Interesting story in BBC, which was somewhat predictable, about how the Ethiopian-backed forces are affecting the economy and people in Somalia:

And businesses are doing a brisk trade despite the rocketing prices of most basic items as residents have begun to stockpile food in anticipation that prices will continue to rise.

[…]

Ahmed Sa’id Ali says he runs his shop alone and is taking the risk of remaining open.

“I put my gun into a box six months ago, but I picked it up today for my security, ” he says.

People are also frightened to answer their mobile phones in the streets because of security fears.

“I used to pick up my mobile everywhere for the last six months. I am scared now because I am not sure which place is safe for me to be on the phone,” a business woman Madiina Abuukar Heyle said.

The big question is thus whether the new Somali government can establish a stable enough base for the markets to function and people to return to a same or better standard of living than what they experienced in the past six months. I can’t help but think about how this parallels the complex issues raised by Britain’s return of Haile Selassie to his seat of power after chasing the Italians out of Ethiopia in 1941. I’ve noticed a couple books written about the subject in the past few years. Maybe it’s time to dust off my Master’s Thesis…

Sent to me this morning…

Afgani
– Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans
– Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian
– Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian
– Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic
– Antum salimoun
Assyrian
– Sheta Brikhta
Azeri
– Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali
– Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Bulgarian
– Chestita Nova Godina
Cambodian
– Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Cantonese (Hong Kong)
– Sun Leen Fai Lok
Catalan
– FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chinese
– Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican Language
– Pace e Salute
Croatian
– Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg (Welsh)
– Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czech
– Scastny Novy Rok
Danish
РGodt Nyt̴r
Dhivehi
– Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch
– GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo (Inuktitut)
– Ukiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto
– Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians
– Head uut aastat!
Ethiopian
– MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Finnish
– Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French
– Bonne Annee
Gaelic
– Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician [northwestern Spain]
– Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German
– Prosit Neujahr
Greek
– Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati
– Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian
– Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew
– L’Shannah Tovah
Hindi
– Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong Kong (Cantonese)
– Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian
– Boldog Ooy Ayvet
Indonesian
– Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian
– Saleh now mobarak
Iraqi
– Sanah Jadidah
Irish
– Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian
– Felice anno nuovo
Japanese
– Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle
– Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada
– Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii
– SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA
Khmer
– Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korean
– Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish
– NEWROZ PIROZBE
Lithuanian
– Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian
– Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian
– Srekjna Nova Godina
Malay
– Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi
– Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam
– Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Maltese
– Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal
– Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian
РGodt Nytt̴r
Papua New Guinea
– Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines)
– Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto
– Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian
– Saleh now ra tabrik migouyam
Philippines
– Manigong Bagong Taon
Polish
– Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese
– Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi
– Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian
– AN NOU FERICIT
Russian
– S Novim Godom
Samoa
– Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbian
– Srećna nova godina (Срећна Ð?ова Година)
Sindhi
– Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese
– Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki
– Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak
– A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovenian
РSre̬no novo leto
Somali
– Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish
– Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili
– Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish
– GOTT NYTT Ã…R! /Gott nytt Ã¥r!
Sudanese
– Warsa Enggal
Tamil
– Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Telegu
– Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai
– Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish
– Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian
– Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu
– Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek
– Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese
– Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh (Cymraeg)
– Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
Yiddish
– Ah goot yohr

Am I missing any? Now, if everyone could just agree on the same day and time for the new year, let alone the relative meaning of time, to go along with the universal way of speaking… :)

I used to live very close to the Greenwich observatory and would occasionally go and watch the original orange ball drop. The one thing that really stood out to me there, aside from the relationship between speed/distance of travel and timekeeping, is that things seem far less festive when they happen every day. I never met anyone there who was anxiously waiting to genuinely celebrate the change to 1pm. Maybe that’s just because we aren’t moving fast enough yet for the relativity to be significant enough…

From another perspective,”Globish” appears to be an attempt to move from isolated and relative languages to something more mean.

I say tomato … you say red, round fruit. Increasingly, people across the world use some sort of English, but it is not the Queen’s. Robert McCrum, Observer Literary Editor, reports on why Globish – English-lite – is becoming the universal language of boardroom, the net and politics

So, in that spirit, I think saying “A good year” is a fine way to bring in 2007.

This past summer I mentioned a bracelet called “Live Wrong” that parodied Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong”. I just noticed The Onion has revisited this idea, with another funny version called the Floyd Landis “Cheat to Win” bracelet. In true Onion style, you can buy your own on their online store for just $2.99…also, in related Onion news:

TAMPA PALMS, FL — Avid sports-memorabilia collector Michael Bowen was arrested Tuesday after attempting to raise the value of his Wade Boggs rookie card by killing Wade Boggs.

And if that doesn’t have you shedding a tear, this story might:

Thousands More Dead In Continuing Iraq Victory […] “Victory deaths are at a higher level than we had anticipated, yes,” Gen. George Casey, Jr. said at a press conference shortly after the figures were released. “But one of the crucial lessons of our Vietnam experience is that a victory, in order to remain victorious, can’t be abandoned halfway through, or in the case of Iraq, one-eighth of the way through.” […] President Bush has consistently warned that if we hand over victory to local forces right away, there’s a risk that victory may worsen, as Iraqis won’t be able to contend with the guerrilla attacks and improvised explosive devices that claim the lives of dozens of the victorious every day.