The old soldier is under the microscope of the mighty New York Times. Waryee Libaax smell the goods -- your boy is next I suppose. NYT is just warming up for the smelly dirt. Source

Light-hearted and entertaining piece. One faryareey and one suul up. Omar is rageedii. I like it.

Xiinoow there is similar Aesop fable out there. I used to read it to my kids. Plz dig it up. Btw the case for dirrin has been made. It is rock solid case. Awoowe isaga har.

That's the way fellas. Block by block, bottom-up approach works. I wish them luck.

Another televised debate is on the offing. Talking heads and TV pundits are saying Hillary usually out performs her rival in that sort of setting. Obama vs. Clinton Thursday Feb 21st, 2008 8:00 PM EST On CNN Obama has won ten straight states with significant margins. Women, white, black, up and down income ladder, blue color, whilte color, rural, urban. The brother is on a roll.... Yippy yee

Xiin, Libaax is on the money. Obama is in big trouble. I don't know the extent of it but it became clear to me last night. Even his friends in MSNBC (Fox type of Dems) hinted about it. Last night Larry King panel had this David Forum guy, a Neocon Bush type and he was all smile extremely confident repeating himself about Obama's chances to win against Clinton being nill.

Maa shaa Allah. Finally I have found (accidently) what I have been looking for sometimes now. Poet Axmed Sheekh Jaamac's written masterpiece. I had the analog audio version (I lost it) and at one point tried to do a written version of it. I must thank LX for posting it. Poet Ahmed is Somalia's George Orwell. The piece posted on Doollo site is his rendition of Animal Farm. Amazing piece.

No awoowe. It is all about delegate count. At this point winning the state gives the candidate a momentum but that's about it. Texas, Ohio, and Pennyslavania are the testing ground for Clintons. Very interesting race. Once a lifetime race.

That's how it is done. Well done.

Clinton Machine has shifted gears. Oboma is oblivious to what he get himself into. Neocons have already thrown their weight behind Clintons. Rush Limbough is honning his mouth.... Libaax remember you heard it from Baashi. The man is in trouble.

Awoowe in case you have lost the plot courage (especially moral type) and fortitude is a manly trade. Recklessness and qar-iska-tuur tendencies-- suicide by other name -- are not. As the nomad once put it Gardaro iyo is yeel yeel yaa ninkii gudani diidaaye; Gablan wiil la'aaneed rag badan waa wada galayaaye; Good dheda laguma xidho, wuu ku kala goyne!; Masiibo geed saaran baad gacanta saadheene; Garansiineey ree hebel geed xadhaadh inaan nahay e!!! How one goes about the diidis part is a matter of taste if you know what I mean . There are those who set out to defend their waxar and in the process end up getting their entire immediate family killed without securing the waxar they set out to claim as theirs. Confronting danger by employing tactical maneuverings or facing risk in ways and means that do not expose one to an avoidable situation is a trade excelled by manly men. Showmanship that confuses life and death situation with popularity contest is something better left to those who excel in the limelight (arrogant, talkative, and haughty drunken with false sense of pride) and sh*t in their pants in the dark alleys when goings gets tough . In the scenario you outlined it seems to me that the immature boy has demonstrated courage -- against all odds -- by confronting thugs albeit in different way. He realized that he is no match physically for the muscular gangsters so he resorted to what works best for him at the time. At the end of the day with little recourse at his disposal the underage boy defended what was his -- all by himself. He was patient. He was willing to endure the indignity of serving one’s nemesis one whose sole intent is to finish one off. He knew that wouldn’t last. He had a plan and was willing to swallow his pride temporarily. I don’t know where you get the notion of give it up easily and buy it buck cycle kinda conduct. Looks like you snatched that bit out of thin air . Overbearing pride, the sort that results unnecessary death or avoidable property destruction is not akin to standing your ground or defending what is yours. Worse if that sort of act is done in order to jack up one’s standing in the community that is no doubt a feature (tookh iyo faan) attributed to fairer sex and laga-roon crowd -- two group that have unquenchable appetite for vanity. As to the topic on hand as I said before I think the author has penned an excellent satirical piece on the state of afar-jeeble and their unquestionable status as the shakers and movers -- the heavy hitters if you will -- of nomad politicking. He doesn’t endorse them. He merely characterized that class in an exaggerated way. The sort of analysis you seem to be itching for is not the thesis the man had in mind when he picked up the pen. In conventional parlance, leadership is said to be a quality a person may have in both categories -- actual and potential. Somali leaders, their failures, and what have you awoowe that topic is different but related topic and if you want I’m sure the gallery can give you your fill of the subject.

