*Blessed;981003 wrote: Talking of role models... she's definitely "thinspiration" material. She has a healthy body, maybe "fitspiration" is better... thinspo is the awful term used by eating disordered/pro-ana folks.

Alpha Blondy;981100 wrote: black widow, miyaa? na dhumaal anaaga, ma garatay? inabti isgaa iloow bakhtiga. ileen anaaga (Cadapha) joogney.

SomaliPhilosopher;981095 wrote: It makes you my ex saffy. my ex SOL boo.... Fine, I'm dating oba anyway :mad:

SomaliPhilosopher;981092 wrote: My god Cadale! Posting pictures in both the Somaliland and the Mogadishu Picture thread, it is worse than I thought! The two polarized spirits of Alpha and Oba have formed as one... This is surely an unprecedented move by the Evil Forest... Yin and Yang has fallen upon us!!! Run Rorrest run!!! Simmer down SP... I've posted pics in both threads too (and others), what does that make me?

I hurt my knee running this morning you guys I was really excited about my new Nikes too, I don't know if it's the shoes that are the problem or maybe I was a little overeager and pushed myself because I wanted to try out my new shoes lol (today should have been a rest day but I just got the shoes and HAD TO try). But on the plus side, I had a lovely view of the Charles river

Interesting interview posted today on Captain Phillips and representations of Somalis/Somalia on Africa is a Country, with the Canadian-based African director of an upcoming documentary called "The Smiling Pirate" that tries to give a different perspective. Looks interesting. " frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

Cadale;981062 wrote: Hello i'm cadale everyone im new in this forum. Welcome Cadale

Alice Munro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ElPunto;980983 wrote: Waa ka naxay that pirate leader when I saw the trailer. Jeez. Will not see this propaganda piece just as haven't seen Black Hawk Down. I mustered the strength to watch it for the first time earlier this year, might need another decade to prepare myself for Captain Phillips lol

Gheelle.T;980975 wrote: You never know that skinny guy may be nominated for the best supporting actor, it's Hollywood after all Remember Djimon Hounsou was unknown actor before his role in the movie Amistad in which I believe he was nominated an Oscar for best supporting actor. And he later made it in big screen such as gladiator and black diamond. Stereotype or not, someone out there is willing to take any bad role in a movie as long as it pays. So kudos to the director/producer (whoever makes the decision) for opting to cast Somali actors. You can't compare Joseph Cinque to this! That was actually a central character to the film, on the other hand these guys are basically props in the overall narrative. I'd honestly be surprised if we even learn their names in the movie, that's how irrelevant they are. They're just "pirates," not people.

Haatu;980959 wrote: Google adsense has been giving me weird ads lately so I decided to check the settings out. Apparently I'm female judging by the websites I visit. I only visit, SOL, hotmail and bbc football Wow, I knew ads were tailored to your internet history but I didn't realize you could see how you've been profiled. They have my demographic right (female, 18-24), but my "interests" were pretty interesting to see. Apparently I really like blenders, education, fitness, makeup, air travel, and hip hop

Doubtful, they were casted to portray a one dimensional stereotype. The foreign, dark skinned villain in Hollywood movies rarely has the character depth for a strong, stand-out acting performance, and they'll fade to the background even more so in this film, designed for Tom Hanks to get an Oscar nomination as the white hero Captain Phillips.

Gheelle.T;980948 wrote: It will be between Svetlana Alexievich, Alice Munro, and Haruki Murakami. That's if you're a betting man! Nuradin and the Algerian lady, Imalayen aka Djebar can wait another year. The committee has been known to surprise I won't be disappointed if Alice Munro wins though, I don't think Canada has ever won one.

*bump* Eagerly awaiting the Nobel Committee for Literature's announcement tomorrow (1pm in Sweden). Fingers crossed for Assia Djebar and Nuruddin Farah, though I don't think an African writer will take it this year

Alpha Blondy;980891 wrote: couple of busy days. yesterday i was beaten by a police officer. this has caused me serious stress and has tested my confidence in SL. this morning i granted him clemency and all is well. Sorry Alpha but this gave me a good laugh this morning. This song is for you boo

Che -Guevara;980858 wrote: ^There is hardly any Somali women in this discussion mase you have beef with Safferz? And the only people hating on his wife have been guys in this thread, I think she's hot Get it Mo.

Wadani;980830 wrote: I agree. He's in such a demanding sport, and a couple of extra pounds would literally destroy his carreer. Have u seen his twin brother who lives back home? He probably can't even keep an extra pound on because of his training schedule, and as an elite runner I'm sure he's consuming thousands of calories a day. I forgot about his twin... but he's definitely better looking because he has a fuller face, I was actually startled by Mo's face and arms during the Olympics lol

^ he's not bad looking, but his face would look better if he didn't have such low body fat. I'm curious to see what he'll look like after he retires from competitive running and puts on some weight.

Haatu;980818 wrote: That face ain't saying much. I don't judge men, I leave that for Tallaabo You made a judgment about him when you asked what he sees in her And my point is that he's quite unattractive (at least the way he is now, with the typical distance runner physique... ultra lean/underweight/low muscle mass), while her body is banging. And she's had three kids!

