· December, 2005

Stories about Ethiopia from December, 2005

Ethiopia: Gender barriers to education

26 December 2005

Barriers to girls attending school in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa are numerous. Friends of Ethiopia comments that the lack of toilet facilities, privacy and water also act as a barrier to young teenage girls attending school…….”Fatimah is facing the onset of puberty, and with it the realities of menstruation...

Ethiopia: Overhearing conversations

22 December 2005

Aqumada links to a site called “Overheardinnewyork” where people post conversations they have overheard in the city. He gives some examples ….”Puerto Rico chick: He likes that—what do you call it? That the black people make…that “tooka tooka tooka”…? Nuyorican chick: Rap music.” – Sounds like fun – lets all...

Ethiopia: Book reviews

21 December 2005

Redeem Ethiopia reviews two books on Ethiopia: Survival and Modernization, written by Messay Kebede and Hagai Erlich’s Ras Alula and The Scramble for Africa – a political biography of Ras Alula Aba Nega. They also recommend a number of other books on Ethiopia.

Ethiopia and Western Interests

20 December 2005

Ethiopundit accuses the West of wanting to forget about the “fake” Ethiopian elections and return to “business as usual”……..”Ethiopia desperately wants the subject changed from its naked despotism to the interests the West has in regional security that the government itself plays to advantage. Eritrea is totally ignored by the...

Kebena Sefere: Meles

20 December 2005

Kebena Sefere wonders why Western leaders believed Meles would be any different from his predecessors and saw him as an “aspiring leader of a new generation of African Renaissance leaders”……..

Ethiopia: Blogging

19 December 2005

In the last couple of months there has been a huge growth spat in Ethiopian blogs – one trend is they seem to be reviewing each other – Meskel Square on Weichegud! ET Politics and him on One Ethiopia ….”This is a log of the lonely thoughts of a man...

Ethiopia: Remembering Mengistu

19 December 2005

Carpe Diem, Ethiopian blog remembers the Red Terror of former Ethiopian dictator, Mengistu……”In addition to the firing squads, security forces used other, more gruesome tactics to suppress opposition. One tool was a nylon rope, or “Mengistu necktie,” used to slowly strangle prisoners or torture them into revealing acquaintances or plots....

Ethiopia: Blogs

19 December 2005

Meskel Square introduces new Ethiopian blog Carpe Diem Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Ethnicity

16 December 2005

Ethiopian Paradox discusses ethnicity in Ethiopia and ” Melese's strategy to establish a governing system of ethnic federalism emphasising rights of “nations, nationalities, and peoples.” He writes that in Ethiopia ethnicity has gone too far…..”Instead of ethnicity referring to cultural-linguistic communal groups, built around ties of real or putative kinship,...

Corporate evil doers

16 December 2005

Friends of Ethiopia has a list of the 14 worst corporate “evil doers” – just the usual suspects…Nestle, Coke, Chevron etc

Ethiopia: Meles and Jackie Brown

15 December 2005

Ethiopundit puts Jackie Brown to the test against Meles and his gang, the violence in Ethiopia and the European Union.…”The obvious point is of course that like the cops in the movie, the EU is far more interested in defending the helpless of any kind than Ordell or Meles are....

Ethiopia/Sudan telephone link

  14 December 2005

Friends of Ethiopia writes that plans are underway to build a telephone fibre optic link between Ethiopia and Sudan...”Ethiopia and Sudan, two of the world's poorest and least-wired nations, want to expand information and communication technologies coverage to the respective country in the future”

Voices from the Horn of Africa and Sudan

  14 December 2005

Our look at what bloggers in the Horn of the African continent and Sudan are saying begins in Darfur and with some good news. Sleepless in Sudan is reporting that the ban on commercial traffic in one of the refugee camps called Kalma has been lifted. In its own words:...

Ethiopia: Pro Meles website

12 December 2005

Redeem Ethiopia reports on a new “propaganda” website called “Himbasha Commentary” which they believe is an online outlet for the EPRDF (Meles Party) in Ethiopia….”We are convinced that the intended audience for this website is groups who are already supporters of the present ruling class in Ethiopia. The article foot...

Ethiopia: King Tut

8 December 2005

Friends of Ethiopia asks if King Tut is African or European and goes on to explain some of the issues around the debate.

Ethiopia: Travels in the West

6 December 2005

Ethiopian blogger, Aqumada writes on his recent experience of travelling in the West as a Black man with a US passport!

This week in the Ethiopian Blogosphere

5 December 2005

The Ethiopian blogosphere continues to hit hard at the repressive dictatorial government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Meskel Square and Nazret.com both point to a Channel 4 special report entitled “Ethiopia's Agony” which can now be viewed online. Meskel Square writes EPRDF supporters will not like its angle, summed up...