Witnesses tell VOA heavily armed fighters with the hardline Islamist group, al-Shabab, met no resistance when they rolled into the southern city of Dobley early Saturday…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: quezon city. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: cities mayor.

Islamist insurgents tell UN’s World Food Program to stop importing food aid. Al-Shabab group says massive importing of food is ruining Somalia’s agriculture sector…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: food. The blog is also related to: food.

Powerful Islamist insurgents in Somalia tell the UN World Food Programme to stop importing food and buy local produce…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: food. The blog is also related to: food.

Through DNA testing, I learned that my Y-DNA haplogroup is E1b1a/M2 (formerly known as E3a).

Y-DNA, or Y-chromosome DNA, is patrilineal (male-lineage).

After I took my mtDNA test, I followed up with a Y-DNA test.  Once again, the process was as follows: I used the same DNA company as with my mtDNA test. There are numerous ones to choose from (Family Tree DNA, National Genographic, etc.). I paid for the test and received a package that contained testing materials. I swabbed the inside of my mouth and returned the testing materials to the DNA company.

Weeks later, I had my results.

My haplogroup E1b1a/M2 is approximately 30,000 years old, and descends from the paternal father clade PN2/P2. PN2/E is an African clade and approx 35k years old. PN2 is also the father of M35 (approx. 22,000 years old) and M78 (approx. 17,000 years old) (Source: Cruciani et al., p. 1018, 2004). E1b1b (formerly E3b) falls from the branch of M35, which The Jewish Virtual Library attributes as a major founding lineage among Ashkenazi Jews.

In a study that presented frequencies of haplogroups J and E among various groups, including both Ashkenazi and Sephardic populations, researchers found 14 out of 77 Ashkenazim (18.2%) were E3b, while 12 out of 40 Sephardim were E3b (30%) (Semino et al. 2004).

“The Y-chromosome clade defined by the PN2 transtion (PN2/M35, PN2/M2) shatters the boundaries of the phenotypically defined races” (Source: Keita, 2004, p. S18-19).

 M78 gave birth to V12 and V13, both found in populations in Greece and Italy.

M2 is found at high frequencies in West Africa. M2 is found in approximately 58-60% of African Americans as well.

M2 can be found among 8.4% of Sephardic Jews.  (Source: “Hisory in the Interpretation of the Patten of p49a, f RFLP Y-Chromosome Variation in Egypt: A Consideration of Multiple Lines of Evidence TaqI” Keita, 2005)

M2 is found at 80% among the Tutsis of Eastern Central Africa who are thought to be originally eastern Ethiopians or Egyptian/Nile Valley people. Tutsis are said to be related to Jews. Tutsis are 100% of African origin. (Source)

M2 is one of the three prevalent groups among the Nubians: M2, M35, and M78.

In a study of the three common variants in Egypt, M2 was found at 67% (Source: “Hisory in the Interpretation of the Patten of p49a, f RFLP Y-Chromosome Variation in Egypt: A Consideration of Multiple Lines of Evidence TaqI” Keita, 2005).

Bantu Migration Map

 (Source)

“The Bantu expansion was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group. This group is hypothesized to have originated from modern day Cameroon. A diffusion of language and knowledge spread among neighbouring populations, and a creation of new societal groups involving inter-marriage spread to new areas and communities. The expansion is taken to have begun after the introduction of agriculture, which would indicate a date of ca. 3000-2500 BC for the early expansion within West Africa, followed by first eastwards and southwards migrations beyond West Africa from about 1500 to 1000 BC.” (Source)

“Haplotype IV has substantial frequencies in upper Egypt and Nubia, greater than VI and VII. Sometimes haplotype IV is seen as being associated with “Bantu expansion” but this does not mean that it is not much older. Bantu languages were never spoken in these regions or Senegal, where M2 is greater than 90% in some studies. (Keita, 2004, p. 229).

