East African nations agree on monetary union Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi will merge currencies gradually over the next ten years to boost trade. Kampala, Uganda The leaders of five East African countries have signed a protocol laying the groundwork for a monetary union within 10 years that they expect will expand regional trade. ''The promise of economic development and prosperity hinges on our integration'' - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta Heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, which have already signed a common market and a single customs union, said on Saturday that the protocol would allow them to progressively converge their currencies. In the run-up to achieving a common currency, the East African Community (EAC) nations aim to harmonise monetary and fiscal policies and establish a common central bank. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda already present their budgets simultaneously every June. The plan by the region of about 135 million people, a new frontier for oil and gas exploration, is also meant to draw foreign investment and wean EAC countries off external aid. "The promise of economic development and prosperity hinges on our integration," said Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta. "Businesses will find more freedom to trade and invest more widely, and foreign investors will find additional, irresistible reasons to pitch tent in our region," said Kenyatta, leader of the biggest economy in east Africa. Kenyatta, who is due to face trial at the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity charges in February, took over the chairmanship of the bloc from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, hosting the summit. Kenya has launched a $13.8 billion Chinese-built railway that aims to cut transport costs, part of regional plans that also include building new ports and railways. Challenges ahead Landlocked Uganda and Kenya have discovered oil, while Tanzania has vast natural gas reserves, which require improved infrastructure and foreign investment so they can be exploited. Tanzania, where the bloc's secretariat is based, has complained that it has been sidelined in discussions to plan these projects, but Kenyatta said the EAC was still united. Kenneth Kitariko, chief executive officer at African Alliance Uganda, an investment advisory firm, said the monetary union would boost efficiency in the region's economy estimated at about $85 billion in combined gross domestic product. "In a monetary union, the absence of currency risk provides a greater incentive to trade," he said. Kitariko said, however, that achieving a successful monetary union would require convergence of the union's economies, hinting that some challenges lay ahead. "Adjusting to a single monetary and exchange rate policy is an inescapable feature of monetary union ... but this will take time and may be painful for some," he said, referring to the fact that some countries may struggle to meet agreed benchmarks. ---- http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/11/east-african-nations-agree-monetary-union-20131130175336476127.html ---- interesting developments.

Tallaabo;988500 wrote: Why do you guys post these endless music videos from You Tube? These video clips are as annoying as the junk mail I receive. + 1 ........sort of agree here. i post good content. all my vids are meaningful, dee. decipher these lyrics from the vid i posted baal..... Confusion never stops Closing walls and ticking clocks Gonna come back and take you home I could not stop that you now know, singing Come out upon my seas Cursed missed opportunities Am I a part of the cure? Or am I part of the disease? Singing

Safferz;988407 wrote: Dadkaygu haduu tashaday, maxaa loo daba socda? reer SL are seeking approval. recognition comes from the self. others can't give you what you already have.

Cadale;988505 wrote: If you dont appreciate make your own thread. naga baaax :mad: + 1. this.

^ Canadian thanksgiving? you didn't answer my questions.

this has become a mashruuc.

Safferz;988394 wrote: The story/myth is that in the 17th century, the Pilgrims (English settlers who fled religious persecution in England, and arrived in Massachusetts) had a successful harvest and celebrated with a huge feast, and invited their Native neighbours and all had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. It is BS historical revisionism because the truth is that the settlers basically wiped out the Native population, with direct violence and disease :mad: It's a contentious holiday for sure. Canadian Thanksgiving was in October, and doesn't have the American mythology tied to it i get the point about national holidays massaging national psyches but why lie? America is not built on a lie. it's built on courage, on imagination and on personal freedoms. this is why it's the greatest country that has ever existed and will probably ever exist. go on baal...no sheeg what Canadian Thanksgiving is built on? p.s - for your national pride, i hope it's not built on setting the turkey free because of animal rights? ;)

one of my favourite songs of all time.

