This Music is Really Good for You - V

I love to listen to both secular and Christian music. In my opinion, the quality and creativity in today's Christian music scene is better than what I see in the secular music scene. Here are a couple of my favorites Christian songs of late. The first one is a reflective song by a soloist named Bebo Norman and the second one is an upbeat song from is a group called Casting Crowns. Enjoy!

Haile to the Chief!

Haile Gebrselassie retires! "It is better to stop here." Maybe not yet.

Thanks for the memories and best wishes on your next adventure(s)!

Eskinder Nega takes Haile to task for his recent flirtation with Meles. He also takes a critical look at Haile's rash announcement of his retirement and his political aspiration. Read here.

A shellacking for Obama's agenda

I was expecting the American electorate would rebuke President Obama's leftist agenda in last Tuesday's US midterm election. Instead, what they actually delivered was a strong repudiation of that agenda. When I voted for Obama in 2008 I did so with the hope that he would govern from the political center and that he would offer a more pragmatic foreign policy. What the country got from him and the Democratic party, unfortunately, was an unbridled expansion of government in a time of high economic distress and an apology tour by Obama that sent the wrong signals to enemies of the US. Now that the Democrats have been given a shellacking, one would expect that they will moderate and tack to the center. But judging from their early reactions to the elections, I highly doubt that that will happen. As for me, I will do what I can to defeat their redistribution of wealth and social engineering agenda here in the US and elsewhere.

Obama's loss Africa's gain?

I read an opinion piece by G. Pascal Zachary yesterday titled "Midterm elections could give a boost to Africa – if the Democrats lose." The article suggests that the expected rebuke for President Obama and his party at the polls next Tuesday will force Obama to intervene more vigorously in African affairs than he would otherwise prefer.

I think this is wishful thinking. I do not expect to see a significant policy shift on Afican issues by the Obama Administration whcih will result from the outcome of the election. Obama has been pursuing essentially the same policies of his predecessor, with only minor tweaks, when it comes to US policy towards African issues. If Obama was inclined to make his mark on Africa, we would have seen him get engaged personally at least a year ago.

Now that Obama is more likely to be viewed as a lame duck president after the election, I doubt that he will be any more proactive in African affairs. Besides, his more intimate knowledge of Africa, which he acquired by virtue of his African heritage, will likely inform him that Africa is not the place where he should expend his limitted polical capital. The more likely scenario for Obama's Africa policy in the next two years is an ad hoc policy dictated by crises.

The True Size of Africa

Click on the image for a much larger image.

Witnessing the Birth of a New Nation

The referendum that is to take place early next year in Southern Sudan is sure to give birth to Africa's newest nation, though there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome before this becomes a reality. But are Ethiopians ready to welcome a new nation-state to their west and all that it entails, both good and bad? Here is a fascinating music and dance to help you ponder this thought. Enjoy!

How is a job created?

Government does not create a job.

Birtukan is "pardoned" and released (again)

Glad her imprisonment is over. But is she really free? I doubt it.

The practice of pardoning Birtukan Mideksa

"...given her past practice, I wouldn't be surprised if she asked for pardon again, and given the practice of the government, I wouldn't be surprised if the government were to pardon her again..."

Video starts at the 46:36 minute mark. The quote is found at the 52:00 minute mark.

Reaganomics vs. Obamanomics

A Tale of Two Recoveries: The state of the economy after a year of 'rebound.' (WSJ, 9/22/2010)


Recession May Be Over, but Joblessness Remains (New York Times, 9/20/2010)


The verdict is clear: most of Obama's economic policies have proven to be ineffective in stimulating a recovery and job creation. It's no wonder that most of the architects of his economic policies have left the administration or are planning to leave soon.

Ethiopia's trends compared with some selected countries

The graphs below are made using Google's public data explorer. What's neat about this tool is that it allows you to quickly visualize data and spot trends. I wanted to see how Ethiopia's trends compared with some selected countries. The results speak for themselves, but I think you should take them with a grain of salt since the data comes from the World Bank which, in turn, gets a lot of its data directly from member countries.

"Radical Islam is world's greatest threat"

Tony Blair believes so and I agree.

Here is another example of radical Islam asserting its political muscle in the streets of France.



A quote from Tony Blair's new book "A Journey: My Political Life" makes this point crystal clear:

Here is where the root of the problem lies. The extremists are small in number, but their narrative—which sees Islam as the victim of a scornful West externally, and an insufficiently religious leadership internally—has a far bigger hold. Indeed, such is the hold that much of the current political leadership feels impelled to go along with this narrative for fear of losing
support...

...Defeating the visible and terrifying manifestations of religious extremism is not enough. Indeed I would go further: This extremism won't be defeated simply by focusing on the extremists alone. It is the narrative that has to be assailed. It has to be avowed, acknowledged; then taken on, inside and outside Islam. It should not be respected. It should be confronted, disagreed with, argued against on grounds of politics, security and religion.

Dreams Dashed

Musings on the Rule of Law (and funny stories from China)

Katrina Retrospective: 5 Years After the Storm

The more humans try to control nature, the more they will be surprised by the force that is behind nature. Katrina is a great example of this.

February Sea - George Winston

George Winston is one of my favorite musicians. This song is my favorite of all his compositions, so much so that I used it as one of the song choices for my wedding. This kid does a great job playing the song. Enjoy!

Opposition candidate wins presidential vote in Somaliland

Somalilanders went to the polls on 26th of June and elected an opposition party candidate, Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo of the Kulmiye party, to be their next president. The incumbent president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, which came in a distant second, has promised to honor the result.

If this comes to fruition and Mr. Kahin hands the reigns of power to Mr. Silanyo, then we are at the cusp of witnessing history being made in the Horn of Africa, namely the first peaceful transfer of power from a ruling party to an opposition party. What a tremendous accomplishment for Somaliland this could turn out to be!

This golden opportunity to put Somaliland in the spotlight could be a waisted opportunity if Mr. Silanyo fails to deliver. I hope he will listen to voices such as Soyan Guled's and other moderate voices, and I wish him best of luck -- he needs all the luck he can get in that dangerous corner of the world.

On a sour note, the Woyane regime that did all it can under the sun to prevent the Ethiopian people from freely expressing their hopes and wishes in the election held just six weeks ago has sent its praise for the outgoing president, Mr. Kahin, for "his high sense of obligation to the people of Somaliland." Strange, isn't it?

Proud of Team USA

Update: I was disappointed with the US team's performance yesterday against Ghana, but I am still proud of the team's performance as a whole in the 2010 World Cup. I want Bob Bradley to continue in his head coaching job, but only if he is going to give younger and promising players more chances to prove themselves in meaningful games.

USA 1 : England 1

Can I have that one back? No, thank you very much!!!

Advice to the opposition

I hope the Ethiopian opposition leaders will heed and act on these sound advices.

Eskinder Nega

Addressing the immediate challenges:

Now is the time for the legal opposition to address the challenges it faces, exploit the political opportunities, and isolate the hazards that need to be shunned. Sadly, so far, avoiding the hazards seems to loom larger than addressing the challenges and exploiting the opportunities. And perhaps the role of the Shimagles (elders) -- who are shuttling between Meles and opposition leaders -- is influencing the course of events. But this may be a fatal error for an opposition facing an existential threat. Certainly, imprisonment must not be avoided at the expense of relegation to permanent irrelevance.

Ayal-Sew Dessye

The ball once again is in the opposition's court:

As egregious as the conduct of the elections and as unacceptable as the results are, this undeclared calculated risk by the Meles regime could be, I believe, an opportunity for the opposition. Election 2010 has disrobed this regime's leaders and shown their naked self to the whole world. They can no longer continue to pretend to be, as they say, "building democracy" or claim that the country is an "emerging democracy", etc. The results announced by the regime have clearly shown to what illegitimate and shameful extent EPRDF leaders could go to stay in power. Only under totalitarian regimes of the bygone era could there be such an outrageous and indefensible outcome in any election.

Nonetheless, I believe that there is no better environment and a better time than now for the opposition to reinvent itself and make a badly needed paradigm shift. But this is not a time to rush things through and engage in self-serving and short-sighted endeavors. It would be prudent to take enough time to reflect on the whole, self examine, reassess the situation, regroup and reorganize as a national (country-wide) force, chart a new course with comprehensive and clear strategy, and embark on a united and decisive struggle to do away with tyranny once and for all. Priority should be given to encourage and help those inside the country. They need to be assisted to stay afloat and function as much as they could.

Alemayehu G. Mariam

Give Young People a Chance to Lead:

The older generation in the opposition needs to learn to get out of the way. Let's give the younger generation a chance to lead. After all, it is their future. We can be most useful if we help them learn from our mistakes and guide them to greater heights. Zenawi thinks he can mold the young people in his image so that he can establish a Reich that will last a thousand years. He will never succeed. If there is one thing universally true about young people, it is that they love freedom more than anything else. Let the older generation be water carriers for the young people who will be building the "future country of Ethiopia," as Birtukan would say.

Think Like Winners, Not Victims:

Victory is not what it seems for the victors, and defeat is not what it feels for the vanquished. There is defeat in victory and victory in defeat. Both victory and defeat are first and foremost states of mind. Those who won the election by a margin of 99.6 percent project an image of being victorious. But we know they have an empty victory secured by force and fraud. The real question is whether the opposition sees itself as winners or losers. Winners think and act as winners, likewise for losers.