I find the exotification of Somali women extremely problematic. It's like these Black-Americans treat Somali women as if they are "exotic creatures" to be lusted over, and it is unbelievably degrading to our women. These Black-Americans compare Somali women to "thoroughbreds", as if they're sex-objects and something to be desired, instead of actual human beings. It's the same thing that happens in Thailand and in Brazil, where the local women of those countries are treated as sex objects. And as a result, millions of foreigners come to Brazil and Thailand every year for the sole reason of sleeping with the local women. It's a very dangerous way of thinking and it's extremely extremely degrading to Somalis wallahi. This is disgusting. We are better than this. Not only that, I also find this author's opinion piece here a little self-degrading as well. If she isn't considered as "Black" by African-Americans, then so be it. There's no need to play around with semantics here and try to define what "Black" is. Somalis are an African race yes, we are dark-skinned yes, but that doesn't mean we are the same as African-Americans. And there's nothing wrong with that. Her whole premise is flawed to begin with. She's arguing from a position of inferiority, and this entire piece reeks of self-depreciation and low self-esteem. We are better than this.

<cite> @spartacus said:</cite> that's what is wrong with some somalis they don't appreciate help from the only country who is helping somalis no matter what situation we are but sadly they are ok with amisom hypcrite dogs. That's exactly what I'm saying saaxib. How do some Somalis tolerate these AMISOM barbarians, and ignore the fact that these AMISOM troops are exploiting/killing our Somali people? And then they wanna turn their backs away from the Turks and ignore their genuine assistance and help. Ungrateful people wallahi I will never understand it. Samiig, stop sucking up to your Kenyan slavemasters. They are not your friends, and you need to understand this.

http://ladantakow.blogspot.in/ http://www.twitter.com/lathaney A young Somali woman from London traveled to India for a charity fundraiser, and in the course of her stay she documents her experiences living in India, amongst the locals. She traveled for a non-profit agency into the Indian cities of Chennai and Bangalore, with a group of her friends. Extremely interesting development. She blogs about her experiences, what she's learned from the locals, and what she expects in the future. She even has a Twitter account where she tweets her experiences living in India for the last 3 months. I was very amazed at this and thought I should share. I know many Somalis who regularly go traveling, but not like this. Most of the Somalis that I know who live in America tend to only visit Canada, Britain, the Horn of Africa, and Dubai. But visiting an utterly foreign place like India, and not only that but living amongst the locals and forming connections with them is something I haven't seen many people do. That takes a lot of guts because you're treading into the unknown. Thankfully she's not going alone but she's traveling amongst a group of cadaan girls. This is amazing. Her twitter account link and blog link are at the very top.

Now would be a good time to make an example of an Al Shabab leader. This President is way too soft on them. This leader (along with Dahir Aweys) should be executed for what they've done to Somalis.

Good governance. Setting a clean example to the rest of Somalis and even other nations in the region. Peace isn't the only thing we should be after. Countries like Burundi and Chad are very peaceful, but they're also impoverished and corrupt. Good government in Somalia would be beneficial for all of us.

I expect 24 hours news coverage by CNN over this story. It's the same ridiculous cycle all over again.

<cite> @Nin-Yaaban said:</cite> They forgot Germany which until recently had the second largest economy, and still even now has a bigger economy than India. And this was without the EU. Can't trust the British. I think they're measuring the economies by Purchasing Power Parity, which would definitely put India in the top 3, after China and the USA. But yes, it's true that it'll take a few decades for India or China to reach First World Status. The quality of life in both countries can't compare to the USA or Europe. It took the Americans and Europeans a century to even achieve a quality standard of living.

<cite> @samiig said:</cite> Am i the only one who finds this whole turkish-somali love fiesta nauseating and cringeworthy ? Looks insincere and potemkin show to me. Nothing cringe-worthy or "nauseating" about it at all. No one here knows what you're talking about. Somalis and Turks have been friends and allies going back to the days of the Ottoman Empire. What I do find cringe-worthy however, is your love-affair with Kenyans and your categorization of Kenyans as being our "brothers". That's the kind of speech that would deeply offend any Somali who lives in the Horn of Africa.

<cite> @HawdMan said:</cite> Buntland is a dangerous hate filled provocateur region. It is constantly in fight with its neighbours both north and south. It is a barren desert with no resources and bankrupt according to is own leader . Today they have done their biggest mistakes going against the formation of Central state and the unity of its people. If Puntland does not stop it wil be dismantled C.Qeydiid will finished his job. It's not the 1990's anymore saaxib. Qeybdiid will do nothing and he knows it. This man should be grateful that he isn't being arrested and being charged for war crimes for his actions in the 1990's. So it's best he sits down and shuts up. North Mudug belongs to Puntland and has always belonged to Puntland since the 1990's. And you and Malistar can't do a thing about it.

