Morning Alpha, some of us still haven't slept

SomaliPhilosopher;955001 wrote: saffy as the issues you have mentioned with miyi life. i think similar to how the underground tunnels allow the people of gaza to snack on popey's fried chicken smuggled from egypt. or how ships and airplanes allow me to wear h&m made in Bangladash. things simple as roads can alleviate such concerns of the miyi life as one can travel to hospitals and whatnot Yes, I didn't mean to imply the conditions are permanent... I hope we see improvements in the quality of life there and elsewhere in Somalia soon. And you know I'm a tease, nothing new there

Kindred spirits dee, soulmate doesn't necessarily mean romantic Friends too.

SomaliPhilosopher;954997 wrote: saffy are you just catching the SP fever? you know saffy, there was a time che guevara's daughter was really sick so his wife wanted to use che's government car to rush her to the hospital. che refused and took the bus with his family as he deemed it a great injustice to use such privilege when looking at the state of his people. dont worry saffy you will be driven to the hospital during child birth lool SP fever kulaha, just because I've now made some gestures to acknowledge things you've been saying during your months of infatuation with me.

I agree with you completely, but on the other side there are also all the issues I've mentioned. You will have to live in miy with your Dhusamareb wife, because I refuse :mad:

SP I think we are soulmates, my musical history looks very similar, although I would also include the era of boy and girl bands, and perhaps the life altering moment when I first heard Destiny's Child and my love for Beyonce began. But why do you want me to die in childbirth in miyiga?

SomaliPhilosopher;954987 wrote: Saffy you let me slide by topics too easily! have you ever followed up on the previous subjects i have pushed to the side hoorta . it would have been convenient if we were an actual couple saffy huh? Saffy: if you like it, put a ring on it SP: this is a multifaceted issue dear Saffy: fair enough :D :D ama saffy: if you like it, put a ring on it SP: its getting late dee, lets have this convo another day saffy: fair enough looool you're right, damn. I'm just too nice to you SP I still think that view of miyiga is romantic and unrealistic... the quality of life will be poor, and resources are thin. I don't mean to speak ill of miy, we all have relatives there and even those of us who are from cities are only a few generations removed from it, but the fact is that life there is difficult. Somalia has one of the highest rates of child and maternal mortality in the world, and one of shortest life expectancies, and all of the figures are worse for those who live outside of the major cities. I'm assuming you want your children to be literate and attend school too lol

Fair enough, but I am interested to hear your thoughts on it because you're not the first to express the desire to start a new life in miyiga

Yes me and my sis joined in, it was impossible not to I can do the Carleton dance quite well too.

Miy is a difficult life in a harsh landscape SP, I'm not sure why so many of us romanticize it. Why does it appeal to you?

Che, I think many of us have watched every episode of Fresh Prince at least 5 times I think it's more than just nostalgia, it really was such a great show that no one gets tired of watching reruns of it. SP give the clip a chance, I promise you'll be doing the "Houston jump on it" dance with them too, just like I was lool

Who knows My kids could turn out to be Americans by birth lol, in fact I'd say it's more likely I'll end up I'm the States since there are just so many more universities and job opportunities as a result. But my dream job is to go back to my alma mater in Toronto as a prof

lool why so curious SP? It all depends on when I marry, but I like the idea of late 20s when I'm done with my program for a first child. There will never really be a "good time" career wise so I'll just do it when I'm out of school and the time feels right. Hold up, I read that as WHEN not where lool. I have no idea where, wherever I get a job

That sounds cool How long are you in DC?

lool I saw this yesterday, loved it!!

It was great, surprise birthday party for a friend... met a lot of cool new people, saw old friends, and there was good music, good food, and good conversation. Can't ask for a better night How was your night out?

Me too SP! Well not on the town, I was at a house party in Scarborough lol.

Ace of Spadez;954939 wrote: You're answering a different question. Try again. Here is the question. Remember, context is paramount here. The issue is, once it has been established Somalis can organize themselves into political parties and transcend clan as best they can such as the case in Somaliland, is it legitimate to pose the question can Somalis do this? In that frame work, to pose such a question would indicate Somaliland citizens are something other than Somali, thereby giving the term Somali solely to those from Somalia I understood your question just fine, I just don't believe you have a point. Somalis are hardly the only ethnic group whose population lies beyond the boundaries of the nation-state (Somalia), as ethnicity and nationality do not always correspond to one another. The demonym of a resident of France is French (French as nationality), but that's not to say French people (French as ethnicity) do not also live in other countries like Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada. But they have other names for their nationalities, like French Canadians. A Somali is a person from Somalia, but there are ethnic Somalis beyond it. You cannot change that.

Ace of Spadez;954936 wrote: Safferz, you enjoy defending the indefensible. I understand being a lawyer gives you the urge to play the devils advocate but in this case no amount of education from Yale or Harvard can save you. The question is not whether or not Che or a citizen of Somalia can be referred to as a Somali. The issue is, once it has been established Somalis can organize themselves into political parties and transcend clan as best they can, is it legitimate to pose the question can Somalis do this? I believe the answer is a resounding no; unless of course Somalis from Somaliland are not Somali but something other. To suggest otherwise is fatuous. I'm not a lawyer, I'm a historian And the historical and political fact is that yes, a Somali is both one who is from Somalia, and one who belongs to the ethnic group known as the Somali. I say this as someone who is also not from "Somalia" in the contemporary reality of a multiplicity of Somali states and political formations across the Horn of Africa. You have no argument here.

