Monthly Archives: February 2016

Kickin’ it with Reeyot Invictus and…

Reeyot Eskedar pix 30

Author’s note: This is Part I in a forthcoming series relating my conversations with Reeyot Alemu and her amazing story in the defense of press freedom in Ethiopia. It is also about conversations with an extraordinary group of young …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Prominent Ethiopian scholar Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw passed away

Dr Maigenet ShiferrawEthiopians in the Washington DC Metro Area are shocked to learned about the passing of Dr. Maigenet Shifferraw this week.

Dr Maigenet and her husband Prof. Getachew Metaferia are prominent members of the Ethiopian community and strong advocates of human …

Posted in Ethiopia

Understanding the current protests in Ethiopia: A rejoinder – Prof. Minga Negash

Oromo protests

On February 23, 2016 in a televised interview Prime Minister Haile Mariam Dessalegn announced that the three month long public uprising is accompanied by an armed insurrection. Ironically what the Prime Minister described is the same route that put his …

Posted in Ethiopia

Ethiopia at the Eleventh Hour of Peaceful Change – Messay Kebede

Logically, one would hope that the Oromo uprising and the undeniable general discontent and frustration in the country call for a serious movement toward a reformist dissent within the TPLF and perhaps the army. In whichever way the present situation …

Posted in Ethiopia, Ethiopia News

A Special “Message in a Bottle” to Ethiopian Cheetahs: Born Free, Live Free!

(Classified: For Ethiopian Cheetahs’ Eyes Only)

My first “Message” from 2013

Cheetahs30

This is my second special message to Ethiopia’s “Cheetah Generation”, Ethiopia’s young people, in three years.

In January 2013, I wrote a new year’s message in which …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Bern, Baby, Bern in “Hell (All Y’all) Women Who Don’t Support Hillary”?

Sanders Women 20

A fatwa against young women?

Hell hath no fury like a…

Who said that? William Congreve or William Shakespeare?

Two high priestess of the establishment democratic party last week issued their fatwas from the Clinton Canine Command Center (CCCC) against …

Posted in Ethiopia News

On the Passing of Justice Antonin G. Scalia

Scalia pix

In January 2013, the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin G. Scalia  declared the U.S. Constitution “is not a living document. It’s dead, dead, dead.”

Justice Scalia made the remark at Southern Methodist University law school indicating his exasperation …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Oromo Protesters Burned Down Properties. Should we Condemn or Condone It? – Prof. Seid Hassan


By Seid Hassan | Murray State University

In addition to the senseless killings of protesters by the ruling party against the Oromos, the latest video clips and news reports also indicate that the same protests in Oromia region have led …

Posted in Ethiopia

Ah! Qatari Resort in Addis Ababa! Why Don’t Ethiopians Eat Cake?

Fifteen million Ethiopians are suffering Biblical famine right NOW!

The Thugtatorship of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (T-TPLF) is chasing after “resort developers” from the Middle East.

What about the fifteen million facing the Biblical Black Horseman?

The T-TPLF says, …

Posted in Ethiopia News

War of the Long Knives and Cheap Shots on Bernie Sanders

Sanders Pix 1

It is the season for the Clintons to tar and feather Bernie Sanders.

Could their campaign of fear and smear against Bernie Sanders succeed?

I was shocked to see last week Chelsea Clinton rolled out in the role of attack …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia Under the Boots of the T-TPLF Beast With Feet of Clay

Author’s Note: This is the fourth commentary in a series dealing with land, land use, misuse, overlordship and ownership in Ethiopia. In my first commentary, I examined the decline and fall of “Karuturistan”, the hundreds of thousands of hectares …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Why I am Supporting Bernie Sanders for President (and Why You Should Too)

Bernie Sanders pixI am now declaring my support for Bernie Sanders, the dark horse of the Democratic Party, to become the next President of the United States.

It is refreshing act of moral self-affirmation for me to support a man who lives …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Then and Now: A Rejoinder to my Critics – Messay Kebede

In the last article I posted, titled “Unity Overrides Everything,” I urged the Amhara to join the ongoing Oromo protests even if their reluctance is understandable in the face of the protests being confined to ethnic issues. Some of my …

Posted in Ethiopia News