Alpha Blondy;989405 wrote: based on a single PM, miyaa? :p If constantly begging me to come back over the last three days is "a single PM" then yes

Who would have thought a Mark Twain quote, a ballet choreographer's reflections on creativity (fantastic book), and the Pomodoro Technique would be exactly what I needed to organize my workflow and rein in my tendency to procrastinate on important tasks I think I've finally settled into a system that works, with the key being to organize my day into 'work units'/spurts and start as early as possible with The Dreaded Tasks to get them out of the way. Check it: What are your own strategies for dealing with procrastination and improving productivity? Will dump other interesting videos and articles I've come across in this thread...

For Al, who is back in my life again...

Guje;989348 wrote: ever heard of adblock ? get it and stop posting this funny pictures. Nah. Ads are how websites generate revenue and offset their costs btw, I'm not going out of my way to block ads on SOL while I'm here consuming its content and bandwith.

Rob Ford may have offered $5,000 and car for ‘crack video’: new police documents Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may have offered $5,000 and a car to two men trying to sell a video of him smoking what appears to be crack cocaine seven weeks before the video was revealed in the media, according to newly revealed portions of a police document. Toronto police were in the midst of a large drugs-and-guns probe targeting an alleged street gang when secretly recorded conversations led investigators to believe Mr. Ford may have not only known an incriminating video of him existed, but also tried to buy it. New allegations from a large police investigation also claim: - One of the men suspected of peddling the “crack video” of Mr. Ford said he also had pictures of the mayor “doing the hezza,” usually used as a slang term for heroin; - Alleged gang members said they were not afraid of the mayor turning them in to police because they had pictures of him “on the pipe”; - The mayor’s close friend and occasional driver, Alexander Lisi, used purported influence over police as leverage in dealing with a gang, saying if he didn’t get his way ‘the mayor would put heat on Dixon,’ which was the gang’s territory; - The mayor’s cellphone was stolen while he was at a crack house after late-night calls were made arranging a drug delivery “because Rob Ford wants some drugs;” - Lisi exchanged marijuana to an alleged gang member for the return of Mr. Ford’s stolen phone; - Mr. Ford appears to have been set up by drug dealers who filmed him consuming drugs knowing it could be valuable, raising the spectre of blackmail; - A man involved with alleged drug dealers said they ”love and respect Rob Ford” but also “have Rob Ford on a lot of ****ed up situations” so the mayor’s friends should be careful. The newly released portions of a sworn police affidavit filed in court is the clearest explanation yet of how Mr. Ford became entwined in an explosive and elaborate police probe that eventually led to him being stripped of most of his powers by city council. It offers key missing pieces of the puzzle of why police pored over the minutia of Mr. Ford’s life when he was never charged. The impunity felt by alleged drug traffickers and potential blackmail might explain why police took the allegations so seriously and highlight how Mr. Ford’s personal proclivities could impact his political role and made the mayor’s office vulnerable. The allegations are contained in newly revealed portions of an immense summary of a police probe into Mr. Ford and Lisi; the accuracy of the sworn affidavit has not been tested in court. The summaries of wiretap evidence, that the Crown unsuccessfully fought to keep private after a legal challenge from the media, including the National Post, was previously blacked out when the affidavit, called an Information to Obtain, was revealed on Oct. 31. The Post has not independently verified the police claims. The new allegations are surprising and important — even after Mr. Ford’s outlandish antics made headlines around the world and pushed him into pop culture notoriety through late-night comedy routines and Internet memes over his crack use, “drunken stupors,” and lewd commentary. The mayor could not immediately be reached for comment. Read the rest here.

Tuujiye;989316 wrote: I feel soo old... waraa waxaas dhan MMA ayaa noo kilifay in maanta nin weyn dhaho "may dad use to tell me about owkoombe"... saffer raali noqo adeer.... lool Wareer BAdanaa!!! Gabadh weyn Don't feel my old, my dad is 60 years old now... I doubt you or MMA are dadkii hore like him inadeer lol

Tuujiye;989314 wrote: ^^ Yaa kuu qoslaaye hee? Dadkii hore meeshaan ma joogaan....lol I laughed, my dad always brings up Awkoombe stories/jokes so MMA's post reminded me of him

This ad is ruining my SOL experience

OdaySomali;989298 wrote: The reason why she chooses to be so visible is because this increases donations to her hospital, to buy expensive equipment, training equipment and to fund the day to day running of the hopital's operations and the field clinics/community nurse-midwifes she has set up in the region. By attending engagements, making documentaries this raises awareness and more people donate. Dani kaa adag. I think you're being generous. She does it to increase her own profile as well.

