Ethiopia’s khat-addicted dictator Meles Zenawi has been diagnosed with blood cancer and is receiving treatment at a Belgium hospital, according to Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit sources. Berhane Gebrekiristos and Teodros Adhanom, both close confidants of Meles Zenawi and senior members of the ruling party Woyanne, are currently functioning as acting prime-ministers.
ESAT has reported that Meles Zenawi’s appearance in the parliament has been pushed by one week, adding credibility to the report about the dictator’s declining health.
When Meles appeared at the G-20 meeting in Mexico last month he looked terribly sick and seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
162 thoughts on “Dictator Meles Zenawi receives treatment for blood cancer”
Public is more and more giving verdicts on this lost human due to crimes against humanity, genocide, greed, and human rights abuses. I beg mercy on this human turned evil. May God make his legacy an example of evil turns devil through thoroughly compiled publications of all his harmful deeds during his shameful era for testimony and for its use as a reference for future deterrence.
melse zenawi i will coming you grave yard to drop red flower for you
miskin anjetin belachew echi melata she will die soon she cant see 2013.
I hope and pray Meles feels all the physical and emotional pain he has caused on countless number of innocent Ethiopians. The judgment has come and no money in the world is going to save the Adolf Hitler of Ethiopia. The Godless monkey thought nothing going to touch him, but there a true God! Halleluiah! Thank you God! Please God take the subhuman Meles Satanawi and his thugs as soon as possible and give justice to all suffering Ethiopians.
Meles Zenawi can only be “saved” if he takes a holy water from Waldeba Monastery, “Ferenje Ayadenehem”.Stop his criminal activity at Waldeba if he wants to get holy water. Time is running out !!!
The cry of our holy people at Waldiba is what is burning Meles Zenawi. He will suffer greatly until he publicly apologize for his two decades of anti Ethiopia crime and repent. Ethiopia raise her hands to God !!!!
So now the end of the road, be it good or bad, is coming to an end. it is vanity after vanity like running behind a wind. All the reaches robed from the poor people , all the money embazeled from Ethiopians , all the people killed for peacefully protesting …etc. What is Mr. Zenawi going to take with himself. Absolutely nothing. God is so wise that he created death.
Elisa Kifle
MELESE ZENAWI SING LAST SONG
I can’t win, I can’t reign
I will never win this game
Without you, without you
I am lost, I am vain,
I will never be the same
Without you, without you
prime-ministers Meles Zenawi Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life inb Christ Jesus our Lord.then repent your sin
I am hearing that Meles has been diagnosed with brain tumor not leukemia.
I don’t want to see Meles Zenaw to die natural death I want him to face Ethiopian people ende Gasafi yes this is my wish for him I know one day he and his stupid woyane junta they will pay
peace replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 11:56 AM
Please,
Ethiopians are not brbarians like Libyans. We are different, we don’t kill such barbaric way that is why we are more civilized. We defend to protect our people and territory but not for revenge but defend. However it is possible that the cry of Ethiopians and Ethiopia has been heard by god and without our revenge, he is getting his punishment. If you know the story of Buddha, one day, there was ruthless man killing every single human being on his path. One day Buddha came to him and many warned him not to pass the killers path, but Buddha took a chance. After encountering the Buddha, the killer was astonished the fearlessness in Buddha’s eyes, that by itself transformed the killer from the most compassionate human being who has been the responsible for the spread of the teaching of Buddha by being compassionate, wisdom, moral, love etc. Since his reign the killer who turned human being, helped many people and devoted his life for helping people around him. The ability to transform evil to goodness is the number one hard work and wisdom in the world. The one that comes to mind is people like Mandela.Even the oppressed who is suffering under the opresser is tormented by hate of the oppressor, transforming this hate is what tansforms people to healing love and eventually to enlighenment.
Yibe(YMB) replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 6:38 PM
My friend please don’t diminish other people and try to put yourself up. Why would you call Libiyans barberians? If anything they are heroic people to get ride off a monster.