^ That's a sharp one That’s right my pal . You are right on the money. That’s it you got it. That's exactly smelly market I’m referring to. And just so you know when faced such precarious situation that you outlined up there I used to slip a couple of undetectable bones in the gashaar dish I serve to the gangsters. Every time I managed to walk away from the scene with all my belongings intact and had the thugs seeking medical help in the Kismayo General Hospitals . If they're lucky they might stand a chance that they retain their vocal chords intact. All of that success attained without lifting a finger. It is the way of manly men of this world. Empty boasting is a thing better left to the fairer sex and their offshoot laga roone variety buddy. In Sikta we keep our shrewd eye on the price, we use intrigue, and unparalleled calculation and if necessary we negotiate our way out of trouble. Force is our last resort. Right! He who laughs last is he who wins! Double barrel guns! Is that what I’m hearing? Perhaps you oughta listen to the cowboy (your partner in the trade ) for he tells a good story with an excellent moral attached to it. I’m talking about the man in black -- Johnny Cash and his excellent song “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town” -- I let you chew that tender steak in laba cantuugo. Back to the subject at hand! Awoowe we agree for the most part. Looks like we have different take on the group Duale is taking on. You seem to assume he’s aiming his salvo at traditional institution of leadership. I see it differently I thought he is tackling the new crop that are born to the humble life of camel herding and somehow ended up becoming the hustlers of the give and take, rough and tumble nature of nomad real politick.

Morning camel boy Oodweyne, You seem to have missed the point mze Duale is trying to make here. The way I read it -- if I’m not mistaken -- the piece is a lighthearted sweeping generalization that satirizes the political class of nomad world and their art. He equates the current crop of political prostitutes that call the shots in that far away sand dunes -- unknowingly perhaps -- to the great Shamans. Duale seems to be saying that our brand Shaman is a walking contradiction. The lead Shaman (chief of chiefs) is the cause of disturbances in this close-knit community. He also credits the lead chief the capacity to clam things down by employing skills unique to his class. His authority transcends the political boundaries of the region for he operates in the midst of his “nation” -- a reference that’s not lost on you I’m sure The chief causes, diagnoses, and cures all the suffering of his folks. He’s brave and coward at the sometimes. He stirs trouble, disturbs peace, and then spends considerable time in resolving the very issue he himself alone is credited to have singlehandedly created in the first place. He cultivates animosities between close-knit communities, works tirelessly and diligently to widen the wedge -- and when the problem passes point of no return he spares no effort to bridge the very wedge he exploited. Duale has correctly underlined the fact that the lead chief serves, at times, as the sole kingmaker (foreign hands not withstanding) of the sand dunes his folks inhabit. Amateurs in the art seek his mentorship; old hands solicit his advice; community exhort him to mend his ways; religious pray for his demise -- all these are indication of his shrewd skills of the art of real politick. I think the piece is not meant to survey historical facts of those sand dunes we call home nor was it meant to analyze the political milestones Somalis have put in place in the short time they administered their nascent state. It was a lighthearted satirical rendition aimed at the marked class that some call afar-jeeble, laba-garaaadle, af-miinshaar, warxumo-tashiil, fadhi-ku-dirrir, and cyber-ku-dirrir -- and other garden variety out there. In sum, Duale took aim at the great Shaman and walked away from the scene unscathed -- so much of the spirits ha! Ur awoowe, Firing this piece from Calaley fish market .

"Entertaining. Well written piece. Two faryareeys up." Waxa-La-Yirri Herald. "Satirical field study -- in anthropological proportion -- that summarizes how uncultured camel-boys ill prepared to lead the caravan got lost in the wilderness and found a new occupation in bustling cities by becoming shamans of great importance in administering the political discourse of young nation grabbling with huge challenges." Waa Siday Tahay magazine.

Any time buddy. NPR makes my morning commute a pleasant one.

Pretty much! That's how I got away in one piece if you must know . I run, hid under tree, swam miles, and finally caught up with the boat -- all of that to safe moi from the dangers posed by thugs and camel boys! Unlike the camel-boys in that lil frontier outpost your habar brand calls home, Kismayo folks -- civilized and urbanite merchants -- do what’s necessary to be, when all said and done, the last man standing in the contest. Camel boys are pretty much suicidal bunches who are willing to put their neck on the line for trivial stuff. Can’t practice duel in this age! Buddy we keep eye on the price. We let it slide when we can’t get our way and we grab the golden cub when we have what it takes. It is the way of the civilized folks. My man Marley said it best “Rise up fallen fighters; Rise and take your stance again; he who fight and run away, live to fight another day” Indeed he who fight and run away lives to fight another day. Tomorrow is always another day. Camel boys die to give a bragging right to their fellow clan members, urbanites swallow their pride and make sure they got the upper hand at the end of the day. Different way of doing biz

Xaasha Suldaan. Never awoowe. I'm for Realpolitik. I'm no part of so called "Yusufites" -- that would be ayaan darro Waaba nin kale jeebka u gal! Awoowe raggu waa wada fariisan doonaa haddii Ilaahay idmo waxuun baana la isla meel dhigi doonaa. PS: Awoowe gabayga yaa mariyay?

^No. I'm not a GOP. ========================== Super Tuesday Primaries and a Presumptive Nominee By George Will Thursday, February 7, 2008 LOS ANGELES -- Forewarned, Democrats now are forearmed -- not that they will necessarily make sensible use of the gift. Tuesday's voting armed Democratic voters with the name of the candidate that their nominee will face in the fall. Will their purblind party now nominate the most polarizing person in contemporary politics, knowing that Republicans will nominate the person who tries to compensate for his weakness among conservatives with his strength among independent voters who are crucial to winning the White House? Perhaps. The Republican Party's not-so-secret weapon always is the Democratic Party, with its entertaining thirst for living dangerously. John McCain has become the presumptive nominee of the conservative party without winning majority support of conservatives. According to exit polls, he lost them Tuesday to Mitt Romney in his home state of Arizona, 43-40. He lost them in that day's biggest battleground, California, 43-35. The surest way to unify the Republican Party, however, is for Democrats to nominate Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama, the foundation of whose candidacy is his early opposition to the war in Iraq, would be a more interesting contrast to the candidate who is trying to become the oldest person ever elected to a first presidential term, and who almost promises a war with Iran ("There is only one thing worse than military action, and that is a nuclear-armed Iran"). Obama's achievements on Tuesday would have been considered astonishing just two weeks ago, but they have been partially discounted because the strength of his ascendancy became so apparent in advance. And he would have taken an even larger stride toward the nomination were it not for a novelty that advanced thinkers have inflicted on the political process. Once upon a time, in an America now consigned to the mists of memory, there was a quaint and, it is now said, oppressive custom called Election Day. This great national coming together of the public in public polling places, this rare communitarian moment in a nation of restless individualists, was an exhilarating episode in our civic liturgy. Then came, in the name of progress, the plague of early voting. In many states, voting extends over weeks, beginning before campaigns reach their informative crescendos. This plague has been encouraged by people, often Democrats, who insist, without much supporting evidence, that it increases voter turnout, especially among minorities and workers for whom the challenge of getting to polling places on a particular day is supposedly too burdensome. The plague made many Super Tuesday voters -- those who hurried to cast their ballots for John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani and other dear departeds -- feel like ninnies, which serves them right. On Tuesday, the Democratic Party paid a price for early voting, especially in California, where more than 2 million votes were cast in the 29 days prior to what is anachronistically called Election Day. The price was paid by the party's most potentially potent nominee, Obama, whose surge became apparent after many impatient voters had already rushed to judgment. Although Obama lost California to Clinton by 380,000 votes, he surely ran much closer in the votes cast on Tuesday, after her double-digit lead in polls had evaporated. Had he won the third of the three C's -- he won Connecticut, where a large portion of voters are in her New York City media market, and in Colorado, a red Western state rapidly turning purple -- he might now be unstoppable. Evangelical Christians, who in 2006 gave Republicans more votes than Democrats received from African-Americans and union members combined, wanted to determine the GOP's nominee -- and perhaps they have done so. By giving so much support to an essentially regional candidate, Mike Huckabee, rather than to Mitt Romney, they have opened McCain's path to capturing the conservative party without capturing conservatives. McCain's Tuesday triumph was based in states (New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California) he will not carry in November. Although Obama is, to say no more, parsimonious with his deviations from liberal orthodoxy, he is said to exemplify "post-partisan" politics. The same is sometimes said of McCain. Five days before Super Tuesday, McCain received an important endorsement from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, another supposed practitioner of post-partisanship, which often looks a lot like liberalism that would prefer not to speak its name. Three days before that endorsement, the emblem of Schwarzenegger's post-partisanship -- his extremely liberal (lots of mandates and taxes) and expensive ($14.9 billion, slightly more than the state's current budget deficit) plan for universal health care -- died in an 11-member state Senate committee, where it got just one vote. Perhaps we are seeing the future. It looks familiar. Source

Awoowe annigu cantrabaqashka aad ku kalaamayso waxba ka garanmayo. Mashaqada Benadir taala iyo shidada Kismaayo noogu timid boowe ogoow masalaha aan goglo iyo akhyaarta aan ku kulmiyo baa hawshaas lagu dhameyn doonaa. Waxani ma aha arrin ugub ah. Xarbul ahli weeyaan. Waa arrin dhib badan. Kolku raggu wada hadlo oo is haybsado oo dooda lagu falanqeeyo miis rag leeyahay oo waxa lakala tirsanayo laga niqaasho -- kolkaas sow shidada xal uma helin? Addigu ku faan maatada lagu xad gudbay oo magacyo ka shar-sharqami sidaadii (sxb sidaa lagulama doonayn -- wad dhex fariisatay). Anniguna halakan baan raggayga ka abaabulaya oo inta isku dabarido yaad dhowaan waxaad arki doontaa innagoo Soomaaliyooy toosooyoow ku hayna oo ilmada naga deganaysa iyo qiirada naga muuqata aadan maleyn karin

^Caleyk. Abaaba. I like them poems. That's good one JB. Dhufsate qalbiga ma annigaa dhudi ka reebaaye Beautiful. Who composed this one?

^The lady has already been taken. The good ones don't last that long. Awoowe iimaanso marwada aqalka kuu joogta. Gaashaamo -- the lil tuulo!! *******? Is that Habar Shiish -- the biggest hag in the domino stones that every player tries to get rid off before it dies on his hand? Awoowe we’ve survived from clan cleansing. We ain’t complaining. We’re here kicking and well. Despite of all the transgressions committed against our civilians we want to reconstitute the state, forget about what had transpired, soothe secessionists with nice words befitting to rebellious teenager who protest too much and like to forget that family and faith is bigger than the lil slap that landed on his cheek back in the days when family had that lil dispute over the kitchen table. Noble ones forgive and forget -- unless it involves visible properties that have the potential to get old animosities get a new lease of life -- about old skirmishes and focus on what the future has in store for them. One of these day awoowe. One of these days you will see folks making up to each other and moving on. One that day comes get ready for the Ina Suleebaan Tubeec's famous song: Waa maalin weynoo, Muslimiinta oo idil, Ay wada maqsuudeen!. [ February 07, 2008, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar ]

Just in. The man drops out! Good call. Man!! Potomac world is in shock. Wall Street Gurus and their Evangelical foot soldiers (agents of intolerance as the old soldier McCain calls them) are in shock. This is a political triumph for the silver haired old soldier. He poked finger in the powerful Rush Limbaugh’s eye and proved that he can get away with that sort of “sinning”. My hat is off to the maverick. That’s how it is done. This drama is extremely interesting one. Moves, counter moves, lies, back stabbing, voter ignorance, media coverage, arrogant and biased pundits and TV talking heads. Just beauty!! CPAC -- is an entity that unites "who is who" of the base of convservative Republicans. Here

Gediid, Awoowe you are right about one thing. China’s thirsty for oil is unquenchable. The giant has been making acquaintances in unlikely places -- Sudan is case in point. However your lil extrapolation from Beijing all the way to dusty Hargeisa is bit of a stretch. Reason being SL is and remains in the foreseeable future a provincial admin operating in a failed state. It has no privileges to enter bilateral agreement beyond the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance. Ethiopia as we all know is an exception to the rule. Much to your dismay this old soul is pretty well informed about the goings of the sand dunes in that far away land I once called home. I hear you sxb and ur lil kaftan is noted. But make no mistake dismembering Somalia is not your cup of tea. As I said buddy keep posted. In the words of Inna Abdille Hassan’s loyalist who uttered the famous phrase -- upon hearing the rumors of his master’s demise through the grape vine -- war jiraaba cakaaruu iman. let's leave it that way sxb. Ah! my cyber pal Mr. Oodweyne. I’m here awoowe. I just stepped out for a moment. I’m back on the saddle again though. You keep cracking me up friend. You are a helluva desperado. Not to mention your capacity to spin tidbits and make mountain out of an anthill. What a talkative nutcase you are. You remind me the saying Ileyn nimanyahow af laba daan leh baan hadalka deynayn or something along those lines. What we got here. Let me see. On a second look I don’t see anything worth replying to. Well well defeated lot this and that bla bla nonsense! There is nothing to wrap my arms around. Bottom line remains the same. At its darkest hour Somalia -- the textbook failed state -- remains intact (in legalesse lingo). You and your secessionist colleagues have failed time and again to make the case to Ethiopia -- of all places -- let alone sophisticated machinery that America is . Melez likes the way it is and he ain’t buying your crap. Keep preaching the gospel awoowe. Recognition is coming!!! Was it Jean Jacques Rousseau who asked the interesting question that goes like and I’m paraphrasing here again ‘what you make of a doctor who exhorts his sick patients to practice patience? What do you make of axadka ceynkaas ah? Later

Gediid [edited], what transpired in the State Department conference room is public knowledge. You and I know that at the end of the day what counts is what comes out from this exaggerated jumbo mambo “exchanged trips”. Don’t you go away pal for the year will end before you know it and we’ll see how this sh*t goes down the drain. Keep posted. Oodweyne, Oh boy! Who effing cares about who did what. The point was you were up in arms jumping up and down like Elmo for what proved to be a hoax. You are doing the same thang now. You are known to do that sort of stuff anyway. That’s the crux of what I was alluding to. Regional states prevented you to attain the golden cup huh! Is that what I’m hearing? Precisely! The same states are here and for my knowledge they haven’t changed their position. The drive is pretty tall order isn’t it? Somalia is down. No question about it. There are swathes of calm and tranquility. True. Things are heating up down the South. You are right. But that’s not what we are talking about pal. At issue is whether the powers that be are prepared to balkanize this unstable region by forcibly lumping unwilling partners (tribes) into bandage-like provincial collection that drives its legitimacy from defunct colonial entity? The short answer is no. We don’t know what’s in the offing. But if we are to go by what we know the unequivocal answer is simply there are no new change of direction as far as the case of Somalia is concerned. I guess I heard “defeated lot” phrase thrown in the mix again. Noted. Just so you know it is the defeated lot that thwarted your plans and made it so difficult for you to make a rational case for the secession. It is more than a sticky thorn -- a sharp one -- on your side belly. Puntland and its mini one Maakhir are here to stay. They know the robes, are privy to the rituals, and know how to implant a story in the media. What do you know buddy! Here in the land of honey and milk they have lined up the support of three senators and 13 congressional representatives. No way would you be able to overcome such an impressive political wall. It is time to cut your losses and save the green you are giving the lobbyists. Take care fella.

Hunguri awoowe you are munaafiq numero uno. This is Jihad you see. Folks are killed in the name of Almighty Allah. Awoowe that's sarcasm. It's not directed at you. That's what folks would say if you reason with them. All of the sudden your ikhlaas is on the line!