Let's discard the idea of secessionism into the trash pin. Ever since the state was founded, it has been the impregnable fortress against the dark forces of secessionism and anarchy. It's time to eliminate piracy and corruption while expanding the reach and capacity of the state institutions. Rer Puntland have proved their ability to build their homeland as opposed to destroying it. The growth in the housing and business sector of the state has doubled, but these two dimension of economic development has been the only focus, and it misses the target on the road to self-sufficiency. The state must allocate a great deal of its source of taxation revenues into building roads, airports, electricity. Even if oil is discovered, roads, electricity, and ports should be our # 1 priority.

^at least, no Xasan Turki of the North exists yet like it's in Jowhar and Mahadaay.

Beautiful article

Originally posted by Naxar Nugaaleed: this region, as big as it is had only three districts. dividing three district into four districts will result in four unviable regions. [/QB] Kaaley, waxani waaba ka darey. Waxyaalaha guriga loogu sheegeysato halkan hala imaan. Gwillim Law, "Districts of Somalia ", Statoids, December 31, 1990

Adeer, Sanaag is the biggest region after Bari and 90% of its population is rer Maakhir, not to mention Bosaso and the its environs. Your double standard is obvious and it irks me to the point that you dragging me into your parochial attitude of qabiil discussion. Following your argument, what is the rationale for Karkaar?. Stop this nonsense.

I like this google wave. I don't know if I am late adopter, has anyone come across the google mobile App. I downloaded it on my blackberry curve. You can do all the search by holding the call function while talking. You don't have to type at all. Google will soon overtake the Microsoft monopoly, I think.

NN, It's hard for me to know if you retain the right dose of principles that can really hedge you from contradictory statements. If you oppose a decentralized form of admins where the city and every region has its own council, budget and policies for the interest of its people and their growth potential, stability and progress, then I would be able to judge your position correctly. But it seems the right balance is missing here. Both AYN and Haylaan are two important regions of Puntland because their local administrations can positively compete with other regions and lure any entity and persons that wish to be domiciled in their jurisdictions their own advantages if it's security, hospitality and resource exploitation to which their signature is needed-- and to hold to account their representatives under a transperant procedure. Puntland is currently under transition to move forward and adopt this new constittution that should replace the old, temporary one and its rigid, clan-based ordinances. The Democratization of Puntland is on the horizon saxib and it's imperative that we embrace it and join the new wave of change, that is multiple parties, regional and district councils, solidarity , security and development. Don't stop the train.

Good news. UNDP and its security capacity building programs. I think both Farole and Gen. Ilkajir have done a great job thus far. Hay'adda UNDP oo Gudoonsiisey Gawaari Taliyasha Booliska ee Gobolka Sanaag iyo Bari Bosaaso:-Hay'adda UNDP ayaa Gudoonsiisey Taliyasha Booliska Gobolada Sanaag, Haylaan iyo Bari Gawaadhi ah Nooca Booliska, waxaana Maanta lugu qabtay Xaflad Lugu Gudoonsiinayo Taliska Booliska Sanaag iyo Bari gudaha Dekeda Magaalada Bosaso Ee xarunta Gobolka Bari, xafladaasi oo ay ka soo qayb galeen Sarkiisha Sar Sare ee Hay'adda UNDP iyo Maamulka PL oo ay ka Jogeen Wasiirka Dekedaha iyo Wasiirka Amniga Maamul goboledka Puntland. Wasiirka Amniga Puntland ayaa ka Hadlay Xafladaasi lugu Gudoonsinayey Gawaadhida Gobolada Sanaag iyo Bari waxaana uu sheegay inay Talaabadani Mahadcelinteda si wayn U Madantahay Hay'adda UNDP oo si wayn ula shaqaynasa Gacansiinta dhinaca Gadiidka Booliska. Masuuliyiinta Hay'adda UNDP ayaa sheegtay inay siii wadayaan dedaalada Dheraadka ah ee ay Dowlada Puntland Gacanta kaga siinayaan Ciidamada si ay waxbadan oo La Xiriira Amaanka ugu Fududaan. Taliyaha Booliska Sanaag G/Sare Dabaq ayaa La Gudoonsiiyey 4 Gaari Xaajiyado 2shirle ah oo ah Nooca qaaliga ah kaasi oo uu sheegay inuu waajibaadkiisa ku gudan doono isla markaasina waxbadan ay ciidamada Amaanku ku Fududaysanayaan Danohooda kaga aadan kaalinta Bulshada. Maxamed Axmed Ciis Radio Dhahar

