^^^You summed it up quite nicely. Now how is the planning going for the "reconciliaton" conference to be held in Hargaysa? Indeed long live Somaliwayn..

^^^Wont bother you with it, save you the trouble of visiting it.

World No. 2 economy 'still developing', says China By Susan Stumme (AFP) – 7 hours ago BEIJING — China on Tuesday hailed the country's economic might after it overtook world number two Japan in the second quarter but said it still had tens of millions of people living in poverty. Thirty years after opening its doors to the world, China has claimed the titles of world's biggest exporter, auto market and steelmaker in recent years. Many expect China will this year become the world's number two economy, just behind the United States -- taking the title Japan has held for 40 years and underscoring its emergence as an economic force. While China has for years stormed ahead with double-digit expansion in gross domestic product, Japan's growth rates have been comparatively low. On Monday, Japanese data showed that while Tokyo stayed ahead of its Asian rival in the first half, its second-quarter GDP was smaller than China's. But a commerce ministry official pointed out that in per capita terms, China lags far behind its rivals, and has a long way to go to becoming a world-class power. "We should not only care about GDP data but also more importantly should pay attention to the per capita figures," commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian told reporters at a regular briefing. He said China's per capita GDP was 3,800 dollars, around 105th in the world, and added that 150 million of the country's 1.3 billion people live below the poverty line, according to UN standards. Japan's per capita GDP is more than 10 times that of China. "The quality of China's economic growth still needs to be improved, no matter whether it is in terms of people's quality of life or in terms of science, technology and environmental protection," the spokesman said. "We still have an enormous gap to make up." The country's newspapers insisted that China, while contributing to global growth and helping to drive the world's recovery from the financial crisis, was still transforming itself into a world-class economic power. "China's economic strength is also still at the level of a developing nation. So the world's second-largest economy is not the equivalent of the second-largest economic power," the People's Daily said in a commentary. In just three decades, China has leapfrogged Britain, France and Germany on its economic ascent and has won developing countries a bigger say in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. However, the official China Daily said in an editorial: "The Chinese economy still has a lot more room to grow and can contribute even more to the global recovery. "But for those who expect China to assume greater international responsibilities just because of the size of its economy, they should take a hard look at the enormous development challenges that the country still faces." A columnist for the People's Daily, Li Hong, offered an optimistic outlook, claiming China could overtake the United States in 15-25 years. "Our ultimate goal is, naturally, to reach the pinnacle by surpassing the United States and, once again, becoming the largest economy," Li wrote in the paper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist party.

Originally posted by N.O.R.F: ^Propped up by slave like conditions for it's factory works who earn a pittance and work in hazardous conditions. You dont know much about history, waryaa go read a Peoples History of United States, and see how the "greatest nation" on Earth was built. China is developing, but no one can doubt it is the future.. No nation in human history has brought so many people out of dire poverty in such little time. Its the new super power, and its growth will help Africa.

Rwanda harnesses volcanic gases from depths of Lake KivuProject could power Rwanda for decades, while reducing risk of disaster for 2 million people living alongside 'exploding lake' The Kibuye Power plant on Lake Kivu in Rwanda is extracting methane trapped in the water to produce electricity – the first time this is being done anywhere in the world. Photograph: Xan Rice for the Guardian It's dusk on Lake Kivu and the fishermen sing while paddling out in their catamarans, three canoes secured together with long wooden poles. As the twin volcanoes on the far shore disappear into the darkness the men spark kerosene lamps to attract the sambaza sardines into their nets. Across the vast lake their lanterns offer the only tiny sequins of light. At least that is how it used to be. Now, near the northern shore, the bright fluorescent bulbs illuminating a tall barge can be seen from miles away. It is the start of a project that could light up the whole of Rwanda for decades, while also reducing the risk of disaster for the two million people living alongside this rare "exploding lake". In a world first, the barge is extracting gases that are trapped deep in Lake Kivu's waters like the fizz in a champagne bottle. Methane, the main constituent of natural gas used for household cooking and heating, is then separated out and piped back to the rugged shore where it fires three large generators. The state-owned Kibuye Power plant is already producing 3.6MW of electricity, more than 4% of the country's entire supply. But the success of the pilot project, and the huge unmet demand for power in Rwanda — only one in 14 homes have access to electricity — has encouraged local and foreign investors to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to new methane plants along the lakeshore. Within two years, the government hopes to be getting a third of its power from Lake Kivu, and eventually aims to produce so much energy from methane to be able to export it to neighbouring countries. "Our grandfathers knew there was gas in this lake but now have we proved that it can be exploited," said Alexis Kabuto, the Rwandan engineer who runs the $20m Kibuye project. "It's a cheap, clean resource that could last us 100 years." Historically, Lake Kivu's gas has been a killer. Deaths attributed to invisible pockets of carbon dioxide rising from vents along the shoreline, known as mazukus, or "evil winds", are frequently reported, especially on the Congo side. But it is the gas dissolved in the water that may present a far greater threat. Some scientists say that the ever-expanding volumes of carbon dioxide and methane in Lake Kivu, coupled with the nearby volcanic activity, make a limnic eruption (also referred to as a lake overturn, in which CO2 suddenly erupts from the lake) highly likely at some stage in the future unless degassing occurs. This has now begun with the extraction of some of the 60bn cubic metres of methane in the water. The world's only two other known "exploding lakes", Monoun and Nyos, both in Cameroon, overturned in the 1980s. The clouds of carbon dioxide that burst through from the deep water left about 1,800 people dead from asphyxiation. But Lake Kivu is nearly 2,000 times larger than Lake Nyos, and is in a far more densely populated area. Cindy Ebinger, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Rochester in the US, who co-authored a study earlier this year that described Kivu as possibly "one of the most dangerous lakes in the world", said: "You don't even want to think about the scale of the devastation that could occur." The lake's potential to both enhance and destroy lives stems from its geography. Nestled on the border between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, it sits at the highest point of the western arm of the Great Rift Valley. On the Congolese side, Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamulagira have erupted in recent years, the former sending scalding tongues of lava into the lake in 2002. The seismic activity around the lake is responsible for the steady injection of volcanic gas into the water, where it settles in a dense saline layer more than 260 metres beneath the surface. To harvest the methane, heavy water is sucked up through a pipe to the barge, where the liquid and gases are separated. The gas then enters a "scrubber" that separates the methane and carbon dioxide. Ebinger said reducing the overall concentration of gas in the water was a positive move, but warned that more studies were urgently needed to assess the potential environmental impact, especially relating to the unused water and carbon dioxide pumped back into Lake Kivu from the barges. "With so many projects, if you don't understand everything, you can solve one problem and create three more," she said. Regardless, Rwanda is proceeding at great speed. Kibuye Power aims to increase its output to 50MW within a few years. A private Rwandan firm is testing the technology on its own barge nearby and has a license to produce a similar amount. And a US company, Contour Global, last year signed a $325m deal with Rwanda to produce 100MW of power from methane. Talks are also under way with Congo, which has rights to half the natural gas in the lake, about building a joint 200MW plant.

€^^ you are still pretending even in the holly month?

-^^^lol the post touched the nerve of an Al Shabaab supporter. Adeer Puntland is the grave yard for fake Jihadi's. The fact that they can't gain an inch in thr blessed state which makes Hoover 40% of Somalia, while they pillage your villages in Hiiraan , killing old men and using the youth as canon fodder. We are not easily fooled.

^^^The Chinese miracle is an example to the developing world.

