National Election Commission Chairman, Mr Ahmed Haji Ali (Adami)

Hargeysa, Somaliland, March 3, 2007 (SL Times) – The government of President Dahir Rayale Kahin broke into the National Election commission (NEC) headquarters yesterday morning and took control of all the equipment, documents in the office complex.

In a radio BBC Somali service interview broadcasted last night, the National Election Commission Chairman, Mr Ahmed Haji Ali (Adami) said that the NEC has been deposed in a coup d'état staged by the government. Mr Adami added, “the government broke into the NEC headquarters and forcefully took possession of its offices and properties in a bid to force the current NEC committee out of office.

Commentary

Mandera, Somaliland, March 3, 2007 (SL Times) – In a Kafkaesque turn of events, Haatuf journalists were finally brought to what was supposed to be a trial on March 1, 2007. The choice of the word “supposed” is deliberate because no trial actually took place. For one thing, the attorneys of the defendants did not show up. But more importantly, the venue of the trial was a government security grounds, the Mandera Police acadamy which lies between Hargeisa and Berbera.

The defendants were Yusuf A. Gabobe (the editor of Somaliland Times), Ali Dini (the editor of Haatuf) and Mohammed Omar Sheikh (Haatuf correspondent in Awdal).

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 27, 2007 – Here’s the ethos of Somalia, as a former Mogadishu resident explained it to me: “If I use a dollar to buy food, then tomorrow I have nothing. If I use a dollar to buy a bullet, then I can eat every day.”

That enterprising can-do spirit has turned most of Somalia into the poster child of a failed state, where you feel underdressed without an assault rifle. But wait! Here in the north of the carcass of Somalia is the breakaway would-be nation of Somaliland, and it is a remarkable success — for a country that doesn’t exist.

NAIROBI, 26 Feb. 2007 - A U.S. warship is approaching the area off the Horn of Africa where Somali pirates have anchored a hijacked ship chartered to carry U.N. food aid, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Monday.

Gunmen wielding AK-47s stormed the Kenyan-owned MV Rozen on Sunday, taking hostage its six Kenyan and six Sri Lankan crew after intercepting the freighter by speedboat.

The Evolution, Theory And Practice Of Diplomacy:

What does diplomacy really mean?

It comes from Greek word "diploma" which literally means "folded in two". In ancient Greece a "diploma" was certificate which present completion of a course of study. In the Roman Empire "diploma" was used to describe travel documents. In 18 th Century the French called their officials in foreign legations the corps "diplomatique". The word "diplomacy" was first time introduced into the English language in 1796 based on the French word "diplomatie"

In the contemporary world, the word diplomacy has assumed a broad dimension or wider use other than the classical usage. In fact, modern day diplomacy has become all-involving that we can talk about it in terms of entertainment, parade, show of power, imposition of will/hegemonic play, etc…

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, 29 January 2007
Reflections on the Instability in the Horn and Its Implications for Somaliland
Dr. Ahmed H. Esa, Kulmiye Party Foreign Secretary

Dr. Kibble, Dear friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

Good Evening.

I am honored to have the opportunity to address you tonight. We are deeply appreciative of the work that Somaliland Focus and the All-Party Parliamentary Group are doing for Somaliland. We in Somaliland see, for the first time, our friends in the United Kingdom coming to bat for an old friend. We are grateful for your work, we pledge to work with you not only in your effort to help Somaliland advance its democratization program, but to help spread democracy throughout the world and especially in the Horn of Africa.

Mark King, who has adopted the name Bilal Mansa, stands outside the mosque Atlanta Masjid of al-Islam before Friday prayers in Atlanta, Georgia February 9, 2007. Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to imams and experts. Picture taken February 9, 2007. REUTERS/Tami Chappell

ATLANTA February 25, 2007 – Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts.

As recent examples are showing, a country's government has to be chosen by its people.

By Liam Bailey

In the west there is a fear of Islamic terrorism, triggered in the most part, and rightly so, by two New York skyscrapers being brought down by hijacked civilian airliners on Sep. 11 2001, and subsequent attacks in Europe. This has led to Muslims being dehumanized. Islamaphobia as it is termed, is currently at an all time high.

by F. William Engdahl

February 20, 2007

The frank words of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to the assembled participants of the annual Munich Wehrkunde security conference have unleashed a storm of self-righteous protest from Western media and politicians. A visitor from another planet might have the impression that the Russian President had abruptly decided to launch a provocative confrontation policy with the West reminiscent of the 1943-1991 Cold War.