Che -Guevara;954934 wrote: Ain't politics a b!tch dheh:) Is it an accident it's just secessionists complaining this matter, yet to see a person from Jabouti, NFD and Somaligalbeed mourning about the interchangeability of the words Somali and Somalia. There are a number of arguments I've heard from the 'landers on SOL that I have NEVER heard spoken in real life, including from my own hardcore Somaliland nationalist family members, because that level of reduction and absurdity only exists on the internet.

Ace of Spadez;954928 wrote: The name Somali is shared by all Somalis in the Horn of Africa. It is not exclusively for those from Somalia. Therefore, in a debate in a medium such as the VOA where all Somalis are an audience, when a question is being raised it should be specific to the area it is discussing and not confuse all Somalis. You see it is not only I who would object those from Djibouti, NFD and Somali Galbeed will differ with your misappropriation of the shared Somali ethnicity. It's a historical and political fact that Somali is the demonym for a resident of Somalia. It's both a nationality and an ethnicity that can be broadly applied to all ethnic Somalis inhabiting the Horn of Africa. I'm not sure why you are disputing this or pretending that Che's "misappropriation" is responsible for the demonym. Please don't pretend that there is anyone else but you arguing this position either or taking issue with the term Somali as a descriptor for a person from Somalia, it is a fallacious argument.

Alpha Blondy;954827 wrote: LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.......... what/why are you telling me this? if you like me that much then you should reply back to my PM.....then accept my skype add.....then add me on facebook (i don't add people incase we fight and you delete me..as i don't delete people)....then meet me in hargeisa (after your fieldwork finishes in ethiopia.....then accept my hand in marriage....LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL:p;) I am not ready for commitment Alphow, I thought I've made that clear I'm out, birthday party to get ready for. Enjoy your Saturday night everyone!

From my former professor: Dear Kathy English, I read your response to a letter from Abdi Aidid, who is (full disclosure) a former student of mine. Regrettably, in trying to respond to his concerns all you managed to accomplish was to marginalize his concerns. You wrote: “Aidid and numerous others in his community were distressed greatly by the many references to ‘Somali’ drug dealers in the Star’s first report of the Ford crack video.” I am not from his community and when I read the Star article last week, on Thursday evening when it was first posted, I was dismayed at the promiscuous invocation of ethnic identifiers. I think that if your reporters had been willing to be more self-reflexive in respose to Mr Aidid’s letter they could have realized that they weren't conveying information by peppering their report with eleven mentions of the word Somali, but trying to create drama. Somali drug dealers, Somali terrorists, Somali pirates, ... the word Somali has become a signifier of violence and danger. At no time was it twinned with Canadian, as in Somali-Canadian. In your response you at no point demonstrate the relevance of the ethnic identity of the informants. Instead, you merely assert that it was relevant and that was why it was included. You write: “The newsroom believes (and I agree) the fact that the men described themselves as part of the Somali community is relevant to the responsible reporting of this story.” But what is the basis of this belief with which you agree? It is not explained. All you say is that it was relevant to understanding the motivation of the informants: “Given that these men are unidentified sources making serious allegations and peddling strong visual evidence of Ford apparently smoking crack, it was important that the Star give readers as much information as it can at this point about who these people are and what their motivation might be.” But what does their being identified as Somali tell the reader? Are there known difference in Somali motivations? That they are alleged drug dealers is relevant. But not their being Somali in so far as this information was treated. Less specifically, you suggest that the story needed facts and that was why this ethnic categorization was used. But how does this "fact" of ethnicity lend credibility to the story? If they were Scottish (or Scottish-Canadian) would the story have less credibility? I don't see how ethnicity became a matter of facticity. What if you had known their sexual orientation, would you have mentioned this? At no point in the original article did you mention the immigration status of the informants. Yet in your response this evening you said: "In discussions about making the video public, the men expressed fears about deportation." Why was this information left out of the original report? Should this have been a primary concern of the reporters? And given this concern of the informants, would it not follow that in the interests of “responsible reporting” you wouldn’t mention the ethnicity of informants who feared arrest and deportation. At no point over this week have I seen any public concern about the potential dangers these informants faced. Finally, it is notable that on the CBC this afternoon, John Cook defended Gawker against Doug Ford’s simulated concern for the way the Somali-Canadian community in Toronto has been disparaged. He noted they Gawker went out of its way not to identify the ethnicity of people they dealt with. All the Star accomplished in making this identification was to allow Doug Ford to deflect the allegations by repeating the real and genuine concern of not only Somali-Canadians, but all Canadians who do not think that free-floating ethnic identifiers mean anything. Not only were the stakes high for the Star given the high profile nature of the story, but even more so (much more so) for the informants. If we are to expect our politician to be transparent and honest, we also have to expect the same from our journalists. I do not believe your response met that threshold. Sincerely yours, Sean S. Hawkins Associate Professor Department of History University of Toronto

ElPunto;954757 wrote: Seriously guys. I think you're being way too harsh. They explained why there was a need for the use of the word Somali in the original article. They could do better with understanding the context that the word should be used in. But they recognized their mistake. In all my years on this site - I can't ever recall a newspaper in any other country hearing out and then apologizing for harm done to the Somali community through unfair reporting. Well done Canada. I don't think so -- it's basically a non-apology when you consider that they took a handful of Abdi's words for the editorial and tried to explain his response (rather than printing it as a letter to the editor or an op-ed), then tried to justify their use of Somali and apologize on their own terms. It's important they acknowledged that they made a mistake, but they completely missed the point of the critique and the issues at stake. Somalia;954801 wrote: I don't think Aidid was being too harsh.

Alpha I found an old photo of us: