xiinfaniin;950482 wrote: I refuse to accept such weak argument from you, Chimera. I hold you to a higher standard than the usual, angry clannists in this board. Since when Madoobe become a warlord? I mean I want to you to do a little digging & tell me which area he controlled as a warlord. In the current Jubbaland arrangement, Madoobe become a factor because he was the only former Islamic Courts leader opposed to Alshabaab that had a presence in the region. IGAD incorporated his militias and rightly so to liberate Kismayo from Alshabaab. But instead of becoming a strong man, and claiming he is the leader of this region, he led the effort to elect a legitimate administration for all 3 regions. Unless you are telling us, a former Islamic Courts leaders should never have a leadership position, your argument of lumping his name with former warlords does not make him warlord. A warlord denotes ruling over an area through force independently from a central authority. Granted his force was in response to Al-Shabaab, but he has a paramilitary background nonetheless. I want to see less "former commanders" and more civilian politicians in Somalia taking the big seats, regardless of their clans. I never liked Sheikh Sharif for the same reason, and would have preferred someone like the late Ibrahim Hassan Adow as president if electing a former Islamic Courts member was the only option on the table. I expressed this sentiment since 2006.

xiinfaniin;950466 wrote: Chimera, Why Madoobe ? So you are actually taking the position of Mogadishu that the one year conference and the 500 delegates do not count :D? Is Madoobe really the only candidate such a vast rich region in the country can muster? I refuse to believe that. The Era of warlords is over xiin, time for fresh educated faces, not Qaybdiids, Hiiraales, and Madoobes. For me this is like Indocadde becoming Mayor of Mogadishu, or Morgan president of Puntland. All of them need to be retired.

Both Barre and Madoobe need to be removed from that region ASAP.

Very good news, in a year's time the situation will be even better, and more ambassadors will follow Turkey and Britain's footsteps by relocating to Somalia.

The politics section is one big waste of bandwidth, if my satire is trolling then I would like to know what 90% of the rubbish pushed as "genuine topics" in this section is considered by those watching from a distance.

I won by 240% in favour!

Done.

MOGADISHU (IPS) - In the Hamarweyne market, Mogadishu’s largest, 24-year-old Maryama Yunis is finding success with her tiny cosmetic store. The young Somali entrepreneur has been in business for two years, selling everything from soaps and shampoos to lipsticks and eyeliners, and now she’s turning a decent profit. “As more and more young women in Somalia grow increasingly aware of their looks and like to take care of themselves, the cosmetics business has naturally grown and I took the plunge to meet that demand,” Yunis told IPS in Mogadishu. Yunis is one of a growing number of women in this traditionally conservative Muslim country who are going into business because of the opportunity to attain financial independence and upward mobility. Even educated women in this Horn of Africa nation are expected to focus on raising families, but attitudes are shifting alongside women’s role in society, says Hawa Dahir, a social activist in Mogadishu. “Times are changing in Somalia and people are now more aware of the entrepreneurial potential of women and are more accepting of the role women can play in the economy of the family and the country as a whole,” Dahir told IPS in Mogadishu. Yunis herself is a university graduate. She studied nursing but opted to pursue her dream of becoming an entrepreneur instead. “With my mother’s help, I managed to convince my father to allow me to follow my dream and start the store. With the money I am earning, I am becoming more independent by the day and I’ve become an inspiration for many young women,” Yunis said. But for many women, entering the world of business is not a choice but a necessity forced on them by the death or unemployment of their husbands, according to Dahir, who studies women in business. Faduma Maow has a shop in the Bakara market in Mogadishu, where she has been working as a clothes trader since the death of her husband three years ago. The mother of four told IPS that she takes her children, aged between seven and 15 years, to school before heading to the market. “It is tough being a working parent, but it can also be rewarding. I am financially independent and pleased to say I am making progress towards my goal of raising a family and building a stable future for myself and my children,” Maow said. Dahir said that while there are no reliable statistics on Somali women entrepreneurs, their presence in the country’s small business scene is “palpable”. “Many women have started businesses here in Sinai and other markets in Mogadishu,” Rahmo Yarey, owner of a teashop in this busy market, told IPS. “I also hear that the same thing is happening in markets in the regions. Women are becoming breadwinners for many families in our country.” Women are involved in a range of small businesses, selling clothes, cosmetics, fruit and vegetables, or khat – the leaves of the Catha edulis shrub, chewed as a stimulant in Somalia. Women can also be found selling fuel in open-air markets and on street corners in Mogadishu. And they are doing it all with very little assistance. Somali businesswomen say working as an entrepreneur has its challenges. Firstly, it is nearly impossible to raise capital to start a business. Local and international financial institutions closed down following the collapse of the central government in 1991 that marked the beginning of two decades of civil war. A couple of local banks have now been established but one handles only savings and remittances from Somalis in the diaspora. The other does offer loans, but only to those who can put up collateral, which few women have. “It is not possible to get money to start up a business – even more so if you are a woman,” Aisha Guled, a khat trader in Mogadishu, told IPS. Guled herself got her start only thanks to support from a relative. She said that she has been struggling to make ends meet since she started selling khat. “Most of us have started with the little we could get and struggled up the ladder. Some don’t make it, others remain stuck in the beginning, but some are lucky enough to break even and make a profit soon and expand,” she said. Though the Somali government says it is trying to do all it can to help businesswomen working to support their families, one official told IPS that the government cannot at this stage offer financial support to businesswomen. “The provision of a secure environment for women to operate in is a key priority in supporting women in business,” the official said on the condition of anonymity. “Despite all the challenges that women entrepreneurs face in Somalia, the country’s womenfolk are showing that they are up to the challenge of being shrewd business operators, while maintaining their roles as mothers and wives,” Dahir said. She called on academics to study the rise of Somali women in the business sphere as well as in politics and other fields in society. Yunis said that as Somali society’s views and attitudes towards women’s role change, she expects more and more women to take up roles not only as entrepreneurs, but in academia and politics as they prove themselves to be equal to men in every aspect of life in Somalia. “It is just a matter of time before we see many women join men in equal measure in rebuilding our country because our society is changing thanks, in part, to the changing times; women will be more equitable to men in every area,” said Yunis. LINK

