^ May be not. And that may be why it's not there anymore.

In any case Some people are simply too old to take sides... Though I am certainly too old for rubbish topics like this one, there's no need to take sides atheer. I call it as I see it. And it's far from being as simple as: "you're either with us or against us". It's a lot more nuanced than that. Ma calayna.

^ I didn't mean to offend. I find this particular Somaliland discussion tasteless and bigoted. And said so some days ago. I also find my involvement in it just as tasteless. I'll let you all enjoy your mud slinging. And to be honest with you, I actually used that same line of yours elsewhere. The one about the viable state. Now the question I ask myself is why was it good enough for me and not for you? As you were.

^ Which part of "nevermind" do you not understand?

Nevermind.

Petitions make me sick and I question their value specially in this case. But I have to let my utter disgust with the recent conflict and overall disastrous anarchy engulfing Muqdisho and other cities be known. From a lame-duck president and toothless parliament to blood-thirsty warlords and from Somali-styled Islamic courts to the mighty US' war on terror, does that wretched land have a snowflake's chance in hell for better times?

Originally posted by Northerner: Tuujiye, lets work with facts here rather than opinion. On May 18th 1991 Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia after the downfall of the Siad Barre ragime. Thus making this date a time for Somlis (note - all Somalis) to remember/celebrate. Yes, you should also remember and be happy the regime ended. Good Northerner, the regime officially collapsed on 1/27/1991. A little under 4 months later, Somaliland was born. With its birth came the (unjustified, in my view) branding of Tuujiye and his ilk as collaborators (i.e. the "defeated Lot") of the former regime or some such nonsense. That many of those who defeated Afweyne and forced him to flee in a tank would later be labelled the "defeated lot" is sad. To ask Tuujiye to celebrate that same date is a cruel joke, don't you think? Ma calayna. I personally have no idea what other significance (besides the decleration of independence) 5/18/1991 has. It is a shortcoming of mine that I don't. But whatever the significance of the date, I can appreciate the confusion and sadness that comes with trying to celebrate your birthday only to have some of those you invited to your party question your existence or your right to celebrate. Tuujiye and Xiin should be more concerned with getting their house in order before wondering what color paint their neighbor decided to use on his. And the neighbor should well know that the he's neither evolved past nor is he immune to the disasters occuring right next door. And to put all this salt in each other's wounds is behavior unbecoming of either side. Happy May 18th, June 26th, and July 1st.

Indeed there are historical and current precedents to our case. May be this is an example of how we need to look at the government of Somaliland and see how the Islamic groups are incorporated in that system of governance.

I see. That's indeed another plausible explanation to the comments in the article. We'll see how things unfold. My suspicion is the only assistance the US gives out is to those who publicly admit fighting "al-Qaeda-backed jihadists." That last label is for domestic US consumption and to justify the pillaging of the federal reserve. So unless and until A/Y publicly declares war on the courts, he won't receive a red cent.

General, I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't attacking the president, per se. Here's what has been reported about A/Y on the BBC: Mr Abdullahi called on both sides to end the fighting, and told the BBC the alliance of warlords "are not fighting on behalf of the government". And in the same article: He said it was up to parliament "to take an appropriate action against those members who are waging the war". And incredibly shortly after that: And he called on the US to work with the government not "individuals in the capital" to fight terrorism. How did members of his own government become "individuals in the capital?" And while denouncing and distancing himself from the anti-terror alliance that includes some members of his own government, he publicly asks for assistance to do the same thing they're doing. In essence, he says, let me be the one armed by the US to fight the courts. Or am I misreading the BBC article and the quotes it contains? Source

When (or if) the courts destroy the US and greed backed "alliance", would it not be their duty to march to Baidoa to flush out the other entity that is publicly begging the US for assistance to destroy the courts? I mean why just end the issue in Xamar? Go all the way, I say, and see what A/Y will do in his nice blue suit.

Exactly. What could that possibly harm? I cannot see it making things any worse and it will certainly make AY look somewhat firm. By the way, I just read in another article you posted somewhere that AY is in Uganda. LOL. I heard Kempala is breath-taking in the spring. Also, why don't you get a blog to write about Somalia and make it a resource and respository of all the news articles about it. It would certainly be unique complete with pictures and all.

