It is like watching flames engulf your neighbor`s house and calling in the fire brigade to help you wash your car. Maxee soo koobeen xaqiiqda jirto. Qoraalka hoos ku qoran as well aptly captures. Nin aan Soomaali ahayn, oo meel u dhow kasoo galin ayaa saan ugu calaacalaayo Soomaalidii dhamaaneyso. So, so despondently poignant, so gloomy...just madax luxid by non-Soomaalis xataa wey dhaaftay. ------------ 'They opened fire with machine guns and rockets' Johan Lillkung is captain of Dolphin, a 27-metre private yacht, now under threat of pirate attack off the Somali coast. In his captain's log he describes several recent attacks on boats and a very near miss on his own It started 20.35 (local time) on 20 April with a Mayday call on the radio. Faisal Mustafa, a small wooden cargo ship, was en route from the Red Sea to India. Their position was only four nautical miles off our starboard side. We saw four dinghy type speedboats quickly approach the ship. The last radio transmission, from the captain, was 'Merciful God, can somebody help us, pirates are boarding. Merciful God, help us please!' There was screaming in the background, then the radio went silent. We changed course immediately and made radio contact with an American warship. They advised us to head south-westerly at full speed, to get away from the pirates as soon as possible and in the direction of a British warship, HMS Chatham, 30 nautical miles from our position. They also launched a helicopter, which stayed over us until Chatham had us plotted on their radar. Meanwhile the US warship was steaming towards the distressed vessel to help. We still do not know the outcome of that situation. Pirates still exist, unfortunately though they are not as charming as Captain Jack Sparrow. Piracy on the high seas, especially this part of the world, is nothing new. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and their satellite communist regime in Somalia, there has been a regular pattern of pirate attacks. Later that April day, the Chatham's operations officer advised us to continue towards our destination, Djibouti, on a westerly course, leading us into an area patrolled by a German warship, Emden. Seven hours later we again heard the heart-wrenching words: 'Mayday, mayday, pirate attack.' This time the call was from Takayama, a Japanese oil tanker en route to the Suez canal. Takayama was only 25 nautical miles ahead of us, on our intended course. From out of nowhere a speedboat came alongside the tanker and opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. They fired at the rudder with the intention of stopping the tanker. She was badly hit along the portside, the lifeboat was shot to pieces, and the fuel tank was penetrated, causing heavy fuel oil to spill into the sea. Takayama's captain went full speed ahead and changed his course in the hope of reaching the German ship. Emden launched a helicopter that was on site within 10 minutes and the pirates broke off the attack. By then, Takayama's portside resembled Swiss cheese, with fuel pouring out of it. Emden finally reached the tanker and helped temporarily patch the leaking fuel tanks. She was now 30 nautical miles in front of us limping towards Aden, Yemen, for repairs, escorted by the German frigate. During the attack, we were advised to change our course so we could catch up with the tanker and safety of the frigate. Everyone thought it was over, there couldn't possibly be more pirates out there. We were sadly mistaken as at 12.28 it was time again for a Mayday call. A small cargo ship was attacked and boarded close to the Somali coast. We still have no further information regarding that incident. At 13.05 another Spanish commercial fishing vessel, approximately 100 nautical miles east of our position, was attacked and boarded. The vessel is on its way to Somalia, with pirates in charge and the crew held as hostages. We are now slowly steaming westwards (eight knots) with our eyes glued to the radar, and constantly scanning the horizon with binoculars. All ships are on high alert and erring on the side of paranoia, changing course as soon as anything suspicious or unrecognised appears on the radar or horizon. Everyone is dreading the next Mayday. Hopefully, inshallah, in this neck of the woods, it will not be us making that call as we return to Spain, having spent the northern hemisphere winter cruising the Seychelles and the Maldives. God willing we will reach Djibouti within the next 36 hours, and rest our minds of the mental stress of sailing through the Gulf of Aden. Our only comfort at this point is seeing helicopters overhead, once in a while, and the occasional warship. While floating here feeling like sitting ducks, we could not help but wonder: isn't it about time that the rest of the civilised world dealt with this Somali issue? Is it not possible for either, if not all of these organisations - UN, Nato and the EU - to develop a plan of action and resolve the instability of this poor country? After all, Nato intervened with Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan. If there is one place on earth that has been truly forgotten, it is Somalia, a country where the poor starving population has no human rights, no functioning infrastructure with no justice system, no police and where the law spells AK47, a weapon readily available and cheaper than tennis shoes: where RPGs sell by the dozen, where very few journalists dare to go and foreign aid workers cannot because they know they would be kidnapped or killed in Mogadishu. Food-aid shipments need naval escorts to guard their cargo being discharged in Somalia and fishermen become pirates at night. Something is definitely wrong when this has been accepted for decades. The only option that looks viable is military intervention and I mean something more than the few thousand, poorly equipped, troops from the African Union (mainly Ugandan troops) stationed there right now. One would think it would be in the interests of the international community to see peace and stability here, since most of the Gulf oil and commodities from the Far East must pass through to reach their destinations in Europe and the east coast of North America. If this 'piracy enterprise' continues, it will definitely lead to many more deaths, hijackings, kidnappings, burning oil tankers and sunken ships. These pirates are desperate, they have nothing to lose and they are prepared to risk their lives for daily luxuries most of us take for granted. If they could have had peace, stability and prosperity sooner, they would most probably never have resorted to piracy on the high seas. With a central government in control the pirates could be stopped, even before they step into their boats. So, politicians of the world, do something! Only you have the power to devise a plan and implement it. Only you can make it happen. The chaos in Somalia is so far gone and beyond control that there is no possibility that they themselves can bring anything about to resemble peace in the foreseeable future. Many Somalis, I am sure, would be forever grateful and thankful to the international community if we were to help their country become civilised and peaceful. Many mariners out there on the high seas would also be very grateful for any kind of normalcy. Instead of worrying over pirates we could instead concentrate on the usual nautical factors like the weather and wind. While translating this report from Swedish (my native language), it was our turn to call Mayday. At 16.51, only 28 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast, at 12º 22´N 045º 17´E, a crew member spotted two small speed boats, four nautical miles ahead and fast approaching from either side. We immediately sent out a Mayday and made a full-speed U-turn. Our call was received by Spanish warship Mendez Muñez, approximately 15 nautical miles from our location and a US Marine Corps surveillance plane was in the vicinity. Within nine minutes the plane flew over, circling us and the pursuing boats at very low altitude. The pursuers stopped and turned south. The closest they got to us was 0.8 nautical miles (1.5km) - too close for comfort. The Guardian (April 27, 2008)