China's economy passes Japan's as world's second-largest 16 Aug 16, 2010 - 9:59:41 AM The milestone comes as Japan has been stunted by weak consumer spending and lower corporate investment. It is a highly anticipated milestone for China, a developing country that began market reforms in 1978, gradually shedding state control and laying the foundation for a manufacturing and export powerhouse. China's economy surpassed Japan's as the world's second-largest – a highly anticipated milestone rich in symbolism for a developing country that began market reforms only three decades ago. The news came Monday when Japan's government said its economic output in the second quarter slowed to $1.28 trillion, which is short of the $1.33 trillion China reported over the same period. Though China's economy bested Japan's output before in the fourth quarter of last year, economists say China is poised to be ahead for good as Japan's economy struggles to recovery from the financial crisis. Japan has been stunted by weak consumer spending and lower corporate investment. Though China's economy has slowed in recent months from its most torrid expansion, many economists expect it to maintain high growth rates as the country continues to urbanize. "China's population is 10 times the size of Japan's and China's growth was more than 10% last year," said Masamichi Adachi, JP Morgan's senior economist in Tokyo. "Japan's economy has been sluggish. So it was inevitable that China would overtake Japan. Still, the achievement was hard to fathom when the Chinese government introduced economic reforms in 1978, gradually shedding state control and laying the foundation for a manufacturing and export powerhouse. Today, China's demand for energy and raw materials helps dictate global supply and demand. Coupled with its mass holdings of foreign reserves and debt, Beijing's international clout — whether it admits it or not — has risen to new heights. It has also irked trading partners by keeping its currency cheap to boost its trade sector. China's economic ascendance has been fueled largely by the sheer size of the nation. Its population of 1.3 billion people has helped build it into the world's No. 1 automobile market and the largest exporter. Yet the paradox remains that many Chinese are still poor compared to the economies it has so quickly overtaken. China's per capita gross domestic product is still more than 10 times smaller than Japan's and 12.5 times smaller than the United States', whose economy China is predicted to surpass in a decade or so to reach No. 1. In the coming years, China faces the challenge of having to reform its economy toward greater domestic consumption over foreign demand. The nation also confronts the ever-present threat of environmental catastrophe that could derail its development. Some economists worry China's new ranking will shift attention away from the delicate work ahead. "It is high time for China to keep its head cool and shift its focus from the pursuit of mere GDP figures to the quality of its growth pattern," said Liu Baocheng, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. In the near term, policymakers are searching for new growth drivers after allowing a record amount of bank lending in 2009. The result of that has been massive infrastructure investment and a sizzling real estate market that the government has been forced to cool over fears of rising debt and social discontent. "I think China is doing a lot to catch up to advanced countries but you have to recognize that the Chinese government doesn't want radical change in terms of its currency and trade," Adachi said. "They still wanted to be treated like a developing economy. One day they will have to change." david.pierson@latimes.com Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

Marxuumka ayaa hadda ahaa guddoomiyaha golaha samodoonka Soomaaliyeed, isagoo ifka kaga tagay laba xaas iyo 8-caruur ah oo isugu jira wiilal iyo gabadho, kuwaasoo aan weli qaangaarin, wuxuuna ku dhashay Magaalada Matabaan ee Gobolka Hiiraan. Inkastoo Ururka Al-shabaab lagu eedeeyay dilkiisa, haddana ka jirto wax hadal ah oo kasoo baxay kooxdan, iyadoo sidoo kalena saraakiisha Xisbul Islam oo ka taliya deegaanka ay ka gaabsadeen inay ka hadlaan dilka sarkaalkan.

Sarkaal lagu dilay duleedka Muqdisho 16 Aug 16, 2010 - 9:52:13 AM Sarkaal si weyn uga soo horjeeday Xisbul Islam iyo Al-shabaab ayaa xalay lagu dilay deegaanka Ceelasha biyaha ee duleedka Muqdisho, halkaasoo ay ku sugan yihiin dadkii Muqdisho uga cararay dagaalada. Marxuumka la dilay oo lagu magacaabi jiray Sh. Max'ed Tahliil Warsame ayaa waxaa toogtay sadex dhalinyaro ah oo ku hubeysan bastoolado, sid ay goobjoogayaal u sheegeen Garowe Online, kuwaasoo sheegay in dhowr jeer laga toogtay madaxa. "Kooxaha dilka geystay way baxsadeen, waxaana ay sadex xabadood uga dhufteen madaxa, maydkuna muddo ayuu yaalay halkii lagu dilay" ayuu yiri goobjooge ay cabsi weyn ka muuqato oo la hadlay GO. Goobjoogahan ayaa sheegay in kooxaha dilka geystay aysan garanayn, ayna ka baxsadeen goobta markii ay toogteen marxuumka, oo lagu aasay qubuuro ku dhow deegaanka lagu dilay. Sh. Max'ed Tahliil ayaa ka mid ahaa saraakiishii hore ee Maxkamadihii Islaamka, kuwasoo sanadkii 2006 kala wareegay awoodii hogaamiyo kooxeedyo tobaneeyo sano ay u kala qoqobnayd Muqdisho. "Marxuumk wuxuu jiray 37-sano, waxaana uu soo noqday la taliyaha gudoomiyihii Golaha Shuurada Maxkamadaha haatanna ah Hoggaamiyaha Xisbul Islaam Sheekh Xasan Daahir Aweys, sidoo kale wuxuu xubin kasoo noqday guddigii caafimaadka Maxkamadaha" ayuu yiri Axmed Nuur Ow-Diini oo ay si weyn isugu dhawaayeen Marxuumka. Dilkan ayaa waxaa cambaareyn u jeediyay Hay'adda Culummada Soomaaliyeed, Ururka Ahlusunna Waljamaaca iyo Golaha Dhaqanka Muqdisho, waxayna ku tilmaameen fal cadownimo oo aad looga xumaado. Marxuumka ayaa hadda ahaa guddoomiyaha golaha samodoonka Soomaaliyeed, isagoo ifka kaga tagay laba xaas iyo 8-caruur ah oo isugu jira wiilal iyo gabadho, kuwaasoo aan weli qaangaarin, wuxuuna ku dhashay Magaalada Matabaan ee Gobolka Hiiraan. Inkastoo Ururka Al-shabaab lagu eedeeyay dilkiisa, haddana ka jirto wax hadal ah oo kasoo baxay kooxdan, iyadoo sidoo kalena saraakiisha Xisbul Islam oo ka taliya deegaanka ay ka gaabsadeen inay ka hadlaan dilka sarkaalkan. GAROWE ONLINE

Originally posted by Gallad: The injustice of You supported Siyad Barre who bombed Hargaysa.. Dr Roadblock Taaano who robbed civilians in Kismayu. Barre Huuraale, who killed and maimed thousands in Kismayu. You talk about justice? Laughable. This incident will be addressed, the journalist was unfairly treated..

^^^Its time to call these clowns for what they are...