Great leader. Allaha u naxariisto. I first saw him at 21st October march back in the late 80s. My father introduced me to him while he was in his car. I can still see his smile.

Naxar-Nugaled, It's Sanaag and Haylaan, two different political regions. Haylaan includes the Sool Plateau and the Gebi Valley and parts of Bari region. Its capital is Dhahar. Whereas Sanaag's capital is Badhan and covers the Calmadow area up to Waqadsiinya Coast, Darasalaam, and eastern Ceerigaabo. The Puntland Legislature passed the formation of Karkaar and Haylaan jurisdictions back in 2005. A political map that shows Haylaan region and redrawing of its boundaries might be needed now. The legislative process of these two regions' formation and redrawing of their maps dates back to the last two years of Barre's Government. It was put off due to financial and budgetary problems, unfortunately, right before the civil war.

MMA, people are starving and dying daily. Isn't this thread amount to an Indifference and reckless disregard of their suffering. Your beloved President can only get the legitimacy of that office when he can protect his citizens.

Good Diaspora effort. Aqoon la'aan waa iftiin la'aan. Originally posted by peacenow: What are these children learning? What use is way of life? The country has no oil. Yet they sit and worship arab culture. Lol is there a plus sign correlation btw Arabic culture and oil. Peacenow, your nation has always occupied a nonpariel position in the advancement of Islamic civilization in the Horn of Africa, that is a big project for building a righteous community--through good examples. No entity or group can confiscate your championship titles. Consequently, treating Arab countries in which Somalia is part of its League as monolithic is where you fail to see the bigger picture because Islamic culture is the broadest level of our identity and every nation with a restricted geographic area has that remnants of a strange/ancient practices that negatively reinforce each other upon a trigger of some stimuli. Islam cautions against, and does not permit, racism/tribalism/nat ionalism or xenophobic behaviour and it will not eliminate such practices. It can however regulate to a certain extent. Despite your knowledge of these facts, you hasten to ridicule with passion Arabs based on the actions of not the vast majority of their people but of a few individuals that you encountered in your life. It's not healthy to live in constant fear and hatred for a particular nation we Somalis share a common heritage. And you might as well indicate a contempt of your ancestors or disparage our history-- passed on from many generations through oral and written Arabic documents. Horn of Africa is an important region that has the potential of becoming an economic power house if a perpetual peace turns out to be a reality.

Me, is definately a King philospher and real concerned citizen. One of the best threads of SOL. LST should make this thread sticky.

Hamza, I used to warn of the lethality of this group's goal because it really transcends our vision for a united and prosperous Somalia that is part of the global community. They do have an explicit cause/agenda bigger than Somalia, so if, perhaps, your support for al-shabaab is to topple this Government, they will come back to haunt you as it now appears. It was just yesterday when some of the TFG's die-hard critics predicted the Ethiopian withdrawal and replacement of Yey will stanch the menace and that al-shabaab's composition, the argument went, was largely made up of the local clans in Mogadishu, all in order to sway the international community. But as it turned out al-shabaabs are a multi-national and diverse group just like the Taliban is. Therefore, they may be backed up by the other wing of ARS in the hope that the process to which Sharrif came to power might repeat itself and benefit Aweis and his Co at the expense of our women and children. And this recurring method of seeking power might be hal bacaad lagu lisey in case Aweis and his Co manage to survive and align their narrow, clannish interest along this line . It's a vicious cycle of winner-takes-all game.

