^^^ I agree. But I'll only add that Asians are broken into two sides. Those that despise Whabbism and those that embrace it. In fact, these days and when it comes to Islam I strongly think that the Asians (and not the Arabs) are the ones running the show. I also agree on the overuse of the term Whabbism.

^^^ The last time I 'pumped' into him he avoided my gaze and hurriedly walked off. I think he thought I'd embarrass him with a request for an autograph or something.

^^^ So it's not Arab culture, it's Asian cluture?

Nice speculative work there, Bilaal. However, I can’t help thinking that your explanation seems to be a bit too perfect a story. Nothing about Somalia has been that perfect or straightforward. Nothing about POLITICS has ever been straightforward! The one clear thing throughout (and despite what the TFG fans say) is that the Somali resistance contains all sorts of conflicting views. You believe Ethiopia invaded Somalia at the behest of America. Others think Ethiopia did it of its own back and for its own reasons. Worse still, many many others think Ethiopia’s aim is to colonise Somalia and that the Ethiopian army is never going to leave Somalia! Where does all of this fit into your analysis? The Somali resistance is great. Their goals are noble and one will always support someone defending his own lands against invasion. But, truly, it is the Islamic Courts all over again. The military fight and administration is being fought gallantly but there is not a single iota of political know-how to be found. Because of a lack of such a strategy and overall eventual plan I seriously fear that, sooner or later, the resistance may fizzle out and die.

He’s suggesting nothing of the sort. It’s more likely that he’s suggesting that the Hezb created the atmosphere for such strong feelings. I don’t at all disagree with him on that point. However, it’s best to ignore all his other stories about Saudi Arabia and the ever-willing terrorists there. It’s all opinion and not fact.

^^^ When I logged in and saw that you replied to this topic my first thought was to tell you those exact words: Go to bed madwoman! Heh.

Enjoy

^^^ Your comment there brings to mind the story of racist kettles.

^^^ Sounds to me like you're hoping rather than making any informed guesses here.

Watch this

Imminent? How so?

Originally posted by LANDER: quote:Originally posted by NGONGE: Dear reader, depending on the side you support, you’re likely to easily see the folly of the opposing side and just as easily ignore the foolishness of those on your side. I guess you’re forever the objective analyst blessed with Claire voyance I am of course. But what’s that to do with the price of fish, saaxib? I just looked at my crystal ball and can certainly tell you that you, as a Somalilander, are not in favour of the TFG. Had you watched the interview I posted I would casually wager that YOU would have fully opposed the TFG representative and tried to explain the merits in the arguments of the former Information Minster. Now enough with the worthless sneering and try (if you possibly could) to explain, to yourself if nobody else, why such nincompoops seem to rise to such high positions! This is not limited to Somaliland but also Somalia and Puntland. I’m not enquiring about dictators, liars or thieves here. All these are accepted and expected traits of modern politicians. I am talking about cluelessness, utter incompetence, lack of simple common sense and the inability to have any clear arguments, explanations or defences for whatever actions that these politicians make (or if such things exist, their inability to convey their reasoning for doing so to the masses). It really has noting to do with me being the objective analyst. All this is plain child’s play and I look down my nose at it all. If you had any sense, you would too.

Heh@CG You are out of your mind, man. Why in the world did you think it was ok to go to the toilet in an indian train? Did you not consider the feelings of all those poor passangers? Originally posted by Val: ^^^ Not yet. In a few days, I'A. Want me to bring anything back for ya? If you can smuggle out Rahima in your hand luggage it will be great. I feel sad everytime I think of my good sister living in the middle of all those Aussies. Not to mention having to breath the same air as a particular indho yar Somali.