Haatu;980809 wrote: What on earth did he see in her? She looks great. Have you looked at him?

Khayr;980797 wrote: I am for beauty and beauty is the product of Truth. You are like the mericaan high school flunky that got recruited by the army and believe that you have a right to kill Afghan men because there women wear the burqa and the Afghan men don't let them get education. Meanwhile, you are set to shoot Season 3 of Teen mom. A phenomena that is encouraged by the "wrap it up" durex generation. Funny enough, they did but you still have Teen pregnancy rampant and no one is killing off those horny dudes. You phrased your scenario like this: A student walked in to their school and sprayed 30 students. The NRA wants more students to carry guns to protect themselves. Hmmm, does the NRA have any credibility after such a response to a heinous crime?

SomaliPhilosopher;980743 wrote: Wadani you amuse me at times... This is not a policy of fauzia, but the Somali government, which from what I remember is mostly composed of men . She is just the face ninyahow He's a misogynist.

Coofle;980679 wrote: probably Oromo. Yep, like the last two or three presidents.

How Not to Help Somalia Alex de Waal 3 October 2013 A former prime minister of Somalia, Abdiweli Ali, tells a story that demonstrates the pervasive influence of al-Shabab, even in areas ostensibly controlled by the Somali Federal Government (SFG) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Al-Shabab collects taxes – reportedly as much as the government, and certainly more efficiently. This includes a payroll tax, described as a ‘contribution’, which salaried personnel – government staff among them – are obliged to pay. Abdiweli describes how a defector from al-Shabab who went to work for the government received a visit from a man who told him to pay his ‘contribution’. ‘How will I know whom to pay?’ he asked. ‘You will know,’ the messenger replied. At the end of the month, he went to collect his salary from the cashier at the bank. The cashier said: ‘Now let me receive your contribution.’ Europe, the United States and the African Union are focused on solving their problems in Somalia: terrorism, piracy, refugees. First and foremost, the SFG is an instrument for doing that. President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud doesn’t control his own security forces: he relies on AU ground troops and US aircraft. His defence minister needs special permission to visit security facilities along the coastline. He doesn’t control most of his budget, which is either directly in the hands of foreign agencies, or so closely managed by European donors that he has no discretion on spending. It’s a form of latter-day native administration: indirect colonial rule using a local proxy. Whatever his democratic credentials or personal sincerity, Hassan is a prisoner of circumstance, with very little latitude to address the fundamental problems facing his country. As long as the SFG’s aims are defined as defeating al-Shabab on the battlefield and building a government on the model favoured by Somalia’s foreign sponsors, it has no chance of success. Hassan’s Western backers have not yet squared the circle of pouring money and guns into a client government to fight a counterinsurgency, and preventing that government from becoming rentierist, militaristic and corrupt. Rent-seeking pervades the whole system: the president or defence minister must bargain separately with each military unit to secure its loyalty for each operation. And even then, he cannot order a Somali unit to enter a ‘liberated’ town where the locals won’t welcome it. It’s no surprise that Somalis hedge their bets against the time when the SFG’s international sponsors tire of a Sisyphean counterinsurgency and sell out their erstwhile proxies. Even if al-Shabab were defeated, it wouldn’t solve Somalia’s problems. The corrupt rentierist system of government, which gave rise to al-Shabab in the first place, would be more entrenched than before. The al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane’s recent purge of his rivals, his collaboration with al-Qaida and, above all, his role in last week’s atrocity at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, are part of a bid for prominence and power within both a fragmented al-Shabab and the international jihadist movement. They are also a means of ruling out negotiation, and provoking a counterinsurgency that, he anticipates, will only make the SFG more unpopular and bring more recruits to his ranks. The Kenyans are, despite their leaders’ better instincts, falling into the trap. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s immediate response to the Westgate Mall attack was a model of restraint and statesmanship, insisting that the enemy was not Islam, not Somalis, but terrorists. But, embarrassed by security lapses and anxious to show that they are doing what is necessary, the Kenyan police have turned to harassing and cracking down on Somalis. If this continues it will be predictably counterproductive. The African Union troops in Somalia – from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenyan, Mali and Uganda – are underequipped for their task. They have no helicopters and their armoured personnel carriers are in urgent need of replacement after five or six years of continuous service in a war zone. AMISOM needs support, but it will be predictably easy for international diplomatic efforts to focus on generating resources for the military effort in Somalia. The lesson of military interventions – from Somalia in 1992 to Afghanistan today – is that military efforts should be in support of political solutions, not the other way round.

And in a cruel joke, Italy grants posthumous citizenship to the dead, while the survivors (all of whom are Eritrean) are still illegal. Nin-Yaaban;980532 wrote: AUN. Hobbesian (what kinda name is that anyways) finally got his wish. Good for him. But he's probably here with another screen name, and would pull the same stunt in few months. What a sad case. He named himself after this ahole. Read the quote from Leviathan.