Thanks Aw-Muuse for the pics. Very beautiful ones.

"We have jihad, too," said Sheik Omar, a tall man with a long beard and warm eyes. "But it's inner jihad, a struggle to be pure." This is the true and great Jihad-the inner struggle.

Oomar has spoken like a real concerned Somali statesman. The FM is not in the same caliber as these two anarchist charlatans and their too familiar, regressive views. Man, what an educated, extremely articulate person he is. Thanks Omar for defending Somalia. I am really impressed and inspired by his methodological, honest style of answering the questions and making our complex internal issues clear for outsiders to grasp. .

Another great feature article by Gettleman though it's a little bit more complex than the alien Wahabi vs. the traditional sufi divide (Ahlu Sunnah) May 23, 2009 DUSA MARREB, Somalia - From men of peace, the Sufi clerics suddenly became men of war. Their shrines were being destroyed. Their imams were being murdered. Their tolerant beliefs were under withering attack. So the moderate Sufi scholars recently did what so many other men have chosen to do in anarchic Somalia: they picked up guns and entered the killing business, in this case to fight back against the Shabab, one of the most fearsome extremist Muslim groups in Africa. "Clan wars, political wars, we were always careful to stay out of those," said Sheik Omar Mohamed Farah, a Sufi leader. "But this time, it was religious." In the past few months, a new axis of conflict has opened up in Somalia, an essentially governmentless nation ripped apart by rival clans since 1991. Now, in a definitive shift, fighters from different clans are forming alliances and battling one another along religious lines, with deeply devout men on both sides charging into firefights with checkered head scarves, assault rifles and dusty Korans. It is an Islamist versus Islamist war, and the Sufi scholars are part of a broader moderate Islamist movement that Western nations are counting on to repel Somalia's increasingly powerful extremists. Whether Somalia becomes a terrorist incubator and a genuine regional threat - which is already beginning to happen, with hundreds of heavily armed foreign jihadists flocking here to fight for the Shabab - or whether this country finally steadies itself and ends the years of hunger, misery and bloodshed may hinge on who wins these battles in the next few months. "We're on terra incognito," said Rashid Abdi, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit group that tries to prevent deadly conflicts. "Before, everything was clan. Now we are beginning to see the contours of an ideological, sectarian war in Somalia for the first time, and that scares me." For two years, Islamist insurgents waged a fierce war against Somalia's transitional government and the thousands of Ethiopian troops protecting it. In January, the insurgents seemed to get what they wanted: the Ethiopians pulled out; an unpopular president walked away; and moderate Islamists took the helm of the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia, raising hopes for peace. But since then, the verdict on the moderates has been mixed. In the past two weeks, the Shabab have routed government forces in Mogadishu, the capital. The tiny bit of the city the government controls is shrinking, block by block, and Ethiopian troops have once again crossed the border and are standing by. As many as 150 people have been killed, and the relentless mortar fire has spawned streams of shellshocked civilians trudging into the arid countryside, where they face the worst drought in a decade. If Mogadishu falls, Somalia will be dragged deeper into the violent morass that the United Nations, the United States and other Western countries have tried hard to stanch, and the country will fragment even further into warring factions, with radical Islamists probably on top. But out here, on the wind-whipped plains of Somalia's central region, it is a different