^^ Do they have net access in Mombasa? Wow!

This year, Christmas day in NGONGE Towers was very quiet. We spent quality time together, played games, went for a walk in the park in the afternoon and watched lots of Christmas TV. I also made and received lots of phone calls from various friends and family. Most of them, it seems, had a similar day to mine. Worse still, many used the opportunity to invite people for lunch or dinner and quite a few cooked feasts that would make the top list of any Christmas gathering. That evening, whilst talking to a friend about all of this, he referred me to the festive programs on TV and seemed obsessed with a certain festive bird. Our conversation went as follows: Him: I would love to cook a turkey Me: An entire turkey? Him: Yes. Like the one they had in Come Dine With Me the other day Me: What was it like? Him: It was a big turkey and the woman that cooked it stuffed it with all sorts of things, even honey! Me: But do you know how to cook a turkey? Him: I’ll get the recipe off the net Me: What stuffing would you use? Him: I have it all worked out in my mind but I am not sure if it is halal Me: What is? Him: Having a turkey Me: If it is slaughtered correctly then it is halal. Him: I know that. But I am talking about all the things that come with it. Me: Things? What things? Him: The tree, the gifts and all those other things. Me: Alcohol? Him: No. Not alcohol. Me: Hang on! Did you just say TREE? Him: Not a Christmas tree. I was thinking of cooking the turkey on Eid day and having a PALM TREE in my living room. Me: What for? Him: To make Eid feel like Christmas. Me: Why in the world would you want to make Eid feel like Christmas? Him: Because Christmas seems more fun. Me: So why don’t you celebrate Christmas instead? Him: Because I am a Muslim. Me: Well, you could have fooled me. Him: You don’t understand. You will never understand. Me: I think I do. Him: No you don’t. I want to have a turkey, a tree and gifts for Eid, not Christmas Me: I understand the turkey part, it is food after all and food is fine. But what is with the tree? Him: So I can put the gifts under it. Me: Do you HAVE to put the gifts under a tree? Can’t you just give them out on the day? Him: It is more fun when you put them under a tree and nobody is allowed to open them until the big day. Me: Put them in a corner of a room then and tell people not to touch them. Him: I told you that you would never understand. Me: You are right. Him: What is wrong with having a PALM TREE in my living room anyway? Me: Nothing at all. It may even add a bit of colour to the room. Him: So why do you keep sneering? Me: Because you seem to be cutting and pasting an entire tradition into your own way of life. Him: I am not. Me: You are. Why else think of a turkey and a tree? Next, you will have Mullah Saleh falling down the chimney! Him: I thought of that too! But, I keep telling you that I am MUSLIM. I will have no Santa coming down my chimney. However, what is wrong with asking the Imam at the mosque to give out gifts? He can dress all in white and he already has a big white beard. Me: You even thought of that? Listen, why don’t you forget this boring idea of Islam and just celebrate Christmas? It will save you a lot of bother you know. AND you will have the chance to have a real Christmas tree (no palm nonsense). Him: You are making fun of me now. Me: What do you expect when you’re talking all this nonsense! Him: It is not nonsense. Look at the Americans. Me: What about them? Him: They have Thanksgiving and they cook turkeys. Me: I am not sure I follow. Him: It proves that you do not have to be a Christian to cook a turkey. Anyone can. Me: I did not say otherwise. Him: Besides, thanksgiving is not a religious festival. Me: It is not NOW. But the origin, as the name suggests, is religious. Him: I mean it is not religious in the way that Eid or Christmas is. Me: Well, if we’re being picky then Christmas isn’t either. Him: The point I am making is that many different celebrations use turkey as the main foodstuff Me: And I do not oppose that. Have turkey if you must Him: I will. Me: In fact, have the tree and the gifts too. Ah! Why not have candles too? There are at least three days of Eid, right? Light a candle on each day and sing lots of nasheeds. Him: Why the candles? Christmas has no candles. Me: I thought you were not copying Christmas. Him: No. I am not. I am just celebrating Eid in a modern way. Me: Have candles then. Him: What’s with the candles. Me: The Jews use candles when celebrating Hanukkah. Him: I am not copying the Jews. Me: That is discrimination. Him: I don’t care. I am not copying the Jews. Me: But you would still see no problem with having a tree and turkey on Eid day? Him: That is different. Me: Warya. I'm running out of qat, bal orbeeto kale ii tuur......

^^ Arsenal will drop off like they did last year, the year before and the one before that. Their problems have not been fixed yet (don't they lose song for six weeks too?). United are still rubbish not matter what lucky games they win. This season really is all about Chelsea messing up and still winning the league. Liverpool will beat Villa tonight and find themselves in the mix once again. Fourth place should be secured within weeks. First, second and third depends on the top teams dropping points.

