Thursday, May 31, 2007

Ipperwash Inquiry: The Verdict is In

Who killed Dudley George? The Ipperwash report, just released, found that although Mr. "I want the fucking Indians out of the park" did not directly order the police to Ipperwash, his government, along with the federal government, still shares some of the blame.

In his findings, Commissioner Sydney Linden faults the feds for expropriating disputed First Nations land, then failing to give it back as promised.

He faults the government of then-premier Mike Harris — and the premier himself — for impatience, uttering a racial slur and misleading the legislature.

But Judge Linden also concludes Mr. Harris did not direct police to enter the park on that fateful night against protesters he concludes were not armed.
G&M:

Ipperwash report released

More coverage

Update June 1 More details have come out. Here's some recommended reading:

Roadside bomb targets Ethiopian forces in Somalia

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Unicef: Malnutrition Still Prevalent in Tigray, Other Regions] - [Ethiopia places 103rd on Global Peace Index] - [MAHMOUD AHMED of Ethiopia winner of World Music Award 2007] - [ACLU sues Boeing subsidiary on behalf of Binyam Mohamed of Ethiopia and others]

International:
[U.N. Resists U.S. on New Sudan Sanctions] - [UN Security Council Approves Hariri Assassination Tribunal] - [Putin says test missile is signal to U.S.] - [U.S TB patient's name released] and more of today's top stories!

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Kinijit Chairman Hailu shawel’s eye surgery a success
(The US embassy in Addis was instrumental in making this medical procedure possible)

Kinijit International Australia tour
(June 16 - 24)

Destruction Begins
(More than 205 residents in the Bole district have seen their dwellings destroyed as the city attempts to shape the Capital according to the Master Plan. FORTUNE chronicles the plight of those left in the wake of the operation)
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Roadside bomb targets Ethiopian forces in Somalia

MOGADISHU -- A roadside bomb blast tore through a convoy carrying Ethiopian troops in a central Somali town on Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear if anyone was killed, witnesses said.

Baladwayne resident Osman Adan said he could see thick black smoke billowing from the scene of the explosion, which a security source said was caused by a remote-controlled landmine.


"An Ethiopian truck was blown up ... The Ethiopian troops immediately opened fire indiscriminately with heavy machine-guns ... I do not know if any soldiers were wounded or killed," Adan said, adding that two civilians were hurt in the shooting.(More...)

Also see:
-Five Ethiopians wounded in Somali attack: government
-Ethiopian troops kill 5 Somali civilians
-Five die in Somalia convoy attack
-Ethiopian troops killed dozens after blast-rebels


ACLU sues Boeing subsidiary on behalf of Binyam Mohamed of Ethiopia and others
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The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. on behalf of Binyam Mohamed of Ethiopia, Italian citizen Abou Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza of Egypt
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The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. of San Jose, Calif., on behalf of alleged victims of U.S. government torture.

Jeppesen DataPlan is part of aviation-data provider Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. of Colorado. Based in Englewood, Jeppesen Sanderson is a subsidiary of aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co.

The ACLU alleges in its suit, filed in Northern California federal court, that Jeppesen knowingly provided flight services to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which enabled the secret transport of three terrorism suspects to overseas locations for interrogation and torture.

The terrorism suspects are Binyam Mohamed of Ethiopia, Italian citizen Abou Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza of Egypt.(More...)

Also see:
-ACLU: Boeing offshoot helped CIA
-ACLU files suit against Boeing subsidiary
-Firm sued over secret CIA flights


Ethiopia places 103rd on Global Peace Index

In the first study of its kind, Ethiopia has placed 103rd on the Global Peace Index. The Index is a ranking of 121 countries - from Algeria to Zimbabwe - listed according to their peacefulness. It was compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit and is comprised of a broad range of 24 indicators measuring both the internal and external peacefulness of nations.

The publication of the Global Peace Index comes just a week before the leaders of the world’s richest countries gather for the G8 summit in Germany.

The Index has won the backing of an influential and distinguished group of supporters including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Queen Noor of Jordan, former United States President Jimmy Carter, and former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Professor Joseph Stiglitz, who are today calling for an increased focus on peace.

African media on Blair's legacy

(BBC) ...Meanwhile, African interest in Mr Blair's Commission for Africa seems to declining three years after its launch.

Critics seem vindicated that one of the panel's leading commissioners, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has come under international criticism over the deaths of dozens of opposition supporters during the disputed parliamentary elections in May 2005 as well as Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in December 2006.(More...)

Unicef: Malnutrition, Stunted Growth Still Prevalent in Tigray, Other Regions
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More than 41 percent of children under five experience stunted growth in Tigray and an estimated 11.6 percent suffer from acute malnutrition, according to UNICEF-Ethiopia.
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(Picture - Ethiopian child suffering from severe malnutrition. VOAnews)

In a press release sent to The Daily Monitor, the UN agency said the deplorable situation in the region was revealed during a visit by the Head of European Commission and Tim Clarke, Head of European Commission in Ethiopia to UNICEF - supported child nutrition sites in Tigray- Mekele on May 29, 2007.

UNICEF says the problem of malnutrition was the case with other regions of the country where it said a large scale intervention was needed to save millions of vulnerable children.

"We have just seen a child here who is 18 months old. Her normal weight should be 13 Kilos; but she is only five kilos-highly at risk and we can give her therapeutic feeding in order to give her a chance to survive," Tim Clark said during the visit.(More...)

Ethiopian elephants, lions face extinction

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A thousand rare black-mane lions -- an Ethiopian national symbol -- and some 300 elephants are in danger after a swathe of forest that was part of their sanctuary was cut down, a wildlife expert said on Thursday.

(Picture - Black mane Ethiopian lion (Barbary), from a distinct but very rare sub-species thought to be extinct, but recently discovered in the region. Fortean Times magazine)

The land was cleared from a designated conservation area at Midiga Tola, adjacent to the Babile Elephant Sanctuary located 557 km (346 miles) east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Wildlife Association President Yirmed Demeke said.

Flora EcoPower Holding AG, a German biodiesel producer, cleared the forest after it was granted 10,000 hectares of land, Yirmed said.(More...)

Also see:
-Ethiopian wildlife at risk as forest cut


MAHMOUD AHMED of Ethiopia winner of Radio 3's Award for World Music 2007
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(Video) Watch Mahmoud accepting Award
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When Mahmoud Ahmed took the stage at Womad 2005 many looked at this grey bearded (yet regal) figure and wondered if he could still touch the heights of those immaculate recordings he cut from 1971-1975.