Aamiin. A medical student? Why can't we lose a bum drug addict or two instead of a medical student? I hope they find her alive and well.

Concern over missing Somali rises A sandal found near the Washington Avenue Bridge might belong to the woman. Myron P. Medcalf, Star Tribune More than 100 members of the Somali community gathered Thursday at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Minneapolis to question city and police officials about their efforts to locate a 24-year-old woman who disappeared early Tuesday. Lt. Jeff Storms of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said that a man called authorities about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday and said he saw a woman go over the guard rail of the Washington Avenue pedestrian bridge above the Mississippi River. The witness looked into the river but saw nothing. University of Minnesota police found a sandal near the bridge that Sudi Bashir Abdi's family said might belong to her. Her brother contacted police a few hours later when the family woke up and realized that she was missing. Many at Thursday's meeting wondered aloud whether Abdi had been kidnapped or forced into the water, and asked Storms and Minneapolis police Capt. Rich Stanek if they were using every available resource to find her. Storms said the Sheriff's Office is using the metro area's only sonar-enabled boat to search the river. He said that no foul play is suspected and that a recovery team has been searching the river from 7 a.m. until sundown daily. He said the Sheriff's Office has expanded its efforts for this investigation, which "has a lot to do with the community" responding the way it has. Stanek said that he would gather more facts about the case once he left the meeting but that until something leads police to believe that a crime led to Abdi's disappearance, it won't become a criminal investigation. Abdi attends medical school at Hofstra University in New York. She returned to Minneapolis for a visit late Monday, her family said. Omar Jamal, a community leader, facilitator and translator at the meeting, said the missing woman has been a role model. He said the best way to reach a resolution is for community members and police to work together. Fartun Abdi, the missing woman's sister, said her sister would not take her own life. She had told Fartun Abdi that she was excited to come home and take care of their mother. She was stressed a bit about medical school, but had detailed plans to spend time with family members. She said that it would not have been unusual for her sister to be near the river late at night, but that if she's in it, it's not by choice. "If she's in there, she's in there against her will," she said. Anyone with information about the disappearance of Sudi Bashir Abdi should contact the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office water patrol division at 952-471-1300. Myron P. Medcalf • 612-673-4092 Source

Warring Somali ministers warned Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has warned his ministers that they cannot continue to serve in his government while leading militias into battle. His comments follow a week of fighting between an alliance of warlords - some of whom have seats in the transitional government - and an Islamist militia. About 150 people, mainly civilians, have died in the capital Mogadishu. One warlord, the Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare, says his militia is fighting "al-Qaeda in Somalia". Mr Abdullahi called on both sides to end the fighting, and told the BBC the alliance of warlords "are not fighting on behalf of the government". He said it was up to parliament "to take an appropriate action against those members who are waging the war". And he called on the US to work with the government not "individuals in the capital" to fight terrorism. There are strong suspicions the US has been secretly funding the warlords, although Washington insists it has not violated the arms embargo in Somalia, the BBC's Africa Editor David Bamford says. But a top US diplomat in Africa, Jendayi Frazer, acknowledged on Friday that the White House would work with those who can help "prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists". Displaced civilians Hospitals in Mogadishu have been overwhelmed with more than 250 people - many of them women and children - who have been wounded in the fighting. Fighting continued on Saturday, despite appeals by the UN and the US - and an offer by Somali clan elders to broker a ceasefire. The fighting has been concentrated in the CC district, where the clashes began a week ago. Residents have been forced to flee or hide in storm drains amid an almost constant barrage of mortar shells and gunfire. Dr Sheikh don Salad Elmi, the director of Medina hospital in South Mogadishu, where many have been brought in with severe injuries, said the fighting was affecting up to 200,000 inhabitants. Pedram Yazdi of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia said they were monitoring the movement of displaced civilians closely. "It is difficult to know at the moment exactly how many people are affected, but we are assessing the situation, seeing where people are moving to and whether they need our assistance," he told the BBC. The fighting began when warlords who had divided Mogadishu into fiefdoms united to tackle a growing Islamist force, our correspondent says. He says the Islamists have managed to confine the four main warlords and their militias to separate pockets on the edges of the city The UN says the Islamists now control 80% of the capital. This is the second round of serious fighting in Mogadishu this year. In March, clashes between the two sides killed at least 90 people. Somalia has not had an effective national authority for 15 years since the ousting of President Siad Barre in 1991.

^ Personally, I won't do a thing and violence against them would be reprehensible. But most violence is reprehensible and certainly what is occuring in Muqdisho (with the help of an anonymously posted address) may give someone an idea or two. You know, a die hard nationalist (or even someone interested in the greater good) could find it inescapable that he or she might take matters into their hands. Is this not the only language warlords understand? Threaten, kidnap, injure, maim, rob, extort or kill. Karma is a b!tch awoowe and we reap what we sow, here and in the hereafter.

Originally posted by HornAfrique: "We need help but instead [the faction leaders] have been feeding us bullets for the last 16 years," she said of Mogadishu's faction leaders. "It is our children they are killing. Their children are in safe countries. " Can someone get a list of the warlords participating in this current Muqdisho conflict (whether pro or against the courts)? And also a list of where the families of these cowards live in the diaspora would be great.

Baashow, as long as these policy makers and those who influence them speak of “MARTYRDOM-SEEKING NATIONâ€, war is inevitable. How can an entire nation be martyrdom-seeking? How many more lies can get us into another imperial misadventure? Whatever happened to intellectual honesty? The greatest threat humanity has ever faced is US hegemony and hubris. Indeed, it is the US that must be stopped and disarmed.

MMA calooshaad igu xanuunisay postkaaga. Saaxib that was the most passionate appeal I have heard in a long time.

Dee naga daa adnaa. Sowdigan kaga dhigay cajalad kalajabtay. Let's have a moratorium on discussing or even mentioning AHA. What say you good Khayr? Even if you don't agree, I'm done.

^ Did our anointed president Abdillahi Yuusuf say anything about the events of this week? Did he sack the criminals in his own government who are perpetrating this madness? Besides going to Libya, exactly what did Abdillahi Yuusuf say or do in the past six days? Generalow, spineless and directionless leadership is as bad as no leadership, if not worse. We are certainly back to square one and if anyone thinks those two years in Kenya and the past year and half in Baidoa are wasted, they're right. It's back to the drawing board but not before losing a few hundred more lives and displacing tens of thousands. This impotent and despot-in-the-making "president" of ours must go.

Farah Blue, thanks for the links atheer. I know you're a man of peace but could you find Ayaan Hirsi Ali and stab her in the chest with a pair of scissors. Also attach a note to her chest that says "I got you now you lyin' b!tch". Then take pictures of her bleeding to death and post them here on SOL. We can then officially celebrate the death of our public enemy number 1. Could you atheer? Thanks. Jimcaale, atheer, in the great scheme of things, specially TODAY, Hirsi Ali ain't shit. It's exactly your reaction and Khayr's that keeps her in the headlines.

I saw this article as Xiin did. It's by no means an appeasment of Americans (or even Iranians). If anything, it assaults America's hegemony and imperial ambitions. The transformation Pat Buchanan has undergone in the past 15 years is remarkable. Not unlike that of Ariana Huffington (also a former right-wing hawk and now a tree-hugging liberal), he shows incredible clarity and lucidity in the face of much jingoistic rhetoric and rabid flag-waving punditry. That takes courage.

Originally posted by WaTerLily: I doubt it Castro, it's not just noise. If you are a politician and you are caught in your lie, your days are numbered. She traded in on those false experiences, they made her who she is, or so it appeared. The lies and exaggerations were for the asylum claim. She traded in her religion for fame and fortune. So what? Who cares? Do we have our house in such great order that we need to chase every murtad in the streets? Our failures as Muslims can hardly be explained by Hirsi Ali or any other person that speaks ill of Islam. She's the perfect distraction, however. Can anyone here in good conscious tell me they find the killing of the innocent in Muqdisho, with mortar fire no less, less grave than Ayaan Hirsi Ali's rubbish life events? Keep the lynch party going.

I wouldn't know what to say saaxib so I respectfully decline. I'm only losing hope, you see, but I'm not indifferent. And no one here, other than you, can convey to us the depth and width of the tragedy we witness today.