In this picture the guy looks like a shoked mice.
I feel sorry for my people that they are wishing death to someone out of despair. We were never like this. We usual pray for them but it has come to the point where any solution is better than no solution.
And I hope we the people will come together and fight for our rights like the Libiyans, Tunusians, Egyptians and other countries who removed dectetors by fighting strong and wise and we get him and do the justice rather than the sickness.
I can’t wait to see him at the parliament meeting in Addis Ababa. I know he is sick but I just wanted to see how serious his sickness is. I also know that it is not human to wish someone to die. But I don’t belive that Meles is a man of blood and flesh. He is a killer of a 12 year old boy as a bank rubery.
Ehiopia is a great country. She had a lot of enemies through out her life. Meles is one of her enemies. He is the most dangerous and the most recent enemy of Ethiopia. As othe enemies of Ethiopia did, there is no dought he will passed away sooner not later. It is only a matter of time.
God will help us. We will be United Again.
Folks, we may have to leave what the evil Meles has done on earth for the Almighty God/Allah to do his duty. But as far as what this descendent of a traitor and banda himself has done to Ethiopia & Ethiopians will remain in the history book for the future generation to remember….. after his sick body is turned over to ICC.
Our biggest effort and action will have to focus on building democratic institutions so as not to ever allow any one person or any single ethnic group from controling the political & the economic power in our country again
If all the reports are true & the dictator’s days on earth are indeed limited all the progressive for.ces have to be organized more and stay alert to avoid the back-door “deal” of the Hermo.n khun (The State Department) type which brought nothing but misery……. for the last twenty years of the TPLF mis-rule.
As a reminder, one can never rule out Ato Meles’s desire to copy his one-time mentor, Ato Isayas Afeworki, who was recently reported by TPLF affaliated media as gravely ill or even to have had passed away in Trepoli under intensive medical care….!!
Let us hope the best days are ahead of us where all of us can go back in millions to get our country back in track.
God/Allah Bless Ethiopia!
July 7, 2012
In Treatment for Leukemia, Glimpses of the Future
By GINA KOLATA
ST. LOUIS — Genetics researchers at Washington University, one of the world’s leading centers for work on the human genome, were devastated. Dr. Lukas Wartman, a young, talented and beloved colleague, had the very cancer he had devoted his career to studying. He was deteriorating fast. No known treatment could save him. And no one, to their knowledge, had ever investigated the complete genetic makeup of a cancer like his. So one day last July, Dr. Timothy Ley, associate director of the university’s genome institute, summoned his team. Why not throw everything we have at seeing if we can find a rogue gene spurring Dr. Wartman’s cancer, adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia, he asked? “It’s now or never,” he recalled telling them. “We will only get one shot.” Dr. Ley’s team tried a type of analysis that they had never done before. They fully sequenced the genes of both his cancer cells and healthy cells for comparison, and at the same time analyzed his RNA, a close chemical cousin to DNA, for clues to what his genes were doing. The researchers on the project put other work aside for weeks, running one of the university’s 26 sequencing machines and supercomputer around the clock. And they found a culprit — a normal gene that was in overdrive, churning out huge amounts of a protein that appeared to be spurring the cancer’s growth. Even better, there was a promising new drug that might shut down the malfunctioning gene — a drug that had been tested and approved only for advanced kidney cancer. Dr. Wartman became the first person ever to take it for leukemia. And now, against all odds, his cancer is in remission and has been since last fall. While no one can say that Dr. Wartman is cured, after facing certain death last fall, he is alive and doing well. Dr. Wartman is a pioneer in a new approach to stopping cancer. What is important, medical researchers say, is the genes that drive a cancer, not the tissue or organ — liver or brain, bone marrow, blood or colon — where the cancer originates. One woman’s breast cancer may have different genetic drivers from another woman’s and, in fact, may have more in common with prostate cancer in a man or another patient’s lung cancer. Under this new approach, researchers expect that treatment will be tailored to an individual tumor’s mutations, with drugs, eventually, that hit several key aberrant genes at once. The cocktails