Blackflash;988390 wrote: I disagree. She is made special by the fact that she is a member of the diaspora like many commenting in this thread. Diasporans form a cultural group of their own and it's natural for them to be more affected by news concerning people like themselves. I lost relatives in Taleex this week, but this story has came up more often in conversations with my parents. :D

Safferz;988374 wrote: First of all I'm C-list at least, as well as a well respected SOLer , so I deeply resent that. Runtii your thread is pathetic (I learned words like bollocks from the Brit films this week but I'm unsure how to use them properly in a sentence, so read them in please). bollocks is used to express dissatisfaction. ''a well respected SOLer....'' - that's bollocks.

Safferz;988386 wrote: It's Black Friday here in America, the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest day for retail due to the massive sales and deals. Some say Thanksgiving is the most American holiday, but with its perfect mix of consumerism and violence, I would contend that you can't get more American than Black Friday. ma ruunba the early settlers were starving once............. and they came across a turkey and that's how the tradition came about?

Apophis;988384 wrote: But your whole life is a -unfunny- joke, what's the problem? not anymore, actually. life is good these days. everything is fine.

Kaluun;988240 wrote: The local governments in Somaliland (Dowlada Hoose) should ban those khat transporters from using sirens and set a limit to speeding for all vehicles. The current mayor of Hargeisa is not only a youthful and visionary leader but very pro-active man. I hope he will be the first to introduce such bill and the rest will follow. Road accidents are becoming major killers in SL. Removing their sirens, setting a nationwide speed limit (both central and local governments) and educating the public should send a strong message to all that Somaliland is serious about road safety and public well being. Silanyo needs to establish a new commission ( Somaliland Accidents Commission (SAC)) their job should be to investigate road accidents, take reckless drivers to courts and educate the public through once weekly "Roads education" classes to all high school and university students and commercials. ^ date for your diary? it was xuska maalinta ''World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims'' on the 17th of this month. a huge and aesthetically unappealing placard was erected near Immigration HQ for passersby to notice in the nation's capital. it was too big not to have been seen but i suspect it went unnoticed. sadly NGOs are running this country as our officially elected government slumbers. lakinse, i'd prefer NGOs to continue their 'capacity building'' mashruucs on commemorating ''WORLD DAYS'' than for this incompetent Zionist criminal regime to dip it's fingers into the dawarsiga calamiga begging-bowls. anti-Kulmiye sentiments are spreading like wildfire across the country and this view is not surprising. less than 10 days before the next important ''WORLD DAY'' commemoration, we understand the Kulmiye Zionist Regime is getting its books in order to mark ''International Anti-Corruption Day'' earlier next month. i wonder if the commemorations will reveal what we already knew?

I am the eye in the sky Looking at you I can read your mind I am the maker of rules Dealing with fools I can cheat you blind And I don't need to see any more To know that I can read your mind, I can read your mind

Safferz;988363 wrote: loool if your thread sucks, you're the only one to blame for that. I'm one of its few redeeming qualities. kulaha redeeming qualities. :p how did you arrive at the conclusion? you're just an attention fiend. that's all. nothing else. what's interesting about posting little snippets into your mundane D-list celebrity life? caadi iska dhig.

is she Somali?

this thread has become a joke walahi. Saffz, please stop posting all together.

www.stagevu.com is the best quality site to watch movies. here's Django Unchained. http://stagevu.com/video/hnijogyi**bu

no tribal talk please.

interesting stuff.

so it's a friday today. chilling at home. getting ready to leave soon.

