I think Ghanima quit her job. She's a smelly student now. I doubt you'll be seeing much of her on these parts anymore. North moved house. He probably got lost on his way home last night. He's possibly, right now, trying to get his car out of some quick sand in the Empty Quarter. Serenity is reading this but she can't reply. She needs to conserve her energy for when she has to peel that orange at iftaar time. Did you notice that Val had that name for longer than is usual? She's letting herself go that one..

^^ Where are you partners in crime this morning?

Good for you Ms D&D. Nothing at all wrong with being a housewife you know. If Mr D&D is as affluent and crafty as our Tiger-selling friend here I am sure you will never need to work ever again. I have one small bone to pick with you however Forget all about starting your own business. Self-employment is a serious thing and needs a lot of planning and drive. You may have both but if you don't even have an idea that you're passionate about yet, the chances of that project being a success in the end are very slim. Ps There are some threads in SOL that reveal more than was intended or expected. I'm sure a couple of you know what I'm talking about here. I mean there you are, clicking on the different pages of this thread and reading the various humdrum replies when, suddenly, the clouds clear, the sun comes out, the birds sing and the italics disappear! Reminds one of Dr Frankenstein's famous words (in the movie of the same name): Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!

^^ I have and did. But it's not me. I have not been in a net cafe for years. Of course, if the man was young, with a head full of hair and an imposing aura about him then it is probably me, I just forgot about the net cafe.

W11, Remind me again of the team with the injured forwards that struggled to win its last three matches, saaxib. North, I love it when they get annoyed with players. They don't usually hold back. Saying things like "this player is bila edab" or "this player has no manners". Heh. Ps Even though ART lost the rights to show EPL football I'm still going to go and get me an ART card. Might as well keep up with the champion's league, saaxib. PPs Any idea how much Showtime Arabia costs?

Go to a coffee shop, man. It will be on at a good time too. You wont miss your prayers and wont have to rush about the place. The only problem you'll have is the Arab commentray.

^^ Game? As if Val would worry herself with boring things like games of football. She's hoping to see herself on the giant screen, silly. ps Who do you think will be playing upfront tonight? Will poor old Crouch get a sniff?

^^^ (I never said anything about groups, saaxib. I spoke about causes. Pay attention now)

What a load of rabblerousing nonsense! It's when you read rubbish like this that one can't help but think that the likes of Duke (and by extension Abdullahi Yusuf) got you exactly where they want you. For a start, I strongly doubt that the TFG are that loyal to Ethiopia. Nor do I think they're sentimental enough to dream up of ways to repay the Ethiopian favour. It's quite annoying to see them beat you in the ground war and completely wipe the floor with you in the propaganda war. If you must take the demagogical route, then you better (slightly) cut down on the sentimentality and improve on the spin. Watch Duke and learn I say. As laughable as some of his efforts are he still stands heads and shoulders above any Asmara propaganda! Better still, you are in the right. You know you're in the right. Even Duke knows that your cause is more honourable than his. Why not remain aloof and let the facts speak for themselves, instead of dragging a righteous cause through the mud with your 'what should we replay Eritrea drivel'? If there was such a thing as a physician of politics I daresay that he'll recommend you a whole year of rest and relaxation! The symptoms of hysteria are nauseatingly unbearable. ps This is not directed at the author of the thread but rather a general commentary on the standard of political threads.

Welcome back. Glad to see you're good and well.

(Is ignoring you both)

^^^ Bah! You don't know Duke that well. He'll have it as his new signature, saaxib.

^^ I'm not sure what the Saudis are happy about in that photo. The Somalis should be happy, they got tons of money to rebuild the 'infrastructure' of Somalia. I would say it's 1-0 to the TFG in the game of reconciliation conferences. ps Duke is still away with a mysterious illness.

ps Duke phoned in sick today.

Heh. But you're not at all worried I bet!

^^^I am not sure what the recommendations and resolutions of this conference in Asmara were. Therefore I’m afraid I’m slightly unprepared to comment on them. However, my comments were made on your sunny outlook, and here I reluctantly have to stick by my point. You’re possibly correct when saying that the average Somali is sick and tired of tribal politics. They all moan about it day and night. Nevertheless, when they perceive a danger, loss or injury they all quickly run back to huddle together under the banner of their clans. These are the sad facts, saaxib. Clan politics is still alive and well. You needn’t look far to see this. Watch how some people in the capital support the TFG and others don’t. Is it truly because some love the Ethiopian intervention and others don’t? Is it because some believe that the TFG will save Somalia and others don’t? Or is it because EVERYONE is toeing the tribal line? Look at that new state recently established in the north! Are the people of Makhir doing it just for the sake of having a state of their own or is it because they believe this is the best solution for their clan? Look at Somaliland and watch the various political parties there. Our brothers there are trying to sell to the world an image of a haven of democracy in the heart of Africa (this might yet to prove true). However, if you pay any attention to the makeup of the followers of each political party you will clearly see that they all fall neatly into obvious and expected tribal lines! Clan politics is not dead nor is it dying. It’s thriving saaxib. Therefore, I am sure you’ll understand me when I ask you to restrain your eagerness. Having said that, I hope you don’t mistake my words for ones that expect you not to accentuate the positive. Not at all saaxib. I just expect you to do it with facts rather than hopes and dreams. Still, no matter how the people in Asmara wobble, lurch or reel they still remain the only visible opposition to the wretched TFG. For that reason alone one has no choice but to support them. Pardon me though if I don’t exhibit my support with a whole display of whooping and hollering.

What? People mess up?

^^ Is it time already? Taqabal allah seyaamak, saaxib. Bon appetit..

Originally posted by Northerner: Its like asking why we eat banana with rice,,,, It's a very silly idea. Now banana with pasta on the other hand...

^^ Read an article about the history of xalwa here. halva, halwa, xalwa..

^^ Have you given up on the TFG, saaxib?

^^ I'm good all year round. Besides, it sounds like you're in Zenobia's good books. I was simply trying to dig out more praise for you. Good to hear everyone started at the same time.

Originally posted by Zenobia: I will I'A. p.s Thank you for the other night, you're such a sweetheart. Muwaah. Would you say she's a thoroughly Modern Muslim?

It was a very light-hearted show and didn’t dwell on the Islamic points much. Takeaway Islam sort of thing! The guy at The Times didn't like it. From The Times September 13, 2007 Last Night’s TV Tim Teeman BBC One wanted to foster a bit of inter-cultural understanding. But She’s a Thoroughly Modern Muslim was a dreadful, flawed documentary – laughably so – and one that ended up running bizarrely contrary to its initial intention. The idea was: Muslims are just like “you”, white BBC viewer at home (offensive in itself, you might argue). This notional viewer was apparently so racist and ****** that they were labouring under the belief that Muslim women were uniformly oppressed by men, purposeless and potentially so dispossessed that they could blow something up at any minute. So, in an inappropriately jaunty tone, the BBC wanted to show us that they were not oppressed or fanatics. It would take each stereotype we ignoramuses had and shatter them. But is it news to anyone that some Muslim women have jobs and actually like Britain? Really? We had: Haleh Afshar, OBE, an academic, and Asia Alfasi, a cartoonist who – shock – loved chocolate. (I thought the Koran had banned it. Wow.) Maryam Khan was a Mancunian, the youngest Asian town councillor in the country when she was elected. Maryam ate chips – I think you were supposed to drop your mug of cocoa with surprise at this sight. Farhat Ahmed was a housewife who lived in Cheshire. She wore waxed jackets and wellies. I know, amazing! Muslim woman in wellies! They were supposed to represent a spectrum of British Muslim women. Hmmm. For one, they were all from north of the Watford Gap. For another, outwardly, they seemed to be financially comfortable, articulate and middle-class. So, in reality, they were a narrow cross section and were picked absolutely as positive images – all determined to tell us how happy they were. That’s fine, but it’s not representative; it’s feelgood gloss. But oddly this documentary didn’t celebrate, or even interrogate, multiculturalism. It was a shallow examination of these women’s lives, and Muslim women’s lives in general. It surfed over gnarly questions of belief and did nothing to dispel any of the misconceptions and prejudices racists would have. Asia said she “peacefully submitted” herself “to one God”, but what did that actually mean? Haleh said that in Britain she could say what she liked and no one (as in Iran, her native country) would “chop off her head”. And she laughed. I must have missed the joke. Maryam insisted “Islam is a way of life”, but had a selective approach to how she practised it. Haleh didn’t fast. Was their partial observance of their religion problematic? If not, fine, but the question should have been asked. Maryam said: “Our religion does not say go and bomb up other people” – which may be right, but this a week after Newsnight revealed very extreme texts on the shelves of some East London libraries. Should an impartial piece of documentary-making allow her assertion to go unchallenged? Religious zealotry is, of course, not exclusively Muslim but there are Muslim zealots – shouldn’t that have been raised? Asia said she wore the hijab as “a statement of strength”, so she wouldn’t have to “engage with men” who might look at her sexually. Doesn’t that substitute one prejudice for another? Some men might not find her attractive anyway. She met her fellow comic artists for coffee but never in a bar because she couldn’t drink. But lots of people go to bars who don’t drink for one reason or another. Again, no challenges allowed. This patronising, unquestioning nonsense ill-served Muslim women as much as any ignorant, or curious, nonMuslims. The way to instigate racial harmony isn’t to pat us on the head and tell us we’re all the same. We’re not. We are alike in some ways and different in others, and by encouraging a group of Muslim women to shout about liking tea, Yorkshire puddings and Manchester United doesn’t make issues around global conflict, or day-to-day racism, or the reality of being a Muslim Briton, any easier to negotiate or understand. What about asking these women about topics such as prejudice, having children, reproductive rights, abortion, homosexuality, misogyny, feminism, sex, forced and arranged marriage, being single, Iraq, fanatical belief? But this was about easy answers, not difficult questions. Still, gosh, we discovered Muslim women wear wellies. Telegraph guy was not happy either..

Ramadan Kareem to all. Ramadan Kareem, LayZieGirl