the ballot box in August, 2011 against Mr. Sakiin who is waiting to replace them. Theirs seems to be a "plan" to persuade the international community that the current TFG is ready for the Al-shabaab challenge, but I am not sure it is a plan that inspires much confidence in the electoral merit of the current TFG. The alleged "plan" has little prospect of succeeding against the backdrop of this TFG’s dismal record and AMISOM’s major body losses thus far. Even if there were tangible gains against Al-shabaab (as there is), another impediment in Sakiin's favor would be quantifying TFG gains on a long term basis. In other words, Al-shabaab is known to dance these familiar tunes of "now-you-see-me-now-you-don't" nature again and again. There is a discrete political battle between two camps (Shariif vs. Sakiin). Let us see who comes on top.