Could anyone here please list three (3) distinct justifications for this proposed war? It seems to me, from my 20,000 foot view, that "isma dhaanto" is about to wage war on "dhasheedi"! Ofleh

Just admit it....you cant even contain how envious you feel. I bet you're even contemplating moving lock stock n barrel soon... Indeed, indeed! I am sipping on a 32 oz. cup of Hatorade! Ofleh

Guantanamo Bay holds Saudis (majority), Afghanis, Egyptians, Yemenis and Pakistanis. The remainder are very small minorities from Sudan and other arab countries. Who in Saudi Arabia is going to "demand" the US release its citizens? The Americans have placed their d!cks so far up Saudi a$$ that they can hardly breath. Will Hamid Karzai demand Afghanis are released from Camp X-ray? Hamid Karzai? If you look up toothless in the dictionary it will have Karzai's picture. The poster boy for post colonial puppet head of government. Will Hosni Mubarak do it? Not while the US continues to supply him with hair dye to cover his age! The man gets $6 billion a year from the US. What on earth is he gonna tell Bush? Keep your money and "let my people go"? Yemen is basically at war with the US after the USS Cole bombing. They can't ask for a damn thing. My point is: the mighty will dictate the rules of the game. In our times, this is the United States. In addition to dictating the rules, they will write the story of this game, later to be known as the history of the "War on Terror". There are options: 1) "If you can't beat them join them". Like most so called muslims and arabs who live in the west. With their not so tacit approval and taxes that support US hegemoney. Popular option. 2) Refuse to be a part of this and move to their "3rd world" homelands and possibly place themselves on the waiting list for the next "shock and awe" bombing campaign by the US military. Dangerous option. 3) Refuse to be a part of this and become activists in the west that try to change public opinion through grassroots movements. Boring option. 4) Like Che Guevarra, believe that a revolution without rifles would never work and take up arms against the US. There are many areas that would welcome "insurgents". Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran (soon), Venezuala (soon), the islamic "istans" of this world, etc... This is almost guaranteed to end in violent death via a laser guided bomb intended for another target alltogether. Deadly option. 5) Refuse to be lulled to sleep by the elite and their powerful propaganda and recognize what's going on. Make attempts to educate those around you about what's happening and how it's going down. Understand that the US (and UK and most nations) is run by very powerful interests (not Bush, Blair, Chenney or Rumsfeld for they are merely tools of the elite) who will go to great lengths to keep their wealth and get more of it. And that the majority of the populations in those countries are just there to be manipulated with religion, patriotism, or the "boogey man" du jour. Ofleh option. Ofleh

10:30 - Got into work. 12:30 - Went out for friday lunch and baking in the sun. 15:00 - Got back into the office 2 shades darker n in good spirits. 17:00 - Left the office. Only in Europe could you have work hours like that. Basically, a 4 hour work day. No wonder y'all are broke the whole time. Don't tell me, you get 3 months vacation every year. Out here work is 7.30 to 12:00 then 13:00 to 18:00 and that's on a slow day. I guess them Somalis in Europe didn't have to change much coming to Europe. It's the same old do nothing, have nothing. Ofleh

.... for the simple reason that in return they will get validation from the white man.Its almost like their existence depends on the validation they get from the white man.Very sad indeed. I agree. It's been my experience though that the people who need validation from whitey the least are Somalis. You see, our pride coupled with our ignorance and individual intelligence creates a toxic mix for any culture. We hate whitey but only as much as we hate every other race. Including other blacks. Asians, Arabs, and to a lesser extent Latinos, try hard to impress whitey. We don't. We don't give a flying f%ck about whitey. Whitey can kiss our collective and individual a$$es. That's my laba kumi iyo taano! Ofleh

That really hurt!

until education is well out the way I say jump on it 'cause if you have to jump off, your stock is still trading high. Marriage is tough. Marriage with kids is even tougher. Marriage with kids with no endurance is impossible. Good luck! Ofleh