All sides come across as being foolish, naïve and not able to convey their messages in a reasonable and understandable way. I recently watched a program on Al Jazeera TV called ‘The opposite direction’. In this program, they bring two people from both sides of a certain conflict (i.e. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, Hamas and Fatah or two Iraqi factions). On the tenth of April 2007 it was the turn of the Somalis. We had a former information Minster (Dr Zakariyya Mahmood Hajji) facing the current advisor to the TFG president (a Dr Omar Yusuf Alazhari). With both men supposedly qualified enough to merit the title Dr (I’d love to know their fields of expertise) one was looking forward to a titillating confrontation whereby both men would employ all their debating, political and propaganda skills to further their own cause and convince the viewer that theirs is the correct side to follow. Sadly, the one against the TFG spent his time SHOUTING that he does not want to debate with his opponent because the regarded him as a liar and an Ethiopian (he actually spent the most part of the debate detailing the other man’s history and how he was born in Ethiopia and hold an Ethiopian passport, etc). This man was supposed to be a Dr and a former Information Minster! The other man was not much better than his opponent and was claiming that there were no Ethiopian soldiers killed in Somalia despite all the proof presented to all of us by the various media outlets! He just went on and on about attempting to defend an irrelevant and indefensible point. This man, ladies and gentlemen, is the advisor of the president of the TFG! Dear reader, depending on the side you support, you’re likely to easily see the folly of the opposing side and just as easily ignore the foolishness of those on your side. However, when the leading lights on both sides make a mockery of everything Somali on INTERNATIONAL TV, surely even you can see how silly it would be to whole- heartedly support either of these two bumbling sides (whole-heartedly being the operative word here). For those that can understand Arabic, here is a link to a blog with the video of the confrontation. It also contains English translation by the owner of the blog (who clearly is not a big fan of the TFG. Still, the bit he translates is true, even though he’s trying to spin it a little). Watch these two old men shout each other down!

^^^ Are you not gone yet? Originally posted by Northerner: NG, you need to go to Africa saxib. No not Egypt i mean Africa!!! That huge place full of black people (for the most part). You have been too comfortable for too long. Complaining about toilets :rolleyes: I plan to. But I much prefer Sophist’s kind of toilet to the hole in the floor that African (and Syrian) homes have. Anyway, it’s a bit too late for teaching this old dog all these new tricks. The muscles needed for such a procedure are simply not developed enough. Ps Ms Dhucdhuc, I’m as fit as a fiddle and in the prime of life. It’s not a case of creaking bones; it’s more about perfecting a skill. Something like attempting to sleep whilst standing up.

^^ I'm done now. The only thing I missed out on was the part about going to the toilet. It's a hole in the floor! A bloody hole in the floor! I managed to hold most of it in during those two weeks. I think the plane I got back in has been decommissioned now.

^^^ It must be. Or maybe it's the look of desperation that I have. Whatever it is, I never fail to attract mad people and pimps. ps Stop pinching magool or else she'll start singing.

^^^ I sincerely hope not. There is no harm in admiring beauty. One appreciates all the flowers in a garden but unless one is a florist one is unlikely to attempt sniffing them all, tempting as it must be.

Serenity, I attract these kinds of people. Must be some sort of vibe I give out. On the other hand, one of my friends in Syria was a magnet for beggars! The poor guy could not walk two yards without being accosted by one beggar or another. On more than five occasions we got stopped by beggars and they all approached him, not me. I always got the pimps! And believe you me, I got stopped almost every single night and was asked if I wanted to have a ‘good time’. They completely ignored the beggar magnet. In fact, and I forgot to mention this earlier, he even got stopped by a Somali lady who asked him to give her the equivalent of a few British pence! He did. He also never let down any of the other beggars. There was an incident when this ten-year-old kid jumped at us out of nowhere and hung on tightly to my friend’s waist. He kept saying: ‘for the love of god, give me some money’! Having experienced this scene several times with my friend I laughingly offered him some money (laughing at my friend’s predicament and not the child’s). The child refused and insisted that he receives his money from my friend. I was puzzled and wondered at the truthfulness of the saying that beggars can’t be choosers. But my stoic of a friend explained it by saying that as a capitalist Brit the child could see right through me, whereas he as a socialist Syrian resident was glowing with the spirit of sharing and caring. Heh.

