Originally posted by deleted: Bloody useless as a ashtray on a motorbike. That just made my day. I think I will borrow it if you don't mind Its a beautiful day outside and I can't get any work done. I hope the asphalt guys are done with the driveway so I can go home and grab my tennis gear before the day is over. ** Rocking to Queen-Bicycle race**

Originally posted by Sherban Shabeel: What is East, what is West? Not answering for Ibtisam here but the East/West boundaries were drawn with the words of Bernard Lewis and Edward Said. Can I ask for minimal stereotyping and labeling please i.e the Americans and Jews comments mentioned. Much appreciated Tuujiye, what is done? The center is not built yet . It is scheduled to open its doors on 9/11/2011, the 10th year anniversary of 9/11. A rally against the mosque is scheduled on June 6th by the Stop Islamicization of America (SIOA). The board that approved the building is also having second thoughts about the go ahead they gave the mosque. Should be quite a show me thinks.

^^NYC love their culture......not this particular one at the moment though lol. I haven't been able to locate any imagery of what the building would look like but here is an excerpt of what the imam in charge said. Feisal Abdul Rauf, a New York imam and a leader of the project, says the planned multi-storey Islamic center will transform both the drab lower Manhattan street and the way Americans have looked on Muslims since 9/11. Boasting a mosque with sports facilities, a theater and possibly day care, the center would be open to all visitors to demonstrate that Muslims are part of their community, not some separate element. "There's nothing like this that we know of in the United States," Rauf told AFP. "This will be a community center for everyone, not just for Muslims, but non-Muslims." It will primarily be a mosque for worship but its wonderful that it will have all the other amenities for residents of the area too. Fox News is on hyperdrive with this particular story with a cut and paste compaign on for blogs. I think if they get enough misinformation out there it will be enough to put a wrench in the project

Ibti, I am trying to find the plans for the building. It looks like a cultural center. The Cordoba institute and the American Society for Muslim advancement are collaborating on the project. The building apparently will have an arts center, a gym, a swimming pool, a mosque etc. C & H, how would it incite hate? You know that also muslims died when the towers went down? Edit- Never mind you answered the Q

Interesting debate happening in NYC at the moment folks. There are plans to build a 13 story $100 million Islamic cultural center and mosque a couple blocks from Ground Zero. There have certainly been plenty of controversy regarding the plans and more so now that there is word of a second mosque being built closer to Ground Zero. I have been to NYC a couple times visiting and I don't know anyone there. One of my trips coincided with Friday and I try never to miss Jumaa. The mosque we ended up praying at was so small, it was right off 5th Ave and people spilled out to the sidewalks to pray. I think having a mosque close to a site where people will flock to is great for travelers. There are opinions out there that say that Muslims should be respectful of the lives lost due to Islamic terrorist actions and build elsewhere. Other people say that the mosque is an olive branch and not gloating, where people will come and pray daily. While some say compromise and dedicate one side of the building to a memorial of the lives lost and educate against the stereotype of muslims are terrorist. Would you advise against the building or for the building of one or both mosques?

^^sounds like a full time job.....easier to delete noh?

Who do you think? Kobe was on fire tonite.........darn there wasn't a shot he couldn't make and poor Grant Hill got frustrated and got T'd up plus had to be benched cause at the start of third quarter he was already on his fourth foul. I just had to stop watching the game at this point

^^Can't you go to an american sports bar or find someone with satellite/cable? Some people use P2P software to watch live streams. NBA website allows you to stream live games but I am not sure if it allows per geographic location or ? Tuujiye, I ain't with LAL bruv. I don't particularly care for Kobe and his crew and would love to see them eliminated but realistically they are a playoff team that seem to hit their stride right about now. I am watching the game tonite but I wouldn't be surprised if this series end up being decided in 5-6 games.

NG, I read the wiki page and that show is nothing like LOST yahuu, you just wasted five minutes of my life Grasshopper if you can't join 'em throw your own Norf and Layzie G, I haven't watched any of those shows but I will be sure to look them up since I will have a void when LOST is over. I guess I am into the weird and other wordly storylines because I also love FRINGE which I think airs its season finale this week. Mr. Prince how come you are behind on the episodes? Are they aired differently where you are?

