Yes, SOL waxaa ka geeriyooday walaalkeen Maxamed Ismaaciil, who did in fact pass away just a few short days after meeting many SOLers at a gathering in London. I was at that dinner night as well. That was really shocking. There was that healthy, out-going, funny, down-to-earth person that you just met a few nights ago and suddenly hearing his sudden geeri a few days later. His brother is a known SOLer as well. Eebba ha u naxariisto walaalkeen Max'ed Ismaaciil -- aamiin, aamiin.

Originally posted by Khayr: I heard that at Columbia, he made a comment to the effect that the Holocost did happen but what does that have to do with the Palestenian people??? (in reference to Palestenians paying for the suffering of the jews by having their home invaded!) If anyone can post that quote, it would be appreciated. "MR. COATSWORTH: A further set of questions challenge your view of the Holocaust. Since the evidence that this occurred in Europe in the 1940s as a result of the actions of the German Nazi government, since that -- those facts are well-documented, why are you calling for additional research? There seems to be no purpose in doing so, other than to question whether the Holocaust actually occurred as an historical fact. Can you explain why you believe more research is needed into the facts of what are -- what is incontrovertible? PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD: Thank you very much for your question. I am an academic, and you are as well. Can you argue that researching a phenomenon is finished forever, done? Can we close the books for good on a historical event? There are different perspectives that come to light after every research is done. Why should we stop research at all? Why should we stop the progress of science and knowledge? You shouldn't ask me why I'm asking questions. You should ask yourselves why you think that it's questionable. Why do you want to stop the progress of science and research? Do you ever take what's known as absolute in physics? We had principles in mathematics that were granted to be absolute in mathematics for over 800 years, but new science has gotten rid of those absolutism, gotten -- forward other different logics of looking at mathematics, and sort of turned the way we look at it as a science altogether after 800 years. So we must allow researchers, scholars to investigate into everything, every phenomenon -- God, universe, human beings, history, and civilization. Why should we stop that? I'm not saying that it didn't happen at all. This is not (the ?) judgment that I'm passing here. I said in my second question, granted this happened, what does it have to do with the Palestinian people? This is a serious question. They're two dimension. In the first question, I --" Full speech and questions and answers.

This might also interest you. I am sure you've already read it.

Soomaalida, as historically being an oral community, badanaa waaka dhumeyn taariiqdooda, siiba kuwii pre-Islaamka ahaa. Kuwa dhif ayaa kasoo jeedo ama ka haray. Still kuwaan, the few historical deities haray, some do not like it since it basically wipes out to the dust the bogus and mythical, unsubstantiated childhood stories they believe. The few following names, which I believe you already know dated pre-Islaam: Wacad [basically can be defined as an oath, like "wacad aan ku maray" or wacdale, which the latter is equivalent 'walaahi'] Waaq [a pre-Islaam deity] Wad ["Lord of Death(?)" Or "Angel of Death(?)" The basic definition is death, e.g. wadkaaga baa soo galay. Also the word 'wadaad' has its root to this word.] Eebba [We share this with many Semitic and Cushitic groups. It is the equivalent of being Rabi. There are more that aanan xasuusan now. I will be the first to buy your book, Daa'uud. Keep the good work up, walaaloow. NB - Completely unrelated, laakiin do you know the word "biyo" that we share with Greeks? Yea, same meaning of being water. The Greek word, of course, is "bio," [or bios] which, in Greek's sense, also means life since there is no life as we know without water. Thus the many Greek terms in English based on this word: Biology, biography ...

Kuusha, you might need the lawyer mentioned the following article one day. NB - Ileen you are one of those who are anti-Soomaali when it comes Soomaalis being professional. I have a friend whose car once ka halaaway and I asked him why don't you take it to Soomaali makaanik. He laughed. His laughing gave me the answer. -------------- A game of khat and mouse Stewart Bell National Post September 29, 2007 TORONTO - The shop was empty. The shelves behind the glass display counter were bare, no one was playing at the pool table. But the storekeeper, a woman in traditional Somali dress, was remarkably busy for someone who looked to have nothing for sale. One after another, customers entered her tiny corner store and left carrying small plastic bags containing foot-long plant stems sprouting dark green leaves. Another shipment of "khat" had arrived. Khat is a shrub that grows only in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and it has suddenly joined the ranks of Canada's most problematic illicit drugs. Seventeen tonnes were seized last year in crackdowns in Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. Police now seize more khat than cocaine, heroin, opium, crack, meth and Ecstasy combined. That's partly because it's a bulky drug. Still, there were almost 900 seizures in 2006. A National Post investigation has found that, despite a crackdown at the border and police probes of the major smuggling rings, shipments are still arriving regularly at Canadian distribution points such as restaurants and coffee shops, where it is sold from backroom counters. The Post found khat being openly bought, sold and consumed in Toronto. Khat is also the topic of an emerging debate in Canada, one that touches on thorny issues, from the rights of immigrants to the limits of multiculturalism and the influence of Islamist extremists. "It'll never be stopped," said a young Somali shopping for khat at an Etobicoke strip mall, who gave his name as Mohamed but like the others did not want to give his full name for fear of arrest. "People are coming up with new ideas to bring it in every day. It's going to be the same as Prohibition times. "It's the best business to get into." The reason it is such a good business is that there is a steady market in Canada, mostly in Somali neighbourhoods such as the Dixon Road area of Etobicoke. In Somalia, chewing khat is a daily ritual that dates back hundreds of years. Men gather in the baking afternoons to sit, chew and talk. Khat sessions can last all night. "It makes you relaxed and more hyperactive, but you don't lose your head like alcohol," one chewer said, in the alley outside a restaurant that sells khat at a back-room counter. "It's like having three coffees, so you are awake all day." When civil war erupted in the late 1980s, and Somali refugees scattered around the world, khat followed them. Canada responded by banning the plant, formally known as catha edulis, under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. "It is an offence to possess, to traffic, to import," said Inspector Lise Crouch, officer in charge of the RCMP's Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service. "It's an illegal drug." But Canada's khat law is a sore point within the Canadian Somali community, which numbers about 150,000, one of the largest in the world. Khat users complain it has criminalized part of their culture and that it was a result of lobbying by Saudi-educated imams who want to impose their austere codes of conduct on the entire community. "Khat is part of Somali life," said Toronto lawyer Mohamed Doli. "It is entrenched in the Somali communities. It is the way people come together and express themselves, just like you calling a friend and saying, 'Can you join me for a drink today?' " Mr. Doli's law office on Lawrence Avenue West is only a few blocks from the strip mall where khat is sold at three secret counters. An ethnic Somali, he represents clients who have been charged with khat smuggling and possession. The anti-khat law has not stopped Somalis from chewing, only pushed the industry underground, he said. The price also jumped when it was outlawed, from $15 to $20 a bundle to $60 to $80. "It is coming in at the same rate as it used to, it's only that it's more expensive. So in terms of preventing khat from reaching Canada, we are not successful. But we are successful to enrich those who bring it in the black market." Moreover, Mr. Doli said he believes the law is unconstitutional. "Every community in Canada has something that is special to their culture," he said. "Khat is specific to the Somali and Yemeni communities. So when khat is criminalized, in essence you have criminalized the culture of these communities. "Any law that affects specifically a group of people to the exclusion of other Canadians is a direct violation of the Charter," he said. The law was only enacted because of pressure by radical Muslim clerics, he said, echoing a view held by many Somali-Canadians. "What's most painful is, the whole thing is born from a very myopic-thinking people who just see the whole world in a very narrow slant." Mr. Doli is not the only one who thinks the law violates the Charter of Rights. Ed Morgan, who teaches law at the University of Toronto, thinks it should be struck down. "In Somalia, khat is not like drugs in Western culture," said Mr. Morgan, former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "It's a very open part of the culture." Mr. Morgan has already filed a constitutional challenge on behalf of one of Mr. Doli's clients, but it died when the Crown stayed the charges. The basis of the challenge: the law unfairly targets Somalis and is unjustified, since there is insufficient proof khat is harmful. As many Canadian chewers are quick to point out, khat is not illegal in Britain. As a result, a bundle of khat that costs $80 in Toronto sells for about $5 in London. Some Canadian Somalis travel to London to bring back khat, or simply for khat holidays. "People fly to U.K. now to chew and come back," one Toronto khat dealer said. "It's cheaper that way." Khat must be consumed fresh, so it usually arrives in Canada aboard commercial airlines. Smugglers bundle it in moistened newspapers or banana leaves and stuff it in suitcases and parcels. Most of the khat that reaches Canada comes via the United Kingdom, but it also arrives from the Netherlands and elsewhere. As customs officers have cracked down, the smugglers have adapted. Importers will now send non-Somalis on free holidays to London, the catch being they must bring back a suitcase full of khat. One load of khat was found hidden in a shipment of fresh cut flowers. "We have a lot of experience with black market," one chewer said. "We come from Africa. Everything is black market." Few issues divide Somali-Canadians like khat. Depending on whom you ask, it is either a harmless pastime comparable to drinking coffee or eating peanuts, or a menace that makes those who chew it lazy and broke. At the Country Style coffee shop on Dixon Road, in the heart of Toronto's Little Mogadishu, heated arguments broke out when a reporter asked about khat. Hussein Duale, 70, said he had chewed khat all his life without consequence. "It makes you awake and happy," he said. "I never had a problem chewing the khat." As for the Canadian law banning khat, "That is totally wrong. The only time you have problems chewing khat is if you over chew, like everything else." But Gaal Yacqub said it causes economic and family hardships. "If you drink alcohol, you can work tomorrow. If you chew khat, you can't work. You can drive today, but you can't work." Mohamud Abdi said husbands and wives are always fighting over khat, mostly because of the cost to families that can ill afford to spend $80 three times a week. "Most people in the Somali community, they don't like khat," he said. It causes "health problems, financial problems and the person, he can't work. He like to sleep 24 hours." Some Muslim clerics have declared khat haraam, or forbidden by Islamic law. Aden Esse, a Somali community leader who helped found the Khalid mosque in Etobicoke, said khat is not specifically mentioned in the Koran, but it is prohibited because of the damage it causes families, health and wealth. "There are a number of ways that it is haraam," he said. At a strip mall near Lawrence Avenue West and Weston Road, there was anticipation. It had been days since the last shipment of khat and the men were getting anxious. They cruised the parking lot in their cars, looking for the dealers. In an alley behind a restaurant, men sat at tables playing cards. Dried twigs littered the ground -- the refuse of the last shipment. Those too desperate to wait resorted to chewing graba, dried khat leaves that are considered a poor substitute for the fresh stuff, but that will do in a pinch. A few days later, a shipment arrived via the Netherlands. It was a variety of khat known as mira, named after the region in Kenya where it grows. (Ethiopian khat is called herere.) An elderly man took his bag behind the restaurant, sat down and began to chew. He said khat helps his diabetes. "It makes me feel happy and I have pressure before I chew but now the pressure is going down. I feel relief." An SUV pulled up and someone said the men inside were dealers, but they denied it. The driver said he was already facing criminal charges after police searched his car last winter and found khat. He said he was released on the condition that he not use a cellphone or be around khat. But when the Post talked to him he had a cellphone in his hand and a bundle of khat in his front seat. Like many Somalis, he wants the Canadian government to stop what he considers the futile fight to ban khat. "It should be legalized," he said. "Why not?" A man emerged from the back door of a coffee shop and opened his plastic bag, showing the half-bundle of khat he had just purchased for $40. Asked how much he had earned at work that day, he looked embarrassed. "Seventy-two dollars," he said.

