So i've been following the exploits of this schoolboy and he looks the real deal. He hasn't been able to stop scoring for the U18's since his switch to CFC from the hoops. Anyway this week he made his debut for the reserves in a premier league reserves game. He came on second half around 55 minutes and scored two cracking goals to level the game at 3-3. Keep an eye out for him.

^^agreed defo. I was just referring to the excellent salary prospects in Somalia in this field, especially as more factories and businesses set up there. Good points about experience, deffo agree.

MSc in procurement, supply chain management and logistics with a bias towards enterprise systems related towards manufacturing ,like SAP modules in SCM. The company that put the advert up is called SBI, the group behind Coca Cola in SL. It was on Hays International but its now expired. I really enjoy working in the manufacturing side of supply chains, its very exciting to be involved in the production of a product from inception to end final product. Although if not careful with career choice you can find yourself being a demand planner for the rest of your life.

Yeah i never quite understood the logic of SA and other Arab countries who spend $$ on tanks and other outdated modes. i mean come on Tanks...how obsolete are they in today's battlefield. It will be interesting to see how all of this evolves. Have you been reading about the cyber attacks between Israeli and Palestinian. Old wars new dimensions. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/288102/20120126/israel-palestine-cyberwar-hacker-anonymous-0xomar.htm http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/pro-palestinian-hackers-apologize-for-bringing-down-haaretz-s-hebrew-website-1.409563

There was a job recently advertised in my field for £100,000- 120,000 on a respected recruitment site. This job was in Somalia, even though i don't have anywhere near the required experience to command such a salary, cant help but wish i did. Anyway future goal perhaps.

True, but its consequences is far reaching. From causing traffic mayhem to potentially causing reactor meltdowns. Its also true to say that it has pluralised warfare to a certain extent, but still those countries with the most resources will be able to attract and amass the most talented folks. USA already has a cyber army of 10,000+, the largest in the world. Who else can compete with that.

Carafaat thanks for the link bro, but i'm not a lawyer at all. Juxa I'm interning in London already, i did my disso on the company i'm currently at. It's just not very exciting that's all.

Ralph Langner at Ted, was Siemens involved in anyway?

This is quite scary, phenomenal coding.

Afternoon folks, today is a good day, no longer a student, but now officially one of the unemployed masses. Anywayz here's to good weekends and friday nights. Juxa what kind of lawyer are you, do you deal with intellectual property or copyright law by any chance?

^^inspirational individual. Do you guys know as to the current situation of Somcable vis a vis the fibre installation in somaliland. I knew that they had started in the west of the country but ran into some problems. What is the likelihood of this venture actually delivering on their plans. According to their website they've been operational since 2008 but have not much to show for it.

Afternoon folks, thought I'd drop by and spend some time with you guys instead of completing my dissertation. Juxa i feel your pain.

This on a good sound system is incredible.

#OccupyTop40

Alpha whats your point bro, in your definition i may not be a Somali, but all that matters surely is my state of mind and i felt like i belonged.

You raise some good point El Punto, and i think we agree on the whole, and maybe i need to get past the interfering elements that are at play in this saga. I'm just afraid of the real possibility of this all ending in protracted sectarian violence if there is a power vacuum. Whatever Syrians decide let be in the interests of Syrians first and foremost.

I’m not trying to muddy the waters but rather trying to highlight the one narrative we’re receiving from the Syrian rebellion. Yes there are elements against the regime, yes the regime is dictatorship and yes they have killed innocent protestors, but it’s a regime that still has the support from large sections of Syrian society. It is clear the Free Syrian Army and other defector forces are being armed by the west and others, and the regime is seriously attempting to fight an insurgency that is fuelled from the outside, albeit one that was ignited internally. It isn’t however helping its case by not addressing the situation on the ground vis a vis the protestors legitimate concerns. I would hate to see what a ‘democracy’ would look like in Syria with the very real sectarian divisions in the country. I would much rather see a phased approach to relinquishing power. Try to see what’s happening in Syria as part of an orchestrated movement that is more to do with geo politics than simply a case of tyrannical leader hell bent on murder.

