Have you seen Amin Amir's latest cartoon?; Ahlu jago. You may call somalis pirates, warlords, lazy, welfare earners etc but one are area in which we exhale is political innovations. We are creative destructionists to quote Schumpeter. We´are very entrepreneurial people; we find ways to make a living; ministers of ministries that do not exist (soon they will name someone wasiirka arrimaha dhuuusada), xildhibaano whose only merit is war discourses, titles that others shy from (Dr, Injineer, duuliye, etc). We know how to milk the new maandeeq (the NGOs and governments all over the world); claim that we are a group fighting a non-existing organisation; claim that you are for reconciliation; claim that you are a minister and in the process get some visas and auction it; and you enrich yourself and your immediate family.

No end in sight for my ordeal. The worst news that I have received is that even if things could become "normal" today, I won't expect to fly home latest by saturday next week. There is no way I can get on the only nightly train to Paris (too many people), buses to Paris (17 hours) are difficult to get- and besides that if you come to Paris the french are on strike. Milano, Bologna, Zurich, Venecia, and all german airports have been closed. I have given up going to the airport, so I booked myself into a hotel in town; I will be watching the premium league but life without the company of a geeljire is like soor jaabis ah oo aan goosaar lahayn P.s I sound like B but SOL is keeping me busy

Amistad, are you by any chance a piracy entrepreneur (the go-between, the information provider e.g. through Lloyds' list, the equipment provider)? Piracy is tarnishing what is left of our image. The so called somali anti-piracy companies are nothing more than pirates themselves and investing in such a business is morally and judicially wrong.

Asc, How do you measure quality of life? We should be very sceptical to these rankings (a grain of salt). A better one is perhaps the human development index (UN). The world bank indices (the knowledge economy index KEI) and good old GDP/Capita by far the most reliable.

MPs??? It is an insult to the concept of members of parliament to call the thugs in somali MPs. These warlords, conflict entrepreneurs and qabiliste entrepreneurs are a scam. Nobody elected these fools whose numbers grow by the so called reconciliation process. Wasiiradana haba sheegin; wasiirka cirka, dhulka, badda, beriga...

Abtigiisa iyo Tolka, Eurocentrism as a political philosophy is what many of us have been taught/exposed to. The fact of the matter is that many societies had their own political philosphers. Asian Minor, the far east and Africa had their own Platos and Aristotles. I call it indoctrination; it is like when we were taught in primary schools to memorise "who discovered the Victoria falls"? and the answer we were expected to deliver was Dr. David Livingstone.

^^^tani waa ka daro markab dhal. Cimrigaaga raagey **** F-uto warkeeda meel waliba lagu haayo ku tusaa

Juxa, Bristol ayadaba ma fiicano: England hadaay degeeysid ka deg Brighton ama East Midlands. Elephant and Castle magaalada ayaay u dhowdahay. Mar aan ka soo degay undergroundka ayaan waxaan la kulmay nin igu yiri "sir, do you want a one day travel card"? Yes, baan ku iri markaasu wuxuu jeebkiisa ka soo bixiyey xoogaa darooga ah Markaa ka dib meelahaasi maba aado

Gartay saaxib, waa runtaa Borough of Southwark waan maqlay. Laakin soo ma jiro Lambeth City council?

Sayidow, xaan ka ogahay eebowgeey; Willesden and Harlesden waa NW 10. Acton and Ealing waa W/NW soo ma aha? Lambeth soo ma aha Elephant and caste, Peckam and Peckam Rye?

The north west of London ayaan u jeeday; from Shephard's bush, Acton, Ealing, Willesden/harlesden waa meelo fiican jirey. Laakin Lambeth iyo Eastka (white chapel) waxaay ahaan jireen marqaan area

Never knew that!!! Bloody hell, Lambeth Council soo Peckam iyo Peckam Rye, Elephant and castle soo ma aha? I thought Streatham was in the borough of Croydon/Kingston etc. Meeshaasi berigaan London deganaan jirey soomaliddu kuma badneeyn. Ask me about the NW.

