Barbaartaan Eebbe ayaa u maqan.

U.S. Will Spend $38.6 Million To Refurbish Port in Somalia NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States has signed an agreement with Somalia to spend $38.6 million to refurbish the Indian Ocean port of Kismayu, the state-run Radio Mogadishu said today. The broadcast, monitored in Nairobi, said Somalia would contribute $3.4 million toward the $42 million project. The United States built the original port at Kismayu in 1964, but it was used by the Soviet Navy after a military coup in Somalia in 1969. New York Times (1984)

As long there is no regular and continuous mushaar for those poorly trained, malnourished, undisciplined and jaad-addicted ciidamo, there won't be any national army to speak of. When kan ka yimid Burundi iyo Ugaandha la siiyo bishii more than $1,200, not to mention bonuses. Hadduu kan shisheeyaha ah lagu dilo dagaaladana waxaa reerkiisa la siinaa konton kun oo doolar minimum, hadduu dhaawacmana $20,000 minimum, serious injury or not. Where mashruucaan laga helaa? Of course, from dowladaha Reer Galbeedka, where Mareykanka alone keeps saying they spent and keep spending in Soomaaliya billions of dollars since 2007. Where did it go, where is it going? Go figure. Now compare this to kan Soomaaliga ah. Kan Soomaaliga ah hadduu helo bishii boqol doolar aad u nasiib badanyahay. Mushaar la'aanta waxaa kasii daran daryeel la'aanta. Hal isbitaal xataa malaha. To this day hal isbitaal ciidamada u gaar ah la sameyn la' yahay. Kii dhaawacmo isbitaalka Madiina laga tuuraa, where kuwa ay isla dagaalamaayeen isku arki karaan or their supporters. What kind of a man would be that loyal to this crappy system. As long as they are paying his jaad, that is all u daran. Dowlad iyo nidaam iyo kala dambeyn waxaas dhagaha ayuu ka maqlaa. Indhaheyga ayaa kusoo arkay. Farmaajo tried at least to change this pattern. Tii ku dhacday Eebbaa og. Mashruuca meesha ka socdo ayuu faragishtay, so shisheeyaha didn't like it.

Acuudi bilaahi mina shaydaani rajiim.

Nin-Yaaban;974040 wrote: MMA, oo maxaad la'yaabtay sxbkeey? Yaabanoow, cajalka ma fiirsan miyaa? Haddaa fiirsatay, wax kaa yaabiyo maku arkin miyaa? Sida doorooyinka iyo diiqyada makiinada u rifeyso, oo dhanka kale u tuureyso. Tubooyinka ku suran lo'yaasha la lisaayo ma aragtid miyaa, who will never a pasture. Doonfaaradana perpetually feeding young ones ma aragtid miyaa. Their whole lives revolving around sucked by the young ones, not kuwa ay dhaleen, laying on the ground for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until laga taqsuuso. This is too cruel. Bini'aaden aanan Rabi aaminsaneyn saan ayuu u dhaqmaa. Acuudi bilaahi mar kale leeyahay. Yeynan isoo marin.

...mina shaydaani rajiim. Gaal iyo bilaa diinimadiisa saan inay u dhaqmaan ayee keentaa. Naxariistii dhan meel ayee iska dhigeen in the name of worshipping lacag and making more, more, more of it, endless pursuit.

Qoftaan uur ayee lahayd. There is no way on this ifka would duqdaas Landhan degan u ogalaan karto cunug Muslim ah inuu la dhasho kii boqor ku sheega noqon doono mustaqba dhow. Taas ma dhaceyso.

Danjiraha u dhalatay dalka Burkiinafaaso (Burkina Faso) ee u fadhiso Itoobiya iyo xarunta Midowga Afrika markee waraaqdeeda aqoonsiga dhiibaneysay: Waxaan camal iyo wixii soo giliye jawaab ma istaahilaan, laakiin dad aan waxba ogeyn ayaa aaminaayo waxaan. Odeygaan jiran kursiga ka kici karin. Qabiil caaya intee isleeyihiin ayeeba Soomaalinimadooda aflagaadeynoyaan. Heerkaas la taaganyahay.