(Mahmoud Ahmed)

No worries: as his band locked into one of those rolling, eerie Horn Of Africa-grooves Ahmed opened his mouth and that great, mysterious horn of a voice sailed forth just as it had done all those years ago.

Mahmoud Ahmed is both a living legend and something of a mystery in the West. Undeniably Ethiopia’s most famous singer of its “golden era”, the three albums reissued of his recordings by French label Buda Musique as part of their Ethiopiques series have captured Western listeners in the same way that, say, the reissues of Robert Johnson’s Delta blues did a previous generation. Yet where Johnson was long dead Ahmed is alive and in fine voice.(More...)

UN Security Council Approves Hariri Assassination Tribunal

NEW YORK -- A sharply divided UN Security Council voted Wednesday to establish an international criminal tribunal to prosecute the masterminds of the February 2005 suicide-bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others.

The vote will lead to the creation of the first United Nations-backed criminal tribunal in the Middle East, raising expectations that Hariri's killers will be held accountable.


But that has stoked fears among Lebanese authorities and some council members that supporters of Syria -- which has been linked to the assassination -- will plunge Lebanon's fledgling democracy into a bloody new round of strife.

Fearing unrest, authorities imposed a partial curfew in Beirut, leaving the streets deserted. Lebanese placed lit candles on boulevards and balconies to celebrate the outcome and sent congratulatory text messages countrywide.(More...)

Also see:
-Un Tribunal Condemned By Syria, Others
-Supporters Cheer UN Approval of Tribunal for Hariri Assassination
-Hariri son hails UN court move


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*(Update)* When Bill Gates met Steve Jobs... (The hugely anticipated meeting was seen as a long overdue opportunity for two of the greatest pioneers in the industry to go head to head. But, The question and answer session turned out to be more of a love-in between old pals)
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Bush names Robert Zoellick as next World Bank chief

US President George W Bush on Wednesday nominated former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick as the next World Bank head, replacing Paul Paul Wolfowitz, who was forced to resign over a favouritism scandal.


The formal announcement was made at the White House by the President who praised the former United States Trade Representative as a "committed internationalist" and a person "deeply committed" to the cause of defeating poverty.

"He is deeply devoted to the mission of the World Bank. He wants to help struggling nations defeat poverty, to grow their economies and offer their people the hope of a better life. Bob Zoellick is deeply committed to this cause" Bush said.(More...)

Also see:
-Zoellick has new agenda for World Bank
-A Diplomat for the World Bank
-Stiglitz calls new World Bank boss "protectionist"



Today's Top International Stories

-U.N. Resists U.S. on New Sudan Sanctions
-Blair urges G8 to keep African promises
-'Law & Order' star Thompson inches closer to Prez bid
-U.S TB patient's name released
-Putin says test missile is signal to U.S.
-Alexander Litvinenko was British spy, claims alleged killer





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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Blogging: We're Going to Need More Monkeys


From this collection of motivational posters. Via Popped Culture. Heh. Ouch. Eep.

Global Peace Index Ranks Canada 8th Most Peaceful Country

The first study to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness and the drivers that create and sustain their peace was launched today. The Global Peace Index studied 121 countries [...] based on wide range of indicators - 24 in all - including ease of access to "weapons of minor destruction" (guns, small explosives), military expenditure, local corruption, and the level of respect for human rights.

According to the rankings, the 5 most peaceful countries are Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, and Japan. The 5 least peaceful are Nigeria, Russia, Israel, Sudan, and Iraq. The US didn't do so well. At #96 it is right in between Yemen and Iran.

After compiling the Index, the researchers examined it for patterns in order to identify the "drivers" that make for peaceful societies. They found that peaceful countries often shared high levels of democracy and transparency of government, education and material well-being. While the U.S. possesses many of these characteristics, its ranking was brought down by its engagement in warfare and external conflict, as well as high levels of incarceration and homicide. The U.S.'s rank also suffered due to the large share of military expenditure from its GDP, attributed to its status as one of the world's military-diplomatic powers.


Canada is ranked at #8, with a peacefulness score of 1.481 (on a 5 point scale, with 1 being most peaceful). I'm curious whether this study took into account what Canada have been doing to Haiti, Afghanistan, and our indigenous peoples, not to mention what some Canadian corporations are doing. In any case, I think the relative peacefulness of our country is something to be proud of, and to guard, and to improve upon. In fact, I think we need a war on war. Our goal is to get to #1. Most peaceful country, yo. You're goin down, Norway!

Quotes from the Press Release. Full details on the study and rankings at www.visionofhumanity.com

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Population Control: Two Paths

You could take China's path: Forced abortions, sterilization, and other punishments for women who have more than one child. This policy has resulted in:

    Average Population Growth Rate: 0.70% (2005-2000)
    Total fertility rate: 1.75 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Or you could take Sweden's path: increased gender equality and economic justice.

    Average Population Growth Rate: 0.10% (2000-2005)
    Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Horror stories of torture hound Ethiopia as it proclaims commitment to reform

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[ION: Top officers meet in conclave] - [Ethiopian foreign minister says troops will stay in Somalia] - [Blast wounds Ethiopia regional leader; 11 dead] - [Roche agrees free AIDS drug technology transfer to Pharmaceutical Factory in Ethiopia]

International:
[Bush announces new sanctions against Sudan] - [Bill Gates, Steve Jobs set for historic conversation] - [BP to announce a return to Libya] - [Contestants to vie for kidney on reality show] and more of today's top stories!

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Democracy in Ethiopia, Unplugged:
Reflections on a Dream Deferred

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam’s speech at the Oakland Kinijit Support chapter town hall meeting, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the May 2005 elections
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Horror stories of torture hound Ethiopia as it proclaims commitment to reform

Evidence suggests nation jails its citizens without reason or trial, tortures many of them and habitually violates its own laws

During the six months that 25-year-old Aman was detained in an Addis Ababa prison, he alleges, police kicked and punched him and kept him for weeks on end in a tiny cell with his hands bound as if always in prayer.

Then there was the day that Aman, a second-year law student at the time, went before a judge and found himself correcting her on the Ethiopian criminal code. She had granted prosecutors' request to detain him for three weeks of investigation, a week longer than the law allows.

“I could not have words to express the situation, it is so difficult,” said Aman, who was never charged with a crime and eventually released. “They appoint judges who have no legal knowledge of law, who learn about the law for six months and sit at the court.”(More...)

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TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK

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Top officers meet in conclave
Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1214 25/05/2007

A group of top-ranking Ethiopian military officers have been meeting in a closed session at the ministry of defence in Addis Ababa for the past week. They were asked to check in their cell-phones at the cloakroom before being allowed into the meeting room. The subject of their meeting was not disclosed to the public.

