Xiin, you must watch this and tell us your verdict.

Not in the near future; heading east. The plan is to move to Dubai in Jan 09.

Abwaan Ramdan Kariim, Are you back in London?

Once a great man reduced to nothingness; time can be unpleasant teacher.

Majid? as in the family name of Iman?

Wishing him well Insha Allah.

Hambalyo iyo Bogaadin yaa north. May allah make him quratulacyun for you both.

EXCLUSIVE: Gary Hughes and Adele Ferguson | September 13, 2008 UNDERWORLD criminal networks and outlawed motorcycle gangs are exploiting weaknesses in corporate laws and poor regulation of financial markets, reaping multi-million-dollar profits from suspected share market manipulation, asset stripping and the snatching of control of companies they force into administration. Five state and federal agencies - Victoria Police Purana gangland taskforce, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Tax Office - are investigating financial deals and share transactions worth at least $100 million. Legitimate business owners have alleged that standover tactics, including physical threats and intimidation, have been used in some cases to try to force through deals or stop people going to the authorities. Detective Inspector Bernie Edwards, head of the Purana taskforce, told The Weekend Australian the business and finance sectors were rapidly becoming the new "powerbase" of organised crime. Key figures in some of the investigations include the head of Melbourne's Carlton Crew, Mick Gatto, and his business associate John Khoury, financial adviser and loan provider Tom Karas, high-profile share trader Leo "The Gun" Khouri, who lost tens of millions of dollars in the collapse of stockbroker Opes Prime earlier this year, members of a notorious Melbourne crime family, outlaw motorcycle gangs in a number of states, including NSW and Victoria, and official administrator Stuart Ariff, who is being taken to court by ASIC over his involvement in a string of insolvencies. All have denied any wrongdoing. In a number of cases uncovered by The Weekend Australian, so-called low-doc loans were used as a financial Trojan horse to force companies into receivership before they were allegedly legally plundered through the payment of excessive fees, had assets stripped out or were sold off to buyers with underworld links. Criminals and their business associates are known to have purchased shares in a number of small resources and biotech companies. The stock prices later jumped sharply after the shares were heavily traded through Opus Prime or off the back of favourable analyst reports, takeovers or rumours fuelled through the internet. Trading in some of the companies later contributed to the collapse of Opes Prime, initially set up by the accountant whoonce worked for the head ofaMelbourne crime family. Inspector Edwards said Purana, which is also working with the ACC, was using financial experts to track the dealings of suspected criminal identities and their business associates, although such investigations were "complex and lengthy" and could take years to complete. "Finance forms a powerbase for many organised criminal enterprises and is seen as a growing area of crime," Inspector Edwards said. "We are unable to comment on any specific case. However, the Purana task force is aware of suspected financial crime and its links with underworld figures." The head of the NSW fraud squad, Detective Superintendent Colin Dyson, told The Weekend Australian that organised crime was increasing its targeting of businesses and the financial sector, in some cases recruiting existing staff or infiltrating gang members to help on the inside. "A business, particularly an incorporated company, is an entity, like a person," Superintendent Dyson said. "Accordingly it is possible for criminals to commit the same types of offences as they do against members of the community." Bill Doherty, a company director who lost his business, Independent Power Coating, after it was placed into administration, said the lack of regulation in the insolvency industry had attracted a serious criminal element. "The three bodies, the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and the CPA Australia, resemble a dysfunctional hybrid of the three blind mice and three wise monkeys," said Mr Doherty, who has been interviewed by police about the possible role of organised crime figures in the loss of his business. "They see no evil, hear no evil and do nothing. ASIC is critically under resourced and is known to ignore companies with turnover of less than $10million, which effectively excludes 95 per cent of companies from protection." Another company director who almost lost his business said a royal commission was urgently needed to investigate how the lack of adequate corporate protection created the "near-perfect" environment for organised crime to legally infiltrate the private sector through the insolvency industry. Documents seen by The Weekend Australian show that in one case involving Melbourne's Bulla Tip & Quarry Pty Ltd, Mr Ariff paid out more than $500,000 in suspicious transactions, including $400,000 that went to Mr Karas, before the company was sold the day before the Australian Securities and Investments Commission moved in and appointed accountants Ferrier Hodgson to investigate. ASIC records show the successful tip and quarry, which was forced into administration by Mr Karas, was bought for $2.2 million by a company jointly owned by