At the World Social Forum

From the sheer joy and enthusiasm reverberating from the central stage of the opening rally of the 6th World Social Form, you'd never guess that offensive ground operations were continuing unabated in Iraq, or closer still in Haiti U.N. forces were shooting up poor neighborhoods to quell dissent, or Canadians would be in the midst of voting a far-right neo-con to power. "We will not stop," cries a member of Pastors for Peace to his audience of thousands, "Until the walls of the empire fall and until we realize, like you, that another world is possible."

Read the whole thing (It's worth it)

Topics: Activism, Environment

Traffic Gridlock Costs Billions

According to a new Transport Canada study, [gridlock] costs the Canadian economy $6 billion a year, with the G.T.A. absorbing some $2 billion of that tab.

So why do people oppose putting more into public transit? I just don't get it.
More Details

Topic: Urban Issues

A Letter from Jail

Birtukan Mideksa is the senior vice president of the leading popular party, Kinijt (CUDP). Birtukan was trained as a lawyer and was appointed high courts judge in the early 2000s. She came to the national spotlight in 2002 while presiding over the PM Meles Vs Mr. Siye case where she set Meles's opponent, Mr. Siye Abreha free shocking everyone involved (including Mr. Siye himself) . Birtukan Mideksa's recent arrest by the government has only increased her popularity.

Birtukan Mideksa’s letter from prison: in Amharic and English.



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Slang Words for Women

As if this blog entry on the interesting disparity of slang/negative words for men and women in Wikipedia wasn't interesting enough, one of the comments on this entry from a professor was really neat:

One of the exercises I used to illustrate the greater knowledge base of the group as opposed to the individual student consisted of asking the groups to come up with different names for males and females.

I wrote the names on the blackboard as the groups took turns reporting. Every time I used this exercise, the names for females exceeded those for males by at least three to one. The lists invariably included names students might be reluctant to use, those not found in family-oriented newspapers, for instance.

Next, to illustrate the differences between denotation and connotation, I asked the groups to determine which of the names had neutral overtones, which positive, and which negative. As one might expect, the majority of the names for females had a negative connotation.

I usually made the additional point that certain presumably paired words, such as 'master' and 'mistress,' while appearing more or less equal linguistically, had opposite connotations.

Topics: Women

Stop the Abusive Teen Rehab Industry

Unregulated teen rehab "schools" abuse kids on their parents dollar:

As a teen at Tranquility Bay, you can't call home and are escorted between rooms by Jamaican "chaperones." Talk out of turn and your punishment might be that a trio of guards wrestles you to the ground. "They start twisting and pulling your limbs, grinding your ankles," a student told the British newspaper The Guardian.

Read the rest

Topics: Family & Children, Politics, Education

Canadian Election Strategies for Progressives

As the Canadian Election draws nearer, I figure I should offer a bit of my views.

Let me make it clear that, while I love Canada for the life I can lead here, I am not fooled into thinking this is a true democracy. An elected senate, and proportional representation would be a start to rectifying the problems.

However, there are some things we can do TODAY to take back our democracy. We can write our blogs, attend rallies, and write letters to our representatives, and better yet, we can participate in citizens' groups, community organizations, and grassworks movements, like the Toronto Public Space Committee.

And we can vote strategically.

This is a very controversial topic among progressives, and I understand and respect both sides. I will state that while I do believe in idealism, and showing support for the party that most closely approximates your beliefs, sometimes a pragmatic outlook is necessary, due again to the lack of a fair vote in Canada.

With our "First past the post" system, if you don't vote for a winning candidate, your vote doesn't count. So how to make it count? Figure out your election goals and vote strategically if necessary. How do you know if it is necessary? An amazing website with real numbers can help:

Are you in a position where your first choice party/candidate cannot win your riding? Are you thinking of voting for your second choice party/candidate? This guide is meant to inform you of whether voting strategically in your riding or not can make a difference.

So, for example, I've identified my goals for this election: 1) try to keep Conservatives out, and 2) try to get more support to progressive parties (such as NDP or Green).

Using Greg Morrow's strategic voting guide I discover the Conservative candidate in my riding basically has no hope in heck, due to the Liberal incumbent's popularity. Now that I don't have to worry about voting against anyone, I can look to supporting my alternatives. I prefer the Green Party, and their current election goal is to capture as much of the popular vote as possible, so as to show Canadians there is another possible alternative to the old hacks in parliament now, to keep their official party status, and to increase federal funding for future campaigns (I think they get $1.75 per vote).

This means, a vote for the Green Party is not totally wasted. It actually has some purpose. Here's another example of strategic voting. I urge everyone to really think hard before voting, and after January 23, do not get complacent. Your democratic duty isn't over after the election - that's only where it begins.

Not sure about bias in what you read? Input the text into this Political Vocabulary Analysis Tool to get a hint. It's not very accurate, especially when righties appropriate progressive vocabulary, (as this guy's commentaries often show) but neat!

Topics: Politics

Martin Luther King Day

Seems like a good time to consider what this progressive would say if he were here today. He envisioned a world free of violence, oppression, and crippling poverty, with a commitment to economic and social justice for all of humankind.

Listen to the "Beyond Vietnam" speech of 1967 (download or stream, mp3 or Real Player), in which he declared the US, "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." This speech is quite stirring, and still holds so much meaning now. At the time it was called "demagogic slander" (Time Magazine):

We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. As Arnold Toynbee says: "Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word." Unquote.

We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood-it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, "Too late." There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: "The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on."

We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.

This speech is particularly relevant in light of the current state of the world. The imperialist war in Iraq has many parallels to that in Vietnam, there are sharp divides between rich and poor (often along racial and ethnic lines), hate mongerers have too much control... Almost begs the question: What would Martin Luther King have done about Iraq? or should I say Vietraq?

Topics: Iraq, Racism, Politics

Am I Wrong Or Right? .com

Internet Democracy at its most minimal.
Topics: Fun

Squatter City

Robert Neuwirth is the author of Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World., a book examining some of the great squatter neighbourhoods in the world. He lived for two years in these communities, and experienced the vibrancy of these cities within cities. He believes squatters will shape cities in the future.
Listen to an interesting interview with him.

Also check out Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, who spent a year in Toronto's famous Tent City. A great read. Highly recommended!

Topics: Books, Poverty

Hilarious Excerpt from EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED by Jonathan Safran Foer

Found on Bookreporter.com: "I had performed recklessly well in my second year of English at university. This was a very majestic thing I did because my instructor was having shit between his brains. Mother was so proud of me, she said, 'Alexi-stop-spleening-me! You have made me so proud of you.' I inquired her to purchase me leather pants, but she said no. 'Shorts?' 'No.' " Read the rest of the excerpt.

Selassie I Meets the Press

We found this to be very interesting. It is a video of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, taking questions from the foreign press.

News fit for a donkey!

(By Sintayehu Tefera, Ethiopian Politics Contributor)

“Today’s corporate media are not interested in serious and significant news; instead, they're churning out childish news, dumbed down for numbed out audiences. … a lot of thought seems to be going into making it thoughtless”
- Journalist Michael Buerk

The quality of news in the U.S has been declining for quite sometime now. As far as I’m concerned, it reached its lowest point yesterday, January 10. Ethio-Americans and Ethiopians in Atlanta and other parts of the country have been pleading with CNN to devote some air time to the deteriorating political situation in Ethiopia to no avail.

Yesterday ladies and Gents, we got punk'd!..........Ethiopia was covered on TV by CNN continuously through out the day. But it was not the dying students that made the news, nor was it the inhumane concentration camps…. what was getting so much air play you ask?………..wait for it…………wait ……………….drum roll………..ETHIOPIAN IDOL!!!!

CNN (TV) and other major news organizations that didn’t want anything to do with the killings and detentions in Ethiopia, extensively covered, (in a very condescending tone I might add) the new Ethiopian Idol TV show. I assume they all got the story from the same source, probably Agence France Presse (AFP) or Associated Press (AP)….. almost word for word, they all kept iterating it in the same manner.

The coverage went something like this:

“Yellowed satin sheets and signs taped to the walls provide the backdrop for a set hastily constructed each week in a shabby hotel restaurant. Performers have to contend with frequent power cuts, feedback from poor sound equipment and ringing cell phones……….”most of the time, I tell (contestants) to go back to their old jobs, forget about a career in singing,” the 46-year-old Ethiopian idol judge said. “Or I tell them they sing like donkeys.””

On any given day, the line up that makes up for a major chunk of the news in the U.S involve………..Cute puppies, cuddly panda bears, and Paris Hilton ………more or less in that order.
Michael Buerk warns “A flawed media, leads to a flawed democracy. Ill informed citizens cannot make proper judgments about their leaders' actions, about the actions that take place in their names, about the laws that govern them.”

CNN (TV)... In the words of Mr. Feleke Hailu Ethiopian idol judge (who in my opinion makes Simon Cowell look like a little girl scout) ………. Your news is fit for a donkey!

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(The Article below is submitted by Fikirte Hagos)

Just for fun let's look at the first few paragraphs of the article. The aim is to learn how one can fit in as much negativity as possible without using too many words. We were quite impressed at how they were able to achieve this. To better assist with this exercise we have highlighted some of the key phrases. Perhaps we can take a few tips.

(Jan. 8). ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA -- "Ethiopian Idols" is a far cry from the glamour and glitz of its U.S. and British inspirations.

Yellowed satin sheets and signs taped to the walls provide the backdrop for a set hastily constructed each week in a shabby hotel restaurant while waiters peer in. Performers have to contend with frequent power cuts, feedback from poor sound equipment and ringing cell phones.

But "Ethiopian Idols" has it own answer to Simon Cowell -- the acerbic judge on the American and British versions. Feleke Hailu disses contestants by telling them they "sing like donkeys." The show has fast won the highest ratings on otherwise dull state-run TV. While "Ethiopian Idols" cannot promise the riches or fame enjoyed by American and British winners, it does offer hope in an impoverished country where most of the 77 million people cannot afford a TV set.

Self Investigation for Criminals

More Cartoons From Andy Singer


Other Comics I like

Dictator of the Month!

(By Dr.Yonnas Gondemo, Ethiopian Politics Contributor)


Dictatorofthemonth dot com is an online magazine that features infamous works of “dictators, autocrats and monarchs of the world”. Dictators that have been featured on this website include: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Il and Mengistu Halilemariam. Ethiopianpolitics along with other concerned Ethiopian citizens has been in contact with “dictator of the month” website informing them of the atrocities committed by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. After reviewing all the evidence from all the major news sources they are finally convinced that Meles does indeed deserve this title.

This is an ongoing process, meaning everyone should go to the website and vote in order to keep his “dictator” ratings up. As stated on the DOM website “To rate each dictator a scorecard system has been developed; although somewhat subjective, this system will help visitors learn about each dictator. DOM will follow up on leads submitted by YOU, the reader- submit your vote by e-mail and watch the ratings change”

So keep the ratings up by sending your e-mails. No matter how minuscule, it is none-the-less another blow to the sitting government of Ethiopia.

Send e-mails to: dictatorofthemonth@gmail.com

Click here to read the article (Dictator of the month)