Waa yahay, intee qabyaalad jirto tiri. Taas qof diidan maleh, su'aasha waxee tahay, maxaa lagu joojin karaa qabyaalad? Do you also think Xabashi la keenaayo and their occupation will eradicate that, the qabyaalad? Their very presence ayaaba poison sii ah, not a cure. That, my dear sister, waa dhab haddii la iska indhotirin. Maxaa kale oo xal ah rabtaa, noo soo sheeg horta. Maxaa xal ah oo Soomaali u rabtaa, haku riyoon inay Xabashi xal kuu keento, taas meel iska dhig, ee xal Soomaali maxaa rabtaa. Wixii dhacay waa dhaceen, as tragic as it is, waa inaa ka gudubnaa, oo isku samirnaa, iscafinaa, maadaama na wada taabatay masiibada, oo dad ka badbaaday maleh. Waxa nagu dhacayna wax anaga unique noo ah ma'aha. Every nation and country did experience [and are experiencing] wax nagu dhacay, na heysatana. Teeda kalena Xabasho cadowgeena inay tahay xataa kuwa keenay u adeego waa ogyihiin. Taas xaqiiq jirto oo dhab ah waaye. Damiirxumada kuwa Xabashada keenay and kuwa justifying their actions ayaa ugu horeeyo, abaayadiis. Kuwaas damiir iyo dareen Soomaaliyeed wey ka dhimatay, waa Soomaali iska nool, iska sheeganaayo.