Mr Khouri, a business linked to Sydney bikie Adrian Pamplin, who has been named in court as an associate of former crime boss Karl "The Godfather" Bonnette, and another company run by a man once charged but not convicted over a $500,000 cocaine haul. A creditors' note released by Ferrier Hodgson and obtained by The Weekend Australian says no legal basis could be found for the $400,000 payment made to Mr Karas as supposed part-payment of a $800,000 loan, which appeared to have never been provided. The creditors' note also shows a company owned by the Pamplin family received payments and other financial benefits totalling almost $600,000 while Bulla Tip & Quarry was under administration. Mr Ariff received $257,000 in fees while he was the company's administrator and is claiming a further $97,000. The ASIC case against Mr Ariff, which is due to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court next month, includes the legitimacy of payments to Mr Karas and the Pamplin family and the fees he charged. Mr Karas strenuously denied there was anything improper in the $400,000 payment or his decision to force the company into administration. He told The Weekend Australian he has provided loans to Mr Gatto, members of a Melbourne crime family and Mr Khoury, who worked out of his Melbourne office. But these were legitimate transactions and not linked to money laundering or crime. Mr Ariff, who is facing court action by ASIC over his role in 10 administrations, has also denied suggestions he was involved in organised crime. "They are allegations and I totally refute them," he said. Confirming he put up the $2.2 million to purchase Bulla Tip & Quarry, Mr Khouri denied there was anything improper in the deal. "It was a real transaction," he said. "There was nothing underhanded going on." Mr Karas and Mr Ariff were also involved in the temporary administration of Melbourne's popular Chasers nightclub last year after Mr Karas called in a $1 million loan organised through his business State Securities Group and tried to transfer the club's liquor licence into a relative's name. Purana taskforce detectives have been investigating the source of the $1 million, which reportedly originated in Greece, and what happened to the weekly interest payments of $4000 collected in cash personally by Mr Karas from the nightclub. Mr Karas was accused by police in court in October last year of being behind a "large-scale, money-laundering operation" involving the purchase of a racehorse linked to a member of the Melbourne crime family. A company owned by Mr Khoury was also named by police in court as being involved in the alleged money-laundering scheme that also included a number of suspicious loans. Purana and the ATO are also looking at a series of transactions involving $550,000 that passed through bank accounts belonging to a series of companies linked to Mr Karas and his associates. Investigators are examining the close connections between Findlay & Co Stockbroking and Opes Prime, which together played a role in the rising fortunes of several small mining and biotechnology companies that listed some underworld identities or their business associates on their share registers. In some cases Findlay's, which has since undergone a restructure and change of directors, issued positive analyst reports and did the underwriting for the companies as part of takeovers and floats that saw share prices rise. It is believed that large turnovers of shares belonging to some of the companies, including Range Resources, Boss Energy and Fairstar Resources, came from trading borrowed stock through Opes Prime. Findlay's previously operated in Melbourne out of Mr Karas's LaTrobe Street office and he remains a significant shareholder. Mr Karas was also a substantial shareholder in Boss Energy along with Leo Khouri, Mr Pamplin, convicted heroin trafficker Amad Malkoun and John Khoury, who flew to Singapore earlier this year with Mr Gatto chasing the missing Opes millions. Mr Khoury jointly owns a Melbourne property business with Boss Energy director and shareholder Joseph Obeid, a former Victorian policeman who has been involved with Mr Khouri in Range Resources, which has mining interests in Somalia. In a separate investigation, the Australian Federal Police is looking at whether information was allegedly given to Mr Gatto and his business partner Matt Thomas about a planned takeover of Golden West Resources by Fairstar Resources. The AFP raided the Sydney offices in January of Findlay, which was underwriting a capital raising by Fairstar to fund the Golden West takeover. The Australian revealed earlier this year that Mr Thomas flew to Dubai to meet representatives of the Falak Group, which owns 7.5 million Golden West shares, after confusion over whether the group would vote in favour of the Fairstar takeover. Mr Gatto has denied he or Mr Thomas were given information on the Fairstar deal. Earlier this year, Purana took court action to seize under proceeds of crime laws $15 million of shares in the clean-coal technology company Linc Energy, allegedly owned by the member of a Melbourne crime family. Brent Potts, the founder of Southern Cross Equities and before that Potts West Trumbull, said the speculative end of the share market was particularly susceptible to systematic rumour-spreading, both positive and negative, through the internet. "It's pretty hard to pump and dump in this market, but people are still trying," he said.

