AUN Maxamed Siyaad. Dembigiisana ha dhaafo. What a beautiful democracy he inherited.

Nomad Warmoog has been named a moderator of the Islam Section. Sister Warmoog's maturity, intellect and balanced take on current issues have prompted her nomination to moderate that very important forum. Congrats our sister!!

Originally posted by Libaax-Sankataabte: The persistent criticism of the PIS, coming from different communities, is a legitimate concern. No one should dismiss the cries of the locals and their stinging denunciation of the PIS actions as “wining” for such would be seen as legitimizing potential abuse. I have always thought it is never a great design to farm-out vital state responsibilities such as security to self-governing security entities with little or no governmental oversight. Such novelty takes integrity away from the local law enforcement groups and further antagonizes the very communities the state is trying to bring under its sphere of influence. If latest turn of events tell us anything, it is that the very unit the state put its bet on, the PIS that is, is increasingly inept and highly unable to assist the admin get a good grip on security. Instead, the PIS tactics have conjured up, in the minds of many citizens, an image of Puntland which is quite Pashtuni. It is commonly seen as a Blackwater vehicle for sub-clan domination. The unit’s sole contribution, aside from the clandestine raids, has been the estrangement of a number of communities and the disturbance of the always delicate equilibrium of tribal loyalty to the state. That Faroole has no direct control over the core duties of the PIS was never a secret, but what is quite intriguing is the mere longevity of an organization so clearly unable to bring any tangible progress on security to the table. What are the PIS’s real accomplishments? That was my comment on the PIS last year. The same issues still haunt the citizens. What is the solution yaa jamacah?

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: Only lazy critics with no cause oppose ONLF.While I think ONLF should strive to be an inclusive entity, it is pointless to convince others to join the struggle given the fact they have never made an attempt to rid the colonizers off themselves. Few in the cyber world indict the name of the organization as the source of division. I don’t consider that to be convincing. For one, adding the letter “S” (Somali) to the acronym would not automatically lead to a marvel (SNM, SSDF, etc). Another point is that this is nothing more than a mere gorilla struggle. If the province became self-governing, it almost certainly would break into turmoil if such historic name was adopted, but for now, the different factions in this struggle should be endorsed to assume any suitable surnames as long as folks are all fighting in good faith against one common enemy. AT&T has raised some legitimate points. How does one succeed in toning down the clan chauvinism, and make this a "shared struggle" with all the various Somali clans as legitimate stakeholders? The difficulty now is that many clans (and sub-clans of the ONLF) are not contributing to the struggle in a valuable manner. This is a problem.

A colleague I work with forwarded me some info on "my people" and a theory on why Somalia is a failed state. "perhaps this is why you lot can't stop fighting each other!" was his last sentence. My reply to him was ... "who?" Do tribes that live at the Somalia/Kenya border eat cows' menstrual matter and grow huge balls?

A YouTube video showing two niqab-wearing Muslim women being allowed to board a flight at Montreal airport without being subjected to any security checks has outraged Canadians. - Sify.com VIDEO The incident, which was captured by a British passenger of Air Canada's flight from Montreal to Heathrow last month, violates international standards which require airport check-in staff to see the faces of passengers who board their flights. In the video, a man accompanying the veiled women is shown handing over their passports to the check-in staff who then let the women pass through without asking them to remove their veils as required by rules. Posted under the title 'A major Canadian airline risks your safety, pandering to Muslim sensibilities,' the video - with titles and soundtrack - drew thousands of hits and racist comments, vilifying Canadian leaders for 'political correctness'. As Canadians expressed their outrage at the lax security at their airports, Transport Minister John Baird Sunday ordered an investigation into the incident. Calling the incident 'deeply disturbing'', the minister said such neglect poses a serious threat to the security of the air travelling public. 'I have instructed my department to immediately look into this matter and report back. If our current security policies in this area are deemed to be lacking, our government will take the necessary steps to protect the safety and security of the travelling public,'' the minister said. Niqab has become a big issue in Canada after French-speaking province Quebec banned it in March, denying all government services to women wearing the veil. The action followed protests triggered by an Egyptian immigrant's refusal to remove her niqab in her French languages classes in Montreal, forcing the school and the provincial government to throw her out. It was the first such step in North America to curtail any religious dress. Election Canada also ruled in 2007 to allow veiled women to cast their ballot, forcing the government to introduce a bill to overturn it. Canada has more than one million Muslims in its population of 34 million, and their population is expected to triple in the next two decades. Though a majority of Canadian Muslim women don't wear the hijab or niqab, the veil is now quite visible in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver where most Muslim immigrants live.