If I was a Xabashi and reading threads like, waa dhoolacaddeyn lahaa. Aad iyo aad. Very unfortunate of us. Wali isqabqabsi ayaan ku jirnaa oo aan jiho lahayn, cadowgii ugu weynaana qolka dhex fadhiyo, dhiigeenana dhuuqaayo. Intaa isheysanana qolof qolofkeena lafaha soo hari doono. Goormee haddaan Soomaali nahnay kacnaa, oo midownaa, iskaashanaa, isbiirsanaa, jaankeena dhinac ka raacnaa. Labaatan sano lagu socdaa, kii ku dhashay dagaalka wuu qaangaaray, oo ciyaal asaga sii dhali karo maanta. Dad kama qasno u maleynaa hadduu magaca Soomaali dhumo, kana baxo jiritaanka Soomaaliyeed ifkaan adduunka, oo kuleel iyo qaboob midna kuma heyso. It is just sad.

Kuusha, Xabasho Soomaaliya iyo Soomaalidii ayee kusoo duushay. Xabashi Soomaali ma'aha. Diin, dhaqan, af iyo isir iyo ab midna ma wadaagno. Waa cadow neceb jiritaanka Soomaaliyeed, oo isweydiis malaha taas. Su'aal maaka qabtaa tan, xaqiiqdaan? Haddee Soomaali isdagaalaan, isdilaan as bad and sad as it is, af iyo meel ay iskugu imaadaan ayee jirtaa. Xabashi meelna. Soomaalina 18 years kaliya dagaal ay isla galaan ma ugu horeynin, but boqolaal sano, ama ah isku dagaalaan ceel, war, geel, dhul daaqsi, beer ama qabiil gaar ah, waligeed wey jirtay. Laakiin those Soomaalis back then, it never occured to them inay shisheeye soo wataan, shisheeyana ma'ahee shisheeyihii ugu necbaa Soomaali -- waa Xabashi -- waligood taas kuma dhicin. And at the end of the day, wey heshiin jireen, oo geed hoostiis xaal lagu kala bixi jiray, without cuqdad inay isku haayaan iyo wax kale. Laba walaalo haddee diriraan, iyagee u taal see ku heshiiyaan, and they mostly do it. Xabashi walaal ma'aha, saaxiibna ma'aha, wax uu Soomaali u yahay ka ahayn cadow soo jiritaan ah ma jirto. Marka ma'aha in lagu celceliyo intee la jiray 18 ama 20 years. In la isku samro oo la iscafiyo fiican. Soomaali isleysay, isdishay, isbaabisay, sax, we do all know that, oo qof walba oo Soomaaliyeed taabatay. However, maanta is different. Very, very different. The very presence of Xabashi's occupation in Soomaaliya -- and particularly in Xamar -- is threatening the very existence of Soomaalinimo, the very word of Soomaali. Taas mid damiir Soomaaliyeed u dulqaadan karo ma'aha regardless whatever Soomaali isku sameyn jirtay ama isku sameyso.

Unusual musqul signs: [Hayeey... ] More, some XXX-rated though.