Al Shabaab hate Islam Every Al Shabaab member, supporter or sympathizer in Puntland must be shot and killed. There is no reform available for this group of terrorists. This is a cancer that is attempting to spread to every corner of Somalia. Puntland's strategic location – across from Yemen via the Gulf of Aden – makes it ideal for terrorist groups to want to hide, knowing fully that the world will not sit and watch and that the day is coming soon when Al Shabaab members will be hunted down in every village of Somalia. In the Noble Qu'ran, Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) says: "With regard to a Believer, they respect not the ties, either of kinship or of covenant! It is they who are the transgressors." [9:10, Noble Qur'an] In April 2010, the largest Islamic conference held inside Somalia took place in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. Attended by more than 50 Somali Islamic learned scholars from all regions, such as Puntland, Somaliland and Mogadishu, the conference's peaceful and successful conclusion was a blow to Al Shabaab: the war in Somalia is not jihad, the scholars concluded. Immediately, Al Shabaab condemned the Islamic conference and threatened the participants. This is because Al Shabaab terrorists hate Islam and only want to use our Holy Religion for personal and political gain in order to keep their suffocating Grand Lie alive – they wish to continue spilling Muslim blood, misleading Muslim youth to fight endless wars, just because they want to maintain power, money and prestige atop the corpses of innocent civilians. Is there any part of Somalia under Al Shabaab control that such truly Islamic conference can take place? The answer is a resounding no. Al Shabaab's foreign leadership is not in Somalia to protect Islam. Nor are they able to get into a theological debate with Somali Muslims or other Muslims' learned scholars about religious topics. They are cowards who fled their own countries, who deceive and cheat, kill innocents and sip tea with their wives. They are killers for whom the act of killing has no meaning. If Al Shabaab's leaders had the keys to Heaven, they would have been the first to die. But they continue to run and to hide from American Tomahawks that are surely coming, cowering at the prospect of a fate similar to cowardly terrorist Salah Nabhan who was hunted down and killed like a dog by American commandos after hiding for many years in southern Somalia. Al Shabaab must pay for its crimes. Those Somalis – both inside the country and in the Diaspora – who support Al Shabaab for personal financial gain or for clan reasons must revisit this terrorist group's brief history in Somalia to understand that they value no life except their own or respect no one except their own personal desires for blood, power, money, and prestige. Remember those pour souls in Mogadishu – civilians, politicians, journalists alike – who supported Al Shabaab for personal financial gain or clan reasons who are today buried in shame, for their own deception killed them. Those in Puntland, who think even for a second that the Galgala militants are fighting a "clan war" or "protecting natural resources" have already fallen into Al Shabaab's trap of deception. Rest assured that there is only one prophetic truth: Puntland will win this war. Just don't stand on the wrong side of history.

Somalia: Puntland stands united to prevent spread of Al Shabaab terror [Editorial] 15 Aug 15, 2010 - 11:58:55 AM GAROWE ONLINE EDITORIAL | This is Part II of a two-part Editorial to highlight the dangers and the deceptions of Al Shabaab terrorist group. Read Part I: The Al Shabaab threat and the West's mistaken policies [Editorial] Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups hate any and all alternate version of current events – or even history itself. Al Shabaab hates the fact that fellow Somalis are witnesses that the Somali people can self-govern, become productive and move forward in the direction towards representative governance with security and justice mechanisms to ensure continued growth in terms of social development, economic progress and political stability. Indeed, Islamic law is and has always been the basis of all law across Somalia – and Puntland is no exception. Following Puntland's historic 2009 election, Al Shabaab terrorists at first became disappointed that the Puntland clans did not massacre each other – a common feat in south-central Somalia, where the terrorists exploit the delicate balance among the clans, always favoring the clans that feel "neglected" or "repressed" in order for their classic divide-and-rule tactic to succeed. Secondly, Al Shabaab's disappointment transformed into anger as Puntland's elected leadership quickly and efficiently reorganized the security forces, reformed public institutions, and stabilized the economy. Indeed, Puntland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole inherited a State in shambles and accomplished remarkable feats within a short period of time. Al Shabaab's evil plan to destabilize Puntland "from within" was quickly falling apart – as the State rose high, Al Shabaab's grandiose plans sunk low. Being the bloodthirsty hounds who wreaked havoc in Mogadishu, Al Shabaab resorted to the only thing they know: bombings and assassinations. The Farole administration in Puntland has endured an unprecedented wave of attacks targeting government officials, soldiers and even notable civilians – all intended to create a sense of confusion and terror among the public that government institutions were failing. But the people of Puntland stand united against the spread of Al Shabaab terrorist cancer cell. On 26 July, Al Shabaab fighters hiding out in Galgala hills, southwest of Puntland's commercial city of Bossaso, attacked a Puntland army base at Karin on the tarmac road towards Bossaso. Puntland troops fought back, killing 13 militants and capturing one of the top commanders. Puntland's government blamed the Galgala militants for the assassinations of Puntland government officials in Bossaso and other towns. Indeed, the undeniable truth had come out finally: the Galgala militants are agents of Al Shabaab. They were doing two types of hiding: 1) they were hiding (physically) in mountains, ahead of a government military offensive; 2) they were hiding their intentions under the clan banner. Al Shabaab's spokesman in Mogadishu went out of his way to claim the Galgala conflict is a "clan conflict" and that Al Shabaab is "not involved in Puntland." What contradictions! This violent group's public utterances have repeatedly condemned Puntland's government and have repeatedly threatened to attack Puntland. Why then, did this group of terrorists go out of their way to distance themselves from the Galgala militants?

