macalimuu

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  1. the Ummah card should be taken out of the equation. with the Islamic world’s gloomy state of affairs, we will remain mere tokens with no influence and sway on the future competition of geo-political global domination. I think china, with its fast growing emerging economies, population growth, will be a super power to reckon with within the coming 50 years. It will also be a huge market opportunity for Multinational Enterprises. Imagine new 600 million cars, fridges, microwaves, gadgets and other products the Chinese will be utilizing within the next decade? The Chinese middle class combined with the Indian one will be most attractive market segment to target and exploit. United States of Europe may challenge China peacefully and economically. what will be the fate of the USA? that is the question every one is asking for but has no answer. USA will maintain its supremacy as long as it controls the world oil supplies in Euro-Asia and as long as they don’t let others violate the nuclear Non-Proliferation treaties.
  2. At the end of this month, Hopefully, we will know if the rival factions in this transitional government will work out their differences or continue their ill-advised policies of exclusion and hostility. The government of the warlords, for the warlords, by the warlords was supposed to be inclusively compromising and consensus-building one. Now, we all realized that is not the road pursued by all the opposing illiterate loonies in Nairobi hotels. Warlord Yeey is ailing octogerian and unfit to lead a destroyed nation like Somalia and ironically the inexperienced young prime minister Ghedi is not capable to take his supposedly lead role as the government's pricipal executioner and put the ceremonial president in check. Warlord Yeey needs to sit down and consult with his more powerful counter parts, namely the three buffoons, namely, Qanyare, Ato and yalahow. These three are the real power brokers now and are the ones who made the Arta process unsuccessful. Indha-Cadde, though decisive and impressively effective to change the formula on the ground, is part of the "Sama bixinta" and can be contained like his other sidekick in Kismayo Hiiraale. These two allies are just auxiliary supporters of these big canons of Mogadishu and they could be reosoned. Both Merka and Kismayo are more peaceful than Xamar. Mohammed Dhere's threat and provocation is irrelevant. If Warlord, Ina-Yeey, insists on his disastrous inflammatory rhetoric and policies, and if he remains captive to his Ethiopian benefactors, and ignore his somali populations will and call then, he should be sacked and sent back to Garoowe. there is nothing good of his deceptive leadership. he is a man of division and is still caught in early clannish days and if not confronted now could re-kindle worser clan animosities that would be more disastrous than the ones seen so far. Let there be no more reconciliation peace conferences outside of Somalia for a while. Mogadishu groups have to pacify the capital and get their marauding militias into those designated camps outside of the city as they illuded. The Bay -RRA- group has to settle their differences and not use force or Ethiopian patronage to eliminate those who are not in tune with their SRRC strategy. Let us not exonerate one warlord and blame the other for the inevitable failure of this whole Embagathi sham. It is going to be another false start and another illusive attemp just like the previous fourteen failed conferences. What we need to work on is to establish peace and stability in Somalia for another year or two and make sure that all somali Sub-clans in conflict to engage each other peacefully inside Somalia and reach lasting peace accords. After peace and stability returns and flourishes in the capital and other southern regions, with the formation of one functional Banadir administration in Xamar, after Ina Yeey give up the ghost in his home region, after the other warlord’s influence and tyranny dwindles to nothing and they all perish, let Somalis of good will and good intentions meet in Borame( it worked for somalilanders) or pick any other city and start forming a government of genuine reconciliation dominated by civil society members. Let us not crown one man as the president but have a Council of elders and intellectuals consisting all these peace loving Somali nationalists regardless of their clan. After a decade of that experiment, with a generation of skilled technocrats trained to lead the nation to the road of unity and prosperity, then we can have our nation back on its feet.
  3. What is ironic is that you all missing the magnitude and moral implications of this blinkered yet candid reporting. We, Somalis, are perhaps the most impoverished racial group in this world. we are ferocious savages, lethargic vagabonds, and unproductive, unyielding and incompetent punch of drug addict junkies. we don't have any propensity and impulse to work hard and earn a decent living. we still live in very primitive way of life and are incapable to progress and join the industrious, civilized modern world. We spend more than a Quarter million US dollars on chewing these useless leaves. Imagine what that amount of money could do if it is invested on some sustainable development projects like building water wells, farm irrigation canals, maternity and child hospitals, vocational schools and so on. the money we send back home on wire transfers go directly to the pokets and saving accounts of criminal Qat drug-lords in Ethiopia and Kenya. there is no encouraging basic structures for people to work and produce and their only vocation is consume and chew QAT leaves all day long to escape from the cruel, inhospitable environment they live in. that is a sign of desperation of defeat. One of the early bigoted and racist European explorers, Richard Burton who went to Somalia in eighteenth century wrote in his celebrated travel book,- First footsteps in East Africa - , that we were savage nomads and called our country " Bilaad Wax I sii" - land of baggers- who are good for nothing else but butchery, theft and asking hand-outs. That was in early 1800 hundreds. Look at us now? Have we made any progress and made any tangible development at all? Can we boast on anything innovative? Did we contribute anything to civilization? We are still unproductive, Qat-addicts, ferocious, primitive and uncivilized. Our privileged 'creams of the crop" elite, those who had the luck to go to school, are dispersed all over the world as refugees who live on welfare and social assistance. and sadly, all of these " A$$ -holes & Mother-Fckers" PH.D holders who call themselves, Intellectuals and scholars, are happy to be the mouth-piece of some ruthless warlords and thugs of their immediate clan. Our self-styled leaders are squabbling and exchange blows in neighboring African capitals along clan lines. They are trekking around the globe for handouts, instructive of that unbefitting epithet of "Bilaad Wax I Sii" or the “graveyard of Aidâ€. we like to blame others for our backwardness, failure and lack of developmentas society.so many nations were colonized, exploited, underdeveloped but their people, leaders as whole refused to accept degradation, corruption, nepotism and being labelled as primitive and under-developed. Instead of rejecting this shame and abasement, we rather keep fighting and killing each other for the few resource on our poverty stricken barren land. we rather all be loyal to the clan warlords and continue this cataclysmic road of bloodshed, poverty and beggary. Or better be as morally bankrupt as our forefathers and pesent day elders and perpetuate this ignorance. keep on chewing QAT, keep on guessing my clan alliegance, keep on destroying our nation, people and land. Question? is there a QAT bazaar in Hell? Do poor mothers and malnutritioned children who starve to death go to Heaven? what about the warlords? Do the warlords get punished after death for the crimes they committed against the living poor and wretched in Somalia? Here on earth, we do reward them with position of authority and leadership while alive. If you want to be a president, minister or government official in Somalia, you have to be a ruthless murderer - " Eey eey dhalay oo nixin oo ina Hoog iyo belaayo qaba ah " right right!!
  4. Xubnaha labadda gole ee dowlada Soomaaliya ayaa soo dhoweeyey ku wareejinta xaruntii hore ee xisbiga xubnaha xildhibaanda ee Muqdisho ku sugan. April 01, 2005. HornAfrik. Mogadishu, Somalia. Axmed Muuse Cabdulle “Idaawaqaca†Nairobi, Kenya. Axmeddheere65@hotmail.com Xubno isugu jira baarlamaanka federaalka KMG ah Soomaaliya iyo xukuumada oo ku sugan wali magaalada Nairobi ee dalka Kenya, ayaa si weyn u soo dhoweeeyey ku wareejinta xaruntii hore ee xisbiga xubnaha wafdiga baarlamaanka ee ku sugan magaalada Muqdisho, oo ay ku wareejiyeen maamulka gobolka Banaadir. Xubnaha baarlamaanka Soomaaliyeed ee ku sugan magaalada Nairobi ee dalka Kenya ayaa si farxad leh u soo dhoweeyey, ka dib markii dhagahooda ku maqleen in baarlamaanka Soomaaliyeed la siiyey goob ay ku shiri karaan, isla markaana waliba si fiican u deeqda, iyadoo ay dhagahooda ku maqleen in kuraas ka badan afar boqol iyo labaatan “420†kursi iney heli karaan, iyadoo xubnaha golaha baarlamaanka iyo kuwa golaha wasiirada ay hal mar ku shiri karaan, iyagoo waliba is arkin wax caqabad ah, oo qolo waliba ay ka shiri karaan danahooda khaas ah, iyadoo aysan ogaan qolada kale. Afar iyo labaatankii “24†saac ee aynu soo dhaafey ayey damaashaad iyo farxad iyo sacab tun ay wadeen xubnaha baarlamaanka Soomaaliyeed, iyagoo isku diyaariyey qaabkii ay ugu guuri lahaayeen isla markaana dib ugu laaban lahaayeen gudaha dalka Soomaaliya gaar ahaana magaalo madaxda Soomaaliya ee Muqdisho, iyagoo dhinaca kalana hambalyo u diraya xubnihii hor dhaca ahaa ee dowlada KMG ah ee federaalka ah ee u sii gogol xaarey, walibana ay iminka joogaan caasimada Soomaaliya ee Muqdisho. Waxaa la filayaa maalmaha fooda inagu soo haya in ku dhowaad todobaatan ilaa iyo sideetan “70----80†xildhibaan ay u soo baqoolaan isla markaana ay yimaadaan magaalada madaxda Soomaaliya ee Muqdisho, iyadoo iminka ay socoto is qorista iyo qaabkii xildhibaan waliba uu u diyaarsan lahaa fiisadii uu uga bixi laha wadanka Kenya, isla markaana aad moodo iney buux dhaafeen diyaaradaha u soo baqoolaya magaalo madaxda Soomaaliya ee Muqdisho. Si kastaba ha ahaatee markaad u dhaba gasho xubnaha baarlamaanka Soomaaliya waxey kuu xaqiijinayaan isla markaana ay kuu sheegayaan iney diyaar u yihiin iney wajahaan waxyaabihii loo soo doortey markii horaba, taasi oo ah iney wax ka qabtaan dhibaatada Soomaaliya heysata, iyagoo intaasi ku daraya iney diyaar u yihiin iney wax ka qabtaan afar iyo toban “14†sanadood ee dowlad la’aanta ka jirtey Soomaaliya, inagoo bey lahaayeen hadda wixii ka danbeeya guntida dhiisha ayaan isaga dhigi doonaa, sidii aan u badbaadin laheyd qaranka iyo dadka Soomaaliyeed. “Rajo nooma lahan inaan joogno Kenya ayey yiraahdeen xildhibaanada kumana heysano ixtiraam diblomaasiyadeed, waad og tahay ayey ku leeyihiin in la xiro wasiiro, xildhibaano iyo shaqsiyaad Soomaaliya oo magac iyo sumcad ku leh bulshada. Waxaa jirey dad aad u fara badan oo ka tirsan siyaasiyiinta iyo xubnaha baarlamaanka oo ku waayey naftooda tan iyo xiligii la dhisay ama la doortey golaha baarlamaanka Soomaaliya. Waxaa ku geeri yoodey magaalada Nairobi ee dalka Kenya afar xildhibaan, iyadoo ku dhowaad shan iyo tobana “15†naftooda qaaliga ah ay ku waayeen naftooda qaaliga tan iyo 15 October ee 2002da markii uu ka furmay shirweynihii dibu heshiisiinta siyaasadda ee Soomaaliya magaalada Eldoret, iyadoo aad arkeysid iney hadda xubnaha baarlamaanka ku soo baraarugeen dhisidda iyo u tafa xeydashada dalkooda Soomaaliyeed.
