Mahiigaan, a lot of airlines carry other things at the same time, you're just not aware of it. But yes, the various regional airlines we have operating in the Somali region (with the exception of Ethiopian Airlines) are all shady as hell and unsafe. I saw Daallo was on the EU blacklist as an airline banned from ever operating in Europe due to concerns over safety. Surprisingly Jubba isn't on there as well, but they were careful to state that just because an airline isn't on the EU list, that doesn't mean it's not unsafe. I've been freaking myself out by reading about major airline crashes all day. Do you guys remember Air France 447 from Rio de Janeiro that crashed in the Atlantic on its way to Paris in 2009? I read the transcript from the cockpit, and it's a bit terrifying to see how the plane was flying normally and within minutes crashed into the Atlantic because the co-pilots panicked and didn't know what to do in a stall situation (apparently the most basic of flight skills). Most plane crashes are the result of pilot error.

Clan names were banned under Siad Barre's government, so people came up with clever ways to speak of clan (not unlike they do here on SOL with terms like "sand-dwellers") or referred to their "ex-" clan. Yet clan emerged with more weight and violence after the collapse than could ever be imagined. I don't think clan can or should be eradicated, it's the divisive and dysfunctional elements that need to be overcome in order to have a functioning state. Somalis have to come to understand that their Somali identity is more significant than their clan identity, otherwise the concept of national citizenship will be lost on them, and state institutions will lack the legitimacy needed to govern. That was my main issue with Doctor Kenney's suggestions in the other thread, imposing order from the top will never work especially in a context where Somalis refuse to tolerate state coercion that reminds them of their past.

Khayr, it's an existential crisis of sorts, not a complaint about anything material. I've just lost interest in most things and most people, lost passion for the many of the things I thought I was passionate about, and feel a bit lost when I thought I had a clear plan. I don't respond well to contingency, and I've realized that everything in life is contingent, as much as you may plan for it.

^ aaga! galbeedi, who is going to read all of that?

I thoroughly enjoyed your amusing recap Tillamook, and I look forward to hearing about how things went this afternoon

<cite> @Tallaabo said:The real problem and the root cause of many of Somalia's problems is what is the CLAN of the "strong man" going to be Bantu

<cite> @SomaliPhilosopher said:</cite> There is flying and there is FLYING on Daalo or Jubba. I flew Jubba once from Djibouti to Hargeisa, and I actually saw a hairline crack open up next to me on landing. It's scary that planes that have been retired from flight decades ago in North America and Europe are still part of airline fleets in Africa. I worry it's only a matter of time before a major malfunction. Saxansaxo, I can't remember which Stephen King story it was, but there was the line "there's no breakdown lane in the sky." I think that's what makes flying much more terrifying than driving, despite driving being far more dangerous -- when something goes wrong in the air, the odds of survival are so much worse.

<cite> @Hasina said:</cite> I'm feeling like this too. I've been avoiding friends and family. I can't remember the last time I went to a social gathering. It's pretty much been work and school. That's it. Even there, I keep my to myself. It's starting to affect my salah and my imaan generally. I'm just in a dark place right now. Hasina, sometimes being stuck in a rut can be a sign of something more serious, like depression. Describing yourself as being in a dark place and avoiding friends and family is more concerning than simply being bored with your routine, I think. Have you thought about seeing a doctor or trying counseling? How long has this been going on?

Sound advice, thanks SP. I think a lot of it has to do with the banality of routine, especially in the winter months with its cold weather and short, dark days, combined with entering the busiest time of the semester in what's been the most challenging year in my academic life. I always feel better when it's summer and I'm traveling and doing things I enjoy. May is just around the corner, so I'm staying focused on that. Picked up this pretty fuchsia lipstick I shall wear out today, crisis temporary averted

@Alpha I wonder what happened to the report a comment to the mods option. Go away, this is the last time I will respond to you directly or engage with your desperate attempts to get my attention. Stay away from me.

Heh, I don't look nearly as a cute celebrating, but thanks Holac

I believe that statistically, driving and even walking down the street are more dangerous than flying So it's an irrational fear, but at the same time there's something deeply unsettling about knowing you're in a chair in the sky (as Louis CK would put it).

Not really -- I like airports, I like the excitement of travel and going home, but I don't like the actual flying part. I find takeoff a bit nerve-wracking (I like being able to distract myself with my iPod, but they don't allow you to use electronics when I need them most!), landing is only slightly better, and turbulence is terrifying. My mom survived a plane crash in the 70s so that has no doubt shaped some of my feelings about flying.