Odayaal Reer Puntland ah oo BAAQ cambaareyn ah ka soo saaray afduubkii loo geystay laba oday oo ka soo jeeda [soomaali Galbeed] 27/04/2008 Boosaaso Ku : Golaha Xukuumada Dawlada Goboleedka Puntland, Golaha Wakiilada Dawlada Goboleedka Puntland, Golaha Xukuumada Dawlada Federaalka ee Soomaaliya, Golaha Wakiilada Dawlada Federaalka ee Soomaaliya, Xukuumada Dawlada Federaalka ee Itoobiya, Jabhadda ONLF UJEEDDO: BAAQ Annagoo ah Waxgaradka, Aqoonyahanadda, iyo Siyaasiyiinta Puntland, waxaannu si adag u eedeeneynaa, kana xunnahay falkii AFDUUBKA ahaa ee ka dhacay xarunta Dawlad Goboleedka Puntland Garoowe, taariikhdu markeey ahayd 22/04/08. Taariikhda kor ku xusan waxaa magaalada Garoowe laga AFDUUBEY odayaal laba ah, oo ah Soomaalidda ka soo jeedda [soomaali Galbeed]. Nimankaas oo la kala yiraahdo, Maxamed Axmed Caafi , kuna magac dheer (Dhiirre) iyo Cabdi Nuur Maxamed Sooyaan. Falkaas oo ay fuliyeen ciidamadda Sirdoonka ee Itoobiya, oo gacan ka helley qaar ka mid ah ciidamadda ammaanka ee Puntland. Haddaba, Madaxda Dawladda Federaalka Soomaaliya iyo kuwa Dawlad Goboleedka Puntland, waxaannu u soo jeedinynaa inay ka waantoobaan falalkaas khilaafsan Qawaaniinta Soomaaliyeed, kuwa Caalamiga iyo Xaquuqda Aadamiga; Maadaama ay yihiin cidda kaliya ee loo IDMADEY ilaalinta sharciga dalka Soomaaliya. Dawladda Federaalka Itoobiya, waxaannu u soo jeedineyaa in ay si deg deg ah u soo deyso odayaasha magacyadoodu kor ku xusan yihiin, Xornimdoodiinna u soo celiso, iyadoo tixgelineysaa Xasiloonidda iyo Deris wanaagga Afrikada Bari. Jabhadda O.N.L.F, waxaannu u soo jeedineynaa in Dadweynaha Puntland aanney raalli ka ahayn, kana noqon doonin in ay Puntland ka fuliyaan falal wax u dhimmi kara Nabadgelyadda iyo Xasiloonidda Deris wanaagga Afrikada Bari . [ Saanaa loo cabsadaa, haddii kale hala iska dhaafo.] Magacyadda Saxiixey Baaqan. 1. Axmed Yaasiin (Burhaan Daboole). 2. Cabdirisaaq X. Xuseen Gacayte. 3. Maxamuud Cumar Asad. 4. Yaasiin Cusmaan Jaamac. 5. Cali Cabdulle Dhagool. 6. Maxamed Jaamac (M.J.). 7. Yuusuf Abshir Cadami. 8. Axmed Saciid Cabdi (Qaadi Gurey). 9. Cabdullaahi Cali Qood. 10. Cabuud Cabdi Ismaaciil (Bobolaare). 11. Cabdi-rabbi Yaasiin Xirsi. 12. Dalmar Cali Madoobe. 13. Eng. Maxamed Axmed Saciid (Jacfar). 14. Dr. Cabdullahi Saciid Awmuuse. 15. Dr. Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdalle (Sagsaag). 16. Cabdikaadir Warsame Muuse. 17. Khaliif Xirsi Bulxan. 18. Muuse Cali Jaamac. 19. Maxamuud Cali Jaamac (Aaryo). 20. Raage Shiikh Maxamuud. 21. Feysal Axmed Maxamuud (Wahaabi). 22. Ahmed Bashiir Ducaale. 23. Gaacshe Maxamed Axmed. 24. Maxamed Saciid Awmuuse. 25. Maxamed Cabdi Xasan. 26. Cusmaan Maxamed Shire. 27. Xuseen Xasan Xuseen (Karseey). [ Xigasho . Edited the term "Kilinka Shanaad" to Soomaali Galbeed.]

Originally posted by Seekknowledge: The dude has history amnesia does he know at all about the first hijra? who helped the muslims against the pagans of arabia? Does he know that somalia would not be a muslim country if it wasn't for the help of ethiopia? And "Itoobiya" existed then? Miyaa? What will the misinformation be next? Muslims wouldn't exist today had it not been that then king? Waaba la isla qumanyahay. Always finding tiniest excuses for Xabashis. Waxba haku gamban Asxaabtii to justify what Xabashi are doing now. Yaab badanaa.

Tii Anwar Saadaad ku dhacday u egtahay.