However, according to information pieced together from a variety of sources by The Indian Ocean Newsletter, there was a considerable divergence of opinion during the meeting over the situation in Somalia and the continuing defections of Ethiopian servicemen who flee to Eritrea. The fourth army division is already showing signs of internal tension.

Furthermore, official banners have begun to appear in Addis Ababa displaying the words "betigil memot hiwot" which means to die struggling is to be alive. This is an odd hark back to an old revolutionary slogan of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP, opposition) dating from the 1970s.

In fact, the Ethiopian government wants to honour the victims of the red terror (under the reign of Haile Mariam Mengistu) on May 27 and the national radio station has started playing EPRP songs. The reasoning behind this government strategy of taking over symbols associated with this opposition party still remains somewhat obscure.

Blast wounds Ethiopia regional leader; 11 dead

ADDIS ABABA 05/29 - A grenade attack in Ethiopia`s volatile Somali region on Monday wounded the local president, killed five people at a packed ceremony and sparked a stampede that left a further six dead, witnesses said.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi`s government blamed the attack on the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist movement in the remote eastern area which last month attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field, killing 74. But the ONLF denied involvement in the attack.(More...)

Also see:
-Ethiopia blames rebel Ogaden for killer blast
-Suspects held for Ethiopia attack
-Ethiopian Grenade Attack, Five Suspects Held


Roche agrees free AIDS drug technology transfer to Pharmaceutical Factory in Ethiopia

BASLE, Switzerland (Thomson Financial) - Roche Holding AG said it has agreed free technology transfers with two African laboratories concerning AIDS medication. The Swiss pharmaceuticals group said it has signed agreements with Addis Pharmaceutical Factory in Ethiopia and Varichem Pharmaceuticals in Zimbabwe.

Under the terms of the deals, the two African laboratories will receive free technical know-how enabling them to produce a generic anti-HIV treatment, based on the process for manufacturing Saquinavir, Roche's drug for the treatment of the AIDS.

Under Roche's technology transfer programme, which was initiated in January 2006, the company has so far signed deals with five African laboratories.(More...)

Ethiopian foreign minister says troops will stay in Somalia

Ethiopian foreign minister, Seum Mesfin, revealed that the thousands of Ethiopian military forces backing the tenuous Somali transitional government would not be withdrawn immediately, saying they rescued the Somali population from Islamic hardliners.

He made the remarks following his arrival in Mogadishu in early this week while he witnessed the resetting up of Ethiopian embassy in the war-torn country.

“Many Somali officials, civil society members and tribal elders asked that we should not leave Somalia while it is still vulnerable and we are determined to make sure that Islamists do not come back and traumatize the population,” he said.(More...)

Also see:
-Somalia Slipping Away
-Gunman kills judge in Mogadishu attack


Ethiopia begins 10-day population count

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Africa's second most populous country, Ethiopia, began a 10-day population count Tuesday, an exercise aimed at helping the government plan economic and social programs and help donors target their aid better.

Over 100,000 census officials fanned out across Ethiopia on Tuesday. The last census was in 1994 when officials found out there were 54 million Ethiopians in the country. Preliminary results of the population count will be released in five months, and final results in 1½ years.(More...)

Bush announces new sanctions against Sudan

WASHINGTON — President Bush ordered new U.S. economic sanctions today to pressure Sudan's government to halt the bloodshed in Darfur that the administration has condemned as genocide.

(Picture - Relatives mourn over the body of a one-year-old child who died of malnutrition in a refugee camp near a town in the Darfur region of Sudan)


"I promise this to the people of Darfur: the United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world," the president said.

The sanctions target government-run companies involved in Sudan's oil industry, and three individuals, including a rebel leader suspected of being involved in the violence in Darfur.

"For too long the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder and rape of innocent civilians," the president said. "My administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. "The world has a responsibility to put an end to it," Bush said.(More...)

Also see:
-China Rejects US Sanctions Against Sudan For Darfur Conflict


Bill Gates, Steve Jobs set for historic conversation

SAN FRANCISCO - For more than two decades, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Microsoft chairperson Bill Gates have sparred over the issues that were crucial to the development of the technology industry.

Issues such as whether it's wiser for a company to partner or build everything itself. Or the primacy of software versus hardware in personal computers. Or which is more important: how easy it is to use a product or what it can do once you figure out how?

sometimes friendly but often not, has always been from a distance.

Until now.

Although Gates made a famous phone call to Jobs in 1997 and the two shared a stage briefly at a 1983 Apple promotional event, the two industry icons have never had a public conversation.

So when they sit down next Wednesday for a 75-minute joint interview in front of a gathering of tech executives, their long history and competing philosophies should make for an interesting - if not history-making - discussion.

The conversation at the fifth annual "D - All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, California, comes as Gates and Jobs are head in very different directions, and as the companies they co-founded both face big challenges.(More...)

Also see:
-Jobs & Gates, the Biggest Reunion Since Simon & Garfunkel
-Bill Gates and Steve Jobs on stage, unscripted


Miss Japan wins Miss Universe

MISS Japan, Riyo Mori, has been chosen as Miss Universe 2007. Australian entrant Kimberley Busteed was eliminated in the first cut.

Mori, 20, was overwhelmed when the Miss Universe crown valued at $305,604 was placed on her head by last year's winner Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza of Puerto Rico. First runner-up was Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, second runner-up was Ly Jonaitis of Venezuela and third, Honey Lee of Korea.(More...)

Today's Top International Stories

-Nigeria's New President Calls For Reconciliation
-BP to announce a return to Libya
(Oil giant BP is set to announce that it has struck a deal to return to Libya after an absence of more than 30 years)
-Obama offers universal health care plan
-Five Britons 'seized in Baghdad'
(Five Britons are reported to have been kidnapped from Iraq's finance ministry in Baghdad)
-Iran Charges 3 Americans With Spying
-Thousands Flee Violence in Lebanon
-Contestants to vie for kidney on reality show





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Monday, May 28, 2007

Edmonton's Army of Homeless

The skyrocketing rents in Edmonton have increased pressures on limited social housing and shelter spaces. This has made Edmonton's homeless problem worse. A lack of a home often means a lack of safety, and so it isn't uncommon for homeless people to sleep close together. This gives rise to tent cities and squats, such as what had sprung up behind the Bissell Centre (a centre servicing low income people in the inner city).

Tue, May 22, 2007
Squatters Say They're Staying:
Officers told more than a dozen people camping in at least six tents in a field behind the Bissell Centre yesterday morning that they're going to have to move.

But most of the tent dwellers are refusing to budge, claiming they have nowhere else to go.


