^^^ I was not commenting on the topic itself. I was laughing at his words really. He both used the words illiteracy and ignorant in that little extract, yet most of it was full of spelling and grammatical mistakes.

^^ Heh. You can fly out I bet I can't. Or at least the flight will cost an arm and a leg. But, yes, should I get the tickets, you're on.

^^ I can't miss match of the day ps I actually wasn't baby sitting this time. I had the house all to myself and ordered two super size Pizzas (well the second came free really). I needed time to eat both. pps The tickets have not arrived yet. I'll check when I get home. If they arrive anytime after tomorrow noon it will be too late to go. I'll have to try to flog them on E-bay (they go for about £2500).

I didn't go to either party (there was one in north London last Saturday). I chose to stay at home and watch the FA Cup Final instead and then watch the highlights on Match Of The Day. ps Someone is sending me two tickets to the Liverpool game from Saudi Arabia. If they arrive in time I'll have to quickly sort out travel arrangment and go. If they don't I'll flog them on E-bay as a collector's item.

^^ You've been a naughty girl and you annoyed Stealth there. Say sorry to him. Say it now.

^^^ Don't start me off now This man does magic: This is the team he picked for the final: When they win we'll all go like these two Still want a twix?

Rejoice kids, rejoice. Confectionary manufacturer Masterfoods has abandoned its plan to use animal products in some of its most popular chocolate bars, including Mars, Snickers and Maltesers, after pressure from vegetarians. The company announced last week it was changing the whey used in some chocolate and ice cream from a vegetarian source to one with traces of rennet, an animal enzyme. Banner Ad The Vegetarian Society protested on behalf of three million vegetarians in the UK and asked people to "express their concern" to Masterfoods. Within a week of the decision being announced, more than 6,000 people had called and emailed the Mars UK switchboard, which usually receives 500 comments per week. Forty MPs also signed a petition "to voice their disquiet". Mars has been the first to react. Fiona Dawson, managing director of the snack business in the UK, said: "The consumer is our boss and we had lots of feedback from consumers who were unhappy about the change. It became very clear, very quickly that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry. "There are three million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we disappoint them but we upset a lot of the consumers. We have listened to their views and have decided to reverse our decision." Mars will begin the process of removing all rennet traces immediately. Masterfoods is also committed to changing the whey used in Snickers, Maltesers and Galaxy, effectively reversing last week's announcement. Dr Annette Pinner, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said: “We are delighted that Mars UK has been honest enough to mark the beginning of National Vegetarian Week by admitting that it made a mistake." Source I don't even like chocolates...

Originally posted by peacenow: When I was in university in the UK around 1997, living in student halls. ........................ ..... ..... Surely not the Saudis, who man to man are the most deprave people in this world to how it dominates their lives to illiteracy. But we have to remember that Islam, will not put food on our table or make Somalia, rich and free from ignorance that comes from poverty and lack of education. We must be brutal about this and fact up to it. The lack of any self-awareness in these words is just priceless. Illiteracy indeed.

From an economist to a gekko? Are we feeling down, saaxib? ps No need to explain. Greed is good indeed

You’ve got to really give it to Mr Goth. He blindly believes in Somaliland that he is willing to distort everything and anything to make it look great. Surely of all the people that write about Somaliland he (as a journalist) would have been the last person to praise the fake idea of that state having any ‘free press’. This is what I dislike about patriots of any kind, they all seem to have a faulty moral compass.

Heh@Paragon Very confrontational there, saaxib. Did MMA’s demagogical drivel really get you going that much? And then you go and talk about people being ‘less visionary’! The cheek of it all is quite laughable really. War, lets talk some sense. When I tell you that I think the resistance is dead I expect you to come back with arguments proving that it is not. Rabble-rousing stories about the fights of the Sayid and his ilk are nothing but emotional blackmail that really serves nobody in here. I’m not sure what Baashe and others are saying but my arguments here are purely meant for you and those taking part in the discussions here. A man with a gun in the middle of Xamar is really not someone ANYBODY could reason with. He’s desperate, proud, bitter, angry and very vengeful. He probably realises that he’s fighting a losing battle but still fights on because, in his mind, he has no other choice. You know, his head is probably full of all that ‘live like a man and die like a man’ nonsense. But what is your excuse? What is Khasafa’s excuse? What’s MMA’s excuse? You could either dismiss this discussion and refuse to take part in it, or, you could take part and give us something to argue about and DISCUSS. Chest beating, wailing and going on about the Xabashi occupation is NOT what I call discussion, saaxib. It’s been six months of that occupation now. Get used to the idea and try to think of ways of getting rid of the Xabash. When I say ways I don’t mean talk about long gone history or four desperate men fighting a forty thousand army. Make sense? Ps How is that for confrontational? Pps I’m hoping to become the ambassador to Peru

Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Give up now and fight another day! Says NGONGE. And good Baashi agrees. That’s a wise advice for those who have a plan for Somalia and can resist to be overtaken by the day-to-day events on the ground. Granted that it’s quite a low key in concept , but it’s a wining recommendation in execution!It's easier said than done, however! If you want to know why we are civil-war prone, look no further than this thread… Heh. My arguments, as is everything in this thread, are hypothetical saaxib. There are many facts and factors that we are not aware of and that may easily change our stance on the current issues. But, as things stand, and from what we know I would consider it the height of foolishness to recommend fighting. The Somaliland argument is a mere red-herring here. As others already stated, hardly any REAL Somaliland representatives are going to attend this conference and therefore whatever decisions are made there are unlikely to be accepted by the Somaliland administration. In addition, the contacts and diplomatic relations that Somaliland has with Ethiopia leads one to conclude that no immediate danger of war will be threatening Somaliland. In short, and in the case of Somaliland the TFG looks quite toothless (unless there is treachery of some sort). So yes, the pragmatist in me agrees with those that say the issue of Somaliland is not really high on the list of priorities when it comes to this conference.

Khashafa, We agree on one part and disagree on another. I'm telling you that if those opposing the TFG don't wise up they will be destroyed. I don't at all support the TFG but unlike you I'm being realistic here. You can pound your chest all you like but when all is said and done the fight your propose is lost from the outset. Sad but true. When one suggests that you 'fight another day' the logic behind that is that, possibly, on another day you MAY have some power and backing to fight with. Right now you really have nothing but some confused 'national' anger and a bit of Islamic zeal. This is, truly, is not enough to win a REAL fight with those you oppose.

Baashi, I’d love to see Somalis finally agreeing and living in peace but the cynic in me couldn’t picture such an outcome, not as a result of this conference anyway. I’m a realist saaxib. I always try to back a winning horse and as such, today, I choose to ignore the entire reconciliation ruckus and deal with things as I see them. The dictator has the upper hand and he shall dictate. Those that accept this fact will be happily ‘reconciled’ and those that refuse shall be forced to accept. It’s an ugly xabash-assisted tsunami that will overwhelm all before it. To those resisting it I say: submit today: fight another day! You know it’s the only way for Somalia to have any sort of peace.

^^ Keep up, man. She already surrenderd. He's just finding it difficult to drag her by the hair to the marriage cage. ps off topic and purely random thought. Where the hell is Val these days? Is she not back from convict land yet?

^^ Didn’t I tell you Xiin woo kaa xishoonayay? He agrees in principle but then adds a caveat that renders his agreement totally pointless. I choose to be honest about the whole thing and fully reject this reconciliation. The clear signs we see lead any sensible person to conclude that the TFG is not really interested in a full reconciliation. It seems like it wants to compel people to accept its judgments (with American/Ethiopian agreement or not)! Look at the recent events and the actions of the TFG before attempting to sell us this reconciliation process. Why is a government interested in peace, agreement and understanding sack a powerful man such as Hiralle at this point in time? This is not to sing the praises of the man or lament his sacking. I’m just trying to make sense of their reasons for taking such an action. With a reconciliation conference looming did they really want to upset the apple cart in such a way if they really were willing to make concessions and their ultimate aim was for a fair deal? As you know, I’m not a keen follower of Somali politics and mostly don’t know the backgrounds of some fall-outs. It may transpire that the sacking of this colonel is going to be used as a carrot to entice some group or other (and it would make great sense then). But, since I have not seen such an idea mentioned by anyone on here I’d assume that it is nothing but wishful thinking on my part! My next guess is pretty obvious and simple (which might mean its wrong). Seeing how the TFG humbled the capital and sacked some of its former warlord ministers, it does look to me like the old man (and his Prime Minster) have decided to pick off their enemies one-by-one. The plan seems to be working thus far and I don’t see a reconciliation process disrupting that.

Originally posted by JUSTICE: hey buy the DVD and rest your head, no need to waste hours of your time for a party.. the truth is , I can't go, am not allowed.......... Not allowed? Who is not allowing you, dear? Tell me and I'll go and sort them out for you (free of charge). ps Somaliland celebrations come at the most inconvenient times. Most parties will take place on Saturday and on that day I will obviously be busy watching the FA cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United.

I don't believe a word this girl says. Not A word, I say.

^^ Erm, Serenity was talking about the milkman

^^ If you keep calling him 'awoowe' woo kaa xishoonaya, saaxib! Knowing Xiin I'd say that he's 100% against this reconciliation effort and thinks it's a PR stunt by the TFG to trick everyone. He does not trust the TFG and for that reason refuses to accept that a reconciliation effort chaired by them would work. I bet Castro agrees. I do.

^^ Action of course. Action, dammit

^^^ Advice is what got me there in the first place. Now, I keep my advice to myself and watch the poor single people fall, trip and stumble. ps Did you never notice that the happiest people at weddings are those that are already married?

Originally posted by Bokero: I can see the denial process is full gear Ngonge… its not a weeping session but call to action.. rather than sitting ur ***, I think it’s time u look at urself and ask what I have done for my people and my country.. I have not done enough. I shall never do enough. If it's to be done in the way you describe, I don't want to do enough. Saaxib, stop the wailing and dreams. If you know a way of doing something, spit it out and tell us. To organise a party that goes and inspects refugee camps is what Geldof and his ilk do. We already know what takes place there and no matter how many heart-breaking situations we see when we get there it will hardly make a difference to our attitude once we return to our cosy homes and computers. Like you said, action is more important. But the action needed has to be something of value and not a day trip to a human zoo. What emotionally charged idea will you come up with next? Somalnimo?

^^^ Did you hear the story about the Lion’s wedding? Waxa la yedhi: A long time ago in a forest far away, the lion's son got married and had a huge wedding banquet. Lions came from far and wide to attend this great wedding. On the night itself, and as the party was hotting up and the lions were singing arooskeena, aameen, they heard a tiny, squeaky voice joining in with the singing! They stopped the music and singing and tried to locate the source of this sound. To their shock, they saw a small well-dressed mouse with its eyes closed, still jumping around and clapping its hands and singing the same song! The proud groom poked the mouse with its paw and roared at it: what are you doing here you wretched creature? This party is for lions only. The mouse opened its eyes, gave him a condescending grin and said: so what? Before I got married, I used to be a lion too!

^^^ I've been dying to play football for a while now. I did a bit when I was in Syria and it reminded me of the good old days. Xan, You are going by your interpretation of Islam not hers. Surely by now you realise that our good faith can be interpreted in a million ways and that they’re all applicable. She feels that she can reconcile her faith with her politics. You think she’s wrong? Fine. Confused? Unacceptable.