me, I'm trying to look at this objectively. I take your point but exploration and infrastructure are two very different things. I very sure that the infrastructure doesn't exist. Remember ALL companies have a bottom line, its called profit. What we need is a fine balance to be achieved so that we can all benefit, that should come in the form of a PSA agreement.

me, paragon et.al., I guess the infrastucture to build a credible petroleum industry in Puntland will appear at the flick of a switch?

nuume, The printing of the bank notes has been known for sometime. These documents are at least 12 months old. Viewing of the documents is a good thing, don't you think?

This is the same Eritrea where hundreds of muslims have disappeared, Koran schools have been closed, where any bearded Muslim is called a terrorist, and where Muslims in general are treated as second class citizens. What are Eritrean troops doing in Somalia's capital? Didn't the ICU say "NO to ALL foreign troops". So much for their "Tough Words". When will the irony stop. This is not a defence for Ethiopia, I think they are both just as guilty as each other. Instead wasting their resources in reconciling Somalia, it would be best if they put their resources to reconcile between each others countries. I think the ENTIRE IGAD should one massive reconciling movement.

Art, Its time for you answer the questions or leave the somali websites alone. :mad: aar0, How long do think it will be before this letter is presented?

aar0, Appears Range has been taken to the cleaners. There are too many developments going on in Somalia and I think its a good time to put aside any exploration plans until these political matters are resolved in our homeland.

Its an ex-soviet plane...Kazak, but it was Chartered to deliver the cargo. The question is who chartered the flight?

Native Title doesnt even extend to mining rights since the law holds the view that Mining was not a traditional aspect of the Aboriginal way of life. The whole process of asserting Native Title is weighed against Indigenous Australians. I think you need to re-check your info? The Term is called the "Native Title Act 1993", which is basicly the Native title law...

Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar, Every thing needs to have a beging, the question is when is the timing right? Well I'm sure we could have an endless debate on timing... One thing is for sure: Without investment there is no employment, and with no employment there is no stability. So where is the investment going to come from? As for the aboriginals...There is a law called "Native Title Claims". This resulted from the actions of a Tribal Elder by the name of Eddie Mabo. I've attached a link below if you are interested. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/SP/mabo.htm#chronology

Art What laws have they been broken? I thought freedom of speech was a fundamental basis of "Australian values". Many untruths about Somalia are told every day in your country's newspapers. Are you saying they too be taken to court?

Paragon, I think you should re-read the letter carefully. Ghedi wants to return the concessions to the previous title holders, as granted by "Said Barre"? So lets welcome America with open arms. That is what Ghedi is suggesting, right?

rudy, This report is not a direct reflection on the people of those countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_state Failed state is a controversial term intended to mean a weak state in which the central government has little practical control over much of its territory. A state could be said to "succeed" if it maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within its borders. When this is broken (e.g., through the dominant presence of warlords, militias, or terrorism), the very existence of the state becomes dubious, and the state becomes a failed state. The difficulty of determining whether a government maintains "a monopoly on the legitimate use of force" (which includes the problems of the definition of "legitimate") means it is not clear precisely when a state can be said to have "failed". The controversy derives from the political and military implications of labelling a state as "failed". The proclamations and laws of its government may be ignored, and in some cases violent action may be undertaken inside the borders of the "failed state" by agents from other countries; such action naturally has highly dubious legality. In recent years various political commentators have labelled many countries as failed states, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, Yemen, Colombia, and the Solomon Islands. The term is also used in the sense of a state that has been rendered ineffective (i.e., has nominal military/police control over its territory only in the sense of having no armed opposition groups directly challenging state authority; in short, the "no news is good news" approach) and is not able to enforce its laws uniformly because of high crime rates, extreme Political corruption, an extensive informal market, impenetrable bureaucracy, judicial ineffectiveness, military interference in politics, cultural situations in which traditional leaders wield more power than the state over a certain area but do not compete with the state, or a number of other factors. West African countries including Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are often mentioned in this category, as well as Albania in Europe. The Crisis States Research Centre defines a “failed state†as a condition of “state collapse†– e.g. a state that can no longer perform its basic security, and development functions and that has no effective control over its territory and borders. A failed state is one that can no longer reproduce the conditions for its own existence. This term is used in very contradictory ways in the policy community (for instance, there is a tendency to label a “poorly performing†state as “failed†– a tendency the Crisis States Research Centre rejects). The opposite of a “failed state†is an “enduring state†and the absolute dividing line between these two conditions is difficult to ascertain at the margins. Even in a failed state, some elements of the state, such as local state organisations, might continue to exist. The US magazine Foreign Policy runs an yearly index called the 'Failed States Index' where it tries to rank nations based on 12 determining factors like mounting: 1) demographic pressures; 2) massive movement of refugees and internally displaced peoples; 3) legacy of vengeance-seeking group grievance; 4) chronic and sustained human flight; 5) uneven economic development along group lines; 6) sharp and/or severe economic decline; 7) criminalisation and delegitimisation of the state; 8) progressive deterioration of public services; 9) widespread violation of human rights; 10)security apparatus as ‘state within a state’; 11)rise of factionalised elites; 12)intervention of other states or external actors. [1]

Duco, Mark Twain once said: “One mustn't criticize other people on grounds where he can't stand perpendicular himself†We have tackled this issue many times on many different threads, yet I have not heard an alternative solution?

I truly believe that Puntland/Somalia will be the envy of Africa in a few years time. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think for one moment Somalis will sit around and be helplessly taken for granted. After 15 year of war one thing is for sure Somalian character is alive and strong.

Northerner, There are plenty of our brothers dying from a lack of anything. Do you find that acceptable?