  5. THE SEVEN STAGES OF GENOCIDE by Dr. Gregory H. Stanton The International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines "genocide." "In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; © Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group." The Convention declares the following acts punishable: "(a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; © Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide." The Genocide Convention is sometimes misinterpreted as requiring the intent to destroy in whole national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such. Some genocides have fit that description, notably the Holocaust and Rwanda. But most do not. Most are intended to destroy only part of a group. The Genocide Convention specifically includes the intentional killing of part of a group as genocide. It reaffirms this definition when it includes as among the acts that constitute genocide "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part'. Those who shrink from applying the term "genocide" usually ignore the "in part". Thus, intent to destroy a part of an ethnic group coupled with killing members of the group (or conspiracy, incitement, attempt or complicity) constitutes an act of genocide. Intent Criminal law distinguishes intent from motive. A murderer may have many motives -- gaining property or eliminating a rival for power. But his intent is determined by the purpose of his act: Did he purposely kill the victim? Genocidal intent is determined by the purpose of the act: Did the killer purposely kill the victim because the victim was part of an ethnic group the killer intends to destroy, at least in part? The motive of the killer to take the victim's property or to politically dominate the victim's group does not remove genocidal intent if the victim is chosen because of his ethnic, national, racial, or religious group. Genocidal intent does not require an overall plan. An act of genocide may arise in a culture that considers members of another group less than human, where killing members of that group is not considered murder. This is the culture of impunity characteristic of genocidal societies. In Burundi, Tutsis who kill Hutus have seldom been convicted or even arrested. Massacres are ethnic, intended to destroy parts of the other ethnic group. The intent of the act of genocide does not have to be part of a plan to kill a whole group. If a mass killing is part of a genocidal massacre, where victims are killed because of their ethnic identity, it is an act of genocide even if only a part of a group (the intellectuals, officers, leaders) is targeted. Acts of genocide The crime of genocide is defined by the Genocide Convention as "acts of genocide." It does not exist apart from those acts. A pattern of acts of genocide is frequently called "genocide" and evidence of such a pattern of ethnic, racial, or religious massacres is strong evidence of genocidal intent. Intent can be directly proven from statements or orders by the perpetrators. More often, it must be deduced from the systematic pattern of their acts, a pattern that could only arise out of specific intent. THE GENOCIDAL PROCESS Prevention of genocide requires a structural understanding of the genocidal process. Genocide has seven stages or operational processes. The first stages precede later stages, but continue to operate throughout the genocidal process. Each stage reinforces the others. A strategy to prevent genocide should attack each stage, each process. The seven stages of genocide are classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, and extermination. The eighth post-genocide stage, denial, always follows. Classification All languages and cultures require classification - division of the natural and social world into categories. We distinguish and classify objects and people. All cultures have categories to distinguish between us and them, between members of our group and others. We treat different categories of people differently. Racial and ethnic classifications may be defined by absurdly detailed laws -- the Nazi Nuremberg laws, the "one drop" laws of segregation in America, or apartheid racial classification laws in South Africa. Racist societies often prohibit mixed categories and outlaw miscegenation. Bipolar societies are the most likely to have genocide. In Rwanda and Burundi, children are the ethnicity of their father, either Tutsi or Hutu. No one is mixed. Mixed marriages do not result in mixed children. Symbolization We use symbols to name and signify our classifications. We name some people Hutu and others Tutsi, or Jewish or Gypsy. Sometimes physical characteristics - skin color or nose shape - become symbols for classifications. Other symbols, like customary dress or facial scars, are socially imposed by groups on their own members. After the process has reached later stages (dehumanization, organization, and polarization) genocidal governments in the preparation stage often require members of a targeted group to wear an identifying symbol or distinctive clothing -- e.g. the yellow star. The Khmer Rouge forced people from the Eastern Zone to wear a blue-checked scarf, marking them for forced relocation and elimination. Dehumanization Classification and symbolization are fundamental operations in all cultures. They become steps of genocide only when combined with dehumanization. Denial of the humanity of others is the step that permits killing with impunity. The universal human abhorrence of murder of members of one's own group is overcome by treating the victims as less than human. In incitements to genocide the target groups are called disgusting animal names - Nazi propaganda called Jews "rats" or "vermin"; Rwandan Hutu hate radio referred to Tutsis as "cockroaches." Bodies of genocide victims are often mutilated to express this denial of humanity. Such atrocities then become the justification for revenge killings, because they are evidence that the killers must be monsters, not human beings themselves. Organization Genocide is always collective because it derives its impetus from group identification. It is always organized, often by states but also by militias and hate groups. Planning need not be elaborate: Hindu mobs may hunt down Sikhs or Muslims, led by local leaders. Methods of killing need not be complex: Tutsis in Rwanda died from machetes; Muslim Chams in Cambodia from *** -blades to the back of the neck ("Bullets must not be wasted," was the rule at Cambodian extermination prisons, expressing the dehumanization of the victims.) The social organization of genocide varies by culture. It reached its most mechanized, bureaucratic form in the Nazi death camps. But it is always organized, whether by the Nazi SS or the Rwandan Interahamwe. Death squads may be trained for mass murder, as in Rwanda, and then force everyone to participate, spreading hysteria and overcoming individual resistance. Terrorist groups will pose one of the greatest threats of genocidal mass murder in the future as they gain access to weapons of mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons. Polarization Genocide proceeds in a downward cycle of killings until, like a whirlpool, it reaches the vortex of mass murder. Killings by one group may provoke revenge killings by the other. Such massacres are aimed at polarization, the systematic elimination of moderates who would slow the cycle. The first to be killed in a genocide are moderates from the killing group who oppose the extremists: the Hutu Supreme Court Chief Justice and Prime Minister in Rwanda, the Tutsi Archbishop in Burundi. Extremists target moderate leaders and their families. The center cannot hold. The most extreme take over, polarizing the conflict until negotiated settlement is impossible. Preparation Lists of victims are drawn up. Houses are marked. Maps are made. Identification of victims is completed, often using symbolic identification. Individuals are forced to carry ID cards identifying their ethnic or religious group because identification greatly speeds the slaughter. In Germany, the identification of Jews, defined by law, was performed by a methodical bureaucracy. In Rwanda, identity cards showed each person's ethnicity. In the genocide, Tutsis could then be easily pulled from cars at roadblocks and murdered. Throwing away the cards did not help, because anyone who could not prove he was Hutu, was presumed to be Tutsi. Hutu militiamen conducted crude mouth exams to test claims of Hutu identity. In its most extreme form, preparation includes construction of extermination camps or prisons, as in Nazi-ruled Europe, or conversion of existing buildings – temples and schools – into extermination centers in Cambodia. Transportation of the victims to these killing centers is then organized and bureaucratized. Extermination The final step, the final solution, is extermination. It is considered extermination, rather than murder, because the victims are not considered human. They are vermin, rats or cockroaches. Killing is described by euphemisms of purification: ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, “ratonade†(rat extermination) in Algeria. Targeted members of alien groups are killed, often including children. Because they are not considered persons, their bodies are mutilated, buried in mass graves or burnt like garbage. PREVENTION A full strategy for preventing genocide should include attack on each of genocide's operational processes. Classification may be attacked either through devaluation of the distinctive features used to classify (e.g. amalgamation of regional dialects and accents by exposure to mass media, standardized education, and a promotion of a common language) or through use of transcendent categories, such as common nationality or common humanity. Promotion of mixed categories, such as the financial incentives for inter-caste marriages in Tamil Nadu, India, may help break down group endogamy, but do not combat genocide in bipolar societies where mixed categories have no recognition. In bipolar societies, transcendent institutions like the Catholic Church should actively campaign against ethnic classifications. Special effort should be made to keep such institutions from being captured and divided by the same forces that divide the society, e.g. through hierarchical discipline from Rome for the Roman Catholic Church. Symbolization can be attacked by legally forbidding use of hate symbols (e.g. swastikas) or ethnic classification words. "Nigger" or "kaffir" as racial expletives may be outlawed as "hate speech." Group marking like tribal scarring may be outlawed, like gang clothing. Without symbols for our classifications, they would become literally insignificant. Yellow stars became insignificant in parts of France and Bulgaria (and by erroneous legend, in Denmark, where stars were never imposed) because non-Jews also chose to wear them, rejecting the Nazi's classification system. The problem is that legal limitations on hate speech will fail if unsupported by popular cultural enforcement. Though Hutu and Tutsi were forbidden words in Burundi until the 1980's, the prohibition had little effect, since other euphemisms and code-words replaced them. Prohibition may even become counter-productive, as part of an ideology of denial, which prevents people from naming, discussing and overcoming deep cultural divisions. However. In cultures that reject negative symbolization, as in the French and Bulgarian cases, resistance can be a powerful preventive tactic. In Denmark, the popular resistance to Nazi classification and symbolization was so strong that the Nazis did not even dare to impose the yellow star, and Danish “fishermen†smuggled ninety-five percent of Danish Jews to safety in Sweden. Dehumanization should be opposed openly whenever it shows its ugly face. Genocidal societies lack constitutional protection for countervailing speech, and should be treated differently than democracies. Hate radio stations should be shut down, and hate propaganda banned. Although restrictions on free speech are not necessary in a healthy polity, even in democracies hate speech should be actively exposed and opposed. Direct incitements to genocide should be outlawed. Incitement to genocide is not protected speech. Hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished. Impunity breeds contempt for law, and emboldens genocidists, who can literally get away with murder. Organizations that commit acts of genocide should be banned, and membership in them made a crime. Freedom of association in a democratic society should not be misconstrued as protecting membership in criminal organizations. At Nuremberg, membership in the SS was itself prosecuted. Similarly the Interhamwe, Sans Echec, and other genocidal hate groups should be outlawed, and their members arrested and tried for conspiracy to commit genocide. The UN should impose arms embargoes on governments or militias that commit genocide. Because arms embargoes are difficult to enforce, for Rwanda, the UN established an international commission to investigate and document violations of the arms embargo. The UN may also require member states to freeze the assets of persons who organize and finance genocidal groups. Polarization can be fought by providing financial and technical aid to the moderate center. It may mean security protection for moderate leaders, or assistance to human rights groups. Assets of extremists may be seized, and visas for international travel denied to them. Coups