Depends on the moment you have that thought, Juxa.

Paragon;828571 wrote: ^Xiin we should give the man more rope to hang himself adeer. Kolleey SL wayba soo noqon doonaane maxay karaamada isaga dilayaan? NGONE maadaama uu caaqil reerka u yahay inuu ciyaalka xamaasadaysan dejiyo ayaan loo qaatay ninyow. Illeen hadhoow weji rag lagu la xaaltamo ayaa loo baahan yahaye? Dhakac dhakac hore dhiikac dhiikac dambe oo dhabana hays leh ayay leedahay baa la yiri. Adeer labada ha isku darin. My support for SL has nothing to do with my amazement at the daydreams displayed in here. These are two different things. In fact, if I heard Siilaanyo or any in his government peddling the rubbish that limited people like Xiin try to peddle in here, I would be the first to accuse him of being a fraud. A child can dream and believe that his dreams will come true. An adult on the other hand must work to achieve those dreams and must (because of his experiences in life) know that some of them are not achievable in the short term. Nuune is the eternal optimist who always tries to remain positive and encourage himself with dreams of a better tomorrow. I don't mind him or his dreams because I believe that he's experienced, sensible and responsible enough to know that most of them are impossible in the short term (certainly not the 13 years he suggested in his other thread). Adam is young and full of misplaced testosterone (we all were there once and some of us are still there). Again, I don't have a problem with him or his visions. However, as a good Samaritan, it is my job to remind him of the huge obstacles and problems in his way and ask him to temper his overwhelming enthusiasm with a pinch of realism. As for sheeko ciyaalka aad wadataan about ulterior motives, well that is what limited people do. But then I do extend the benefit of the doubt even to Xiin and his apparent limitations. It is the world he lives in and the people he mixes with that keep holding him back. That he then believes that everyone who comments on Somali affairs is of the same caliber as he is no major surprise to me (this is not limited to Xiin either, most Somalis suffer from such a limitation). So let us see. Maxaan hada ka hadlayna? Progress for Somalia? Well, in order to progress you first need to make an inventory of what you have and what needs improving. Tell me, what do you see before you? Turkey improved a few places. Mahiga got his road map going. Somalis are excited! Hada sheekada o dhan waa inta uun! These are the only new things here the rest is the usual Somali xamaasad that we see over and over and over again. You never learn your lessons and are forever chasing a new rainbow or a new caravan. But that in itself is not bad. Hope is good and must always be encouraged or life will be unbearable. However, reasonable hope is what is needed not this childish excitement and empty dreams. You’ve been there before; you’ve seen it all and by now should know that someone somewhere will throw a spanner in the works. So, tell me, when I see nuune’s visions or Adam’s deliberations as to the future of Somalia, am I wrong to scoff and point out the improbability of it all? This is Somalia, people. This is a place that recently suffered from a major famine. A place with no proper functioning state for over twenty one years (even if one be a unionist and include SL & PL there). To waste your time dreaming about railroads, skyscrapers and becoming a force in Africa is to not understand the problem at all. Give your certificates back; go tend to your camels, all your education and acquired knowledge has become a total waste. Sustained peace does not come about because Uganda, the UN or the West said so. It needs lots of work to maintain, it requires understanding, continuous dialogue and stubborn will. In addition, one can’t declare that the years of strife are over just because peace reigned for sixth months (remember the Islamic Courts?). It needs to be maintained for longer periods to prove that this is not another flash in the pan. Furthermore, once lasting peace is attained (or concomitant with such a peace) the other SERIOUS work of rebuilding must take place. What rebuilding are we talking about here? Paragon building a six story building in down town Mogadishu or GT building a private school? Well, these count (I suppose) but they’re not that important. If anything, like in the cases of SL & PL, they are only visual monuments to the endurance of peace and simple (note the word) signs that progress is taking place but they’re not the be all and end all of progress. What is a state without its civil servants, its police force, its army and its health & education services (but even these last two can wait for the time being). How long would it take and need to have a functioning police service for the entire country? Can the Somali army replace AMISOM any time soon? Will the post transition government have enough competent employees in its various public sector institutions? SL with its 21 years of peace has not managed it. PL with its long peace and progress has not managed it. But the dreamers here expect all of that to take place in Somalia in no time at all! The dreamers here are the ‘educated’ Somalis that a nomad on this thread was hoping would go back home and help. But how could they help when their visions and dreams are not based in reality! This is not Coelho’s alchemist world, this is real life. There is much more to deal with before any reasonable person could begin to think of fulfilling the expansive dreams about green airlines, nationwide railways and silver spoons in every mouth. Any other argument put forward here will either mean you’re an idle romantic or, sadly, just limited. Indhaha fura.

