Good Article on the UAE Ports Deal

From the Toronto Star:

A lesson for Bush: You reap what you sow
President tries to defend ports sale to Arab firm
Feb. 25, 2006. 01:00 AM
THOMAS WALKOM
Irony is a constant in politics. Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush has deliberately defined the world in the black-and-white, us-versus-them language of his war on terror. Now, the rhetorical demons he so assiduously promoted are coming back to bite.

They are doing so in the form of what should be a run-of-the-mill corporate takeover. A company based in the United Arab Emirates has bought another company based in the United Kingdom.

In a normal world, this would be a ho-hum event. However, in the fraught world of Bush's war on terror (or "long war" as he now likes to call it), the sale is anything but.

The ostensible problem is that the British company, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., manages six vital U.S ports, including those of New York, Miami and New Orleans.

The sale would put management of these ports in the hands of an Arab, state-owned company, Dubai Ports World.

What's more, critics of the sale say, two of the 9/11 terrorists came from the U.A.E.— a country made up of seven emirates, including Dubai.

What more need be said?

All of this has left Bush and Co. in the unusual position of decrying guilt by association.

The American president points out, correctly, that the arch-conservative and profoundly undemocratic U.A.E. government is a staunch U.S. ally.

His defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld notes — also correctly — that terrorists can come from anywhere, including the U.S. and Britain. Why condemn an entire nation because a few of its citizens made the wrong choice?

The editors of The Wall Street Journal, who find the entire episode distasteful, note that security at these ports will continue to be handled by the U.S. government.

The only effective difference is that profits made by running the ports will flow to princelings in Dubai rather than capitalists in the City of London.

But among Americans, none of this seems to matter. A citizenry whose fears have been so successfully exploited by this administration remains unconvinced.

"I'm a big Republican and I think Bush has lost his mind," Newark longshoreman Tom DiDomenico told a local news service here in New Jersey.

Those kinds of fears, however irrational, are echoed throughout the U.S. — which may explain why opposition to the sale is growing among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

New Jersey has filed a lawsuit to prevent the takeover. In Washington, Democratic senators want to ban any foreign, state-owned firms from operating U.S. ports.

Republicans are so uneasy about the deal that Dubai Ports has agreed to temporarily delay the U.S. portion of its takeover.

For his part, Bush has vowed to veto any Congressional bill blocking the transfer.

In effect, he is saying that his war on international terror should not be transformed into a war against international capital.

Americans are understandably confused by this.

In the wake of 9/11, they were told by this same president that it was just fine to arrest and lock up Muslim immigrants without charge.

They were told that when it came to taking prisoners of war in places like Afghanistan, it was necessary for America to abandon its long commitment to the Geneva Conventions.

They were told it was necessary for the U.S. to hold prisoners indefinitely and without charge at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba or other secret jails in Europe and the Mideast.

They were told it was crucial for American interrogators to be able to employ techniques against prisoners that both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations have said amount to torture.

They were told that the war on terror required Americans themselves to give up some civil rights — that it was necessary for the president to authorize illegal wiretaps; that in some national security areas, it was necessary for the courts to be denied jurisdiction.

They were told that they had to put up with government intrusion at an unprecedented level, that virtually everything they did, from using the Internet to reading library books was, and had to be, subject to FBI surveillance.

They were told that their soldiers had to invade Iraq and, if necessary, die there.

So, perhaps, it is understandable that so many Americans balk at the idea of their ports being run by an Arab company. It is irrational; it is even racist. But in the topsy-turvy world that George W. Bush helped to create, it is sadly logical.

Another interesting comment from Alternet, framing the issue at democracy versus corporatism.

In the company of legends

(By Dr.Yonnas Gondemo, Ethiopian Politics Contributor)

Today February 23, 2006 Ethiopia's opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists have gone on trial for treason and attempted genocide - marking yet another sad day in Ethiopia’s recent History that will live forever in infamy.

On a day such as this, it is important to remember history’s giants who in their time were also persecuted for their beliefs in human rights and political freedom. We have compiled excerpts of two famous speeches. The first excerpt is from a speech given by a living legend renowned for his steadfast determination: and the second by an icon whose name is synonymous with peaceful resistance. We hope these speeches will give strength and sustenance to all in the struggle for freedom, justice and everlasting peace in Ethiopia.