Why not? they are @home, infront of a huge crowd, they have done it before. The pistons are the UNDERDOGS. A lot of good that crowd did in game 6! I've been to San Antonio many times. Great town. Nice people. I can't stand Tim Duncan though. And Tony Parker is getting on my last nerve. Ginobili is cool. Robert Horry sucks a$$ (although my wife met him at a local mall and she thinks he's hot!). When facing elimination, Greg Popovich is 0-0 and Larry Brown is 8-1. The Pistons are the defending champs. Besides, I put a jinx on the Spurs. They just can't win! Ofleh

Maansha Allah. Totally off topic here but it's not "maansha". The words are "Maa'shaa Allah". "Maa" being whatever, "shaa" meaning wants. Just getting annoyed by the "n" in there. Sorry.

Appologies to Oefleh for the irrelevant post. I think it's very relevant. Pistons won games 3 and 4 decisively. Then lost game 5 by a nanometer. Then turned around and won game 6 convincingly. How on earth can you say the Spurs will win when they have had no momentum in this series since game 2? The Wallaces are gonna take care of bidness tonight!! Ofleh

... and we know certainly its true,but does he have any other point,anything other than what we already know.I don't want to waste time learning stuff i already know by heart. It's great you think your time is valuable. I actually did kinda have a point. Believing in God, according to Pascal, seems to be the most prudent and safest option. Simply believing in God however, is not sufficient in Islam. It's necessary but not sufficient. So Pascal is off the mark when it comes to Islam. Furthermore, not believing in God, presumably, means you are not religious. If you are not religious, then what constitutes a "sin"? His remarks are predicated on some universal definition of "sin", which he assumes exists whether or not you believe in God. Just random thoughts on random things. I'm just really passing time till the Pistons whoop San Antonio tonight. Now the NBA finals, that stuff I watch "religiously". Ofleh

The French mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-62) put forward an argument that would appeal to agnostics. (An agnostic is someone who believes that it is impossible to prove God's existence.) His argument goes something like this: God either exists or he does not. If we believe in God and he exists, we will be rewarded with eternal bliss in heaven. If we believe in God and he does not exist then at worst all we have forgone is a few sinful pleasures. If we do not believe in God and he does exist we may enjoy a few sinful pleasures, but we may face eternal damnation. If we do not believe in God and he does not exist then our sins will not be punished. Would any rational gambler think that the experience of a few sinful pleasures is worth the risk of eternal damnation? Interesting, eh?

In a world were the muslim lands are united under one amir and honour and prosperity returns to muslims, were do you think Somalia would be? fighting amongst themselves, refusing to join? what? I'd say all of the above. Somalis are diverse enough to have infighting, refusal to become part of a khilafah or what have you. Eventually, Islam will win and they'll join but not before a lot of inner and outer struggle. Ofleh

Platonic friendships suit those who understand and accept the limitations of such relationships, I think. Amen!

Great topic subject. I'm sure everyone would take a peak out of curiosity. I did. I then thought what a great marketing scheme. First lure those who are most susceptible to "fooling around" in here, then beat them with a big stick. That's great. Good job Nur. You must know by now that "da'awa" (Islamic evangelism) is a tough business. Some people will be really nice to you for fear of being labelled infidels and others will just stay out of your way. I understand full well that asking muslims to be true to their religion is a duty of every muslim. However, the tactics have always been debatable. Should one use more carrots (promise of Jannah) or a bigger stick (fire of Jahanam)? It's a very delicate balance that's hard to achieve. I do admire your eloquence though and commend you on a good sermon. I found it to be straight forward and convincing for the most part. Ofleh

That's great. Nothing like watching a superpower destroy a hard working third world country for its resources.

Are you not wary of the fact that it could potentially ruin your marriage, that you have all the “backups?†just in case your marriage breaks down? Living in that type of state surely can’t be healthy for your marriage. And what’s this about “solar flares†am I right in assuming that you plan to cheat on your wife? Sure. I am cognisant of the implications. However, friendships (good ones) endure moving, marriages and other social engagements. Some of my friendships are 15 years old. Much longer than both my marriages. But that's just details. This is a premeditated scandal if I ever did see one! I wouldn't go that far. Premeditation involves tactical planning. I'm more of a "spur of the moment" type of person. Cheers, Ofleh P.S. If you find me completely amoral and repulsive, that's ok. While I don't plan to come across that way, I understand where your perception might come from.

Dacowo is quite right; the topic had a promising start. But as shankroon already mentioned, if you're married what on god's green earth are you doing looking for something more in your platonic relationships? That's a personal issue I'm dealing with. It's not that I'm "looking" for something but I'm reflecting on what's out there. The only men who are incapable of having platonic relationships are Somali men! I disagree. And here's why: Columnist: Men who like women By Aaron Vehling You are a young heterosexual woman with heterosexual male friends just like many of your female contemporaries. You and your male friend are solely friends, right? Probably not. It's usually not possible for men simply to be friends with women because most of the time there is an attraction factor in that allegedly platonic dynamic. The attraction level can vary, obviously, as not every guy wants to toss his female friends onto a La-Z-Boy and shag them. With some female friends, the guy may just find them to be entities of cute or sexy disposition. With others, the guy may actually fantasize about the sexual prowess of his unsuspecting friend. Regardless of how much involvement the pelvis has in the relationship, there are really only two possible situations where a male-female relationship is solely platonic. First, the guy is a homosexual. Second, the guy genuinely does not find the woman attractive. There is a popular theory, The Ladder Theory, formalized by Jared Whitson, from which I have derived some of my credence. The Ladder Theory is centered around the fact that guys rank female friends with whom they would like to have sex based on specific criteria. There are essentially three criteria - looks, estimated chance the girl will put out and another category the author specifies as "other," which includes any other traits that appeal to a particular guy. To better explain the Ladder Theory, here is a theoretical example. Bob meets a girl named Jane. Then, at some point thereafter, he meets a young lass named Connie. On the surface, this is simply one guy meeting two separate women. But when you dig deeper, an enchanting truth is revealed. When Bob meets Jane, he assesses her based on the aforementioned criteria. He then ranks her, based on those criteria, on a metaphorical ladder. When Bob meets Connie, he does the same assessment, but this time he has someone to compare her with and discovers he likes Connie better than Jane. Thus, he places Connie on a higher rung than he did Jane. Essentially, Bob is saying "I would like to have sex with Jane, but I really wanna have sex with Connie." My theory is less sexually oriented, but the ranking system does make a lot of sense. The second instance of platonic friendship in my model is contrary to yet another relational theory, presented by Billy Crystal in the infamous 1989 film "When Harry Met Sally." Crystal's character, Harry, said the guy always wants to have sex with his female friends regardless of how they look. But my theory asserts that if the guy is attracted to his female friend, a mere friendship is not possible. If he feels no attraction, the core of the dynamic is effectively similar to that of a homosexual male-heterosexual female friendship. A friendship is only possible between a guy and a gal if the guy does not find the woman attractive. My contemplation on this theory prompted a recent assessment of my own friendships with women. What I determined matched my theory entirely. I am attracted to almost every female friend of mine on some level. For the friends I am not attracted to, the relationship is quite different from my relationships with those I do find attractive. When I spend time with an attractive female friend, I am in a terribly platonic mood until a series of moments when the drive kicks in. From that point, I think to myself "I know she's just a friend, but she's also incredibly hot," or it could even get to the point where I declare in the hippodrome inside my head that I need to figure out a way to transcend my friendship with the girl. Interestingly, this theory does not apply to the woman's feelings toward the man. Women are more capable of transcending the boundaries of aesthetics and sex than men when it comes to friendships. They may value the platonic relationships with their male friends to such an extent that they do not realize the guys are attracted to them. But ladies, ask yourself this: If you stripped naked and requested sex from your male friend, or if you simply initiated a heated make-out session with the lad, would he object? Would he kindly say to you, "I'm sorry, but I value our friendship too much," or would he comply without any hesitation? Chances are he would pounce on you out of pure animal instinct. But ladies, don't let this news drive you to be unnecessarily paranoid. The guy is not actually going to make a move on you. You can live the rest of your lives as "friends" with those guys, enlightened by this information, without any male ever aware of your astuteness.