^^ I only use that when your limitation shows (didn't know it was that bad really). This here is right up your street these days. Waa celmi cusub aad 'kurayska' ka baratay baan o maleenaya. War is qabo, you're turning into a dull script.

^^ Your lack of self awareness gives me no pleasure, saaxib. Is qabo baan ku idhi, Hermit wuu tegay.

Juxa;828470 wrote: Ngonge very simple, midbaa halkan ku dhintey, xaaskiisa (willingly or unwillingly) wants to sponsor walaalkii and send spouse visa ma gaalday been o sheegaysa mise ninkay doonaysa? Two different stories there. The first is illegal and the second is, to use your own words, yuck.

^^^ Adna "aqri" my final reply to him, o limited one.

^^^ How do you get a 'dumaal-case'? What's the law got to do with any of it?

Dear Showqi, Whilst browsing the internet on a break from my very busy schedule, I happened to come across a message of yours on this site. I am saddned to hear of your plight with regards to obtaining a Somali passport and apologise that my government have not yet opened an office in the country you reside in. Showqi, even though we usually require personal interviews with citizens requesting Somali passports, I fully understand your problem here and would use my power as minister of passports to waive this requirement at the present time. Therefore, if you find your way to sending $3000 and two passport sized photos to our office in Nairobi, I shall ensure that my staff issue you with a brand new Somali passport forthwith. Sadly, because of the various security requirements and the TFG's drive against corruption, we can't accept any money sent to our embessay in Nairobi or the ministry in Somalia. So, please send the money through Dahabshiil to: Mr N.G. ONGE in London who in turn will forward it on to us. Your passport will be sent back to you within five working days of receipt of the money. Thanking you H.E Wasiirka baasboorada

They say that online adverts are usually tailored for individual tastes and (sometimes) according to search preferences. Why in the world then am I getting adverts about Muslima.com on here? (got to say, the pictures look nice though).

Yunis;828438 wrote: Waligaaba mutacalimiinta afka ku taag. waayo 'Somali democratic movement' or is he trying to coin it now. Ahmed has always been the more sensible one with his approaches.. Please don't misunderstand me, anigu qof walbaan afka ku taaga (not just "mutacalimiin). But his article though has a point about the UN threats does not tell us anything different or interesting. Waa iska hadal uun.

Malika;828437 wrote: ^Hence his suggestion you go to Nairobi to obtain the Somali basaboor for you to enter Somalia with..wax fahan..lol Waxaan iska daa and answer my more important question. What word do sijuis use for the sound of a car horn? Showqi, ma ii hubta? Buuub?

Moves by the United Nations to cow the Somali democratic movement are unjust and won't succeed, says the author Last Modified: 09 May 2012 11:33 Minneapolis, MN - On May 1, 2012, the UN Special Representative (SR), The African Union Special Representative (AUSR), and IGAD Facilitator for Somalia (IGADF) distributed a press release threatening those they call spoilers of the Somali political process with sanctions. Here is how they articulated the threats which they might impose on the movement, including sanctions and other unspecified measures: "... the United Nations, the African Union, and IGAD are jointly issuing this unambiguous warning to all potential spoilers: non-compliance with or active obstruction of the Road Map for ending the Transition in Somalia will be referred to IGAD Council of Ministers with our recommendation for immediate imposition of specific measures and restrictions. Moreover requests for further sanctions against spoilers may simultaneously be referred to the United Nations Monitoring on Somalia and Eritrea in order to open an investigation under the terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 1844 (2008)." What is the Road Map (RM) for Ending the Transition in Somalia? Does the RM has any legitimacy with Somali people? Who are the Spoilers? Is the authority of the SR, AUSR and IGADF divine such that it cannot be challenged by the Somali people whose political fate is to be determined by the RM if the SR has his way? This essay probes these questions. The Road Map The engine driving the RM is an agreement in Kampala between the President of the Transitional Federal Government, the Former Speaker of the TFG Parliament, and a former Prime Minister in the summer of 2011. These three individuals were brought to Kampala, Uganda, under the auspices of President Museveni of Uganda with the SR's participation. The purported purpose of the meeting was to reconcile the conflict between the three Somalis over the nature of the transitional period and distribution of political power among these three people during the remaining days of the transition which was supposed to end on August 2011. Somalia's transitional charter that governs the transition has been set aside by the SR in order for his group to have their way in determining Somalia's future. Without any consultation with the Somali Parliament and the Somali people, the hosts forced the three TFG personalities to agree in Kampala. Since then the Kampala Accord has become the force behind the Road Map. For all practical purposes the Kampala Accord has empowered the TFG President, the former Speaker of Parliament, the new Prime Minister, and several of their self-selected individuals to determine the way out of the transition. The SR, AUSR, and IGADF and their Somali clients manage this process which has completely shut out the Somali people and the TFG parliament. The Road Map is currently structured to allow the TFG President, the PM and the former Speaker of parliament (the latter is still considered by the SR, IGAD, and the AU as Speaker although parliament removed him from that post several months ago) to pick the traditional leaders who are supposed to select members of the post-transition parliament, and the congress that will approve the UN drafted post-transition constitution. In other words, the SR, AUSR, and IGAD wish to enable the very TFG President, former speaker and the current PM who failed to deliver any results during their tenure to determine the future of the country as well allow them to reappoint themselves to power. Given that there has been no open and sustained public debate and discussion about the terms of the RM means that the UN and a small group among the TFG are the sole owners of the Road Map. Reflecting the famous American liberation motto "no taxation without representation", the Somali democratic movement's response to the UN Road Map is "no legitimacy without autonomous Somali ownership and input". The spoilers Who are the spoilers? Nelson Mandela was a "spoiler and a terrorist" in the eyes of apartheid governments and their allies. So were Gandhi and Ben Bella. In Somalia, the likes of Mandela were the members of the SYL and SNL during the Italian and British colonialism. In a style reminiscent of colonial times, the SR, the AUSR, and IGADF consider the democratic movement, the new political parties, and the independent Muslim Ulema who are engaged in peaceful political activities as spoilers. These groups have carefully studied the UNDP drafted constitution and found it to be opposed to basic Somali and Islamic values. They have openly rejected the UN owned draft constitution without resorting to violence and have begin to mobilise the population. Not only do these civilian groups find the constitution anti-Somali, but they view the entire RM which is supposed to lead to the post-transition political order utterly illegitimate. Somalia's democratic and peace movement is challenging the authoritarian operation of the UN, the AU, and IGAD. It is this non-violent and unarmed movement that the UN and its partners dub as spoilers and threaten to punish. Apparently, the UN, AU, and IGAD consider good Somalis to be child-like on whose behalf they can act politically, or terrorists and spoilers who should be sanctioned and punished using AU/IGAD and UN instruments. The history of liberation movements in Africa and elsewhere provide ample examples of democratic movements and liberation leaders who were vilified and persecuted by colonial and imperial powers. But the determination of the African people and their pursuit of justice and democracy ultimately prevailed. It is ironic that the UN and AU which supported the liberation movements in those years are now acting as instruments of Somali subjugation. Further the UN has been vocal about the rights of people in Syria, Libya, and elsewhere in the Arab World, however, the UN considers the rights of the Somali people to peacefully mobilise themselves in order to determine their destiny to be a criminal affair that must be sanctioned and punished. The use of threats by the SR, AUSR, and IGADF demonstrate how these institutions are used for undemocratic and unjust political ends. Such behaviour reinforces the established idea that the UN, AU, and IGAD do not have the Somali people's interest at heart and that the UN Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea is a partisan organisation set to subjugate independent Somalis who dare to stand up for their rights and those of their country. Crime and punishment The SR and his African counterparts at the AU and IGAD have presided over a political project in Somalia that has delivered nothing but failure and misery over the last decade and half. About three years ago, the UN led international community concocted another TFG for Somalia which is now accepted by all parties to be frighteningly corrupt and incompetent. Most recently, the SR, AUSR, and IGADF were caught sleeping on the switch as tens of thousands of Somalis starved to death and millions were devastated by the famine; while the monitoring Group has been implicated in the production of the famine. Given this record, it is reasonable to conclude that the SR, AUSR, and IGADF think of Somalia to be their colony rather than belonging to Somalis. Their latest effort to cower the Somali civic movement into submission is designed to install more incompetent and illegitimate political order that does not respect the dignity of the people and the integrity of the nation. This agenda is as audacious as any former colonial scheme and will destroy the Somali Republic if it is not stopped. Finally, the only "crime" the Somali democratic movement has committed is to dare dream of freedom in the land of its birth. By demonising the Somali democratic movement as spoilers, that must be punished, the United Nations and the African Union are behaving like the autocrats in the Arab World which the Arab Uprising is trying to flush out of political power. They can try to impose an apartheid-like political order on the Somali people because AMISOM which is not accountable to the population and funded by the United States and Europe controls Mogadishu. The hope was that AMISOM, as African brothers, will defeat al-Shabaab and give the Somali people a chance to rebuild their country, but that hope has been dashed as the UN and the AU try to suffocate Somalis' democratic aspirations. Fortunately the Somali democratic movement will endure the latest humiliation and shall prevail sooner or later as they seek freedom, justice, and democracy in their own home. Abdi Ismail Samatar is Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota and Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. ---------------------------------------------------------- I think this calls for Jb's favourite word..altogether now: bacaaaac!

You have to do a test first to prove that you are Somali, Showqi. Waxa la yedhi, the test consists of one question. The question is: What sound does a car horn in Somalia make? In gaalo land, the known word for such a sound is Beep. In the Arab world it is Toot. But what is it in Somalia? Answer the question and you win a brand new Somali passport (oo sawirkaaga ku yaala waliba).

^^ War ma diidin dee. I just don't think your ideas here are that realistic. Indeed, some of what you suggest can be done in those thirteen years (which is not a long time by the way) but most can not. In fact, everything can be done within FIVE years but for that to happen, you will need money (lots and lots and lots of money). A country that is trying to get back on its feet does not have the experience nor the ability to do all this in thirteen years, saaxib (even if it had the money). What was it that Somalis said about the qonyar socod again? Oh yeah, he does not step on landmines.

London model's return to see Somali roots! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17839754 Somali-born nurse fulfills promise to help women in war-ravaged Mogadishu - http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/article/1172451--somali-born-nurse-fulfills-promise-to-help-women-in-war-ravaged-mogadishu Somali reporter Jamal Osman is named journalist of the year at the One World media awards for a collection of his films for Channel 4 News

^^ Carroll carried on from where he left off in the FA cup final, saaxib. And, like I've been telling you all year, he has been as good as gold all this year. p.s. I don't think we'll win the league next season. It's too early for such thoughts. Lets see what we do in the summer first.

^^ This is full of the same pizaazz that both Adam & nuune use in their usual dreams. But the devil is in the detail. SL whilst talking about such lofty ideas such as railways, great quality of life and free markets is still realistic enough in aiming to quadruple household disposable income by 2030. Quadruple current income in TWENTY years! It's a far cry from skyscrapers and "green" airplanes, saaxib. And, even then, I believe this to be a very ambatious plan.

In 13 years? And you say you're not a dreamer! If Somalia manages to establish proper systems of government. If it can maintain peace. If it can begin a sembelance of a rebuilding process and if it can improve (at least to the minumum requirement) its health care and education in the next thirteen years then you are into a winner, saaxib. Airplanes, trains and trams waa hadalada qof xalwo ka dergay ee naga daa sheeko jinnka ninyaho.

^^ It does not matter. A win is a win is a win. Go support Arsenal warya.

^^ Essian is still good. He wasn't helped by those surrounding him though (mainly the hopeless Maluda).

^^ Bah to thee of little mind. Fair enough, Chimara (but I didn't base my argument on that picture alone).

We played well last night. Caroll is a lump who should have scored.

^^ She lives! She lives! Morning all.

xiinfaniin;828094 wrote: Mogadishu is being rebuilt as we speak. Yesterday the Turks pledged a $100 million project to rebuilt it. The day before a joint project between US and UK pledged $9.5 million to improve the infrustructure of the city. All ngonge needs to do is read the news . It is hard to find a negative story in the current sea of positives Baryahan waxaad ka dhamaan wayday cheap point scoring iyo script-like behaviour, saaxib. War is qabo ban ku idhi. Do you seriously beleive the improvements you're talking about are in any way, shape or form in the same league as Chimara's daydreams? p.s. Chimara, saaxib, dreams are fine. They're great and sometimes are the seed needed to turn a vision into reality. However, you're not a little boy, saaxib. I am just trying to make sure you don't focus on the dreams so much that you forget about the reality. To reach your desired future you'll still have to deal with the present, saaxib.

AfricaOwn;828285 wrote: Wow..a big shocker. NG decides to go against the grain YET again. Seriously, you hormonal kid; was there ANYTHING in what I wrote that was worthy of triggring such a response?