Lol @ NG......all you have FB for was to follow JB......that is drab Aalia the concept is great. I got in touch with people I went to elementary school with via FB and it was wonderful to catch up but not at risk of putting my information out there

Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^ No, child ( ), I'm reminding you of the show that started all off. Google it (or better still, google: Who Killed Laura Palmer). Well you darn right to call me a child I wasn't even born then Plus I don't get the reference yet :confused: Wanna school me?

^C&H, my bad hon. With all due respect, If what I replied to you still makes you nitpick through the argument like you are walking a landmine, there isn't much sense in engaging in this discussion Ps:- I didn't refer to Weris as a media whore lol. She is doing what she believes is right and I believe if her goal is eradication she is going about it in a manner that will have minimal impact . I will end with this, those committed to eradication of FGC will do well to frame their response as a socially contextualized, culturally informed, sophisticated alternative that maximizes respect, appropriateness and effectiveness.

^Lol I was trying to figure out what the links you kept posting were without clicking on them.......I guess you just gave me the answer

JB lol some of us have things to hide. Have you noticed with the new facebook that when you request a friendship even if there is no confirmation you can partial follow what the person is doing i.e events and friends addition? Anyway, here is an update there is a delete your facebook day and its on May 31 for those brave enough

^Cryptic? Either u are making fun of the Twin cities or you making fun of the small community of losties Shouldn't u be licking your pencil and crunching numbers somewhere

C&H Separate the issues You and I agree that FGC should be banned. You and I agree that there has to be some awareness of the issue. What I am trying to convey here is the fact that before the Western society came galloping on its white horse with their anti FGM slogans, these societies were working on eliminating the practice. The educated, literate part of the society had medicalized the procedure. It was a step in the right direction that got derailed by the war. Change is not instantaneous and won't occur from an outside source. True and everlasting change is going to have to come from within the society and implemented by the society. The new generation (the ones in the West) are not going to practice FGC. So who is practicing it? The ones who are illiterate and uneducated and live in a closed community. Do you really think if you want these women to change their ways ostracizing them is the way to go about it? Dee, if all you want is people to read your book due to the shock factor, follow the storyline that most FGC stories follow, I got mutilated, I got forced into marriage, I ran away, I came to the West and I got saved! But if you want to stop this practice there are ways to go about it that will actually eliminate the practice. It has been done by many societies including the Bedouin society in Isreal.Educate the people, create a health dissemination system, debunk the myth of religiosity, get the men to pledge they don't need infibulation to prove virginity, provide a different source of income for the traditional women who perform the surgery, provide a lesser alternative like nicking (yes I said this for really even a cigarette smoker needs nicotine in another form when quiting), research the traditional values of the procedure and find ways to override these societal values. BUT I repeat that the women who live in the boonies mentally or physically are not going to change their ways just because an outsider, informed by Weris narrative, comes and tells them to. I am not against her talking about it nor do I care what her occupation is. She should absolutely be free to talk and I am free to point out the sensationalism of the tale and the ripple effect it has on the very people who deal with it on a daily basis. There are many narratives of FGC and each one is different. What her tale does is give a single brush stroke to an entire mural and she should frame it thusly Here is a statistic for you, only 15% of all FGC are infibulation or fircoon. You know what the media portrays.........? Every black, muslim woman from Africa is infibulated. And who do you think stokes those fires? Finally C&H, talking specifically about the state you and I both reside in. Some women, of a certain age set,skip out on yearly visits to the docs because of the whole FGC issue and recently have taken to applying a certain gel from some Middle Eastern country that re-suture their openings after birth. Are you really going to stand there and tell me that Weris' book or movie is actually going to make a difference for them? That they will be able to talk to their doctors openly and honestly? Or worse find compassion from doctor's informed by rhetoric that terms them as barbaric?

