If awareness is not raised, if systems are not in place and people remain ignorant this will be repeated in east Africa. Pfizer wins early Nigeria battle A Nigerian court has refused to allow more cases to be added to a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical giant accused of improper drugs trials on children. Pfizer lawyers argued in Abuja that the amendments had been improperly filed. The Nigerian government wants $7bn in damages and compensation for the families of the children who died or suffered serious side-effects. Some 200 children took part in trials for a new anti-meningitis drug in 1996. Pfizer says the trials were lawful. The court rejected a bid by the Nigerian government's counsel to include 85 new claims - in addition to an earlier 54, agreeing with Pfizer that it had been improperly filed. Officials in Kano say more than 50 children died in the experiment, while many others developed mental and physical deformities. But Pfizer says only 11 of the 200 children in the drug trial died. Pfizer tested the then unregistered drug in Nigeria's north-western Kano State during an outbreak of meningitis which had affected thousands of children. Following pressure, the Nigerian government set up an expert medical panel to review the drug trial. It concluded that the experiment was "an illegal trial of an unregistered drug" and a "clear case of exploitation of the ignorant". "We did not suspect that the children were being used for an experiment," Hassan Sani, the father of a girl who was tested, told the BBC in Kano recently. "The American doctors took advantage of our illiteracy and cheated us and our children. We thought they were helping us," he said. Pfizer denied any wrongdoing and said its trial of Trovan was conducted in accordance with Nigerian regulations. The Pfizer experiment was cited by many as a reason for the mass rejection of polio vaccinations in many parts of northern Nigeria in recent years. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6241322.stm

Xanthus, ninka ha waalin. No need for such weapons in Burco. At least we have water 24/7 though LoL

So much for a 'govnt' ey? Warlords Make a Living Off Disaster Relief June 28, 2007: Somalia is unique in that the locals have turned a humanitarian disaster into a business. This has been going on for fifteen years. Back then, when famine brought in aid agencies and food relief, some of the Somali warlords saw it as a business opportunity. The warlords began attacking and looting the relief convoys. The UN sent in peacekeepers, who got shot at a lot, and who soon got out. The relief agencies tried to keep operating since then, but they can only succeed if they play by Somali rules. That means, for example, that the trucks carrying food to starving Somalis, have to pay "taxes" to the warlords whose territory they pass through. The aid agencies try to negotiate these payments, but the best they can do is keep track of how many roadblocks there are along the routes the trucks have to take, and hope they gave the drivers enough cash to make it. Currently there are nearly 300 roadblocks in southern Somalia. The gunmen charge $20-$500 per truck, depending on what they think the driver can afford. It's a tricky business, as if they charge too much, or just steal the truck, the word will get around and the trucks will take another route, no matter how long it is. It's not just food aid that gets "taxed," it's merchants as well. Even busses and individual cars must pay. For the gunmen manning the roadblocks, it's a good living. Sometimes there will be battles over which gang controls a particular roadblock. It's all about money, and it's worth dying for. Off the coast, Somali pirates seize ships, including UN food ships, and hold them and their crews for ransom. Somalis have been loyal to their clans, and warlords, for thousands of years. The nation of Somalia only came into existence in the 1960s. It's never really took, and maybe never will. Many aid workers blame it all on the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the reality is that when you bring a lot of goodies into a very poor and lawless area, the guys with guns will feel entitled to take whatever they want. With satellite TV and DVDs getting this bad news spread to everywhere, warlords the world over know what works. And the aid workers, who once thought of themselves as above it all, now find themselves the object of a feeding frenzy. It's happening everywhere, not just in Somalia. What the "aid community" has lost sight of is the fact that the idea that the UN was supposed to be "impartial" was not part of the original UN concept. The original idea was that the Great Powers (the West) would use the UN to maintain order. But since the Great Powers couldn't get along, the UN evolved its own ways. The aid community, and all those NGOs that appeared in the last half century, through they were above politics. Now they have received a reality check, and they don't like it at all. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htun/articles/20070628.aspx

