There is famine in Ethiopia in 2014, but it is known by other fancy names Famine in Ethiopia is a topic that horrifies me. Over the years, I have written long commentaries on the subject often challenging with incontrovertible facts the fabricated and false claims of the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front and its late leader…
I have often contended that the ruling regime in Ethiopia controlled by the Tigrean Liberation Front (TPLF) is a thugtatorship, the highest stage of African dictatorship. If democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people, a thugocracy is a government of thugs, for thugs, by thugs. My concern in this commentary is…
The rise of the “baksheesh state” in Ethiopia My long time readers by now know that I mint my own words and phrases whenever I find it necessary to convey my ideas and arguments with greater clarity, precision and creativity. In this commentary I introduce the concept of the “baksheesh state” (beggar state) to examine…
What does President Obama “know” about the 2015 “election” in Ethiopia? Last week, President Barack Obama met with a delegation of the regime in Ethiopia and said, “… the Prime Minister [Hailemariam Desalegn] and the government is going to be organizing elections in Ethiopia this year. I know something about that… And so we’ll have an opportunity to talk…
How I used to be proud of President Barack Obama First, I am never proud of politicians. Second, I am never ashamed of politicians. I am often dismayed and even angry over things they did (said) or did not do (say). Mostly, I am critical of politicians on some issue of accountability or lack of…
The truth is stranger than fiction In my September 7 commentary, DIFRET: The Abduction of a Film in Ethiopia, I expressed my outrage over the aborted Ethiopian premiere of the film DIFRET. That film, based on a “true story” of Aberash Bekele, tells the dramatic story of a teenage victim of the inhuman and barbaric practice…
I wish all of my weekly Ethiopian readers throughout the world a happy and prosperous Ethiopian New Year*. I join you joyfully in ringing in 2007 and ringing out 2006. For many of my Ethiopian readers in the United States, September 11 (Ethiopian New Year’s Day, Meskerem 1) is a festive day of celebration as…
What is the difference between the abduction of a young girl in a village and the “abduction” of a film by a young filmmaker in a capital city? “DIFRET” is an Amharic language feature film based on a “true story” of a teenager named Hirut (Tizeta Hagere, depicted in Sundance poster above) who is a…
In the “Game of Thrones”, (the book from which the internationally popular television series of the same name is adapted), rival lords among the ruling families clash violently to take over the kingdom of the Iron Throne. The internecine warfare rages on as the kingdom faces threats from otherworldly creatures. One of the battling lords in…
On April 10, 1957, 28 year-old Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) gave a speech at the St. Louis Freedom Rally in St. Louis, MO entitled, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations”. In his speech, MLK commended St. Louis for integrating its schools in a “quiet and…
