It's good to see many Somalis who are serving in the Grand Coalition. Mr. Yussuf Haji as Defence Minister, Elmi as Minister for Northern Kenya & Arid Lands, Aden Sugow Assistant Minister of Public Works while Farah Maalim serves as a deputy Speaker. A Mr. Mohamud of Mandera also serves as an Assistant Minister.

Royal Somali comments on a Youtube video showing a brave, young Somali girl speaking out against generalizations about Muslims:

Somali young Girl talks at the Melbourne Speakers Forum about people generalizing about Muslims, the twin towers, and the concept of Jihad, the greater struggle with the "NAFS" or the SELF. Melbourne speakers Forums is just similar to speakers corner in Hyde Park London, Vancouver speaker's corner.

Native Female attends the wedding of fello belogger White African, she writes:

Highlight of the week was going to White African’s wedding party. It was beautiful…..mashaAllah. I enjoyed myself immensely and the bride looked gorgeous……mashaAllah. It was a chance for me to meet the gang. It has been a while since we were all under the same roof at the same time. Made some new friends. Picked up some new dance moves. And all this while looking hot (hey….I gotta stroke the ego….I need it lol)

East African Philosopher considers cities to study a semester in:

I have been thinking about spending a semester in Cairo, Egypt for a while now, not because I have romantic ideas about Egypt but rather it is a place that I can relate to a “little” bit in terms of culture and closeness to my native home. It also helps that I have friends and distant family members living there. Plus I’m learning Arabic and what place is better than that? Yes, Damascus is also an excellent choice too.
But back to Cairo. The other day I read this article in the New York TImes that talks about a recent scientific study of “noisiest” cities in the world and Cairo was the unparalleled champion of the noisiest city in the world at 85 decimals on an average day - that is, as the study suggests, a jackhammer at full power running 3 feet away from a human being from 7am to 10pm at night. Seriously. Yet this is only an “average” day. I wonder what an above average day sounds like in Cairo. Perhaps two jackhammers?

Somali poems have many forms, Shafi describes one form performed as part of wedding ceremonies called Gaaf (usually performed in the 7th day after the actual wedding):

Once the drumming starts and the Gaaf is initiated, silence fills the air. Every ear is tuned towards the person reciting the poetry or singing, in order to assess and judge the worth of his/her words. Addressing everyone present, the young girl starts the ceremony with these lines:

Hoobe hobaala hoobala hoobalow

Ee hoobe hobaala hoobalayey hadaba

Salaamu calaykum safiya iyo daahirow

Salaama calaykum safkan meesha joogayow

Salaama calaykum soomaaliyey dhamaan

Hoobe hobaala hoobala hoobalow

Ee hoobe hobaala hoobalayey hadaba

Peace be upon you O’ Safiya and Daahir

Peace be upon you O’ who have assembled here

Peace be upon you Somalis in your entirety

Today's Blogger of the Week series features yet another global voice - Abdulrahman Warsame, who amplifies the reactions of Somali bloggers on Global Voices Online. A Somali born in Saudi Arabia, educated in Egypt and Australia, and currently working for Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar, as a Senior Analyst in New Media, Warsame shares his thoughts on blogging in his country and the rest of the Arab world.

At his personal blog, Warsame, who graduated from Monash University in Australia in Information Systems, focuses on politics.

“My blog is mostly a commentary on politics, journalism and culture but certainly politics takes a bigger space. Being an Arab and African, I focus on them most. I'm excited when I see young Arabs and Africans using the web - among other means - to bring about positive change: Egyptian bloggers exposing police torture or Kenyan bloggers rallying together to fight tribalism and create projects like Ushahidi.com to help those who need help. I get annoyed by the lack of time, I would like to write a lot more but I don't seem to be able to get the time. My co-blogger Hanna Ali makes the blog tick, with her intelligent comments on politics and Africa,” he says.

For Warsame, although the role between a blogger and a journalist are distinct, there are many meeting points.

“Blogging is simply a tool, so a journalist could be a blogger and so can a doctor. Blogging is closer to activism than journalism, but bloggers sometimes do some journalism (i.e. bloggers from Myanmar, Egypt and Iraq committed acts of journalism). But there are also journalists who blog, like Andrew Heavens,” he explains.

A relatively newcomer to GVO, Warsame hopes to be able to amplify what Somali bloggers are writing about and possibly encourage more of them to blog.

“I hope to introduce Somali bloggers to the readers of GVO and hopefully encourage more Somalis to read and write blogs. The Somali blogsphere is still relatively young and very diverse. Most Somali blogs, until now, are in English and are written by young Somalis in the North America, UK, Middle East and Africa. Forums and chat rooms are still big but as blogging catches on there would be more Somali blogs written in Somali language.”

Besides blogging, Warsame devotes “a large chunk” of his spare time to reading.