d'etat by extremists should be immediately opposed by international sanctions. Preparation: Identification of victims considerably speeds genocide. When ID cards identify victims' ethnic or religious group, or when victims are forced to wear yellow stars, the killing is made efficient. When death lists are drawn up, the international community should recognize that genocide is imminent, and mobilize for armed intervention. Those identified should be given asylum, and assistance in fleeing their persecutors. Had the U.S. or Britain in Palestine accepted all Jewish immigrants, millions of lives might have been saved from the Holocaust. Extermination whether carried out by governments or by patterned mob violence, can only be stopped by force. Armed intervention must be rapid and overwhelming. Safe areas should be established with real military protection. An intervention force without robust rules of engagement, such as UNAMIR in Rwanda in April, 1994 or UNPROFOR in Bosnia, is worse than useless because it gives genocide victims false hope of security in churches or unsafe "safe areas", delaying their organization for self-defense. In bipolar societies, separation into self-defense zones is the best protection for both groups, particularly if international troops create a buffer zone between them. Experience with UN peacekeeping has shown that humanitarian intervention should be carried out by a multilateral force authorized by the UN, but led by UN members, rather than by the UN itself. The Military Staff Committee envisioned in Article 47 of the UN Charter has never been organized, and the UN does not have a standing army. The strongest member states must therefore shoulder this responsibility in conjunction with other UN members. The U.S. is now promoting the organization of an African Crisis Response Initiative composed of African military units coordinated and [trained] by the U.S., Europeans, and other powers. PUNISHMENT When Adolph Hitler was asked if his planned invasion of Poland was a violation of international law, he scoffed, "Who ever heard of the extermination of the Armenians?" Impunity - literally getting away with murder -- is the weakest link in the chains that restrain genocide. In Rwanda, Hutus were never arrested and brought to trial for massacres of Tutsis that began months before the April, 1994 genocide. In Burundi, Tutsi youth gangs have never been tried for killing Hutus. Burundi judges are nearly all Tutsis, as are the army and police. They seldom, if ever, convict their own. Social order abhors a legal vacuum. When courts do not dispense justice the victims have no recourse but revenge. In societies with histories of ethnic violence, the cycle of killing will eventually spiral downward into the vertex of genocide. In such societies, the international community should fill the legal vacuum by creating tribunals to prosecute and try genocide. That has been done for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. We need to create a Permanent International Criminal Court that will have world-wide jurisdiction to try genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The Court must be supported by effective institutions to arrest and imprison those indicted and convicted by the Court. Only such a permanent court will provide the deterrent effect necessary to give pause to those planning future genocides. A permanent international criminal court, coupled with effective organizations to arrest and punish the perpetrators of genocide, could be the greatest step forward in mankind's long battle against genocide. The strongest antidote to genocide is justice. ______________ This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of the Department of State. This paper was written in 1996 and widely circulated within the U.S. government and to genocide scholars early that year. It was not Classified. It was presented at the Yale University Center for International and Area Studies in 1998. © 1996 Gregory H. Stanton Note: Since 1996, the author has added an eighth stage of genocide, denial. It operates through all the other stages, but is particularly apparent after the genocide is finished. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. The perpetrators of genocide dig up the mass graves, burn the bodies, try to cover up the evidence and intimidate the witnesses. They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes, and continue to govern until driven from power by force, when they flee into exile. There they remain with impunity, like Pol Pot or Idi Amin, unless they are captured and a tribunal is established to try them. The response to denial is punishment by an international tribunal or national courts. There the evidence is heard, and the perpetrators punished. Tribunals like the Yugoslav or Rwanda Tribunals, a tribunal to try the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, or the International Criminal Court may not deter the worst killers. But with the political will to arrest and prosecute them, some may be brought to justice. And such courts may deter future potential genocidists who can never again share Hitler’s expectation of impunity when he sneered,â€Who, after all, remembers the Armenians?â€
  6. Stealing a Nation- John Pilger Friday night's Foreign Correspondent had one of the most interesting documentaries of the year. It was done by John Pilger on the people of Diego Garcia, who were forced to leave their island so that a U.S. military could be set up. The following is a summary of the documentary: Stealing A Nation by John Pilger There are times when one tragedy, one crime tells us how a whole system works behind its democratic facade and helps us to understand how much of the world is run for the benefit of the powerful and how governments lie. To understand the catastrophe of Iraq, and all the other Iraqs along imperial history's trail of blood and tears, one need look no further than Diego Garcia. The story of Diego Garcia is shocking, almost incredible. A British colony lying midway between Africa and Asia in the Indian Ocean, the island is one of 64 unique coral islands that form the Chagos Archipelago, a phenomenon of natural beauty, and once of peace. Newsreaders refer to it in passing: "American B-52 and Stealth bombers last night took off from the uninhabited British island of Diego Garcia to bomb Iraq (or Afghanistan)." It is the word "uninhabited" that turns the key on the horror of what was done there. In the 1970s, the Ministry of Defence in London produced this epic lie: "There is nothing in our files about a population and an evacuation." Diego Garcia was first settled in the late eighteenth century. At least 2,000 people lived there: a gentle creole nation with thriving villages, a school, a hospital, a church, a prison, a railway, docks, a copra plantation. Watching a film shot by missionaries in the 1960s, I can understand why every Chagos islander I have met calls it paradise; there is a grainy sequence where the islanders' beloved dogs are swimming in the sheltered, palm-fringed lagoon, catching fish. All this began to end when an American rear-admiral stepped ashore in 1961 and Diego Garcia was marked as the site of what is today one of the biggest American bases in the world. There are now more than 2,000 troops, anchorage for 30 warships, a nuclear dump, a satellite spy station, shopping malls, bars, a golf course. "Camp Justice" the Americans call it. During the 1960s, in high secrecy, the Labour government of Harold Wilson conspired with two American administrations to "sweep" and "sanitise" the islands: the words used in American documents. Files found in the National Archives in Washington and the Public Record Office in London provide an astonishing narrative of official lying all too familiar to those who have chronicled the lies over Iraq. To get rid of the population, the Foreign Office invented the fiction that the islanders were merely transient contract workers who could be "returned" to Mauritius, a thousand miles away. In fact, many islanders traced their ancestry back five generations, as their cemeteries bore witness. The aim, wrote a Foreign Office official in January 1966, "is to convert all the existing residents... into short term, temporary residents." What the files also reveal is an imperious attitude of brutality. In August 1966, Sir Paul Gore-Booth, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Ofice, wrote: "We must surely be very tough about this. The object of the exercise was to get some rocks that will remain ours. (ours in italics). There will be no indigenous pipulation except seagulls." At the end of this is a hand-written note by D H Greenhill, later Baron Greenhill: "Along with the Birds go some Tarzans or Men Fridays..." Under the heading, "Maintaining the fiction", another official urges his colleagues to re-classify the islanders as "a floating population" and to "make up the rules as we go along". There is not a word of concern for their victims. Only one official appeared to worry about being caught, writing that it was "fairly unsatisfactory" that "we propose to certify the people, more or less fraudulently, as belonging somewhere else." The documents leave no doubt that the cover-up was approved by the prime minister and at least three cabinet ministers. At first, the islanders were tricked and intimidated into leaving; those who had gone to Mauritius for urgent medical treatment were prevented from returning. As the Americans began to arrive and build the base, Sir Bruce Greatbatch, governor of the Seychelles who had been put in charge of the "sanitising", ordered all the pet dogs on Diego Garcia to be killed. Almost a thousand pets were rounded up and gassed, using the exhaust fumes from American military vehicles. "They put the dogs in a furnace where the people worked," said Lizette Tallatte, now in her 60s, "... and when their dogs were taken away in front of them, our children screamed and cried." The islanders took this as a warning; and the remaining population were loaded on to ships, allowed to take only one suitcase. They left behind their homes and furniture, and their lives. On one journey in rough seas, the copra company's horses occupied the deck, while women and children were forced to sleep on a cargo of bird fertiliser. Arriving in the Seychelles, they were marched up the hill to a prison where they were held until they were transported to Mauritius. There, they were dumped on the docks. In the first months of their exile, as they fought to survive, suicides and child deaths were common. Lizette lost two children. "The doctor said he cannot treat sadness," she recalled. Rita Bancoult, now 79, lost two daughters and a son; she told me that when her husband was told the family could never return home, he suffered a stroke and died. Unemployment, drugs and prostitution, all of which had been alien to their society, ravaged them. Only after more than a decade did they receive any compensation from the British government: less than £3,000 each, which did not cover their debts. The behaviour of the Blair government is, in many respects, the worst. In 2000, the islanders won an historic victory in the High Court, which ruled their expulsion illegal. Within hours of the judgement, the Foreign Office announced that it would not be possible for them to return to Diego Garcia because of a "treaty" with Washington - in truth, a deal concealed from Parliament and the US Congress. As for the other islands in the group, a "feasibility study" would determine whether these could be re-settled. This has been described by Professor David Stoddart, a world authority on the Chagos, as "worthless" and "an elaborate charade". The "study" consulted not a single islander; it found that the islands were "sinking", which was news to the Americans who are building more and more base facilities; the US Navy describes the living conditions as so outstanding they are "unbelievable". In 2003, in a now notorious follow-up High Court case, the islanders were denied compensation, with government counsel allowed by the judge to attack and humiliate them in the witness box, and with Justice Ousley referring to "we" as if the court and the Foreign Office were on the same side. Last June, the government invoked the archaic royal prerogative in order to crush the 2000 judgement. A decree was issued that the islanders were banned forever from returning home. These were the same totalitarian powers used to expel them in secret 40 years ago; Blair used them to authorise his illegal attack on Iraq. Led by a remarkable man, Olivier Bancoult, an electrician, and supported by a tenacious and valiant London lawyer, Richard Gifford, the islanders are going to the European Court and perhaps beyond. Article 7 of the statute of the International Criminal Court describes the "deportation or forcible transfer of population... by expulsion or other coercive acts" as a crime against humanity. As Bush's bombers take off from their paradise, the Chagos islanders, says Olivier Bancoult, "will not let this great crime stand. The world is changing; we will win." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (from ZNet) The documentary is well worth watching, while much of it is covered above, much of the emotion cannot be taken in. These people wish to return to where they once came from, yet they cannot. Their once peaceful home is now used to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan, a war in which they have no stake in.