Khayr;988185 wrote: Alpha, you are one weird dude. Emotional men don't last too long on rollcoasters (women). ok. lol

WHY BLACK STUDIES MATTERS Kehinde Andrews and Lisa Palmer, Newman University Black scholars and scholarship are marginalised in British academia. The lack of jobs and opportunities has led to an exodus of Black British academics to the United States, where there is a tradition of Black Studies which has produced a vibrant academic African American presence. In order to redress the chronic under-representation of the Black population in British academia (for example, only 50 out of 14,000 professors are Black in the UK) the development of British Black Studies is essential. We outline the basis for Black Studies in Britain and its vital importance. The Importance of Blackness We define Black as referring to people of African Ancestry including those in the Diaspora and on the continent of Africa. In British academia this is a definition that is itself marginalised because a more expansive definition of ‘political blackness’, used to denote all people who are not White, is the dominant perspective. For advocates of political blackness, Blackness rooted in African ancestry is too restrictive and a source of disunity amongst minority groups who are seen to need to unite to combat racism. There is a critical debate between these perspectives, but it is ‘political blackness’ that is the dominant perspective within the academy. Racism has worked to silence other articulations of Blackness, which is why the chasm exists in the academy. We organised an extremely successful conference, Blackness in Britain, with over 150 delegates in attendance. One of the main reasons for the success of the conference is that we openly branded it as a place for research and discussion based on Blackness. Delegates spoke of how powerful it was to be able to come and talk about their work, without having to justify or explain the position of Blackness. Blackness has been tarred with the same feather as reactionary approaches to multiculturalism, which reduce and restrict people to cultural categories whilst lacking a politics of resistance. However, such criticism of Blackness is unfair. Blackness is not meant to denote how people should talk, dress, act or think; rather it is the political commitment to resisting the oppression of Black populations. The diversity of the perspectives and approaches that were present at the conference demonstrate the flexibility and complexity of Blackness. Opening up spaces for work on Blackness is not just essential to make the British academy more inclusive, but also to root it in the reality of lived experiences within society. A Space for Black Academics Black Studies is not a subject reserved only for Black scholars. There are number of scholars from a variety of backgrounds who have done important work looking at the Black population. Again, this demonstrates how Blackness is not a closed and exclusive shop. However, one of the principle reasons to support Black Studies is to develop a critical mass of Black academics. The significant presence of African American academics is due in large part to the existence of a longstanding Black and African American Studies tradition, which offers a route into academia for a number of Black scholars. Creating a Black Studies tradition in Britain would help to redress the lack of representation of Black staff in the academy. Academia is so overwhelming White that it is essential to create Black-led spaces to nurture a new generation of scholars. The importance of this is difficult to explain to those who are used to being in the majority. The normative Whiteness of academia has the effect of isolating Black scholars and scholarship, preventing discussions and ideas from developing. It is no coincidence that we who have organised a Black Studies conference, and are planning to develop the agenda, are two Black members of staff in the same department. Without the mutual support that this has provided it is very unlikely that we would be pushing this agenda. As such representation in a department is a rare occurrence, it is no surprise that Black Studies has such a low profile in Britain. However few we are in number, there are Black academics in post in British universities and it is incumbent on those who are fortunate enough to be employed to create spaces and opportunities for others to follow. It can be difficult because of personal circumstances, temporary contracts and working in isolation to promote Black studies, which is why it is vital we build networks of support. The poor representation of Black staff in higher education in Britain is an outrage, which has consequences not just for the equality agenda but, more importantly, for knowledge production. If a significant section on the population is locked out of academia then the knowledge produced is itself exclusionary. It is no surprise, then, that the policy agenda and discourse is so endemically discriminatory when the knowledge upon which it is based is so exclusionary. The call for Black Studies does not relate only to the Black population, but is necessary for the whole of society to create inclusive and liberatory knowledge. ................CONTINUE HERE: http://www.discoversociety.org/why-black-studies-matters/ ---- excellent read. ---

Safferz;988131 wrote: Alpha gets points in my book dee let's both watch Waiting to Exhale and review it.

Khayr;988057 wrote: Alpha, You lose major points for admitting to watching Bridget Jones and writing about it. No shame at all. You can't play football with the boys anymore. this is ludicrous. this is a travesty. have you no shame? there is nothing in the text to suggest i have watched or wrote about about this film or any other female friendly rom-coms. rather it was