Hi Serenity, The holiday was great. Syria is a very beautiful country and most of the people are extremely hospitable. Upon arrival I took a taxi from the airport and instructed him to take me to the Somali part of Damascus (where a couple of my friends live). On the way there, we had the usual conversation about the weather, traffic and Syrian maids! He was offering to rent me a flat, complete with my very own maid. He promised that for the equivalent of twenty pounds per night the maid will cook for me, wash for me, clean for me and satisfy my every need. I can’t really deny that I was tempted but unfortunately, I had already phoned my friends and told them that I was on my way. I had no idea what arrangements they made for my accommodation, but they did insist that I don’t go to any hotels before meeting them first. I told all of this to the taxi driver and sheepishly declined his offer. He was not done though. He carried on trying to convince me of the benefits of having a flat of my own with a cooperative and helpful maid! The more I declined the more he want on describing this maid of his. She was a hard worker with a fit physique and lovely inviting eyes (apparently). She was going to satisfy my EVERY need (cook, clean and wash). When I carried on declining he sighed loudly and abruptly asked me: ‘do you like big breasts?’. I didn’t answer his question of course but was suddenly more than interested in hearing about this amazing maid. We got to my friend’s house and the taxi driver insisted on giving me his phone number just in case I got bored and needed a healthy maid to wash my underwear! I must have lived a sheltered life to be honest. Because when I finally got to see my friends and told them about this taxi driver come state agent, they all laughed and told me that he was nothing but a pimp! Regrets? I suppose you can say that I’ve had a few. The boys fixed me up with a place to stay in (free of charge of course). They took me around the amazing city of Damascus and showed me all the great and historic sites. One great place in particular was the Umayyad mosque. I really regret not taking a camera with me while I was there. I also couldn’t buy a camera in that place, because for some unknown reason, Syrians don’t seem very fond of electronic equipment. I have a confession to make. I went to a Somali party in Syria! Don’t panic just yet, I didn’t strut my stuff or dig out my dancing boots. However, I did see one of the most comical (and sad) sites you would ever see in a Somali party. I saw girls wearing the veil doing the infamous niiko dance! I DID! Nobody managed to explain that crazy phenomenon to me. Some guys thought that these girls were merely shy and didn’t want to be known! I was planning to write a very long piece about Syria and my impressions of that country but it’s been a while since I really typed any long pieces and my fingers are starting to ache. I may do it sometime in the future. For now, this will have to do.

^^ Can't blame the guy though. It sounds like a typical Somali (African) party. Still, it's a shame he didn't bother commenting on the actual reason for this party.

She's very pretty because she ticks all the modern requirements for beauty. On top of that, she's slim, tall and has very strong features. Still, even if some think her ugly they can't deny that she has a memorable face. ps Reminds me of a certain flower I know, only shorter

I’m sure that most of those that were banned will soon return. After all, many worse Nomads were banned in the past only to quietly slither back in and resume their old agendas with a better and subtler attitude. AUB will surely be back sooner or later (if he’s not already, as MMA claims). The rest of those that were banned are really nothing but small, dare I say it: potato! Without meaning to offend, hardly any of them set the site alight with their wit, ideas or even their simple musings. Xalane was probably the only one close to ‘setting things alight’ I suppose. But if he were a ‘military’ man as some in here are trying to convince us then that really is more reason for his ban. Modern military men are eternal bores that neither understand politics or subtlety. Lets hope he polishes up his act and returns as a military analyst (if he can’t get over his adolescent love of guns and cowboys) at least. The only reason I can remember AUB and not them is because of our constant arguments in the early days and all the noise and racket he made whenever he appeared in any thread on any section of this site. The man was certainly an oaf but he had amazing flashes of wit and genius. Someone with such ability could not be unwittingly foolish, it had to have been done on purpose. He enjoyed crossing the line and breaking the rules. He loved to portray himself as someone that lived by the sword, and now, he died by the sword (as it were). A fitting end really. Still, when he eventually returns I have a feeling that we might be exposed to a new side of AUB. Something tells me that he’ll sneak back under the guise of an uber liberal feminist! Anyway, the main reason for the bans is that people have started to ignore the rules of this site. There is an old and tired saying about rules being there to be broken. I tend to agree with that saying and would admit that I would not hesitate in breaking a rule or two if they got in the way of my argument. However, it’s all about the way you do it and not about the fact that you did it. Take Duke for example: he constantly posts inflammatory articles and makes strong clannish hints and putdowns! But where he differs from most of the kids in here is in the way he delivers his barbs and putdowns. He does not cross the line, he pushes it back. The same could be said of SW, Oodeweyn and Paragon. Don’t feel constrained, kids. Carry on arguing, putting each other down and getting under everyone’s skin. Just don’t let that get in the way of your ideas (if you happen to have any). ps Silly title for this thread. It's more like groundhog day than a new day, duqa

A great move on the part of the admin. Not AUB personally but the acutal idea of banning was way overdue. Lets hope you kids all calm down now and work on your presentation. AUB will be missed. Still, he always wanted to die for the cause ps Are Sheh, Cara and Val wearing black now?

I had to take a break from my holiday to warn the xabash invaders that if they tried to invade my toolo our brave boys will send them back to where they come from. In fact, we warn all sides to watch out and never dare to say a bad word about our brave jilib. For we are strong and brave and we hate you all. ok. Back to lounge on the lap of my Syrian maid. Laterz.