Nin-Yaaban;989287 wrote: The suicide rate is higher than the homicide rate: Nearly 1/3 more people die at their own hands than die at other people's hand(the murder rate in America is about 6 per 100,000; for suicides it's 10.8) On average, one suicide occurs every 17 minutes. 76% of all suicide deaths are males. So for every two murders you hear about, three other people killed themselves. One reason that people believe homicide is much more common than suicide is because of the news media's selective coverage. Fact! Yup, there's a media blackout on reporting suicides for the most part (except in certain cases when it's in the public interest, like victims of bullying or someone famous) because of the concern it may encourage copycats... I've always wondered about subway "delays" when I lived in Toronto where they say there is an issue at X station, but they will never tell you if it's someone who has jumped, when we know this is something that happens. I've known people who have committed suicide, acquaintances I knew in passing but no close friends or family members. I've been in some unhealthy ruts before, but never a dark enough place to even consider it. Hope your friend pulls through and gets the help he needs. (Hyperbole and a Half had an interesting comic about depression, worth reading)

DoctorKenney;989239 wrote: Somalis are the most entertaining group of people! From the eccentric habaryars, to the older men, to the young 20 year olds, to the crazy 7 year old kids, to the wadaads, they're all entertaining in their own way. An interesting group of people. I wouldn't trade being Somali for anything. Just go on Paltalk and look at the type of discussions we Somalis get into in those chatrooms. I don't know how anyone can be an introvert and Somali at the same time. It makes no sense Again, you're mistaking introversion for dullness, shyness, etc. You can be all those things you've mentioned - eccentric, interesting and entertaining when with people - and still be an introvert because you don't have the constant need for social stimulation and interaction. I think a lot of aspects of our society are actually conducive to introversion, poets for example tend to be introverted and require time in their own minds to reflect on the world and compose, and it's in the nature of religious people to spend time in solitude, contemplation and worship (the video I started the thread with actually gives the example of Prophet Muhammad and other religious figures as people who would go off on their own to think, and indeed it was on one of these retreats that the Quran was revealed to him). Nomads also spend much time on their own, and I think there's much to be said about how that interaction between solitary nomad-geel-landscape has come to produce literary forms like our poetry. We have always had a mix, and Somali and introvert are not mutually exclusive.

Tallaabo;989254 wrote: Cases like this should involve the police and judicial courts with or without the victim's consent and corporation. It is a matter of public safety as this crazy man can easily harm or kill another person. I was just typing this. It is absolutely insane that you can stab/slash someone with a knife and the police and courts leave it up to the victim to decide whether or not to press charges. The role of the justice system should be to support victims of crime and act in the interest of public safety, but the way it is now in Somaliland almost certainly means victims of crimes like domestic violence will face pressure from their partners, families and communities that can make it impossible to pursue charges. I'm not a fan of Edna, but she's doing important work.

Charlie gets it.

DoctorKenney;989172 wrote: I had no idea that introverts tend to be loud on the internet, and vice-versa! I'm an extremely extroverted person. I'm far from shy and I prefer interacting with people more than anything. I'm that talkative guy you see on the ball-court, classroom, or workplace. Most Somali men that I know are extroverts. Very few of us are quiet and we definitely enjoy our social interactions. Even when we play video-games, we have our head-sets and microphones plugged in so we can speak to our friends online I suspect a large proportion of regular users of forums like this are introverts, I actually consider time on here (and Facebook and other social media and forums I frequent) to be social activity too. I'm the friend who tends to disappear for weeks or months at a time because I'm busy doing my own thing, and think texting is enough contact so why the need to hang out all the time I also absolutely love living alone and wouldn't trade it for anything, my apartment is my primary workspace as well. I wouldn't necessarily say introverts have louder internet personas than their real selves though (aside from the Alphas of the world), that assumes shyness and introversion are the same. Introverts just need more alone time than extroverts do, but in social contexts can be just as lively and fun to be around personality-wise. I don't think my SOL persona is any different from real me, but it may surprise people to know I'm actually a soft spoken Somali girl who spends more time in my head than arguing with people, though I still enjoy taking people down in debates in person when the opportunity arises lol.

