Originally posted by Baashi: No, none is taken especially from amigo Castro. I'm delighted to hear that for I meant none.

Originally posted by Baashi: Where is the misunderstanding stemming from? Baashi, there is no misunderstanding. Thinly veiled sexist rhetoric that hides behind seemingly innocuous but dangerous labels as manly man are unacceptable. And when all else fails, brother Khayr brings out the holy book, just in case we might scatter and renounce our earlier arguments. Please. The problem here is that we understand each other, not the contrary.

Originally posted by Baashi: Race perhaps. However, class and abject poverty seems to be the unifying factor than race. Baashi, I see your compassionate conservatism is forcing you to avoid the use of the word "race" but instead opt for class and poverty. I've known you to call a spade what it is. Why must you beat around the bush (nasty pun not intended) on this issue?

If you still think the response to the disaster in NO was not racist, compare it to the response to hurricanes of category 2 or 3 strength hitting Palm Beach Florida. Last year, the national guard was dispatched before the storm even hits. What's the difference you ask? Palm Beach, FL, is predominantely white and affluent. Heck, even if they weren't affluent, as the midwest is with tornadoes, the response was far superior to much lesser disasters.

“Hell No We Ain’t Alright†New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night Hell No We Ain’t Alright Now all these press conferences breaking news alerts This just in while your government looks for a war to win Flames from the blame game, names? Where do I begin? Walls closing in get some help to my kin Who cares?While the rest of the Bushnation stares As the drama unfolds as we the people under the stairs 50% of this Son of a Bush nation Is like hatin’ on Haiti And setting up assassinations Ask Pat Robertson- quiz him.... smells like terrorism. Racism in the news/ still one-sided news Saying whites find food/ prey for the national guard ready to shoot ‘Cause them blacks loot New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night Hell No We Ain’t Alright Fires, earthquakes, tsunamis I don’t mean to scare/ Wasn’t this written somewhere? Disgraces all I see is black faces moved out to all these places Emergency state, corpses, alligators and snakes Big difference between this haze and them diamonds on the VMA’s We better look/ what’s really important Under this sun especially if you over 21 This ain’t no TV show/ this ain’t no video This is really real/ beyond them same ole “keep it real†Quotes from them TV stars drivin’ big rim cars 'Streets be floodin,’ B/ no matter where you at, no gas Driving is a luxury Urgency State of emergency Shows somebody’s government Is far from reality.... New Orleans in the morning, afternoon, and night Hell No We Ain’t Alright I see here we be the new faces of refugees Who ain’t even overseas but here on our knees Forget the plasma TV-ain’t no electricity New worlds upside down-and out of order Shelter? Food? Wasssup, wheres the water? No answers from disaster/ them masses hurtin’ So who the f**k we call?--Halliburton? Son of a Bush, how you gonna trust that cat? To fix s**t when help is stuck in Iraq? Making war plans takin’ more stands In Afghanistan 2000 soldiers dyin’ in the sand But that’s over there, right? Now what's over here is a noise so loud That some can’t hear but on TV I can see Bunches of people lookin’ just like me… Lyrics by the mighty Chuck D. of Public Enemy

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: but the solution does not lie in merging gender territories, so to say, and slurring distinctive manly attributes, saaxiib. So as you can see, mine was mere acknowledgement of the natural order, saaxiib. I see you're still unrepentant and singing that old natural order tune. No amount of backpedaling can retract your earlier asinine statements. Give it up, dude. That natural order you speak of maintains the lowest of men superior to the highest of women, simply because of their manliness. It's disgusting in this day and age, or any day and age. My beliefs and sentiments posted above were not done for applause. They are, in fact, the product of years and decades of observing the rotten status quo and understanding the reasons behind it. Alas, there's even hope for you and other manly men to see the light.

Originally posted by Baashi: The recent hikes are due to the Katrina impact on oil refineries and pipelines which they said accounts of 40 % of total distribution of oil in the states. Baashi, the most recent hikes are due to Katrina and mostly in North America only. The general and long term trend is an increase in oil prices, and conflicts, and reduction in oil reserves. Scarcity of oil, as economics 101 teaches us, is undisputed. On that note, I read a very interesting article about Venezuala and how the marked man Hugo Chavez is using his country's oil to connect with Carribean nations. For example, Chavez is ignoring IMF advice on how to spend oil profits. In exchange for cheap oil, he has 13,000 Cuban doctors, teachers and engineers revamping the educational and health systems of Venezuala. While this is classic social justice practice, it is raising the ire of western nations (read: US) and comments such as Pat Robertson's call to assassinate Chavez are on everyone's mind. It will probably happen if he continues to thumb his nose at America for long. I see nothing but higher prices, wars and assassinations due to oil in the near and not so near future. Until, that is, we run out of oil and will have all either perished in the oil wars or have discovered alternative and renewable sources of energy. Go Chavez Go. Show 'em what you know. Edited to add: Haniif, the cheap oil train has left the station and in that sense, Somalia is sh!t out of luck. But we have more urgent things to worry about now than cheap oil. Hopefully by the time we are ready to industrialize, a new source of energy will have been found.

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Is preserving the natural structure of the genders equivalent to fattening self on the expense of female counterparts?. :confused: The natural structure of the genders you speak of is what got us in this mess initially. The discredited belief that culture, god, tradition, nature or the excuse du jour ought to keep women docile, barefoot in the kitchen and pregnant is no more. And the realization is giving manly men, such as your self good Xiin, nightmare upon nightmare. For the men who celebrate, or simply acknowledge, women's new and long overdue recognition as the pillars of society that they've always been, the label girlie men awaits. Well, that is an insignificant price to pay for doing the right thing.

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Adeer ceeb maahan inuu ninku dumarka ka duwanaado. Mayee ceeb maaha. Waxa ceeb ah, laakin, inuu ninka fiicnaashihiisu ku xidhnaado dumarka xumaantooda. Shuucinimaduna aniga iyo adigaba way inoo ficantahay, saaxib. La'aanteed waa lagu garba beeli. As for the feminist movement, on whose behalf I do not speak, I suspect there is great worry among men, of all cultures mind you, that the success of women will come at the expense of men. An irrational fear that begets irrational behavior such as the manly man movement.

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Good luck with your simplistic view of the two genders, saaxiib. Et tu, Xiin, much luck to you with your complex, yet primitive, views on the genders. You will need the luck more than I do.

Originally posted by Baashi: In any event, I politely decline to get on a program the likes of Brown are piloting Baashi, are you saying Brown is a girlie man? This topic and its responses remind me of the governor of California, Ahnold, who called democrats girlie men for refusing something or another that he needed. The implication is obvious and clearly uses the girl reference to indicate weakness and being a wimp. Well, those things are not associated with being a girl or a woman. In fact, the girlie man insult, which is allegedly the opposite of the manly man term of endearment, is just that, a slur. What is a manly man? A double man? A big man? A fierce fighting man? One with a deep voice? How about one with lots of body hair? A gangster with gunshot wounds? How about a warlord? Is that a manly man? A manly man is a concept pushed by those whose social inadequacy is glaringly evident. It's a cheap and futile attempt to detract from real issues of decline in assumption of responsibility. What is in decline is not the manliness of man but the humanity of man. Fortunately, however, women and the so called girlie men are picking up the slack.

A George W. Bush eye opener: Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

Originally posted by liibaan: Next thing we'll see is the first "muslim" porn star I can think of at least two. Even way back from the 1980's. Don't ask how I know that.

Originally posted by Baashi: More like what the sentence is implying than anything else. I am too. Understanding the phrase is what evokes the pity. As for the phrase itself, I use that at least once a day. If not more. I'm entirely desensitized to it and many others. Nice story by the way and I don't doubt its authenticity.

Originally posted by Kashafa: "Caashaq bilaa fuluus, yaniika hawaa" Does this say what I think it says ? :eek: Yes it does. Totally non PC. Shame on you Baashi.

Originally posted by NGONGE: The results have been announced now. Let it go boys and girls. Go and pick on someone your size. Aie aie, captain!

Originally posted by Sky: Even though you and Ofleh aka Castro both are smallminded. Its clear that Ofleh has some major issues to deal with. Dude, you're losing sleep over this and making it personal. I'm not interested in name calling as it shows the caliber of the person. But your bigotry and others' I will stop on the spot. Capisce?

^ Ah, the good old I-can-dish-out-smack-but-me-can-take-none. Dude, Karma is a mutha. Breathe.

Originally posted by NGONGE: Will a Muslim friendly, women only version of Miss World do it? I've never heard of a co-ed beauty pageant but what is a muslim friendly one? How does Islam fit into the physical beauty aspect? If such a pageant existed, it would probably emphasize non-physical attributes of a woman and therefore, in the context of beauty, would be extremely boring. I don't watch beauty pageants anymore, but when I did, I made sure to tune in at the bikini part of it. It's just the way they were intended to be viewed. Islam is beautiful but it has no place in pageants. I just don't see how. It wouldn't be the first time but would you care to enlighten me, Ngonge? Edited: Oh I get the women only part now. You mean a pageant viewed by women only? Why that would certainly defeat the purpose of the whole exercise. What is the beauty of a woman if not paraded in front of a man, eh? Would a tree falling in the woods make a sound if there's not a Faarax to hear it?

Originally posted by ALexus.: It's extremely said for those black people living in America believing they would be consider the same as a white folk. I guess it's about time black people to open their eyes. Wait, don't tell me! You suggest they use Diana to solve their problems. Oh, and stay out of the sun too.

Originally posted by Aeronwen: Heer sare. Waa bilaa heer sare. That woman has not an ounce of beauty. What is wrong with you people? Have the british lowered your naturally high standards of beauty? Muslim or not, that woman shouldn't even be in the context.

^^^ You've taken this topic way beyond where it should go. Give it up, please. It may be dear to you but there's more to know and worry about than Diana users and sitting in the sun.

The Two Americas by Marjorie Cohn Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died. What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go." "Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis." "Merely sticking people in a stadium is unthinkable" in Cuba, Valdes said. "Shelters all have medical personnel, from the neighborhood. They have family doctors in Cuba, who evacuate together with the neighborhood, and already know, for example, who needs insulin." They also evacuate animals and veterinarians, TV sets and refrigerators, "so that people aren't reluctant to leave because people might steal their stuff," Valdes observed. After Hurricane Ivan, the United Nations International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction cited Cuba as a model for hurricane preparation. ISDR director Salvano Briceno said, "The Cuban way could easily be applied to other countries with similar economic conditions and even in countries with greater resources that do not manage to protect their population as well as Cuba does." Read the entire article and reflect.

Don't nobody post any more worthless pictures of some worthless Somali town boasting marbled hotel bathrooms and 12ft chandeliers while this is still going on. You hear me?

Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: i second Rudy ,,,, don't believe everything coz it is published on the NET ,,,, they just create things ,,,,,, It could be an urban legend but HIV is a tough way to learn a simple lesson. Just be aware and careful. That's all. Thank you Saluugla.