It seems the older I get the more isolated and less integrated I feel with mainstream British society. Once very much an insider I now look at things differently, and a lot of it has to do with my Islamic and cultural principals. I may have felt at home in Britain for a long time, but the changing attitudes of the brits and the drift to the right in European politics is really starting to worry me. Maybe its as a result of lack of critical argument in our media, or just a dumbing down of society but people these today rely too much on abbreviated angles to news, which is excellent on rapportage and terrible on analysis. Would I want to raise children here, would I want to put all my eggs in one basket, purchase a home in the long run and be tied down with no mobility. Will there come a time when there will be a rush to get off this island we call home? Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I definitely sense a change in views in attitudes of those I have known the longest since the age of 6. When once islam was simply a religious and cultural difference its now the become your one linear identity, and there is an unspoken uneasy toleration of this in work places up and down the country. Nevertheless if we look at the lives of Somali pioneers in Britain’s merchant navy, it seems they also suffered with this longing for home, in my case a home. The idea that our travels were temporary has left us in this psychological no man's land, which has harmed the community in terms of progress. The truth is as backward and terrible the land of my forefathers may seem it has provided me with peace of mind. The 6 months I spent there were hard and by no means easy and a lot of adjustments and sacrifices had to be made. But for the first time I had immediate family around, cousins, uncles, aunts and extended family. Not to romanticise and view the challenges Somalia faces in a blinkered way but the country did provide me with the best time of my life, because for the first time I belonged, that alone was priceless enough. So home for me is Somalia, despite the fact I wasn’t born or raised there.

Oh dear god not this topic again, can we stop conflating religious identity with racial identity please. An Arab Lebanese woman recently asked me at the dinner table (nearly chocked on my chicken) how come Somalis don't speak Arabic as a first language, and how comes we write in Latin script. needless to say i only answered the latter question. However as we all know Arab is not necessarily a racial identity so Somalis can be Arabs in terms of the inclusive nationalist sense of the term, but not racially Arab, but than again what is an Arab racially speaking. Dont really know but perhaps my outlook is wrong on this matter. Yes we are Black (but not in the western tradition) in that case i would say we are African perhaps that is a better tag. An ancient African race. On the hatred question. I would say you can never generalise. I've experienced many Arabs with questionable views on other races, so maybe its true that they hate everything including themselves. Or am i guilty of the same thing here.

I agree, what infuriates me is the blatant propaganda being spouted by media who are playing the lead role in normalising and framing the debate around Iran as the now 'inevitable' war. This is the unfortunate reality that shows Iran flanked on all sides by US bases, yet they are still the aggressors. We continue to sanction the killing of Iranian scientist and use euphemism like 'assassinated', doesn't sound as hard hitting as plain old murdered. The sanctioned dehumanisation of victim.

The situation is Syria is extremely complex, its not simply a case of an uprising like Libya. there are more insidious outside elements at play here. Assad is no saint but he does have a point.

you have superior taste in cars if i may say so. Classic indeed.

Somalis- failure of epic proportions.

I first went to Somalia in 2007, and I hated it the moment I stepped off the plane. I just remember that penetrating searing heat as we landed; this coupled with just how loud and chaotic everything seemed sent me into shock. With a stupefied look I began to explore the city and just couldn’t believe the level of underdevelopment and deprivation. Fast forward 2009 and on my second trip, which lasted 6 months, this time as i was working in hargeisa. It was during this period that I truly loved what the country had to offer. Loved the culture, lack of class system and many positive aspects of the Somali culture were on display. As I became an insider I realised my best chance of peace of mind coupled with some notion of happiness was in Africa Som/TZ as at some point in the near future I intend to go back and create my own tech start-up. If the company I’m waiting for sorts itself out then theres no hanging around, i'll be there in a jiffy. I know I’ll be happier more content, productive back home. The tribal crap is a major turn off though. Additionally somalia as our parents knew it is forever gone, i think that boat has sailed friend. So we have to work within the already existing structures. This is not to say some kind of federal/devolved agreements can be reached, although given the current climate and animosity i very much doubt this also.

Apparently 70% of milky sea activity occurs off the Somali coast, but piracy and instability has meant scientists are yet to observe this phenomenon. Truly spectacular!