story. The moderates are holding their own, and the newly minted Sufi militia is about the only local group to go toe-to-toe with the Shabab and win. The several-hundred-squa re-mile patch of central Somalia that the Sufis control is not nearly as strategic as Mogadishu. But the Sufis have achieved what the transitional government has not: grass-roots support, which explains how they were able to move so quickly from a bunch of men who had never squeezed a trigger before - a rarity in Somalia - into a cohesive fighting force backed by local clans. Many Somalis say that the Sufi version of Islam, which stresses tolerance, mysticism and a personal relationship with God, is more congruent with their traditions than the Wahhabi Islam espoused by the Shabab, which calls for strict separation of the sexes and harsh punishments like amputations and stonings. "We see the Sufis as part of us," said Elmi Hersi Arab, an elder in the battered central Somalia town of Dusa Marreb. "They grew up here. "The Sufis also tapped into an anti-Shabab backlash. The Shabab, who recruit from all clans, and, according to American officials, are linked to Al Qaeda, controlled Dusa Marreb for the better part of last year. Residents described that period as a reign of terror, with the Shabab assassinating more than a dozen village elders and even beheading two women selling tea. "We respected the Shabab for helping drive out the Ethiopians," said one woman in Dusa Marreb who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. "But when the Ethiopians left and the Shabab kept the war going, that to us didn't make sense. "The Sufis, a loosely organized, religious brotherhood, also drawing from many different clans, had studiously avoided getting gummed up in Somalia's back-and-forth clan battles, often no more than thin cover for power struggles between businessmen and warlords. But in November, Sheik Omar said, the Shabab shot dead several Sufi students. The next month, the Shabab tore apart Sufi shrines. A spike of panic shot through the Sufi schools, where young men like Siyad Mohammed Ali were studying Islamic philosophy. "We had never told the Shabab how to worship," he said. "But now we were under attack. "Men like Mr. Siyad became the backbone of the new Sufi militia, which got a crate of AK-47s from one set of clan elders or a sputtering armored truck from another. In December, the Sufis, whose organization is called Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama, which roughly translates as the followers of the Prophet Muhammad, drove the Shabab out of Dusa Marreb. Since then, the Sufis have defended their territory several times against Shabab incursions. Hassan Sheik Mohamud, the dean of a college in Mogadishu, said the rise of the Sufis was "absolutely, totally new historically." "They had a reputation for being peaceful," he said. The Sufis are loosely allied to the transitional government, which has promised to rule Somalia with some form of Islamic law. The president, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, is a bit of an enigma, coming from a long line of Sufi clerics, yet rising to power in 2006 as part of an Islamist alliance with a decidedly Wahhabi bent. He has said that he wants women to play an important role in government, but several prominent Somali women said that during a recent meeting, he would not look them in the eye. Many Somalis say that Sheik Sharif is making the same mistake his predecessors made, spending more time riding around foreign capitals in a Mercedes than working Mogadishu's streets to cultivate local allies. Out here, the Sufis are moving ahead with their own small administration, meeting with United Nations officials and running patrols. At night, in a circle under a tree, they rest their AK-47s on their Korans, drop their foreheads to the earth and pray. "We have jihad, too," said Sheik Omar, a tall man with a long beard and warm eyes. "But it's inner jihad, a struggle to be pure."