Mogadishu — Mogadishu's Waberi district administration and Raage Ugaas High School are collaborating on a multi-phase education project to provide 225 illiterate and innumerate women with free schooling. "We want to produce women who are capable and educated," Waberi District Commissioner Ahmed Mayre Makaran told Sabahi. "When we saw the need for education and the financial difficulties facing women, we established this project." The first six-month phase began April 27th, Makaran said. An independent committee manages the programme at the government-run school. Students enrolled in the programme will learn how to write and receive instruction in mathematics. "There are many women who are ready to learn, but are unable to afford private school tuition, which highlights the great need for re-establishing the free education the government used to provide for the public," Makaran said. Classes are held Saturday through Wednesday, from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. The programme relies entirely on volunteer teachers -- three men and three women -- who instruct five classes of 45 students each. In the second phase, women will receive vocational skills and home economics training, said Abdirahman Mohamud Ali, the school's administrator. "We will teach them simple management skills such as household management, small market management, creating and managing small businesses, and how to monitor and manage the health and education of their children," Ali told Sabahi. Changing views on women's education Many women in Somalia are uneducated because Somali society does not encourage their education, but now there is an increasing awareness of the importance of investing in women, said Mohamed Isse, a social affairs analyst. "In recent times, increased public awareness has coincided with women's progress," Isse told Sabahi. "Previously, parents used to educate only boys and this caused the emergence of many women who could not read or write." "If a concerted effort is made to educate women, whether a little bit or a lot, it is possible to reduce poverty and properly raise children," he said. Some of the women in the programme told Sabahi about the troubles they have had without proper education, and what they hope to gain from literacy and learning math skills. Programme recipient Safiya Addow, said illiteracy and innumeracy put her at a disadvantage by making it hard to budget her expenses or find a job. "I am even unable to effectively manage the daily household expenses because I cannot keep track of what I get and what I spend," she said. "I have never had any education and I do not know how to write anything, so truly this is the beginning of a new future for Somali mothers," said Maey Mohamed, a 46-year-old housewife and mother of seven. "I was very happy when I was informed I would be receiving free education," Mumina Mohamed, a 39-year-old mother of five, told Sabahi. "My husband and I do not work, but I hope I will find work once I finish this course." LINK Very good news,

