Alpha Blondy;917664 wrote: i've lost my phone. i don't know where it is. i looked this morning at home and will look for it again later on today. i'm sure its in the house but i need to find it walahi. all my music is on there. my 8GB memory card with all my favourite songs. luckily, i've made a back-up in the form of the conscious music thread....LOOOL. i still haven't found the phone and i've spoken to all the people i was with yesterday. i trust my friends and i highly doubt they would've stolen the phone but had i been a little less pretentious with the phone then i suppose they've returned it. but that i was constantly advertising the latest app i downloaded and the constant praises of its picture quality, makes me think twice about whether they've stolen it, after all. my phone was probably ranked 4th/10 after the iphone, the nokia and the LG but you can't blame me for thinking the worse. many admired its quality in the past.....

they'd better accept this FACT marka dee, ma istidhi? Nuune, waan ku salaamaya saxib. waxaan ka fahmey inaad tahay khabiir waxiyabaha ku sahabsaan cilmiga duunida ku takhasusdey. baal saxib adigu mudane, hordhac yare iiga seey holaaha dalka Waqooyiga Kooriya. please correct where necessary. thanks.

i'm sorry i cant help. i hope you find what you're looking for Oba. i remember how you found that amazing xamarawi song for me once. thanks brov. good times indeed. maybe better times ahead?

^ what did you decide in the end? gone on finish off the work so you could spend your free time well tonight. prioritise NG.

does the WEST think they're the only ones capable of developing the nuclear bomb?

with just two days before valentines, i'm dateless. for last two hours, i've been going through my phone book, in the hope of securing a date. lets hope its a good valentines day.

LOL@Juxa interesting caption there. what do you think the picture means?

caption this!

i've lost my phone. i don't know where it is. i looked this morning at home and will look for it again later on today. i'm sure its in the house but i need to find it walahi. all my music is on there. my 8GB memory card with all my favourite songs. luckily, i've made a back-up in the form of the conscious music thread....LOOOL.

^ that was just my opening speech. its a week long shirweyne and i'll add to these comments over the coming week. the theme of the shirweynaha is: SOL: The Way Forward and Protecting Freedom of Speech

marwooyin iyo mudanayaal, mudane guddoomiye ADMIN and MODs, friends and delegates of SOL, thank you for that kind introduction and the opportunity to be here with you this evening. let me take this opportunity to formally open a week long discussions dedicated to the various issues pertaining to the affairs of SOL, these days. as i'm sure you'd all appreciate, SOL is an invaluable source of information, an ideas hubs and a space, if you will, which is still of useful relevance, and even more particularly in this global age of the internet. SOL has done an excellent job over the last decade in maintaining a quality website dedicated to providing a space for discussions, not least in being a site, that is often referenced as a source of information, but also perhaps more importantly, as a place that continually strives to be, a hub for information sharing, interesting views and diverse opinions, which has being informed by the regular SOLers, whose dedication and passion for presenting their views has been crucial in informing the debate. the internet has no doubt enhanced free speech by dramatically improving the speed and efficiency with which we can exchange ideas and make our voices heard. the Internet has transformed the delivery of speech in a manner as revolutionary as the printing press. a free and open Internet enables ideas and expression to move seamlessly throughout the world without governments prioritising some views over others. furthermore, it enables a dynamic debate of issues and perspectives that not only empowers the forumer, but benefits our society, so that we can weigh competing viewpoints. this allows the most persuasive arguments and ideas to win on their merits. SOL has been a beacon for information and our site is rightly held up as a model for other Somali sites. we have long recognised however, that merely posting on this site is the absolute least that any individual SOLer can do. not fully utilising our knowledge, whether online or in the physical world, is a great missed opportunity and a great disincentive to our collective will. today, there are too many Somali sites, that still fall below the standards expected of 2013 and SOL is not alone in still restricting free speech on the Internet. in SOL, we must be free to express ourselves on the Internet, so as to ensure that SOLers, have the access in expressing alternative views and perspectives, however crude and that the browsing public has the opportunity to make informed decisions based on the ideas being deliberated. Shirweynihii 1aad ee SOL is an important opportunity for us all to remember that we must remain vigilant against efforts to curb free speech and to restrict the SOLers in their ability to express their views. today, Somali internet users are a valuable source of knowledge and information that can be harnessed for the betterment of our people. i'm sure, you'll agree, when Alpha say that SOLers have a crucial role to play in the efforts to restore hope and some semblance of normality for our long suffering people. Alpha, too, has taken important steps to spread his reach to many SOLers in recent years. and indeed he now counts many SOLers, not only as friends but potential colleagues, with which to work with for the betterment of the general welfare of Somalis. to some, he represents the last vanguard against online tyranny but to most he's just a ''troll terrorist'', whose trolling has be recognised for its opportunistic nature. be that as it may, Alpha's chequered history on SOL, having being banned several times for breaching the crucial and forever shifting Golden Rules is indeed testament to his efforts to safeguard the sacred values of free speech. Alpha firmly believes more could be done to protect the rights of users on SOL in expressing themselves, but with the caveat that there should always be more freedoms available for all to consider and consume. TBC. - the other key issues, particularly on the long terms sustainability of SOL will be discussed tomorrow. thanks. Al.

