World

Whitney Houston, pop titan, dies at 48

The singer is found unresponsive at the Beverly Hilton hours before Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy Awards party. Once a ruler of the pop charts, Houston had seen addiction take a toll on her success.

By Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times
February 12, 2012

Whitney Houston, a willowy church singer with a towering voice who became a titan of the pop charts in the 1980s and 1990s but then saw much of her success crumble away amid the fumes of addiction and reckless ego, has died. She was 48.

Kristen Foster, a publicist, announced Saturday that the singer had died, and police sources later confirmed that she was found unresponsive in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel about 3:30 p.m. Paramedics performed CPR on her, but she was pronounced dead about 4 p.m., Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen told KTLA News. An investigation into the cause of death is pending.

On Thursday afternoon at the hotel, Houston drew the attention of reporters and security staff with her erratic behavior, dripping sweat and disheveled clothes. The singer was disruptive at that day’s rehearsals for music mogul Clive Davis’ annual Grammy industry party and showcase; that party at the Hilton on Saturday night was supposed to include a performance by Houston. Read more…

Libya ‘cannot stop’ fighters joining Syria rebels

By Borzou Daragahi in Tripoli

Financial Times, Feb. 9, 2012: Libya’s foreign minister says the interim government cannot stop Libyans from joining the Syrian uprising, as Tripoli takes the hardest line in the Arab world against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.   On Thursday, Libya’s transitional government gave Syrian diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, just days after it handed the Syrian embassy in Tripoli to the opposition Syrian National Council – the first country to take this step.

Norway to deport 400 Ethiopians with cash aid

Note: From its previous practices the Ethiopian Government wants to achieve two things out of this episode. First, its world-wide political opponents will be eliminated or imprisoned; second, it is happy to collect a free foreign currency, which it badly needs to maintain its grip on the population of Ethiopia.

The Norwegian Government, which has a world-wide reputation for its excellent human rights records, is making a serious mistake in deporting innocent asylum seekers to a dictator that the world is condemning right now. It risks sliding to the dictators club.

February 8, 2012 (Africa Review) – Norwegian Government has reached an agreement with Ethiopian authorities to deport at least 400 immigrants with cash assistance.

Norwegian deputy minister of Justice Pal Lonseth told the Africa Review that Oslo and Addis had agreed to repatriate illegal immigrants with a total of $7,000 (40,000 Kroner) cash aid each, to establish a better life at home. Read more…

Waamicha Wal-gahii Dargaggoota Oromootiif

Wal-gahiin Waldaa Walgargaarsa Dargaggoota Oromoo (WWDO) ji’a Muddee haala gaariin geggeeffamuun isaa ni yaadatama, wal gettiin ji’a  itti aanuu Dilbata Gurraandhala bultii 05, 2012 sa’aa 6:00w.b. irraa eegalee galma Jaarmiyaa Hawaasa Oromootti geggeeffama.

Kanaaf, guyyaa kana qophilleen bashannansiisoo fi barsiisoo ta’an adda addaa waan dhiyaataniif iddoo fi sa’aatii armaan olitti caqasame kanatti dargaggooti nannoo Washington DC, Maryland fi Verginia jiraattan marti akka irratti qooda fudhattan kabajaan  hafeeramtaniittu. Dargaggoota Oromoo naannoo kana jiraatanii fi odeeffannoo kana hin argannellee hafeertanii akka dhuftan dhamsa keenya dabarsina.

Guyyaa: Dilbata, Gurraandhala 05, 2012
Sa’aatii: 6:00w.b.
Bakka: Jaarmiyaa Hawaasa Oromoo / Oromo Community Organization
6212 3rd Street, NW – Washington, DC 20011,
202-234-1151.

Dargaggoon Oromoo Irree Oromiyaati!

Koree Gidduu Waldichaa

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16, 2012

Mossad Involved in Mabhouh Assassination, Ethiopian Plane Outburst

Mahmoud Mabhouh

January 6, 2012 (Almanar) – Mauritanian authorities have exposed a Mossad network in the country involved in the assassination of Hamas official Mahmoud Mabhouh and the outburst of the Ethiopian plane in Lebanon where a Hezbollah target was on board.

According to Al-Huriyeh (Freedom) Mauritanian newspaper, the Mauritanian authorities have exposed the network in which businessmen and activists from different Arab nationalists work.

The sources indicated that members recruited by the Israeli espionage network were captured after pursuing them and monitoring their suspicious activities.
The espionage network was revealed after the police arrested an agent, named as Fares al-Banna, who was recruited by a tourism agency. Read more…

US seeks Taliban return to power

A prominent political analyst says that the US will negotiate directly with the Taliban as a viable representative over the future governance of Afghanistan.

Jan 6, 2012 (Press TV) – Press TV has conducted an interview with Habib Hakimi, political analyst, to further discuss the issue.

The following is a transcription of the interview.

Press TV: First of all, what do you think is the Afghan government’s real stance about this office being situated in the Persian Gulf and in Qatar rather than in Afghanistan?

Hakimi: Actually, the government of Afghanistan has tried in the past four or five years to bring the Taliban to the negotiation table. But the Taliban rejected to negotiate with the government of Afghanistan which is supported by the United States and by foreign countries. Read more…

Imprisonment of Swedish journalists in Ethiopia sparks outrage in Europe

December 27, 2011 (Euro News) – The detention of two Swedish journalists in Ethiopia has provoked anger by their own government and at by European Union, and both the EU and the Swedish Prime Minister have asked that they be released as soon as possible. Read more…

Anti-Putin protests draw tens of thousands in Moscow

MOSCOW, Dec. 24, 2011 (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday cheered opposition leaders and jeered the Kremlin in the biggest show of outrage yet against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule.

The Moscow demonstration was even bigger than a similar rally two weeks ago, signaling that the protest movement ignited by the fraud-tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election may be growing. Protests were also held in dozens of other cities and towns across Russia. Read more…

How Ethiopia’s Adoption Industry Dupes Families and Bullies Activists

Mirette and Elsabet Franklin, ages 4 and 6, biological sisters adopted in Ethiopia, listen to the singing of the national anthem during a U.S. naturalization ceremony / AP

The Atlantic | December 21, 2011

As the “searchers” who track down adopted children’s histories increasingly uncover stories of fraud, corruption, and worse, these specialists are facing threats and even violence

In 2008, a 38-year old Oklahoma nurse whom I’ll call Kelly adopted an eight-year old girl, “Mary,” from Ethiopia. It was the second adoption for Kelly, following one from Guatemala. She’d sought out a child from Ethiopia in the hopes of avoiding some of the ethical problems of adopting from Guatemala: widespread stories of birthmothers coerced to give up their babies and even payments and abductions at the hands of brokers procuring adoptees for unwitting U.S. parents. Now, even after using a reputable agency in Ethiopia, Kelly has come to believe that Mary never should have been placed for adoption. She came to this determination after hiring what’s known as an adoption searcher. Read more…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dead at age 69

December 18, 2011

Pyongyang, North Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic longtime leader, has died of heart failure. He was 69.

In a “special broadcast” Monday from the North Korean capital, state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a “great mental and physical strain” on Dec. 17 during a “high intensity field inspection.” It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and “fully confirmed” the diagnosis. Read more…

The World’s Happiest (And Saddest) Countries, Ethiopia is 3rd Saddest

Ethiopia

December 14, 2011 (Forbes) – What is happiness? Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, wrote, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” John Lennon had a different take: “Happiness is a warm gun.”

Whatever happiness is to you, there’s some conditions under which it most readily blossoms. You need enough money to acquire a puppy or a gun, and enough free time to exalt in its warmth. You need the peace of mind that Big Brother isn’t about to come around the corner and take your gun (or puppy) away from you. And because fun things are even more fun when shared with others, you’ll be even happier if you have a family that encourages your passion, or at least a local chapter of the NRA or Kennel Club to hang out with.

A few years ago the directors of the Legatum Institute (part of billionaire Christopher Chandler‘s Dubai-based Legatum Group) were thinking about the wealth of nations. Read more…

SeeNuu: Social Networking with an Educational Twist

by Mohammed Ademo

December 1, 2011 (Oromsis) - Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” That’s exactly what the Harvard educated Oromo activist, Tamam Waritu and his team at SeeNuu.com, are doing.

Waritu was born and raised in Hasasa town, Oromia region, in southeastern Ethiopia. At age 16, he immigrated to the United States with his family. Placed in ninth grade, Waritu started with English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and quickly rose to the top of his class winning several scholarships to attend Portland State University. He credits most of his success to support from his teachers, counselors, and tutors.

“What helped me in high school was the desire to be someone and the willingness to learn from anyone and everyone,” said Waritu, who doesn’t like to talk about his own achievements.    

Waritu had the option to pursue medicine, computer science or legal practice, a preferred career path for most children of immigrants. He actually started in the Compute Science department at Portland State University where he spent his first two years of college. “I realized that I was doing that not because I was passionate about it but rather it was what many immigrants did and I blindly followed it,” said Waritu looking back on the decision he made as a college freshman. “It was one of the best decisions that I made in my life.” Read more…

What’s the Point of Press Freedom?

By Amartya Sen/November 28, 2011

No substantial famine has ever occurred in any country with a relatively free press, writes Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen. The world-renowned professor of economics argues that the independent media also provide a voice to the neglected and disadvantaged while simultaneously preventing governments from insulating themselves from public criticism.

Article by Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen

It is not always easy to love the media. The press can torment and harass through distorted reporting, and it can also ruin lives through targeted invasions of privacy. The ability to do great good rarely comes without some power to do harm, and the free press is no exception to this general rule. The press should do what it can to minimize the abuse of power (self-scrutiny can help and so can competition), but we should also try to understand with clarity why and how press freedom can enrich human lives, enhance public justice, and even help to promote economic and social development. Press freedom is important for several different reasons, and it is useful to separate out the distinct contributions it can make. Read more…

Yemeni Leader Signs a Deal to End His 33-Year Rule

Soldiers who defected to the opposition patrolled Sana on Wednesday. The unity government that is expected to take over will face not only insurgencies that have grown more entrenched during months of turmoil, but also festering tribal divisions and the likelihood of continued protests from young demonstrators unsatisfied with Wednesday’s deal.

November 23, 2011, SANA, Yemen (The New York Times) — After months of street protests calling for his resignation, President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement Wednesday that Yemeni officials said immediately transferred power to his vice president.

If the agreement holds up, it would end Mr. Saleh’s 33 years of authoritarian rule and make him the fourth leader forced from power in uprisings that have shaken the Middle East and North Africa. But the deal is unlikely to restore calm anytime soon to a country that has become increasingly important to the United States as Al Qaeda-linked militants have gained a stronger foothold.        Read more…