Those pictures look awful, Sherban. Hope you enjoyed your celebrations though.

Heh@Jb. Lucky you.

I finally pinpointed where my resident Jinni lives. My fridge keeps making all sorts of crazy noises and, sometimes, sounds of people talking come out of it. I have seen the same 'ghost' moving about a few times now. But, I don't think it suffers from flu.

Malika is one of her moods again, people. Stay well clear. Lets talk about Jinn. I'll bring the thread up once more.

^^ Only bird, swine and sheep flu so far. Jinn flu can only be cured with an exciting session of tahliil. Warya, did you fix your phone yet?

Hello witches. I am here too.

Without seeming to take the side of Peacenow, I can't see anything in those articles that points to the Danes being wrong. Some of the articles refer to human rights organisations but don't give enough on that front. Is there any more information on this story?

Faheema. I'm here too. Supposed to be here until six but I'm tempted to sneak off right now.

^^ It's on the Indy already.

Originally posted by Norfsky: quote:Originally posted by Jacaylbaro: where is Ngonge ?? Do you think he would click on the link? Like sticking your hand in a hole in an area known for having lots of snakes. NO THANKS.

Heh@Urban. Well played.

The story is moving and one can fully understand the predicament of all its heroes. But it is not the same as WAR, saaxib. My understanding is that Al Shabab is a movement that is organised and has some sort of a plan. The story you describe is of one that is in shock and without any plans. The point is that Al Shabab’s eventual aim it to rule the land following the rules of Islam. Your average Somali (being, incidentally a Muslim) would happily welcome that (as was proven in 2006). However, he does so because he/she believes that an Islamic State would bring peace and prosperity to the land/people whilst at the same time obeying the commandments of god. The winning ticket is that THEY (the TFG and their supporters) are killing us and driving us out of our homes but Al Shabab are saving us and giving us back our dignity. Where things start to get messy is when Al Shabab’s actions lead to the same results as those of the TFG. Now it’s my turn to tell a story. Abdi has gone to the Bakara Market to buy himself some necessary daily supplies. He walks amongst the hustle and bustle of that place and stops to have a chat with a cousin he met outside a shop. Suddenly, exploding noises erupt around the place and people start falling. Abdi dusts himself up and looks around to find that his cousin is no more. The shop itself is gone! The shelling is not over and a couple more shells fall a few yards away from him (taking with them another shop and all those in it). Abdi starts shouting ‘what is going on?’ someone replies ‘AMISOM are shelling us, AGAIN’. Abdi asks ‘Why?’ someone else shouts ‘Al Shababka baas ba wax qarxiyay’. Abdi wonders why is Al Shabab causing the death of his cousin when they are supposed to be good, fair and ISLAMIC? He mumbles to himself ‘if they knew this was coming why didn’t they at least warn us?’ This brings me to the second part of our discussion, the NEWS. Like I said, I am not too familiar with Al Shabab’s news and I may have got it all wrong with my story above. Maybe Al Shabab do warn people in that Market just before (or just after) an operation takes place. But, since Al Shabab does not bother telling us such news we are left to our own assumptions. In addition, Al Shabab may not own an international TV or Radio station but there are dozens of existing Somali websites (this being one of them) where they can update us with their news and give us their take on the latest events. The majority of people on these websites might oppose Al Shabab but, luckily, all Somalis LOVE NEWS. Finally, I would still insist on rebuking you on your insistence that you are not out to change people’s minds. Al shabab ma dagaal kilya ba, dacwa kuma jirto miya?

Southampton cabbie Abdirashid Issa walked miles to deliver blood to Hampshire hosptial 1:14pm Wednesday 23rd December 2009 By Tara Russell HE is a true Christmas hero. For thousands of people caught in snow chaos, getting home safely was the priority in the treacherous conditions. But one Southampton man went beyond his call of duty to help save lives. Taxi driver Abdirashid Issa abandoned his car in huge tailbacks and trekked through a blizzard for four miles in freezing temperatures to deliver vital emergency blood supplies to a hospital. He was then stranded overnight before he made the four-mile trek back to get his car yesterday morning. Mr Issa, who works for Central Shirley Cars, was on an emergency assignment to take blood from Southampton General Hospital and deliver it to hospitals in Winchester and Basingstoke for doctors to treat emergency patients on operating tables. The round-trip, which usually takes the married dad of three from St Mary’s one-and- a-half hours, turned into a nightmare when thick snow paralysed Hampshire’s transport network. Mr Issa, who moved to England from Somalia in Africa six years ago with his wife Iasha, set off with the blood at 5pm and managed to get to Winchester hospital in good time to make the precious delivery by 5.45pm. Dreadful conditions meant he did not reach Basingstoke until 11pm – almost five hours later – and when he got to the worst affected area of Hampshire he was powerless to escape the gridlocked traffic. He said: “It was very important. It said ‘urgent blood’ and if someone needed it I had to make sacrifices because they might be dying. “I could have stayed in my heated car but I had to do it.” He described the road conditions as “horrible”. “You can’t imagine how terrible it was, very slow and very slippery. No cars were moving,” said Mr Issa. “When I got there, everywhere you looked there were abandoned cars – some in the middle of the road – and you could not access Basingstoke. I could not move at all.” Mr Issa abandoned his car near to a roun****ut just off the M3 exit and set off on foot with the blood, wading through thick snow and ice for an hour to follow the signs to the hospital A&E department four miles away to hand the blood supply to doctors at midnight. The brave dad, stranded in Basingstoke when all the hotels were full, then spent the night on a waiting room chair until he made the four-mile walk back to retrieve his car at 7am yesterday and returned to Southampton. A spokesman for the North Hampshire hospital in Basingstoke said: “We want to say a big thank you to this heroic taxi driver who has gone beyond the call of duty for the good of our patients. It is just exceptional.” Central Shirley Cars’ managing director Fred Terry added: “He is so dedicated to his job and what he has done is unbelievable. “I am so proud of him and all our drivers and it just shows what they will do to get the job done. It is out of this world.” Back © Copyright 2001-2009 Newsquest Media Group http://www.dailyecho.co.uk

يخيل لي بانك تتفق معه بان الشباب فرقه منحرفه ولكن لديك بعد التحفضات علي ضلالهم! اما بيت امه, اللّهم ارحم امه وامهاتنا جميعا.

The Times has been reporting on Somalia all week. Most of it is stuff that is copied from Somali websites. P.S. I doubt there are more than ten thousand Somalis in the whole of the UK.

Originally posted by Maaddeey: quote:Originally posted by Jacphar: Maadeey: As the sole shabaab fan on SOL, you're trying hard to discredit any negative information about this is-qarxis group. Are you the information deputy minister? And in English please. أنا لا أجيد الإنجليزية، والقليل الذي أعرفه أخبؤه لمن لا يفهمنى الا بها، أما من لا يقدر محاورة بنى جنسه بلغته الرسمية فإنى أعتبره أميا لا يجوز له الدخول فى هذا الميدان، فنصيحتى له أن يكسر قلمه و يجلس في بيت أمه. وجوابا على سؤالك فهل-حقا-تؤمن أن مسئولا رسميا لحركة الشباب يتصل ب جرووه أونلاين ويخبرهم عن خلاف فى وسط الجماعة؟. لعلك فهمت قصدي لأنك ذوأصول عربية.. وما ادراك بانه ليس في بيت امه الان؟ حسبك يا رجل حسبك

^^ You're an exception, KK. A Qardho flower. Ibti only dislikes the Qardho rocks. Sayid This is why there is no 'exchange programs', you guys would not pick up a pearl for your own brothers. As for my tuulo, it is just a stop place for roving geel jire's, and the Qaloocan girls live to hear stories about these geel jire's and the millions of camels they own.

You and the guys that refer to that state as Bugland have no imagination whatsoever. If you must make fun then at least call it BOAT-Land. At any rate, flags, book clubs, disputes over elections are all great signs of civility and peace. PL is doing ok, saaxib. No arguments over murtads, kaffirs or turncoats there.

FROM THE OFFICE OF DR YUSUF OUEDRAGOU, BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER, BANK OF AFRICA (BOA), OUAGADOUGOU BURKINAFASO, WEST AFRICA . MAY PEACE BE UNTO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. Greetings to you in the most holy name of Allah. I am Dr Yusuf Ouedragou, bill and exchange manager, Bank Of Africa . I need your assistance in transferring the sum of ($15M) million into your account withing 6 to 9 banking days. This account belongs to one of our foreign customer by name Dr George Brumely who died along with his entire family in a plane crash some years ago.You can view his website for more details:http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/20/kenya.crash/index.html I agree that 40% of this money will be for you in respect of the provision of a foreign account, 5% will be set aside for every expenses that may rise during the business and 55% would be for me. Thereafter, I will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentage indicated. Reply me if interested. This is my personal email address: (dryusuf_o@sify.com) please fill in your personal information’s as indicated below. Your name in full............................ Your country.................................... Your nationality............................... Your company name......................... Your age.......................................... Your telephone number................... Your occupation.............................. Your sex.......................................... Your picture..................................... Your marital status........................... Your religion....................................... Your bank name.................................... Best Regards, Dr Yusuf Ouedragou.

^^ I used to tell her great tales of J.Qabar when I had my eye on her (for my younger brother).

^^ It's not the women that worry me, it's the admin.

Ibti, does Sayid guy have a younger brother or something?