Originally posted by Abtigiis & Tusbax: Ngonge's footie knowledge vindicated once more. The worth of Lucas is recognised. He is in! I missed it. What did NGONGE say? NGONGE has been very lucky lately with his wild predictions.

who is Yarisow?

Actually Paul is dead. RIP Paul. He died of the most horrific of deaths. He was basically liquified in a blender. Here is the news: Paul the Octopus is "liquefied" by an Angry Argentine TV Host News Buenes Aires - Furious with Paul the "psychic" octopus' astonishing 100% World Cup prediction rate, an Argentine TV presenter has gotten his revenge by slaughtering Paul the octopus on the air and then liquifying its remains in a blender. According to The Sun, Pettinato growled, "Your moment has arrived, little Nazi octopus," while slowly lowering the animal into the appliance. Source: HP

Nassir and Jacphar, I think you brothers may not have all the facts here, hence your downbeat comments. The brother who set up this admin sacrificed his comfortable life n Minnesota to advance some sort of "kaladambayn" for a district known for its militias and anarchy. It is a monumental achievement considering the odds and the circumstances. Even the New York Times did a profile on the work this man has done. We discussed this on SOL in the past. NEW YORK TIMES VIDEO

Finally the misery is over for the nation of France as France trashes a very talented Spanish Team in the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Platini, LeBlanc, the French Sports minister and other dignitaries attended the final. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-vykLokfL4 This Gaël Kakuta kid is quite talented.

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: LST-It looks like someone was in the wait and s/he pulled the flag from under the mattress came Riyaale's departure just like NGONGE pulled his secessionist flag from under his mattres came Siilaanyo's ascension. lool@NGONGE. War NGONGE waa nin habaar qaba. Riyaale ayay saaxiib ahaayeen, deedna Siilaanyo isagoo calanka u lulaya ayuunbaa la arkay. This issue will only stay on the forefront for few days. In our neck of the wood, sub-sub clans complain soon after cabinet announcements are made so as to "well position" the clan for any awaiting nominations for the low level “financially viable” agencies. In Puntland, Faroole pissed off 17 important sub-sub-sub clans when he announced his cabinet and the issue went away as more and more “unhappy sub-clan” members filled important low level positions. Unless this particular Awdal demo is a result of a more ominous matter, the mere noise over power allotment will not sustain itself for a prolonged period. Folks will get on with their lives.

very interesting development!

I wonder what concessions Meles made in return. AT&T can perhaps enlighten us.

Ethiopian Government Plans to Sign Peace Deal With ****** Rebels Tomorrow By William Davison - Jul 28, 2010 4:02 AM MDT Wed Jul 28 10:02:05 UTC 2010 Bloomberg: Ethiopia’s government will sign a peace deal with the United Western Somali Liberation Front, a rebel organization that has been fighting for independence in the ethnic Somali region in the east of the country. The accord will be signed tomorrow in the capital, Addis Ababa, the Communication Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. The UWSLF is a rival of the ONLF, which also operates in the Somali region. Both groups are considered to be successors to the Western Somali Liberation Front that fought for independence for the region and assisted the army of neighboring Somalia in its ultimately unsuccessful invasion of the region in 1977-88. In 2006, the UWSLF kidnapped Irish Red Cross Worker Donal O’Suilleabhain and an Ethiopian colleague Hadis Ahmed Samatar. Both were later released unharmed. To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Good report Nassir. Here is the David Cameron's Turkey comment in video.

Originally posted by Oodweyne: ^^^Circling the "Clannish Wagon" , as well as making sure that the recent dirty linen of the larger "tolka" does not gets to be entertainingly "view" by any passing "others" in here of SOL , heh, my friend ... Mujaahid, I see you are relishing the dust-up and the dirty laundry here. Waan u jeedaa Mujaahid baasiinka iyo taraqa aad la wareegayso beryahan oo waadigaa dhallinyarada mindiyaha isugu dhiibay. Waar ardayda kala celi War Xudeedi, Af-soomaaliga awoowe ma akhridaa horta? Bal waxaan qoray akhri mar labaad. Kuma fahmin awoowe.

Xudeedi hala daayo. Qofku waa yara kululaan karaa, laakiin anigu ma qabo inuu nin fog yahay oo nacayb qoto dheeri ku jiro. Maskaxdu ha shaqayso awooweyaal. Nin walbaa dhinacuu doono ha taageero, laakiin qabaaillada walaalaha ahe ee wada dega yaan la aflagaaddayn, oo ummadda cadowtinimo dheer oo aan jirin la dhex dhigin hadda. Siyaasadda hala ciyaaro dhallinyaro, balse si caddaalad iyo akhiyaarnimo ku jirto haloo ciyaaro. Atom waa nin gobolka u dhashay. Khalad haduu galay iyo haddii kale, xal haddaan loo helin khilaafkaan, ummaddoo dhan ayuu saamaynayaa. Faroole waa inuu xal aan dhibaato iyo kala-carar ummadda u soo jiidayn raadiyaa. Wax qabiil ahina meesha ma yaallaan oo kuwa dagaalamaya labada dhinacba waxay ka kala yimaadeen hal beel.