I've seen a documentary on PBS about Fox News and how they report. They featured a Fox reporter who was covering the compaign of President Bush while the reporter's wife was compaigning for the president. They said this is called A CONFLICT OF INTEREST but Fox didnt' care. I would love to see that documentary again. You're right. The documentary is called "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's war on journalism". And what a war it is. American mainstream media has recognised that consolidation, identifying with the elite and those in power and marginalizing the average person is not only doable but also extremely profitable. For example, NBC is owned by General Electric (GE), who also happens to make engines for warplanes. Now, anyone with more than two brain cells ought to know that the only way GE can sell more engines to the Pentagon is to beat the drums of war. It's actually that simple. But if you do it under the guise of patriotism and love for the homeland, why that is like hitting a home run. There are no major conspiracies out there and the jews (accused of owning the US media) are really not up to that. It comes down to dollars and cents. Sell the war, sell the engines and help the government (that they helped elect) transfer more of the taxpayers money to the elite through contracts to Halliburton and the like. The military industrial complex is alive and well and now it has added the media to its arsenal. Peace. Ofleh

With the screams and the lack of sleep and the nighmares, i believe, a justice, a different kind of justice from Allah has been served to him. That's great. I personally prefer to have killers locked up. Nightmares will not cut it. God's justice will come but the victims and their families need justice now. Let a killer become bubba's girlfriend in jail. If not, we will have the law of the jungle where the victims families will seek revenge. And we all know where that has taken us in the last 15 years. Ofleh

There are many killers in the Somali diaspora and also in the online community. There is a man in the Somali online community, a well known man oo sheeko miran. He used to be a militiaman before he fled the country and killed many people. So theres one example. I'd be careful about making statements like that. Unless you have credible evidence of such crimes, please refrain from make these assertions. If you're wrong, it's slander. If you're right, share the evidence with us and let's get this "alleged" murderer exposed and be brought to justice. Ofleh

It's really a matter of speculation on the number of "killers" out here, or anywhere. I'd be cautious of pointing any fingers lest I falsely accuse someone innocent. Having said that, it's worth noting that crimes against humanity in Somalia must be dealt with sooner or later. Even today, sixty years later, Nazis are being hunted all over the world for prosecution. While blanket amnesty is worth considering, there are individuals who were particularly ruthless. Those we must find and bring to justice. It's sad that even when such attempts are made by Somalis in the diaspora, they are motivated by clannism and really lose their objectivity. It's as if a killer from my clan is less of a criminal than other clans'. Ofleh

The topic had a very promising start up until u labelled urself as a male member. So it would have been better if a female had posted this? I don't understand. Bro don't look for life philosophies in a comedy programme. I look for philosophy everywhere. Including comedy. Ofleh

Originally posted by Haddad: In the Fox and Friends program, one of them said Saddam Hussein is worse than Hitler. Fox News Channel is an abomination. Avoid at all cost. Rupert Murdoch (the owner) is a racist, right-wing, war mongering son of a b!tch! Ok. Breath. I'm calm now. I personally get my news from Amy Goodman on Democracy Now (www.democracynow.org). Quite possibly the only outlet of real news in the US. Everything else, including CNN, is a flag waving, patriotic bigotry channels designed to keep the average American afraid and in the dark and to sell cars and toothpaste. Ofleh

I may be wrong but didnt you say you were married with kids. Affirmative. I never said I was neutered though. If so, would you really want your glass to be broken in an emergency? Depends on the emergency I think. Prior to marriage and in times of conflict, separation, divorce or even elevated levels of Testosterone (due to solar flares) is when one would like to have that glass broken. As Chris Rock stated, and I must say I agree with him on some level: women friends are just those whom men have yet to be intimate with. While male friends are the "extinguishers" in the glass box. Our religion and culture are against male-female "friendships" so this is an issue that many don't experience and even less would want to talk about. Ofleh