Kisenyi: a haven for Somali tranquility or scams? Patrick Jaramogi New Vision MANY people perceive Kisenyi, a shanty neighbourhood in Kampala city to be nothing more than a haven for thugs, pick-pockets and those who snatch people’s bags and phones. As such, it is a place to be a dreaded or so we believe. But this, admittedly one of the filthiest and supposedly the largest crime-ridden slums in Kampala, located just a stone’s throw away from the central business district is a paradise to the Somali refugees who call it home. An estimated 10,000 Somali refugees and nationals inhabit the wooden shacks and shanty residential blocks strewn across the maze of dusty streets and pot-hole ridden roads in Kisenyi. To these Somali nationals, who are no ordinary refugees, the slum is a welcome home way from home. “Somaliland”, so they call it. It is common to see groups of between three to five Somalis seated and standing together, a sign they say depicts solidarity, togetherness and unity. As the wind blows through the dusty streets and the noise from the banging of steel fills the air, sending chills in the brain, a cross section of the refugees are busy smoking cigarettes and chewing miraa (a local drug). Since the early 1970s, the Somalis have left behind a trail of influence in this filthy slum, leaving many Ugandans who could not adopt to their culture, no option, but to abandon the area. “We tried to adapt to the culture of Uganda but found it rather hard. So we had to devise means to continue with our usual Somali life,” says Mahmud Hassan, a hotel proprietor in Kiganda zone Kisenyi. The refugees lead a typical Somali life; they have huge families, some with more than three wives but all living in harmony under one roof. Prayer is conducted faithfully at the nearby Tawhid mosque. Most families have between five to eight children. It is common to find camel meat and milk on sale in Kisenyi. It is a delicacy for the Somali . Camel meat costs sh5,000 a kilo and the milk costs sh3,000 a litre. But the supply rarely meets the demand here. Camel meat sells like hot cakes. The milk, which is purchased daily from Kenya is known to last up to six months without going bad even when not refrigerated. “The milk arrives in Kampala by 7:00am everyday by an Akamba bus, while the camel meat is slaughtered right here every weekend,” says Hassan Hussein, the chairman of the Somali Community in Uganda. The camels that weigh over 500 kilos are transported in fuso trucks from Moroto every week. “A few Ugandans who have acquired a taste for camel meat flock here every weekend for the meat, especially the hump that has special oil,” says Hussein. This flourishing Somali culture is supported by an equally prosperous economic life, at least for some. Kisenyi is among the places in Kampala synonymous with metal fabrication and flour milling machines. Many of the Somalis who have earned themselves Ugandan citizenship, own huge businesses, shops, buildings, as well as lodges, guesthouses and hotels, but their source of wealth is still shrouded in mystery. The rising guesthouses have put a positive mark on Kisenyi, dispelling the belief that Kisenyi is a haven of crime. In fact, Hussein claims that at least $3m (sh5.2b) is in circulation among the refugees in Kisenyi. Hussein attributes the success of the Somalis to the fact that they are united and work as a team. “They are refugees, but many lead even better lives than some Ugandan nationals. Because they are hard working, they are able to save and start businesses on their own,” he says. Moses Nkoyoyo, the defence secretary, Muzata Zone in Kisenyi says: “These Somalis have lived here for as long as we know. They are refugees but they are hard working. They own businesses and we have no problem with that, as long as they maintain peace, which they do.” But many observers maintain that Hussein’s assertion is far from what actually happens in Kisenyi. They claim that the life Somalis live is so luxurious for the jobless refugees. Somalis attribute their survival to businesses, but questions linger about how their wealth was acquired. “We know for a fact that these refugees operate in secret and you need an owl’s eye to ascertain how they attain their wealth and how much it is,” said a senior Internal Security Organisation official who preferred anonymity. A special branch police officer at Old Kampala Police Station attached to Kisenyi says: “We can’t rule out crime. We have received reports of money laundering, drug abuse, fights and sexual abuse, but whenever we try to establish the truth and apprehend the culprits, we fail to get sufficient evidence to pin.” The New Vision independently established that it takes less than three minutes for one to get over $500,000 (sh852m) wired from America, Canada or the UK to Uganda. Money laundering is the act or practice of engaging in illegal specific financial money transactions, metaphorically termed “cleaning of money”. It involves the transfer of money through several countries in order to obscure its origin. The most common types of criminals who launder money are drug traffickers, embezzlers, corrupt politicians and public officials, mobsters, terrorists and con artists. “People get money wired from any part of the world in minutes. And the money is cashed in dollars. Now even prominent Ugandan business personalities throng these places for dollars,’ says Hussein. In one of the shops that serves as a forex bureau as well as offices, computers with internet access are on display to hoodwink law enforcers and local authorities. But just inside the inner room, the real transaction of illegal money transfers take place. Just about a week ago, Mohammed, aged 17, was kidnapped and whisked away in a speeding vehicle soon after getting $10,000 (sh17.5m) from one of the shops. Notably, a case of kidnap was reported to Old Kampala Police Station, though it was reported that only $1,000 (sh1.75m) was snatched from him. Hussein, however, defends the transactions: “The money that they receive is from their relatives who migrated and settled in Europe.” This type of transaction is worrying to the Bank of Uganda, the controllers of cash flow in the nation, who say such a scenario can lead to inflation. “What they are doing is wrong and it is against the law. Once we get proof, we shall alert the relevant authorities to avert that,” says a senior bank official in charge of foreign exchange. Disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru, who is responsible for refugees, recently sounded a warning to the Somalis: “As refugees they are not supposed to engage in activities that may jeopardise their status. In any case, they are supposed to live in settlement camps unless they have urban refugee status,” he said. Refugees with urban refugee status are those granted permission by the Prime Minister’s Office to engage in gainful employment in urban centres. Ecweru, who promised to investigate the saga warned those involved: “This should act as a warning. Those nabbed will have their refugee status evoked and they will be deported.” But as we wait for the investigations to yield results, it is business as usual for Somali refugees. -------------- One of the most ignorantedly reported articles I had read.

12th Day.

A maryooleey jaamac jaad suu u cunaaye asagana dhan cagaar noqday. Suu u fadhiyaa i dishay. What a mulac! Muniira, we all are good, sister. Eebba ha naga wada dhigo ummadiis jidka saxsan ku toosan. Kuusha, I didn't know jaad cunid, sigaar cabid iyo club aadid -- not to mention qamri cabid -- inay ahayd 'enjoying life.' For your information, I never went to any fancy foreign, non-Soomaali maqaayad ka ahayn fast food ones, which is laga maarmaan sometimes. Maqaayadaha Soomaalida kala nooca ah ayaa igu filan, and I am firm believer who spends his dollars at Soomaali businesses, even haddee qumaneen. Eebba mahadiis in this city, we Soomaalis have everything we need, which is offered by Soomaalis, even if you want to buy a house, there is a real estate agent or want a lawyer or a mechanic or or a barber or an accountant or going to a dentist or a doctor. We even have Soomaali movers. Dankis, I am indeed enjoying life.

Waraa balaq, welkam. Laakiin adi maaba maqnaa horta? Wali tareebiyaaniyaashii Alta Vista ayaa quuqdaada ku heysaa miyaa? Kuunto cambuulo isbisiini asasiino. Iskiifana ma kugu daraa?

Fanaaniinta ku sugan Madasha Shirka oo dhaleeceyn u soo jeediyay shirguddoonka Shirka Qeybo ka tirsan fanaaniinta qaranka Soomaaliyeed ee ku sugan madasha shirka dib u heshiisiinta beelaha Soomaaliyeed ayaa cabasho iyo cambaareynba u jeediyay shir guddoonka shirka iyo ku xigeenadooda Fanaaniinta ayaa ku eedeeyay in ay xaqireen doorka ay ku leeyihiin dib u heshiisiinta isla markaana ilaa iyo iminka aan la siinin wax mushaar ah. Maxamed Aadan Shamuuri oo u hadlayey fannaaniintaas ayaa sheegay in mudo labo bilood ah ay iyagu howlaha dib u heshiisiinta dhinaca kaga aadan ay habeen iyo maalinba qaban qaabadeeda ka wadeen madasha shirka iyadoo guddoonka shirka ay u sheegeen in la siin doono fanaaniinta min 50 Dollar sidii ay u soo yaraaneysayna ay iminka guddigu u sheegeen in la siin doono min 20 Dollar-ka ayuu yiri Shamuuri. “La yaab ma leh hadii 50 Dollar si loo waday 20 la gaarsiiyay, waxaase ka sii daran inaan 20-kiiba hada aan la nahay iyadoo dhaqaalihii loogu talagalayna ay gacanta ku hayaan Cali Mahdi, Kadare iyo Axmadey Sh. Muqtaar, balse waxaa nasiib daro ah in doorka fanaaniinta aan waxba laga soo qaadin iyadoo raali gelin iyo duub bash qadeysan horteena lagu siiyo ergooyinka” ayuu si caro leh u yiri Maxamed Aadan Shamuuri oo ka codsaday guddoonka shirka in ay kaalinta fanaaniinta ay il gaar ah ku eegaan. Tixraac

Qaar ka mid ah Ergooyinkii lagu xumeeyay Shirkii Dib u Heshiisiinta oo maanta banaan bax cabasho ah ka hor sameeyay Guriga Cali Mahdi Siteember 20, 2007 - Qaar ka mid ah ergooyinkii ka qeyb galay shirkii dib u heshiisiinta qaran ayaa maanta banaan bax cabasho ah ka hor sameeyay Guriga Cali Mahdi Maxamed oo madax u ah Gudigii Shirka Dib u Heshiisiinta. Ergooyinka ayaa ka ashtakoonayay guna la'aanta soo wajahday, taasoo ilaa iyo iminka aanan helin lacagihii shirka oo ay sheegayaan in la duudsiiyay. Banaan baxa Ergooyinka oo ay ka qeyb qaateen in ka badan 500 oo ergo oo xaalad aad u xun ay ku heysato Caasimada Muqdisho ayaa ku eedeeyay Gudoonka Shirka in ay lusandeen Lacagihii Shirka looga tala galay, iyagoo ku andacoonaya in bilowgii shirka ilaa iyo hada aanay helin guno. Mid ka mid ah Ergooyinka ka qeyb galay Banaanbaxaas ayaa sheegay in ay qatar ugu jiraan in ay ugaarsadaan kooxaha Dowladda ka soo horjeeda, isagoo xusay in xaalada haatan ay heysato ay tahay mid aad u weyn, iyagoona ku laaban karin Deegaanadoodii iyo Hoteladii ay degan yihiin oo ay halis ugu jiraan. Gudiga uu madaxda u yahay Cali Mahdi Maxamed oo ka mid ahaa qab qablayaashii Soomaaliya ayaa lagu eedeeyay in ay lunsadeen lacagihii shirka, iyadoo hadal uu Qanyare Jeediyay uu ku sheegay in Gudiga Shirka ay dhaceen shacabka Soomaaliya. Si kastaba ha ahaatee waxaa si isdaba jooga isu soo taraya cabashooyinka Ergooyinka Beelaha Soomaaliyed ay muujinayaan, waxaana banaanbax cabasho ah oo kan ka horeeyay loogu balan qaaday in la siin doono gunooyinkooda, laakiin sheekada ayaa u muuqata mid ah fari kama qodna faanoole. Xigasho

Dibad bax cabasho ah oo ay ka dhigayan Muqdisho ergadii lagu xumeeyay shirki dib u heshiisiinta Muqdisho Siteember 18, 2007 - Dibad Bax cabasho ah ayay ka sameynayaan Magaalada Muqdisho ergadii lagu xumeeyay shirkii dib u heshisiinta Muqdisho,iyadoona dibad baxaasi uu ka dhan yahay gudoonkii shirka. Ergada oo aad uga soo horjeeda lacagahoodii la duudsiiyay,iyo qaabkii loogu dhoofay dalkaasi Sucudiga ayaa sheegay in ay doonayaan beesha Caalamka in ay u muujiyaan sida aysan ugu qanacsaneyn shirkii la qabtay. Ergada waxa ay dibad baxooda iminka qaban qaabintiisa ka socotaa meelo kamid ah magaalada Muqdisho,iyadoona ay ergada sidoo kale qaadanayaan borar ay ku qoran yihin erayo ka dhan ah shirkii la qabtay. Wixi kusoo kordha waan idinla soo socodsiin doonaa. Tixraac

Shaqaalihii nadaafada ee xaruntii lagu qabtay shirkii dib u heshiisiinta Qaran ee la soo gebagebeeyey oo ka cabanaya mushahar la’aan Siteember 25, 2007 - Iyadoo maalinba maalinta ka dambeysa ay soo baxayaan cabashooyin ka soo yeeraya qaar ka mid ah ergooyinkii ka qeyb galay sihirkii dib u heshiisiinta Qaran ee dhowaan lagu soo gebagebeeyey magaalada Muqdisho iyo dadkii kale ee ku lugta lahaa shirkaasi ayaa waxaa imika qeylo dhaan ba’an ay ka soo yeereysaa shaqaalihii nadaafada ee ka howlgalayey hoolkii uu shirkaasi ka socday, taasoo ku saabsan inaaney weli helin mushaharooyinkii loo balan qaaday in la siin doono. Shaqaalahan oo tiradoodu ay gaareyso ilaa 30 ruux oo isugu jira rag iyo dumar ayaa qaarkood oo aynu la kulanay waxay sheegayaan in mudadii 45 cisho aheyd ee uu shirkaasi socday ay maalin walba u soo jarmaadi jireen goobtii uu shirkaasi ka socday oo aheyd Ex-xaruntii gaadiidka Booliiska ee magaalada Muqdisho, isla markaana ay qashinka yaala meelaha iyo musqulaha nadiifin jireen, waxayna xuseen oo kale iney u diiwaan u gashan yihiin guddigii shirkaasi maamulayey oo isla markaana loo sameeyey aqoonsi ay maalin walba ku tegi jireen xaruntaasi. “Shirkii wuxuu dhamaaday ku dhowaad bil ka hor ilaa haddana ma jiraan cid na siisay mushaharooyinkii aan shaqeysanaey ee aan xaqa u laheyn, maalin walba waxaan tagnaa anagoo sooman hoolkii u ka socday shirkaasi hase ahaatee waxaan lugooyo aheyn kalama soo laabano, waxayna guddiga shirkaasi waday mar walba noo dhigaan balan been ah” ayey tiri haweeney ka mid ah haweenka halkaasi howlaha nadaafadeed ka waday oo iyadu magaceeda diiday in la soo xigto, waxayna intaa ku dartay iney haatan quus ka joogaan sidii ay u heli lahaayeen lacagaha ka maqan ee ay xaqa y leeyihiin, kuwaasoo ay tilmaantay iney si aad ah ugu baahan yihiin, waxayna ugu baaqday mas’uuliyiinta sare ee ay quseyso arintani iney soo fara geliyaan waxna ka qabtaan cabashadooda. Mar aanu isku daynay inaan xiriiro kala duwan la sameyno guddiga shirka dib u heshiisiinta Qaran xubno ka mid ah si aanu wax uga weydiino cabashada ka soo yeereysa ayey inoo suur geli weyday inaanu helno, waxaana cabashadan ugu dambeysay ku soo beegmeysaa xilli ay weli sii socdaan cabashooyinka ka soo yeeraya qaar ka mid ah ergooyinkii ka qeyb galay shirkaasi oo iyagu weli aan la siin lacagihii loo balan qaaday ee u suurta geli lahaa iney dib ugu laabtaan goobihii ay ka kala yimaadeen. Xigasho

MILKIILYASHII GAADIIDKII LAGU DAABULAYEY ERGADA KA QEYBGLAYSAY SHIRKA DIB U HESHIISIINTA SOOMAALIYA OO KA CABANAYA QARASHKII KIRADA GAADIIDKOODA OO AAN LA SIININ Siteember 8, 2007 - Milkiilayaasha gaadiidkii lagu daabulayay ergooyinkii ka qeyb galay shirkii dib u heshisiiinta beelaha Soomaaliyeed ee dhowaan lagu soo gabagabeeyay magaalada Muqdisho ayaa cabasho ka muujiyay qarashyadii kirada gaadiidkooda muddo labo bilood ah oo aan la siinin. shir jaraid oo uu ku qabtay magaalada muqdisho maanta ayuu kaga hadlay arinta kirada ka weli maqan Cabdi Canshuur oo ka mid ah milkiilayaasha gaadiidka koostarrada ah ee qaadi jiray ergada ka qeyb galaya shirka ayaa sheegay in ilaa iyo hadda aan la siinin kirada gaadiidkooda muddo labo bilood ah, isla markaana lagu leeyahay shidaalkii uu isticmaali jiray iyo qarashkii shaqaalaha uu siin lahaa. "Waxaa nalakugu hanjabay intii aan howsha wadnay in naloo geysan doono dhibaato haddii aanan faraha kala bixinin howsha aan ku jirno, taasoo aan ka doorbidnay inaan ka shaqeyno danaha shacabka iyo maslaxaddooda, guryaheenana kuma noqon karno lacag la’aan awgeed oo waxaa nalaka rabaa shidaalkii aan deynta ku qaadanay iyo qarashyadii shaqaalaha aan siin lahayn sida darawalka iyo kirishboyga" ayuu ku calaacalay Cabdi Canshuur oo intaa ku daray inay shaqada daabulidda ergada bilaabeen 13/07/2007 sidoo kale Cabdi Canshuur wuxuu sheegay in ay arrintan ay la qabaan dhammaan gaadiidleydii ka qeyb qaadatay daabulidda ergooyinka, laguna wada leeyahay sida oolyadii, canjeeladii iyo shidaalkii intaba, isagoo ka codsaday guddiga Qaban qaabada shirka dib u heshiisiinta inay sida ugu dhaqsiyaha badan leh u soo gaarsiiyaan kirada gaadiidkooda, si ay isaga bixiyaan qarashyada kala duwan ee lagu leeyahay. Cabdi Canshuur ayaa sheegay in gaadiidkooda looga kireystay Qiimo dhan $50 doollar Maalintiiba, waxaana nala galay heshiiskaasi ayuu yiri Guddiga Qabanqaabada shirka Dib u heshiisiinta beelaha Soomaaliyeed, mar kastana waxaa nalaku yiraahdaa waxa laydiin diinayaa berri ama saadambe, taasoo noqotay mid aan dhamaaneyn. Ma ahan markii ugu horreysay oo guddiga shirka dib u heshiisiinta cabasho laga keeno ku saabsan gunnooyinkii la siin lahaa ergooyinkii ka qeyb galayay shirka, saxafiyiinta iyo gaadiidleydaba. Xigasho

Ardaydii Ubaxa Qaranka ee ka qeybgalay shirkii Dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed oo sheegay in la lunsaday dhaqaalihii loogu talagalay Qamiis, Siteember 27, 2007 -- Ardaydii Ubaxa Qaranka ee dhawaan ka qeybgalay shirkii Dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed ayaa maanta waxay dibadbax cabasho ah ka dhigeen Magaalada Muqdisho, iyagoo sheegay in lacag loogu talagalay in la siiyo laga lunsaday. 50 Arday oo dibadbaxaasi dhigay ayaa waxay sheegeen in ay muddo 3 bilood ah ku xareysnaayeen Xarunta Kuleejka Cusub ee Soomaaliya, isla markaana ay mudadaas ku mashquulsanaayeen diyaarinta heeso Wadani ah oo ay ka qaadeen madasha shirkii Dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed. Ilhaan Cali Ibraahim oo 12 sano jir ah, isla markaana ka mid ah Ardayda Ubaxa Qaranka ayaa sheegtay in loo sheegay intii ay ka qeybgelayeen shirkii dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed in ay maalin kasta leeyihiin lacag dhan 10$, taasi oo aaney ilaa iyo haatan helin, iyadoo intaas sii raacisay in ay Guddigii Shirka maamulayay ka codsanayaan in la siiyo lacagtii loo ballanqaaday. Dhanka kalena, Ergadii Puntland ee ka qeybgashay Shirkii dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed ee dhawaan lagu soo gebagebeeyay magaalada Muqdisho ayaa waxay ka codsadeen madaxweynaha Maamulka Puntland Jen. Cadde Muuse in uu u soo diro dhaqaalihii ay ugu laaban lahaayeen deegaanadii ay ka yimaadeen ee Puntland. Ergadan ayaa sheegay in dhaqaalihii ay ka sugayeen guddigii maamulayay shirkii dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed si aan wanaagsaneyn loo maamulay, isla markaana aan la soo gaarsiinin, waxayna sheegeen in ay haatan go’aansadeen in ay dib ugu laabtaan deegaanadii ay ka yimaadeen. Si kastaba arrintu ha ahaatee, Wixii ka dambeeyay markii uu dhamaaday shirkii dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed ayaa waxaa soo baxayay cabashooyin ka imaanayay qaar ka mid ah Ergooyinkii shirkaas ka qeybgalay, kuwaasi oo qaarkood sheegaya in aan waxba la siinin, halka kuwo kalena ay sheegeen in ay heleen lacag ka yar tii ay ka sugayeen Guddigii maamulayay Shirka Dib u heshiisiinta Soomaaliyeed. Xigasho ------------- Dhalintii yar yarayd xataa maka bad baadin qaacinyaalkaas. Ubaxa Qaranka iga dheh.

The Failure of 'Reconciliation' and 'Reconstitution' Opens Up a Political Vacuum in Somalia Michael A. Weinstein PINR 19 September 2007 W ith the closing on August 30 of Somalia's National Reconciliation Conference (N.R.C.), which was sponsored by the country's internationally-backed Transitional Federal Government (T.F.G) and failed to produce substantive and enforceable agreements; and the conclusion on September 12 of the Somali Congress for Liberation and Reconstitution (S.C.L.R.), which brought together the country's political oppositions and narrowed its focus to the single aim of removing Ethiopian occupying forces, a political vacuum has opened up in Somalia. The two conferences were the only political events on the horizon that carried any prospects for the movement of Somalia toward political integration and the reversal of the devolutionary cycle into which the country has fallen. Their failures to engage the form of a future political order in Somalia, the disposition of political forces within such an order, and the way toward power-sharing has shown that neither the T.F.G., which initiated the N.R.C. at the urging of Western donor powers, nor the opposition is united enough within itself to provide Somalia with a credible political formula and is much less disposed to compromise with its rival. With no other major political initiatives in the offing at a national level, PINR expects fragmentation to persist in Somalia as power devolves to regional, local, clan and sectoral centers and solidarities. The signs of political evolution in Somalia that PINR noted in its August 20 report have for the most part been erased and have been replaced by the possibility of violent polarization within a devolutionary context. The Failure of "Reconciliation" As PINR has noted, the N.R.C. was compromised from its inception. Originally pressed upon the T.F.G. by external actors as an instrument for political reconciliation with its non-violent political opposition, the T.F.G.'s president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed -- in a move to preserve the power of the transitional executive -- transformed the conference into a meeting to resolve disputes among the country's clans, effectively avoiding engagement with political issues and finessing the donor powers, which acquiesced in his counter-initiative. After two weeks of discussions on clan-related issues, which resulted in commitments to a cease-fire, disarmament and restoration of property stolen in clan conflicts, the N.R.C.'s chair, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, abruptly announced on August 1 that the clan phase of the conference had ended successfully and that its political phase would now begin. Mahdi's action, which was greeted with skepticism by many delegates and observers, came in response to pressure from donors who were holding their purse strings tightly. The political phase of the N.R.C. effectively ended on August 9, when rancorous debate over the issue of natural resource distribution led to the adjournment of the conference. Members of the ****** clan family attending the conference also asked for an adjournment in order to mount an effort that proved unsuccessful to persuade ****** factions that had boycotted the N.R.C. to participate. When the N.R.C. reopened on August 19, the majority of delegates signed a document reaffirming their August 1 agreement without providing enforcement mechanisms for the cease-fire or disarmament, and devolving property restitution to an arbitration committee. On August 22, political debate on the definition of religious extremism, which had not been resolved in early August, was revived and once again reached no conclusion, with some delegates arguing that there was no "religious war" in Somalia and others contending that the killing of civilians and suicide bombings are "un-Islamic." On the same day, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Abdi Nur, announced that the N.R.C. would end on August 31, stating that the T.F.G. would provide a plan for "all Somalis belonging to the different segments of society regardless of their political orientations and shades of opinion." On August 29, Mahdi announced that the N.R.C. would conclude the next day, angering many delegates who believed that matters of concern to their clans had not been adequately addressed. The closure of the N.R.C., which had run its projected 45 days, was due in greatest part to unwillingness of donors to provide more funds and also to fears of the T.F.G. executive that the conference might get out of control addressing political issues. Mahdi, who had recently returned from Nairobi where he had been meeting with donors, told the N.R.C. on August 29 that he blamed opposition groups that had boycotted the N.R.C. for making donors reluctant to fund the conference adequately, adding that he had persuaded the donors -- the European Union, United States and United Nations -- at least to pay the promised stipends of the delegates. At the closing ceremonies, Mahdi said that reconciliation would "continue at the regional and village level," and Yusuf assured that he was "ready to hand power over to whomever is elected by the people" in projected 2009 elections for a permanent government. Delegates were divided on the outcome of the N.R.C., with some stressing that it was a victory for 2,000 representatives from all the regions of Somalia to have met at all, and others saying that the conference amounted to no more than a paid vacation for provincial elders that -- as clan leader Ali Hassan Barrow from the Hiraan region put it in a closing speech -- left the delegates with "nothing in hand." Representatives of donor powers, regional states and regional organizations -- the U.N., African Union (A.U.) and Arab League (A.L.), China, Norway, Ethiopia and Egypt -- attended the closing ceremony. The U.N.'s special representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, spoke for them, calling on the T.F.G. to "reach out to all opposition groups inside and outside Somalia," and on the international community to support the T.F.G.'s efforts to extend its authority, and to support the under-manned and under-funded A.U. peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) in Somalia -- a simple repetition of the position the donor powers had taken before the N.R.C. was convened. The most telling point was made by a Western diplomat speaking to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity: "We know that this conference has gone nowhere. The problem is blind confidence in the T.F.G. We all wanted to support it and we did; it did not rise to the occasion, so we need a different approach now." What such an approach might be remains at best unclear with the T.F.G. walking away from the conference with no obligations but to disarm clan militias and integrate their members into its forces, which it is not likely to accomplish despite general agreement on those goals at the N.R.C. The N.R.C. met in Somalia's official capital Mogadishu against a backdrop of an escalated insurgency at the same levels that PINR noted in its August 20 report. Ethiopian and T.F.G. forces were generally able to protect the conference, although a leading delegate from the ****** clan was assassinated on August 19, and two delegates from Puntland were wounded in one of the several attacks on hotels housing delegates. The jihadist Youth Mujahideen Movement (Y.M.M.) took credit for more of the attacks than it had previously done, and they persisted in the face of a security crackdown and a flight of residents from the neighborhoods most affected by violence to areas immediately south of Mogadishu, where they took refuge in squalid and unhealthy refugee camps. Inter-clan violence also continued, notably in the central Hiraan and Galguduud regions, casting doubt on the credibility of the cease-fire agreement at the N.R.C. On September 17, Yusuf was in Saudi Arabia, where he and some former delegates to the N.R.C. signed the pact that had been agreed upon at the conference. The ceremony, which was attended by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, was not a new step forward in reconciliation, but a symbolic event aimed at showing Arab support for Yusuf's version of reconciliation. Yusuf also took the opportunity to call for a U.N. peacekeeping mission that would include both Arab and African contingents. There were reports that Washington had urged Riyadh to support the T.F.G. in order to isolate its domestic opposition. The opposition quickly announced its rejection of the pact. Having achieved no substantive reconciliation, the N.R.C. also does not appear to have strengthened Yusuf's power base. The T.F.G. remains a weak protagonist in Somalia's tangled conflicts, and it has probably lost some of the "blind confidence" of the donor powers in it. The Failure of "Reconstitution" The political alternative to the N.R.C. was the S.C.L.R. held by the T.F.G.'s political oppositions in Asmara from September 6 through September 12. PINR had previously noted tendencies toward coalescence in the opposition that might have made it a credible movement that could pressure the T.F.G. into power-sharing negotiations, but that possibility was not realized in the face of divisions among the opposition's components -- the Islamic Courts Council (I.C.C.), which controlled most of southern Somalia before an Ethiopian intervention ousted it in December 2006; dissident members of the transitional parliament favoring an accord with the I.C.C.; significant portions of the Somali diaspora; nationalists; and dissident clan warlords, notably the former T.F.G. deputy prime minister and defense minister, Hussein Farah Aideed. Originally planned as a vehicle to form a national political opposition, the S.C.L.R. was narrowed down -- as a result of the inability of the opposition factions to agree on a common political formula -- only to address the aim of removing Ethiopian occupation forces from Somalia. The I.C.C. remained insistent on a Somalia ruled by Shari'a law; the "Free Parliament" and the diaspora groups favored a wider power-sharing agreement involving the T.F.G.; and the nationalists, who backed out of participating, favored a strong non-theocratic state transcending clan divisions. Their diverse aims and support bases made it impossible for the oppositions to engage political issues, leaving them with a common commitment to resist a foreign occupation. Signs that the S.C.L.R. would falter came on August 28 when the spokesman for the ****** sub-clans that had boycotted the N.R.C., Ahmed Diriye, announced that the anti-T.F.G. ****** elders would not go to Asmara, although they continued to denounce the N.R.C. as a ploy to gain international support. On September 1, Diriye reiterated the elders' refusal to participate in the S.C.L.R., saying that they had been invited and promised flights to Asmara, but would not attend because the conference had been "mobilized by people with special interests and has no relationship with ****** tradition and unity clans." In the absence of the ******, the S.C.L.R. lacked a base of deeper organized social support, which weakened its credibility, even as simply a resistance to the Ethiopian occupation. Scheduled to open on September 1, S.C.L.R. was delayed on August 31, when Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, ex-speaker of Somalia's transitional parliament and leader of the Free Parliament, announced that sessions would begin on September 6 because of "technical reasons" and the failure of all the delegates to arrive -- the same reasons given by N.R.C. organizers when that conference was delayed. Reuters reported that disagreements over the agenda had also held up the conference. Hassan made it clear that the conference would be "short" and would not be "political," adding that "we expect that the Somali people have realized how to get out of the difficulty and will touch on where the difficulties are" -- presumably referring to the Ethiopian occupation. Already on August 25, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leader of the I.C.C.'s political wing, had adopted an unaccustomed militant line, saying that the Ethiopians "will be pushed out of Somalia by force and we will take back our freedom by force." The S.C.L.R. opened on September 6 and the diversity of the opposition was evident at its outset, centering on the interpretation of the term "reconstitution." As a designation of the positive aim of the conference, "reconstitution" was chosen in deliberate contrast to "reconciliation," which, for the T.F.G., meant the settling of clan disputes within the framework of the transitional institutions and their present officials. The opposition groups were agreed on the principle that a future political formula for Somalia would "reconstitute" a national state transcending clan, and one of their few positive accomplishments was to repudiate the clan-representation formula on which the T.F.G. is based. Nationalism and promotion of a strong sovereign state united the opposition rhetorically, but beyond that consensus collapsed. The divisions among the opposition groups hinged on the question of whether "reconstitution" meant determining a political formula for a future Somali state or simply forming an alliance aimed at "liberating" the country from Ethiopian occupation. That the latter was the most that could be expected was signaled by the withdrawal of the nationalists before the proceedings began. The nationalists' pull out was based on their judgment that the conference would be dominated by the I.C.C. and would not consider their case for building a single national movement, rather than an alliance of convenience. They complained that there would be no attempt to forge a "post-liberation vision," a point also made by Aideed, who called for a "common agenda, platform and vision," aiming at a consensus including Somalis who disapproved of the S.C.L.R. The nationalists now plan to form a Nationalist Movement for Salvation and Revival of Somalia to resist the occupation and mobilize the population to create a strong national state. With the maximum definition of reconstitution shunted aside, the conference became a tug of war between its three major elements -- the I.C.C., which held fast to its formula of a Somali Islamic state, and the diaspora groups and the Free Parliament faction, which favored a democratic formula for Somalia and were willing to accept power-sharing negotiations within the T.F.G. institutions if the Ethiopians withdrew from Somalia. Confronted with the I.C.C. as the major grouping among the approximately 400 delegates, the other factions were placed in the position of attempting to resist its takeover of the opposition. The Los Angeles Times reported on September 15 that non-Islamist delegates had walked out of a session in a dispute over the issue of whether to include the term "jihad" in the proposed charter for the alliance, and had later succeeded in keeping the reference out in favor of the more general term "struggle." On September 14, Garowe Online reported that disputes had broken out over the institutional structure of the alliance -- a Central Committee to function as a legislature and an Executive Committee. Originally the Central Committee was to have 151 members with 68 apportioned to the I.C.C., but its size was later increased to 191 with 76 apportioned to the I.C.C. to dilute its influence by including "intellectuals" and representatives of civil-society organizations. Having had to make concessions, the I.C.C. stood firm against appeals that a non-Islamist take formal leadership of the alliance in order to increase the prospects for international support, and was able to place Sheikh Ahmed as chair of the executive committee, with Hassan assuming the leadership of the Central Committee. The remaining nine seats on the Executive Committee were not filled, reflecting continued disagreement. On September 16, Garowe Online reported that disputes over the composition of the Executive Commission had persisted with Hussein Aideed demanding the foreign affairs portfolio and Sheikh Ahmed favoring Mohamed Ahmed Tarsan, a diaspora figure close to the I.C.C., for that post. The Central Committee was apportioned to give 45 percent of the seats to the I.C.C., 25 percent to the Free Parliament, 16 percent to the diaspora and the remaining 14 percent to clan elders, civil society organizations and intellectuals. Despite formally holding a minority of seats, it is likely that the I.C.C. will be the dominant force in the opposition, due to pockets of support within the diaspora and among elders and intellectuals. As the conference drew toward its close on September 12, its spokesman, Zakariya Mahmud Abdi, announced that the movement it had formed -- the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (A.R.S.) -- would pursue a dual-track policy of armed resistance and diplomacy to achieve an Ethiopian withdrawal from Somalia, and would be "dissolved" when the occupation ended, reflecting the inability of the opposition to agree on a positive program. Whereas the S.C.L.R. was short on "vision," it was militant on "liberation," with debate over whether to declare that Ethiopia "should withdraw" from Somalia or that Ethiopia "must be driven out" ending in favor of the latter wording, which was championed by the I.C.C. The communiqué issued at the end of the conference stated that the A.R.S. would not hold talks with the T.F.G. prior to an end of the Ethiopian occupation and demanded the withdrawal of AMISOM from Somalia, accusing the Ugandan detachment of siding with the occupation. The communiqué also denounced Washington's charges that the conference was harboring "terrorists," insisting that the A.R.S. would not be a "terrorist organization" and was composed of "devoted Muslims." The S.C.L.R. called on Washington to "reverse its anti-Somalia policy" and refused to renounce armed resistance or to repudiate the Y.M.M. The Y.M.M., which is committed to Islamic revolution, warned that "the Asmara conference is forcing the jihad to lose its way." After the communiqué was issued, Abdi clarified that the "national liberation struggle" would be concentrated in Mogadishu and its environs, and would transcend clan and religious divisions. The next move would be for opposition leaders to infiltrate into Somalia in order to recruit fighters and make alliances with anti-T.F.G. sub-clans. On September 15, militant I.C.C. commander Sheikh Hassan Turki released a video showing a training camp for fighters in Somalia's deep southern Lower Jubba region. By September 16, thousands of Ethiopian troops were reported to be massing on the Somali border, some of them bound to replace occupation forces in Mogadishu and most of them poised to redeploy in Lower Jubba, from which Ethiopia had withdrawn in March. Conclusion After the U.S.-supported Ethiopian intervention into Somalia, the Western powers had pinned all of their hopes on an "inclusive" national reconciliation process that would bring together all political forces and isolate revolutionary jihadists. The conditions for such a process were that the T.F.G. "reach out" to the political opposition and that the opposition be coherent and willing enough to engage in negotiation. Neither condition has been met; the N.R.C. was clan-based and held under the aegis of the T.F.G. and secured by Ethiopian forces; and the S.C.L.R. took on an uncompromising militant hue. The Western powers and associated international and regional organizations, and interested states are left without options. As the S.C.L.R. proceeded, the T.F.G.'s prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi -- under donor-power pressure -- traveled to Djibouti in a failed attempt to open talks with opposition figures, including I.C.C. leaders. Washington threatened to put Eritrea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism for allowing militant Islamist figures -- most notably I.C.C. leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys -- to attend the conference, and for allegedly funneling arms to the insurgency in Somalia. On September 12, the Washington-inspired Contact Group for Somalia (C.G.), including the U.S., E.U., European donor states, and international and regional organizations, met in Rome and repeated its consistent calls for African states to contribute to AMISOM so that Ethiopian forces, without which the T.F.G would collapse, can withdraw, and for the T.F.G. and the political opposition to negotiate. U.S. assistant secretary of state for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, who spoke for the C.G., said that the N.R.C. "was not a failure or a success," and that reconciliation is an "ongoing process." In a later press conference in Uganda, she emphasized that the A.R.S. contains "terrorist elements" and urged "legitimate opposition figures" to distance themselves from "extremists." Frazer stressed that the key to alleviating Somalia's humanitarian crisis was the suppression of terrorists, extremists and "spoilers." The gap between the desires of Western and associated actors, and the positions of Somali actors has widened to the point that the donor powers have lost connection to the realities on the ground. Addis Ababa, facing a stepped-up insurgency in its ethnic-Somali [soomaali Galbeed] region and international censure for its severe efforts to suppress it, is financially strapped and can no longer economically or strategically afford to stay in Somalia. Aside from Uganda, which has deployed 1,600 peacekeepers in Mogadishu, no other African states have been willing to contribute forces to AMISOM, citing Somalia's insecurity, lack of their own resources and inadequate financial and logistical support from Western powers. A U.N. Security Council resolution of August 20 that extended AMISOM's mandate for six months was met with unprecedented displeasure in African capitals, including Kampala. The A.U. wants the U.N. to take over the Somalia mission and African leaders accuse the great powers on the Security Council of hypocrisy -- urging African deployment when there is no peace to keep and deferring a U.N. mission until there is "political progress" in Somalia. There are several scenarios for Somalia's political future. In PINR's judgment, the most likely one is continued devolution intensified by a possible spread of wider and more unified armed resistance against the Ethiopian and T.F.G. forces, and augmented by a loss of interest in Somalia by external actors, which will leave the country in the state of neglect that it suffered in the decade between 1994, when an international presence ended, and 2004, when the T.F.G. was formed. Expect the Ethiopians to be worn down by attrition, the African states to become cooler to AMISOM, and the great powers to be unwilling to commit the resources necessary to make a political process attractive and to provide security. The failure of reconciliation and reconstitution leaves Somalia where it was before the conferences, but that failure is also an indicator of the severity of fragmentation that external actors will take to heart. They have no Plan B and are likely to step back slowly from Somalia. The political vacuum will open wider, with the new possibility of civil war.

Jecliyaa jabka tuug uus buuran, hantida ummadda xaaraanteeda ku calool weynaaday. Aqal weyn ka gado uu islahaa Iimaaraadka. Mac sonkor ee dhahaan ciyaalka markaan camal. Aan ugu daree, caleen shaah.

Press group deplores attack on Somali media boss NAIROBI, Sept 27 ( Reuters ) - A press watchdog has condemned the attempted murder of a Somali journalist working for an independent media house targeted in a government crackdown. Somalia's interim administration raided Shabelle media in Mogadishu last week, briefly arresting 18 staff and then spraying the building with gunfire during a second visit. The watchdog Reporters Without Borders said the broadcaster's acting manager Jafar Kukay was then the target of an attack on Monday this week by a gunman who fired a pistol at him twice but missed . "Caught in the crossfire of targeted killings and arbitrary arrests, Somali journalists have reached a critical threshold that is threatening the survival of an independent press in Somalia," the press group said in a statement on Thursday. "The transitional federal government's failure to take action in these circumstances in incomprehensible." Shabelle has been off air since last week's raids, and Reporters Without Borders said the station's employees were either in hiding or trying to flee the country. Kukay could not immediately be reached for comment. A security guard was wounded during the Sept. 18 siege at Shabelle, which -- with other independent local media -- has been accused by the authorities of supporting insurgents and had already been taken off the air twice this year. Reporters Without Borders said the attempted on Kukay's life brought the number of attacks against journalists in the Somali capital since January to four. Two journalists were killed in these attacks, it said, while 13 of Mogadishu's 16 district commissioners or their deputies had been murdered in similar circumstances. On Saturday, the new U.N. envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, said Somali government leaders had admitted to him in private that the action taken against Shabelle had been a mistake and would not happen again. A U.S. State Department spokesman said Washington was gravely concerned, and the broadcaster played a vital role in political dialogue and reconciliation. ------------ Finally, finally, we now do know who the real killers of innocent marxuumiinta were. The hired murderers of Mahad Axmed Cilmi iyo Cali Iimaan Sharmaarke of Hornafrika. Now waxeeba u jeesteen kuwii Shabeelle. Eebbaa ka bad baadiye Jacfar Kuukaay.

Originally posted by rudy: i see! so u giving xalimoos silents hints to get hold of yah!! lool..smart dude. hope that works for u. As always, Rudy to the point.

Mistake costs dishwasher $59,000 MIAMI, Florida ( CNN ) -- For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida: washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country. Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials. "They asked me how much money I had," Zapeta recalled, speaking to CNN in Spanish. He told the customs officials $59,000. At that point, U.S. customs seized his money, setting off a two-year struggle for Zapeta to get it back. Zapeta, who speaks no English, said he didn't know he was running afoul of U.S. law by failing to declare he was carrying more than $10,000 with him. Anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 has to fill out a one-page form declaring the money to U.S. customs. Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a 25-cent raise. After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his money back. "They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man," he said. Zapeta's story became public last year on CNN and in The Palm Beach Post newspaper, prompting well-wishers to give him nearly $10,000 -- money that now sits in a trust. Robert Gershman, one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately. Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said. Now, according to Gershman, the Internal Revenue Service wants access to the donated cash to cover taxes on the donations and on the money Zapeta made as a dishwasher. Zapeta admits he never paid taxes. CNN contacted the U.S. Attorneys office in Miami, U.S. Customs and the IRS about Zapeta's case. They all declined to comment. Marisol Zequeira, an immigration lawyer, said illegal immigrants such as Zapeta have few options when dealing with the U.S. government. "When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut," he said. On Wednesday, Zapeta went to immigration court and got more bad news. The judge gave the dishwasher until the end of January to leave the country on his own. He's unlikely to see a penny of his money. "I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country." Zapeta said his goal in coming to the United States was to make enough money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother and sisters. He sent no money back to Guatemala over the years, he said, and planned to bring it all home at once. At Wednesday's hearing, Zapeta was given official status in the United States -- voluntary departure -- and a signed order from a judge. For the first time, he can work legally in the U.S. By the end of January, Zapeta may be able to earn enough money to pay for a one-way ticket home so the U.S. government, which seized his $59,000, doesn't have to do so . ------------ Maryooleey, one more reason to use shirkadaha xawilaadda always. Iska hormari lacagta oo kis kis u dirso. Maskiinka si xun u galeyn. Eleven years of qasaaro iyo muruqmaal oo badda lagu shubay.

" Lugo iyo Gacmo midna ma leh, waa 47 jir ay nolol ka sugayaan 10 qofood " Maxamed C/lle Wardheere (Fuje) waa Nin Naafo ah oo ku nool Magaalada Muqdisho, waxaa saameeyey Duruufaha adag ee Muqdisho ka Jira, wuxuu dhibka, qaxa, qaraxa, Sicir bararka, ammaan darida inta badan la wadaagaa reer Muqdisho, waxaase u gaar ah waa Nin da’ah oo Cuuryaan ah waana Nin wax Addimo ah laheyn, Gacmo uu ku xoogsado ama wax ku qabsadana ma leh, Lugo uu ku cararo ILAAH-ba ma siin, Haddana Naf iyo Nolol sideenoo kale ayuu doonayaa. Fuje waa Xaasle leh dhowr Caruur ah, waa isu doonasho ILAAHEE Xaaskiisuna waa Curyaan aan lugo laheyn, Waxaase Mahad ILAAH ah dhashii Curyaamiinta ka farcantay Lixdooda Lixaad ILAAH waa u dhamestiray, waxaa Fuje la nool dhowr dhallinyaro ah oo isaga la dhalatay, isku dar 10 qofood oo Caruur u badan ayuu isagu oday u yahay oo quud ka sugaya. Fuje oo aan kula kulmay Xafiiskeyga ayaa ii sheekeeyay waxuuna igu yiri “waxaan ahay Aabbe Cuuryaan ah oo Caruur badani nolol ka sugayaan, aroor walba ayaan u qaraab tagaa oo wixii ALLE iigu soo dhiibo ayaan ula soo hoydaa, dhab ahaantii intii aysan dhibaatooyinkaan Muqdisho ku soo kordhin waa nagu filnaayeen Xoogaaga ILAAHAY dadka walaaleheen ah inooga soo qaado, balse hadda maya!!!” Duruufaha adag ee xilligan Muqdisho ay ku jirto saameyn Xoog leh ayey ku yeelatay Nolosha Fuje iyo Qoyskiisaba, isagoo arintaa ka hadlayana waxa uu yiri “Muqdishaan ku dhashay kuna soo barbaaray, waxaana u soo joogay dhammaan isbedelladii dalka ka dhacay guud ahaan, midda maanta aan ku jirno oo kale weli ima soo marin, Madaafiicdii Muqdisho, Qaraxyadii iyo kala cararkii dhinaceyga ayuu iga saameeyey, waxaa intaas oo dhan iiga daran Qaraxyada iyo is rasaaseynta Muqdisho ka jirta oo runtii caqabad ku noqotay soo aadistayda magaalada si aan dadka wax u waydiisto, waxaan xasuustaa in maalin Khamiis ah anigoo gaarigeyga xunkaa la igu riixayo, una socda Suuqa Bakaaraha ayaa meel noo dhoweyd qarax ka dhacay, markiiba Ciidamada Booliiska ayaa rasaas nagu furay wiilkii ila dhashay ee gaariga ii riixayey naftaa u run sheegtay oo wuu iga cararay isagoo darbi uu rasaasta kaga gambado raad sanaya, aniga iyo holicii rasaasta ayaa goobtii ku soo harnay, runtii waan ciishooday, oo cabsida rasaasta waxaa ii wehliyay feker daqiiqada socday anigoo ku taamay haddii uu ALLE lugo I siin lahaa rasaastaan waad ka baxsan lahayd, arrintaas kuma fekeri jirine waxaa iga keenat cabsida iyo dhimashadii oo albaabka ii soo istaagtay, ILAAH ayaan markiiba u toobad keenay oo nasiib wanaag iga badbaadiyay rasaastaas”. Fuje waxaa lagu riixaa Gaari yar oo luguhiisu dhammaad yihiin ayna adag tahay sida lagu wado Magaalada bubursan ee Muqdisho oo u qeybsan waddooyin bacaadku xiray iyo kuwo laami ah oo burbursan oo labadaba midna uusan saamaxeyn in si raaxo leh loogu riixo gaarigaa duugoobay, taasina waxay ka mid tahay waxyaabaha welwelka ku haya Fuje oo uu markaan wehliyo walaalkiis oo isagu leh shaqada riixidda gaariga Fuje. Ismaaciil Cabdulle Wardheere wuxuu la dhashay Fuje, waana wiil daqiiqad ka maqnaan walaalkiis Fuje, wuxuu ku riixaa gaariga isagoo albaab kasta mar hor istaajinaya, wuxuu ku dhibban yahay riixida gaariga walaalkiis, balse dantaa biddoo meel uu uga baxsado ma jirto. “Shaqo kale ma hayo, waxaaan aroortii soo kexeeyaa walaalkey anigoo ku riixaya gaarigaan dhibka badan, Galabtii ayaanna dib ugu celiyaa guriga iyadoo gacmaha iyo garbahaba idikaamayaan” ayuu yiri Ismaaciil oo ka cabanaya dhibaatada ba’an ee uu kala kulmo gaari ku riixidda walaakiis curyaanka ah. Ismaaciil oo hadalkiisa sii wata ayaa isbarbar dhig ku sameynaya Muqdishadii hore iyo tan manta iyo sida ay ugu kala fiicnaayeen gaari riixidda iyo amaanka wuxuu yiri “anigoo yar ayaan walaakey gaari kanoo kalaa ku soo riixi jiray waxaana si raaxo leh u soo marsiin jiray waddooyinkii Muqdisho oo aan wax god ah lagu arag, waxaan keeni jiray Afar irdoodka halkaas ayaan uga tegi jiray oo aan ka soo daneysan jiray, Dadkuna Qamdiga qoorta ugu jira ayey lacagta ugu ridi jireen, Cid wax siisa mooyee Cid wax u dhibta ama wax ka qaadataa ma jirin, taasi nolo macaan oo na soo martay ayay ahayd, waxaan kaloo soomarnay xilli wixii ay dadku nagu soo sadaqeystaan ay ******** inta waddada noo gasho ay naga qaataan. hadda nolol kale oo cusub ayaa galnay oo cabsi darteed ayaan maalmaha qaarkood u soo aadi weynaa Suuqa Bakaaraha qaraxyada iyo is rasaaseynta aawadood”. Ismaaciil wuxuu kaloo ii sheegay in qoykooda uu culayska badani imminka saran yahay “Markii hore wiil dhallinyaro ah oo madax bannana ayaan ahaa, haddase waan guursaday taasina waxay sii kordhisay culayskii saarnaa walaalkey Fuje oo wixii lagu soo sadaqeysto aan wada quudan jirnay Qoyska oo dhan”. Dhowr Sano ka hor ayuu Fuje isku dayey inuu raadiyo nolol midaan dhaanta wuxuu soo bandhigay Mashruuc yar oo Dukaan loogu abuurayo reer Fuje si ay noloshooda u maareeyaan, isaguna uu uga nasto tuugsiga dhibka badan, mashruucan ayuu u soo bandhigay dadka Soomaaliyeed ee muxsiniinta ah ee dalka iyo dibadaba ku nool, waxaana baahinta akhbaartiisa si wacan uga qaybqaatay Web site-ka Somalitalk oo runtii arrimaha noocaan ah amman ballaran ku leh. Dhowr todobaad kaddib lacago ayaa ka soo gaaray dadka Soomaaliyeed meel kasta oo ay joogaan, waxaana u suurogashay inuu Suuqa Bakaaraha ka furo dukaan yar oo lagu iibiyo maacuunta uuna xilkiisa u dhiibay walaalkiis Ismaaciil, isguna dugsi quraan ayuu galay si uu waqtigii dhaafay u soo caymiyo quraankana uu si fiican u barto. Dhowr sano ayuu reerka masruufanayey dukaankaas, nasiib darose dhibaatooyinka is xigxigay ee Muqdisho ka jiray ayaa hoos u dhac ku yimid wax soo saarkiisa dukaankii ilaa markii dambe uu xirmo wixii ka harayna la xaraasho. Maanta Fuje wuxuu dib ugu soo laabtay noloshii adkayd ee tuugsiga ahayd oo weliba markaan nolol iyo geeri u dhexeysa, waxaan la kulmay isaga oo magaalada la dhex marinayo, markii aan arkay Runtii waan ka naxay oo noloshii Ganacsiga ayaan ku ogaa, markii uu ii sheegay sida ay wax u jiraan, waxaan ku iri war ka waran haddii aan arrintaada sidii kal hore aan muxsiniinta Soomaaliyeed u bandhigno, wuxuu igu yiri taas waan ka xishoonayaa waayo dadkii aan mar hore u ballanqaaday in haddii dukaan la ii furo aan tuugsiga joojinayo, ee isoo wada caawiyey ma garan karo sida aan mar kale u oran lahaa “war dukaan kale hala ii furo.” Si kastaba ha ahaatee walaalkiin Fuje wuxuu mar kale dhowr sano kaddib idinka codsanayaa in aad mar kale u maalgelisaan dukaan kale si uu dhowr sano oo kale uga nasto wareega dhibka badan iyo tuugsiga Joogtada ah. Biluhu kal kheyr bade markaana waxaa lagu jiraa bishii kheyrka badnayd ee ay sadaqadu aadka u ajirka badnayd ee soo taageer walaalkaa, qorshahana ku darso sakada aad bixinaysana aad ku soo caawini kartid. Haddii aad taageereyso walaalkaaga gacantaada u baahan si toos ah ula xariir kana wac Fuje Taleefanada: 969-010, 969-999 , ama 622-87792 . [Telefoonadda 'country code' ayaa ku darsaneysa ee Soomaaliya oo ah 252 .] Iimeel: Fuje2@hotmail.com Xigasho -------------- Soon waaye ee walaalkeen waxaad awoodid ugu gar gaar.