burahadeer;988700 wrote: Love solitude. Me too

^^ nice misreading of Edward Said, have to say that's the first time I've seen orientalism deployed to shut down critique of practices in the Muslim world framed in the way I have in this thread, which are actually in the Saidian spirit. Consider re-reading it as it should be read, as an analysis of power, domination and hegemony, not the ahistorical, apologist manifesto in defense of the actions and practices of Muslims in the Muslim world you seem to think it is. Cheers.

thefuturenow -- not to be rude but it's now page 3 and I've lost interest in this debate, we are not entirely in disagreement but we're speaking from two completely different vantage points. I'm not making a religious argument and I'm not interested in making one, and repeating "there is no compulsion in religion" to argue hijab should be a choice free of coercion is not fundamentally at odds with a "Muslim worldview." I'm also no orientalist nor do my positions resemble anything close to orientalism lol, so I'm not sure where that's coming from but it's a cute way to sign off your post, I guess.

Khadafi;989086 wrote: Saferz you wrote a interesting essay., I see that nation state has no "muqadissnimo" for you as you chop it down in your marxist analysis, a good thing though is that your not ruled by "dogmas". I have to commend for that. As for the thread I do believe that "somali-ness" is a religious-ethnic identity. Why on earth should we abandon or dismantle one of the most precious things that our parents gave us--- mainly IDENTITY. Even the Xaaji Xunjuf, the afro-hashemite does not deny somali-ness. As for politics, that's another topic, Somalia as a nation state was not invented, remember that Somalis existed before the arrival of the whites. History did not begin when the whites came or when the whites gave us our hard fought freedom, therefore per logic "Somalia" was not invented. The same could be said about Britain, the days when queens and kings ruled in Britain can not be compared to these days when men/women from working class are shaping the countries future . Does this mean that Britain became invented? We needs to read Edward Said We have yet freed ourselves from the chains of orientalism. Anyways that's what I could muster to refute! Ogowna waad iga xanaaqsiisi d. Soomaliya xaaladeeda waad u jeeda, soomalinimadana hadaa CHOP CHOP la gareeya maxaa soo haray lol! But I do agree with you on one thing, Somalia is a nation mixed in it's different life-styles, Orientalists as I. Lewis have contributed to the false idea of Somalis only compromising of pastoral nomads. Their is unique mixture of a sedimentary-pastoral life style in southern Somalia. The cultural exchange and influence between these very different lifestyles has given Somalis a unique culture. Maybe we need further information how these inter-cultural influence is making itself present today`? The Only Somali intellectual that has smashed this false history must be the savannah based Professor Mukhtar Omar Mukhtar. His influence is being felt today and I belive many more will understand him in the future. Thanks Khadafi Mukhtar Omar Mukhtar is someone I've been reading quite a bit of lately, which is part of why I've been thinking about this. I wasn't suggesting that we do away with Somali identity altogether (that would be impossible), rather I wanted to make the provocation (one made by many others, like Dr. Mukhtar) that we reimagine a more inclusive Somali 'national' identity, one that doesn't privilege one subset of the Somali cultural and historical experience. The Somali nation-state and Somali nationalism were both produced by colonialism, but certainly there have always been variously organized peoples of ethnic Somali origin inhabiting the Horn of Africa and who were able to recognize each other as Somalis. Ha igu xanaaqin dee And yes, I would contend that European nation-states are inventions too. Most people forget that European nation-states in their current form are actually quite new. After the wars of Italian unification were over in the mid-19th century, the statesman Massimo d'Azeglio famously said: "Italy has been made. Now we must make Italians"

Haatu (I was kidding about "destroying" your arguments but a few thoughts) -- Haatu;989107 wrote: But let me go on a tangent here. First let me answer the question "What is the Somali nation and what is it based on?". Firstly, a Somali is a member of a homogeneous ethnic group native to East Africa. Genetic evidence has confirmed this and I don't need to go into detail. (Note that I don't include the "Somali Bantu" in this. To me they are Somali nationals, but they are not Somalis ethnically and historically, they are a different people which God has decided for them to live among us today). This Somali is a member of a group by default handed down to him by his/her father. A collection of people who ascribe to this same group (whether or not they share a common ancestor) are the clan. The clan controls the territory the majority of its members live upon (some may live elsewhere). The clan has both political dominion and economic monopoly on this land. The collection of these clans make up the Somali nation and the collection of the clan territories make up the Somali homeland. To simplify, in my opinion a Somali is an individual who belongs to the Somali ethnic group and is part of the clan structure. To sum up, ethnically speaking the Somali are a homogeneous entity. That there's an ethnic group known as the Somali, one that's ethnically homogenous and spilling over nation-state boundaries, is not what's being called into question. What is being critiqued here is the concept that the ethnic Somali is itself an undifferentiated, homogenous identity, and whether that undifferentiated category of Somali can be used as a "national" identity - the Somali citizen - as it has throughout our modern history by the architects of Somali nationalism. There's an uneasy tension between Somali ethnicity and Somali political identity/nationality (what I'm calling Soomaalinimo/Somaliness in this thread), because there are people from other ethnicities who belong to the Somali state or do not belong to Somali clans. But ethnicity is just one level of differentiation I brought up -- there are also significant differences between ethnic Somalis that have to be taken into question, and one must ask how those differences are erased and obscured when post-WWII Somali nationalism emerged with its own discourse, historical references and cultural symbols. Xaaji brings up an interesting example with the adoption of Ahmed Gurey and Sayyid Mohamed as the "fathers" of Somali nationalism (something Siyaad Barre is responsible for, btw), which is an ahistorical understanding of African nationalism broadly because those who resisted the imposition of colonial rule spoke a very different political language than the modern nationalists and nationalist movements for independence (for Sayyid Mohamed, the language was Islam/Islamic brotherhood). Why Sayyid Mohamed, and not Nassib Bunda, who led the Gosha Rebellion (1890-1907) against Italian colonialism years before Sayyid Mohamed's Daraawiish? Why not Abdi Abikar Gaafle's war and the Benaadir resistance which fought Italy's attempts to take over southern Somalia from 1890 to 1924? How about Shaykh Uways and the Uwaysiya? How and why do certain 'narratives' of the Somali nation become dominant? And why should they? Haatu;989107 wrote: Moving on to the cultural and linguistic aspect. You claim Somalis have different cultures. I like to look at it as variations within ONE culture. For example, the pastoralist Somalis may have some practices unique to them which they do not share with the nomad, but the similarities are such that the nomad will not view it as completely alien. These variations as I term them arose due to as you mentioned different economic activities, farmers and pastoralists. However all this means is that some section of the group adapted to their climate in one way to survive and the other group in another way. Also, you said there around 40 dialects (and what you hastily termed languages) spoken in the Somali homeland. From the little I know, the vast majority of these dialects are mutually intelligible and all have a common ancestor of which the Maay Maay is the purest survivor of. This natural variation in language cannot be extrapolated to mean the Somalis lack homogeneity, but rather all it suggests at is the natural evolution of language which is something not unique to the Somali language. Fair enough, I don't agree with you but even anthropologists have different definitions for what constitutes a culture and where to draw its boundaries. I just don't think what you're describing is tenable because culture by necessity is integrated and cohesive, and there are enough differences between Somalis to be able to identify *many* local and regional cultures, something that goes beyond simply variants of a single culture. With all that said, how do you legitimize the hegemony of one Somali culture (or variant of Somali culture, in your words) over others, with that being used to then define Soomaalinimo, the Somali nation? That's the question at stake here. Haatu;989107 wrote: Finally, if I turn my attention to why the Somali Republic collapsed, I disagree with you that the reason was our supposed "differences" but rather a wrong basis for the nation we inherited from the colonisers (it was afterall an entity they carved out). If we look back into history, we will notice that for the majority of Somali history the clan states have been by and large politically independent of each other to some degrees (fiefdoms if you like). These fiefdoms were led by traditionally elected leaders we knew as Garaads, Boqors, Suldaans, Iimaams etc who exercised political sovereignty. Most Somalis were and still are loyal firstly to themselves and secondly to these clan fiefdoms. For most, loyalty to the Somali Republic of 1960 comes in third or fourth place. When the colonisers came, these fiefdoms were rendered obsolete and their political independence dismantled. In its place a European appointed governor came to rule. When independence was achieved, the "founding fathers" followed in the footsteps of the Europeans and sought to create a European style nation-state. What they neglected was the traditional role of the clan fiefdoms and the loyalty its citizenry had for them. The consequence of this was all the political power that was traditionally decentralized across the whole Somali homeland was centralized in one entity known as the Government seated in Muqdisho. In a poor country where little to no economic prospects exist, the Government became the sole conduit for economic development and hence survival for the clans. To become rich and overpower traditional rivals, the clan had to dominate the Government by all means necessary. Fast forward 30 years from 1 July 1960 and the invented Somali Republic collapsed. It did not collapse because its citizens had unbridgeable differences or were mutually exclusive to one another, but rather because an alien form of government was given to a people ill-suited to adapt to its requirements which led to its inevitable collapse. What we see today in Somaliland, Puntland, Jubbaland, Galmudug etc. is the Somalis slowly returning to their "natural" way of governance and any methods initiated by the IC to subterfuge this process will result in inevitable disaster. It is upon those very clan fiefdoms the Somali Republic should have been based upon with power and wealth equally decentralized among them. It is my belief had that been done, not only would have the Somali Republic still be in place today, Jabuuti and S/Galbeed would have joined it also (and maybe NFD). Agree with most of this, but I did mention resource/economic competition as one fault line of many in Somali society that contributed to the collapse. "Difference" goes beyond simply ethnicity, and egalitarianism is part of the Somali myth -- as I.M. Lewis famously described us, we are understood to be "a pastoral democracy" *eyeroll*

thefuturenow;989073 wrote: Saff, I understand your point. Some of us are talking about "what should be" while you're addressing "what is." I also agree that "what is" is not acceptable. The moral and religious worth of an individual should not be reduced to a piece of cloth or the length of one's beard. The correct test is Taqwa and Allah (sw) knows best what is in the hearts. However, I do not really follow what you're saying. So let me put it in the form of a question for sake of clarification. Do you believe that the xijaab is an Islamically ordained modest dress for all individuals? If so, do you believe that it has been used to oppress and abuse women? If so, do you believe that an Islamically sanctioned societal practice should be abandoned in order to prevent this abuse ? OR Do you believe that the xijaab is an optional form of "modest" dress? I don't think my own beliefs on the hijab are relevant, I'm more interested in discussing it as a practice in various social contexts, without judging anyone for their decision to wear or not to wear one. But what I will answer is what I put in bold in your quote -- I don't believe there's anything inherently oppressive about the hijab, and as I mentioned earlier, it can be liberating for some women while oppressive to others. It comes down to the context and conditions that enable (or disable) a woman from making the decision for herself. It's between her and Allah, not her father or husband, not her family, not her culture, not her government. I think my argument is pretty straightforward.

This is me during finals No time to cook, it's getting embarrassing.

OdaySomali;989115 wrote: http://www.africaworldpressbooks.com/servlet/Detail?no=742 The thread title was a nod to the book There are several on these topics now, and I'd imagine more on their way.

Will return to systematically destroy your argument once I'm done with my work this evening Haatu, laakin why is everyone reading my statement of "40 languages and dialects" as 40 languages? That could mean 2 languages and 38 related dialects, or 5 languages and 35 dialects, or perhaps even 11 languages and 29 dialects. I didn't use an Oxford comma, jaalleyaal :mad:

Alpha Blondy;989066 wrote: i wasn't either.

Apophis;989062 wrote: I harassed you in PMs? I must have done it while sleep trolling. No, not you.