Deceptions and mistaken policies One wonders: if Al Shabaab terrorists are fighting for Islamic law, why do they literally hide their faces? Why did they deceive (a Devilish trick) the population of Mogadishu and then punish them to date? Our Islamic religion teaches us that any man or woman struggling in the Cause of Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) has nothing to fear or to hide. But one can easily find the discrepancy between Al Shabaab's public utterances and their actions. Publicly, they speak of righteousness and piety, but their actions (louder than words) point to worldly desires: salaries, wives, gadgets, houses, and vehicles. What is the difference between this group's violent drive for worldly benefits and the pirate gangs? The only difference is the use of language, or more appropriately the use of propaganda intended to mislead and deceive the public. Since Sheikh Sharif's ascendance to the TFG Presidency, Al Shabaab has not only gained momentum, they actually control more territory for a longer period of time than did the six-month rule of the now-defunct Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The West's mistaken approach to deal with this terrorist threat has been to train 2,000 "Somali" soldiers in Uganda to help form the core of the TFG army. We write the name "Somali" in quotations due to the Mogadishu-centric nature of the TFG recruits currently receiving military training in Uganda with European Union instructors. At home, the TFG remains unable to provide salary payments to its troops – forget anything else. Are we surprised then, that a majority of the TFG recruits trained aboard come back to Mogadishu only to join terrorist groups like Al Shabaab? Somalia needs major support to fight Al Shabaab, and secondly, to help reach a lasting political settlement using a federal structure, followed by the injection of funding to create jobs and development projects for all regions. But the military-focused solution, such as the ongoing training mission in Uganda, seek to make short-term gains that financially profit outside countries (i.e. Uganda) while Somali civilians are left to apply for Al Shabaab jobs! Finally, the stable region of Puntland did not receive the training assistance offered to the TFG. Yet, Puntland is fighting its own war against Al Shabaab in a mountainous region. So what are the parallels between Al Shabaab's brief history in Mogadishu and its attempt to chameleon itself into the affairs of Puntland – a peaceful, stable region with an elected government?

Who are Al Shabaab? Aside from the foreign fighters, the backbone of Al Shabaab is a cross-section of Somalis from all clans, regions and dialects, who have all been sucked in by worldly promises such as, a salary, a wife, a mobile phone, and even cars for the "officers." This group led by international terrorists – with the required "Somali face" like Godane and Shongole to play the necessary "house slave" character that instructs fellow Somalis on how to meet the foreign fugitives' standards of law – mislead Somalis and the world alike with public utterances of implementing Islamic law in Muslim Somalia. Take Mogadishu, for example. During the term of Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Abdullahi Yusuf, Mogadishu's dominant ****** clan-family spent all available resources to fight President Yusuf and his Ethiopian allies. At the time, Al Shabaab consisted of a few hundred guerrilla fighters who controlled very little territory and excelled at hit-and-run-to-your-mother's-house attacks. Mogadishu's clan-centric media organizations are primarily responsible for giving unlimited airtime to Al Shabaab terrorists who played into the common fear among Somalis of an "Ethiopian colonization of Somalia." Mogadishu's media organizations, like much of the city's population, simply opposed President Yusuf because he represented the same Somalis they massacred, raped and pillaged in 1991: the ***** clan-family, of former Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre. Ironically, today's TFG President, a ****** clansman and suspected Al Shabaab sympathizer named Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, sits on Gen. Barre's presidential seat that was restored for the first time since President Barre's departure by a fellow ***** clansman: President Yusuf from Puntland. What did the population of Mogadishu, their politicians, and their media houses get in return for supporting terrorist groups like Al Shabaab? Thousands of civilians were killed, politicians were targeted and assassinated, and media personnel like HornAfrik founder Ali Sharmake were gunned down in broad daylight by Al Shabaab assassins. Here, it is noteworthy to cite a comic-yet-painfully-true quote by former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot: "If you see a snake, just kill it – don't appoint a committee on snakes." Indeed, those in Mogadishu who miscalculated the dangers of Al Shabaab – by simply blaming everything on former President Yusuf – erroneously thought that a snake (Al Shabaab) would sit across a negotiation table with them. They held meetings with Al Shabaab, appointed committees to steer the "direction of Somalia" after Ethiopian troops withdrew, and even contemplated grandiose ideas of "taking over Somalia" with the help of the Devil's own pet: Al Shabaab. The Ethiopians have gone home, but the suffering continues in Mogadishu. Unfortunately, in playing a zero-sum game with the Devil's pet, one stands to loose everything. Today, the truth of the matter is that ****** politicians who held the Somali nation-state hostage for nearly two decades by demanding that all other Somali clans "bow down" to centrist rule in Mogadishu are today themselves in the worst of all predicaments and are begging for Ethiopian troops to return.

Somalia: The Al Shabaab threat and West's mistaken policies [Editorial] 15 Aug 15, 2010 - 11:41:32 AM They call themselves "Al Shabaab" – an Arabic term, meaning, "The Youth." Indeed, as the saying goes, the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled is to convince the world that he does not exist. The Al Shabaab terrorist group that feeds on the innocent blood of Somali mothers and children in Mogadishu is an "expert" at hiding its true face – quite literally. These men wrap their faces with cloths and hide behind veils in order to commit all types of atrocities and crimes against humanity, such as: the unprecedented massacre of Somali medical graduates and their families at Shamo Hotel bombing in Mogadishu in Dec. 2009, and more recently, the 2010 World Cup viewers who blown to smithereens in Kampala, Uganda. The facelessness of deception Somalia's youth have suffered 20-years of lawlessness, lack of education and employment opportunities, and have adopted acts of desperation to survive. The examples are many: some flee the country as refugees, at times dying on the high seas as they attempt to be smuggled into Yemen and beyond; others join pirate gangs, hoping to collect quick cash despite a cost-benefit analysis that extremely favors their loss; and most worryingly, some have joined terrorist groups who promise a salary, a wife, and long-sought "prestige" among society in areas under the terrorists' control (south-central Somalia). A group like Al Shabaab is able to exploit these conditions expertly due to a key factor: finances. This group is led by foreign fighters – fugitives from their own native countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle Eastern nations. A steady source of income from Somali ports, airports and roads, combined with "donations" from supporters in foreign countries and governments, including the West, ensure that the Al Shabaab terrorist group continues to recruit, train and use Somali youth for their evil intentions.