This stuff goes for 35 dollars for a 15 milliliter bottle! Most Somalis have no idea how valuable this stuff is, and this frankincense is used in most Catholic churches, including the Vatican City! I remember buying this bottle from some shop and I was shocked at the price. Apparently the only PURE frankincense you can get are the ones in Somalia. No where else. The ones grown in Oman are not nearly as high-quality. And they can only grow in Somalia and nowhere else. I expect Somali frankincense to become far more expensive in the upcoming years.

<cite> @Thegoodshepherd said:</cite> His speech overall was very good and he seems to be a competent and professional lawyer. He is way too over confident though. We are talking about Kenya here, one of the largest economies in Africa and a regional leader. They have credibility and we don't. Walahi I sometimes think we have been cursed. We are neighbors with two of the most important and well regarded states in Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya. And this is what irritates me when I see Somali politicians like Darkie allying himself with the Kenyans/Ethiopians and having these foreign powers intervene into our affairs, appropriate our natural resources, and exploit our people. These 2 countries have declared war on the Somali people and we don't even know it yet. They occupy large chunks of our territories, have no plans of withdrawing their troops anytime soon, and are now going after our territorial seas.

Very interesting video. The United States pre-eminence was a historical fluke, as a result of the Industrial Revolution and World War 2. World War 2 completely destroyed the economies of Europe and Asia, leaving America the last one standing. And since America was virtually untouched by World War 2, they still had their industry and infrastructure intact, which is why the Americans were by far the richest nation in the world. Almost all of the great European scientists who survived the war, emigrated to America...making America an even richer nation. This was bound to happen. Everyone knew back in the 1980's that this was certain to happen sooner or later. China just surpassed America as the World's Largest Economy just a few days ago. And China/India will continue to grow year-after-year with their billion-plus populations.

<cite> @samiig said:</cite> Atheists have too much time on their hands. LOL I agree. Instead of letting the Christians have their holiday and continue on with their false religion, Atheists feel like they have to interject and state their untimely and irrelevant opinion.

<cite> @Xaaji Xunjuf said:</cite> Once Ethiopian troops are in Kismayo they have completely surrounded Somalia from Hiiraan in the north to bay and bakool to the west and to the south Kismayo. Very interesting development. This is absolutely tragic. We can easily recruit thousands of capable Somali men to police Kismayo, yet we allow our arch-enemy to occupy our land and surround our major cities. The great Ahmed Gurey must be turning in his grave right now.

<cite> @cubano said:</cite> Somali Army was defeated because Barre never imagined that Soviet Union would betray him and his people, he trusted in James Carter and made a huge mistake, this a lesson for nations who trust american words.You can love U.S but you can not trust in Uncle Sam. What are you talking about? Somalia was betrayed by the accursed Communist Soviets, not the United States. May Allah give Leonid Brezhnev and Fidel Castro what they deserve.

I'd refrain from celebrating that a stable part of Somalia is going through turmoil. I don't see how an unstable Somaliland would be in anyone's interests.

<cite> @galbeedi said:</cite> Dr.K, I agree. A well paid Somali army could eliminate Al-shabaab quickly. The biggest obstacle is neither Qoslaaye nor the parliament want to build a National Army. If they are serious about creating an all inclusive army , they must recruit from the whole country. No want including the IC want to build 20,000 tribal army. These incompetent leaders could have easily created a policy requiring each and every Somali tribe to supply a certain amount of men to constitute a National Army. Perhaps every village/city in Somalia, from Bardeere to Ceelbuur to Burtinle to Taleex to Borama, would have to supply a certain amount of men to constitute the Somali National Army. Somalia is a country where 70% of our population is under 25 years of age. We're a very young country and have plenty of able-bodied men. I'm not a military strategist in any way, but it isn't far-fetched that the Somali National Army recruit 50,000 men to secure the entire country. It's actually very doable. And the Americans/Europeans are willing to pay the bills if we just play our cards right. These AMISOM troops live in barracks and are fed very well, sleep comfortably, and have amazing weaponry. Imagine these impoverished Somali men were given this opportunity. Imagine a Somali man who is 20 years of age, and is 130 pounds because of the severe lack of food options.....and he was trained, taught how to fight, and given 3 meals a day and a good $1200/month salary. Al Shabab would be finished in a month. It would also boost the local economy, if we have thousands of Somali men sending 1200 dollars a month to their village, the economy would perform a lot better and it'd help create thousands of new employment opportunities. And the Americans/Europeans/Arabs would be paying for all of it. But then again, we have a complete doqoon in office who doesn't know the enormous opportunity he has in front of him, to re-create a Professional Somali Military and aid his people.

