WOMEN! Double-nut Freak! (this is fun)

I'm always amazed at 'consultant' salaries in places like Darfur and the Congo. An old classmate (white guy) came back from the Congo and bragged about his fees, close to $130/hour in a region with as low a living expense as you can imagine. Outrageous. Now we know where some of the funding goes. Originally posted by ThePoint: They are not helping any 'development' except that of their pocketbooks and resumes. [/QB]

That is a question that needs not an answer! More like has not an answer. Naden, you need to stop addressing this to me as if it were personal Who said it was personal? I don't know you from Faraax. Follow through with the previous lame response or shut up.

Dumarku iyagaa is dhigay maanta meeshay yaalaan. And where exactly is that? .. If you want honour and respect - you've gotta earnthem! After all, nowadays it seems like they are only here to be used as mere commodities and/or to fulfil men's lustful desires! Those are the only two uses you see for them?. You need to stop going up and down whatever passes for a red district in your town . This generic talk of honour and respect is nauseating. Why don't you come out and say what is it you'd like women to do to earn that honour and respect? Unless you want them to liberate themselves of skirts and make-up like some others.

The ones who are not Virgins whether a man or a woman are not true muslim characters I can bet on my beat-up Taurus and my cat's tattered old coat that you can have a true muslim character AND be virginity-challenged. Just need to find one (out of the 1.3 billion) who fits both categories. Hint: Otherwise, you will find a plethora of the virginal. The come in the short variety and some people call them 'children' .

I think so, unfortunately. It's difficult to see it that way especially when people who work/volunteer for them usually have genuine interests in alleviating suffering. Charities make a seriously profitable industry with so many stakeholders. NGOs get caught up in local politics, their own inefficiency and lack of vision, and a general lack of understanding of local cultures and habits. They cannot, do not care to or even know how to replace what should be good, transparent governace, economic progress and social advancement from within. Just look at Darfur. They scream about genocide and so on yet the Sudanese government continues to be armed to the teeth by Western governments (the same ones on the Security council). Why is an arms ban never an option? Who is helping whom? What is exactly being done?

An NGO's primary mandate is to continue existing and to pay staff. This applies to non-profits in the Western world too. I have worked for 3 in the past 10 years and no less than 85-90% of money solicited went into salaries and capital expenses (space, supplies and so on). Given that funding is highly unstable, an NGO is always on survial mode to continue existing.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ICRC in Somalia UNICEF does some operation is Southern/Central Somalia but I couldn't see any specific development work detailed in education and so on. UNICEF in Somalia Both organizations claim to work with local NGOs and community centers but they are not named and their roles are unclear. Originally posted by Castro: Edit: it seems Somaliland has many organizations working in education, health and other necessities. Does anyone know of similar organizations in southern and central Somalia? I'm wondering about coverage (and overlap), so to speak. [/QB]

Thanks, Castro. Originally posted by Castro: [QB] They're supported in part by SOAP (The Somaliland Orphanage Assistance Program).

Does anyone know what agency(ies) supports this orphanage?

Did you smuggle those ***** looking brothers in Europe as Somalis? Most of them look West African to me. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Pray tell, what the hell is a ***** look? Did you mean Nigerian/Niger Delta? Somalis are a pretty diverse bunch and some of us actually look like the brothers in the picture. [ March 10, 2006, 14:52: Message edited by: Kooleey ]

Good man. Most men don't need it but it seems investment in the next generation is not always self-driven and societies apply a little pressure. Originally posted by Castro: ^ I've not be "enticed" into supporting my kids. I'm doing it out of my own free will .

It's not just in public transport. If staring was an olympic event, older Somalis would sweep through every time. I've never seen so many people able to hold a stare without blinking. Makes me frantically search for boogers or xafajo on my face or see if my blouse buttons exploded or something. Really, whatever happened to lowering your gaze? :mad: Originally posted by Laba_Xiniinyood: Why is it though, that whenever you spot a Somali in the Underground, they stare at you like inaad deyn ka qaadatay? [/QB]

Originally posted by ThePoint: That said - if it is proved she engaged in willful deception of some sort - then the support should be less than the normal. [/QB] I think child support laws don't discriminate between the circumstances of conception (not 100% sure) so the amount will be probably be preset. At that point you have to step up regardless of your wants or desires to not be a parent. I agree that a parent should step up no matter what. However, outside of the institution of marriage, there could be ugly accusations of 'she-said-she-was-on-the-pill and he-said-he-had-a-vasectomy'. Societies have made the support of children attractive to men through a myriad of ways: carrying his name, belonging to his tribe, inheriting his wealth and so on. In the absence of these enticements/pressures, the law is probably the only recourse. I do understand how he can see it as deceptive if she has indeed lied about the ability to get pregnant.

Naxariis is mercy and should be extended to all people, especially people of the book (Christians and Jews). Only God gives mercy but I always strive to be generous in spirit towards all his creation. Originally posted by makalajabti: I don't think we should say "allahu naxaristoo" for dead christians, no? The dude is a white man, his grandpa was a somali so his mother is mixed race and she is called Barbara Yusuf-Porter, they don't sound like the perfect muslim family.

Not at all. I'm confused now but damn, I'm falling off my chair laughing. I was thinking of sexual freedom=deviance within a marriage and not even considering adultery. My mind needs some chlorox and some Tide. Originally posted by Castro: quote:Originally posted by naden: Not at all. I mistakenly thought you meant 'sexual freedom within a marriage was haram'. That is what I meant. You were mocking me. :mad:

Not at all. I mistakenly thought you meant 'sexual freedom within a marriage was haram'. Thought I would have a chance to throw a joke or two about sex in a marriage. Wasn't even thinking about adultery. Originally posted by Castro: ^ Doth thou mocketh me woman? :rolleyes:

My bad, now I get it. My brain a little fuzzy today . Originally posted by Castro: ^ Glad I could amuse you Naden. But fornication and adultry (the so called freedoms) is what I'm talking about.

if outside of marriage and more so within a marriage Originally posted by Castro: And abortion is also haraam if it's done for any purpose other than rape (or incest) and the health of the mother. "Hard" earned rights they are, but they're not right to begin with. [/QB] No, abortion is not allowed for cases of rape -a swift gun-barrel at the neck wedding maybe. Incest is a little iffy. I've read of cases where the child-sibling foetus is considered to be an offspring of some married fertile family member. :rolleyes: Yes, another tangent .

If it is true and they had an understanding (based on information from her) that their sexual relationship could not result in a pregnancy, then she should be solely responsible for the support of the child. This 'the child-is-innocent-argument' is a little manipulative. This case is different than scenarios where a contraceptive fails in any committed relationship. To me, it's akin to a woman claiming she is on the pill when not or a man lying about a prior vasectomy to break an agreement. An agreement on a relationship that is not built for shared parenthood. Women have to resist these manipulation tactics or else they lose the hard-earned reproductive rights like abortion and contraception. Just like she could end a pregnancy for whatever reason, he should not be forced to become a father against his will. We also have to be weary of using the argument that any sexual contact is at risk of leading to a pregnancy to force a man to pay child support. The same argument is used to deny women sexual freedom and abortion rights as they know they could get pregnant every time they have sex. If that is the case, a man should forced to deposit about $100,000.00 in an account for every sexual contact to support a potential kid for 18 years. We all know that not every woman in a sexual relationship wants to become a mother, why can't the same consideration be extended to a man?

I think this is for show and tell, to appease the largely uninformed populace. The true intention of the invasion was to secure the oil fields for a number of years and replace the army bases that were dispered in Saudi Arabia and smaller gulf countries. Both goals were achieved. The Iraqis killing each other is simply an annoyance and they wish they could make the news media reporting on them go away. Cheney's lash out at the media recently was laughable this week: Cheney-Media Originally posted by Sharmarkee: Salam, The Neocons admit defeat now......We Were Wrong! Isn’t it Richard Perel and likes are real aarsse, they must be in court of law for war crimes.

A part of me wants to agree with some of these men (not all). Reproductive rights like contraception and abortion were earned to give women choices on when to start families, how many and with whom. It makes sense that the same rights be extended to men. I think some women want to have their cake and eat it too, especially in the case of the man at the center of the suit. In the absence of an overall societal pressure on men to invest in their progeny outside the institution of marriage, how could they be forced to provide for them? Now with abortion rights being eroded slowly, time to grab those men and siphon off their paychecks. They, too, can't have it both ways.

Are there any organizations in the west that can be our chosen charity? A group with a proven track record of actual work on the ground. And one that is not associated with any western NGO. If there's one, we should adopt it and become fund raisers for it here on sol. I've read a little about Heifer International . Unfortunately, it is a western NGO but I like the fact that a long term involvement with 'consultants' is not necessary so much of the money goes directly to people. Also, I think it maybe worth looking into as it maybe a lifesaver for people not getting a remittance from family in the Western world. If it doesn't exist, it's high time one was created. I think we shoud consider both, supporting a charity and opening our own. With some research and study, perhaps we can put together a plan to begin one (or both) of these: 1) A cooperative funded by the donations of SOL members. People apply with a short business plan, and they are paired with a business-minded individual to provide mentorship. Ideally the mentor will be based in Somalia and a third partner will be an SOL member to keep an eye on things. Loans to begin small (real small) businesses would follow Muslim interest laws and with the loan come business advice, help in getting raw materials, exploring markets, training people, etc..) 2)A scholarship fund to send 10-15 students to African/Arab countries to train in applied fields in everything including construction, plumbing, electrical work, sewing, etc. There are hundreds of small "community organizations" all over the US and Canada but do any of them work within Somalia and are based in the west? As someone who's worked with one type of Somali 'community organization' or another in Canada, I would steer clear for now as they have perilous funding stability and most incoming dollars go into administration/salary costs.

For a reasonable fee, sista-friend, I will answer all your questions . The business is not what it used to be. Originally posted by Jimca Lee: Naden and Mk: Do you guys just watch mise, does the "art" imitate life? A simple yes or no weeye.

Castro, I'm probably as ignorant as you are about the logistics of this but thoroughly believe that small businesses are the key to building some economic capacity. For those of us out here who will starve if we leave our jobs, there is no way around partnerships with people back home. A collaboration in every sense of the word. In the mean time, maybe we can explore: 1) This website: Small Business Portal . It has some information on small businesses and cooperatives that are running in parts of Africa. I have yet to read it in depth but it may interesting. 2) For the building of the infrastructure of small businesses, an organization like Habitat for Humanity (not sure if they have international operations) may be the key. People are given a hand in building their structures and are expected to put in an X number of hours. So many Somalis are talented in building homes in their towns and cities but a helping hand is always a bonus. Just some ideas. What I am weary of is the explosion of NGOs that descend upon towns and have these 'local' offices with a few employees and nothing real to offer the masses. A friend just returned from Somalia and commented on the nearly 70 (yes 70) NGOs of every shape and makeup settled in a town, each with nothing more than a one-room office and a couple of employees. :rolleyes: Originally posted by Castro: ^ I got time and (some) money. What I don't have is vision and planning. But I would be more than glad to contribute in any way I can. Brain storming is in order but also a little more. Things like who is going to be on the ground in Somalia. If we're all out here, then whatever we do must be channeled through the bloody NGO's. I'm not going to Somalia and I don't want the person we have out there take the money and invest it in that mall in Galkacyo........Does anyone have or can create a charitable org. in their town or find ones that already exist? How do they get help to those who need it? Do they rent containers and put them on ships? My ignorance is vast in this area. I'm sure someone here knows.