Looks like the wider horn conflict predicted by many is on,,,,,, Ethiopia 'ready for Eritrea war' Ethiopia's prime minister says he is strengthening his army in preparation for an attack by long-time foe Eritrea. "Our defence forces have the capacity to deter aggression and to repulse it if it occurred and... this is being strengthened by the day," he told MPs. The two neighbours fought a border war from 1998-2000, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. They back rival sides in Somalia and there had been fears that they could clash there through local proxies. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6248898.stm

Dubai--->Djabouti---->Burco Ya idiin baahanba?

dp

Originally posted by NGONGE: quote:Originally posted by Northerner: Its the weekend and more entertaining to do. Two bros are landing tonight before they are off again on Monday ---> Burco I knew they needed shelter because of all those floods, but going all the way to Burco is a bit drastic methinks. They used to tell us at school of big the big storm a hundred years ago and how it wont happen again because of the dams/flood defences :rolleyes: They will go and do the most work. Then I can go in few weeks and relax

Its the weekend and more entertaining to do. Two bros are landing tonight before they are off again on Monday ---> Burco

^^Oday iilbahay dhe

Now Mr Malik is claiming racial discrimination against engineering firm Amec Utilities . They did employ a Somali Engineer in the past

You’re going around in circles. The comments I brushed aside were not up for contention/discussion in the first place. Re-read the thread. You implied the TFG has influence in SL. I stated it didn’t. You dodged my questions for a few pages and now we both agree the TFG has no influence in SL. The other issues you want to bring into discussion are more of a consolation for you rather than ‘relevant’. With regard to the Somali Law (Somali Constitution), is it worth discussing it when SL feels they are excluded from it? Ie they are an independent state with it’s own laws or are we talking if re-unification occurs? The latter has scope for discussion but the former will only prove your argument to be redundant.

LooooooooL A madax massage is no biggie saxib. They do it when they smell money . Must have been that 'One man Show' you was wearing You spoke Enlish right? = Money/Greens/Ends/Bengies

Me, Just as I suspected. A deluge of irrelevance to save face. SL is not influenced by the TFG. Simple as that saxib. Is SL qualified to make international deals? They already have so i guess they are 'qualified'. What is Somali Law?

^^Just move to the UAE ninyow.

^^I get my mop cut by Africans saxib. Had enough of indians trying to give me a fade only to make me look like an army recruit!

Me, Again you have avoided the question of 'independence'. Is SL 'independent' - ie does the TFG have any say on the running of the govnt/institutions/foriegn deals etc? The legality of current foreign deals in the future is another discussion.

No saxib. They should not be arrested.

^^they are avoiding the question on whether SL is 'independent' from Somalia. Ie TFG having no influence in SL. When they go home they will land in Hargaisa on transit

YES you do support them just for the sake of hating somaliland Me, All that writing and again you fail to address the issue. SL is independent from Somalia and Somalia/TFG has no influence in SL whatsoever. Now, if you have something to say about that then by all means go ahead. We are not talking about deals being in accordance with Somali Law since SL says it is not part of that law! No need to repeat issues i'm not contesting just to save face Take a leaf out of GG's book and bring the juice (ie some facts to back-up your points - if any) GG, Foreign Direct Investors that are targeting Somaliland should be aware that their contracts can be annulled without furter ado - must probably in a post-TFG administration (2009+) If a re-unification occurs then I would argue the govnt in place would be reluctant to back-track any deals in SL/PL unless its obviously not providing any benefit to the govnt/people. Taxes can be paid etc. A gradual 'alignment' of all foreign deals would be the way to go. The territorial part is all well and good in the charter but what influence does the TFG have in 'todays' SL?