<cite> @galbeedi said:</cite> What ungrateful bunch. Regardless, because of these soldiers Al-shabaab is on the run. They are foreigners in strange land, but at least with their help, Somalia liberated Braawe and other towns from Al-shabaab. Galbeedi, just imagine if the European Union armed and supplied the Somali troops instead of AMISOM! AMISOM has what, like 20,000 men fighting in Somalia? Are you telling me we can't recruit 20,000 Somali men to fight in the Somali Army, and pay them each 1200 dollars per month, and equipping them with high-quality military equipment, including jeeps, tanks and helicopters? 1200 dollars is a lot of money in Somalia, it'd be enough to recruit some of our highest quality troops, and it would create an incentive to defeat Al Shabab since the Somali soldiers are actually FROM Somalia and they are not foreign mercenaries. We wouldn't have Somali soldiers being trained by the European Union and the USA, and then ditching the Army and selling their weapons as soon as they get the chance too, because either they get paid peanuts, or they don't even get paid at all. Some Somali troops were lucky to even be paid on time. 1200 dollars would be enough to recruit many of the young Somali men who are killed every week trying to escape to Europe because there are a lack of job opportunities in Somalia. 1200 dollars is enough to feed an entire extended family for a whole month. Instead of putting this money into the pockets of useless Burundian troops it'd be much better off in our hands. Somali troops have proved their capability to fight, and would be far more likely to risk their lives to defeat Al Shabab

<cite> @Mooge said:</cite> Another project to milk the EU niyoow. A real army is an army from all corners of Somalia, not an unuka militia where 80% of the reported number are what we in Puntland call ghost soldiers that are used to collect salaries but doesn't even exist. Well since the Somaliland Army secures the Waqooyi section of Somalia. And since the Puntland Army secures the Northeastern portion of Somalia. Then I think it's appropriate that the Koonfur sections of Somalia be secured by Somalis from the Koonfur regions. Each region of Somalia is secured by soldiers FROM that region itself After all, it's the South that's undergoing the most stress and violence. Once the situation is stabilized then maybe they'll integrate Puntland's Army with the National Army and so forth

1. I'm gonna make the prediction that somewhere in America, a White Cop will kill another Black teen....and this will spark massive demonstrations and riots all over again. 2. The Republican Congress will put Obama in a figurative choke-hold and render him a lame-duck President. Nothing will get done in America for the next couple years. 3. The Asian financial markets will collapse close to September of next year. 4. Oil prices will continue to fall as newer technology increases the supply of oil. 5. Puntland will seek even greater economic integration with the Arab states, especially Yemen. 6. There will be great unrest in North Africa as Khawaarij-style groups will continue to wreck havoc in the region. 7. The USA will begin the process of normalizing relations with Iran. 8. Al Shabab will lose all of it's remaining territory and will be either forced to flee to Kenya, or go completely underground in Somalia. 9. ISIS will be pushed out of Iraq and the International Community will begin the process of recognizing a Kurdish State. 10. The drop in oil prices will put extreme stress on the Canadian economy as there will be less demand for jobs in the Alberta Oil Sands.

Wallahi this one photograph speaks volumes. We have Somali journalists who have more xaniiyow when compared to these AMISOM troops who are hired to "protect us" from Al Shabab. And now we want to import thousands of more of these troops who have been known to kill civilians and rape Somali women.

<cite> @Xaaji Xunjuf said:</cite> Very interesting its a good point either the European Union can recognize states on their own or the mother country Politically has to agree. So Israel has to agree with a Palestinian state before the European Union can recognize its so technically its true. That's a bit of a double standard. Kosovo was split apart from Serbia, despite Serbia's objections, and it was recognized as an independent state. It's the same analogy So I don't understand how the Zionists can insist that the only way a Palestinian State could be legitimate is if ISRAEL agrees to it first.

CidanSultan, nationalism can't just be imposed on the people saaxib. Nationalism must grow organically, it must grow from young Somalis who have a shared history, culture, ethnicity and so on. That's what does it. This stuff takes time. I'm sure once we have a sustainable peace in the Koonfur regions (no matter how corrupt the Government may be), there will eventually grow a Somali nationalism from within the Somali youth in the Koonfur, in Puntland and in Somaliland. This stuff will take a generation or two. Believe me, it will come.

The Somali community in North America needs more examples of Somalis who succeed and do well for their own people. We need to see more Somalis applying to Ivy League schools, more Somalis running for political office, more Somalis establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the community. The Jews have managed to achieve that in North America, and I'm sure the Somalis have the intelligence and capability to do the exact same thing. We Somalis have literally taken over the Kenyan economy and are hugely influential in Zambia, Tanzania, and Dubai. So we can achieve a lot in North America if we just stick together and set ambitious goals

This man is poised to be the first Somali Member of Parliament to ever be elected to a Federal Political Office in North America (and possibly the Western world). This could be a historical election that can help ALL Somalis in Canada and the USA wallahi. I'm actually very happy with this Liberal party nomination, and I hope this man goes all the way. I've read that the Somali community in Toronto has the largest number of Somalis out of any city in North America And Toronto also has the highest number of Muslims out of any city in North America. There's a lot of Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Arabs and other Muslims who live in Toronto alhamdulilah. The Muslims can become a major force in Toronto, establishing numerous Islamic banks, schools, community centers and mosques, etc. This election would be big, and would help solidify the growing power of Somali-Canadians, and Muslims in Canada in general. I know in America we have Keith Ellison (Muslim Congressman) in Minnesota. But this guy's victory would be a HUGE success for all Muslims in Canada