So the need for a rigorous and thorough study of the life of Siad Barre and a history of his regime seems to still remain unfulfilled. A good historian sifts carefully through the sources and does extensive archival and fieldwork to reconstruct a historical narrative, and follows the evidence to make historical conclusions rather than write a book guided by his or her personal views, which is what this book seems to be. I can't say I haven't considered doing it, but it's a huge undertaking.

Chimera;937393 wrote: No thanks, I like the physical experience of reading that an eReader can't give you... the smell of books, the texture of the pages, the sense of satisfaction of flipping the last page, the notes I scribble in the margins, etc. And I love having books all over my apartment, and I think my library is quite awesome. Books make me happy

Chimera;937395 wrote: That's the thing Juxa, the assumption that Somali women are more educated and employed than their male-counterparts is a myth, our communities would have collapsed a long time ago if that were to be the case. In a scenario where the women are the more educated group pursuing lucrative careers, there are two obvious changes that happen; 1) the males assume the mother role or 2) the birth rate goes down. In the Somali communities neither of the two changes has happened, which is why you have many sisters after marrying the guys they love opting for raising the kids with the promise of reaching their personal aspirations a few year down the line. This is where the brothers have to step up and take over, by giving their wives the time and space to achieve their goals when the kids are past kindergarten. Where are the statistics you claim show Somali women are less employed and less educated than their male counterparts? And how do educated, working women lead to the collapse of our communities?

Somalia;937386 wrote: Hell no I haven't, it's one of the few cases where you can judge a book by its cover. Read this article he posted that sums it up really. http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.php/26692-Former-President-Mohamed-Siad-Barre-The-Most-Wrongfully-Vilified-Person Yikes. Still planning to read it, SP? When he described his book structure and chapters on stuff like the Somali orthography in the interview, I sensed that his book was just a synthesis of stuff already written (ie. David Laitin's Politics, Language and Thought) rather than an original scholarly contribution. Makes sense now seeing his sources in that article. Just read those books instead

Do you mean elders say this to encourage us to return, or to explain/justify their own return (or desire to return)? If it's the latter, I definitely agree with you, especially from elderly people who believe going back home will have a more positive impact on their health and wellbeing. There are studies that show immigrant health deteriorates in their new countries, so they're probably right to some extent.

SomaliPhilosopher;937380 wrote: Safferz-Half of those are library books!! I'm taking my no-buy vow seriously dee

SomaliPhilosopher;937376 wrote: ^^ I'll buy if you buy! I'm afraid I can't do that, I've banned myself from buying books after my most recent bookstore binge. And my bedside table looks like this, so I need to clear the queue first:

SomaliPhilosopher;937373 wrote: Safferz- That is still expensive!!! . Perhaps we can share a copy lol. C'mon now, $23 is great for a newly published, hardcover biography, not to mention the fact he's selling it on his own and it appears to be self-published. The book may be terrible, but at least you're supporting a Somali brother

SomaliPhilosopher;937366 wrote: Wadani- I learned some new vocab from your post Safferz- yes, ive been yearning for a good bio on barre for a while, even considered taking the task upon myself. i am interested in checking this one out, but its a bit expensive... Cheaper on Amazon UK -- 15 pounds, or about $23.

Thanks for sharing -- I'm not familiar with the book or the writer but I do know the website, and it's a great archive. I've always wondered why no one has written a thorough biography of Siad Barre or a detailed history of his regime (in English at least, I know Barre commissioned a few and there are Somali language publications out there), so I'm glad to see something out. I don't know if I expect much from this book but I'll check it out.

SomaliPhilosopher;937312 wrote: cousins? wow Nah, just a qabiil connection lol. I don't know Wadani in person.

SomaliPhilosopher;937288 wrote: already having troubles with the in-laws mate? lool stop trying to make it happen SP, my "career mom" is Wadani's eedo

Wadani;937286 wrote: Y assume my mother wasn't/isn't a career woman? The context of our conversation -- your position on the role of mothers and careers, and the way you worded your last post to describe her as your "primary caregiver" led me to believe she was a stay at home mom. Was I wrong?

My favourite...

SomaliPhilosopher;937271 wrote: ^^^ Are your parents Asha Haji Elmi and Cabdi Faarax Shirdoon Haha no, they're just normal folks in Toronto

Wadani;937259 wrote: lol, I don't know. I geuss it should be. But all i know is theres nothing like a mothers love and fathers don't compare, at all. I'm very grateful that my mother was the primary caregiver for me. As for ur statement about it being unpaid work....everything doesn't have to be valued in economic terms. Having a upstanding and virtuous son who loves her dearly is a better recompense for any mother than millions dollars...trust me. It needs to be put into economic terms because care work is invisible and naturalized (see Apophis' comment), so most people don't see the actual value (and opportunity cost) of the work women perform in the household. Women also make up the majority of the world's poor. Some economists have done pretty interesting work in this field, trying to put a monetary value on women's unpaid labour to quantify its contribution to the household and the economy. Your mother's labour over 20something years of raising you may well be worth over a million dollars, when you add up the hours I grew up differently, with a career mom who spent years working on becoming a licensed professional in her practice in this country and have her degrees recognized, while my dad stood beside her and supported her through the process. It was abo who was the one to take us to school in the mornings, pack our lunches and clean the house so my mom wouldn't have to worry about it when she'd come home exhausted in the evenings and he was away on night-shift. So that's my model for fatherhood

Wadani;937252 wrote: Like I said, if a woman is such an asset that the cons of sacrificing her academic and career aspirations would outweigh those of being an academic/career woman first and foremost, then yes in such cases it's justified for her to displace childrearing from its primary position. In such a case the husband would have to step up and do many of the things his wife no longer has the time or energy to do. That's what I mean -- why is she the default primary caregiver in the first place? Why isn't parenting a shared role, as it should be?

Wadani;937231 wrote: That's reasonable if the wifes academic abilities and earning power justify it so. I don't think that has any bearing on whether a woman's "job" is childrearing. My point is that fathers have to see themselves in that role too, but because so many men seem to think the everyday (unpaid) labour of raising children is women's work, they're able to privilege their own career and education over that of the wife.

Wadani;937224 wrote: Arrinku markaa waaba jiifo oo jaqe, amase fadhi ku naax lool. Niman badan oo noocaagaas ka helaa way buxaan laakiin waa qaar dhufaanan oo dhalmo suurogalba ma'aha. lol you're right, "stay at home dad" was tongue in cheek But the truth is that I'm just not into how the burden of parenting and childcare falls on the mother, particularly in our culture, and how women are the ones who tend to sacrifice education and career to have families. I know I'll have a kid or two at some point, but I expect my (future) husband to take paternity leave as well when my maternity leave is up, among other things.

A stay at home dad arrangement could work nicely for me...

D.O.C;937208 wrote: Every previous decade is better than the current or most recent one, may be we losing morality. "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers." - Socrates (attributed by Plato, 4th century BCE) "I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" - Hesoid (7th century BCE)

Apophis;937209 wrote: Thank you for ruining aka "fixing" my post. If wanted to be politically correct, I'd cut myself. SomaliPhilosopher;937207 wrote: ^^no prospective kids? We'll see, but it's just not on my radar right now and won't be anytime soon.

Apophis;937199 wrote: Now let us see the other side of parenthood ; you know, having to deal with kids To say the least. Fixed that for you (because kids in general are the worst)

Chimera;937181 wrote: LOOL, I wish. This is just me admiring the manly fatherhood landmark through majestic creatures.

Awwww cute photos. Dads are awesome