MOGADISHU (RBC) Somali Federal Government has on Sunday signed the New Deal for engagement in fragile states which Somalia has officially joined, RBC Radio reports. Somalia Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, Finance Minister Mohamud Hassan Suleyman along with several ministers, members of the civil society groups, members of the International Dialogue on peace-building and state-building, consisting of the g7+ group of 19 fragile and conflict-affected countries, development partners, and international organizations, gathered today in Mogadishu, Somalia, for the New Deal conference. “We are happy and committed to execute in the New Deal Engagement which will pacify key components of sustainable development and peace-building for Somali people.” Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said during the official launching ceremony of the New Deal Engagement in Mogadishu today. Somali Finance Minister Mohamud Hassan Suleyman “Cawil” said the New Deal will allow Somali government to receive development funds from the international community as a post-war helping project. “This also will give us a chance to manage and administer the resources funded to us.” The minister added. The New Deal is a set of principles outlined by the Group 7 chaired by the East Timor, which primarily focuses on peace-building and state-building initiatives in the post-conflict-ridden countries. Somali Prime Minister said the country has now joined the Group 7. -- LINK

Somaliland bans UN flights from its Airspace

Come on people, why walk carelessly upon a recently resurfaced road as if a wedding party is being held right then and there? In a European climate everything is sealed off for a day, in the hot Somali climate you at least need two days for the surface to set in and harden. I understand that these roads are vital economic arteries, but come on, do it right and it will last longer.

nuune;949398 wrote: remember, the merceneries at Nairobi office who manages Somalia's Airspace used to collect $400 dollars for any plane entering Somalia's Airspace, on daily bases, on average 200 planes enter Somalia's Airspace. Excellent news Nuune, that's another 30 million dollars annually in the Federal Budget. I believe if we keep regaining assets, and increase the volume of trade and tax, the government will easily generate a billion dollar budget by the end of 2014. Imagine how much money the country could make if it attracted airlines to land in Mogadishu or Berbera as a transit before moving to the end destination. This accompanied with a proper airport billing system, an expanded airport-complex containing malls and restaurants, as well as direct-transport to nearby tourist attractions, and the profits for the government and the locals would be amazing.

So the nationalist Prime-Minister who in the past was demonised and degraded as a lackey has now become a misunderstood champion of the J-project and a potential martyr in the eyes of the same critics? LOL, I give up, Somali politics is shady as hell.

Chimera;935607 wrote: If you liked Zelda, Mario Bros, Seinfeld and Street Fighter as a kid, this movie will be ridiculously fun. I don't know why I put it off for so long.

This is the realm of professional doctors, therapists and organisations like the A.A, not an internet forum. The "go back to the motherland" advice is crazy, as if a person - addicted or not - can change their environment with a click of a finger. All of that takes planning, and lots of money.

RIP Muriidi, his random streams of conscience still make me laugh.

The city could be a real stunner if a cobblestone project was initiated:

Mogadishu, a city of optimists, and the powerhouse of the Somali peninsula.

Xaaji Xunjuf;947933 wrote: The brits advised the Somalilanders not to unite even the NUF party of Micheal mariano suggested at that time to the Brits provincial administrative governor that Somaliland is still not ready for Independence. But Since SNL of Cigaal and Ali meygaag and Sayid Ahmed founder of hisbillah independence movement later merged with the SNL , were the majority of the Parliament they were pro independence and so pro union they led the Somaliland people into destruction also the elections were rigged , Micheal mariano and his crew won more than they were given. Independence and than being part and ruled by the chauvinist koonfurians means little girl. The South had little to do with the Somaliland independence movement , SYL was not even known in Somaliland when the brits gave hawd and reserve area to Haile selasie. Thats when the Somaliland elites started being worried and they only believed that they could get that land back if they united with the Koonfurians the dissatisfaction with the brits was enormous. But the Koonfurians had little to do with it. Still i dont see anything wrong with what the 2 men from borama said , independence means nothing if you are ruled by another country. I understand these men from borama - As there was no plans to grant early Independence to the territory, progress towards self government was slow untill the second half of the fifties. Around that time, however the pace was greatly accelerated chiefly to the growth of nationalist movement and the approaching date of independence in the Trustee ship - The Somali Republic: An Experiment in Legal Intergration pg 4 -In February 1960 a Legislative council was elected by Universal adult male suffrage. On April 6 this council unaninamously passed a resolution stating its desires to recieve independence before 1 july, so that the country could be united with Somalia when it became independent - Encyclopedia Americana pg 251

Terra Nova, I would only recommend the two-hour pilot if you like Sci-Fi and Dinosaurs, because it had great potential, and with Steven as an exec, I wasn't disappointed . The other episodes are a decade or two late, and remind me of the 90s Stargate series, though greatly inferior. It would have done well in the 90s, but they should have made it less cheesy, and follow the path of Lost and the Wire in terms of character-driven stories rather than predictable formulaic plots.