China overtakes Japan as world's second-largest economy• Japan's economy grew just 0.4% a year in second quarter • Figures spark concern over cooling demand in Asia • Japan facing ageing population and a strong yen guardian.co.uk, Monday 16 August 2010 09.11 BST Article history Japanese consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of GDP, was flat in the second quarter Photograph: Junji Kurokawa/AP Japan lost its place as the world's second-largest economy to China in the second quarter as receding global growth sapped momentum and stunted a shaky recovery. Gross domestic product grew at an annualised rate of just 0.4%, the Japanese government said today, far below the annualised 4.4% expansion in the first quarter. The news added to evidence that the global recovery is facing strong headwinds. The figures underscore China's emergence as an economic power that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed. It is already the biggest exporter, car buyer and steel producer, and its global influence is growing. China has been a major force behind the world's emergence from recession, delivering much-needed juice to the US, Japan and Europe. Tokyo's latest numbers, however, suggest that Chinese demand alone may not be enough for Japan or other economic giants. "Japan is the canary in the goldmine because it depends very much on demand in Asia and China, and this demand is cooling quite a bit," said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo. "This is a warning sign for all major economies that just focusing on overseas demand won't be sufficient." China has surpassed Japan in quarterly GDP figures before, but this time it is unlikely to relinquish the lead. China's economy will almost certainly be bigger than Japan's at the end of 2010 because of the huge difference in each country's growth rates. China is growing at about 10% a year, while Japan's economy is forecast to grow between 2% and 3% this year. The gap between the size of the two economies at the end of last year was already narrow. Japan's nominal GDP, which is not adjusted for price and seasonal variations, was worth $1.286 trillion (£823bn) in the April-to-June quarter compared with $1.335 trillion for China. The figures are converted into dollars based on an average exchange rate for the quarter. Japan has held the No. 2 spot after the US since 1968, when it overtook West Germany. From the ashes of second world war, the country rose to become a global manufacturing and financial powerhouse. But its so-called "economic miracle" turned into a massive real estate bubble in the 1980s before imploding in 1991. What followed was a decade of stagnant growth and economic malaise from which the country never really recovered. Prime minister Naoto Kan now faces a long list of daunting problems: a rapidly ageing and shrinking population, persistently weak domestic demand, deflation, a strong yen and slowing growth in key export markets. In contrast, China's growth has been spectacular, its voracious appetite fuelling demand for resources, machinery and products from the developing world as well as rich economies such as Japan and Australia. China is Japan's top trading partner. China's rise has produced glaring contradictions. The wealth gap between an elite who profited most from three decades of reform and its poor majority is so extreme that China has dozens of billionaires while average income for the rest of its 1.3 billion people is among the world's lowest. Japan's people still are among the world's richest, with a per capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China's $3,600. America, still by far the largest economy, has a per capita income of $42,240. "We should be concerned about per capita GDP," said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. China overtaking Japan "is just symbolic," he said. "It's nothing more than that." But the symbolism may be exactly the "wake-up call" Japanese leaders need, said Schulz of the Fujitsu Research Institute. "Japan is always strangely inward looking," he said. "And nobody is doing anything about it." Japan's people appear resigned to the power shift. A national poll conducted this year by the Asahi, one of Japan's biggest newspapers, showed a roughly equal split between those that believed Japan's fall to the third-largest economy posed a major problem and those who did not. More than half of the 2,347 respondents said Japan does not need to be a global superpower. The country's annualised growth in the second quarter was also sharply below expectations of 2.3% in a Kyodo news agency survey of analysts. On a quarterly basis, Japan's GDP – or the total value of the nation's goods and services – grew 0.1% from the January-March period, the Cabinet Office said. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of GDP, was flat from the previous quarter, the figures showed. Capital spending by companies rose 0.5%, while public investment fell 3.4%. The outlook for the third quarter is uncertain. Private consumption appears to be solid so far, helped in part by unusually hot weather, said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JP Morgan Securities Japan. But the slowing global economy is weakening exports and production. A stronger yen, which hit a 15-year high against the dollar last week, also poses a major risk for the country's export-driven economy. Yen appreciation reduces the value of repatriated profits for companies such as Toyota and Sony and makes their products more expensive abroad. The currency worries led finance minister Yoshihiko Noda to say last week that he is closely monitoring foreign exchange rates. Masaaki Shirakawa, governor of the Bank of Japan, released a similar statement to try to calm markets.

It's clear from the pics that Puntland has deep control of the area. That the propoganda of some has not worked very well. Gen Abdisamad and IlkaJiir have led the troops well. Well done.

IlkaJiir and Asha are cousins, also it's funny how "thousands" of troops have been deployed against petty farmers. Puntland sure is strong according to this report.

^^^ As usual the man who is full of hate comes here and highlights his ignorance. Adeer trust me this is a minor issue and stop the name dropping, you don't even know what you are talking about as usual.