Sayidow, saaxib maye ee waxaay ka timid Streatham. She had praises for the somali kids. Meeshaan joogo bahalkii doofaar ahaa ayaa u badan raashinka laga cuno; waxaan umaleeynayaa inaay ku xumeenayaa ( I sound like the guy who said; webiga wuxuu la walaacayaa amxaarada lagu xumeeynayaa)taarikhda islaanka ahaa ee Andaluth; waayo meel waliba bahalkaa unbaa yaala.

I don't watch that kind of movies and I don't blv in paranormal activities. There is a huge market for that kind of crap; many shows that purport to show life from the other side. They are popular because western folks have emptied their spiritual assets.

Karl Polany ( as the bearer of the name of the hungarian born economist who is credited with analysing knowledge), I fail to understand your point sxb. No one wants to limit African fertality. As a matter of fact, advances in Medicine (although the primary benificiaries is the rich western worl) is bound to benefit Africans through trickle down. Yes, many africans are guineapigs but so are all poor peple Yes, I took part in many. Once when I was an undergraduate I was paid to be part of it; I hope I was given a placebo. Anything in the advance of science is good and gives you alot of ajar me believe

OZ, no I am not mukhalas. I am just a civil servant. Books indeed, but I don't have any with me. I planned for a short stay. Some stories from the ques; An english teacher from London who informed me that she met many somali children. She had positive views about. Great, made me proud. An english man who says he spent the night at the airport and admits that he smells like bosaneero- but who has still a sense of humour; he thinks it is better idea to fly to Africa for a holiday (cheap) and fly home when the weather has settled. An American who was surprised that I was a somali and not a pirate. A norwegian lady who was a sociology professor and who briefed me on the situation of Somalis in Norway (apparently, there were many somalis who because of mental conditions performed heinous acts e.g. a man who attacked passengers on a train) The Frenchwomen who thought that I was from India

Dear friends, Blv me it is not fun when you stand in long ques for hours and you are refered to yet another que. The situation is back to Square uno. Earlier today, I was booked on a Frankfurt flight only to be cancelled when we boarded; Paris is closed too. I am on standby 2morow and I hope it will be a different day. Regards

Yes, I will see available alternatives. Somebody was telling me to take the train to St Sebastien in the Baque country, then through france. Good night

UK flight? There is no aiport that is open in northern europe. What do you do when you are 4000 km from home?

No, I am heading to Europe. Yes SNU is a university it is in the north part in the industrial districs. From Orchid avenue, you pass through China town, go under the bridges and the high rise area and then you wal about 7 km to the north west. I am going downtown , so thanks for the conversation all of you. I have never spent so much time on SOL b4 Hopefully, 2morow will bring about a lifting of the no-fly-zone.

By the way SKY news is contributing to my worries. This Jeremy guy sounds pessimistic. Probably I will be stranded in hola-hola-land. It is the same on CNN

You should have taken the subway around the old town where they sale jewels. There are many businesses and homes undergground. Little India was great (althout it seemed a little bit underdeveloped). I went to the mosque and was very proud to be a muslim. I walked from SNU to little India- will you believe it?

Blessed, I always look for somalis wherever I travel to. You can't blv how somalis are hospitable. Will you blv that noone asked for my tribe I love somalis

Yeah for a conference. I took a taxi to a hotel and I was so paranoid and blved that the taxi was equiped with a CTV. I went to the border of Malaysia and a zoo where in the evenings you will likely blv that you are in Africa.

Did you visit the chinese who live underground in Singapore? I was impressed by the religious cohesion. Little India and China town? I was in Singapore for one week and the local newspapers had only one report on crime; a woman who dried his clothes over a neighbour's window. Did you take a walk along the ORCHID avenue? I will contact the Iberia 2morow. Pray for me so that I can fly out. It is too much hola and mayana, mayana here