*M2 is represented by Haplogroup IV* 

Senegal is represented by the Western Atlantic family group of the Niger-Congo (A) language family.

The Igbo language of Nigeria falls into the West Benue-Congo family group of the Niger-Congo (A) language family.

“Haplotypes XI and IV, called ‘‘southern,’’ with IV labeled ‘‘sub-Saharan,’’ have their lowest frequencies in lower (northern) Egypt, but increase in upper (southern) Egypt and lower Nubia.” (Source: Keita, 2005).

“Early Afro-Asiatic Speakers, along with those of Nilo-Saharan, were likely drawn into the Sahara which was less arid in the late pleistocene in the early holocene after the last glacial maximum.” (Source: Keita, 2004)

“Haplotype IV, designating the M2 subclade as noted is found in high frequency in West, Central and sub-equatorial Africa in speakers of Niger-Congo — which may have a special relationship with Nilo-Saharan — spoken by Nubians.” (Source: Keita, 2004).

The Afro-Asiatic Language groups consists of Chadic, Egpytian, Berber, Omotic, Cushitic, and Semitic languages.

“The Nilo-Saharan languages are African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers (hence the term “Nilo-”), including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of Africa: from Algeria and Mali in the northwest; to Benin, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the south; and Sudan to Tanzania in the east (excluding the Horn of Africa). The largest part of its major subfamilies are found in the modern nation of Sudan, through which the Nile River flows in all its incarnations: the White and Blue Nile, which join to form the main Nile at Khartoum. As seen in the hyphenated name (compare map at right), Nilo-Saharan is primarily a family of the African interior, including the greater Nile basin and its tributaries as well as the central Sahara desert.” (Source)

“Recently Roger Blench has proposed that Niger-Congo is simply a branch of Nilo-Saharan, most closely related to the Central Sudanic family of Nilo-Saharan in the centre of the African continent. If this view is correct, Niger-Congo would have originated farther east than is us ually assumed, perhaps to the northwest of the present-day central Sudan. The Congo family, in Sudan, is assumed to have moved eastwards. The other families of Niger-Congo presumably were gradually compressed into West Africa as a result of the desiccation of the Sahara. As Western Africa became more crowded, Adamawa-Ubangi and Bantu expanded southwards into central Africa and later, in the case of Bantu, into eastern and southern Africa….Two relatively small families, Dogon and Ijoid, are thought to have split off next. Dogon with little internal differentiation, remained on land, south of the bend in the Niger, while Ijoid, with somewhat more internal differentiation into Defaka and the Ijo group, moved down the Niger to its confluence with the Benue and then either directly along the Niger or via the Benue and Cross River to the Niger Delta and associated waterways where it is found today….” (Source)

“So-called Saharo-Sudanese or Aqualithic speakers are found from Nile to Niger rivers in the Sahara and Sahel, and south into Kenya.” (Source: Keita, 2004).

*Hausas who reside mainly in northern Nigeria  speak Hausa, which is a Chadic language from the Afro-Asiatic language family.

My family

Hausa-Fulani Girl

Wolof (Senegal) Griot

Genevieve Nnaji (Igbo)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Igbo)

Somali Woman

Lemar Obika (Igbo)

Hade ett kundbesök att göra igår eftermiddag, och då det var en bit söderut passade jag på att åka och hälsa på Camilla och Mindy. Camilla hade bett mig att komma förbi vid tillfälle för att öva hennes nya katter på andra hundar än Mindy. Klart vi stället upp Men vet ni! Jag körde fel! Camilla är en av mina äldsta vänner och jag hittade inte hem till henne! Vet inte vad jag ska skylla på……. men hon har ju inte bott där ute på landet så länge………bara 3-4 år! Och det var mörkt! Jag såg inte……så det blev lite tokigt. He he, så pinsamt!
Nåja, av de två kullarna med katter de fick för drygt sex månader sen, lyckade de bara hitta nya hem till ungarna i den äldsta kullen. De två ungarna i yngsta kullen har fått flytta hem till Camilla. Så kan det gå när man är djurvän! De hade vuxit en hel del sen F Ö R R A . G Å N G E N jag såg dem, men de var fortfarande lika söta. Spöket (hane) och Markattan (hona) heter de!