of medicines would be analogous to H.I.V. treatment, which uses several different drugs at once to strike the virus in a number of critical areas. Researchers differ about how soon the method, known as whole genome sequencing, will be generally available and paid for by insurance — estimates range from a few years to a decade or so. But they believe that it has enormous promise, though it has not yet cured anyone. With a steep drop in the costs of sequencing and an explosion of research on genes, medical experts expect that genetic analyses of cancers will become routine. Just as pathologists do blood cultures to decide which antibiotics will stop a patient’s bacterial infection, so will genome sequencing determine which drugs might stop a cancer. “Until you know what is driving a patient’s cancer, you really don’t have any chance of getting it right,” Dr. Ley said. “For the past 40 years, we have been sending generals into battle without a map of the battlefield. What we are doing now is building the map.” Large drug companies and small biotechs are jumping in, starting to test drugs that attack a gene rather than a tumor type. Leading cancer researchers are starting companies to find genes that might be causing an individual’s cancer to grow, to analyze genetic data and to find and test new drugs directed against these genetic targets. Leading venture capital firms are involved. For now, whole genome sequencing is in its infancy and dauntingly complex. The gene sequences are only the start — they come in billions of small pieces, like a huge jigsaw puzzle. The arduous job is to figure out which mutations are important, a task that requires skill, experience and instincts. So far, most who have chosen this path are wealthy and well connected. When Steve Jobs had exhausted other options to combat pancreatic cancer, he consulted doctors who coordinated his genetic sequencing and analysis. It cost him $100,000, according to his biographer. The writer Christopher Hitchens went to the head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, who advised him on where to get a genetic analysis of his esophageal cancer. Harvard Medical School expects eventually to offer whole genome sequencing to help cancer patients identify treatments, said Heidi L. Rehm, who heads the molecular medicine laboratory at Harvard’s Partners Healthcare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine. But later this year, Partners will take a more modest step, offering whole genome sequencing to patients with a suspected hereditary disorder in hopes of identifying mutations that might be causing the disease. Whole genome sequencing of the type that Dr. Wartman had, Dr. Rehm added, “is a whole other level of complexity.” Dr. Wartman was included by his colleagues in a research study, and his genetic analysis was paid for by the university and research grants. Such opportunities are not available to most patients, but Dr. Ley noted that the group had done such an analysis for another patient the year before and that no patients were being neglected because of the urgent work to figure out Dr. Wartman’s cancer. “The precedent for moving quickly on a sample to make a key decision was already established,” Dr. Ley said. Ethicists ask whether those with money and connections should have options far out of reach for most patients before such treatments become a normal part of medicine. And will people of more limited means be tempted to bankrupt their families in pursuit of a cure at the far edges? “If we say we need research because this is a new idea, then why is it that rich people can even access it?” asked Wylie Burke, professor and chairwoman of the department of bioethics at the University of Washington. The saving grace, she said, is that the method will become available to all if it works. A Life in Medicine It was pure happenstance that landed Dr. Wartman in a university at the forefront of cancer research. He grew up in small-town Indiana, aspiring to be a veterinarian like his grandfather. But in college, he worked summers in hospitals and became fascinated by cancer. He enrolled in medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was drawn to research on genetic changes that occur in cancers of the blood. Dr. Wartman knew then what he wanted to do — become a physician researcher. Those plans fell apart in the winter of 2002, his last year of medical school, when he went to California to be interviewed for a residency program at Stanford. On the morning of his visit, he was nearly paralyzed by an overwhelming fatigue. “I could not get out of bed for an interview that was the most important of my life,” Dr. Wartman recalled. Somehow, he forced himself to drive to Palo Alto in a drenching rain. He rallied enough to get through the day. When he returned to St. Louis, he gave up running, too