I have to ask Putin33, who VOLUNTARILY goes to Mogadishu for TOURISM?

I don't know. People who like immaculate beaches and coral reefs.

"Yeah, let's not go to war with Somalia, but rather with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti! If there's one thing the American people will gladly support, it's a war for the territorial expansion of a Muslim country that isn't our ally against three others (two largely Christian) that are. "

At the time of the war over the Ogaden in the 1970s, Somalia was in fact an ally and Ethiopia had joined the Soviet camp. At any rate, the US did not need to go to war with anybody, but simply push for the international community to recognize the plebiscite held in the Northern Frontier District, call for a revote after the rigged plebiscite in French Somaliland leading up to Somali independence, and oppose Soviet & Cuban intervention in the Ogaden war. Instead, colonial boundaries were upheld, Ethiopian conquests were upheld, and this has led to problems for the country ever since.

"fun fact, I actually visited the mall in question twice in my life.

Once when I was 6 and once when I was 7."

Then your maximum age presently has to be 12, since the mall was built in 2007.

Somalia was the least visited nation in the world last year in 2012 besides a 21 square mile pacific island called Nauru that is a giant phosphate mine.

An estimated 500 tourists visited Somalia in 2012.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/30/business/mogadishu-holidays-business-economy

As your headline says Putin, Mogadishu "hopes" to be. People in hell "hope" to have icewater to drink. It's simply typical of you to misrepresent the facts. You posted that "Tourism, business, and construction are increasing in Mogadishu" when in fact Somalia had 500 tourists in 2012.

Somalia: 500 tourists
The most dangerous, deadly, corrupt and what not country in the world, Somalia, is visited by just a few hundred travelers a year, most of which remain in the safer northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland instead of looking for nightlife and fun in Mogadishu. It is possible to enter Somaliland from Djibouti per private transport. There is no touristic infrastructure to speak of apart from very few hotels in Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa and in Puntland’s commercial capital of Bosaso. In Mogadishu, safety in hotels cannot be guaranteed, not even and despite its name, in the "Peace Hotel", which has been described by the Time Magazine as "Best Hotel in Hell", what ever that means.
http://investvine.com/ten-10-least-visited-countries-in-the-world/

There is no way to count incoming travelers to Somalia, these numbers are pulled out of thin air.

so then there is no way for you to claim tourism is growing either and you fabricated your statements and the article you sited was pure propaganda as well.

Of course you are wrong Putin. Tourists travel on visas and buy plane tickets because they aren't sneaking around. They make hotel reservations with credit cards that are easy to quantify. The bottom line is you are totally full of shit and got exposed. Just don't fabricate posts and you won't look like an idiot.

All I said was tourism was growing. If it wasn't growing then why would they be building hotels?

And propaganda for whom? CNN does propaganda for Somalia now? What?

Your source wasn't even cited and you acknowledged that its 500 tourist number is unsubstantiated, how are you acting like you have credibility here?

You are a liar Putin. The source is cited at the end of the quote. The number is substantiated in the article. You know nothing of credibility. You have no credibility when you claim there is no way to count tourists coming into Somalia. Tourism is a business you moron. People travel with passports that get stamped when they cross borders. They use credit cards when they travel. Tourists are the easiest people to track on the face of the earth. You posted that "Tourism, business, and construction are increasing in Mogadishu" when in fact Somalia had 500 tourists in 2012, the second lowest total on the globe. Your post was intentionally misleading because you aren't interested in the truth or the facts. You are only interested in posting anything, true or untrue, that supports whatever horseshit you are arguing in a thread. So go ahead and keep pursing this one because it is entertaining to watch you squirm like the lying sack of shit you are.

"You are a liar Putin. The source is cited at the end of the quote. The number is substantiated in the article. You know nothing of credibility"

No, I mean the link you gave provided absolutely no citation for its information. That's because it was plagiarized from a blog written by someone who has visited every country in the world. The stuff about the phosphate mine is almost word for word what Garfors said.

http://www.garfors.com/2013/01/the-25-least-visited-countries-in-world.html

The 500 number comes from unknown "news reports". Your article gave no substantiation of the number whatsoever.

" Your post was intentionally misleading because you aren't interested in the truth or the facts. You are only interested in posting anything, true or untrue, that supports whatever horseshit you are arguing in a thread. "

You seem to be projecting your own habits onto me. All I said was these things are increasing. Are you going to tell me tourism was higher in 2010 or 2011, when Al Shabab was still in Mogadishu?