Spöket

Markattan

Förra gången vi träffade dem blev Doris väldigt uppspelt! Aldrig att jag hade släppt henne då, hon fick vara kopplad hela det besöket. Men då var det ju fem kattungar och det var för Doris ett helt nytt ställe. Nu var det hos Camilla där hon varit tidigare och det var bara två kattungar. Ja, och så plus Camillas två katter sen tidigare också. Denna gången var Doris inte lika tuff! Kattungarna, speciellt Spöket, var väldigt nyfikna på henne. Och ville lukta på henne hela tiden. Ha ha, hon blev lite stressad av att ha en katt upp i gumpen hela tiden. Visste inte hur hon skulle komma undan.

Här försöker Doris komma undan en nyfiken katt. Klättrar över utedynorna som låg i ett hörn för att slippa gå förbi en liten (!) kattunge. Fjant!

Efter en stund hoppade Doris upp i soffan och rullade ihop sig tätt, tätt intill Camillas pojkvän. Där var de tryggt. Och så blev man klappad och fick lite tuggodis. Doris blev såklart väldigt förtjust i honom och tyckte han var toppen. Fick knappt med henne hem.

Det var Camilla som först presenterade mig för rasen S O M A L I, när jag såg hennes katter första gången fastnade jag direkt för rasen. Då hade hon precis skaffat två honor, den ena lever tyvärr inte längre, men den andra hälsade jag på igår:

Fortfarande söt som socker

Camilla tog kull på ena honan och behöll hanen som blev i den kullen. Han är nu sju år:

Mor och son. Visst är de vackra?

Efter att ha fikat och tjôtat en stund bar det av hemåt igen. Och då hittade jag som tur var, phew!

Últimamente he de reconocer que estoy un poco ‘pesao’ con eso de hacer números. Miro la rentabilidad en todo. Y a todo le intento buscar ese sentido oculto que aguarda a las cosas que devuelven dinero. El otro día, destilando una resaca, me encontré haciendo números con el dichosos secuestro del ‘Alakrana’. ¿Cuánto costará -me pregunté- una pieza de atún?

El móvil para hallar la respuesta no era la crítica al Gobierno y sus compinches del CNI. No. Creo que en estos asuntos, donde el personal ‘diplomático’ tiene que vérselas con traficantes y secuestradores (perdón, pero lo de llamar a esta gente ‘piratas’ me parece añadir una literatura gratuita al asunto…) sea algo opinable. Y menos para gente, como nosotros, que vemos el filme por TV, desde nuestro salón urbanita, acompañados de más urbanitas, cuya mayor aventura ha sido ponerse ciego en el Space (en Ibiza; por cierto, histórica cuna de verdaderos piratas. Y si no, miren cómo se las gasta allí el Matutes).

Sinceramente, me sonroja mucho ver a tertulianos de mantel y caldereta decir cómo se tenían que haber hecho las cosas. Siempre en pasado, claro. ¡Pero qué sabrá el personal de tratar con mafiosos! Qué sabrán, si les llaman ‘piratas’. Por el amor de Dios, estos señores tienen abogados en Reino Unido porque han sabido adaptarse al medio. Son especialistas. Y lo están demostrando con pescadores de Portugal, Francia, Holanda…

Por mucho que digan desde el Gobierno. Alguien, la aseguradora, el patrón, la heredera del Conde de Peñalver, ha pagado los 2,3 millones de euros (unos 400 millones de pesetas). La preunta, desde esta pulsión inconsciente por la rentabilidad, sería: ¿es mucho o poco? Pues, lo crean o no, me parece poco. Sobretodo si contamos con los gastos colaterales que ha supuesto el altercado para el Estado. No es que vaya de listillo. Yo no le saco al Estado ni una contrata para fregar suelos en La Moncloa… Pero un mínimo chequeo arroja cantidades mucho mayores.