“I also like photography so I do it whenever I get my hands on a decent camera (planning to buy a pro camera in the near future). Socializing and drinking tea (at least 5+ cups a day) is another hobby.”

The father of a five-month-old son, Ibrahim, is also dismayed at the lack of interest in reading among some of his Arab compatriots - and blames the 'system' for it.

“Having been through Arab schools and speaking to students and teachers here, I think the education system is largely to blame for the lack of interest in reading books (people read newspapers). There are less books published in the Arab world (than Iran for example), there are few public libraries or national programs to encourage reading from you age. There was no decent public library in Cairo when I lived there, and it's the same here in Qatar (though they're building one now). It's a crisis and unfortunately no one is doing anything about it,” he notes.

And are Arabs making the most of online technologies?

“Some are and some aren't. I don't think anyone understands the dynamics yet though. Iraqi bloggers like Riverbend and Healing Iraq have done very well and online news sites like Morocco's Hespress are very successful. Forums and chat rooms are still bigger though. Governments, public institutions and companies are very much behind: most of their websites are out of date and have little information about anything. They assume people wouldn't be looking at them,” says the blogger, who is fluent in Somali, Arabic and English and has a bit of Chinese (Mandarin) and Farsi under his belt.

Idil, a Somali blogger who lives in US, writes about the difficulty of getting a decent job while wearing a hijab:

so trying to find a job? gosh how hard can that be? well apparently it's very hard i mean geez i cant even find a repspectful job i mean i am not going back to McDonalds no matter how broke i become i mean thats a major NO NO….but yes i think its the hijab i mean they take one look at me and probably just write me off…i wonder if my assumption is correct…i mean i probably am, i really just want to one day take my hijab of do the hair put on the makeup and go to a job interview…see what really happens you know? wether i get it or not…i really think i would since they wouldn't think twice they would probably go “oh a black women who sounds white” i really want to test out that theory…but once again i am a chicken!

Royale Somalia writes about the first Somali female pilot:

Asli Hassan is/was the first Somali women to fly in 1976. You could read her story and great accomplishment on a new site dedicated to the history of the Somali Air Force. Asli , nicknamed “Calan-Side or the Flag-bearer” now lives in Texas.

Ainashe expresses his dismay at the Transitional Federal Government's actions. He writes:

Unfortunately, the TFG does not seem to have learned from the mistakes of the past. The solution to Somalia’s tragic political conflict is not bringing more foreign troop to the country. The key to a lasting peace is open and sincere political dialogue whereby the Somali people can sort out their difference through Somali, Arab and Islamic channels!

East African Philosopher, blogging from the US, talks about the freezing temperature in Minnesota:

Minnesota has officially been declared the icebox of the United State - really? Didn’t people already know that? Sitting in my comfortable therapeutic library chair, where the temperature of the day is expected to reach mid 50 degree fahrenhait, I can only send my sympathy to those folks who have to get up and go to work or school in a brutal weather like Minnesota….I’ve been there and it is not pleasant.

Kenya-Somali reports the outbreak of Cholera in Mandera (a town innorth east province of Kenya):

The Public Health department in Mandera District has closed all eateries in Mandera Town following a cholera outbreak.
Subsequently, the workers in the establishments have been rendered jobless. The workers have asked authorities to resolve the health crisis so that they can resume their jobs.
…
Six people have died and 125 others are admitted in the Mandera District Hospital following the disease outbreak.

Royale Somalia reports about the planned launch of a wine version of Khat, a narcotic widely consumed in East Africa:

An Ethiopian scientist is preparing to launch a new tipple for those looking for a twist on the usual glass of the grape — “wine” made from khat.

Instead of grapes, Eyasu Haile Selassie has been making wine from khat leaf, which is widely chewed throughout East Africa and the Middle East for its narcotic effect.

Khat wine is just as good as any wine produced from grapes and has been well-received by wine drinkers,” Eyasu, who said he had sent out 500 tester bottles to consumers, told reporters.

Kenya Somali is dismayed by the situation in Kenya, he writes:

Because Kenya is getting off the hook.Kibaki is refusing an international meditation simply because he is guilty of election's rigging.

In further evidence of faltering peace prospects, Kibaki today announced half his new cabinet, despite a previous offer to form a national unity government.

East African Philosopher is anxious about the situation in Kenya turning into a civil war, he says:

It has been over a week since Kenya’s elections were held and Kenya is still burning. In my previous post, I worried that the infant violence at the time (Dec. 30) would last longer or even evolve into tribal or civil war. At this moment, part of my worry has largely become true - tribal war is now threatening Kenya’s statehood. Let me be clear: I was not predicting or expecting the violence to evolve into a full-blown tribal war and I am certainly not saying now ‘I told you so,’ but the fact is, Kenya is now more close to civil war than it had ever been.