I am heading off Dubai insha Allah sharpish—will know next week. Norf- the guys agreed to pay the house but we are in discussions with the bonus. They suggested a des bonus but I want a formulaic based bonus (example if I make 1 dirham for them you get 35 cent etc). Will find out insha Allah by Thursday next week and perhaps might join you in Jaunary!!!

Xiin, I couldnt have said it better. Tusbax, walaale heed the brotherly advice.

Its Not All Doom and Gloom – Nooses are still cheap! Well that’s the good news; according to an article in Funeral Weekly the cost of burying yourself has never been cheaper. Why am I reading Funeral Weekly? I’m not. I made it up. Given the hike in commodities I imagine the bill for throwing yourself off the tower would give you a serious stroke. But then it’ll not be a major priority in your story as you’re scraped into the cardboard box – hey, may as well be green at some point in your life if even it happens to be the last one. We turned off Bloomberg for a day just so we didn’t have to hear the continual pitter patter of bad news dribbling out 24/7. It worked! Then one of my consultants thought it good idea to pick up the phone and let the outside world in. And it is not all doom and gloom! The world is a smaller place. As a result of far too many lunches and dinners it may well be argued that the world isn’t smaller, just that I’m considerably larger. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the gloom is but a local lonely cloud. A very big local cloud pretty much covering the entire North Western hemisphere from Prague to Pittsburgh in fact. Judging by the summer (someone sue someone for calling this a summer please) we’re suffering, the cloud is also full and endlessly so. But this all needs to be taken in perspective; and not just a global perspective but also an historical one. The North West (Europe and North America) has ruled the roost for years, indeed a good few hundred. Ever since we nicked the trade-wind maps for the Indian Ocean from the Muslims in the 1500s we in the West have pretty much done what we liked to the rest of the world and wars, hunger and genocides aside we (in the West) seem to have reaped a great deal of wealth from it. Well those living in Russia, China, India, the GCC and Africa are neither crying tears for our woes nor are they moping around crying over the collapse in the price of their house. Indeed for most nationals in those countries until the 90s, the price of their house was darn near the same price that their ancestors paid for it a few centuries back. What the world is witnessing is the nascent origination of a new world order. It is embryonic so please give it time to grow into an adult – about 20 –30 years should do it. Money is power. Always has been, probably always will be. No empire, no civilisation, no nation state or coalition of them has ever dominated without having the financial muscle to get there and then stay there. Wealth drives everything from building navies to universities to buying mercenary allies to setting the rules for Capital Markets. And we’ve spent ours. That’s all. No big deal from a global perspective and certainly nothing new from an historical one. We’ve run out of money and our credit ain’t what it was. And so we are seeing the birth – maybe it’s the actual conception as someone is definitely getting screwed – of a new, more global, more balanced, more equanimous power. Where the new power comes to centralise remains uncertain, Dubai, Beijing, Mumbai, Moscow, the options are many. But certain it is that our old money is no longer legal tender. So whilst we here in the West wallow in a mire very much of our own making have a thought for the billions of people out there who are so, so, so much happier than they were a century ago and certainly more so than we are today.