By Yuka Tachibana, NBC News Producer KASUNGU, Malawi – Beads of sweat trickled down Emilie Chawala’s forehead. She was working in her cornfield where the temperature had reached 90 F – October is the hottest month of the year in Malawi. But Emilie had no complaints. She knew it was well worth the long and painstaking days she has invested. Her corn crop should be ready for harvest in a few more weeks. This year’s harvest is expected to be a far cry from what Malawians call the “crisis.” In 2002 and again in 2005, the country was hit by bouts of severe drought which culminated in catastrophic food shortages and deadly hunger. Nearly a third of the population was left severely malnourished. Dozens of villages reported people dying of starvation. The government was forced to import expensive corn and appeal to neighboring countries for food. “Those were sad times,” Chawala said. “We only ate once a day. The children couldn’t go to school because we all had to forage for food. We ate a lot of banana roots. Many people died, it was only chance that God spared us.” After the “crisis” of 2005, the Malawian government launched a bold and costly program which aimed to rid the country of the vicious cycle of drought and hunger. No more empty stomachs The government began a subsidy program for small-scale farmers, providing them with fertilizers and high-tech seeds at roughly 15 percent of the market cost – the fertilizers and seeds were required for a more productive and resilient crop. The scheme cost the Malawian government $60 million, a huge amount for one of the poorest countries in the world where the average annual income is only $250. Malawi’s major donors, including the World Bank, European Union and the United States balked and warned Malawi to reconsider. They claimed that such large-scale subsidies would cripple the economy. But the government went ahead. “We knew it was right,” Dr. Jeff Luhanga, who oversees the subsidy program at Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture told us. “They were wrong, and we had seen the suffering. You look at hungry 67 faces and it’s not comforting. And food aid is very disempowering. Food aid is, if you need it yes, you do, but yes, it’s humiliating. I wouldn’t want to wake up every morning looking for food for my children. It creates a culture of dependence which should not be.” When the subsidy program was launched, Chawala received a small share of fertilizer and seeds, enough to cultivate her small plot. When harvest time came, she had a bumper crop, and it provided her with more than enough corn to feed her family of 10. Her children no longer had to forage for food, so they were able to go back to school. “We don’t have to go to sleep with empty stomachs anymore,” she said. ‘Proud to be a self-sustained country’Like Chawala, farmers across the country took advantage of the subsidy program. Also aided with a healthy dose of rain, Malawi’s corn yields soared to a record high. The culture of hunger and dependence was transformed into one of pride for its self-sustainable farming. “I feel so proud to be a self-sustained country,” Dinna Kapiza, a shop owner told us. Not only did the bumper crop fill people’s stomachs, it had a direct effect on Malawi’s economy. Once farmers sold their surplus crop for cash, they were able to buy new clothes and cell phones, or fertilizers and seeds at market value and expand their farming. Kapiza’s shop, in the small and dusty town of Mplonena, was buzzing with farmers who had come to purchase supplies. Rain will start falling in early November, and that’s when the next planting season begins. The government’s subsidy vouchers haven’t been circulated yet, but farmers in Kapiza’s shop had enough money to buy seeds and fertilizers at market value. Kapiza is an “agro dealer” – meaning that she sells farm supplies to poor farmers in remote areas. A non-governmental organization called Citizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) helped her open her store by facilitating and providing partial credit guarantees for fertilizers through local aid orgnaizations. They also trained her in some of the technical aspects of the supplies she sells, so that Kapiza could pass on the knowledge to the farmers who frequent her shop. She briefed one of the farmers who had just bought a bag of corn seeds on the merits of planting hybrid seeds. Before Kapiza’s shop opened, farmers had to trek over 40 miles to buy simple supplies. She is happy not only because her business is thriving now, but also because she can give farmers helpful and valuable advice. “Most people are preferring to buy their commodities from Agro dealers, because we are able to help them,” Kapiza explained. “Some have built new houses, people are sending their children to school.” She said government subsidies acted as a real kick start for the farmers. “Since they have been empowered through the subsidy program people now have food and are able to work,” she said. “You know, a hungry person is an angry man. So when you have food in the house, your dignity is preserved. But when you don’t have food, you don’t have money – then you are a useless creature. And even for that matter the country is useless. And if you empower a small farmer at a grassroots level, then the government will be economically stable. That’s the way I look at it.” Lunchtime for everyoneBack at Chawala’s cornfield, it was lunchtime for her family. There wasn’t enough time to go home for lunch, so she cooked her meal in a shady and breezy spot underneath a spreading tree. Today’s menu: cooked greens and tomatoes, some fried eggs, and the Malawian staple, a sticky porridge made of cornmeal and water. By the time the porridge was ready, her elderly mother, sons, daughters and grandchildren had gathered under the tree. There are now about 12 hungry mouths to feed. No sweat for Chawala – there was plenty to go around. “Happy, happy, happy”, she said. “I am very happy now, I can even look after two orphans. I have enough food and I am ready to take in more orphans.”

