"After I chew I can't go out. When I chew qat, the whole world is mine. I feel like a king," said Mohammed al-Qadimi Eesh calaa!

Aw, leave NG, guys. Ayoub, unfortunately double-dealing and back-and-froming is normal conduct for a lot of people in waqooyi. Marba meesha mushaharadu ka immanayso ayaa loo jeestaa. In terms of Silaanyo's untenable position, the rot set in a long time before he took the position. The flames might have only caught but the people of SSC had already turned away. I still think overt peace-making initiatives are needed to calm the people who live together and share resources, but SL will not find any political will in the region.

A beautiful thought, Duke. From your lips to God's ear, Insha'Allah. I will tell you what I have learned over the last 2 years in my endeavours to immerse myself in all things Somali. Our people, at their most basic level are kind, generous and pragmatic. But they are also emotional and proud and uneducated. When it comes to governance, we have been trying to walk in unfamiliar and ill-fitting shoes since independence in the 60s. We had a traditional governing structure that worked for us pre-colonialism, however, the end of colonialism found us in an unfamiliar pre-prepared British-style governing structure. Perhaps if this state had had a longer incubation period, we would have figured out something that fits us better, but the military coup put an end to that. I think this is why we have been suffering so badly in terms of engendering a viable visionary leadership. No one seems to actually know what this entails. We only know what we see other countries doing but these countries have had much longer to practice at the central governing model than we have. And this is not an ailment confined to just Somalis, it affects most sub-Saharan Africa if not most of the Third World. No doubt we'll develop a governing model that works for us through trial and error (so much error!) in the future, God willing, but for now....for now we have to make do with the title-hungry, politically-corrupt breed that masquerade as leaders.

Flip-flopping for is an actual political strategy for most Somali politicians. Malika;694525 wrote: Waaw - Ngonge you have outdone yourself here. You trully underestimate the desire, the ambition and vision of the SSC people - your post is condescening and misinformed - You think you know all about the people of SSC by reading some websites huh? ..mate you are clueless, its so obvious that I dont know where to begin and where to end - so to shorten up my response , I say this to you..STUFF AND NONSENSE. I'm with Malika here. NG, you don't know what you're talking about. SL had plenty of chances to woo the SSC people into investing in the future of SL but they wasted those chances. As it stands, SSC is truly not interested in joining or seceding with SL. I don't think supporting a greater Somalia is less of a political ideology than supporting the independence of SL. They have the right to support whichever entity they believe in. That's not to say the people are not neighbours and hadhow lama heshiin karo.

^ Is that right? How funny. Professor of conflict resolution indeed. Then again, I have told some fibs on my CV in the past too.

Funny article. Doubt we can blame all our problems on US policy though.

A somewhat emotional write-up but I believe the author highlights the core issues of the conflict. The people of SSC do perceive the actions of SL as evidence of a land-grabbing agenda. The Somaliland army is much better organised, trained and equiped than the SSC groups. There is the potential for a great deal of bloodshed if cooler heads don't intervene and stop this conflict from escalating into clan war. Unfortunately, bad leadership seems to be a common plague that affects Somalis everywhere, and the leadership of Somaliland are very close to losing the plot and the peace the population have worked for for so long. No one will benefit from this conflict and it's about time some form of dab-damis was engaged. NG - Yes, the title is pretty naff.

Malika;694016 wrote: ^What sort of neighbourhood do you live in Val? .. ps. You seem to have got the knack at peering out the window..hehehe.. My peeking experience came from our old neighbourhood. I was the neigh'hood watch, so to speak.

Am loving the new Boss Orange Sunset scent.

You'll get used to it soon enough, Maaddeey. We all did. Welcome back.

^ Which thread is that, Sayid? The one with the crying African? That didn't make sense to me.

Allah yarxama. The amount of xenophobia being perpetrated against Somalis in SA is staggering. On top of that, if Somalis are caught carrying weapons, guess what...it's straight to jail.

What, do mean to say you've never switched the light off to peek outside the window? I do it all the time - when there are fights, when ambulances arrive, when I hear screaming, when doors are being broken down. You can't just pull up the blinds and look out when you're framed by the light. That's just calling for trouble.

^ Well, apparently other minority ethnics already buy into the British values that the Muslims are resisting. Hmm. Cameron loses a little bit more credibility each time he opens his elitist mouth.

Beyond the propaganda we are seeing here and on other websites, I wonder what the SL admin really thinks about the situation? Surely the last 30 years has provided enough evidence that neither force nor fighting works on Somalis? Nin aan madax banaaneyn iyo qori cabaysan ma kala foga.

Project Officer - Somaliland Closing date: Thu, 24/02/2011 Based in Hargeisa, Somaliland Full-time, two-year contract US$1,450 per month (plus other benefits) http://www.progressio.org.uk/jobs/project-officer-somaliland

Horribly sad. Allah ha u naxariisto masaakiinta.

Does that mean you have the day off? Take some photos and put them up!

Well, you learn something new, every day. I too thought NG was an Arab through and through. If the country option is Country or place of birth, then a lot of people will not be able to claim SL. Bet you if you polled just SOL alone, half the SLanders in here were born elsewhere.

LoL, Malika, do you mean weli maadan maqlin the good news? You're behind, my dear.

Ibti, country of origin would work, if it's in there.

Sayid*Somal;692228 wrote: ..or even their nationality as being Somalilander - just make sure they identify themselves as being Somali at least once be it either in language or ethnicity. Is there a section for dual nationality or something, because if you're a British citizen, nationality will be British, maaha? Ethnicity and language are both Somali. So where does Somaliland go?

CH, what about the 'respecting minority rights' that the ME doesn't do but Israel does? You gotta laugh.

Malika;691947 wrote: 31 Jan 2011 Project Officer, Access to Justice Project (Local position) United Nations Development Programme Closing Date: 12 Feb 2011 Somalia Malika, thanks for the list. I checked the above one out and it actually looks pretty good. Thinking of applying now. What's Garoowe like for those who've been? I hear it's a becoming quite the city.

I think Yemen is on the brink of implosion. Unfortunately it is less likely to be a popular revolt and more likely the country will fall into a civil war, if that happens.