Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Alla maanta maxaa ku haysta Mighty good Xiin, Simon says: be kind to the sister and explain what a Muharam is, first, then indicate what evidence you have it is Islamic and last, show us why in certain circumstances, we cannot do without it. Fair, atheer? (Hey that rhymes) Foxy, that helmet came in handy, didn't it?

^ I just wanted to give you a heads up on the muharam thing. It's actually legit, though as Somalis we don't practice it much. I'd never be a spectator when you're involved. I'll watch over you from a distance and then fire indiscriminately into the crowd if you need me to. walee inaad rageedi tahay Castro I'm afraid to wonder what this means. :eek:

^ Foxy, strap your helmet on. It's gonna get bumpy from here on.

Originally posted by NGONGE: Heh. Classic move. If the chat up lines and charming talk don't work, get her drunk. And you know about this how?

^ Don't post anymore today. Ok?

^ I'll buy the film and ship it. As soon as I receive that book you borrowed, oh, five months ago.

Originally posted by Rowda: "P.P.S. Rowda, balaayo ma jidho, haday jidhana ma buurna." Castro is this ur way of waving the white flag? Yes it is. Peace on earth is my eternal wish.

Now that's southern hospitality, to the naked eye it might appear Castro's giving me the address in H-Town to find the film. Did you mean 'untrained' eye by any chance? Sigmund would be so proud of you right about now.

^ What would be an equivalent jail term for gouging an eye? 10 years? It's assualt, right? So this Indian dude would be free to go once his eye is 'surgically' removed? What kind of doctor would volunteer for this? I'd rather lose an eye and return home than spend 10 years in a Saudi jail.

^ Rakiya Omar: always no nonsense, straightforward answers. God bless her.

Originally posted by NGONGE: PS Do YOU own a mobile phone (not you CW)? I'd think mobile conversations shouldn't need a Moharam. There's virtually no chance of physical contact (during the conversation). When Xalimo dashes for the door after the phone call is when a Moharam is necessary. No? Do Somalis know about this Moharam business? It doesn't seem like it's such a big deal for us.

This you should all like. Very funny. The War on the Literal (by Marina Hyde) One of the many minor irritations about the War on Terror is that its architects are having so much more success vanquishing language than they are getting the psychopathic malcontents to put down their weapons. Hindsight it may be, but I can't help thinking the die was cast the second the Bush administration announced we were going to war on an abstract noun. Two weeks after the Pentagon had been attacked and the World Trade Centre destroyed ... and we're picking a fight with grammar? Forget Clinton and his "it depends what your definition of 'is' is" semantic games. These guys meant business. (Interestingly, in line with the new policy on euphemism, business now meant "defence and oil companies from whom we personally profit". In turn, events would later see these redefined as "national security", and therefore no longer a matter for discussion.) You'll recall that the first step in this brave new world of periphrasis was to create the Coalition of the Willing, which these days seems an increasingly sweet way of saying "Us, the Brits, and 160 Mongolian troops. Which, by the way, isn't even a whole horde." No matter. The War on the Literal" was underway. Are we winning yet? Well, the current focus on the CIA policy of flying terror suspects to countries where they can be questioned outside the protection of US law reveals that the latest word to get its *** kicked is "rendition". That, and the more vogueish phrase "extraordinary rendition". Hitherto, for me at least, "rendition" conjured up images of musical actors dressed in brightly coloured clothes crying "hey, let's do a song about it!". In its qualified state, it would indicate someone garnering critical acclaim for said rendering, as in: "That really was an extraordinary rendition of Memory from Cats." Now it turns out the phrase refers to sitting on the tarmac at Glasgow Prestwick airport while your CIA interrogators stock up on fuel before exporting you to some facility that doesn't show up on any Romanian Ordnance Survey maps. Who knew? Certainly, the dictionary has once again been left with egg on its face. "Rendition", it states. "The act of rendering." To render is defined among other things as to present, to give what is owed, to translate into another language and to reduce by heating. Not one word about being cellophaned to a ducking stool in the former eastern bloc. And call me a hopeless old romantic, but it's really ripped the poetic heritage out of the word. "Render unto Egypt that which you can't make stand for 16 straight hours on home soil." Hard to put a finger on it, but it definitely loses something. Admittedly, against all the odds, the CIA's verbal appropriation has softened the blow of one familiar scenario. Next time a builder of questionable scruples squints at your brickwork and assures you the only way to deal with it is rendering, you will be able to think: "Well, it could be worse." Indeed, "rendition" has some way to go before its definition becomes as elastic as that of "freedom" now is. Frankly, the Bush administration's "freedom" knocks the "patriot" of Patriot Act fame into a cocked hat. You can prefix anything with this baby. It can only be days before Fox News starts referring to white phosphorus as "freedom dust". As for the potato chips ... There's a moment in David Rees's brilliant internet cartoon strip Get Your War On when two office workers discuss the US Congress's decision to rename french fries in the wake of France's refusal to support America's stance on Iraq. "Freedom Fries???" one demands. "OK, I have a question - is the War on Terrorism over? Because I sure as hell want to know that ALL THE TERRORISTS IN THE WORLD HAVE BEEN CAPTURED before legislators actually take the time to rename their GODDAMN CAFETERIA FOOD!" In such a milieu, then, it's no surprise to find ourselves talking about "extraordinary renditions". The only question, now that it has been sullied by unsightly explanation in the media, is how long we have to stick with the term. Not too long, hopefully. "Freedom torture" sounds so much more seemly. Elsewhere, it is faintly perplexing to learn that yet another chap described as "al Qaida's number three" has been killed in Pakistan. How many number threes is that now? In May, US authorities announced they had captured "al Qaida number three" Abu Faraj al Libbi, while, three years ago, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was nabbed whilst apparently toiling in this same rank. Now it seems the similarly important Abu Hamza Rabia has been killed in Pakistan. To the untrained eye, it might appear that al Qaida boasts a vast stratum of senior managers - kind of like the BBC of global terrorism. Or, if you prefer, one of those American banks where everyone is vice president of something or other. The more likely explanation, of course, is that each time a number three is captured or killed, another operative steps up to take his place. In which case, you'd have to think whoever is currently number four will today be gripped by a certain reluctance to take on this seemingly accursed promotion. Talk about dead men's shoes. One imagines him approaching number five with exquisite modesty. "Please, you're far more qualified." "Absolutely not - I insist." "I won't hear of it." "You're very kind, but I am withdrawing myself from the internal applications procedure . . ." Source

^ Atheer bilaash baad isku diirinaysaa. The women in the KSA may just like things the way they are. Have you ever thought of it that way? Who among us does not like to be chaufered around? Who wouldn't mind having a nanny or two to take care of the kids? If it's as bad as you make it out to be, change would have occured some time ago. I suspect this is a case of the victim and the victimizer enjoying the status quo. No?

Originally posted by Ducaqabe: Can someone help me with these words: hanakaa, gadhan, naac naac. Sure. Here it goes. hanakaa = Hanuka. The jewish festival of lights. Use it like this: Waaryaa yahuudiyow, hanakaa wanaagsaan. gadhan = gadh aan. It's actually two words. Used like this: Waar ninkaasi gadh aan waligii la xiirin ayuu leeyahay. I don't know the last one. Could be a repitition of some sort. Like diin and diin diin. Or booc and booc booc, you know, that tree with big leaves that oozed milk-ish liquid. P.S. We need to have a baafin (all points bulletin) on Haddad on the BBC. P.P.S. Rowda, balaayo ma jidho, haday jidhana ma buurna.

Originally posted by Ducaqabe: I thought Castro had something to do with Haddaad's disappearance. Any forensic investigators in the house? What did you do to him Mr. Castra?? Saaxib my concern was genuine. I sent Haddad a PM some months ago asking where he went. If anyone knows, just say it. We're a community that watches out for each other, no?

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: but as Haddaad is no longer with us Xiin, do you know what happened to Haddad?

^ Chief, I'm being obtuse here but are you saying young men are better off watching cultural films instead of chatting up young girls? So the lesser of two evils?

^ International Video, Hillcroft @ Westpark, Houston, TX. Do such problems exist where YOU live? How does society (local communities) combat it? You mean finding a quiet place to watch cultural films? It seems as though local communities in the west are ignoring the difficulty young men face in building a home. Getting married is no cakewalk. Not to mention, the "community" is fragmented in the west. Young men will have no problem finding willing western (and even eastern) girlfriends to have relationships with. These relationships are often sexual and though the young men may be well raised and semi-religious, the temptation is great and the availability is even greater. So marriages are delayed for a time, if not altogether scrapped. When was the last time you heard of a young man in his twenties getting hitched?

(d) His God -- Accusing him of selfishness, laziness, lust. Who is accusing whom?

^ Thanks Sophist. Unfortunately, for every Shuriye, we have 100 under achieving Faraaxs. How sad that is. I applaud the young man. He sure makes me proud. Bravo.

^ I can share my 'cultural films'.

^ Tell em UD, tell em!

^ So according to your statement: Complicated issues always have simple solutions. To prove your statement false, all I need is to find one case where a complex issue does not have a simple solution. Are you with me? Here's one: abortion. Here's another: income tax. Here are a couple more: war and peace. Catch my drift, atheer? Be careful with the use of words like always and never. Don't get me wrong, I like your style and don't mean to cramp it but if you use these words irresponsibly, as you have here, more often than not, you will find yourself in hot water. I'm at ease. Thank you. P.S. You're better of with my telling you about this than The Eagle dropping a couple of Abu Alaa Al Ma'ari stanzas and tearing into your flesh.

Originally posted by underdog: Complicated issues always have simple solutions. Complicated issues rarely surrender to simple solutions. Sorry to interrupt. As you were.

^ I don't know if I am but I highly doubt it. If I were, however, I'd be extremely honored. May be that is what it's all about. Seeking honor. Claiming lineage to those who are, or one deems are, superior to themselves, is not unheard of. What is ridiculous about our particular case is that the claim is made with not a shred of evidence to support it. Other than brute force, in your face, "we are what we claim we are and there ain't a damn thing you could do about it".