Blair is probably the greatest ever performer at the dispatch box, he destroyed a succession of Tory leaders. I think destroyed is an understatement The best politician speaker I have ever seen. A liar yes but a great speaker.

A changed landscape Don't forget what Blair has achieved in education, says Estelle Morris Tuesday June 26, 2007 The Guardian Tony Blair set the stakes high. He wanted to be judged on his record in education. Maybe he has been overtaken by events, but I have no doubt that history will record his contribution to education as one of the most significant of any of our prime ministers. Whatever you think about his policies, he has changed the relationship between education and politics. His personal drive, commitment and leadership; the time he gave to education; the number of school visits he made and educationists he met must be unmatched by any of his predecessors. He has shown determination and skill in driving through the issues he thought were important and led a government that has delivered the biggest ever sustained increase in funding. Article continues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He has changed our culture and you can see that in the public's attitude. We talk more about education - particularly what used to be the Cinderella areas of early years and skills. Our expectations are higher and we more readily acknowledge that we have an interest in raising standards for every child. There is more respect for those who work in education. And the political establishment's culture has changed as well. Never again will it be an "also-ran", a middle-ranking Whitehall department fighting for attention. At least three education ministers or former ministers were seen as possible contenders for the Labour party leadership. It is a big player. Blair has shifted education's place in the national landscape and we are better for it. We have a massive school-building programme, universal pre-school education, more and better teachers and a workforce revolution, higher standards in every age group and more people going to university. It's a familiar list and the gains are easily pocketed and forgotten. But it means that more children get a better deal than a decade ago. It is a record of which he should be proud. There is new leadership now and although Blair's successor will give education the same priority, he will put his own mark on it. Gordon Brown will face two sets of challenges. First, there are still weaknesses in the agenda and he will need to bring fresh thinking to some areas: stopping literacy and numeracy results plateauing; cutting truancy; higher quality early years and widening access to higher education. But second, we are looking for new ideas and Brown's Mansion House speech set the right tone. His natural instinct for social justice and his commitment to the skills needs of the economy could lead to radical changes in vocational education and the 14-19 agenda. He could look at a "Tomlinson plus" - revisit that report but ask whether we still need GCSEs at 16 and if the institutional and qualifications maze we offer this age group can ever make sense. I hope he'll put creativity in schools higher up the agenda. It's one of the most valued skills of this decade and we're not yet exploiting the talent we have. The debate on access to higher education needs to be sharper. What happens when those from less affluent backgrounds do break through the glass ceiling? Do they get the style and quality of teaching and support in universities that they need? There's a worry that as access rises, retention falls. Then there's that elusive goal of breaking the link between being poor and doing badly at school. And so on. The list of other people's good ideas will grow and grow. But whatever become the defining characteristics of Brown's premiership, I hope he will continue to build the coalition for education and invest massively in the skills of those who teach and recognise their special expertise. But others, in the private as well as the voluntary sectors, in industry, commerce as well as public service, have a part to play. All of us, because we're citizens, have a vested interest in doing our bit for education. If Brown can harness all that talent, there will be no stopping us. · Estelle Morris was secretary of state for education and skills from 2001-2002

Heh, I was being sarcastic (which i'm sure you already know) but I'll take your reluctance to address issues in my last post as a concession on your part A clan battle = civil war? If you insist, but SL is still independent from Somalia

Pipe dream Enjoy the last weekend boys By Mukul Devichand BBC Asian Network The impending smoking ban in England could spell the end for cafes which practise the ancient habit of shisha. "I know this is going to sound like a strange description," said Kate as she inhaled deeply on her shisha pipe. "But it's almost the equivalent of being on your own and getting into a lovely fragrant bubble bath." She's a devotee of shisha, the Arabic water-pipe in which fruit-scented tobacco is burnt using coal, passed through an ornate water vessel and inhaled through a hose. Shisha smoking venues first started appearing in England along the Edgware Road in the 70s, largely fuelled by the Gulf Arab expat community. Double apple tobacco The last five to 10 years have seen a rapid growth in the number of cafes across the country, particularly in Manchester and Birmingham. And they are increasingly attracting people from all different backgrounds. But the party is almost over. On 1 July, Shisha will be included in the ban on smoking in enclosed spaces in England. Kate, who started smoking shisha as a student in her 20s, described how she has become a regular at Markaz, an upmarket shisha lounge in Bradford serving a mind-boggling array of scented tobaccos: water melon, lime lemon, aniseed and double apple. The lounge plays host to a huge variety of smokers reclining on the hand-carved Moroccan chairs, from veiled Muslim teenagers to a middle aged white couple. It seems shisha is crossing the historic racial divide in the town between Asians, who often don't drink for faith reasons, and whites. "For myself, I know I'll lose a place that I can go out with my Asian friends who I can't go out to the pub with," Kate said of the impending ban. Shisha cafes, in which pipes can be shared between friends, are seen as an alternative to the pub for a social night out. Inside the lounge-like cafes, sweet fragrant smoke fills the air and a fusion of Arabic, Asian and hip-hop music beats in the background. Part of the attraction of shisha is that smoking through a pipe makes the tobacco last longer, and that passing the pipe is a communal activity. There are now an estimated 600 cafes, lounges and nightclubs across the UK and even dedicated British music acts and DJ collectives with names such as Shisha Sound System. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people come to Edgware Road to smoke shisha every week. But there is no exemption for shisha in the Health Act 2006, which bans smoking in enclosed spaces. When it comes into force next week, cafes and lounges across England will face closure. That's led to a last-ditch legal battle to exempt shisha from the ban, being waged from an office above Shishawi, one of the country's biggest shisha lounges in London's Edgware Road. With neon strip lights, a 24-hour licence and a vast cinema screen playing Lebanese pop videos, Shishawi is the mother-ship of shisha cafes. There I met the charismatic leader of the campaign, Ibrahim Nour. Nour, a former lawyer, bypassed the fruity shisha flavours and ordered a stronger, traditional pipe - one with less scent and more tobacco. "Of course I have a bigger moustache, so to maintain it you have to smoke the tougher one," he joked. "If you look at the impact of taking the shisha out of this culture, you're talking about disrupting and destroying the whole pattern of community activity." He believes the government didn't consult adequately with the shisha-smoking community, but ministers say they had time to respond as part of the national consultation. And the decision is based on advice from the World Health Organisation, which insists shisha can be as damaging as other forms of smoking. Liberal face Despite being a recent addition to British culture, shisha has a long history. Many believe that it originated in India (known there as "hookah") about a thousand years ago, when more often the shisha pipe was used to smoke opium rather than tobacco. It is only over the last few hundred years that shisha has become strongly associated with the Arab and Muslim world, which mainly uses flavoured tobacco and is usually smoked by men with a cup of tea. In the West, that culture has morphed into a liberal face of a Muslim youth culture. Shisha smokers range from groups of teenagers dressed to go dancing, to women wearing the full veil. A selection of your comments appears below. I have some very fond memories of my first shisha experience - in a small cafe in Dubai, passing the pipe around and sipping fresh strawberry juice while watching others play backgammon, read books, simply talk to one another... the idea that shisha cafes in the UK will have to close is a horrible thought. Rachael, Oxford UK The reason many Muslims go to shisha bars is cos they don't want to be in a place where people are drinking alcohol - so it's sort of become a means of socializing without being at a pub/club... it's been seen as the less of two evils. Alcohol is strictly prohibited in Islam, but although anything harmful to health is also prohibited in Islam, the reason many Muslims give leeway to shisha smoking is because it hasn't been strictly singled-out and forbidden the way alcohol consumption has. I think if they let them stay open in NYC, why not the UK? I'm in total agreement with Nick from Cardiff, people actually go to shisha bars to smoke, whereas maybe people in pubs don't. It's like banning alcohol in pubs and clubs! It makes no sense. Amy, Manchester, Lancashire I think all establishments should be banned from smoking, effectively a blanket ban with no exceptions. Smoking in a pub goes hand in hand, so smokers will just learn to go without and likewise for the shisha bars. They will have to sell something else Times change, move on people. Phil, Stevenage, UK Last time I was in New York I went to a hookah bar, which are still allowed to operate despite the smoking ban that is in force there. There have been complaints from people living locally to the bars but at present they remain open. Nick, Cookham I've been a non-smoker for years, and will, personally, benefit from the ban on smoking in public places, especially restaurants. And, yet, I'm dead against the ban. I go to a lot of Moroccan/Arab restaurants and really like the smell of shisha, even though I rarely indulge. This law is another example of using a sledge-hammer to crack a nut. I've talked to the manager of a local shisha bar in London who's worried that he and some of his fellow-shisha-bar-owners will be put out of business by this nonsense. Laws that ban behaviour that some find anti-social like smoking are, inevitably, too black-and-white, and, more importantly, make us morally lazy - instead of learning to respect each other and to negotiate, banning eliminates the need for such relationship. Bood, London How typical of this stubborn government to ride roughshod over the centuries old custom of minority ethnic groups. The smoking ban is an infringement of civil liberties, and it is becoming tiresomely familiar to see government steamroller its own views through parliament without engaging in democratic debate. Michael Apostolou, London, England This makes no sense - everyone who attends a shisha bar obviously goes there with the intention of smoking. There is no passive smoking involved (which is apparently what the ban is trying to stop) So why ban it? Nick, Cardiff Work round the ban like the rest of us - put up a tent! Chris Reid, Brighton UK Shisha is an excellent way to relax with friends. Who do the government think they are to kill off our culture? It seems that sitting in the houses of parliament all day has completely alienated them from the views of their public! This is not a war against drugs, it is a war against personal freedom! Johnathan Jones, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England The shisha is not a British or English tradition and should it be exempted from the smoking ban I feel that many of middle England, even non smokers like myself, would see it as another slap in the face for the indigenous population. The shisha is just as harmful as cigarette smoking. Phil, Newbury A great shame. I will be puffing my last in public on a shisha at the New Sheridan's Last Gasper party on Saturday. Torquil, London I was under the impression that strictly speaking Muslims should not smoke. So how is this any different from going to the pub? As the end of the article points out, it's not an ancient tradition to smoke tobacco - the leaf arrived with Europeans from the New World. J J , Caerfyrddin I have always been surprised how many Muslims smoke tobacco. Some friends hold hold a cigarette in the space between curled thumb and first finger. They place their lips on the skin round the hole and so do not `touch tobacco`. I have always seen this as an odd way of getting round the ban. Sue booth, Newcastle-under-Lyme,UK The *tradition* of smoking shisha? Will the *tradition* of smoking cigarettes survive the smoking ban? Why is shisha better or worse than fags? Just coz it's trendy? You'll never stop people smoking tobacco as long as humans exist. But shisha is just as bad for you. Ouille, London I was giving serious consideration last year to starting a shisha bar and Middle Eastern Dance venue in my home city. Obviously the ban made me realise it just wasn't going to work. Bit disappointing but I guess I'll have to find something else to daydream about! Lucy, Norwich http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6238382.stm

Catcliffe, Sheffield used to do my driving lessons there used to work at this ground. Witnessed Eric Cantona, Becks, Giggs, Figo, Rui Costa, J Barnes, R Fowler, I Wright grace that football pitch the street with the best Kebabs in the country

There is occupation, resistence and clan battles but no civil war matey. Try something else,,, But while all that is going on SL will receive its usual aid money without going through Somalia, will sign agreements with foriegn firms to rebuild concrete factories, will build up to a presidential election next year etc Rebelion doesnt seem so bad,,,