Gaal calooshiisa u buuxdo oo gaaladiisa kale quudiyo awalba inuu u ka naxo Soomaali Maxamed oo wada Muslim ah - taas qofkii sugaaye aaba ka waalan. Hay'adaan inay ka dhaqaaqdo Soomaalida aad ugu baahan aad iyo aad ugu naxay. Hay'adda kaliya boqolaal kun oo Soomaali ah ku noolaayeen waaye, meesha kaliya mininum caafimaad iyo daryeel ka heli jireen, not to mention shaqaalaha Soomaaliyeed iyo reerahooda mishaarkooda ku xirnaa. Hay'addaan waa hay'adda kaliya degmooyinka iyo tuulooyinka ka shaqeyn jirtay, waana meesha dadka aadka ugu baahan degnaayeen.

Cambuulo iyo bun;973459 wrote: War yaa Eebbe yaqaano oo wax u sheego dadkaan. Their unsightly buildings waxeeba ugu sii dareen inay dhistaan mishibiyeeriyada, publically owned lands. Dhulka dowladda inuu ka bilowdo laamiga mee moodaan. War dadka intee maraayaan. Mishibiyeeriga waa dhul dowladeed oo dadka maraan. Kii sar cusub dhistayba wuu ootay, dadkiina laamiga ayee marayaan along with baabuurta, very risky. Dhismaha laamiyada saarnaan jiray oo Xamar ku yaali jiray kuligood wey isla simanaan jireen, always a few metres of mishibiyeeri oo dowladda leedahay masoo dhaafi jirin, the way it looks like on the left side of sawirka.

Ninkaan Reer Afgooye ayuu cadaadis weyn ku heyn jiray markee asaga iyo ilma'adeeradiisa xoog ku heysan jireen meeshaas sanadihii hore. At least tolkiisa uu u laabtay. Afgooye waaka quustaa filaa.

Soomaalinimadii dad ayee kasii dhumeysaa, qaarkoodna maba yaqaanaan Soomaalinimo waxee tahay, gaar ahaan kuwa qurbaha ku koray ama ku qaangaaray. Kuwii kalena qabyaaladii ayaa ka badatay oo Soomaalinimadii meel ayee iska dhigeen iyagoo ogeyn Soomaalinimo waxee aasaasi u tahay Soomaali jiritaankeeda. Boggaan waxaa ugu tala galay inaa nala wadaagtiin dhacdo walba oo Soomaalimo ah kusoo martay aad dunida ku aragtay. Aniga waxaanan waligey ilooweynin markaa Mareykanka imaanaaye, anigoo dhalin yar. Sanadkii 1996 ayee ahayd, bishii labaad ee Febraayo. Magaalo la yiraahdo Baltimore ayaa kusoo degnay. Xaafadaa deganeen Soomaalida aad iyo aad ugu yarayd. Anagoo magaaladaan toddobaadyo joogno oo jidka lugeyneyno ayaa gaari xiimaayo fariinka qabtay. Taksi ayuu ahaa gaariga. Dib uu u soo noqday. Muraayadda intuu dajiye uu na fiiriye, anaga waa fiirinay. "Soomaali maa tihiin?" uu na weydiiye wiilkii waday gaariga. Haa markaa ugu jawaabnay baabuurkii uu kasoo booday, asagoo aad u dhoolacaddeynaayo. Si reyn reyn weyn ah uu noo salaamay. Soo kora gaariga uu na yiri anigaa nasii wadaaye. Waa kornay oo xaafadda wax yar u jirnay. Markaa u sheegnay meeshaa deganahay wuuba qoslay maadaama gadaasheena uu deganaa. Asagoo aad u faraxsan, oo xiiseynaayana dad dhulkii ka yimid uu gurigiisa na geeye, 'pizza' ayuu noo dalbay, wareysi iyo meelahaa ka imaanay u sheegnay. Wuxuu noo sheegay inay saaxiibkiis isla deganyihiin, walina aad ugu faraxsanyahay in uu arko Soomaali kale la degan xaafadiisa. Sheeko waxee socotaba wuu nasoo qaaday, gurigeena na keenay. Saacado kadib markaa guriga joognay waaba kanaa irida lasoo garaacaayaa. Waaba wiilkii kale la deganaa uu noo sheegaaye, wiil kale taksiile ah. Asagana aad u faraxsanaa. "Soo baxa!" "Intee?" "Casho..." Waa raacnay, casho nala soo siiye, waliba anagoo biisadii ka dharagsan. Farxadda wajigiisa ka muuqdo waaka yaabee. Waagaas isma weydiinin laakiin gadaal ka ogaan doonaa sababtee saas inoogu soo dhaweeyeen. Waana Soomaalinimada. Waa dareen aad u weyn, qofkii meel Soomaali ku yartahay degan ayaa aad u dareemi karo. Soomaalinimo dhowr mar oo kale ayaa la kulmi doonaa, mar garoonka Dubeey anoo ku jiro sanadkii 2003 gaar ahaan. Taas waa inoo mar kale faahfaahinteeda.

Qabyaalad qurunkeeda dad uu lafaha si xun ugu galay. Eebboow. Turkigii xataa qabiilo Soomaaliyeed laga dhigay. Maamulka Puntland oo ka celiyay Dekedda Boosaaso Markab siday Raashin ay ku deeqday Hay'adda Bisha Cas ee Turkiga Dowladda Puntland ayaa dib u celisey markab sidey raashin ay ku deeqday hay'adda Bisha Cas ee dalka Turkiga. Markabkan ayaa dhowaan soo gaarey dekedda magaalada Boosaaso ee xarunta gobolka Bari. Guddi wasiiro ah oo ay dowladda Puntland arinta markabkan u saartay ayaa go'aamiyey in deeqdan raashinka ah dib loogu celiyo magaalada Muqdisho oo markii horeba laga soo diray. Wasiirrada guddigan xubana ka ah oo kala ah: wasiirka amniga, wasiirka maaliyadda, wasiirka arimaha gudaha iyo dowladaha hoose, wasiirka dekedaha iyo gadiidka badda iyo wasiirka warfaafinta iyo Isgaarsiinta ayaa war-saxaafadeed ay si wada jir ah usoo saareen arintan ku faahfaahiyey. Deeqdan raashinka ah oo u badan Bariis, islamarkaana ku wajahneyd degmooyinka Isku-Shuban, Taleex iyo Gal-dogob ayey wasiirradu ku tilmaameen in ay tahay mid lagu khalkhal gelinayo ammaanka iyo xasiloonida Puntland. Waxay sidoo kale sheegeen in Puntland aan lala soo socodsiin, lagalana tashan go'aanka deeqdan raashinka ah ee ay bixisay hay'adda Bisha Cas ee Turkigu loogu soo diray deegaanada Puntland. “Qaabka sharci-daradda ah ee raashinkaan lagu soo diray iyo baalmarista Dowladda Puntland waa mid xadgudub ku ah Dowladda Puntland iyo shuruucda dalka..." War-saxaafadeedka ayaa sidaas lagu sheegay. Arrintan ayaa kusoo aadeysa xilli dhowaan ay dowladda Puntland shaacisay in ay xiriirka u jartay dowladda Federaalka ah ee Soomaaliya. Puntland ayaa tallaabadaas ay qaaday sabab uga dhigtay xadgudub ay sheegtay in xukuumadda Muqdisho ay ku sameysey dastuurka dalka iyo heshiisyadii ay labada dhinac horay u wada gaareen. Xigasho _____________________ Waa gartooda those masuqmaasuq ku nool hoggaan ku sheega celiye deeqdaan because carruurtooda dibadaha ku nool uma baahno deeqdaan loogu tala galay in loogu farxiyo danyarta ku nool deegaanadaas maadaama maalmaha Ciidda lagu jiro.

Horaa loo dhahay 'geel indhakuul maxaas ka kasaa.' and I believe in geelka loo gafay. Kuwii hore heestaas kuu soo micneeye tana ii micneeya ku dheh.

Seven officers held over looting at JKIA Seven police officers have been arrested for looting when fire broke out at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as the mystery surrounding four passengers awaiting deportation deepened on Friday. The seven instructors, including an inspector of police from the General Service Unit, may be arraigned in court on Monday over the looting on Wednesday morning. The men were supervising the course officers who had been brought in to offer reinforcement but items allegedly stolen from the building that was under fire were found in their possession. Alcohol stolen They include cash and alcohol from some of the destroyed shops. The Inspector of Police, Mr David Kimaiyo, on Friday said he had not been properly briefed but warned that stern action would be taken against any officer found to have been involved. This happened as police focused their investigations on four passengers who were awaiting deportation when the fire broke out but cannot be traced. Of particular concern to the detectives was the whereabouts of an illegal immigrant who had been denied access into the country. The man, of Somali descent, was being held at the immigration’s Prohibited Immigrants Room at the airport when the fire broke out. Mr Joseph Mathinji Muriithi, the senior immigration officer in charge of the night shift, told detectives that when he was alerted of the fire, he went and ordered the transfer of the passenger to the JKIA police station. In his statement, he did not indicate the passenger’s name, only saying he was of Somali origin. Mr Muriithi also said that he never took the prisoner to the police station himself but asked a junior officer to do it. However, when the detectives checked at the station, the man was not there and there were no police records indicating that he had been booked in custody. Investigators yesterday collected some samples at the scene of the fire including burnt items. They are trying to establish the nature of a substance that was seen oozing from the ceiling board shortly before the fire broke out. Mr Muriithi on Thursday told detectives that when he went to the area where the smoke was coming from, he saw a sticky white liquid oozing from the ceiling board of the immigration offices. There was speculation that this substance could be related to the fire outbreak. The staff of Kenya Airways are also to be interrogated after investigators established that there was another fire at their kitchen, which is a few metres from the immigration offices. The footage retrieved from Kenya Airways headquarters showed three women in KQ uniform in the kitchen cooking food just before the fire broke out at the same kitchen. President Kenyatta yesterday seemed to rule out a terrorist attack as the cause of the fire. “We can now confirm that there was no element of a terror incident in this fire. There is no evidence of an explosion or an improvised explosive device. This was a simple fire gone bad,” he said on Friday. The President also warned that anyone found culpable, including for gross negligence, would be dealt with. Daily Nation

Kiinyaati ninkii yaqaano ayaa yaqaano. Read on. Banks looted during Kenya airport fire Officials in Kenya investigating the massive airport fire that gutted the arrival hall at Nairobi's main airport said today that first responders looted electronics, a bank and an ATM during and after the blaze. The officials said first responders stole electronics and money from an ATM. Another official said that police guarding the site overnight attempted to a take a safe from a bank in the burned-out arrivals hall, which also houses several foreign currency exchange shops. All four officials who described the alleged looting are close to the investigation. They insisted on anonymity because they weren't authorized to share the information before the investigation is complete. The fire-fighting response to yesterday's inferno was criticized as slow and inadequate, but the officials could not definitely say the looting was carried out by firefighters. One official said there was now behind-the-scenes finger pointing taking place between the police, fire department and army. Another official said specialised police units had attempted to steal the safe overnight. The criminal investigations policeman for the airport, Joseph Ngisa, said he hasn't received formal complaints of theft and that police are waiting for affected institutions to report what they lost in the fire. All public servants in Kenya, including police, firefighters and soldiers, are poorly paid and frequently accused of corruption. Police officers who guard the entrance to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are well known in Nairobi for demanding bribes from taxi drivers and other vehicles with Kenyan drivers. International flights, meanwhile, resumed Thursday as officials improvised immigration and luggage routines. Kenyan officials, assisted by members of the FBI, investigated the cause of the fire. One of the security officials who spoke to AP said the investigation had ruled out terrorism and was now trying to determine if the fire was intentional or accidental. Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure, said Kenyan officials were receiving assistance from international agencies "because we intend to carry out a full investigation on what happened yesterday." One of the officials who spoke to AP confirmed that members of the FBI were assisting. Kamau said the design of the airport - constructed in the mid-1970s - made it challenging for firefighters to access certain areas with water hoses. Kamau said he was "satisfied" by the response of firefighters from private companies but did not mention the airport firefighters, who responded slowly and whose equipment wasn't fully functioning. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is East Africa's largest aviation hub, and the fire disrupted air travel across the continent as the airport canceled all international flights yesterday. Many inbound flights were diverted to Tanzania and the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. Domestic flights were being operated from the airport's cargo terminal. Firefighters were desperately short of equipment Wednesday. The airport has fire trucks but some were not filled with water and personnel couldn't be found to drive others. At one point while battling the blaze men in government uniforms lined up to pass buckets of water to fight the fire. No serious injuries were reported. President Barack Obama called Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer US support. The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people in total, mostly Kenyans, but also a dozen Americans. Nairobi is the capital of East Africa's largest economy, but public-sector services such as police and fire departments are hobbled by small budgets, corrupt money managers and outdated equipment or an absence of equipment. Xigasho

Abbaas;972847 wrote: This one is cool --> #13 Hooy sanadaa sabuul ii, sisinaan abuuree, roob soo da'aayee aa soo socdaa . 18 + Hadana saan dheh, .. waryaa saandheh :cool: Islaamahaas bilaash uma bood boodoyaan. Micnaha heesta aad iiyo aad ula socdaan. Maxaa dad aan aqaano meeshaas ka muuqdo. Heesaha Banaadiriga (including kuwa Shiribka ah), along with some of heesaha Maayga, dhageystiyaasha iyo daawadayaasha dareenkooda wada kiciyaan. It is hard to resist inaa la ciyaartid.

Waaq is not rare word. Soomaalida lee hadda micnihiisa baranoyso in the last two decades. Many, many clan names have this word in them, especially in the sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub clan categories. And not to mention degmooyinka and ereyada kale ku jiro ereygaan.

MoonLight1;972631 wrote: damiin far waayen baa rabtaa miyaa;) Gaas Gaas in Afsoomaali does not mean gaaska afka shisheeye loola jeedo. Ever heard Sareeyegaas?

In what world does a nabadsugida qaranka's responsibilities fell to a mere duq magaalo. Kun jeer ayaa jago la iska qaadi karaa and nothing will change. Tarsan, kii ka horeeye iyo kan dambeen doono will not, cannot pevent qaraxyadaan, if they happened. Neither will anyone else. Soomaaliweyn kuli inay hal meel kasoo horjeesato ma'ahee. Plus those latest attacks and qaraxyo says more about Godane than anything else. It now seems he has the firm hand of Barbaarta. Kuwii check and balance ku haaye waxee noqdeen kuwa uu qaarjiyo, kuwa naftooda ula baxsado iyo kuwa dhumaaleysi ku jiro. That is why he is targeting Turkiga xataa.

The search warrants will be released at the end of this month. Balaayo markaas soo shaacbixi doontaa. In the meantime, this known commentator (and a prominent lawyer) writes on his blog today: THE ROB FORD CRACK VIDEO: THE TRUTH Quote: “A Crown attorney on the Project Traveller case, Paul Renwick, would not answer questions. Daniel Brown, Siad’s lawyer, said in an email that ethical and professional obligations prevent him from speaking about anything he may have learned during his time as counsel. “Likewise, my conversations with prosecutors about any of my clients would be protected by the same solicitor-client privilege.” “Unlike myself, the Toronto Police are not bound by privilege and would be in the best position to answer questions about what evidence is in their possession,” Brown said. Brown also noted that while he is still the counsel of record for Siad, he is planning to make an application to remove himself from the case, for unspecified reasons.” There is a thing called Crown Disclosure. The Crown Disclosure rule is that Crown must disclose all material information that is in its possession or control, even if the evidence isn’t going to be called at trial or is inculpatory or exculpatory. Here’s what I know: • Siad possessed the video. • The police got the video when they arrested him, using a search warrant. • The Crown office was then given the video. • The Crown disclosed the video to lawyer Brown. He has it. Will the video come out anytime soon? I don’t know. But what I do know is this: the video is in the hands of many people, now. And it has been seen by many more. And it shows Rob Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine. It is real. Xigasho

Poor Maxamed Siyaad. He came so close getting $200,000. Now saldhiga ayaa mindi lagu gilinoyaa. Powers that be can't still leave him alone in xabsiga xataa.

This was on the front page of the Toronto Star today. Rob Ford crack scandal: Man who showed Rob Ford crack video caught up in police raids One of the men who tried to sell the Rob Ford crack video was arrested as part of the Project Traveller raids in north Etobicoke. Now, Mohamed Siad, 27, an alleged drug and gun dealer, sits in segregation after being stabbed in jail just days following the massive police operation. Siad faces a slew of charges, including participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy and the trafficking of guns and cocaine. An ongoing Star investigation reveals that Siad was the man who sat in the back seat of a car on May 3 and showed two Star reporters a cellphone video of the mayor appearing to smoke crack cocaine and making homophobic and racist remarks. When police arrested Siad early in the morning of June 13 his home was searched, but the Star does not know if police recovered the video. Neither the police nor the Crown attorney on the Project Traveller investigation would discuss the Siad case. Siad’s lawyer also said he could not talk about it due to solicitor-client privilege. Siad’s alleged involvement in criminal activity raises the question of how he came to be involved with the Ford crack video . The Star’s first encounter with Siad was at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3. A man who had been trying to broker the sale of the video on Siad’s behalf had driven the Star reporters to a parking lot at the Dixon Rd. complex that later would be the scene of the raids. The Star has promised to protect the identity of the broker out of concern for his safety. The broker, who never identified Siad to the Star, had told reporters that the man with the video might sell it for a “six-figure price” that would allow him to relocate out west in Alberta. The Star reporters (Robyn Doolittle and Kevin Donovan) were told by the broker that the man they were meeting had sold crack to the mayor and videotaped him doing drugs. However, it is unclear if Siad recorded the video, or simply had possession of the cellphone. That night, in the busy parking lot that serves the condominium towers, the Star reporters were introduced to a man we now know was Mohamed Siad. Siad, his arms scabbed, hustled into the back seat of the broker’s car and played the video three times for the two reporters. Siad was not technically allowed to be in the parking lot because, in 2009, he had been banned from the complex after a previous unknown incident. When he first got into the car, Siad did not want to play the audio. “Sound is extra,” he said. But Siad relented and the reporters were able to both see and hear the video. The reporters were allowed to freeze-frame the video at certain points while watching. “I’m f---ing right-wing,” Ford appears to mutter at one point, in answer to goading questions from a male voice off-camera. “Everyone expects me to be right-wing. I’m just supposed to be this great . . . ” and his voice trails off. At another point he is heard referring to Justin Trudeau as a “fag.” Later in the 90-second video he is asked about the football team he coached at the time and he appears to say (though mumbling), “They are just f---ing minorities.” The video ends when a groggy, incoherent Ford reacts to a ringing cellphone and appears to notice a cellphone camera is pointed at him. “That better not be on,” Ford says, and the screen goes dark. Siad only allowed the reporters to see the video three times, and before he left reminded the Star of what he wanted. “Money is protection,” Siad said. Then Siad was gone, out of the car, and the Star began a process of investigating people involved in the video. The Star did not pay for or obtain the video. Siad has no criminal record but had charges pending at the time the Star met him in the car. Ten days before the Star reporters met Siad he was picked up by Peel Region police in Mississauga, around Dixie Rd. and Dundas St. Police initially approached him while he was in a car on Wednesday, April 24, according to Peel Police spokesman George Tudos. Siad allegedly fled on foot, pushing an officer in the process. Siad was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of assaulting a peace officer. One possession charge has been dropped. There is currently a bench warrant out for his arrest in Peel Region because he missed a scheduled court date there while in custody. Previous to that, in 2009, he was arrested for gun possession stemming from an incident where a 9 mm handgun was found in a van. Five other people were inside the van at the time. Siad’s charge was withdrawn in March of 2010, according to court documents. After the Star and Gawker published stories about the existence of the Ford video, a media storm erupted. Mayor Ford denied the existence of the video and called the reporters “pathological liars.” Ford, who did not respond to a request to his office for comment, has previously called news of the video “false” and said: “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video, I cannot comment on a video that I have never seen or does not exist.” A Star story revealed that the day the story was published, Ford blurted out two 320 Dixon Rd. apartment unit numbers as a location where the video could be found. His logistics man and former football coach, Dave Price, passed this information on to the mayor’s then chief-of-staff Mark Towhey, who alerted Toronto Police because of a concern that someone would be hurt or killed over the video. Toronto police detectives began an investigation but have refused to discuss it. Chief Bill Blair has been repeatedly asked by the media if Ford is under investigation. He refuses to answer that question. The Star has not met with Siad since that one meeting in the parking lot. However, reporters Doolittle and Donovan were in court when Siad recently appeared by video link-up from jail. In his brief appearance he complained about being kept in segregation. Siad is an alleged member of the Dixon City Bloods street gang. He was married recently. A few days after his June 13 arrest, Siad, who goes by the street name “Soya,” was stabbed multiple times in the Don Jail. Ministry of Corrections spokesman Brent Ross confirmed an incident took place at the jail on June 15 and that an inmate was injured, but refused to release the victim’s name, citing an ongoing police investigation. The Star does not know why or by whom Siad was stabbed. Toronto police confirmed Thursday that no one has been charged in the incident. In asking questions about Siad, the Star has been met with a wall of silence. “Project Traveller cases are before the courts and it would be entirely inappropriate for us to comment,” said Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash, when asked earlier this week if police had obtained a copy of the video. A Crown attorney on the Project Traveller case, Paul Renwick, would not answer questions. Daniel Brown, Siad’s lawyer, said in an email that ethical and professional obligations prevent him from speaking about anything he may have learned during his time as counsel. “Likewise, my conversations with prosecutors about any of my clients would be protected by the same solicitor-client privilege.” “Unlike myself, the Toronto Police are not bound by privilege and would be in the best position to answer questions about what evidence is in their possession,” Brown said. Brown also noted that while he is still the counsel of record for Siad, he is planning to make an application to remove himself from the case, for unspecified reasons. Of the 56 people arrested in Project Traveller, Siad’s charges are among the most serious. He is charged with trafficking in firearms, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm obtained by the commission of an offence, four counts of trafficking in cocaine, fourteen counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and three counts of participating in a criminal organization. While the video was news to the people of Toronto it would not have been news to some of the police working on the Project Traveller case leading up to the June 13 arrests. Surveillance during the year-long probe had picked up word of the video and the attempts to sell it to the media. After the crack video story became big news, Siad got cold feet and decided not to sell it. The broker told the Star that the man with the video had gotten rid of the video. It is unclear why Siad changed his mind and did not sell the video. Sources have told the Star that many people in and around the Dixon Rd. neighbourhood that became the ground zero of the Ford crack scandal were angered by the media firestorm and intense scrutiny that followed the initial stories. As well, that no one wanted to take the $200,000 raised by Gawker because it was too public and there was a belief the money could be traced. Siad, who has not yet made an application for bail, is due back in court Aug 7. Toronto Star

It’s unclear whether Qawdhan is referring to active agents of the current incarnation of Shabaab or remnants of the idealized group of his memories. I try to tease out a fuller picture. “If that is true, why do you think there have been no major attacks since? There have been attacks in Puntland [the neighboring quasi-independent federal state of Somalia to the east], but not in Somaliland. Why is that?” “Because there must be no strategic message to be sent by another attack in Somaliland for now.” Shabaab actually threatened in February to carry out suicide attacks in Somaliland from bases in the Sanaag highlands in the east, but has yet to do so. I hoped that Qawdhan’s response might shed light on his knowledge of Shabaab’s operations or his differentiation between the activities of modern Shabaab and his idealized Shabaab. Instead, it just seemed that Qawdhan was unaware of these threats. I try a different tact. “But does Shabaab really need to be active here? This country is Islamic. The government claims to be inspired by sharia and Islamic studies are taught in schools.” “No, there is nothing like sharia law here. It is just in the books. In reality, they are using colonial penal laws and courts. It’s like how Arabic is the second language in Somaliland and English is the third, but in truth English is the second language and they don’t even really teach Arabic in the schools.” “Then do you think you would be able to establish an Islamic government, if people do not receive adequate training?” I ask. “Could you have qualified qadis [sharia judges]?” “Despite everything, people still have the knowledge, so it will not be hard to establish a government. We will take the good from English law and sharia. Most of the laws, they rhyme.” I’d hoped this might prompt Qawdhan to talk more about his beliefs and his grievances, to see how his interpretation of sharia holds up to statements of current and past Shabaab spokesmen. But, as my friend reminds me, Qawdhan was a foot soldier, not a qadi. When he speaks of Shabaab’s presence, power, and popularity in Somaliland, I want to believe he’s talking about the sentiments and concept of the old-school Shabaab he joined. I suspect he’s projecting the potency of his beliefs into his reality and denying the ownership of the term Shabaab to the factions he fled, downplaying their relevance. But you never know with foot soldiers. I push forward. “Would you be willing to negotiate with the government here? If they were to agree to pay more attention to Islamic education and governance, would you work with them?” “There is no way to negotiate with Somalia, but in Somaliland we can enter into a deal. We have tried, but we have received nothing. Al-Shabaab’s existence is a sign of the failure to work together. “But at least we have a common history, and common enemies in Mogadishu [the Transitional Federal Government, which periodically asserts its sovereignty over Somaliland as nothing but a federal state of Somalia]. We can work with Somaliland.” I suspect the appreciation of Somaliland is based on ***** clan affiliation and its origins in solely Somali activism, versus the TFG, which is a wholly international construction. There’s a clear nationalist bent to this image of Shabaab. “What about the foreigners? What about my people? Could you work with America?” “Yes, government to government, we could work with them. We have the same principles, but they see us in the wrong way. It’s the British and the Americans who have the problems. “The Turks and the Egyptians [often used here as a collective term for all Arabs] are big here now, but we prefer the USA to those people. We know each other and we can sit down and negotiate. These Egyptians are newcomers and they have their own intentions that are unknown to us. But American intentions are known. The first thing we would do in an Islamic government is establish good relations with the USA and keep the Egyptians at bay. “Our organization is forced to be violent with the world. But I would urge the Americans to talk as we have talked tonight. Right now, whenever we make something good, they spoil it, but when they leave us alone we will make our own good government.” This condemnation of international Islamic powers and predilection to negotiate with familiar actors smacks of a nationalist agenda. Qawdhan seems to live with two simultaneous conceptions of Shabaab: One that accords with the Somalilander reality of a factional, socially cannibalistic, and irredeemable entity; and one that inspired the loyalty of people like Liibaan and Yusuf, and which most believe is dead, but which Qawdhan appears to believe still has acolytes and power. Of course, this might just be me projecting. Throughout our conversation, Qawdhan periodically turns to my friend, who acts as an interpreter, and asks why I am so interested in Shabaab. He gets wary and leery-eyed. He asks if I have any affiliations with intelligence agencies, and why I want to know so much. At first I laugh the question off with a simple “no.” But he remains anxious, and I find myself going to great lengths to explain that I am no threat: Look at me. I’m a tiny, weak man. No intelligence agency would hire me. I’d be incredibly incompetent. Apparently, though, protestations couched in self-deprecating humor are of no avail here. Suddenly, an hour and a half into our conversation, Qawdhan just leaves. My friend and I sit for a moment. Then, only half in jest, he turns to me and says, “Maybe we should be going now. I don’t know that I trust this. He just gets up and puts on his boots and leaves without a word. I don’t want to be picking up your pieces later today.” So we leave. And I’m still a little unsure of just how Qawdhan walks the line between two Shabaabs—if it’s possible to maintain a devotion to the ghost of Shabaab past without falling into the gravitational pull of the current Shabaab. I suspect that the Shabaab Qawdhan joined is dead. People like him are probably trapped within Shabaab by decaying bonds of fear and inertia, but even if they were to wrest control from the competing ideologies that dominate them, the name Shabaab is too sullied to be revived. Qawdhan’s nationalist-Islamist sentiments, in abstract, still have potency and popularity. But a man like Qawdhan, who frames these ideas in terms of Shabaab, is only a memory of a recent yet antique phase of Somalia’s ever murky history, desperately trying to impose the orders, terms, and ideas he knows onto a reality he split from long ago. Xigasho