Africa’s Rising Rage: The Middle Classes Call For Revolution – By Richard Dowden I had not intended to come back to the Africa Rising debate for a while. But on my recent trip to Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda I was shocked at how angry the young professionals are. These are highly educated, ambitious young men and women who could be found working in the corporate sector anywhere in the world. They should be taking Africa to the Promised Land. Instead I found them frustrated and furious with many calling for coups and revolutions. Coming from London where we had been basking in a warm bath of Afro-optimism, I had expected to find a similar feeling in Africa itself. Growth has remained strong despite the economic problems in Europe, Africa’s biggest trading partner, and the prices for the continent’s abundant commodities have remained high. Governance is said to be improving. There is no doubt that Africa has come a very long way from where it was in the 1980s and 90s. My prime piece of evidence for that is traffic jams. At that time you could drive into Nairobi, Kampala or Johannesburg at any hour and rarely be held up by anything except a red light. Now you have to leave hours earlier to be sure of getting into the city centre on time. Outside the towns and cities you can now actually drive in a straight line on many roads. As they used to say of the potholes in Uganda: “if you see a man driving in a straight line you know he must be drunk.” But the questions about Africa’s dozen years of strong economic growth remain: Firstly, has Africa’s growth been driven by a long commodity boom or is it now self-sustaining? Where is the large scale manufacturing? Secondly, has governance really improved? Are the figures about numbers in school, clinics being built, power, water and sanitation delivered true? Thirdly, are there two Africas? One in a bubble of western-style wealth inhabited by the rich and powerful and another Africa on the other side of the security fence – barefoot, one torn shirt, no money, no prospect of a job – “suffering and smiling” as Fela Kuti sang, but with big and increasingly angry eyes. What shocked me in Lagos, Uganda and Nairobi was the fury of the young middle classes – the very people who are supposed to driving the new Africa into the 21st century. They were angry about the poor levels of education, about the lack of electricity, but above all about corruption at the very top. And they see the growing ranks of ill-educated, unemployable young people being churned out of badly-managed state education systems. In Nigeria they have all but given up on the government. But what about people like Lamido Sanusi, the Governor of the Central Bank, and Nkonjo Iweala, the Finance Minister? I pleaded. Their reply was: of course they do what they can but their space is limited. They are not allowed anywhere near the real money – the oil. That, I was told, was managed in complete secrecy by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Vice President and the oil minister, Ms Diesani Alison-Madueke. They are filling a huge war chest so that Jonathan can run for president again in 2015. Two remarks struck me. One was how utterly out of touch the President is. When street protests broke out a year ago in reaction to the sudden removal of the fuel subsidy, he claimed that people were being paid to demonstrate. My informant pointed out that all the evidence was that people had reacted in spontaneous fury to the government’s removal of the only benefit it delivers to the Nigerian people. Yes, the only one. One said: “I am extremely optimistic about the future of Nigeria – once there has been a revolution and the current ruling elite is removed”. No one in the room showed dissent or even surprise. In Uganda the entire middle class – except for those in government – realize that the country is heading for a crash or a coup. Even President Yoweri Museveni himself warned that if his own ruling party does not stop bickering the army may step in. That is the most extraordinary statement I have ever heard from an African president. The reaction of many Ugandans (under their breath) was: “bring it on”. Museveni has stayed too long and he has cultivated no obvious successor. He is trapped, talking now about installing his deeply unpopular wife and or his son in his place. 27 years ago he did a good job and ruled well (except in the north) and this lasted for a decade. But now he has turned into the very president he criticized so severely as a young man – the one who stays too long in power. Meanwhile, in Nairobi the population is battening down the hatches for the election next month. Most are optimistic that their new constitution will curtail the worst excesses of the professional politicians, although these people still made up about 80 percent of the winners in the recent party primaries. So where exactly is The New Africa flourishing? Botswana? But it was always successful and never suffered from the political and economic catastrophes that hit Africa in the 20th century. The fact is that the five big African countries: Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are in political turmoil or stasis. None of their governments have the vision or the capacity to position their countries to develop rapidly and sustainably as Indonesia, Malaysia and China have. The good things that are happening in many African countries – with the possible exception of South Africa – are happening in spite of their governments, not because of them. Secondly, two of the most successful countries in terms of human development – Ethiopia and Rwanda – are dictatorships which allow minimum democracy and freedom of speech. This makes it difficult for Western governments to support them. Aid has been cut to Rwanda and if the next election in Ethiopia is not free and transparent, Western allies and donors may have to turn a blind eye or step away. Some countries are doing reasonably well: Ghana, Senegal, Namibia and Zambia are OK. Cameroon and Gabon are quiet but not dynamic, still run by small wealthy elites who do not spread the new wealth. Cote d’Ivoire has emerged from its civil war and Somalia may bounce back quickly if the new government is strong enough to crush al-Shabaab and smart enough to manage clan politics. But meanwhile Mali, a former favourite of western countries, has imploded and both Sudans are in an increasingly bad way. It is hard to imagine Mauritania, Niger and Chad will not also be affected by Islamic militancy. China has been the main player in Africa’s economic transformation, but how long will it be before Africans react against the growing power and exclusive behaviour of the Chinese and their total disregard for Africa’s environment and culture? Africa rising? Bits of it yes, but watch out for Africans’ rising anger. http://africanarguments.org/2013/02/07/africa%E2%80%99s-rising-rage-the-middle-classes-call-for-revolution-%E2%80%93-by-richard-dowden/ -------------------------------- interesting article.

^ you neednt bother! your deception has been exposed. LOL.

underdog;917517 wrote: Seems a bit harsh, doesn't it? actually it is. but it was necessary.

are you worried you won't be able to lie your way out of this one too? spill the beans, as it were. you do know what UCAS is...somaha?

^ your sister is your sister. someone else's sister is NOT your sister. wax fahan.

so before you doubted my claim of istunka starting today? was that before or after you realised it was chinese new year?

Haatu, have you completed your UCAS yet? what are you looking to study? and where? Al.

Wadani;917498 wrote: I don't think Khadafi has sisters, or else he would not be giving such advice. interesting....why do you say that?

not really.....i just felt like it.

underdog;917483 wrote: LOL Since none of them meet your standard and there's nothing "good" on TV, it seems knowing and accepting mediocrity is for you. I think we've spent quite enough time on your BS opinion. So save the troll tactics for Alpha. i've banned him from that thread.

^

my friend from the south was telling us the actual istunka ceremonies started today in Afgoye. it was apparently banned for several years by the Al-Shabab. the fact that its started again may be another signal that further proves Somalia is peaceful, once more. i await further info from you. thanks. Al.

hey, we were discussing today. its mad! do you know the history of this tradition? Al.

Coofle, i'm so happy for you walahi. had i been invited, i would've attended. i would've also bought you a wedding present too. it would've been excellent too, if, i was there for the stag do (biggest session of all time) before the big day. this is the most important day of your life and i'm praying it all goes well for you. don't worry about anxieties and last minute doubts bro, as its only natural. love will conquer all, i'm sure. sending you my biggest hambalyos and heart-felt best wishes. Al.