You can’t control what events impact on you but you can control what you learn from the impact. Now here’s a challenge. Write 400 words about financial services without mentioning the credit crunch. Bugger - just fell at the first hurdle. Composing this article a month before publication means having to predict the climate. Yeah - it’ll be raining – funny haha. But what will have transpired at Lehmans for instance? Any further share price falls and my mother may consider offering half a month’s pension for it. At the time of writing the Korean Development Bank is having a long hard look. And here’s the rub. The head of KDB used to run Lehman’s Korean offices. They employ him, train him, reward him and he buys ‘em up. An allegorical story for the new millennium maybe? It rather reminds me of Britain’s industrial revolution. We Brits invented just about everything and then we displayed it to the world at the Great Exhibition only to find that within 50 years that world had noted our ideas and improved upon them. Duh! Today we have an underground transport system, a city sewage grid and numerous other amenities that were state of the art 150 years ago. Well let’s face it; many today have difficulty identifying a difference between the tube from the sewers. Our infrastructure is a bit of a busted flush; pun intended. How did I get from Lehmans to the sewers? I imagine Nick Fuld is asking a similar question. The connection is that whilst we in the west have developed a complex and comparatively well regulated capital markets, we have also developed a remarkable ability to consistently bring it to crisis point - generally once per decade for the past 40 years. Until now we’ve had the luxury of unpicking our errors as the rest of the world calmly waited for normal service to be resumed. Was there ever a glimmer of a suggestion that anyone east of the Suez would buy a western bank during the crises of the 70s? How about during the crash in the 80s? Or the collapse of Barings, LTCM or the tiger markets in the 90s? But now, having trained the world and rewarded it the non-west have noted our ideas and are improving upon them. The rest, as they say, is history. Why for instance should the Muslim world beat themselves up trying to get Sharia complaint products to work within our Capital Markets system? Because it’s the only system in the game is the smug answer. Well not forever buddy. I’ll wager that within a decade there will be a competing Capital Markets based on different values, regulations and modus operandi founded on the principles of Islamic finance. Where would you rather have your money? In a system based upon moral teachings or in a system consistently manipulated to create wealth for those prescient enough to bail out before the particular bubble of that particular decade bursts? For my part I’d keep my money in our system because I’m a greedy mug and because I’m accustomed to my finances going up and down quicker than Paris Hilton with a video cam (1). But the vast majority of our world expect simple returns on their money in exchange for the simple safety of it. Some poor forsaken family in Newcastle is about to lose their property and everything in it because some clever kid with a good sales pitch managed to flog his bank an investment in AAA shacks in Virginia. Next time he has a penny to invest will it be with the Bradford and Bring me Money or will it be with the Osama and Abdullah Co-op? And so as I conclude – I can hear the collective sigh of relief – it seems we are all learning lessons but it is likely that those who will gain most from our errors will not be us who will continue with the same routinely corruptible system of capital markets but those who seek a better system altogether and one that will not mirror our credit crunch debacle. Curse! Fell at the last as well.

Good to see UCL is pulling its weight Koore; haa walaale.

^ what Lord he will ask you Canjeexoow. Johny, dear lad you are still in the dark I see. I take it the following Aya suffice 'InaLaaha Laa yahahdiil qamudaalimiin' It is frivolous to engage such a fruitless discussions with Johny. Dear lad as someone who is disbeliever in Allah or for that matter Abrahamic creator should not debate the furuucu shareeca (though I know why you have posed the question) You should debate the bigger issue, asking such silly questions because your delusions points to you the irrationality of the act; don't try to pull Hitchens on us lad- this crowd is well versed in that art. Sophist PS: Ramadan Kareem yaa Ikhwaanii.

Interesting development indeed.

Xiin, Indeed. But the prize I was reffering to was the young lads with effective AK47! I blv that there hsnt been a proper 'dirin fidin' for these young brothers.

Hmmmm peace is what we all want; but the prize has yet to be paid!!!

United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE 0022/2008 Nairobi, 28 August 2008 - The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has welcomed the agreement signed by Somalia’s leaders in Addis Ababa on 25 August 2008. Under this agreement, facilitated by the Government of Ethiopia under the auspices of IGAD, President Yusuf, the Speaker of Parliament Sheikh Aden Madobe and Prime Minister Hussein have resolved to promote reconciliation, the rule of law and good governance in Somalia. They also full committed themselves to implement the Djibouti Agreement. “I would like to congratulate the leaders on their agreement. This is a good step forward which will strengthen the TFG in their partnership with the ARS and other Somalis for peace in the country,” stated Mr Ould-Abdallah. “I also congratulate them on their continuing support for the Djibouti Agreement.”