Sat, May 26, 2007
The poor need a tent city

Almost every night, dozens of homeless people - some of whom have day jobs - gather to sleep on the grass there in Edmonton's inner city. Some put up tents to keep the night chill at bay.

Yet, most nights, city police evict the hapless homeless, forcing them to go someplace else.

Bissell Centre spokesman Ele Gibson is ticked off. "Where are they supposed to go?" asks Gibson, who's the resource development director for the inner-city charity that provides everything from a drop-in centre to family services for the poor.
[...]
There's lots of talk from our politicians about affordable housing and homelessness. But the problem persists.

If these people can't stay on this particular patch of land, surely to God someone could find a small slab of public land somewhere where the homeless can have a simple tent over their heads. Other cities have set up safe tent cities. Is that too much to ask, given there's no affordable housing for them?

Mon, May 28, 2007
Homeless gathering an army of supporters for rally
Homeless Edmontonians are taking their plight to the steps of the legislature.

Those recently evicted from provincial land behind the Bissell Centre and others who will be evicted from winter shelters at the end of the month plan to rally on June 27.


These people were sleeping on public land, and it is immoral to force people into dangerous situations just so you don't have to see them. Not to mention: being too poor to have a home isn't illegal. So, I say good for them. We need some proper squatter's rights. The bullies in the provincial government will never do anything for the people unless they are forced.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Week in review plus weekend news

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Weekend Top Stories:
[ETHIOPIA’S MISSED CHANCES] - [Ethiopia opens embassy in chaotic Somali capital] - [NJ Man Held in Ethiopia Finally Back in U.S.] and more of the weekend's top stories!
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The Week in Review

TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK

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Kinijit International Australia tour
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(Memorial Day - Celebrated on the fourth Monday of May, this holiday honors the dead. Although it originated in the aftermath of the Civil War, it has become a day on which the dead of all wars, and the dead generally, are remembered in special programs held in cemeteries, churches, and other public meeting places)

Bush pays tribute to fallen troops: WASHINGTON — President Bush urged Americans to use Memorial Day to rededicate themselves to fighting for freedom across the world and pray for the safety of U.S. troops serving overseas.(More...)

ETHIOPIA’S MISSED CHANCES—1960, 1974, 1991, 2005—AND NOW: I

Donald N. Levine
Speech at Ras Makonnen Hall A.A

It is a great pleasure for me to be back in this special land--ye’egziabher agar aybalem?--and a privilege to be speaking to you in this special Hall. I give thanks to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for organizing this occasion, and to Dr. Yaqob Arsano, Dean of the College of Social Sciences, for his truly gracious introduction.

The last time I spoke in Ras Makonnen Hall I had the pleasure of being introduced by a grand colleague and a great Ethiopian--Dr. Eshetu Chole. I’d like to dedicate my comments today to the memory of Dr. Eshetu, and to his inspiring model of unflinching engagement with the problem of Ethiopia’s missed opportunities in a spirit that combined unshakeable hope with enormous intellectual integrity.(More...)

Ethiopia opens embassy in chaotic Somali capital

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Ethiopia opened an embassy in the chaotic Somali capital next to the presidential palace on Sunday, the latest sign of the Horn of Africa military power's close ties with a Somali government it wants to sustain.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, a key player in Addis Ababa's efforts to bolster the government of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, opened the embassy on the third day of his latest visit to Mogadishu.(More...)

NJ Man Held in Ethiopia Finally Back in U.S.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - May 26, 2007 - The family of a New Jersey man who had been held in Ethiopia for alleged ties to Islamic militants is celebrating his return tonight.

And although it's not clear why 24-year-old Amir Mohamed Meshal was finally released, his relatives say they're thrilled to have him back home in Tinton Falls.(More...)

Ethiopia honors victims of Marxist junta during ceremony in Meskel Square

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Three decades ago, Ethiopian police brought Ahmed Hussein's younger brother home from jail and asked the family to gather outside.

"They shot him in front of us," Ahmed said Sunday, his eyes welling with tears. "We were not allowed to cry."

Ahmed and thousands of others gathered in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Sunday to remember victims of the Dergue, a brutal Marxist junta that ruled from 1974 to 1991. The service marked the anniversary of the downfall of the junta's leader, Mengistu Haile Mariam — known as "the butcher of Addis Ababa" — who is living in exile in Zimbabwe.(More...)

Zimbabwe holds opposition members

(CNN) -- Police in Zimbabwe rounded up more than 200 members of the political opposition Saturday, according to a spokesman for the southern African nation's main opposition movement.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change, said the people were gathered in the capital, Harare, to "just discuss political issues." Then, police broke down doors and seized the people, now detained at the Central Police Station.(More...)

Radiation Eating Fungus found in Chernobyl

[Listen to NPR's report]

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AEC) have found evidence that certain fungi possess another talent beyond their ability to decompose matter: the capacity to use radioactivity as an energy source for making food and spurring their growth.

Detailing the research in Public Library of Science ONE, AEC's Arturo Casadevall said his interest was piqued five years ago when he read about how a robot sent into the still-highly-radioactive Chernobyl reactor had returned with samples of black, melanin-rich fungi that were growing on the ruined reactor's walls.

"I found that very interesting and began discussing with colleagues whether these fungi might be using the radiation emissions as an energy source," explained Casadevall.(More...)





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Friday, May 25, 2007

"You let people live like abandoned animals on the street?"

Los Angeles has one of the biggest homeless populations in the US. We know this because it had the first accurate homeless census done in 2005 (82,291 homeless people in 2005)

(Photo from Wikipedia)

LA's financial district is merely a few blocks away from the urine-soaked, tent-strewn streets of Skid Row, shown in these photos.



(Photos from Down and Out in Downtown LA: The Story of a Homeless Couple)



(Photo by Stephen Shames)




(Film stills from TIES ON A FENCE - Women in Downtown Los Angeles Speak Out )






(Photos by mattlogelin)

Notice any pattern to the faces seen here? African Americans make up 38.7% of LA's homeless population (they are only 9.5% of the general population of LA)

Listen to Jennifer Westaway's award-winning portrait of Skid Row (highly recommended), or check out this LA Times article

Save Money on Gas by Driving Less



Or you could just establish your global hegemony to secure foreign sources of petroleum.



Or you could vigorously oppose better fuel-efficiency requirements. (Via desmogblog)

It's always easier to blame the gas tax than to blame those who are really profiting, anyways. Good thing we are supporting North American Energy Security by guaranteeing our oil to a foreign country.

EPRDF Passes Bill Amending Electoral Law

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Africa Commemorates 'Africa Day'] - [United We Stand Divided We Fall] - [30,000 Runners to Hit the Road at Ethiopian 'Millennium Great Run'] - [Somali government rebuffs Amnesty's report on Somalia]

International:
[Gunmen seize Nigeria oil workers] - [Al-Sadr Reappears In Iraq At Rally] - [Myanmar Extends Suu Kyi's House Arrest] - [The Surprising Realities of Mythical Creatures] and more of today's top stories!

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HEARING ON ETHIOPIA

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Africa Commemorates 'Africa Day'

Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was in July 2002 succeeded by the present African Union, while amalgamating with the African Economic Community (AEC), but kept the date and name of Africa Day. (Wiki)

African Heads of State at the inaugural summit of the Organization of African Unity. Africa Hall, Addis Abeba - May, 1963 (Click to Enlarge)


Inspiring letter, written to Emperor Haile Selassie by Oliver Tambo, Vice President of the African National Congress (ANC, South Africa), explaining why he was unable to attend the summit and on the wellbeing of Nelson Mandela (Click on picture to read the letter in its entirety)
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In July 1964, Malcolm X attended the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in Cairo, to distribute a press release on behalf of twenty-two million Afro-Americans in the United States. [See Video]
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For more history and interesting insider facts on Ethiopia’s involvement in the creation of the OAU (Now AU), visit [http://www.oau-creation.com]

Also see:
-Africa Commemorates 'Africa Day'
-Celebrating Africa Day in style
-Millions unite to celebrate Africa Day
-Rastas to commemorate Africa Day


United We Stand Divided We Fall
Kinijit Support Group in Sacramento
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...Non-violent struggle may be gradual, un-dramatic, and mostly be carried out by individuals whose names will never make the news headlines or be associated with any organization. Hence, its victory is a product of collective action of all citizens, not a heroic action of a single group. Above all, the results from non-violent struggles are long lasting; it is a definitive means of installing and preserving democracy.
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After EPRDF lost election in May 15, 2005, it violently disrupted the peaceful transition of Ethiopia from despotic to democratic country. Since then, thousands of innocent citizens, renowned political leaders and human right defenders, independent journalists and students have been killed, suffered in prison and torture.

Uncountable numbers of innocent citizens are dislocated from where they have been living for generation and became fugitives in their own country and refugee elsewhere with little hope of returning to their home. This is the result of complete lack of political will of the incumbent EPRDF government to accept the people’s decision, abide by the results of the election and its strong desire to stay in power.

The election process and the May 15, 2005 election sparked the light of hope, the desire for peace and much eagerly awaited economic development for all Ethiopians. Unprecedented number of Ethiopians caste their ballot hoping that they would put government of their choice to power and in anticipation that they would eradicate conflict, starvation and poverty from Ethiopia. Kinijit and other opposition parties did run successful election campaigns.(More...)

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Jonathan Dimbleby Interviews - PM Meles Zenawi (Do you think the interview was professionally conducted? Does it adhere to journalistic standards? Or was it one-sided and biased? Contact the producers at “info@teachers.tv” and let them know what you think)

Also see:
BBC: Meles Zenawi on HardTalk
(Stephen Sackur went to Ethiopia (2005), to ask Prime Minister Meles Zenawi the questions Ethiopian journalists could not)
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EPRDF Passes Bill Amending Electoral Law

“the law is a threat to the fundamental principle of election and democracy which is the power of the people. The new law paves way for partiality in the election processes of the country,” Temesgen Gebru

"the law is made in a way to benefit the government" Bulcha Demeksa

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ADDIS ABABA,Ethiopia- The Ethiopian parliament adopted a new election law with a majority vote on Thursday that will create a new structure for the national election board and add new practices in the nation’s future elections.

The new law which was presented to the house last March has been discussed by the ruling party and opposition parties in parliament for weeks. It is different from the privious law that it will give place for the opposition parties to participatre in the process of nominating the election board officials.

Three of the four major opposition voices in the Ethiopian parliament rejected the ratification of the law and asked for further discussions and amendment while EUDP MEDHIN said that the law has some contentious points but will accept the overall document.(More...)

Also see:
-Foreign media and observers to be banned from Ethiopia’s future elections


30,000 Runners to Hit the Road at Ethiopian 'Millennium Great Run'

(hint, hint)...Haile indicated that the race will be aired live on BBC, Supersport and other international media as well as TV stations
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Some 30,000 runners will participate at the 2007 Ethiopian Millennium Run, the biggest mass ever run in Africa, to be staged for the seventh time in Ethiopia.

"This will be the first big mass run in Africa where 30000 thousand runners including world elite athletes are expected to take part," Founder and Coordinator of Ethiopian Great Run, World class Athlete Major Haile Gebresilassie told a press conference on Thursday.

Haile said this year's great run to be held on Sunday 9 September 2007 and dedicated for the Ethiopian Millennium, will be the biggest in Africa The 2007 TOYOTA Great Ethiopian Run is the 7th edition of Ethiopia's annual international 10km road race.

Haile indicated that the race will be aired live on BBC, Supersport and other international media's as well as other TV stations.(More...)

Somali government rebuffs Amnesty's report on Somalia

Mogadishu 25, May.07 - The Somali transitional government rebuffed Amnesty International report on human rights violations by several countries in the Horn and Eastern Africa.

Somali government spokesman, Abdi Haji Goobdoon, said Friday that the international human rights agency was exaggerating its report on human rights abuses in Somalia. He said Somali interim government has only recently been able to seize control of the country.

“Local human rights agencies are yet novices in their work because the whole country is recovering from the civil war and hardships that have not yet entirely evaded, so I believe Amnesty was quick to criticize Somalia on rights violations,” he said.(More...)

Myanmar Extends Suu Kyi's House Arrest

(AP) - Defying an outpouring of international appeals, Myanmar's military government Friday extended the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi by another year, a government official said.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent 11 of the past 17 years in detention and the order will keep her confined to her residence for a fifth straight year.

Her current one-year detention order was due to expire on Sunday and the extension had been widely expected, although many international groups and world leaders had called for Suu Kyi's freedom. The government normally makes no official announcement of such actions.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s human rights expert for Myanmar, said the decision was ``counterproductive in terms of making a transition to democracy. They say they are moving ahead, but they continue to hold 1,200 political prisoners, including the main members of the opposition,'' he told The Associated Press by telephone from Cape Town, South Africa(More...)

Also see:
-US demands release of Myanmar's Suu Kyi
-UN rights envoy condemns Suu Kyi detention decision
-China will stay out of Myanmar's affairs


Explaining the Lebanese Crisis

Are you having trouble understanding what's going on in Lebanon? Last summer there was war with Israel, all winter and spring the country has been in a political crisis between the government and Hizballah, and now all of a sudden there is some mystery jihadi group staging an uprising in a Palestinian camp. What gives? What does it mean?

(Picture - Lebanese army soldiers patrol the outskirts of the besieged camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon)

Lebanon has some 400,000 Palestinian refugees that originally came in two waves -- 1948 and 1967. That was a long time ago though, and the younger generations have never seen their home country, and still don't have citizenship in this one. Most of the residents of Nahr al-Bared hail from Nazareth in the Galilee.

The Palestinians brought a lot of trouble with them to Lebanon. Since most of them are Sunni Muslim, their arrival upset this country's fragile sectarian balance, pushing Lebanon towards the civil war that raged from 1975 to 1990. Nor did it help that the PLO turned Lebanon into a base for terror operations against Israel, which led Israel to invade in 1982 (they finally left Southern Lebanon in 2000).(More...)

Today's Top International Stories

-Gunmen seize Nigeria oil workers
-Women's rights key to Africa AIDS crisis: study
-Divided Congress approves Iraq war funds
-Al-Sadr Reappears In Iraq At Rally
-Ukraine: Yushchenko signs decree to take control over interior troops
-North Korea Fires Off Series of Missiles
-The Surprising Realities of Mythical Creatures

-Bob Marley - Africa Unite




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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Will Railways Agree to Shut Down on Day of Protest?


The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has passed a resolution calling for Canada's national railways to voluntarily shut down during the group's "day of action" on June 29. (CTV)

I hope, but don't expect, that the railways will indeed consider this request and show some support for the First Nations. It's the least they could do. But then again, they have been profiting off land illegally obtained from aboriginal peoples for years - perhaps it's too much to hope they'd change.

As Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation said: "... There are only two ways of dealing with the white man. One, either you pick up a gun, or you stand between the white man and his money... I prefer to stand between the white man and his money."

And now for your reading pleasure. And note: This was written by senators. Yes, fuddy, duddy old senators (not the hockey players).
Oka, Ipperwash, Caledonia.

Blockades, masked warriors, police snipers.

Why?

Canada's failure to address and resolve the legitimate claims of First Nations.

Imagine your new neighbour comes into your backyard and fences off half of it. Then he sells it to someone down the street. This new neighbour tells you he got a good deal but he won't say how much he got. Then, he says that he'll take care of the cash – on your behalf, of course.

Maybe he even spends a little on himself.

You complain. He denies he did anything wrong.

What would you do?

Go to the proper authorities? Turns out that the authorities and their agencies work for him.

Sue him? He tells you that none of the lawyers can work for you – he's got every one in town working for him. When he finally lets a lawyer work for you – it turns out that he can afford five of them for every one you can afford.

Finally he says: Okay, I'm willing to discuss it. But first you have to prove I did something wrong. Oh, and I get to be the judge of whether you've proved it. And, if you do prove it, I get to set the rules about how we'll negotiate. I'll decide when we've reached a deal and I'll even get to determine how I'll pay the settlement out to you. Oh, and I hope you’re in no rush because this is going to take about twenty or thirty years to settle.

Sounds crazy?

Welcome to the world of Indian Specific Claims. Specific Claims arose when Canada and its agents failed to live up to Canada’s responsibilities in connection with First Nations' lands, monies and assets. In some cases Canada didn't give them the land they were promised in the treaties. In some cases, they got the land only to have it taken away again – in a way that violated Canada's own rules. In other cases, federal employees actually stole Indian land, money or other assets.

Until the 1950s, First Nations were prohibited by law from hiring lawyers to pursue these claims – many of which date back 70, 100 or 200 years. Since then impoverished Indian communities have had to fight the federal government in court or else persuade it to acknowledge the claim and negotiate a settlement. Currently, everything is done on Canada's terms and the government is both defendant and judge.

With few resources allocated to find solutions, it can often take twenty or more years from the time a First Nation comes forward with a claim to finally reaching a settlement.

Despite the amazing hurdles, almost 300 claims have been settled. In every case where they have been settled, it has meant an immediate improvement in the lives of First Nations people. It has also strengthened relations between Canada and those First Nations and between those First Nations and the communities that surround them. Settling outstanding claims is not only the just thing to do, it is the smart thing.
Close to 900 claims sit in the backlog. Things are getting worse rather than better. First Nations have been patient – incredibly patient – but their patience is wearing thin. [Emphasis mine]

- Gerry St. Germain, P.C., Chair, and Nick G. Sibbeston, Deputy Chair, Forward to NEGOTIATION OR CONFRONTATION: IT’S CANADA’S CHOICE. Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples Special Study on the Federal Specific Claims Process Full report here (PDF)

Somalia: The Dynamics of Post-Intervention Political Failure

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Reuters: Group demands info on 'African Guantanamo' detainees] - [Ethiopia's Orthodox Church blesses science & faith treatment] - [Eritrea blames U.S. for border impasse] - [Curfew in Mogadishu after shooting]

International:
[Critical time for Iraq says Bush] - [Castro Says His Health Improving Well] - [Israel Chooses Arrests Over Bloodshed] - [UK Spy Photos of Hitler Published] and more of today's top stories!

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HEARING ON ETHIOPIA


Click on Picture to see flyer

Human Rights and Democratisation in Ethiopia
two years after 15 may elections


Committee on Development
&
Sub-Committee on human rights
5 June 2007

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Is the International media in Ethiopia in Cahoots with the government?
oh how we miss Anthony Mitchell!

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Somalia: The Dynamics of Post-Intervention Political Failure
Dr. Michael A. Weinstein

...After a year's political roller coaster ride attended by many casualties, Somalia now and for the foreseeable future appears to be running along a bumpy track that has become familiar in Afghanistan and Iraq, on which a weak and dependent central government imposed by external powers and insufficiently supported by them attempts to preserve itself against a fragmented opposition and disparate local power centers, and strives to concede as little as possible to its protectors and donors, each of which has its own interests and none of which has the political will to change the situation.

With no strong unifying domestic force on the horizon, PINR expects continued devolution accompanied by half-hearted efforts to arrest it. At present, the hopes of the West rest on the N.R.C., which will be the 15th attempt in as many years to bring stability to Somalia through a clan-based formula.

If the conference actually comes off and it is "inclusive," it will initiate a protracted process with uncertain results. If it is not held or it is not broadly representative, Somalia's political collapse will persist.

From the perspective of the West, the presence of radical Islamism in Somalia makes it more difficult to abandon the country as the great powers did after the fall of Siad Barre's dictatorship and the failure of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the early 1990s. Yet there is no sign that the new danger will trigger sufficient commitment to overcome it.(More...)