At the opening of the defense case in the Rivonia Trial, Nelson Mandela gave his famous "I am prepared to die" speech. At the conclusion of the trial, June 1964: Mandela and seven others - Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Goldberg - were convicted. Mandela was found guilty on four charges of sabotage and like the others was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Here’s an excerpt of the speech:

“Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy.

But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s trial by the British, known as “the great trial” was held on Saturday, 18th of March 1922. At the conclusion of the trial Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison but only served about two years of the sentence and was released on February 1924.

Here’s an excerpt from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s trial statement of 1922:

“In my opinion, non-co-operation with evil is as much a duty as is co-operation with good. But in the past, non-co-operation has been deliberately expressed in violence to the evil-doer. I am endeavoring to show to my countrymen that violent non-co-operation only multiples evil, and that as evil can only be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of evil requires complete abstention from violence.

Non-violence implies voluntary submission to the penalty for non-co-operation with evil. I am here, therefore, to invite and submit cheerfully to the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is deliberate crime, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen.

The only course open to you, the Judge and the assessors, is either to resign your posts and thus dissociate yourselves from evil, if you feel that the law you are called upon to administer is an evil, and that in reality I am innocent, or to inflict on me the severest penalty, if you believe that the system and the law you are assisting to administer are good for the people of this country, and that my activity is, therefore, injurious to the common weal.”

Let us conclude with a quote that captures the true essence of Ethiopia’s struggle for democracy and economic independence.

"For us democracy is a question of human dignity. And human dignity is political freedom, the right to freely express opinion and the right to be allowed to criticise and form opinions. Human dignity is the right to health, work, education and social welfare. Human dignity is the right and the practical possibility to shape the future with others. These rights, the rights of democracy, are not reserved for a select group within society; they are the rights of all the people."

--Olof Palme, the late Swedish Prime Minister

Political Videogames

You can play a sim McDonald's videogame: You have to slaughter cows, exploit workers, advertise to children... all in the name of profit! It's just like the real world. "You'll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company of the world." This is a flash game, so there's nothing to download.

More neat games include:

• Disaffected: A Kinko's Parody Game
  
• Orgasm Stimulator - Be careful or your partner will know you're faking!
  
• Food Force - Learn about world hunger
  
• Dick Cheney's Texas Takedown
  

Here's a big site devoted to the use of video games for advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.
Enjoy!

More: Fun, Health

The New Abu Ghraib Photos - Yet Another Failure of the Media

The new photos from the Iraqi prison obliterate any idea that what happened there wasn't torture. So why is CNN treating it like nothing more than a military scandal?

On Wednesday 16 February 2006, Australian public broadcaster SBS current affairs program DATELINE telecast a segment featuring 60 new photos of the torture inflicted on prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It's much worse than previously imagined. The images are bloodier and more sexually charged than the originals. The new photos depict new incidents of homicide, torture and sexual humiliation and indicate a broader pattern of abuse than was previously understood.

To see these very disturbing photos for yourself, click here or download the video from dahrjamailiraq.com THESE PHOTOS ARE VERY DISTURBING. Please do not view this video if you are easily disturbed by graphic imagery of torture and death.

Honestly, these photos will bring tears to your eyes, sickness to your stomach, and pain to your heart. How could any human with a conscience feel otherwise? Well, apparently if you work for CNN, the real transgression was the documentation of the torture, not the actual torture itself.

Here's how CNN framed this:

Let's start by reminding everybody that under U.S. military law and practice, the only photographs that can be taken are official photographs for documentation purposes about the status of prisoners when they are in military detention. That's it. Anything else is not acceptable. And of course, that is what the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal is all about.

(story here)

More on Iraq, Media

Mengistu unleashed in Zimbabwe

The former military ruler of Ethiopia, Ex-dictator Mengistu Halilemariam, has not been sitting idly waiting for time to take its course. New allegations are surfacing that accuse the colonel of dabbling in Zim. politics. A Zimbabwean news service is reporting it has acquired evidence that proves Mengistu was the brains behind a recent controversial “clean-up” campaign that left millions homeless. According to ZimOnline, mengistu has been Mugabe's security adviser for quite sometime.