  7. March 18, 2005 — Somali businessman Mohammed Yassin Olad describes the airline he heads as a true cash operation. The people who fly Daallo Airlines in Somalia pay cash for their ticket and then, like the passengers, the money also travels on the plane. It's all part of operating a business in Somalia - a country which has had no central government for more than a decade. For Olad, there are benefits. "Sometimes it's difficult without a government and sometimes it's a plus," he says. "Corruption is not a problem, because there is no government." The story of Daallo Airlines which began operations in 1991, after the collapse of the government, is an example of a thriving business in Africa - a continent not often viewed as a destination for business investment. But a new documentary - Africa Open for Business - seeks to dispel the myths about business in Africa by showcasing ten entrepreneurs on the continent who tell in their own words their path to success. Olad is one of those entrepreneurs. He's the chief executive officer of Daallo Airlines which had its humble beginnings with just one small leased Cessna making a commuter run. "After the war started people had a real need," Olad says. "Somalia became very isolated. There was no transportation. There were no banks. People were fleeing." He says while it's a business, the airline was also partly a humanitarian concern as for many years it was the only link for people in the troubled nation. "The last two years, you know, we expanded to Europe. We started flights to Paris and London so we invested to make Daallo a major airline in Africa, connecting Africa to the global village." Daallo Airlines The private airline business in Somalia is now thriving with more than five carriers and price wars between the companies. Olad says the absence of a central government has made for a unique situation. "We build the airports and we service the airports and we only fly when we are sure it's safe," he says. But despite the war and the lack of a government, they've never had any safety problems in the 14 years they have been flying. The Nigerian business of Adenike Ogunlesi too had humble beginnings. But Ogunlesi, who now owns and operates the "in" label in Nigeria in children's clothes, Ruff 'N' Tumble, started in the business by accident. "My kids ran out of pajamas. And I used to make clothing for women. So I decided that I'd just make some pajamas for my kids. " From there, Ogunlesi made children's clothing for a friend and took to selling children's clothes in bazaars. An inspired idea to use her own children -dressed in her label - for an advertising promotion led to immediate success. "It was the first time that anybody had ever been marketed children's clothes - not a clip out of a foreign magazine - but actually using Nigerian children. The response was incredible. People actually wanted the 'made in Nigeria' garments," she says. Now Ruff 'N' Tumble is a thriving business with 50 employees- and even offers housing loans to its staff. But Ogunlesi smiles as she says she's not interested in exporting to the United States or England. She has her eye firmly on West Africa. "We don't export now. Export to the West African coast, yes. All along the West African coast, yes. But to say America or to England, I'm not interested in it at all. "If 40% of the 120 million Nigerians are children, I have the potential of a huge market here," she says. For Ogunlesi, some of the challenges to establish her business were and remain basic, such as the provision of a reliable electricity supply. "The electricity supply doesn't get better. It's get worse," she says. In Dakar, Senegal, the owners of Pictoon, which makes animated films, also struggle to deal with problems of a reliable supply of electricity. Aida Ndiaye, executive producer of Pictoon, says sudden drops in power and power outages means computers don't last long. Pictoon "You can put in all the surge protectors you like, but it doesn't change a thing. Every year we have to replace the entire system," she says. But Pictoon too is a thriving business. It's Africa's only animation design studio that produces television series and feature films. It recently completed a 13 part series called Kabongo, the story of a mystical African with his monkey who travels around the world - the first series totally made in Africa. The co-owner and creative director, Pierre Sauvalle, originally from Cameroon, learned his trade in Paris, but moved to Dakar for the opportunity to train local people to tell African stories through animation. But Sauvalle says people have been skeptical in believing their work originated in Africa. "When we present something that Pictoon has done, the first reaction people have is to say it doesn't come from Africa. Behind the term, African, is the idea, hidden a bit, that a production that comes from Africa must be sort of thrown together, badly made, badly finished. And this is not the goal of Pictoon," he says. "We are very, very proud of our first film, but now, for us, it is something accomplished. Animation has been done in Africa. It's a reality," Ndiaye says. She feels animation allows Africa to express itself to the outside world. Africa Open for Business also showcases entrepreneurs from seven other countries - all with successful stories to tell and highlighting how they've used local solutions to solve local problems. The film ends with the words : "Investing in Africa remains high-risk but surprisingly Africa offers the highest return on direct investment in the world." It's a message the film's producer, journalist Carol Pineau, hopes the world will heed. Africa Open for Business was produced with funding from the World Bank. http://www.africaopenforbusiness.com/web/index.html
  8. Somalia is the quintessential failed state. After t he autocratic regime of Siad Barre fell in 1991, the country collapsed into civil war. Peace has bbeen established in some regions, but Somalia has only a limited government in the Northwest and no recognized government in the South. In these circumstances the private sector has been surprisingly innovative. Competition thrives in markets where transactions are simple, such as retail and construction. In more complex sectors, such as telecommunications and electricity supply, the private solutions are flawed but impressive: coverage has expanded since the 1980s, and prices are attractive compared with those in other African countries. Only when it comes to public goods or to private goods with strong spillover effects—roads, monetary stability, a legal system, primary education,a cross-border financial system—does the state seem to be sorely missed. But even here the private sector has developed creative approaches that partially substitute for effective government. As a result, Somalia boasts lower rates of extreme poverty and, in some cases, better infrastructure than richer countries in africa. Somali entrepreneurs have used three methods to compensate for the lack of effective government regulation (table 2). First, “importing govenance †by relying on foreign institutions—for example, for airline safety, currency stability, and company law. Second, using clans and other local networks of trust to help with contract enforcement, payment, and transmission of funds. Third, simplifying transactions until they can be carried out with help from neither the clan nor the international economy. Telecommunications: networks link up Many local companies have teamed up with international giants such as Sprint (U.S.) and Telenor (Norway), providing mobile phones and building new landlines. Vigorous competition has pushed prices well below typical levels in Africa, and Somalia now has 112,000 fixed lines and 50,000 mobile subscribers, up from 17,000 lines before 1991. Yet not all is well. Calling every phone subscriber in Hargeisa, in the northwest, would require connections from four telephone firms. But firms in Mogadishu have now agreed on interconnection standards, and those in Hargeisa appear to be following suit. The negotiations were brokered by the Somali Telecom Association, set up with the help of the United Nations and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and headquartered in Dubai. Electricity: simple solutions yield results Entrepreneurs have worked around somalia’s lack of a functioning electricity grid, payment systems, and metering. They have divided cities into manageable quarters and provide electricity locally using secondhand generators bought in Dubai. They offer households a menu of choices (daytime, evening, or 24-hour service) and charge per lightbulb. Water: access but not cheap or safe Public water provision is limited to urban areas, but a private system extends to all parts of the country as entrepreneurs build cement catchments, drill private boreholes, or ship water from public systems in the cities. Prices naturally rise in times of drought. Traditionally, destitute families have not had to pay for water, while the slightly better-off borrow funds from relatives. Nevertheless, after several years of drought the United Nations estimates that many families in the Eastern Sanaag have debts of US$50–100 for water. Moreover, access to safe water is low even by African standards because neither regulators nor the market have been able to persuade merchants to purify their water. Air travel: outsourcing safety In 1989 the national carrier (partly owned by Alitalia) operated just one airplane and one international route.2 Today the sector boasts about 15 firms, more than 60 aircraft, 6 international destinations, more domestic routes, and many more flights. But safety is a concern. Airports lack trained air traffic controllers, fire services, runway lights, and a sealed perimeter against stray animals, and checks on aircraft and crew are inadequate. The makeshift solution: international outsourcing. Somali carriers lease planes, often with crews from Eastern Europe (the largest, Daallo Airlines, leases a Boeing from the United Kingdom, to boost customer confidence). And they operate out of Djibouti, Dubai, and Nairobi, using the facilities there to check aircraft safety. A recent effort to endow Mogadishu with a functioning court collapsed when the court tried to levy taxes and take over the privately run port of El Ma’an. In any case Somalia lacks contract law,company law, the concept of limited liability, and other key pillars of commercial law. In some cases Somalis have used offshore registration of businesses to import legal concepts and services. More commonly, disputes are settled at the clan level, by traditional systems run by elders and with the clan collecting damages. Such measures are free—and fast by international standards. In a case involving the oppression of minority shareholders in a large livestock company, out-of-court talks were preferred, the company continued to operate successfully, and the dispute was settled amicably. But clan-based systems deal poorly with disputes outside the clan. In a dispute involving the telecommunications company Aerolite, the interclan committee of elders awarded the plaintiff from a weaker clan an unfairly small settlement, and since it was not enforced, he received nothing. Currency: perfect competition for dollars Sharp inflation in 1994–96 and 2000–01 destroyed confidence in three local currencies. U.S. dollars are harder to forge, do not need to be carried around in large fragile bundles, and, most important, retain their value. The feeble capabilities of the central bank have allowed free entry into the currency exchange business,which is as close to perfectly competitive as is ever likely to be possible. International fund transfers: hawala system The hawala system, a trust-based money transfer system used in many Muslim countries, moves US$0.5–1 billion into Somalia every year. A person in New York wishing to send money to his family in Tog-waajale gives the hawala agent in New York the sum in cash, paying a 5 percent commission. The agent deposits the cash in a local bank account to be transferred to the company bank account in Djibouti or Dubai, then alerts the clearinghouse in Hargeisa, which passes details on to Tog-waajale. When the recipient shows up, the local agent quizzes him about his clan lineage using questions provided by the relative overseas as security against fraud. The transaction is usually completed within 24 hours. Hawala networks are unregulated and do not always keep records of transactions, but they are coming under pressure from efforts to combat money laundering. Savings accounts and traveler’s checks Somalia has adopted the widespread African institution of rotating credit associations, which rely on clan links for enforcement and provide a safe haven for savings. More innovative is the system of traveler’s checks for the pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj. Nobody would accept Somali checks, so Somali firms set up accounts in Saudi banks and write checks to pilgrims that can be cashed in any branch. Gaps in private sector provision: In some areas the private sector has made little progress. The Somali road system, for example, is limited and in poor condition. For a private supplier to build a road and collect fees to cover the costs is apparently too hard, partly because of prohibitive transaction costs and partly because fee-paying users are not the only ones who benefit from roads. Primary education is another disappointing story. Some 71 percent of primary schools are privately owned (typically by parents or communities),but enrollment is just 17 percent. By contrast, it is 82 percent in West Africa, where countries are richer and more stable and the government is much more heavily involved in the economy. Ideally, benevolent government would sort out both problems. But government that is merely stronger might not help. Where municipal governments along the Berbera–Hargeisa road have the power to collect tolls, they do not spend them on maintenance. The failings of the education system are partly because half of Somalis are nomads. It is not clear that government would do much better, specially since the private schools are locally acknowledged to be superior to those run by local government. Rather than try to create a government system from scratch, a better policy would be to improve the network of higher-quality private schools. Conclusion: The achievements of the Somali private sector form a surprisingly long list. Where the private sector has failed—the list is long here too— there is a clear role for government interventions. But most such interventions appear to be failing. Government schools are of lower quality than private schools. Subsidized power is being supplied not to the rural areas that need it but to urban areas, hurting a well-functioning private industry. Road tolls are not spent on roads. Judges seem more interested in grabbing power than in developing laws and courts. A more productive role for government would be to build on the strengths of the private sector. Given Somali reliance on clan and reputation,any measures allowing these mechanisms to function more broadly would be welcome; credit and land registries would be a good start.And since Somali businesses rely heavily on institutions outside the economy, international and domestic policies supporting such connections would help. For governments and aid agencies, the capability of some business sectors to cope under the most difficult conditions should give hope and guidance in other reconstruction efforts. It may take less encouragement than is commonly thought for stripped-down systems of finance, electricity, and telecommunications to grow.