Gees ka gees ayee Soomaali ka heysataa Xabashi. Kuwii ugu liitay, ugu damiirlaaweysanaa, ugu maangaabnaa, ugu dareenyaraa ayaa madax isku sheegaayo. Kaaga sii daranee iyaga lee iska adag, oo hardamaayo, Xabash haddee soo gisho meeshana juuq iyo jaaq ma dhihi karaan, oo xaniinyaha waxee ka siibteen camal u aamusayaan, wixii la dhahana u faraan. Faarabuutiyaal, ciil badanaa.

Aad iyo aad, duqa. The best to do is to ignore it. By the way, Abtigiis, Soomaaliya maa joogtaa mise NFD?

Dadkaan Soomaali waaye saaxiib, haddee Soomaali ahaan lahayn la garay. As despicable and reprehensible as it is what they type, they have a right to air that opinion. It says more about them than this site or this site's slant. Meesha Soomaaliweyn dhan iskugu imaato, oo qof wuxuu aaminsanyahay ma lagu qasbi karo wax kale, best to do is to ignore it. Mid Xabashi ayaa joogi jiray inta, glorifying his Xabashi people and their then initial occupation of Soomaaliya. Waala ban gareeye since he had no right to put it on our noses. But kuwaan waa Soomaali, and every Soomaali has a right to air his voice, wuxuu rabo ha noqdee the opinion. Changing one's opinion by force or by censor waxba maku tareysid, only rationalnimo, Soomaalinimo, Islaanimo hadduu ku arkin.

Ninkaan aniga maalin dhawayd u sheegay, wax Soomaaliya, Soomaali, Soomaalinimo ma maqli karo, iskaba dhaaf Soomaaliweyn. Cudur weyn waaye. I don't know what he types when he comes here since the word Soomaaliya is there on the URL's name.

Originally posted by Kool_Kat: JB, sxb ma isku darsoontay? :confused: Bal xagana ila eeg... Or am I missing something here? Naga kala yaree hee 'recognized' 'recognized' kaan aad ku waalatay... Talk about short attention span. Aqoonsi, aqoonsi sidii loogu haaye waala wareeray, xataa qoraaladii la isku soo daba celcelinoyaa. Kuusha, barobagaandhada maaba aqrisaa adiga?

Tuug tuug soo qabanaayo. Markee isku sanifeen, wax ay ku heshiin waayeen ayee soo qabanayaan, oo markii hore iska indhatiri jiray. Sheeko. Haddee run ka tahay car ha qabtaan kuwa masaakiinta badda ku shubo, oo doomo ka buuxiyo, maalin walba badda ku daadiyo. Car.

Xoogsade, you don't have to explain yourself. Neither wixii dhacay '90s, nor what some moooryaans did then or are doing now. Dad ayaa jecel inay dhibka, ibtilada, qaxarka, xasuuqa, rafaadka taagan maanta oo ay Xabashada wado dhan kale u jeediyaan, cajal kale shidaan, si meelahaas la iskugu maaweeliyo, taasna dhag jalaq ha u dhigin. Soomaali ku sheeg ayaa excuse iyo justification u raadinaayo waxa Xabashada naftirkooda aanan excuse u heynin. Shisheeye baa meesha soo galay, not wax Soomaali iyo Soomaali isku ah oo beri geed hoostiis ku shiri karo. Shisheeye kaliya ma'ahee waa Xabashi, cadowga koowaad, labaad iyo sadexaad ee Soomaaliyeed. Qof Soomaaliyeed an iota of Soomaalinimo ku jirto waxa dhacaayo maanta ma fiirsadeen, excuse iyo wax kale in uu raadinayana iska daa. Damiir Soomaaliyeed iyo mid Islaanimo haddeenan siinin inay waxaan ku arkaan, midkii bini'aaden ayeeba xataa ku dareemi karin. It is revolting.