Faheema, indeed but the correct term is Cantabrigian ! Che: Dont be droll old chap. Suldaan, Aussie?

Having produced more Nobel Laureates than Germany, France and Italy, my Alma mater has done it again, this time on the sports front. --- Cambridge graduates shine at Beijing Olympics 21 August 2008 More than 30 countries around the world are lagging behind the University of Cambridge on the Olympics medal front. Out of the ten Team GB athletes who either study at or have graduated from Cambridge, the University has racked up a stunning tally of one Gold medal, four Silver and one Bronze. In fact, Cambridge's Trinity Hall alone can lay claim to a better haul of Olympic medals than India, Portugal and South Africa - to name just a few - after graduates Emma Pooley and Tom James claimed Silver and Gold respectively in Beijing. However, Tom James' fantastic Gold as part of the Men's Coxless Fours at the weekend was something of a double-edged sword for Trinity Hall's senior tutor, Nick Bampos. The Australian had to endure the sight of Tom and his Coxless Fours team overhauling his countrymen's boat in a thrilling finale on Saturday as they lived up to the legendary exploits of Redgrave and Pinsent. As well as James' Gold and Emma Pooley's Silver in the Cycling Time Trial, Cambridge's Tom Stallard (Jesus College) and Josh West (Gonville and Caius) also claimed rowing Silver as part of the Men's Eight . Although Annie Vernon (Downing College) and her team mates were inconsolable after losing out in the Women's Quad to China, her Silver medal was earned in true Olympic fashion after the team gave every ounce of effort before being pipped at the post by the host nation. Wrapping up the medal count for Cambridge is Anna Bebington (Newnham College) who took Bronze in the Double Sculls. Despite not making the winners' podium, the University was also proudly represented by Churchill College Classics student Alex O'Connell in the Fencing Sabre competition, Hester Goodsell (Hughes Hall) in the Double Scull (Lightweight), Sarah Winckless (Fitzwilliam College) in the Women's Eight and Andy Baddeley (Gonville and Caius) who made it to the final of the 1500m. Tony Lemons, Director of Physical Education at the University, has just returned from Beijing: "Having experienced the highly competitive atmosphere in the city one can only marvel at the quality of the performances being displayed by all the competitors at the Games. Naturally we are extremely proud of all our students, past and present, who have represented their country so well at these games, and our particular congratulations must go to those who have achieved podium positions. It makes one proud to be a small part of the University of Cambridge!" Further Cambridge connections in Beijing have come via the legendary Chinese Table Tennis player Deng Yaping. Regarded as one of the greatest ever players, Deng won six World Championships and four Olympic Golds. She is currently studying for a PhD in Land Economy at Jesus College but is in China as Vice Director of Beijing's Olympic Village. Elsewhere, Trinity Hall staff also had an interest in the performance of Adam Brown. Son of Wychfield senior porter Kim Brown, he took part in the Men's 4x 100m Freestyle Relay.

Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention I am honoured to be here tonight to support Barack Obama. And to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden, though as you'll soon see, he doesn't need any help from me. I love Joe Biden, and America will too. What a year we Democrats have had. The primary began with an all-star line-up and came down to two remarkable Americans locked in a hard fought contest to the very end. The campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming. In the end, my candidate didn't win. But I'm very proud of the campaign she ran: she never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on the future she wants for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell Americans about the person we know and love. I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of her magnificent address last night. But I'll do my best. Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us. Actually that makes 18m of us - because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November. Here's why. Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The American dream is under siege at home, and America's leadership in the world has been weakened. Middle-class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining; job losses, poverty and inequality rising; mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing; healthcare coverage disappearing; and a big spike in the cost of food, utilities and gasoline. Our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation; a perilous dependence on imported oil; a refusal to lead on global warming; a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders; a severely burdened military; a backsliding on global non-proliferation and arms control agreements; and a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe. Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and restore America's standing in the world. Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job. He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful President needs. His policies on the economy, taxes, healthcare and energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges, and a firm commitment to repair our badly strained military. His family heritage and life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation and to restore our leadership in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park. With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need. Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States. He will work for an America with more partners and fewer adversaries. He will rebuild our frayed alliances and revitalize the international institutions which help to share the costs of the world's problems and to leverage our power and influence. He will put us back in the forefront of the world's fight to reduce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and to stop global warming. He will continue and enhance our nation's global leadership in an area in which I am deeply involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, including a renewal of the battle against HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort. But in a world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by other threats to our security, our interests and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries into partners, he will stand up to them. Barack Obama also will not allow the world's problems to obscure its opportunities. Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike, hardworking people need good jobs; secure, affordable healthcare, food and energy; quality education for their children; and economically beneficial ways to fight global warming. These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets and create new jobs for our people. Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power. Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising productivity. They've worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining wages, less than a quarter as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller healthcare and pension benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American families by the millions are struggling with soaring healthcare costs and declining coverage. I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn't afford healthcare and couldn't qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well connected? What about Katrina and cronyism? America can do better than that. And Barack Obama will. But first we have to elect him. The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented. They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22m new jobs down to 5m; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8m Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance. Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality and weaken the economy. More Band-aids for healthcare that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence. They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm. My fellow Democrats, 16 years ago, you gave me the profound honour to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity. Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history. His life is a 21st-century incarnation of the American dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the "more perfect union" of our founders' dreams. The values of freedom and equal opportunity which have given him his historic chance will drive him as president to give all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, their chance to build a decent life, and to show our humanity, as well as our strength, to the world. We see that humanity, that strength, and our future in Barack and Michelle Obama and their beautiful children. We see them reinforced by the partnership with Joe Biden, his wife Jill, a dedicated teacher, and their family. Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making senator Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

Interesting names! I know most of these Sheikhs on first name basis- both Aqaadir Nuur Faarax and C/naasir Xaaji Ahmed tutored me in the Art of Usuulul Fiq! Good advice from learned scholars.

Inaalilaahi wa Inaa ileyhi raajicuun! My old friend has gone; a sad day for those who were fortunate enough to have known him. I have first met the legendary man many moons ago outside Whitechapel masjid with couple of old Somali ‘Sea-men’ who were transfixed by his flowerily lucid language. His departed, was discussing a subject that was close and dear to him- the superiority of the Osmania to the prevailing Latin script. He recounted couple examples which were plausible. I knew, I was with a company of a great man. Our friendship began that day. And till that fateful summer’s day, though I was in my mid 20s, unlike the men in his generation he never made a comment regarding my youth, he was always interested in discussing the issue not the person. He was logical, coherent and had oftentimes made me feel I was nothing but a simpleton on matters pertaining Somali history and Literature—not an easy feat I tell you!!. What was impressive about Hersi was that he had a good command of variant topics; from Metaphysics to Religion to Anthropology (the subject he read at that Ivy League institution Columbia University). Unlike many of his ilk, the Marxuum was a very humble but a decisive man. Not man to mince his words, but never delivered an oration adorned with emotional diatribe, his tool was persuasion though logic. Hersi’s jovial personality together with his indubitable scholarship won him many friends- old and young. Myself, as someone who has a deep-seated interest in all things Somali; particularly history and language, Hersi was a breath of fresh air; a welcome change from the old Somali men with paltry significance. I was addicted to the old man’s wisdom; his enlightening humour together with his enviable energy- even in his old age, our departed comrade wrote extensively and he revised continuously on earlier versions of Osmania. Hersi Magan was deeply religious man with immense passion of knowledge and unique inspirational ability. He was one of the smartest people I have had the pleasure to meet. He will be a great loss to his family, friends and indeed Somali scholarship. May the one who has taken him away from us furnish him all that is great in the hereafter Aamiin.

"Kismayo is clean and free, Thanks to Allah and Al-Shabaab." This is a Shirk statement, revise it old chap.

GenIlka Jiir like his fellow Ceergaabaawi Gen Boodhe of North Coralina (Ninkii qoryahaya Arteiligiga ah saarey baabuurta ciidanka) are one of the 'younger' Gen of the former Somali army. They were both made Gen 1986. I wish him a good luck as he seemed a tremendous improvement from the incumbent PP.