For one thing, there are no alcohol served at ruwaadayaha, at to those I've been to. That alone makes a great difference to me for I would have never present myself where qamri and aalkolo is sold. Secondly, almost all the patrons are Soomaali. That too makes a difference since it might be considered a community event. Third, the songs almost are sung in Afsoomaali and are Soomaali songs by favourite singers. Another distinction. If there were no Soomaali songs, umaba socdeen.

Day 11.

Yes, club [or as I call it, kalab kalaab] waligey cag ma saarin, umana socdi hadda. I can't even tolerate standing meel, as seeing from the films or on tv, saas u huur, kuleel badan, waligana nalal saas u birqaayo kala nooc ah, laguna wareeraayo. No, dankis, ha iga ahaato. Yes, I've been to ruwaayado, though.

" If you want to be a government, you have to behave like a government " Edmund Sanders Los Angeles Times JOWHAR, Somalia -- Five months old and weighing less than 10 pounds, Shukri Mohammed stretched her tiny mouth to scream Tuesday when a health worker measured her limp arm for malnutrition. But scarcely a sound escaped from the baby’s throat, and she sank back exhausted into her mother’s arms. It’s been a struggle since the day Shukri was born. The next morning, her mother walked three days to escape shelling in Mogadishu that recently had killed her husband. Now settled with her mother in a displacement camp in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu, Shukri is likely to die quickly unless admitted to a hospital. As attention focuses on the Darfur region of Sudan, Somalia is quietly disintegrating into Africa’s worst humanitarian emergency, according to experts. Last week, United Nations Emergency Coordinator John Holmes said that conditions in Somalia had eclipsed those in Darfur and Chad as the most pressing African humanitarian crisis. Malnutrition and disease are soaring here amid political insecurity and a string of natural disasters, including flooding and drought. With many Western charities afraid to work in the dangerous country, the transitional government is struggling to cope but lacks experience and funding. Recently, aid groups complain, the government exacerbated the crisis by attempting to tax incoming humanitarian assistance, setting up roadblocks that hinder food deliveries and even intimidating charities and the displaced by accusing them of supporting terrorists. About 350,000 Somalis remain refugees from fighting earlier this year in Mogadishu between government soldiers, supported by thousands of Ethiopian troops, and an insurgency consisting of anti-government clans and Islamist fighters. About 1.5 million people require humanitarian aid, an increase of 50 percent in recent months. Malnutrition rates are skyrocketing. About 17 percent of children nationwide, or 83,000, are malnourished, according to UNICEF. Some 13,500 children, including Shukri, are so severely malnourished they are at risk of starvation. After 16 years of civil war and clan fighting, Somalis are accustomed to hardship. There hasn’t been a fully functioning government since 1991. But the displacement crisis and natural disasters are pushing the emergency to a new level and into new areas. Jowhar had long been an island of stability and agricultural prosperity in southern Somalia. Now, the nation’s breadbasket requires food assistance itself for the first time since a nationwide famine from 1991 to 1993. Nearly 8,700 children are at risk of starvation, according to UNICEF. “Around here we’ve never seen this,” said Owliyo Moalim, 44, a mother of five, as she lined up Monday with hundreds of other local woman to receive a World Food Program distribution of corn, beans and oil. Her family used to harvest crops every three months. But consecutive floods have prevented harvesting since October 2005, she said. Somalia is also paying the price of years of anarchy, some residents said. In the village of Boodle, south of Jowhar, children escaped the heat Tuesday by splashing in a giant lake. But the newly created lake sits atop the flooded ruins of the town’s crops, immersed two months ago when the banks of the Shabelle River overflowed after years of neglect and erosion. “We tried to maintain the banks, but it requires bulldozers and tractors,” said Hamdi Musei Osman, chief of the village. “When we had a government, they would do it. But we can’t do it ourselves.” More than 22 villages, with about 8,000 people, have been affected . With food running out, many children show early signs of malnutrition, including swollen limbs and orange-tinted hair. Fifteen have been hospitalized in the past month for malnutrition, Osman said. The stagnant water is also causing a surge in malaria, which has killed nine villagers in the past two months. Government officials say they are overwhelmed. After seizing control of Mogadishu in December from an alliance of Islamist leaders, officials have struggled to maintain control. Though regional administrations and federal ministries have been established, they lack funding, equipment and experience. “We don’t have the power and the resources to manage this kind of crisis,” said Qamar Adan Ali, Somalia’s health minister. “We even depend on foreign donors for our salaries.” Critics accuse some government officials of aggravating the problem through such soundly criticized ideas as the tax on humanitarian aid, which was dropped early this year amid protests. Nonetheless, scores of government checkpoints still dot the roads, often charging $500 before allowing food truck or aid vehicles to pass . In recent months, government officials, including Mogadishu’s mayor, were quoted in the local media as complaining that some local charities and aid groups had links to Islamist fighters. Even refugees from Mogadishu’s violence were dismissed as supporting terrorists. After complaints from U.N. officials and a letter from the U.S. E mbassy, Somali officials have softened their rhetoric. But experts say the government must do more to welcome and accommodate foreign aid groups. “ If you want to be a government, you have to behave like a government ,” said John Yates, the U.S. special envoy to Somalia. The U.S. has provided $120 million in humanitarian aid to Somalia over the past 12 months. Foreign aid groups also have been slow to respond, according to UNICEF’s Somalia representative Christian Balslev-Olesen. Several well-known charities, both from Western countries and the Arab world, do not maintain operations in Somalia, largely because of the ongoing violence. Last week, a driver for the Somali Red Crescent Society was shot during a hijack by three gunmen. But Balslev-Olesen said the need for additional international aid agencies is critical. “If you had this level of malnutrition in Darfur or anywhere else in the world,” he said, “you would be seeing dozens of (aid groups) all around town.” Back at the displacement camp, UNICEF nutrition coordinator James Kingori gingerly handed Shukri back to her mother and stressed that the baby should be taken immediately to the local hospital. Later he worried whether the mother, who said she had four other children at home, would heed his advice. Attending to a hospitalized infant can sometimes come at a price to the rest of the family, he said. “Sometimes they just wait and hope the baby gets better,” he said. “These are the kinds of choices mothers are having to make.”