Is feeling unsure and directionless in every area of your life unique to being in your mid-20s to early 30s? Is it normal to look at your life and wonder, is this it? I think every decade has its challenges, but is there something about making that transition into adulthood, responsibility and self-sufficiency that produces these sorts of crises during this period in particular? I'm bored with everything and everyone in my life at the moment. I'm tired of dealing with cold weather. I don't like men right now and I've made peace with my inevitable future as a crazy cat lady. I'm annoyed by most of my girlfriends and hearing about their inane problems. I can't believe I start grade 20 in a few months, and by the end of my program, will have spent most of my 20s in school. It's more a general state of blah than actually having anything concrete to complain about, I do realize that objectively speaking, things have worked out quite well for me and I'm thankful for that. It's my birthday next week, hence the catharsis. I'm going to buy myself a bright new lipstick tomorrow, that might make me feel better

Can Somalia's problems be solved in a top down manner? I think the lasting imprint and legacy of Siad Barre's regime and the civil war has been the destruction of the philosophical faith everyday Somalis had in being a subject and citizen of a nation-state, and the rise of clan - itself a political unit - as the only trustable source of group welfare and collective security in the absence and failure of the state. So my question is how then can you create a viable state and functioning institutions in a social context of people fundamentally distrustful of statehood? And that goes for Somaliland as well -- it, too, does not have complete sovereignty over its territory, and it does not have monopoly over legitimate use of force, which is the definition of statehood in classical political science. What it has is stability - a delicate balance of power with traditional political structures that does not challenge the authority of clan - which is not statehood, as much as it speaks of itself as one. I think whoever succeeds in reconstructing the Somali state, in creating a state whose institutions are invested with legitimate authority and whose people consent to be governed, will have to be an architect of Somali nationalism at the grassroots level.

<cite> @BusDriver said:</cite> Are you excited for K’naan’s directorial debut? No.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcPGu3xrV7s

<cite> @Safferz said:</cite> No -- I haven't seen Captain Philips so maybe it's not fair for me to say that, but I have seen 12 Years a Slave, Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club, and I'd be surprised if Michael Fassbender doesn't win it. Sorry Barkhad! My prediction was off as well, congrats Jared Leto

How is it slanderous and what's absurd about it? Barkhad himself is the source, he spoke about his financial troubles with the New Yorker.

I think the man is simply interested in political power, and after arrogantly assuming he could walk into Villa Somalia on the basis of his credentials and public profile, he's refashioning himself and his politics to position himself for Somaliland politics, where he believes he'll have a better shot. So you ask an important question, STOIC -- what happens when he once again finds himself outside of political power because of Somali clan allegiances and alliances?

Captain Phillips’ Oscar Nominee Barkhad Abdi Is Broke Abdi tells the New Yorker he earned $65,000 for $55 million film Barkhad Abdi is in the running for Oscar gold Sunday, but actual wealth eludes him. Abdi has been widely praised for his role in “Captain Phillips” as the desperate pirate Muse, and even ad-libbed the film’s signature line: “I’m the captain now.” But a New Yorker story reveals that he is now struggling to support himself. “When Abdi is in Los Angeles to promote the film, he subsists on a per diem, good at the Beverly Hilton, where the studio likes to put him up. The town car is available only for official publicity events. His clothes are loaners,” reads the article. “Recently Abdi requested that he be allowed to stay at a commuter hotel near LAX to be closer to his friend, a Somali cabdriver from Miinneapolis, who shuttles him around for free.” Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in the $55 million film, but that was more than two years ago. And even with an Oscar nomination, there’s no guarantee of his future earning potential as an actor. Abdi already won a BAFTA for best supporting actor, and is now reading scripts in search of his next role. After the Oscars, Abdi plans to move to L.A. and live with fellow “Captain Phillips” actor Faysal Ahmed. Still, his life is better than it might have been. The 28-year-old was six when war broke out in Somalia, and rape and killing suddenly became common. His mother evacuated the family, first to be with Abdi’s father in Yemen, where he was teaching math. Eventually they settled in Minneapolis in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, home to many Somalis. He was working for the limo company when he saw an announcement that a film was looking for actors to play Somali pirates. After filming “Captain Phillips,” he went to work at his brother’s mobile phone store in Minneapolis. But he decided to quit when the film premiered. “How I thought about it was, like, When the movie came out, reviews either gonna be good or bad,” he told the New Yorker’s Dana Goodyear. “Either way, I cannot be working here.”

Yes!!

You forgot my personal favourite, when he told Morgan Tsvangirai that he's "dicing with death"