^I am not sure I have perhaps watched about 1/3 of Sopranos. It gets boring after a while though Mr. Prince, my bad. I didn't know there are some people lagging behind on the episodes. Good thing you said something because I was thinking of posting a synopsis of the latest episode. This weekend is the Finale!! I might have my losties over for a get together

Originally posted by Kool_Kat: Horta, are there different ways of female circumcision, other tan wixii sunna iyo fircooni la kala dhihi jiray? The way she explains in the movie waa waxaan maskax galeyn... There are actually four types that WHO classifies. Fircoon is infibulation, the worst form of FGC. Sunna is considered type II at times and at other times as misc. There is also another type called excision and a fourth one called clitoridectomy. Waris' account of FGC sounds horrifying Mama tied a blindfold over my eyes. The next thing I felt my flesh was being cut away. I heard the blade sawing back and forth through my skin. The pain between my legs was so intense I wished I would die . Personally I hate the use of word mutilation because it provides a one sided skewed view on FGC. This doesn't discount women who have undergone worst case scenarios of FGC but I find the ones that are documented in paperbacks/movies are sensationalist at best and rightly so. They need to horrify their readers to earn their recognition and funnily enough they all follow the same storyline of being forced to marry against their will, running away and being saved in the West. :rolleyes: What people like Waris are doing is alienating the very women who need help to ban FGC in their communities by branding them and holding them up to the spotlight. There has to be a better way of bringing awareness to the issue other than airing your dirty laundry . As to all the other business, she is a fully functional adult and thus can make her own choices on what to do with her assets.

I did not notice a difference between her California accent and Washington.....they sounded the same or did I miss something :confused:

^lol paranoia rampart in the air. I think these days we dont realize how much digital footprints we leave behind :eek: **opps I just left another one didn't I?**

I think he should stay in Cleveland. He has deep roots in Cleveland. What Cavs need to do is build a supporting cast for him with experienced seasoned players that aren't over the hill, otherwise LBJ will be turn into KG during his Timberwolves days. I say he should push for staying in Cleveland and having a say on players trades and drafts or leaving Cleveland and hooking up with a team that needs a star like the Bulls. Whatever LBJ decides I am sure it will be short term. He is only 25 Ps:- Tuujiye.....you can't compare first round eliminations of LAL by the Suns back in 06 and 07 to Western Conference finals? Come on now......we are talking a different crew minus Marion plus Pau Gasol.

I have recently noticed a bunch of tech savvy friends of mine deactivate their facebook accounts and some have just removed content off their pages. I never really questioned them thinking it was a personal choice but after reading this rant I got really concerned. As most of you know, Facebook has been struggling to explain its privacy-related decisions for the last month while simultaneously dealing with frightening security issues. If you’re not a techie, I’d encourage you to start poking around. The NYTimes is doing an amazing job keeping up with the story, as is TechCrunch, Mashable, and InsideFacebook. The short version… People are cranky. Facebook thinks that it’s just weirdo tech elites like me who are pissed off. They’re standing firm and trying to justify why what they’re doing is good for everyone. Their attitude has triggered the panic button amongst regulators and all sorts of regulators are starting to sniff around. Facebook hired an ex-Bush regulator to manage this. No one is quite sure what is happening but Jason Calacanis thinks that Facebook has overplayed its hand. Meanwhile, security problems mean that even more content has been exposed, including email addresses, IP addresses (your location), and full chat logs. This has only upped the panic amongst those who can imagine worst case scenarios. Like the idea that someone out there is slowly piecing together IP addresses (location) and full names and contact information. A powerful database, and not one that anyone would be too happy to be floating around So whats the deal? Is there need for users of Google Buzz and FB to panic? Is there a database of information out there that we are feeding with our IP addresses, family connections, up to date itineraries etc?

^Did you get tickets?

^Lol.....Was it Gormahiya that was the squad? bal leave Kenya alone they would never make the WC cut

Norf, best be careful what you say against Kobe there are people here who would crucify you for such blasphemy lol. Kobe is arguably one of the most talented basketball players out there but in all honestly he has had one of the greatest PR campaigns ever. The fact that around the world KOBE is synonymous with basketball and Lakers. No wonder the franchise doesn't want to trade him ever and does everything to keep him there. He makes them money. I give credit where it is due, he is talented but when you give LBJ or even Kevin Durant the amount of experience and minutes with a good squad, I am pretty sure they will be right there with Kobe. He isn't a basketball God, at least not to me :rolleyes: