I thought the lines (well most) were lame, so looked in the link and see that it's from a sister. She's taking the proverbial! Faraxs, use them with caution. I know. You're welcome.

LOL. Read the full story, Mr Bile.

Women's basketball event excites war-weary Somalis By Ibrahim Mohamed MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The stadium was packed for the women's basketball tournament in the bombed-out capital of staunchly Islamic Somalia. Sports events are an unusual and welcome diversion for many residents of Mogadishu, torn by a two-year-old insurgency of suicide bombings, assassinations and indiscriminate artillery attacks. But women's tournaments are even rarer in the Muslim country, attracting droves of eager spectators who filled the seats of the crumbling, colonial-era Italian stadium of Ex Lucino more than an hour before the start. Supporters of two rival teams from the city -- Heegan and Horseed -- began cheering "Defeat them! Defeat them!", long before the players appeared on court for the semi-final of the contest that ends this week. Faduma Yareey, 22, plays for Heegan. Two years ago when she started playing basketball, she told Reuters, some of her neighbours had condemned the practice as against the Koran. "But now there are no problems," Yareey said, warming up for the game in a headscarf, soccer shirt and tracksuit pants. "We're improving. We exercise every morning and afternoon, and we'd even like to play in the evening too if there was electricity. I hope we will make it to the national team." The Horn of Africa nation is a failed state. Islamist insurgents have waged an Iraq-style campaign against a weak Western-backed interim government that has killed more than 16,000 civilians since the start of 2007. Another 1 million Somalis have been driven from their homes. The United States has long feared the anarchic country could become a safe haven for radical militants, and it says Somalia's hardline al Shabaab rebel group has close ties to al Qaeda. But most Somalis are traditionally moderate Muslims -- there was huge pride last August when the impoverished nation was able to send a 10-strong team to the Olympic Games in Beijing. Aden Yabrow Wiish, chairman of the Somali Basketball Federation, said the current competition was funded by Somali businessmen overseas who wanted to promote reconciliation. "We are encouraging the youth to put down their weapons," he said. "You can see how the people ... are applauding their local neighbourhood teams, not their clans." Venturing out onto the Mogadishu streets is dangerous, said Musa Abdullahi, one 68-year-old closely watching the game. A suicide car bombing aimed at African Union peacekeepers missed its target on Saturday and killed at least 14 civilians. Abdullahi said the near-daily bloodshed was dismaying. "As an old man, it hurts my head to hear such stories," he told Reuters. "But when I come here and see young people playing sports together in such harmony, it is refreshing. That is how life should be. That is how I remember my upbringing here." © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved Link

But if they turn aside, We have not sent you as a watcher over them; on you is only to deliver (the message) ; and surely when We make man taste mercy from Us, he rejoices thereat; and if an evil afflicts them on account of what their hands have already done, then surely man is ungrateful. Ash-Shura (42:48)

^Lol. Mayee habaarka inaga jooji. I know what you mean, it's frustrating because dadka qaarkood sheeko kale mayaqaanin, you can type two opposing opinion and they will still say, 'it's because you hate Xamar..blah, blah' but Abu Diaby is not one of those. On the topic, the Southerners were never really given a chance to settle their differences on their own,you always had the UN, US Ethiopia, AMISOM interfering and trying to call the shots. That was never the case in SL and PL. For lasting peace in Somalia, it has to come from Somalis. They should go back to the qudhac tree and let the elders sort it out, that's the Somali way and it works. I know it's a long shot.

Originally posted by J.a.c.a.y.l.b.a.r.o: Nobody wants bad for Somalia ,,,, they just do the bad to themselves. are you trying to reason it ??? Qawdhanimada jooji, inaar. Waxa lagu leeyahay, gloating ka jooji. Like ina mooge said; hadii aad maanta wacantahay, ma ku waari doonta? Allahu yaclam. It's not nice dad walaalahaa oo liita inaad ku qososhid mar walba, isaga ducee.

Salaams Aaliyah, Those are the woes of the privileged, as Ngonge would say. I'm talking about the story in the film, don't want to give the plot away too much. The movie, though based on a novel is about real issues that take place in the developing world (and developed world to an extent). There are super evil people who take lost children or orphans kids (or even abduct them) and abuse them, and that's putting it mildly.

Hayaay. Ma Ibtisaam ayaa Ngonge shukaamisay, baad la shir timaadeen? Istubidh. Dameero. *shakes fist* Ibtisaam, That sexist crap is just that, crap. Women have not only registered for the vote, each party has a female group /commitee. You will not beleive who is a board member of Londons Kulmiye group... Aha! *I'm not endorsing Kulmiye*

Allah, this is heart breaking. Miskiin, Allah Yarxamuh.

Urban, Yes,I loved the young Jamaal and the teen one. I hate watching movies about child /orphan abuse. It's so depressing and makes me really anxious about raising kids in this world.

Written speech.. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. Bwahahaha. I hate that website but the commentary to this article on jihaadwatch is hilarious. Apparently, there's an email calling Obama the anti-christ doing the rounds in cyber space, kan in la dilaan ka baqayaa. p.s That speech is nothing but decoration.

^ . I've got a soft spot Xiin, ayeeyo. Waa rijaalohaa. As you know, already Carvankii Sharif baa ka waashey, I don't want him to get sea sick on board Silaanyos ship. I'm not Xaasid, like some.

So inspiring, bless 'em. Nairobi — On the fifth day of every month a group of women entrepreneurs gather to share their experiences and discuss matters of trade. What makes this exceptional is that the women are from south-central Somalia and they meet in Mogadishu, one of the world's most devastated and dangerous cities. With 780 registered members, most of them from the Banadir region, the Banadir Businesswomen's Association is headed by a veteran businesswoman, Shamso Abdulle. Banadir is of the eight administrative units in south-central Somalia which includes the capital Mogadishu. A mother of nine, covered in a fashionable head-to-toe Islamic veil or hijaab, and insistent on speaking only in her mother tongue Somali, Abdulle is an unlikely business success story. The east African country where she lives has not had a central government for over 17 years. Read on... http://allafrica.com/stories/200811020004.htm l

Zam Zam Adbullahi has been a human rights activist in Somalia for many years. In addition to being the capacity building officer for Coalition for Grassroots Women Organizations (COGWO), she is the Chairperson of the Somali branch of the African network for prevention and Protection of child abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). 1. What sparked your interest in human rights? I looked around me and realised that women in Somalia have no control over their lives. Their parents take them out of school at a young age and marry them off. Rich men come to Mogadishu looking for wives and the parents just give their daughters away, selling them as if they were property. Working as a journalist, I knew that journalism was dominated by men and that there was no real way to cover women’s issues. So, in 2001, I decided to focus on defending women’s rights. 2. What do you think are the main challenges in the struggle against human rights abuses? People’s prejudices and misconceptions. There is a lot of opposition to women’s rights. I am being accused of teaching women ‘fake’ rights, but what we teach them is the Universal Declaration. Some people think that the declaration doesn't apply to women. [My colleagues and I] are being accused of taking women out of their homes and putting them out on the streets. The key problem is that Somali women are uninformed and have no female role models to look up to or who can give them encouragement and inspiration. Women in Somalia have no control, no political voice, and they take no part in decision making. Many are afraid to speak up against abuse because they are scared of losing everything and of their husbands throwing them out. 3. If you could change one thing about the situation with women’s rights in Somalia, What would it be? Give women better access to education. Enable them to learn more, know their rights and stand up for themselves. Young women who go to university are still vulnerable to abuse, but at least they know that it is wrong. Somali women need to know about their the rights according to Islam – that standing up for their rights does not mean abandoning their culture and their religion. Women don't know, for example, that no one can take their children away from them in the first seven years of the child’s life. They don't know [that], if they divorce, it is their husband who should have to leave the marital home. The rights are there, but women are kept in the dark. 4. What impact does your work have on your life and/or you family? Our office [at Coalition for Grassroots Women Organizations (COGWO)] was targeted and my colleagues and I were asked to publically denounce our work for women as criminal activity. We have received threats and a number of my colleagues have been killed. But the work I do is fulfilling and I’m full of conviction that I’m on the right track. I meet and speak to so many women. My 7-year-old daughter is used to people coming in the middle of the night, asking for help and needing to be taken to the hospital. I feel like she is already beginning to understand. 5. What keeps you motivated when times are hard? The desire for accountability. The hope that we could one day take people to court for what they do to women. And the women who contact us and ask for our help - they keep me going. 6. Do you have a message for our readers? We need to help women find a voice. They need help in order to ask for justice. We have a cause to fight for, and a goal to achieve. Sometimes people get angry with you and not everyone will be happy with what you are trying to achieve. But you shouldn’t let opposition stop you. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU20 0901209065&lang=e&rss=recentnews">Source

You're welcome. Xiin. That conference which was last week is what the rumour mill is basing their 'argument' on. The meeting with Abdallah wasn't a top secret as your article suggests. He addressed this letter and the one before in the letter already posted by Ayoub. As for Ahmadou, it seems to be business as usual, as far as he is concerned. Originally posted by Qalbi-Adeyg: Blessed why are you agains silaanyo running for somali presidency? Do you people hate you fellow somali's that much? LOL. Are you seriously asking me a question or did you just fancy making a smear statement?

Xiin, No official lines adeer, tis common sense. Press Confrence in Nairobi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjUnOSjVp4s

Perhaps, Ibti. But gitmo still needs to close down and trails taken to proper courts. There also needs to be more pressure on the EU who refuse to take in ex-GB detainees. Moazzem Begg - Cage Prisoners Moazzam's replies to all answers about the coming of Obama saddened me. But he is only expressing the feelings of everybody right now. He says the whole OBAMA = FANTASTIC = CIVIL RIGHTS buzz, of the summer, is totally gone now. He, aswell as the current and past detainees, and their support group, Cage Prisoners, all lost hope for "change" a long time ago. He says that Obama's promise to close Guantanamo, will possibly be coupled with some changes in laws that continue to facilitate the illegal gathering and holding of prisoners by US military and intelligence, so this practice of rendition and detainment looks set to continue. And with it, the torture too. He also points out that, although Obama has promised to take troops out of Iraq, he has vowed to build up troop numbers in Afghanistan. Moazzam says this can only make matters worse, and particularly for detainees at current US prisons in Afghanistan. He made the point that prisons that are in, or near, active war zones, are known to be more brutal places to spend your time. This is because of that aggressive war mentality that is just outside your door. It often steps inside, and things are taken out on the prisoners, with prisoner abuse always rife. Moazzam says that the prisoners who came from Afghanistan would actually be looking forward to getting to Guantanamo. Source and full interview... http://www.blatantnews.com/news/interview_moazzam_ begg_on_guantanamo.html p.s Cage Prisoners still support Amnestys 100 days campaign.

He's campaigning for Kulmiye. Meeting with the SL community in Nairobi. p.s Why do they keep dragging D.shiil into politics, it's a private business.

Good on him. That zoo needs to close ASAP! Do you think he got the Amnesty check list, Nuune?

That speech was as pretty as his speech writer but don't expect http://obama100days.amnesty.org/kit.html

Originally posted by peacenow: Blessed is this man and may glory be for him. You are a inspiration to all African Diaspora. I am NOT!

^Indeed, back lack of jobs is a huge problem for graduates. Somalis in the diaspora need to start investing and building businesses. Horta, whatever happened to Somali National University and Lafoole. I heard they were a regional best back in the day..

Originally posted by Emperor: quote: Originally posted by Blessed: Emp. No, I just thought it odd that a person who is wadani would be sad at the departure of foreign troops that were unwanted by his people. Then I was right in my earlier interpretation my dear, you actually got it wrong for the second time and to make things clear for you so you don't come back again with the same line, I am happy that Ethiopia have departed the land and my capital, what I am angry with and was against is militias taking over places along the clan lines, its what kept our capital in hostage for the past 17 years, that's the message the topic conveys and the main reason I posted but you seem to be fine with this lawless and unruly clan militias and called them the 'rightful owners' over moi.. Ma Indha'ade ayaa iga xiga Mugadisho? How? Because that's what you said and is there for all to see... What? Huuno, ma jin baa kuu heesa? For love of geel, man. I wrote the following: Sad to see Ethiopians (who brought nothing but death and distruction to Mogdishu) leave and the rightful owners take control???? Ah, yaa 'wadani'! Key words: Ethiopians Muqdisho Leave Rightful owners Take control. Ethiopians left. Somalis clans took their stations, names of clans matter not here because I don't even know the exact groups that are involved, I understand Muqdisho to be a city of many and all clans. Do you want a drawing to go with that? Ethiopia leaving and Somali clans taking over are the ONLY two facts stated in the article. The rest is just the opinion and the fears of Qabdiid. In other words, BS and unnecessary scaremongering. The Ethiopians did not leave a power vacuum, they did not maintain law and order in Muqdisho. The article and your commentary was giving them too much credit and hinting that there was some benefit in their stay. They messed Xamar up and now left with their fitnah. I don't understand how you don't see this as your victory and that was my gripe. This is no doubt a victory of Somalis, most of all those who advocate nationalism, hence 'ah, ya waddani'. My question had nothing to do with your background but the message in the article you posted and your comments on it. That you insist on bringing my clan, yours and Indo Caddes into the equation is both narrow minded and quiet boring but like I said, I'm not surprised that you read everything as an attack on your qabiil, it's what you do. Everything boils down to qabiil for you. :rolleyes: Maca Salaamah.

Haday fool xuntahayna, ugly girls need love too, ya know. Not saying you are P. You sound fun, I like nutters. Welcome

Emp. No, I just thought it odd that a person who is wadani would be sad at the departure of foreign troops that were unwanted by his people. Troops that caused much blood shed and divide. I'm not interested in your bitterness or otherwise. Che, Looooooooooool@Now declare ur intentions dear secessionist. Honestly, that's why I rarely post in this section. I feel like a I need a disclaimer, every time I post. Anyway, habeen wanaagsan, folks.