NOVOZAVIDOVO, Russia — People in this Russian town used to stare at Jean Gregoire Sagbo because they had never seen a black man. Now they say they see in him something equally rare – an honest politician. Sagbo last month became the first black to be elected to office in Russia. In a country where racism is entrenched and often violent, Sagbo's election as one of Novozavidovo's 10 municipal councilors is a milestone. But among the town's 10,000 people, the 48-year-old from the West African country of Benin is viewed simply a Russian who cares about his hometown. He promises to revive the impoverished, garbage-strewn town where he has lived for 21 years and raised a family. His plans include reducing rampant drug addiction, cleaning up a polluted lake and delivering heating to homes. "Novozavidovo is dying," Sagbo said in an interview in the ramshackle municipal building. "This is my home, my town. We can't live like this." "His skin is black but he is Russian inside," said Vyacheslav Arakelov, the mayor. "The way he cares about this place, only a Russian can care." Sagbo isn't the first black in Russian politics. Another West African, Joaquin Crima of Guinea-Bissau, ran for head of a southern Russian district a year ago but was heavily defeated. Crima was dubbed by the media "Russia's Obama." Now they've shifted the title to Sagbo, much to his annoyance. "My name is not Obama. It's sensationalism," he said. "He is black and I am black, but it's a totally different situation." Story continues below Inspired by communist ideology, Sagbo came to Soviet Russia in 1982 to study economics in Moscow. There he met his wife, a Novozavidovo native. He moved to the town about 100 kilometers (65 miles) north of Moscow in 1989 to be close to his in-laws. Today he is a father of two, and negotiates real estate sales for a Moscow conglomerate. His council job is unpaid. Sagbo says neither he nor his wife wanted him to get into politics, viewing it as a dirty, dangerous business, but the town council and residents persuaded him to run for office. They already knew him as a man of strong civic impulse. He had cleaned the entrance to his apartment building, planted flowers and spent his own money on street improvements. Ten years ago he organized volunteers and started what became an annual day of collecting garbage. He said he feels no racism in the town. "I am one of them. I am home here," Sagbo said. He felt that during his first year in the town, when his 4-year-old son Maxim came home in tears, saying a teenage boy spat at him. Sagbo ran outside in a rage, demanding that the spitter explain himself. Women sitting nearby also berated the teenager. Then the whole street joined in. Russia's black population hasn't been officially counted but some studies estimate about 40,000 "Afro-Russians." Many are attracted by universities that are less costly than in the West. Scores of them suffer racially motivated attacks every year – 49 in Moscow alone in 2009, according to the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy Task Force on Racial Violence and Harassment, an advocacy group. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Novozavidovo's industries were rapidly privatized, leaving it in financial ruin. High unemployment, corruption, alcoholism and pollution blight what was once an idyllic town, just a short distance from the Zavidovo National Park, where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev take nature retreats. Denis Voronin, a 33-year-old engineer in Novozavidovo, said Sagbo was the town's first politician to get elected fairly, without resorting to buying votes "Previous politicians were all criminals," he said. A former administration head – the equivalent of mayor in rural Russia – was shot to death by unknown assailants two years ago. The post is now held by Arakelov, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan who says he also wants to clean up corruption. He says money used to constantly disappear from the town budget and is being investigated by tax police. Residents say they pay providers for heat and hot water, but because of ineffective monitoring by the municipality they don't get much of either. The toilet in the municipal building is a room with a hole in the floor. As a councilor, Sagbo has already scored some successes. He mobilized residents to collect money and turn dilapidated lots between buildings into colorful playgrounds with new swings and painted fences. As he strolled around his neighborhood everyone greeted him and he responded in his fluent, French-African-accented Russian. Boys waved to Sagbo, who had promised them a soccer field. Sitting in the newly painted playground with her son, Irina Danilenko said it was the only improvement she has seen in the five years she has lived here. "We don't care about his race," said Danilenko, 31. "We consider him one of us." Soure: AP

^^ Goonle, lol. Salaams awoowe. Check your pm.

Congrats to the young grads. Well done!!

Originally posted by Suldaanka: In the south, it was the Mafia style of politics and elite ruling class far removed from the community. Mujahid, the very spirit of your statement above underscores the negative subtext most associated with the “us vs. them” frame of mind which is at the core of all chauvinistic sentiments. The irony of it all is that the Somaliland ”patriotism” you so firmly promote here is commonly seen as nothing but a mere clan chauvinism, for there is no “nationality”, apart from identity with clan and arbitrary colonial borders, which can uniquely define the current geography of Somaliland in the wider context of nationhood in comparison with other historic Somali provinces. The simple idea of calling for the dismemberment of the collective Somali nationhood is driven by that very item referenced above which we all know appeals to the worst impulses of the Somali soul. Just a thought.

Waryaa JB, how many cellphones do you currently own? Take only one cell when you travel to Puntland next time. Haddii kale waxaa lagugu soo oogi inaad Sheekh Atom walaalo tihiin. Maxaa la yiri? Wixii aan la garanayn waa "argagixiso". Muuqaalkooda ayaa ummadda ka argagixiya.

Originally posted by Hunguri: Ngonge once again you are 100 % Correct. I repeat the word of "Copy cut". Waar Hunguriyoow, NGONGE wuu ciyaar badan yahee yaanu kaa waalin. Waa wax fiican in wixii wanaagsan la isaga daydo Awoowe. May I kindly remind the good folks here that Somalia had multi-party elections in the past. A Somali region duplicating the process of 1956, 1964 and 1969 is not something to get all too riled up about. Somaliland is gracefully repeating the same process our elders instituted in the 50s and 60s when most of Africa was in the dark.