Reuters: Group demands info on 'African Guantanamo' detainees

NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- In a case some rights campaigners have dubbed an "African Guantanamo," a British-based group called on Kenyan, Somali and Ethiopian authorities to come clean over the whereabouts and fates of some 66 Muslim detainees unaccounted for in Ethiopia.

They were picked up in Kenya in January and February after a two-week war that saw allied Ethiopian-Somali troops oust militant Islamists from the Somalia capital, Mogadishu, and push many of their fighters south and across the border, the group, Amnesty International, said.

A total of 85 people were "unlawfully" sent from Kenya to Ethiopia via Somalia, but 19 have been released, the group said.(More...)

Ethiopia's Orthodox Church blesses science & faith treatment

Apparently, a combination of anti-retroviral medicine and holy water has long been a source of controversy in the Ethiopian Church, where many local leaders believe patients should not take both holy water and medicine.
For the past year, Yonas Tadesse has been trying to stave off the effects of HIV with a blend of science and faith, he takes anti-retroviral medicine but also drinks a liter of holy water, blessed by a priest.

The combination has long been a source of controversy in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, where many local leaders believe patients should not take both holy water and medicine. But on Wednesday, Ethiopia's top religious official gave the treatment his blessing in a country where an estimated 1.5 million people are infected with HIV.

"I am asking each and every one of them to swallow the medicine and the holy water together," Patriarch Abune Paulos told a crowd of about 250 worshippers at Addis Ababa's Entoto Mariam church. "They never conflict each other."(More...)

AP Exclusive: Somali Islamists produce martyr video

Sign that extremists are adopting tactics used by radical groups in Iraq

NAIROBI, Kenya: Islamic insurgents in Somalia have created a video showing a man reciting prayers from the Quran before apparently blowing himself up in a suicide blast, the latest sign that extremists are adopting tactics used by radical groups in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East as they carry out their guerrilla war.

The Associated Press obtained the video Thursday from a person associated with the Shabab, the militant wing of an Islamic group that ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year. The Council of Islamic Courts was driven from power in December but has vowed to launch an Iraq-style insurgency until Somalia is ruled by the Quran.(More...)

Eritrea blames U.S. for border impasse

ASMARA, May 24 (Reuters) - Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said on Thursday a security buffer between the Red Sea state and arch-foe Ethiopia was "meaningless" and blamed the United States for a five-year border stalemate.

In a speech commemorating Eritrea's independence in 1991, Isaias said ultimate responsibility for the impasse and any "negative consequences that may unfold in the period ahead" rests with Washington.

"Eritrea's decision to show restraint and refrain from taking appropriate measures ... must be appreciated indeed," Isaias told thousands of Eritreans gathered in Asmara Stadium.(More...)

Ethiopian officials hope Bekele returns to form

Ethiopia's athletics chiefs hope Olympic and world 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele can put a series of poor performances behind him when he starts his track season on Saturday.

Bekele's loss of form since dropping out of the 12km race at the world cross country championships in March has worried the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF), which said it would see how he ran on Saturday before deciding what do next.

"The Ethiopian Athletics Federation will wait and see before making any decisions. He will start his season on Saturday when he runs over the two miles in Hengelo (Netherlands)," said EAF spokesman Elshadai Negash.(More...)

Germany puts African poverty on front burner

BERLIN, GERMANY (Reuters) -- African poverty has climbed to the top of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's agenda for a Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Heiligendamm next month amid concern pledges to help the continent remain unfulfilled.


(Picture - German Chancellor Angela Merkel REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz )

The summit meeting will be held June 6-8 in the Baltic coast city. The G-8 is composed of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Merkel's agenda harks back to the partnership forged in Kananaskis, Canada, in 2002. At that time, the Africa Action Plan was adopted, which set out specific commitments in support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).(More...)

Has Fred Thompson Found His Role?

As former Republican Senator Fred Thompson ponders a late entry into the 2008 presidential race, the actor's biggest advantage just might be that people feel they already know exactly what he would be like as Commander in Chief.

(Picture - Actor and former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson )

Even before his Law & Order depiction of district attorney Arthur Branch, Thompson nearly always played variations on the same character — a straight-talking, tough-minded, wise Southerner — basically a version of what his supporters say is his true political self.

And he is often cast as a person in power — a military official, the White House chief of staff, the head of the CIA, a Senator or even the President of the U.S. It could be called the Cary Grant approach to politics. As the legendary actor once explained his own style and success, "I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be, and I finally became that person." (More...)

UK Spy Photos of Hitler Published

Photographs of Adolf Hitler taken by a British secret agent just before the start of World War II were published on Thursday.

(Adolf Hitler salutes Nazi troops during a military review on Wilhelmplatz in Berlin, Germany, April 19, 1937. At left is fieldmarshal Werner Von Blomberg, war minister with baton. In second row from left to right are, rear admiral Erich Raeder, Col-Gen. Hermann Goering and Gen. Werner von Fritsch. Hitler celebrates his 48th birthday tomorrow. AP Photo)

Charles Turner, a music composer who was recruited as a spy, took the photos at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, in 1939, where he joined Hitler's entourage, his son David Turner said. He was one of the last Englishman to speak to the dictator before Nazi forces invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939.

The composer first attended the festival in 1934, and each year Hitler was also there. In 1938 when war seemed imminent Turner was recruited as a spy, his son said.

"The miraculous happened. My father was invited to join Hitler's entourage for the day, Wednesday, July 26. He was given carte blanche permission to photograph the fuehrer," David Turner said.(More...)

Also see:
-The British spy who captured Hitler
-Secret agent captured a day at the opera with Hitler
-BRITISH SPY'S ALBUM

Today's Top International Stories

-Profile: Kenya's secretive Mungiki sect
-Critical time for Iraq says Bush(US President George W Bush has warned that the coming weeks and months will be critical for the success of the new security strategy for Iraq)
-Israel Chooses Arrests Over Bloodshed(Rounds Up More Than 30 Senior Hamas Officials In Bid To Stop Rocket Attacks From Gaza)
-Castro Says His Health Improving Well
-Lebanese Militants Told To Surrender
-Why Lebanon is Erupting Again
-IAEA: Iran 3-8 years from atomic weapons
-'Lost' season-ender offers surprises




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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Swedes 'were tortured' in Ethiopia

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Ethiopia: Amnesty International Annual Report 2007] - [African countries in tariff move] - [East Africa attracts hunters for oil and gas] - [Rights group says EU should sanction instead of engaging Eritrea]

International:
[Arrests Made In Kenyan Beheadings] - [Dems, GOP claim victory with Iraq funding bill] - [Germans outraged by "scent profiling" ahead of G8] - [AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the Champions League ] and more of today's top stories!