Dushaadu waa barwaaqee, dalkeygoow Dabeeshaadu wey udgoontahee, dalkeygoow Dalxiis kaagama imaaninee, dalkeygoow Meel aan kugu doorsanaayaa Miyey dunidaba ku taalaa, dalkeygoow In aan dibadaha wareego In aan dawarsado shisheeyaha ... Markii nabad la isku diiday, dalkeygoow Duqowdii la dhaafi waaye, dalkeygoow ------------- Dankis, Aaliya, abaayadiis. There is another with same hees that is powerfully and equally, if not more, emotional, ay qaadeyso fanaanada aan laga maarmin Faadumo Qaasin Hilowle la qaadeyso fanaaniinta kale ugu caansan, kana mid ah Xasan Aaden Samatar, Xaliimo Khaliif Magool, Axmed Naaji, Hibo Nuura, C/qaadir Jubba, Qamar Harowo ... It was so qiiro hees ah that I downloaded into my cellphone. Also don't mind the usual troller, who did not realize his nac nac in looga baahneen threads like this. Irida xagaas ayee ku taalaa, yaanan ka dhumin. Soomaalinimo haddii allergy lagu yahay daawo maleh, yeenan ku dilin lee cuqdadnimadaas Soomaali, Soomaaliya iyo anything Soomaalinimo loo qabo.

Madaxweynaheena? Kaas madaxa yar? Kaasna shimuu ii noqday madaxweyne. Maxaa Washington igu watay, intaa ku gaadaa; fortunately waa laga ban gareeye inta, fiiso ma helaayo hadduu indhaha dhiig ka keeno. Ani waaba rabi lahaa in uu yimaado, car, wir ha imaado. Wir nooh. Booto.co.so lee iga dheh.

I have my reservations about this poll. Wax ayaa si ka ah, not to mention sadex boqol is just wax aad u yar to represent entire Soomaalis as a scientific poll. Kun qof la garay at least.

Originally posted by Kool_Kat: Great pics...I see two of my aunts on the pics, wait till I tell them...LOL Too bad I couldn't go, heard a lot of Torontonians went to the event...Hope one of his future tours includes a stop in Toronto... Thnx Emperor... Beerlaawe Kanada waa laga ban gareeye, oo rooko uu ka yahay, ee Koronto asaga maa isku imaan karo hadduu nabadiis iyo beerkiisa oo intact ah ku rabo in uu ku noqdo to his Xabashi masters. Xataa hadduu imaado to Koronto, budkeyga iyo tooreeydeyda lasoo bixi lahaa, oo asagoo sidii qasac iyo koombe camal u buus buusan uu noqon lahaa, stoogenimo dambena ma laga maqli lahayn. Should he ever haweysto to come here, let me know then. Aadaada aada.

Originally posted by Geel_jire: for some reason people in somalia believe this drink has magic powers ....... yar sxbkay ah xaaskiisa oo umushay oo aad u dhiig baxday ayaan dhiig u shubay ... her mother forced me to drink more than a litre of vimto ... this has happened to me on 3 other occasions were i gave blood Maba maqlin saas. Daacad ahaan waligey ma jecleen fiimto, si baas u necbaa. Faanto jeclaa, aad iyo aad. Faanto qaboob waliba. Somehow, Soomaalida waagaas kooko kama heli jirin, faanto isku dili jireen.

So, sister, you also "understand" the murderer who murders a person? Do you try to be objective and "understandable" of where he is coming from? Every action, particularly negative ones, has or can be attributed to any poor excuses. The murderer has a reason why he killed the person, even those in manslaughter. His flimsy excuse can range from the killed person was not the intended target to should not have been there in the first place -- you name it. No need to contextualize or even try to understand. Abortion is abortion, and should've to be considered as despicable as a murder, after all it is soul, which has a divine right to live in a full life, what is been killed or "aborted." Always have that in mind.

Why was this event politicized? I can't believe it. All I see from the pictures are all Soomaalis, from every stripe and group, wajiyo badan aan kor ka aqaanana meesha ka muuqdo. Meesha dhan Soomaaliweyn iskugu timid, to raise funds for a humanitarian project. Nothing to do with politics.

"We [government] came to Mogadishu with power and we are here now...this is a great accomplishment," President Yusuf claimed. Powerka la sheegaayo yaa i sharxi karo taloow? "We came with power" kulahaa. Mise kaare Xabashi la saaranyahay awood la mooday.

