Somali quiz show, win a AK-47 and a few landmines

Started by Richard Hakluyt, October 20, 2009, 02:28:09 AM

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Richard Hakluyt

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8312447.stm

"The winners of a quiz organised by Somali Islamists have been given weapons and ammunition as prizes.

Prizes included AK-47 assault rifles, hand grenades and an anti-tank mine.

The quiz ran during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in the port city of Kismayo, and included questions about the Koran and Somali geography.

A representative for the al-Shabab militant group said the quiz aimed to stop young men from wasting their time and focus on defending their territory.

"The reason the young men were rewarded with weapons is to encourage them to participate in the ongoing holy war against the enemies of Allah in Somalia," AFP news agency quoted al-Shabab's Sheikh Abdullahi Alhaq as saying at Friday's prize-giving ceremony.

The winning team, from the city's Farjano district, reportedly won a rifle, two grenades, a landmine and office supplies worth $1,000 (£613).

But the runners-up did not go home empty-handed, taking away an AK-47 and bullets.

Al-Shabab and other Islamist rebels accused of having links to al-Qaeda dominate much of southern and central Somalia, where they have imposed strict Sharia law.

The country last had a functioning central government in 1991.

A weak UN-backed government runs only parts of the capital, Mogadishu. "


Maybe the heat winners will get to go to the Grand Final in Tehran in 2011 - "win a small nuke and blast 'em for Allah (PBUH)"  :D

HisMajestyBOB

That's actually kinda amusing, in a way. Funny foreigners. :lol:
Three lovely Prada points for HoI2 help

Jaron

This show could very well be American. I could see it being popular in Texas or ..well, any GOP state really.
Winner of THE grumbler point.

Syt

Quotewon a rifle, two grenades, a landmine and office supplies worth $1,000

:huh:
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

Strix

Quote from: Jaron on October 20, 2009, 02:52:09 AM
This show could very well be American. I could see it being popular in Texas or ..well, any GOP state really.

Yet, oddly enough, it's those pesky Democrat controlled major cities that have gun and violence issues.

Go figure...
"I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left." - Margaret Thatcher

Jaron

Quote from: Strix on October 20, 2009, 04:16:11 AM
Quote from: Jaron on October 20, 2009, 02:52:09 AM
This show could very well be American. I could see it being popular in Texas or ..well, any GOP state really.

Yet, oddly enough, it's those pesky Democrat controlled major cities that have gun and violence issues.

Go figure...

Heh...

Even the peaceful tidepools get flooded at high tide, my friend.
Winner of THE grumbler point.

Caliga

Quote from: Syt on October 20, 2009, 04:02:26 AM
Quotewon a rifle, two grenades, a landmine and office supplies worth $1,000

:huh:
Those Islamic militants have alot of unnecessary paperwork to deal with after an attack.  :(
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

The Brain

Women want me. Men want to be with me.

DGuller

How ironic.  The most uncivilized country on earth is very liberated about handing out assault rifles and landmines, while the good old US of A requires you to wait up to a week before buying those items with your own money.

Winkelried

Quote from: Syt on October 20, 2009, 04:02:26 AM
Quotewon a rifle, two grenades, a landmine and office supplies worth $1,000

:huh:

To write fatwas.

The Minsky Moment

Quote from: Strix on October 20, 2009, 04:16:11 AM
Quote from: Jaron on October 20, 2009, 02:52:09 AM
This show could very well be American. I could see it being popular in Texas or ..well, any GOP state really.

Yet, oddly enough, it's those pesky Democrat controlled major cities that have gun and violence issues.

Wrong.
Unintentional firearm deaths and suicides are proportionately higher in rural areas.
The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

Barrister

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 20, 2009, 11:25:18 AM
Quote from: Strix on October 20, 2009, 04:16:11 AM
Quote from: Jaron on October 20, 2009, 02:52:09 AM
This show could very well be American. I could see it being popular in Texas or ..well, any GOP state really.

Yet, oddly enough, it's those pesky Democrat controlled major cities that have gun and violence issues.

Wrong.
Unintentional firearm deaths and suicides are proportionately higher in rural areas.

What about the intentional firearm deaths?
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

The Minsky Moment

Quote from: Barrister on October 20, 2009, 11:58:52 AM
What about the intentional firearm deaths?

Suicides by firearm are proportionately higher in rural areas.

Intentional deaths of all kinds not involving handguns (ie shotguns or long guns) are also proportionately higher in rural areas, which is relevant to the thread.
The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
--Joan Robinson

Barrister

Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

DGuller

On the one hand, having spent a lot of time in Jersey City and Atlantic City, I have frequently missed the right to have a gun on myself.  On the other hand, does anybody actually believe that gun ownership saves more lives from preventing murders than it takes by making accidents or suicides more likely?  I don't think it's even close, and I'm not even sure that there are any lives to be saved by gun ownership.  More guns means more guns for everyone, and higher likelihood of a criminal feeling like they have to be ready to use them.