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By The Center for Public Integrity

Allegiance Rewarded:
Ethiopia reaps U.S. aid by enlisting in war on terror and hiring influential lobbyists

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Press release

Meeting on the African Treaty on Freedom of Expression
(Ethiopia will be at the top of meeting's Agenda)

African freedom of expression advocacy organisations will organise a conference to plan for an African Treaty on Freedom of Expression in Accra on June 25 to 27, 2007, just days before the African Union heads of states Summit.

...The June meeting will involve most or all of NAFEO’s 20-plus members, representatives of other freedom of expression organisations, academics and legal experts. The African Union Commission and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of Expression of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights are expected to participate in the conference.

Issued by Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
Accra, May 23, 2007
For more information, please contact
MFWA
Tel : +233-21-242470
Fax : +233-21-221084
Email : mfwa@africaonline.com.gh

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Ethiopia: Amnesty International Annual Report 2007

...Torture was reported by methods including electric shocks and beatings on the feet while tied upside down...Alemayehu Fantu, an engineer and supermarket owner in Addis Ababa, was reportedly tortured in October to make him admit to publishing or distributing the CUD calendar, and to name others. He was taken to court with visible injuries, which the judges did not investigate, but released on bail on November.

...Four prisoners of conscience were moved as punishment to the Central Prison (Karchele), which was in the process of demolition. CUD leaders Muluneh Eyuel and Amanuel Araya and journalists Eskinder Negga and Sissay Agena were kept for over two months in dark underground cells in solitary confinement.(See full Report)

Swedes 'were tortured' in Ethiopia

Three Swedish nationals detained in Ethiopia for several months and released last week were "tortured" and mistreated during their captivity, their lawyer said on Tuesday.

"They were imprisoned in isolation, in metal cages measuring one and a half square meters (16 square feet). They were handcuffed almost all the time, both their hands and feet," Björn Hurtig told Swedish public radio. He said the three slept with their handcuffs on.

"They were mistreated during interrogations and were physically and psychologically tortured," he said, providing no further details. The trio, two Swedish nationals and one permanent resident in Sweden whose identities were not disclosed, were arrested at the start of the year in connection with the conflict in Somalia.(More...)

Also see:
-Ethiopian Captives Say They Were Tortured


East Africa attracts hunters for oil and gas

a still largely under-explored region

PARIS: Oil companies, both western and Asian, are hunting in earnest for oil and gas in East Africa, a still largely under-explored region, as energy nationalism in Russia, Venezuela and the Middle East closes off opportunities in more proven areas.

"East Africa, for a frontier area, is experiencing one of the highest levels of investment in the world right now - but we're only seeing the beginning," said Chris Matchette-Downes, vice president of business development at Black Marlin Energy, an oil service company based in Dubai and specializing in the region. About $500 million is being spent on research but so far only about 479 wells have been drilled from Eritrea to Cape Town including Madagascar, compared with as many as 30,000 in northern and western Africa, he said.

Significant discoveries of oil could help some countries in the region reduce their dependence on aid and expensive imported oil and help wean their residents from chopping down trees for household fuel. Exploitation, however, could be difficult and require costly infrastructure development. Except for a rickety rail network, not rehabilitated since colonial times, most of the region lacks pipelines and ports to export oil.(more...)

African countries in tariff move

A group of African countries have agreed to adopt common external tariffs in an effort to boost trade and move towards a fully-fledged customs union.

Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda are among those currently sitting on the sidelines, citing concerns about the possible impact on their economies. Countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe see tariff harmonisation as a crucial step towards establishing a full customs union next year.

"We must harden our resolve to desist from engaging in practices aimed at protecting our individual markets," said Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.(More...)

Rights group says EU should sanction instead of engaging Eritrea

ASMARA (Reuters) - A press freedom group urged the European Union on Wednesday to adopt sanctions against Eritrea instead of engaging "one of Africa's most brutal dictators".

The European Commission's decision this month to embrace the isolationist Red Sea state in the search for peace deals to a range of conflicts in the Horn of Africa has sparked criticism from some members states and rights groups.

"Aside from reflecting a double standard, the EU's new policy towards Eritrea is disastrous for those who are exposed to the government's terror," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.(More...)

ABC News: Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions.

"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a recently retired CIA senior official who dealt with Iran and other countries in the region.(More...)

Also see:
-New Covert Action against Iran
-Ross Report About Covert Action In Iran Attracts Hundreds Of Comments


China Requiring Bloggers to Register

(BEIJING) — New rules by a Chinese government-backed Internet group maintain strict controls over the country's bloggers, requiring them to register with their real names and identification cards.

The guidelines from the Internet Society of China, a group made up of China's major Internet companies, contradict state media reports this week claiming that China was considering loosening registration requirements for bloggers to allow anonymous online journaling.

The society's new draft code of conduct seen on its Web site Wednesday says Web log service providers must still get their users' real names and contact information. Critics say the requirement violates a blogger's right to freedom of expression and puts them at risk of punishment or imprisonment if they post controversial opinions about politics, religion or other issues.(More...)

Litvinenko film to premiere at Cannes


A documentary about Alexander Litvinenko, the poisoned Russian ex-spy, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend, organisers said this morning. The last-minute announcement comes a day after British prosecutors sought the extradition of a former KGB agent for his murder.

Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case will screen at the prestigious festival on Saturday, a decision the film’s director, Andrei Nekrasov, said was made at least three weeks ago – well before Britain named Andrei Lugovoy as a suspect in Litvinenko’s murder and demanded his extradition from Russia.

Mr Nekrasov said it was the festival organisers’ idea to keep the film a secret until now. “I can’t say the reason was political pressure,” he said. “They do this sort of surprise screening sometimes.”(More...)

Today's Top International Stories

-Arrests Made In Kenyan Beheadings(Police Believe Shadowy Religious Sect Behind Executions Of 6 People)
-Zimbabwe slum evictions 'a crime'
-Dems, GOP claim victory with Iraq funding bill
-Germans outraged by "scent profiling" ahead of G8
-More Flee as Cease-Fire Holds at Lebanon Camp
-IAEA: Iran Continues to Defy U.N.
-Does Alcohol Slow Dementia?

-AC Milan exact Champions League revenge(AC Milan have beaten Liverpool 2-1 with two goals from Filippo Inzaghi to win the European Cup for the seventh time and avenge their defeat by Liverpool on penalties in the final two years ago)





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