Oh! Khatumo...how green was my valley! Where is the progress, reconstruction, recovery in darwiishland???? Khatumo was used as a springboard for the known quantities and supporters don't get it. Very dissappointed in leadership.

Mintid, the writeup was right on the money. But I can't stand Matt and other neo-orientalists who thinks they are still in civilizing mission in conflict-ridden zones. Just can't stand them. The day they pour their heart out and ink the role their funders have played and/or are still playing in these conflicts then we will take their diatribes in face value. Awoowe warkooda wan ku xajiimoodaa nimankaas.

I always liked mudane Siilaanyo. Good for him. Love is in the air. Kumpaaya all around. Let's see how long it lasts. Looking good...

Abtigiis is no hater. That's for sure. Nor is he a flip-flopper as some insinuate here. But he is a radical in league of tea party rascals here in the land of the free the home of the brave. By the way Faroole is a politician and as all politicians his political agenda or his style of acheiving it will put some folks off. His sabler rattling against other constituencies does not advance the reconcilliation process. That's cause for concern and that might be Abtigiis beef with Faroole. But the tea baggers style of hold no prison Abtigiis adopts will provoke other tea baggers of the site and they will return the favor

Don't worry, be happy is a music to my ear but awoowe that does not cut it. It will take grassroot support, genuine reconcilliation, foreign handout, and real unemotional political skills to get to the promise land. Having said that I share your sentiment and I'm all for it for now.

Analysis of how it went down in the Police Training Center in our beloved Waaberi The data -- if you can called it that -- is a gold mine for political junkies. Arithmetic is small and overly simple -- 25 candidates sought to secure 279 votes available. Clan map is also simple. All major subclans players fitted in a complicated ratio as envisioned by armed warlords in Mpagathi. Assumption was that all politics are local. Every candidates will have to first secure the backing of a plurality of reps from his subclan to be a contender. The other assumption was that is that clan system is predictable indicator of how sub-clan reps will cast their votes. Now we have to factor in the resources and incumbents hold of all state trappings the office confers to them. Fatigue is another factor. So how does unknown novice pulled off?

Qardho man awoowe you didn't know Somalia was under watered down sort of UN Trusteeship? So much of a King of Qardho Kampala accord, AMISOM troops, IGAD oversight, Roadmap, etc...do they ring a bell?

Where is the Somali version?

Maaddeey ileyn waa nin ayaan-daradii dhacday iyo dagaalkii ahliga iyo godobtii dagaal oogayaashu galeen u riyaaqsan. Showba waa ragga meelaha la taagnaa Ceydiid baa na xoreeyey . Abtigiis as always makes you chuckle with his wild claims. True patriot

Interesting Tillamook is right. Faroole serves at the pleasure of the base. His term in office is not over yet. So why would you want to create a disturbance and public unrest in a very fargile recovery zone. Hold your horses Abtigiis awoowe. Faroole will go when the plurality of the clan base wants him to go.

So far so good. Rough and winding road ahead though.

Somalia elects a new president By ABDI GULED, Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia's Parliament elected a new president of the country's fledgling government Monday, a move that members of the international community say is a key step toward the east African nation's transition from a war-torn failed state to a nation with an effective government. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a political newcomer, won the election against outgoing President Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmed by the legislative vote of 190 to 79, according to Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari. Ahmed conceded defeat. "I am happy to see the first free and fair election happen in Somalia after 40 years, "Ahmed said. "I want to congratulate the new president for the fair election, and I want to declare that I am fully satisfied with the results." Mohamud thanked the new parliament for electing him as the nation's leader and asked the Somali people to collaborate with him to restore the country. Last year, he founded a new political party in Somalia named Peace and Development. Before that he taught locally as a professor, including at the Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development, which he helped found in 1999 to train administrators and technicians to help rebuild Somalia. Analysts said the Somali lawmakers voted for change by electing Mohamud and passing over Ahmed, whose government had faced accusations of wrongdoing. A report released in June written for the U.N. said that his government was rife with corruption. It allegedly protected a notorious pirate leader and deposited only $3 of every $10 received into state coffers. A report commissioned by the World Bank published in May similarly also found that 68 percent of the Transitional Federal Government's revenues in 2009-10 were unaccounted for. Abdirashid Hashi, an analyst on the Horn of Africa with the International Crisis group think tank, described Mohamud as an outsider who nobody thought stood a chance to win. The International Crisis Group had described the selection of Somali parliamentarians last month as undemocratic, "with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation." Somali elders were tasked with naming the parliament since no election could be held, given the state of security around the country. "Some elders allegedly nominated uneducated and objectionable individuals, some sold seats to highest bidders, and others even nominated their own family members," the International Crisis Group said. Hashi said Mohamud's election is a move forward but that the president will need the support of his countrymen to bring change to the country. "This is a step in the right direction, but Somalia's problems are too big for a person to solve alone," he said. They include piracy at sea, hundreds of thousands of refugees, terrorism and a lack of institutions, Hashi said. While Somalia has had transitional administrations since 2004, it has not had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the impoverished nation into chaos. The last day of the eight-year U.N.-backed transitional government was Aug. 20, and the U.N. wanted a new president in place by then. But political bickering, violent threats and seat-buying schemes delayed progress toward the selection and seating of the 275 members of the new Parliament. A total of 269 lawmakers took part in Monday's presidential vote. Somalia has seen much progress over the last year. Al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabab militants, who waging an insurgency against the government, were forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011, allowing businesses to thrive and the arts and sports to return. Al-Shabab has lost control of Mogadishu and ceded power in towns in western Somalia. The militants have largely either fled to northern Somalia and Yemen, or have retreated to Kismayo, the last major town the militants control. Last month Somali leaders endorsed a new provisional constitution that expands rights for Somali citizens. The U.N . — which helped broker the constitution and is in charge of the poll — hopes that one day all of Somalia will be able to vote to endorse or reject the constitution. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2012/09/10/somalias-new-parliament--to-elect-president_print.html

I second that. Hambalyo to the new President.

Waryee Northerner waa halkee? Ma Dubai baad walli maaleysaa?

Clannish Democracy on Full Display in Somalia's Presidential Election The lost art of political horse-trading that Somalis used to wield in ’60 has made its debut today again. Clan reps representing various clans and sub-clans (complex matrix – not based on population or districts) fought for the top seat for political power. There were 25 presidential hopefuls seeking for the position. Classical wheeling-and-dealing free style and horse-trading were the only game in town. After old scores were settled against incumbents (through vote), pay-packs exacted, reps sought influence and appointments and candidates made many promises; Hassan Sh. Mohamud came on top and won the day fair and square.

Ogaada Abwaan waa nin khilaawada matabad sare ka gaaray . His services are not free though. If you want to foretell what the future has in store for you see me first with cash in hand. Fees are negotiable. Khilaawada waxay Abwaan ku soo degtaa habeenka dayaxu 15 yahay oo kaliya.

I am not in the loop nowadays. Did you say he wants to secede? The first day he daydreams such a move is the day his political ambitions come to a close. I hear ya again. But I said several prerequisites have to be fullfilled first. Remember TFG had a midwife that led the way, IC used its sizable stick, financed the whole enterprise and AU fronted well-equiped soldiers for the cause. The change you ahve just witnessed in Benadir is no accident. If you wanna affect a similar change in PL you gotta put your ducks in a raw awoowe.

No clue We'll wait and see. The "balancing act" the claibrating exercise if you will, will dictate who gets this difficult job.

Duke, I hear ya. Don't be emotional like some on this site. Who wants to unseat Farole, why, and how are some of the questions you need to answer first. As the cliche says we'll cross that bride when we get to it.

Get your ducks in a row first. For Faroole to go, PL needs to field a challenger first.

Hambalyo! Compromise works! Caravan has arrived. Yipeyeey! Woh! woh! Rough and difficult road ahead.

I see progress. Good stuff. Conflict phase gave way to Transition phase & we're hoping (fingers-crossed) that we're transitioning into Peace space. Doesn't matter who wins, Somalia has won today. Fair and square election iga dheh. Not perfect but given the circumstances this is a huge leap. Yipiyeey!

Keep it up LG.

Libaax and his wife had a baby boy last night. Hambalyo to you both and well done (marwada ). May your little one fill your heart with joy. You are going to be great parents.

If you look at the google image (with the red markup) posted by Chimera. There are two semi-circle beaches. The first one (inside the red markup) is called Liido beach. Farjano and Fanoole kids went there religiously every Thrusday afternoon. The second one (outside Chimera's red markup) is called Qoryooleey beach. It is a dead sea. No fish, no waves -- just still discolored and smelly sea water. It is behind the football stadium. It is dead because Soviets in charge of the two twin factories in Farjano polluted it with cattle waste discharged from the meet factory and hide treatment factory. No sharks either for Qoryooleey beach was a waste treatment dump with all kinds of uncontrolled chemical additives. The underground piping system that carried treated waste ran through populated area in Farjano. That system had several manholes for maintenance purposes. There were scores of kids who lost their lives in these manholes. BOB, being Majengo boy, may not know about it since it is located in backwaters of Farjano. If you are in Liido you won't see it. It is the other side of the town pretty far from his beloved multiethnic Calenleey town where Bajunis reign supreme Kismayo was truly a beautiful city.