  9. two months ago: Somalia's Libertarian experiment draws to a close Somalis Reach Peace Deal After Dozen Years of Fighting By MARC LACEY AIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 29 — An array of Somali warlords and clan leaders struck a deal here on Thursday that could lay the groundwork for the country's first national government since 1991. Previous peace deals — there have been more than a dozen rounds of talks since 1991 — have quickly collapsed, and Western diplomats cautioned that continued clan violence could doom this accord as well. But the current pact, signed by leaders of all the major warring parties, is widely regarded as more credible than earlier efforts. The agreement calls for a 275-member parliament, based in Mogadishu. That body will select an interim Somali president who, in turn, will appoint a prime minister who will put together a coalition government. Each of Somalia's four major clans will select 61 members of the parliament, while a coalition of smaller clans will fill the other 31 slots. But the selection process is expected to be very divisive, as each of Somalia's clans is divided into subclans that are eager for their own political voice. The negotiations that led to the new agreement have stretched on since November 2002 and have been marked by fistfights, shouting matches and, until now, few achievements. There were varying opinions on Thursday on whether the deal would hold together, ultimately uniting a country that has spent more than a decade as a collection of warring fiefs.
  10. just a year ago they were writting this! anarchists/libertarians and their opponents are following the somali experiment/dilemma very closely - while we uncivilised dummies/nomads are obsessed with our ignorance and primitive clan culture ,we are being treated as guinea-pigs- by those civilised ideologits - some arguments/philosophies are at stake here - do google search to acquint yourself with their debate! SOMALIA - THE END OF A GLORIOUS HOLIDAY? Written by Julius Blumfeld (22 April 2004) In 1991 the Somalian government of President Siad Barre was overthrown. It was not replaced. Uniquely amongst modern nations, Somalia has had no central government for well over a decade. There was, as the BBC puts it, a "descent into anarchy."[1] A Dutch academic has described the country as a "Hobbesian nightmare." According to Abdullah Mohammed, a fellow at the University of Amsterdam's Department of Political Science, "At present, Somalia has no central government, no embassies abroad, no national army or police force, no working system of justice, no public services, no national health system or schools. Everything in Somalia is now localised and extremely privatised." Dr. Mohammed laments this state of affairs. The environment is one, "in which only the fittest and the richest few can survive[2] There is no public welfare to cater for the needs of the poor majority, no national authority that takes collective responsibility if a natural calamity occurs. As one foreign aid worker put it, Somalia has become a "country run by militias, merchants and mullahs" who are all pursuing their private interests rather than the public good."[3] Yet, according to an EU reported cited by Spencer MacCullum writing in 1998, the absence of government in Somalia has proved to be far from disastrous, "Peace reigns in most of the country. ... markets in towns and cities have a large variety of imports and local entrepreneurs were furnishing consumer products and jobs. They now provide many services normally associated with government. The lack of state structures means no bureaucratic interference. Somalis seem particularly well adapted to operating in such an environment. . . . The clan tradition makes any form of central government difficult here. . . . Somalis consider themselves born free. To them, the State equals registration, regulation and restriction."[4] Somalia may not be a fully-fledged libertarian paradise. The clan system means that those who are outside of it do not always have an easy time. But compared with existence under any of the governments that have misruled Africa for the last half a century, anarchy would seem to be a huge improvement. Certainly the absence of a government has long offended the sensibilities of neighbouring politicians. The presidents of Kenya and Uganda recently warned Somali delegates at the latest constitutional conference that, "the process has been going on for far too long. We must not let the patience of the international community run out."[5] Such scarcely veiled threats are unsurprising. The governments of Kenya and Uganda were recently ranked, respectively, the sixth and ninth most corrupt in the world.[6] For them, a functioning stateless society just across their borders must set a very bad example. Finally, however, the mixture of threats and bribes from international agencies and governments seems to have born fruit. On the 29th January this year, delegates at the constitutional conference signed an agreement to establish a National Government.[7] Kenyan politicians have threatened overwhelming force against any dissenters: the Kenyan foreign minister said any attempt to frustrate the advances brokered by his country would be met with "decisive punitive measures."[8] It remains to be seen whether the Somalis' bold experiment in anarchy will now finally come to an end. However, if it does, and the Somalis become subject again to the depredations of politicians and bureaucrats, they will at least be able to console themelves with the thought that for thirteen years they have had (in the memorable words of Murray Rothbard) "a glorious holiday." Julius Blumfeld 24th February 2004 Julius Blumfeld is a lawyer and a libertarian. He lives and works in London and can be emailed at juliusblumfeld@btopenworld.com.
  11. Democracy For $ale: Libertarian Paradise DR. JACK MILLER / Monitor Winter 2004-05 20feb2005 The United States has the lowest taxes and smallest government of any industrial nation (as a percent of Gross Domestic Product). After years of huge tax cuts for wealthy elites and corporations, government at all levels is struggling to meet public needs. Nevertheless, with services being slashed, infra-structure crumbling and deficits soaring, demands continue for smaller government and lower taxes. A key player in this process is arch-libertarian Grover Norquist—the most powerful man you never heard of in Washington. He runs the well-funded Americans for Tax Reform, and his goal is to shrink government to the point "you can drown it in a bathtub." Norquist's ideal citizen is "the self-employed, home schooling, IRA-owning guy with a concealed-carry permit because that per-son doesn't need the goddamn government for any-thing.'" Norquist has made a living of bashing anything with the word "public" attached, and his message heavily influences the Bush administration and resonates with many anti-government Americans. Well, I've done some research and have great news for Grover and his followers. I actually found a place where the government has already been "drowned in a bathtub—"a tax-free paradise awaiting any libertarian who cares to travel a little: Somalia! That's right! Located in picturesque East Africa, caressed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, Somalia has no functioning government, so there's no one to steal your hard-earned dollars. Well, almost no one—since there are no police, the warlords sort of call the shots (no pun intended). They may demand some tribute, but it's not like wasting your money on police protection, garbage collection, sidewalks, schools, libraries, clean water, etc. Think about it: by paying tribute you're getting something really personal in return—your life! Don't despair—if the war-lord even leaves you fifty bucks, you'll still be a Somali millionaire. According to the CIA, "The absence of central government authority, as well as profiteering from counterfeiting, has rapidly debased Somalia's currency" to where one U.S. dollar now buys 30,000 Somali shillings!" Also, if you arrive by sea, be careful. Somalia has no tax-supported Coast Guard, so our State Department advises that there are real live pirates who keep a sharp lookout for over-upholstered, spoiled libertarians (like Grover) to snatch for ransom. At the risk of seeming wimpy, you might want to check the "Weekly Piracy Report" on the International Chamber of Commerce's web site before sailing."' Arrhh, matey, if you are kidnapped, the closest U.S. Embassy is in Nairobi, Kenya! But who cares? Since embassies are another symptom of bloated tax-hungry governments, self-respecting libertarians will gladly walk the plank before submitting to any such official meddling. That may not become a problem, anyway, because you can hit the beach heavily armed (remember, no gun laws). In fact, no laws at all! No patronizing, nosey officials to keep you from doing absolutely anything you want to do. With no public health system or sanitation in Somalia, malaria, tuberculosis, tetanus and leprosy may become a problem for even the tidiest libertarian. Try to limit your contact with the waterways; no wading or swimming is suggested, but of course, not ordered. The inland waters are a veritable toxic brew of microbes, which cause cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, dysentery, and several other ailments not routinely found in brutally high-tax areas. Don't despair, there is good news! According to our tax-supported Centers for Disease Control, at least one pesky parasite, the blood fluke, dislikes salt water and only bores through tender, libertarian skin exposed to fresh water in'and. Whew! That means the warm waters of the Indian Ocean off Somalia are blood fluke-free—so enjoy! While frolicking in the Indian Ocean there is one minor concern: Since Somalia has no tax-supported Navy to patrol its shoreline, foreign ships routinely dump highly toxic waste into the coastal waters. According to the BBC, a massive fish kill a couple years ago was caused by nuclear waste freely off-loaded into Somalia's territorial waters. Well, a quick dip shouldn't hurt—a slight bodily glow at worst. Most of the locals don't have to worry very long about such inconveniences since the average person only lives 46 years. Remember to take along a powerful radio since the public telecommunications system was completely destroyed during the last civil war. If another freedom lover, say a bandit, liberates your powerful radio, you can currently make international connections from the capitol, Mogadishu, by satellite. When you visit Mogadishu to send your message, plan on doing some walking. According to the UN, "No car, no bus, no heavily armed jeep can make its way through this Mogadishu road block: only goats and pedestrians attempt to climb the huge mound of rubbish—a solid mass.'" Highway travel is possible elsewhere. The country's principle highway is a 700-mile two-lane paved road from Chisimayu to Hargeysa. Don't worry about getting stuck at a railroad crossing since there are no railroads in Somalia. Drive on whatever side of the road suits your mood! Hey, pedal to the metal, but keep yourfingers crossed because the northern segment of the highway still needs to be cleared of land mines. Links to neighboring countries are mostly dirt trails and tend to be impassable in rainy weather. So there you are: a country about the size of Texas where you can roam free. Free from the Nanny-State, un-mined highways, laws, police, paramedics, telephones, museums, schools, clean water, libraries, hospitals, sanitation, old-age and most of all—free from taxes! Bon voyage, you lucky libertarians, and don't for-get to write. Oops! I forgot—there are no post offices there, either. Dr. Jack Miller is Coordinator of the Indiana Alliance for Democracy. Monitor is a publication of the Indianapolis-based Hoosier Environmental Council Michael Scherer, "The Soul of the New Machine", Mother Jones, Jan/Feb, 2004 http://worldfacts.us/Somalia.htm Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs Travel Report 4-19-01 http://unsomalia.org/sectors/health_nutrition/stories/20001221.htm
  12. it is euro currency! can it help? no! rather you will wait and see! That is how fierce and resilient your ethiopian stooges are! You will wait for outside proxies to fight for your own battles. If you have any supremacy and valor, come to the theatre of war otherwise retreat into your officially recognized barren regions and for once leave the gallant militants of Bay settle their quarrel. Let me remind you the facts on the ground, Kismaayo is run by Juba Alliance; Baidhabo is once again conquered by Mogadishu Loyalist. Uncle Yeey is scared to go the Capital and Jowhar is going to fall. warlord Muse Sudi is in full gear now to eliminate warlord Mohamed Dhere. Warlord Uncle Yeey has worn the right shoes and embarked on the right policies to pacify and reconcile the fueding warlords!! Help Meles Help, I am being overwhelmed!! Duke, man smell the coffee and wake up fom this nightmare! no one can dominate others by force or by politics. times have changed! it is better you stop being delusional and come to terms with your weakness. that may lead you the road of peace and prosperity.
  13. Duke, I have more than twenty million and it is all yours if you could make things better than this continous mess. Ethiopia has more than twenty millions, why they don't contribute to buy out the few opposing warlords and secure your uncle's ambitious coronation? uncle Yeey, got more loot fromm letting the swiss-italian mafioso to dump toxic waste in xeebaha bari! He could use that money to buy out the likes of Shaati gaduud, Madoobe and so on. if money could solve anything, it would have been easier than this. we have clanish mistrust and resentment. we have ruthless warlords as leaders. it is once again another disaster and mayhem- somalis are savages, unruly and uncivilised to the bone! they can't get rid of their inherent clannish animosities. I feel sorry for the poor folks of Baidabo , the city of death is once again the theatre of battle between the contending malevolence of Mudugh and Mogadisho.
  14. This rubbish sob and duplicity is characteristic of those circles that do extremely well in the art of reproach and hearsay. Hypocrisy combined with clannish rationale is all our perceptive so-called Somali elite can come up with! What an indignity! I call the moderators to knock off some of this disgusting clannish tirade, specially clan names - practice what your preach folks!
  15. The fierce clashes in Baidoa today are foretaste of the inevitable, already prophesied, second Somali civil war. it just started and all hell will be let loose by all the competing evil forces of Somalia. The opportunistic warlords of kismayo, Merka and Mogadishu (Samata Bixinta group) are in full gear offence and actively pursuing their ambition of dominating and defeating the SRRC faction. Muse Sudi has vowed to capture Jowhar and we are all waiting for the eventful demise of Warlord Mohammed Dhere. His rushed return to Jowhar is an attestation of how petrified the " dummy of Jowhar "is of the Mogadishu camp. It could be said that, by and large, Indha Cadde exposed the vulnerability of Jowhar and Baidabo. The spineless warlord patrons of the fallen and soon to be conquered cities are passively soiling in their pants and crying foul. Their only defiance and defense so far is howling conspiracy theories around the numerous clan oriented media outlets in the country. I did listen few interviews on these latest developments at hornAfrik,Shabelle, Markacadeey and Daljir Radios.( listen to Aden Madoobe's lamentation ) Coincidentally, while all these latest rivalry are taking place, president Warlord Yeey and his subdued sidekick, Prime Minister Ghedi, are touring Libya and soliciting Ghadafi for some handouts. Typical of the corrupt selected few! Isn't that what our "elected officials" excel in? Trekking around the world, in search of few pennies to enrich their clique and themselves and continue the misery of their poor somali populace? The SRRC faction seems immobilized and powerless. Who will come to their assistance? Aideed Junior's obsolete militia in Villa Somalia? Sorry to say but we all know that Morgan is now defunct and toothless. Ahead of time, Barre Hiirale and his Juba Alliance have neutralized the Butcher of Hargeisa permanently. Assistance and backing from Cadde Muse of Puntland is out of the question for he is being challenged in the north by SNM forces? it seems SRRC faction's only hope is in the hands and the mercy of Meles Zenawi's intervention. If it comes to this, the long awaited Ethiopian invasion, then, it will be the end of Somalia as we know it. The country will be fragmented into warring fiefdoms for decades to come and gone will be dreams of ever lasting peace in Somalia.
  16. Boutrous Boutrous Ghali!!! As usual, those of us who follow the So-called Somali politics we are forced to witness the out of the ordinary actions of our government in exile. We had a bloody fist fight or brawl in the parliament. We have become the laughing stock of the civilized world. It was yet another embarrassment and belittlement of the Somali name. People all over the world are now making fun of how Somali nomads are reacting to this alien system of democracy. Even the ex United Nations chief, Boutros Boutros Ghali had his amusing take on the brawl. the old coptic misanthrope suggested that instead of setting up a parliament for these pastoral neophytes, they should have given them some basic lessons on parliamentary democracy. Thanks Mr. Ghali, you can now comfortably retire back to your smoke filled tobacco lounge. Gheedi Gheedi Gheedi!! O! Ghedi Ghedi!, how do you remind me of Igal Shidaad's prophetic adage and lamenting tribute to that legendary tree-stump in the darkness of the night! ma waxaan ku mooday, mise waxaad noqotay, mise waxaan loo noqon dooni!! Initially, Ghedi you were groomed as an intellectual who will have the patronage and support of all warring camps in Mogadishu and sorrundings. Even though a notorious dummy warlord forfeited his seat to get you elected, peace-loving Somalis felt relieved to at least see you coming outside the despicable warlord camp and they were happy too at least see another academic, just like Galydh, elected to such important post of authority. you were seen as a man who will complement and offset the one dimensional clannish president-warlord. Sadly, once again, we have been led astray by our wild imaginations. Ghedi! you are not the man we have been dreaming for. so far, we have all become aware of how undiplomatic and vulgar you are! we have been warned of how you were not well versed orator in the somali vernacular but we never taught you will be this terribly unwitty! your choice of words and castigatory tone is now being mocked and joked around in the Fadhi-Ku-Dirir venues. that is how low one can go down the drain! when you have allowed to be bamboozled by Ina-yeey's clique, you shot yourself in the foot!!. The public perceives you, Mr.Prime Minister, as an inexperienced man who is fortuitously been tossed into the chaotic dealings of Somali politics and it seem that you have no sense of direction and foresight to get out of this mess. what a poor fellow you are!. Most Somalis who follow the news from Nairobi will stress your juvenile approach of working out differences within your own cabinet members, specially , those of whom you share backgroud with!! They will also point up your unquestionable devotion to the president's conflict-ridden policies. After your latest decision of relocating the government to two provincial towns in the south, namely Jowhar and Baidoba and your uncoming snub of the city of your birth and your recent outrageous appointment of eleven non-influential members of your inflated cabinet to secure the capital, people are now convinced that you are either obsessed by Jinni spirits or you are being controlled by injudicious clannish consortium, led by warlord president Ina-Yeey and his offshoot crew, the likes of Bari-Bari,Jurile and Azhari,whose only vision and obsesseion is to create another fratricidal bloodshed between you and your immediate clansmen. Ali Gheediyoow! Somalis are not that forgiving with their criticism and disapproval. again let me stress, when you have allowed to be bamboozled by Ina-yeey clique, you shot yourself in the foot!!. Magac iyo Musiibo-ba maalin beey baxaan Ghedi, you are already a toast, so enjoy your short sojourn in the political arena, which is more or less over. Sorry, Prime Minister !! Hasta La Vista Ghedi! you were a failure and fraud! I am all for your immediate vanishing, Ina-yeey's demise and to my delight, the crowning and ascendency of the man of the moment ... my speaker, my Hero, The HONORABLE SHAREEF HASSAN, then i can be hopeful again of our dignity being restored...
  17. Originally posted by wiil_duco: Sky these guy macalimuu haters is nothing to him. A man who always goes after a women who have different view. Is amezing how he is wasting his time insulting olderly people. The word RESPECT I belive he never heard, having said that he contues to close his eyes from the other peopls standpoint. His mind-set is only his strib View point :confused: nimanyahaow soomaaliyeed ee meesha cidlada ah iga eedeeynaayo, waxaa ficnaan laheeyd inaad arimahaan ka hadlaayo meesha eey u dhacayaan bal aad fahantaan. mida kale , wiil duco, iska daa inaan fahmo ingiriiskaaga jaban, waxaan aad ula yaabanahay sida af soomaaliga qoristiisa iyo fahankiisa aad ugu liidato. tusaale ahaan - your signature - Ileen Jaceelku Waa Nabad Waanaga Caloole oo Lagama Nuusado.Alahayoo nanabad galiy Nast iyo naruurad Nimca dhaanka Nagu dhoor. - waa qalad xag qoris iyo xigasho. waa hees eey ku luuqeeyso fanaanada weyn ee soomaaliyeed ee codka halaasiga leh , Sahra Axmed Sagal - sidan ayeey erayadu u dhacayaan: Ileyn Jaceylku waa nabar - waa nabar calooleed oo lagama nuuxsado - Allahayoow na nabad geli, nasteexada iyo naruurada, nimcadaada nagu dhowr
  18. I honestly laughed of how the officer hit the nail on the head. These barefaced clan idealists need to become little urbane and sophisticated and learn how to voice their opposite viewpoint in civilized manner instead of creating commotion, blasting loudly and violently. And please, for sake of kindness and human dignity!, dont exploit these limping elderly grannies to put across your reservations. Other folks from other regions don't employ such dreadful tactic. it is callous, outdated and above all inhuman
  19. Minnesota: Bannaan Bax Lagu Taageerayey Go’aankii Baarlamaanka oo Carqalad Ku Dhamaaday. Minneapolis – MN. HOL. Bannaan bax ballaaran oo lagu taageerayey go’aankii Golaha Baarlamaanka Soomaaliyeed ku diideen ciidamo ka socda dalalka Somaliya dariska la ah ayaa lagu qabtay hool weyn oo ku yaalla Koonfurta Minneaolis, meel aan sidaas uga sii fogeyn suuqa Soomaalida ee Karamel. Bannan baxan oo eey ka soo qeyb galeen dadweyne lagu qiyaasay saddex boqol oo qofood ayaa ku dhamaaday carqalad eey geeysteen koox ka soo horjeeday codbixinta Baarlamaanka, isla markaana taageersaned Madaxweynaha. Ciidanka nabad sugidda Minneapolis ayaa soo dhex galay hoolkii shirka, kalana dareeriyey dadweynihii ka soo qeyb galay ku dhawaad saacad kadib markii uu shirku furmay. Isu soo baxan ayeey soo qaban qaabiyeen xubno ka tirsan odayaasha, culimaa’udiinka, aqoon yahannada, ardayda iyo ganacsatada Soomaaliyeed ee Gobolkan. Dadkii ku qornaa ineey goobta ka hadlaan waxaa kamid ahaa Prof. Cali Khalif Galayr, Ra’iisul Wasaarihii Dowladii Carta, Sh. C/raxman Sheikh Cumar, Sheikh Xassan Jaamici, Sheikh Ibrahim iyo kuwa kale. Boorar waaweyn oo eey ku qornaayeen murti u badan taageero go’aankii Baarlamaanka ayaa ku xardhanaa googta. Indhaheyga waxaa si gooni ah u soo jiitay mid eey ku qornayd “Kaligii Talinimo Maya: Dimoqraadiyad Haa†iyo mid kale oo akhrinayey “ Waan u mahad celineynaa Dowladda Mareykankaâ€. Xiriiyaha dibad baxan, Wariye Max’ud Mascadde oo Somali TV-ga Minnesota ka socday ayaa abbaarihii saddexdii galabnimo kulanka furay, isagoo ku soo dhaweeyey Sheekh/Qareen Xassan Jaamici oo ah Imaam, madaxweyne ku xigeen Muslim American Soceity (MAS) iyo sharci yaqaan ka tirsan Legal Aid Minnesota ayaa hadallo kooban ku sheegay in eey muhiim u tahay jaaliyadda Minnesota, cid walba oo yihiin-ba, ineey isaga duubnaadaan ilaalinta Qaranka Soomaaliyeed “ Waxaanu taageersanahay go’aankii Baarlamaanka ee uu ka qaatay inaan la keenin ciidamada dalalka safka hore†ayuu raaciyey. Kadib, C/llahi Kulmiye oo ka tirsan ardayda jaamacadaha ee Minnesota ayaa isna yiri “ Waxaan taageereynaa go’aankii Baarlamaanka, sidii aan u taageeri laheyn hadii eey ciidamada safka hore oggolaan lahaayeen-ba†wuxuuna raaciyey “C/llahi Yusuf markii uu barlamaanku doortay waan soo dhaweynay, una dabaal dagnay, haddana go’aanka baarlamaanka waan soo dhaweyneynaa, una dabaal dageynaaâ€. Hadalkaas oo eey dadweynihii aad ugu riyaaqeen una sacab tumeen. Sh. C/raxman Sheikh Cumar oo kamid ah culimaa’udiinka ugu firfircoon Waqooyiga America iyo Minnesota gaar ahaan ayaa dabadeed cod baahiyihii lagu wareejiyey. Wuxuuna warkiisa ku soo koobay “Aniga waxaan ku hadlayaa magaca Dallada Culimada Soomaaliyeed ee Waqooyiga America oo intii uusan Baarlamaanku go’aankan gaarin soo saaray war murtiyeed eey uga soo horjeedaan ciidamada dalalka safka horeâ€. Xamaasadii dadweynaha oo cirka ku shareeran ayaa misana Dr. Xuseen Cigaal oo ah dhakhtar caafimaad la wareegay hadalkii, isagoo sheegay in “ciidamada safka hore ee la isku qabanayo eeysan dhamaantood dhibka nagu hayn. Jabuuti iyo Kenya runtii dhib gooni ah naguma hayaan ee sartu meesheey ka quruntay waa Itoobiyaâ€. Wuxuuna sii raaciyey “Soomaalaay Dowladii Cartaad dumiseene tanna ha duminina oo Itoobiya naga fogeeyaâ€. Xuseen oo aan hadalkiisiiba dhameysan ayaa waxaa bartamaha hookii ka shanqaray codad dumar u badan oo leh “No No No†iyo “ Naga Aamusâ€. Buuq iyo sawaxan labada dhinac ah ayaa hareereeyey hoolkii oo dhan. Xiriiraya kulankan, Mascadde ayaa isku taxallujiyey inuu dajiyo dadkii qeylinayey oo weydiistay ineey kooxda Itoobiya taageersan qof iska soo xulaan. Waxeey soo xusheen nin magiciisa Cubeyd lagu sheegay. Hase ahaatee, kooxdii Itoobiya taageersaneyd, oo qiyaas ahaan aanan labaatan qof oo saddex rag ahi ka dhex muuqdeen ka badneyn ayeey u muuqatay ineey ka go’oneyd ineey kulankaba carqaladeeyaan. Dumarkii ayaa qayladhaantoodii sii laba jibaaray. Walow aan kuraastii la isku dakhrin sida Nairobi ka dhacday, haddana is riix riix iyo indha fara iska galin ayaa ka billowday hoolka. Qaar qaban qaabiyayaasha kamid ah ayaa ii sheegay in dumar da’a weyn eey kala tuureen. Xiriiriyihii ayaa codbaahiyaha kaga codsaday in inta Itoobiya taageersan eey gacanta taagaan. Labaataneeyo qof oo dumar u badan ayaa laba laba gacmood taagay. Wuxuu misana weydiiyey inta aan taageersaneyn ineey gacmaha taagaan, dhowr boqol oo qof ayaa sawaxan iyo gacmo taag isku biiriyey. Wuxuu ku celceliyey in xaalka la dajiyo oo shirku sii socdo. Laakiin sidaas ma dhicin. Ciidanka Nabad Sugidda Minneapolis ayaa loo yeeray. Laba sarkaal ayaa soo hormaray. Markii eey arkeen dadka meesha jooga tiradooda ayeey isu habar wacdeen oo illaa iyo lix gaari oo Police ah timid. Waxeey soo dhex galeen hoolkii. Waxeeyna guda galeen ineey dadka codbaahiyaha uga sheegaan ineey isaga dareeraan hoolka. Qaban qaabiyayaashii ayaa isku dayey ineey Nabad Sugidda ka codsadaan in la soo xareeyo dadka aan fowdada wadin. Ha yeeshee, waxaan maqlayey sarkaal leh “Idin ma kala garaneyno ee meesha ku kala tagaâ€. Bannaanka hoolka ayeey dadyowgii soo baxay isa soo taageen, cimillada oo aad wanaagsaneyd awgeed. Qof dumar ah oo da’a dhexaad ah ayaa aad u qeylinaysay oo eey saxaafadduna ku shamuumsaneyd. Magaceeda weey ka baaqsatay, ha yeeshee ereyadeed waxaa kamid ahaa “Qolada Itoobiya diidan waa kuwa guryaheena iyo beereheenii Xamar ku heysta †iyo ereyo kale oo aad u qallafsan. Madaxa waxaa ugu dhuujisnaa calanka Mareykanka. Dhan kale waxaa iyana taagnaa laba rag ah oo aan magocooda faafin, ha yeeshee TV-yada magaalada u waramayey. Iyagoo aad u qoslaya ereyadooda waxaa kamid ahaa “Dantii aan meesha u nimid waanu gaarnay. “ Iyo “ Carta doonimeyno, Ciidan shisheeye diidimeynoâ€. Qaar kamid ah odayaasha magaalada ayaa ii sheegay in falkani uu horseedi doono in shirarka siyaasadeed ee Minnesota carqalado iyo fowdu ku dhamaadaan. Nin magiciisa Cumar iigu soo koobay ayaa igu yiri “Qolada qaskan geysatay iyagaa ugu shirar badan magaalada. Waana la isla arki doonaa hadii carqaladeytani xal noqon doontoâ€. Prof. Cali Khalif iyo dhowr qof oo kale oo ku qorneyd ineey hadlaan ayeeysan u suuroobin. Laakiin war saxaafadeed uu goobta ku shaaciyey ayuu aad ugu ammaanay go’aankii Baarlamaanka, isagoo sheegay inuu Baarlamaanku yahay hay’ad ka dhalatay laba sano oo wada hadallo ah, isla markaana uu Baarlamaanku si hufan u matalo qeybaha bulshada Soomaaliyeed. Wuxuu warqadaas ku sheegay in ummadda Soomaaliyeed eey (1) U mahad calinayaan taageerada Dowladda Mareykanka (2) Gaarsiinayaan taageero buuxda Baarlamaanka iyo Guddoomiyahooda kartida leh (3) Billaabayaan dadaal dhaqaale loogu uruurinayo Baarlamaanka (4) Dhaqaajinayaan xubno cadaadiya Hogaamiyayaasha Muqdisho si eey nabadda caasimadda u sugaan (5) Dhisayaan guddi si habeynsan u sii amba qaada dadaalkan . Dhacdadan ayaa laga cabsi qabaa ineey sii kala irdheyso Soomaalida Minnesota oo ah cududda dhaqaale ee ugu awoodda weyn jaaliyadaha dibadda. Indheer garato goob joog ahaa ii sheegay ineeysan hore u arag falka noocan oo kale ah. Sheegid waxaa mudan in kulamo aan siyaasad ku saleysneyn, sida xafladaha eey fannaaniintu ku qabtaan Minnesota uu ka dilaaco muranno sababa in ciidanka Nabad Sugiddu soo kala dhax galaan. Laakiin tani eey tahay markii ugu horeeysay ee fowdo intan le’eg loo geysto kulan si nabad ah ku socda. C/raxman Ceynte Hiiraan Online Minnapolis, MN ceynte@hiiraan.com
