aqumada

I had not been out partying on a weekday (mon-thu) in more than a year. I made an exception to this unwritten rule yesterday. I had to…because the great "Israel Vibration" (I-vibe) was performing at BBKing's in New York City.

Israel Vibration is one of my favorite reggae bands (along with Burning spear, Culture, Third World, Black Uhuru, Wailers and all the classic roots bands) of all time. "Rudeboy Shufflin", a song from their 1991 album "Why You So Craven" is what introduced me to this exciting band. The music video of this song was a constant feature on a half an hour Caribbean music show BET used to carry in the mid nineties. If you have never heard of this song, I recommend it.

The concert started at about 9pm and was over by 11pm. There were several Ethiopians cramped together at the back of the dancing floor where there were tens of people getting down to the beat of the music. I had a couple of drinks and tried to make the best of the music by moving my sexy behind. Although I was disappointed that the band did not play "Rudeboy Shufflin", I had a great time.

Maxi-priest is next (Aug 4)!

http://www.bbkingblues.com/ The Spot

http://www.israelvibration.net/ The Band

Patrick Viera is one of the main reasons I love watching Arsenal FC. His elegance on the field, leadership skills, his incisive passes, and, sweet touches make him the best midfielder in the world. Juve certainly has made a great move by purchasing him from Arsenal. Many feel that Viera is not as great of a player he once was. Even if that may be true, I would take an 80% Viera over any other midfielder in the premier league. At Juventus, he will be combining with another great player,  Pavel Nedved, to cause havoc to their opponents. Arsenal, on the other hand, is trying to purchase the Brazilian Julio Baptista. As every other Brazilian international, Baptista is also a great player. However, I doubt he would be able to fill in the gap that will be left with the departure of Viera.

Farewell Viera!

The weekend was wonderful. Few friends from out of town and few local friends got together for some pre-party drinking at my place. Then we headed to a concert where the latest star in the Ethiopian music scene, Shewandagn, was performing. The hall was not air conditioned and we had to suffer in the heat. At some point in the morning, the heat became unbearable and while some of us left the hall preferring to enjoy the wonderful warm Harlem breeze, others chose the bushes:-) The concert would have been much better if it was held in a better hall.

For the first time, I tried inline skating (roller-blading). I managed to learn how to stand up and move forward. I have learned that rollerblading is all about how well one "V meqeser" and "L meqeser" to balance oneself on top of the fast flying wheelsJ (at least that is what my friend instructor claims). My behind kissed the ground few times but it did not stop me from enjoying myself. I am looking forward to make inline skating part of my daily activity.

There were few more blasts in London yesterday. I hope this is not an indication of a pattern of violence to come. If these blasts were intended to force a change in the direction of Great Britain's foreign policy, I am not sure that they will be effective. Experiences of post 9-11 security measures have taught us that the main consequences of such actions will be on the average Joe in the form of longer lines at Airports, longer lines at immigration offices, more intrusion into the private lives of peaceful citizens by the government, increase in the harassment of foreigners in general and Muslims in particular etc

Many, especially in developing nations, have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the foreign policies of western countries.  This is because the self-interest of developed nations does not go hand in hand with the interest of the majority people in the world. Not only people from the so-called third world but many citizens of the developed nations do not like the hegemony their governments have over other nations. This may be a bit hypocritical as most of these people (including myself) benefit directly or indirectly from the misery of people in the third world. (Coming back to my point) None the less, most from both sides of the issue agree with the point that killing of innocent people does nothing but exasperate the problem. Further more, the notion of committing terrorist acts in the name of religion not only is a disservice to the faithful but also exposes the faithful to direct as well as indirect retaliations.

Note: No one has been arrested for the latest bombings.

Kiribati (pronounced Kirbase) is a small overpopulated island in the Central Pacific. The island of Kiribati is a collection of atolls (with the total size of Baltimore) spread over in an area as big as the continental United States. Southern Tarawa is the biggest atoll and the capital of Kiribati. The I-Kirbati, as the inhabitants are known, are Micronesians that descended from Samoan refugees who cannibalized the natives of the island. The are, however, not as gruesome sounding as their forefathers. The I-Kirbati are fatalistic, carefree, and, friendly people who make their living from the sea.

Although my Geographical knowledge is not too shabby, I have never heard of Kiribati until I read the book, "The Sex Lives of Cannibals". The book is a story of an I-Matang (white guy), Troost, who along with his wife lived on Tarawa for two years. The author talks about his experiences on the island and makes a good case for why one should not  consider setting foot on the islandJ However, the author certainly inspired me to ponder over the possibility of taking a risk and exploring what some obscure corner of the world has to offer to me (and the vice versa). Perhaps in time, I will gather enough courage to venture out of my closed world and experience this fantasy. The book is brilliantly written, extremely funny, and, an easy read; I encourage everyone who is interested in anthropology and travel to read it.

Thanks L!... Great Gift!

Why do westerners believe that Africans deserve less than the best leaders? How else would one explain their support to such criminal leaders as Museveni, Kagme, Zenawi, Afeworki, and, others. Not only these leaders are considered to be "good" in African standard [by westerners] but some were selected as model leaders and partners by such leaders as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and, George Bush. Just because we have had worse leaders than these in the past, it does not mean that we deserve leaders who are only a notch above the absolute worst. Democracy does not have a different meaning based on location and wealth. We Africans are tired of westerners who prop up our dictators and turn around and pretend to shed their tears for our suffering. If the west is not willing to help our people, the least it could do is not to interfere in our internal affairs by bankrolling our dictators.

Amandla!

I had a chance to watch the video of  Dr. Berhanu Nega's town hall meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.  Most of the town hall meeting focused on the election process rather than specific policies.

My summary of Dr. Berhanu's observations on the election process

In the beginning, the EPRDF government was committed to holding a fraud-free election. This was not because the government was necessarily committed to a democratic process but rather it wanted to legitimize its rule through a formal election. This would enable the government to secure the aid and loans it needs (67% of the Ethiopian GDP). The government chose this particular time in the belief that there would be no one to mount a serious challenge to its rule. This was not unreasonable expectation given that there were no parties that were well organized. This belief was shared by independent observers as well as the opposition leaders themselves.

The opposition parties, however, planned to use this unique opportunity in the country's history to kick start a democratic political culture. Utilizing the Public Relations (PR) and organizational skills obtained in diaspora, CUD especially was able to mobilize thousands of people from both the urban and the rural areas. Thousands of people were routinely coming out to rallies to show their support to CUD. This development made the EPRDF government disconcerted. EPRDF, therefore, had to scramble to organize some sort of a counter campaign to offset the popularity that the oppositions were gaining. Not being able to win the PR battle, EPRDF was forced to resort to intimidation of opposition supporters through arrests and threats.

The first public debate that was held between the government and the oppositions which focused mainly on the land holding policy showed that the opposition would be able to stand toe to toe with the EPRDF government. The EPRDF government failed to defend its position convincingly. This fact coupled with the CUD manifesto helped to shatter the myth that the opposition would not be able to challenge the government on policy related issues. The culminating fact that demonstrated the fact that Ethiopian people were truly tired of the rule of the EPRDF regime was the famous rally held in Addis. Millions came to show their support to the opposition. This fact later translated to a complete drubbing of EPRDF in Addis during the election. One curious fact was that although EPRDF claimed to have 200,000 registered party members in Addis, the total number of votes it received was only 150,000.

A day after the election, the EPRDF government came out and declared itself as the winner. CUD president, Hailu Shawel, then responded by rejecting the election. This was a premature statement by both parties as the tallying of votes was not completed. AAU students who suspected of the government of planning to steal the election conducted a peaceful demonstration breaking the ban on demonstrations. This was later followed by taxi strikes and protests by other citizens. This led to the massacre of three dozen protesters by the EPRDF security forces.

Dr. Berhanu does believe in exploring all the avenues available to CUD before holding any sort of acts that would give the EPRDF government the justification to kill and torture Ethiopians. He believes that as long as the investigation is conducted in a transparent manner, EPRDF can not rig the election easily. He is a strong advocate of non-violence struggle.

On a personal level, I found that he was also extremely humorous and a great communicator. It is refreshing to listen to a voice of reason among all the hate being preached. I found his pragmatic and intelligent approach to the Ethiopian politics as ground breaking. I do not remember another Ethiopian leader who spoke with the same sort of reasonable and moderate tone. This is what Ethiopia needs not more intransigent groups. Indeed, he had demonstrated that he could be a worthy leader of Ethiopia.

The only discontent I had was the fact that CUD failed to strongly campaign in the Oromia region (by Dr. Berhanu's own admission). Although UEDF did well in Oromia, CUD should have demonstrated its commitment to the people of Oromia by spreading its message. This fact would also help to deconstruct the dangerous myth that CUD is an "Amhara/Gurage" party. Further more, CUD should also try extra-hard to include the people of Tigray who may feel ostracized by the rest of Ethiopians.

http://www.kestedemena.org (CUD's kestedemena/"Qinijit")

http://www.kestedemena.org/documents/cudmanifesto.pdf (CUD's manifesto)

BBC Hard Talk (H. Shawel) - Video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/progs/05/hardtalk/shawel05jul.ram

BBC Hard Talk (M. Zenawi) - Video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/progs/05/hardtalk/zenawi04jul.ram

Dr. Berhanu Nega (Stockholm) - Video

http://www.ethiopia.se/drberehanu.ram

Dr. Berhanu Nega (Brussels) - Audio

http://www.ethioindex.com/drberhanunegaeu.wma