You are a liar and a hypocrite Putin. The citation for my article isn't from Gators, the link is right at the end of the quote. You supply a different link to obfuscate which is typical of you. You didn't produce any citation for the information in the CNN article you linked to. Your article gives no substantiation for its claims either. Another example of your endless hypocrisy.
This is your modus operandi Putin. You misrepresent the facts and then when you get exposed you start making hypocritical claims. Like I said before. It's entertaining watching you squirm like the lying piece of shit you are.
I like the way you completely neglected your claim "there is no way to count incoming travelers to Somalia, these numbers are pulled out of thin air." Tourism is the easiest thing in the world to track. This is why they can't find more than 500 because there isn't more. No wonder there aren't with the mountain of stories like these.
The government of Somalia requires everyone in the country to register their visit with the government if they don't enter with visa and stay permits. Those visas and stay permits are easy to track, and the government can't even provide figures on tourists because their are so few. http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/newsbriefs/2013/04/11/newsbrief-03
No wonder there aren't with the mountain of stories like these.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44788475/ns/world_news-africa/t/tourists-kidnappings-ravage-kenyan-tourist-area/#.UkUM8YaTDis

Within the last year the EuroMonitor website had this to say to perspective tourists regarding Somalia.
The governments of developed countries advise against visiting Somalia
According to trade sources, Somalia is often considered as a very dangerous country to visit. As a result, the governments of most developed nations advise their citizens to avoid all travel to the country. Travel and tourism is difficult to develop in such an environment, particularly when the risk of danger is high as indicated by kidnappings that occurred over the review period. It is also virtually impossible to obtain travel insurance for Somalia, leaving tourists vulnerable and heavily reliant on external assistance, which itself is difficult to rely upon.
Infrastructure completely lacking
Travel and tourism infrastructure in Somalia was virtually non-existent in 2011. There is no national tourism board, hotels are few and land transportation across the country is fraught with danger. There is tourism potential in Somalia as, according to trade sources, the country benefits from beautiful beaches, including diving on the Red Sea coast, and a wide array of flora and fauna. However, in 2011 the country remained too dangerous a location and thus it was unable to attract the amount of foreign investment necessary to develop travel and tourism.
http://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-somalia/report

So go ahead Putin and post your links to stories about the thousands of tourists visiting Somalia and the growing tourist business taking place in safe areas of Mogadishu. Just learn the difference between "hope" and reality.

Bono told David Letterman tonight that Africa loves the USA.

Did Bono tell Letterman that via satellite from his vacation hotspot in Mogadishu?

Africa does in general love the United States (exc. Egypt, Algeria, and Libya). We're the only western country that hasn't gone there and wrecked things for them. Many of them want an intervention, and we've provided one - a hundred soldiers on a mission to depose the LRA, an organization that is currently believed to be 29 people using guerrilla tactics that are very, very close to capture according to IC. The rest of Africa is a vast cultural melting pot and should stay that way without our help.

I talk to two kids from Africa weekly as part of my program with IC and I live a few houses away from a couple that was born in Nigeria. I guarantee you that the help we are providing them right now is the only help they need on a military level. Aside from Cambodia, Cameroon, Rwanda, Somalia, and a few other random countries that are in desperate need of humanitarian aid (*not* American aid), Africa is just fine.

Bono was focused on his two projects, Red and One and was saying how much the American people have done in both cases but especially with Red where AIDS is no longer a death sentence and 10 million people across Africa now receive treatment and don't just get a diagnosis of "You are HIV positive, sucks to be you".

He also pointed out that by 2050 half of the worlds youth population will be in Africa so it is a potential hot spot. Having those youth be fans of the west is way better than having them angry at the west. Also, he pointed out just how blended the society is down there with Christian and Muslim working together to try and improve life and how that could grow and expand if nurtured. He made some really good points.

"Travel and tourism infrastructure in Somalia was virtually non-existent in 2011."

So did it increase in 2012 or didn't it? Answer the question.

"the link is right at the end of the quote"

Yes, that's the point. The link you gave is to a plagiarized article who doesn't cite any of the numbers it gives.

2nd least visited country in the world is synonymous with non-existent. Why do you have such trouble comprehending basic concepts Putin? I have no idea if there were 500 tourists in Somalia in 2011. You've offered absolutely nothing on the matter which is typical of your posts, fabrication and completely unsupported opinion. The article isn't plagiarized. It uses the exact same substantiations as the Time article you linked to. You consistent hypocrisy prevents you from acknowledging that fact so I'll do it for you.

U.S. foreign policy is responsible.

Stop the drone attacks.

Make a drone attack on grandpa mapleleaf's house

Re: this discussion. When I spoke of punitive action, I immediately got put into the "carpet-bombing / random-bombing camp" by botox and Putin33.

But this is more like what I meant to say:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/10/05/world/africa/ap-af-somalia-military-strike.html?hp&_r=0

Like I said, this situation calls for a very precise white phosphorus munition to strike those responsible.

Maybe before EMac's divorce he can take a romantic couples vacation to Somalia.

"Enjoy... a romantic holiday... with nothing but your family, the blue ocean, a sunny sky and the battle ships of NATO's Operation Ocean Shield in sight"

Don't forget the pirates, anarchy, and copious amounts of Kalashnikovs.

But I don't want to be a pirate!