Democratic candidates gain support abroad US presidential candidate Barack Obama has generated broad support in Afghanistan, while Somalis would prefer to work with his Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the international think-tank, The Senlis Council, in Afghanistan and Somalia in March and April. According to the think-tank, the results of this year's US presidential elections are "critical to both countries," as they are both "strongly affected by US policy". When asked which of the presidential candidates they would back, 69 percent of those questioned in Afghanistan favoured Obama, while 26 percent were in favour of Clinton. In Somalia, 47 percent of civilians surveyed supported Clinton, while 44 percent backed Obama . "What we are seeing is that Afghans have overwhelming support of Senator Obama because they are attracted by his promises to bring peace and end the war in Iraq," said Norine MacDonald, president and lead field researcher of council. "Most interestingly, we found unified support for Senator Clinton amongst Somalis associated with the Islamic courts, and the extremist parts of the community. According to their perceptions of Senator Clinton’s character and experience, she is best suited as a partner to build peace with Muslims." Somalis said that Obama would avoid engaging in Islamic issues because he would be vulnerable to allegations of being overly sympathetic to a Muslim viewpoint, given his family’s Islamic background. Obama is the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas, who met and married in Hawaii. Divorced when Obama was a child, his mother then married an Indonesian man and the family moved to Jakarta for four years. Although his father and step-father were Muslim, Obama is a practising Christian and attended secular and Catholic schools. "Obama will not be able to deliver a positive working relationship with the Muslim people. The US people are very suspicious of his Muslim background and if they see him in a room with Muslim leaders they will not trust him to represents US interests,” said one of the respondents in Mogadishu. The strongest support for Obama in the Somali community came from those most closely associated with the Somali government. In Afghanistan and Somalia, there was little support for the likely Republican nominee John McCain. In both countries, support for Senator McCain was very low, with just 5 percent of respondents in Afghanistan and 9 percent in Somalia opting for the Republican nominee. “McCain is no different to Bush at all. We would be very concerned if McCain was elected," said a businessman from Mogadishu. "The whole world is looking to the US to bring back the dignity and morality of the US." According to the Senlis Council, the interviews both in Afghanistan and Somalia, showed a keen interest in the US presidential race. "The interviews revealed a high level of awareness amongst Afghans and Somalis of the upcoming US presidential elections,” said Gabrielle Archer, policy analyst at The Senlis Council. “Their knowledge of the candidates shows that people in both countries realise the significant impact that the choice of US president plays in their lives.” In offering a message to the next US president, peace was an overriding concern amongst both Afghan and Somali respondents, refuting any perception that ordinary Afghans and Somalis are interested in perpetuating their own conflicts. “Afghans and Somalis alike want to pursue peace,” said Archer. “They hope the next president will see the vital importance of support in both Afghanistan and Somalia as an integral part of US foreign policy.” A total of 388 people were interviewed in Afghanistan in the cities of Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar City and Lashkar Gah, while 302 Somalis were surveyed in Mogadishu, Baidoa and Hargeisa . The series of interviews were part of initial research that precedes a comparative study of the insurgency and politics of both countries, which will be released on the 23 April in London. The Senlis Council is an international policy think tank with offices in Kabul, London, Ottawa, Rio de Janeiro, Brussels and Paris. Xigasho

Burcadbadeedkaan kuleel iyo qaboob ma igu haayaan, and I am sure many Soomaalis saas camal la tahay. My only concern is that markee attack gareyaan maraakiibta hay'adaha gargaarka u adeego, oo Soomaali baahan raashiin iyo caawinaad kale u wado. As well markee maraakiibta ganacsatada Soomaaliyeed leh isku dayaan inay qabsadaan. Anything else in Soomaali waters, to me, is fair game. For long ayee baddeena waxee doonaan ku sameynaayeen, haku shubaan sun, malaaygeygana ha iska dabtaan without paying any loyalties. I am sure waa hore joojiyeen kuwaas, now baddeena is the clearest from any foreign fishing boats probably in whole of Africa.