  20. I took part in a Somali jamboree and jubilation yesterday in Minneapolis. it was inteded to show support and appreciation of the parliament's decision not to allow Ethiopian and frontline troops into the Somali soil. As usual, I kept a low profile and observed how things were progressing. Every one there was very considerate and showed civility except few clan consumed, demented nut-heads backed by Dozens of poor mothers ( with clan fervor) from Cedar. They have created havoc and ruined a very pleasant evening for everyone. Even people who were of the same clan of these ridiculous supporters of warlord Ina-Yeey were embarrassed of the way they conducted themselves. These old ladies were the same ones who were protesting to senetor Norm Coleman and obstructed all his staff workers to get in or to get out. their sit-in was unsuccessful there and they decided to ruin this Somali event. Thanks God that there were the MPD officers to secure the venue and monitor its sorroundings. Even the police were very supportive and commended the majority of the participants' patience. i spoke to one of the police officers and he confided in me that he could recognize how different somalis are in terms of their civility, mannerism,attire and education. He said the ones who were shouting are typically the ones who give bad name to the somali people. the gentle and chatty officer said that these odd men looked like they were off the plane and late comers to USA. we all laughed at his remarks and agreed with him. At the end, every one was saying these protesters were the same ill-mannered and illiterate men who loiter at the Starbucks coffee shop at Riverside. They said they brought their awkward despicable Fadhi-Ku-Dirir tactics to a civilized venue organized by intellectuals, religious scholars, academics, college students and good Somali folks. I hope next time the organizers of these events will take notice of these uncultured men of the the Fadhi-Ku-diririska and ban them from any civil assembly.
  21. Crisis Group Response to IGAD Charge Nairobi/Brussels, 21 March 2005: The International Crisis Group regrets the charge by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at its meeting of 18 March 2005, that our position and advice has "resulted in damages to the region and to the peace process in Somalia". The International Crisis Group has long worked closely with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its member states. The IGAD-led peace process for Sudan and the peace process in Northern Uganda are just two of the cases in which Crisis Group analysis and expertise have been made available to IGAD members in pursuit of peace, security and development of the region. Crisis Group has also welcomed and supported IGAD's engagement in the Somali peace process since its inception in October 2002. Crisis Group continues, however, to draw attention to the deep divisions among the Somali people over the issue of deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops, especially from the neighbouring "Frontline States" of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. These divisions are manifest in the many public demonstrations throughout Somalia in recent weeks, the statements of Somali political leaders and civil society organisations, and reports and commentary in the Somali media. The unfortunate and indecorous scenes of violence in the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament on 17 March 2005 provided ample evidence of a house and a nation divided. In public statements and letters to concerned heads of state, governments and intergovernmental organisations, Crisis Group had consistently argued that this issue must be handled with great sensitivity if it is not to destabilise Somalia's transitional institutions and threaten the peace process. We are particularly concerned that any decisions concerning peacekeeping forces and the related issue of an interim seat of government, be reached through thorough, transparent consultation with the parties concerned and receive the unambiguous approval of the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament. The IGAD governments are aware that Crisis Group's concerns in this regard are shared by the members of the IGAD Partners Forum. A statement from the President of the United Nations Security Council on 7 March also affirmed that such a mission "would require the support of the Somali people". Crisis Group welcomes the commitment of IGAD and its members to peace in Somalia and congratulates them on having guided the peace process so far. We urge them to give due attention to the concerns we have raised in order that this opportunity to restore peace and positive governance to Somalia not be missed, and that they continue in their efforts to assist the Somali people and their leaders to find consensus on the best way forward. We look forward to the opportunity to exchange views with the IGAD member states on this and other issues. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 485 555 946 Jennifer Leonard (Washington) +1 202 785 1601 To contact Crisis Group media please click here
  22. http://www.hobyonet.com/audio/adduunkaan.ram Khadra Dahir: Aduunkaan is daba maray Nin waliba dan leeyahay Mindhaa leeyma dago abid Mindhaa leeyma duudsiyo Mindhaa dahab aan leeyahay Damac ruuxna kama galo ( this is the stance of the shareefka iyo the conscious parliamentarians - and not the ethiopian stooges) Mindhaa doorka maantaa Duhur meeshii aan maro Axad kale ma soo dago Mindhaa geedigaan dumay Awrka dacayga kama furo Mindhaa ruux I dagayoo Ii laba dubleeyoow Dib danbe kuuma aamino ( will never trust these stooges who are advocating for the annihilation of our cities, ports and villages ) Wax dhan baan dulqaatee Diirkaa madoow iyo darisnimo ku dhowree mindhaa daqarka culus iyo kama daayo ceeyradayee wax dhan baan dulqaatee waan waan danbeetiyo mindhaa nabar ma doono ma dugsado gumeeysigayee ( we will not be taunted and disrespected in exile, we are going home where we could restore our dignity and glory ) Mohamed Suleeymaan Tubeec: Weey dagatay maantee Mindhee daafi qurunleey - ethiopian Anigoon dabar jarin Dubaheeyga kama dhigo Mindhee labada daarrood Mid anoon darmadda dhigan Faraskeeyga kama dego Dul ahaan dhulkeeygii Cadwogii dilaayiyo Duligii ka qaadoo Dabadeed markaa calan Ka dul taagay ciidiiyee ( the celestial blue sky flag with the white star with its five cornered points - the short lived liberation of western Somali region ) Weerarkii dananayoo Dajja qoriga oo gala Dhufeeys dooxa oo dhaca Daafac baan galeeynaa Khadra: Dirirdhaba korkeeydiiyo Dooxada Hawaas iyo Baali dacaldeeydiyo Hub ku deeyra sidaamo. ( look at that, we were calling the shots then, now they want to carve our nation into fiefdoms- ain't that sad!! ) Shimbir duulla yuu kicinee Dubaabaadna yuu soconee Intaad xero ku deeyrtaan Fiijignaan ku daawada Tubeec: Soohdinteenu yeey dagane Geesiyada dalkeeygoow Dab xir weeye xeebuhuyee - (our beaches, shores, longest in africa - 3300 km long ) Badda yaan la soo degin ( a prophetic call: now Meles is after our ports - Kismaayo, merka, Hobyo, Boosaaso and Berbera ) Markab yuu daf soo oranee Cadowgeenu soo dirayee (they already sent ships loaded with toxic wastes and dumped all their nuclear waste wth the help of the warlords ) Doqoni yeey na weerarin Doqoni yeey na weerarin (the fools are those Ethiopoian backed stoooges ) Diyaaradi hawadayada Yeey ku imaan duulaan Kii damaaci keenana Daran doori ugu fura Yaan beriga la daayicin Loo nuglaan dad qaltada ( them ethiopian cannibals ) Duurka miino ugu xira Dariiqyada la soo maro Geesiyada dagaalkoow Dalka aanu leenahay Horjoogoo ha daawado ( don't ever let the guard down and let amhaaras invade our soil ) Inta dow banaaniyo meeshii daleela ahba Darbi adag ku meershoo Madaafiic dayaantiyo Kaarahaa wax dumiyaa Dacalada is heeystoo Diyaaraad hareeyaa Waa sida daruurtee Cadowgii mar ina dagay Duulaan ku baxa iyo Hadii weerar lagu dayay Khadra: Laga kiciyay dahabkii Waa dabaaldageenee Dib ayuu soo noqon Dacawadu ma samirtee!
  23. here is the lyrics and the link.. enjoy it http://www.hobyonet.com/audio/duufaan.ram Waxii adiga kuu daran ninka eey damqeeysee Hadalkoon I deeqsiin kaa duraamanaayaa Asagoon dareen qabin hadii laydin kala dilo Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Ha ii daraan Nabsi lama daraasado asagoo dibadahaa yaale Dukaan lagama iibsado sidiii sheey markaa dihane Waa laga danbeeyaa intaanu daaqad kaa furane Adigaa ku daabacan dubaaqa iyo laabtee Hadaan diiday ruux kale inuu dabin iigu daro Oo aniga oo dareen qabin hadba leeygu kaa diro Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Ha ii daraan Nabar dooga ahaa baa qoloftii ka diirtoo Damqadaye xanuunkaba waxaa iga sii daran Anigoo dareen qabin hadii leeyna kala dilo Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Duufaan ku qaadiyo waa sahal dabeeyshuye Ayaan daadku kula tegin Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Waan daalayee Ha ii daraan