Veamos: dos fragatas trasldadas a la zona, con su tripulación y sus marines vallecanos (cientos; de modo que calculen el gasto en salarios). Combustible para llegar hasta allí. Y combustible para los helicópteros. Desplazamientos y dietas (¡ojo a esta partida!) de diplomáticos y espías.

(NOTA PARA EL BLOG BUENO: ¿qué hace un espía español en Somalia? ¿Se disfraza de Baltasar)

A lo que habría que sumar los gastos en comunicación, ruedas de prensa, llamadas telefónicas. Ah, y las famosas ‘mordidas’ para hacer que un somalí cante algo, aunque sea un chotis. Quienes hemos tenido que hacer negocio en África sabemos que poco a poco te vas convirtiendo en una estación de peaje a la inversa, donde vas soltando ‘parné’ conforme se va acercando gente.

Desconozco el montante total. Pongamos que se han ido unos 100 o 200 millones de euros. Sí, sí. O más. Pues bien, obviando el rescate, ¿podemos decir que es un gasto desmedido? Visto lo visto, los Gobiernos europeos lo tienen claro. Esos que dan ejemplo de comportamiento a todo ‘quisqui’. Esos cuya moral desaparece sin la compañía de una cámara de TV, han hecho números y han visto que hay rentablidad; al aparecer ante la opinión pública como rescatadores de compatriotas como usted o como yo. Como dice el anuncio: “hay cosas que no se pagan con dinero”. Sino con “mucho dinero”, añadiría.

En Zahara de los atunes, un pescador me dijo que en una almadraba podían sacar más de cien piezas. Aunque la cosa estaba “jodía”, dado que cada año son menos los atunes que cruzan el Estrecho en busca de agua más fresca. Bien, aceptando que, hasta el momento del secuestro, la pesca del Alakrana haya ido bien. Muy bien. Estaríamos en unas 2.000 piezas (soy así de generoso cuando hago cuentas: así me va…).

La cuenta es sencilla: 202,3 millones de euros, dividido entre 2.000 piezas. Igual a 101.150 euros por atún. ¡Ni el caviar ruso, oiga!

Nawal Ali came from Somalia in 1994. (Photo: Penny Stephens)

She has also heard it in the condescension of would-be do-gooders, and she has seen it manifested in the depression and anxiety of its victims.

”People often feel isolation after a [racist] incident,” says the 20-year-old, whose family came to Australia in 1994. ”They feel marginalised and excluded from society.”

Bur Ms Ali is determined to fight discrimination. She works at RISE, the Refugees Survivors and Ex-Detainees drop-in centre in Flinders Lane.

Her experiences tally with the findings of a new report released yesterday by VicHealth, which found that racism is unhealthy as well as socially disruptive.

The report, written for VicHealth by Melbourne University’s Dr Yin Paradies, reviewed 300 studies that showed strong links between racial discrimination and health problems, and calls for more workplace-based education programs.

Health problems may come in the form of stress or depression, or be the result of violence, or manifest as heart problems, smoking, obesity and diabetes.

”In the last 10 years, a lot of work has gone into looking at racism as a determinant of health,” Dr Paradies said. ”There are

[anti-racism] programs around but there are no evaluations – we just don’t know what works.”

He said a lot more could be done to encourage empathy and dispel false beliefs in the workplace. Research had found it was more effective to change people’s behaviour, then let their attitudes follow, rather than try to change attitudes first, he said.

VicHealth chief executive Todd Harper said Victoria had a great record of fostering cultural diversity, but indigenous and overseas-born Victorians were still reporting high rates of discrimination.

Source: The Age

Umar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke says the summit just concluded in Rome has been helpful because it drew the world’s attention to the problem of world hunger, but it has also shown there’s still a long way to go to meet UN goals for improving food security worldwide…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: food. The blog is also related to: food.

Ja, vad säger man när man vaknar med ett ridspö bredvid sig i sängen!
Nu har jag inte haft en lika vild natt som det låter, utan det är Garion som tyckte att matte skulle strunta i sin skönhetssömn och kliva upp och leka lite med honom istället.
När jag skaffade Gilda för fem år sedan fick jag tipset av en kompis att skaffa ett ridspö att leka med henne med. Sagt och gjort, jag köpte ett ridspö för 45 kr på ett stort varuhus på halländska landsbygden. Och det blev succé. Gilda älskade det och Garion är ännu mer tokig i det. Kommer dragandes med det där spöet hela tiden. I den ändan man håller sitter det en liten metallgrej som dekoration, och när han då tar tag i andra änden med munnen och drar spöet efter sig låter det ganska mycket. Tur man bor nederst……. Detta var vad som hände i natt. Jag hade precis slumrat in när jag vaknade av ljudet av att han kom med spöet dragandes efter sig.
Sen hoppade lilla Garion upp i sängen med ett en och en halv meter långt ridspö. Fråga mig inte hur han bär sig åt, men lyckas gör han alltid. Jag har ganska hög säng, ca 65 cm, men det är inga större problem för honom att få upp hela spöet. Han har vanan inne. Gubben. Men jag ville inte leka, jag ville sova, så jag slängde ner det igen. Och Garion efter. Och så upp igen i sängen med spöet.
-Lägg av, tyckte jag och slängde ner det igen.
Kul lek, tyckte Garion och dök efter spöet igen. Ja, ni fattar, lika bra låtsas som inget och sova med ett ridspö i sängen…….

Gilda i förgrunden och Garion i en för honom typisk fjantig position i bakgrunden

‘Maersk Alabama’ was going to Kenyan port city of Mombasa when it came under attack… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: fattest city. The blog is also related to: populations cities.

Maersk Alabama was going to Kenyan port city of Mombasa when it came under attack… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: major city. The blog is also related to: city financial.

Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama again. As you may recall, the ship was attacked in April and took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage. Remember the SEAL sharpshooters? They freed Phillips while killing 3 pirates. Remember the nighttime headshot on Easter? GO NAVY!

This time around, guards on board the U.S.-flagged cargo ship repelled the takeover attempt.

Pirates have increased their attacks in recent weeks as the monsoon season ends.

Some, as they say, never learn…

Drink one for me,

Woody

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announces the ship’s release at a news conference Tuesday… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: boat store. The blog is also related to: boats for sale.

Somali pirates release a Spanish trawler and its 36 crew members after holding it for six weeks, Spain’s prime minister says…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: old boat. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: model boat.

The more involvement by the international community, the better.  Lack of interest and concern has run its course, especially these last few years.

The European Union is expected to endorse plans to send troops to help train up to 2,000 Somali troops, according to an EU official.

Under the plan, up to 200 EU troops will train Somali military personnel in Uganda in a bid to broaden engagement in the crisis-hit state.

The move comes on the heels of a request by the Somali government to help build a 6,000-strong police force.

Somalia has been gripped by fierce fighting since 2007 and the country has not had a strong central government since 1991.

More than 1.5 million people have been uprooted by the fighting which has claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

Western countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help the country develop its security forces and help restore order.

The EU is also running an anti-piracy mission in the water of the Gulf of Aden in a bid to clamp down on the number of attacks made by pirates over the last year.

Here is full link.

Back ground info on the EU  Atalanta mission.

Operation Commander of EUNAVFOR Atalanta Rear-Admiral Philip CNN interview.

Deputy Interior Minister Bashir Abdi said that international donors need to fulfill their financial pledges…. From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: gum recession. The blog is also related to: recession stocks.