Syria bans full Islamic face veils at universities By ALBERT AJI and ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY (AP) – 5 hours ago DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria has forbidden the country's students and teachers from wearing the niqab — the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman's eyes — taking aim at a garment many see as political. The ban shows a rare point of agreement between Syria's secular, authoritarian government and the democracies of Europe: Both view the niqab as a potentially destabilizing threat. "We have given directives to all universities to ban niqab-wearing women from registering," a government official in Damascus told The Associated Press on Monday. The order affects both public and private universities and aims to protect Syria's secular identity, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. Hundreds of primary school teachers who were wearing the niqab at government-run schools were transferred last month to administrative jobs, he added. The ban, issued Sunday by the Education Ministry, does not affect the hijab, or headscarf, which is far more common in Syria than the niqab's billowing black robes. Syria is the latest in a string of nations from Europe to the Middle East to weigh in on the veil, perhaps the most visible symbol of conservative Islam. Veils have spread in other secular-leaning Arab countries, such as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, with Jordan's government trying to discourage them by playing up reports of robbers who wear veils as masks. Turkey bans Muslim headscarves in universities, with many saying attempts to allow them in schools amount to an attack on modern Turkey's secular laws. The issue has been debated across Europe, where France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands are considering banning the niqab on the grounds it is degrading to women. Last week, France's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on both the niqab and the burqa, which covers even a woman's eyes, in an effort to define and protect French values — a move that angered many in the country's large Muslim community. The measure goes before the Senate in September; its biggest hurdle could come when France's constitutional watchdog scrutinizes it later. A controversial 2004 law in France earlier prohibited Muslim headscarves and other "ostentatious" religious symbols in the classrooms of French primary and secondary public schools. Opponents say such bans violate freedom of religion and personal choice, and will stigmatize all Muslims. In Damascus, a 19-year-old university student who would give only her first name, Duaa, said she hopes to continue wearing her niqab to classes when the next term begins in the fall, despite the ban. Otherwise, she said, she will not be able to study. "The niqab is a religious obligation," said the woman, who would not give her surname because she was uncomfortable speaking out against the ban. "I cannot go without it." Nadia, a 44-year-old science teacher in Damascus who was reassigned last month because of her veil, said: "Wearing my niqab is a personal decision." "It reflects my freedom," she said, also declining to give her full name. In European countries, particularly France, the debate has turned on questions of how to integrate immigrants and balance a minority's rights with secular opinion that the garb is an affront to women. But in the Middle East — particularly Syria and Egypt, where there have been efforts to ban the niqab in the dorms of public universities — experts say the issue underscores the gulf between the secular elite and largely impoverished lower classes who find solace in religion. Some observers say the bans also stem in part from fear of dissent. The niqab is not widespread in Syria, although it has become more common in recent years, a development that has not gone unnoticed by the authoritarian government. "We are witnessing a rapid income gap growing in Syria — there is a wealthy ostentatious class of people who are making money and wearing European clothes," said Joshua Landis, an American professor and Syria expert who runs a blog called Syria Comment. The lower classes are feeling the squeeze, he said. "It's almost inevitable that there's going to be backlash. The worry is that it's going to find its expression in greater Islamic radicalism," Landis said. Four decades of secular rule under the Baath Party have largely muted sectarian differences in Syria, although the state is quick to quash any dissent. In the 1980s, Syria crushed a bloody campaign by Sunni militants to topple the regime of then-President Hafez Assad. The veil is linked to Salafism, a movement that models itself on early Islam with a doctrine that is similar to Saudi Arabia's. In the broad spectrum of Islamic thought, Salafism is on the extreme conservative end. In Gaza, radical Muslim groups encourage women to cover their faces and even conceal the shape of their shoulders by using layers of drapes. It's a mistake to view the niqab as a "personal freedom," Bassam Qadhi, a Syrian women's rights activist, told local media recently. "It is rather a declaration of extremism," Qadhi said. Kennedy reported from Beirut. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved