In the moral version of human history – expressed in the Quran, Bible, and Torah – corruption is considered the worst reckless impulse that caused men to fall from grace. It was the betrayal of trust and loyalty for purely selfish gains. From that perspective, the root cause of corruption is individual moral shutdown, derailment […]
Somalia is headed in the right direction. But “right direction” doesn’t mean a path free of pitfalls and clear of landmines.
With atrocities taking place in Iraq and Syria, the international community must stop the oppression against certain groups. Indeed, the lesson of Rwanda has been almost entirely ignored in 2015.
Out of context, all concepts and issues find themselves under the mercy of the dimwitted and exploiters.
It is that cyclical season of winner takes all. It is that all too familiar gladiatorial executive combat all over again. Yes, the Villa Somalia has once again turned into a roaring amphitheater.
If the latest development in Somalia gives you the feeling of being trapped in the Twilight Zone — somewhere between relative security and renewed bloodshed — you are not alone. Due to the array of competing internal and external interest groups and the federal government’s lack of clear grand strategy or capacity to assert […]
Since its inception, the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia (and Eritrea) has been rolling over controversies, mainly in its reporting, sourcing, and unsubstantiated claims. I just got through reading its latest report made of truths, half-truths, and a whole lot of innuendoes that implicate at least four present/past officials and presidential candidates with certain […]
Two decades have passed since the collapse of the Somali state. Twenty one years to be exact. According to Lee Cassanelli, Professor of African history at the University of Pennsylvania, this exact number matters in Somali politics – perhaps in a subconscious way. In August 2007, during one of his presentations at the Somali Studies […]
For a number of years, Nairobi (Kenya) has been the de facto capital of Somalia after the State has disintegrated into anarchy. It has been where Somalis sought refuge, re-started their lives, and networked with the rest of the world. By the same token, it has been where almost all of the eighteen or so […]
If there is any consensus on the nature and the outcome of the London Conference on Somalia – that brought together representatives of over 50 nations that included a number of Muslim nations – it must be the fact that it was a puzzling event that raised much speculation. Now that the fanfare has ended, […]
Scenario: you have a business partner with whom you do not get along. You don’t like the way he treats his customers, and you’ve told everyone in the office and declined any opportunities that involve working with him. He thinks you’re a hypocrite and are trying to isolate him in the office and usurp his […]
Brazil’s President Lula is a largely beloved figure, in his country and abroad: Barack Obama is widely quoted as having told Lula, upon meeting at the G20 summit in London in April 2009, that the Brazilian leader was “the most popular politician on earth.” But even Lula appears to have some issues that he cannot […]
Cuba offers payback plan for frozen bank accounts (Reuters) After freezing hundreds of millions of foreign businesses’ dollars in Cuban banks over the last 1-2 years, Havana is now offering a 2 percent interest rate and a five-year plan to pay these funds out to the companies that are owed. One loophole-sounding proviso: the payments […]
The death last week of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the hunger-striking Cuban prisoner, has proven to be a international issue of grand proportions, and Havana is stubbornly pushing back against the waves of pressure from friends and foes abroad. On Wednesday, authorities arrested or detained at least 30 recognized dissidents in order to prevent them from […]
This was a week of international attention for Cuba. On Tuesday, Orlando Zapata Tamayo—a 42-year-old plumber imprisoned in 2003 who was serving a 36-year sentence for disobedience of the government, among other charges—died in prison after an 85-day hunger strike in protest of inhumane prison conditions. His death drew condemnation from the United States, Canada, Spain […]