Here’s an excerpt from the article

“(Mengistu) first suggested the slum clearance idea to Mugabe in February, at one of the regular meetings he holds with the president and other senior security chiefs from the army, the CIO and the police………………. Other meetings chaired by Mengistu followed, during which video clippings of Zimbabwe's 1998 food riots, as well as footage of mass uprisings in the Ukraine, Yugoslavia and Ethiopia, were shown to the group, which called itself Operation Murambatsvina's "high command"…………………… Mengistu then prepared a final document on the operation, which he submitted to Mugabe. The president endorsed it. Operation Murambatsvina, according to the plan, was to be implemented in phases, starting with flea markets suspected of fuelling economic crimes, mainly illegal foreign-currency trade."

To read the article in its entirety click here.

"Hello, Men!"

September 1970. Comic balloon printed on stickum paper. Designed to be cut out and pasted onto ad posters of the sort where a beautiful woman is juxtaposed with a masculine-oriented product.

From Bureau of Public Secrets

Message to the Youth

(By Golto Aila)

If you are an Ethiopian under forty, you probably don’t recall much of Emperor Haile Silasie’s reign. You will have lived under dictatorial rule for all your adult life, or you may have run away from your country to live in peace somewhere else. Even though you are thousands of miles away from all the turmoil , you are still restless; for you are mindful of the terrible life your loved ones whom you left behind go through day in and day out. you are physically in a free country, yet remain a prisoner in your innermost core.

If you are in your mid to late teens, you are most likely preoccupied with avoiding pit falls of an ever expanding net which has been cast to trap a youth like you. A trap set by your own government whose job it was to provide you with opportunities for your future success. Unlike the past, it is not the white man that is trying to enslave you but your own government, which considers your very presence a threat to its existence. Instead of nurturing you, protecting you, and strengthening you, your government is eliminating, imprisoning and undermining you. You have lost parents, siblings and friends.

History books tell you wonderful stories about your country’s glorious past and its old civilization. While all this knowledge fills you up with pride, the reality you are in makes it impossible for you to relate. Your country is blessed with natural resources, yet it is perennially begging for food.

Man’s selfish and primitive desire to dominate others through impoverishment, has led Ethiopia down a slippery slop it finds itself in today. Ethnic based regionalism: uses the old “divide and rule” tactic implemented by the colonial rulers, under the guise of providing development and cultural tolerance. Diversity which in a healthy society is a sign of strength, has been used to weaken our country, for a selfish, myopic and short- lived objectives.

These are the pitfalls my generation has fallen prey to, but you the hope of our new Ethiopia, must avoid at all cost:

· Ethnocentric jingoism
· Intolerance for political dissent
· Cultural insensitivity

The current TPLF Government has shown it will not hesitate to use ethnicity as a tool to advance its narrow political agenda. Even if it negatively affects the constituencies it purports to represent or the country as a whole. Ethnocentric views are not only tolerated but also encouraged, because the longer the divide between the people, the longer TPLF stays in power.

The most persistent pernicious problem in Ethiopian politics is the fact that opposition is not tolerated. Expressions of opposing views are taken as an insult. Differences in political opinions are taken personally and interpreted as a commentary on the person rather than a repudiation of an idea. Expression of opposing view points is the strength of civilized and progressive people. The western world is what it is today because of the freedom to express one’s views. It is the height of ignorance that leads to rejection of this ingredient needed for social and political advancement.

For the sake of your generation and the generations to follow, stand up and be counted. You must change the paradigm of Ethiopian Politics. Vow to create something new today, while you have your youth, your vitality; your prodigious imagination and daring. Then you can look back with pride at what you have accomplished for posterity. Today’s generation is looking at a waste land which looks unrecognizable by the day. It’s unbearable to watch what is unfolding. Promise yourself not to let this be your fate in the coming years.

Organize, mobilize, create a forum that facilitates exchange of ideas, learn your history with all the good plus the bad and progress forward. Be active politically and support the organizations which are committed to a unitary Ethiopia. Be culturally sensitive. For the sake of yourself and your Ethiopia, avoid idiotic notions of ethnocentrism; avoid the jokes, the fables and sayings that purport the superiority of one over the other. While you’re at it, don’t forget your Eritrean brethren who are victims like yourself. Construct the image of the new Ethiopia first in your imagination and then work towards that dream in unity and tolerance.

Pseudo-Scientific Hate Propaganda and "Women Drivers"

Warning: Contains Rant

Today a coworker sent me an email with funny pictures of bad drivers (like this one), entitled "Women Driver Olympics". I was quite astounded at this sort of mysogynistic "humour". Maybe I've been insulated by my enlightened urban surroundings. I had no idea that this was a common perspective.

I did a Google search for "women drivers" and found a few simply disgusting sites. There was a BBC article, about how women are worse drivers than men because they had less testosterone in the womb (which could be measured by the length of the ring finger.) What Century are we in that there is actual scientific funding going into this kind of pseudo-science?

I kept reading... I came across a site too vile to even link to (I don't want to give them any more power in Google). Copy and paste this into your browser: christianparty.net/womendrivers.htm

This is sickening. Someone who came across this page might be fooled by all the stats, and pretty graphs, and think that indeed drunk men are better drivers than sober women, as they claim.

To be clear, I absolutely agree that driving is dangerous. I am an environmentalist that believes cars do far more harm than good. But it is crazy to attribute driving danger to women and not to high-speed 3000-lb machines.

Against my better judgement, (I'm too curious sometimes), I read on... Scary neo-Nazi stuff masquerading as a "father's rights" group. The mission of The Christian Party includes trying to rescind the right of women to vote (so as to stop women from promoting things like divorce rights or protecting themselves against rape), and exiling blacks and Jewish people. Wow. It is so sad and disturbing to me. And some of the platform of social conservatives and fundamentalists is simply a more toned-down version this sort of thing. That is scariest of all - it's not the fringes of society espousing many of these views (like the inferiority of different religions or cultures, of women, and of people of colour). And they are using pseudo-scientific "expert" opinions and statistics to make their points.

Paul Cameron is another one of these whackjobs, oft-cited by mainstream media, right wing preachers, and anti-gay activists. He has learned:

The more sensational a falsehood is about homosexuals, the more it will be repeated, and the more it's repeated, the less it matters whether or not it's true.

Among the "facts" (which are not - they are another example of truthiness) he likes to claim:

• "The average life expectancy for a homosexual in the United States of America is 43 years of age."
  
• "Children raised by homosexuals disproportionately experience emotional disturbance and sexual victimization"
  
• Homosexuals are "10 to 20 times more likely than heterosexuals to molest children"
  
• "17 percent [of gay people] eat human feces"
  

None of these "facts" are even close to being true, yet they are quoted and believed.
I feel sick.

At least This Article made me smile today. Read it - it is like a clean glass of fresh water after the putrid taste of hate.

More: Women's Rights, Car-free Movement, Racism, Religion, Gay Rights

Why We Fight - A Film By Eugene Jarecki

The American elite is obsessed with military power. That is pretty obvious, but why? How did this happen? What does it mean?

You can watch a lot of this amazing documentary in clips for free - just run your mouse over the little pictures.

It starts with Eisenhower cautioning against the large and permanent war machine of the "Military-Industrial Complex" - to look back on this speech is quite amazing. His predictions coming to fruition is pretty scary, and here we are living what he warned about.

More: Film, War

Funk Off!

We own the country.
We own the media.
&
We:
Stole it All!
From you!

Funk Off!

Funk Off!
Poor Whitey

Funk Off!
Poor Black Man!

Funk Off!
Poor Immigrant

Funk Off!
Poor Jew

To the:
Baby Boomers!
That
Bought:
Junk Schlock!

Funk Off

It’s:
Mickey Dees
For you!

There is only:
Two Classes!
The Rich!
And
The Richer!

Billionaires-R-US.

Poison!
Pollution!

War!
Poverty!
&
Prison!

Is:
For you.

Some free country.

We get away with murder
While saying:
We are only doing it!
All for you!

Load up your SUV’s
And
Head off to the Mall.
Make a day of it!

Blood & Guts
And
Family Violence for All!

As Iraqis pave:
The Highways
Along the way!

Smile and Wave!
At them:
For doing it!
The AmeriKo way!

Chinese Junks Ships are laden
With:
Glass Beads!
For All!

They just bought:
Manhattan!

Placebos!
and
Pacifiers!
On call!

Are you happy yet?
Living in a Reptilian:
Night Mare?

Things are getting better!
Things are looking up!
We are turning a corner!
Pay as you fill up.

Bushzarro:
AmeriKKKo!

Where:
Up is:
Down
&
Lies are

- A Poem By Ottomatic, found on this very weird discussion.

Analyzing “The Analysis”

(by Dr.Yonnas Gondemo, Ethiopian Politics Contributor)

For anyone that has not yet read CSIS’s (Center for Strategic and International Studies) article (written by Professor Terrence Lyons) I urge you to do so. These are the people that provide decision makers here in the U.S with “strategic insights” on situations happening around the globe. Policy makers heavily rely on the analysis that they get from such organizations to shape their views. Therefore it is strategically beneficial for us (in the struggle) to know how they perceive the situation.

In his analysis of the current situation in Ethiopia, Professor Terrence Lyons (George Mason University) came up with three scenarios (possible outcomes):

The first scenario is that some mechanism is found to strengthen the more pragmatic elements in both the ruling party and the opposition while simultaneously marginalizing their respective rejectionist wings.

Let's not forget, CUD’s 8-Point Precondition to Enter Parliament was a compromise which would have made this scenario a reality. But EPRDF (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front) was not able/willing to reciprocate. The article makes an important point:

Sustained and meaningful international pressure and a transformation in how the international community relates to the incumbent regime will be necessary for this option.

That’s what we have been saying all along…

The second scenario envisioned by some in the opposition is for the EPRDF to collapse under the pressure of massive demonstrations and international sanctions, allowing the opposition to ascend to power. This option has never been realistic, given the EPRDF’s overwhelming superiority of power, but has been the dream of some in the opposition (notably some safely in the diaspora) and the paranoid fear of some in the ruling party.

Professor Lyons takes a little stub at us (the diaspora), and he has merit to do so. I am intensely annoyed by members of the “Starbucks Ethio liberation front” group. Yes we all know who they are. These are people who live in the US but are not willing to make a two hour drive to attend a “support imprisoned leaders” rally, and yet are very willing to give advice on how the demonstrations in Addis should be carried out.

Having said that, I would like to note, Tegbar civic group and the newly reformed (hopefully), kinijit North America, are playing an important positive role in Ethiopian politics, these people are in no way related to S.E.L.F.

And this second scenario is not unrealistic at all (here I disagree with Professor Lyons) ; EPRDF’s “overwhelming superiority of power” could unravel at any moment for the simple fact that TPLF (Tigrayan People's Liberation Front ) is a House Divided against Itself. This article makes mention of that but fails to put two and two together. The ever increasing public dissent, coupled with foreign aid cuts, will lead to a very unhappy and unpaid military, add to that the existing internal descent within TPLF and the result may very well be an atomic explosion making scenario two possible. (and I didn’t even factor in our good neighbor Isayas into the equation)

The third scenario is that the EPRDF will retain its hold on power by increasing its reliance on military and security forces as its electoral legitimacy declines and international criticism and pressures grow. Control over the media and the courts will limit opportunities for the opposition to mobilize, and when it tries, effective but very violent repression is likely. This scenario seems likely in at least the short to medium term, although the extent of violence may vary greatly.

This is what’s happening at the moment ….thus, no further explanation needed.

Many of the article’s points are right on target. At least now we know the policy makers are getting (pretty much) a well balanced analysis. What the policy makers choose to do with the information they have is another story.

But one thing Professor Lyons fails to explain clearly is Prime Minister Melese’s refusal to surrender Badme. Indeed this could be very confusing to an outside observer. After all the Prime minister will get a tremendous reputation boost if he agreed to abide by the courts ruling and withdrew. Bademe is a barren land without any significant economic importance. There is no oil to protect, no minerals to dig out. Then why is Prime Minister Meles risking everything for a useless piece of land?

Badme or in general the conflict with Eritrea, was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. TPLF’s much publicized split was a result of an internal tension that has been brewing for years. TPLF’s policy in regards to Eritrea has been the cause of many heated debates, dissents, (and even) assassinations and assassination attempts within the central leadership of the organization. On one side we have Mr. Zenawi and his pro Eritrean clique; on the other, we have the likes of Mr. Siye Abreha, who viewed Eritrean influence in TPLF’s affairs as an intrusion.

When the ever unpredictable and arguably insane president of Eritrea chose to attack Tigray (province of Ethiopia) overtaking Bademe, the internal conflict within TPLF exploded. The hardliners lead by Mr. Siye believed a strong military response which will bring about regime change in Eritrea was in order. They were also questioning the prime minister’s motives for favoring a softer response (the prime minister is part Eritrean).

The cost of recapturing Bademe proved to be very high. Thousands were killed and injured. Mr. Siye and his supporters believed this sacrifice should not be in vain. They argued that as long as President Isayas is in power, similar conflicts were unavoidable. Thus, they advocated for finishing the job (getting rid of Isayas) once and for all. This stance was very popular within the military and people directly affected by Eritrea’s actions (people in Tigray). For whatever reason, Prime Minister Meles did not support this plan, and with a Machiavellian precision eliminated all voices of dissent in his party, shipping many off to prison on trumped up charges (Some say targeted assassinations were also used).

Though the opposition within his party (for at least the moment) is quelled, surrendering Bademe to Eritrea will unravel Prime Minister Meles’s support in two ways. One, the military who had paid dearly for this war will undoubtedly feel betrayed. Two, Mr. Zenawi will loose support tremendously within TPLF’s stronghold Tigray (Badme at the moment is part of Tigray).

The Prime minister made a big blunder in judgment when deciding to first go to war and then later accept the arbitration by the international court. Had he done it (gone to court) before going to war, and sacrificing many lives, he may have been able to save face. But in an attempt to please everyone, he decided to take over Badme by force thus increasing his popularity within the country and then later to ask for arbitration from the international community hoping to gain the support of foreign leaders.

But when the international court awarded Badme to Eritrea, the plan came to a screeching halt. And this is where we are now. It is surprising how unprepared the Ethiopian government was for such a scenario, no plan B, if you will. Stuck between a rock and hard place, the prime Minister has no choice but hope to buy some time by invoking empty words like “accept in Principal” and “more dialog” .

Getting back to the topic at hand (CSIS’s article), Scenario one and two are the outcomes most Ethiopians favor. At the moment scenario one is more unrealistic than scenario two, for a couple of reasons. First, Prime Minister Meles has continually refused to negotiate or make any meaningful compromise. And second, the West (in particular U.S and U.K) have shown little willingness to exert pressure on Mr. Zenawi’s government, for fear of destabilizing the region.

Insulting and accusing the U.S and Great Britain for their reluctance to come down on PM Zenawi’s government will accomplish very little. What Ethiopian opposition leaders around the world must do is assure the west a viable and able opposition is ready to take over. Ethnic federalism, which has been shoved down the throats of Ethiopians for the past 14 years, has had a very negative effect. Many separatist functions have immerged; due to this fact the fear that if Mr. Zenawi’s government collapses Ethiopia may turn into another Somalia is not entirely illogical.

If Ethiopians want real change and the support of the free world, an intense dialog should be started right now between the various functions. Organizations like the OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) and ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) have to join in the discussion. Opposition leaders (in the Diaspora) have to prove to the world a truly democratic society has emerged from the ashes of communism and ethnic federalism. One that is based on compromise, negotiations and diplomacy: thus proving to anyone concerned that the people of Ethiopia are, at last, indeed ready for a true democracy.

(Pdf format)

Do Not Play

Why oh why? More Here

Oil Shortage? Shell's CEO says "Nothing to Worry About"

Thanks to the Toronto Public Space committee for an impressive movie night last night here in Toronto. They showed the excellent End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream. If you haven't already seen this, it is worth a watch. (You can buy it here and support independent media, too.)

Interesting related articles (courtesy of the Carfree Cities mailing list):

Various "doomsday" scenarios from the business press about price increases in oil here, including this lovely quote:

In a statement Friday, Shell's CEO Jeroen Van der Veer declared, "There is no reason for pessimism."

Well if the guy who is in charge of getting investors to feel good about Shell says there's nothing to worry about...

More scenarios:

In the bleakest scenario, an acute oil shortage and lack of affordable alternative energy source trigger a global depression. Economies collapse as businesses can no longer afford to move goods and people. People survive in increasingly isolated communities that have to learn to become self-sufficient, with most journeys made by bicycle or horse.

The most optimistic scenario envisages that a cleaner alternative to oil is available in abundance, allowing the present trend towards greater globalisation to continue apace.
...
Stephen Ladyman, the Transport Minister, is chairing a group that will assess progress towards resolving the issues raised by the report. “We have two choices,” he said. “We can stumble into the future in the hope it turns out right, or we can try to shape it.”

Topics: Environment, Urban Issues, Film