Congrats Dabshid.

^It's not fair to generalize all Somalis. We want happiness, courage to accept change and fix our defects, willingness to avail ourselves to the resources that lie beneath our feet, Joy to live a better life and pass on, Peace to enforce, and enlightenment to venture into the unknown knowledge of Allah. Once we reach the threshold of peace consciousness, enlightenment comes next. InshaAllah, Somalia shall rise from its current misery and predatory disorder.

Putting the Dervish struggle to Al-shabaab's version of Political Islam is an ouright insult. If it weren't for the recognized borders of Somalia and the principle of non-intervention, Al-shabaabs and its application Talibanization wouldn't be in a position to sit under the shade of Somalia's umbrella. By contrast, the Dervishes had to fight imperial powers who neither recognized Somali borders and its sovereignty nor anticipated for the political independence of its subjects other than exploiting their resources and employing the natives as subjects to be taxed without representation. However, it's sad that southern Somalia has finally fallen into the extremists' sphere of influence due to, perhaps, the underlying conditions that long years of anarchy and international neglect spawned . One thing is for certain as these ruthless group consolidates and expands, Somalis will unite under the banner of their true faith, cultural identity, and brotherhood and fight to bring to a stand still those attempting to conquer and to introduce a Taliban-style of regime over their land. As to the topic, Meiji, anytime a place is conquered, a power vacuum is created, which then brings about the looting of the city's property, not necessarily by the conquerors only.

I was so admired by this letter from one of the four rightly guided Caliphs. Sayid Ali (RA) sets out in this letter an enlightened template for good leadership and governance. The letter was sent to Maalik al-Ashtar after appointing him as the new Muslim Governor of Egypt. Let it be known to you, Maalik, that I am sending you as a governor to a country, which has seen many regimes before this. Some of them were benign, sympathetic, and good, while others were tyrinnical, oppressive and cruel. People will judge your regime as critically as you have studied the activities of other regimes and they will criticize you in the same way you have censured or approved other leaders. Remember, Maalik, that among your subjects there are two kinds of people: those who have the same religion as you have, they are brothers to you; and those who have religion other than that of yours, they are human beings like you...Let your mercy and compassion come to their rescue and help in the same way and to the same extent that you expect Allah to show mercy and forgiveness to you... Never say to yourself, 'I am their Lord, their ruler and all in all over them and that I must be obeyed submissively and humbly,' because such a thought will unbalance your mind, will make you vain and arrogant, will weaken your faith in religion and will make you seek support of any power other than that of Allah... You must always appreciate and adopt a policy, which is neither too severe nor too lenient; a policy which is based upon equity will be largely appreciated. Remember that the displeasure of common men, the have-nots and the depressed persons more overbalances than the approval of important persons, while the displeasure of a few big people will be excused by the Lord if the general public and the masses of your subjects are happy with you... You must know, Maalik, that the people over whom you rule are divided into classes and grades, and the prosperity and welfare of each class of the society individually and collectively are so interdependent upon the well-being of the other classes that the whole set-up represents a closely woven net and reciprocal aspect. One class cannot exist peacefully, cannot live happily and cannot work without the support and good wishes of the other. Remember, Maalik..the thing which should most gladden the heart of a ruler is the fact that he his State is being ruled on the principles of equity and justice and that his subjects love him. And your subjects will only love you when they have no grievance against you. Their sincerity and loyalty will be proved if they gather around you to support your government, when they accept your authority without considering it an unbearable burden on their heads and when they do not secretly wish your rule to come to an end. So let them have as many justifiable hopes in you as they can and fulfill as many as you reasonably can. Speak well of those who deserve your praise. Appreciate the good deeds done by them and let these good actions be known publicly. Caliph Ali

Your whole argument is that of the man in jail who is concerned about which colors he needs to choose for his cell room. Lool Duke. Meiji is neither with Sharrif nor with Al-shabaab. He is in the middle, I surmise.