exhausted for the sport he loved. He started having night sweats. “I thought it might be mono,” he said. “And I thought I would ride it out.” But then the long bones in his legs began to hurt. He was having fevers. He was so young then — only 25 — and had always been so healthy that his only doctor was a pediatrician. So he went to an urgent care center in February 2003. The doctor there thought his symptoms might come from depression, but noticed that his red and white blood cell counts were low. And Lukas Wartman, who had been fascinated by the biology of leukemia, began to suspect he had it. “I was definitely scared,” he said. “It was so unreal.” The next day, Mr. Wartman, who was about to graduate from Washington University’s medical school, went back there for more tests. A doctor slid a long needle into his hip bone and drew out marrow for analysis. “We looked at the slide together,” Dr. Wartman said, recalling that terrible time. “It was packed with leukemia cells. I was in a state of shock.” Dr. Wartman remained at the university for his residency and treatment: nine months of intensive chemotherapy, followed by 15 months of maintenance chemotherapy. Five years passed when the cancer seemed to be gone. But then it came back. Next came the most risky remedy — intensive chemotherapy to put the cancer into remission followed by a bone-marrow transplant from his younger brother. Seven months after the transplant, feeling much stronger, he went to a major cancer meeting and sat in on a session on his type of leukemia. The speaker, a renowned researcher, reported that only 4 or 5 percent of those who relapsed survived. “My stomach turned,” Dr. Wartman said. “I will never forget the shock of hearing that number.” But his personal gauge of recovery — how far he could run — was encouraging. By last spring, three years after his transplant, Dr. Wartman was running six to seven miles every other day and feeling good. “I thought maybe I would run a half marathon in the fall.” Then the cancer came back. He remembered that number, 4 or 5 percent, for patients with one relapse. He had relapsed a second time. This time, he said, “There is no number.” His doctors put him on a clinical trial to try to beat the cancer with chemotherapy and hormones. It did not work. They infused him with his brother’s healthy marrow cells, to no avail. A Clue in RNA Dr. Wartman’s doctors realized then that their last best hope for saving him was to use all the genetic know-how and technology at their disposal. After their month of frantic work to beat cancer’s relentless clock, the group, led by Richard Wilson and Elaine Mardis, directors of the university’s genome institute, had the data. It was Aug. 31. The cancer’s DNA had, as expected, many mutations, but there was nothing to be done about them. There were no drugs to attack them. But the other analysis, of the cancer’s RNA, was different. There was something there, something unexpected. The RNA sequencing showed that a normal gene, FLT3, was wildly active in the leukemia cells. Its normal role is to make cells grow and proliferate. An overactive FLT3 gene might be making Dr. Wartman’s cancer cells multiply so quickly. Even better, there was a drug, sunitinib or Sutent, approved for treating advanced kidney cancer, that inhibits FLT3. But it costs $330 a day, and Dr. Wartman’s insurance company would not pay for it. He appealed twice to his insurer and lost both times. He also pleaded with the drug’s maker, Pfizer, to give him the drug under its compassionate use program, explaining that his entire salary was only enough to pay for 7 ½ months of Sutent. But Pfizer turned him down too. As September went by, Dr. Wartman was getting panicky. “Every day is a roller coaster,” he said at the time, “and everything is up in the air.” Desperate to try the drug, he scraped up the money to buy a week’s worth and began taking it on Sept. 16. Within days, his blood counts were looking more normal. But over dinner at a trendy St. Louis restaurant, he picked at his chicken and said he was afraid to hope. “Obviously it’s exciting,” he said. “But Sutent could have unanticipated effects on my bone marrow.” Maybe his rising red blood cell counts were just a side effect of the drug. Or maybe they were just a coincidence. “It’s hard to say if I feel any different,” Dr. Wartman said. And the cost of the drug nagged at him. If it worked, how long could he afford to keep taking it? The next day, a nurse at the hospital pharmacy called with what seemed miraculous news: a month’s supply of Sutent was waiting for Dr. Wartman. He did not know at the time, but the doctors in his division had pitched in to buy the drug. Two weeks later, his bone marrow, which had been full of leukemia cells, was clean, a biopsy showed. Still, he was nervous. The test involved taking out just a small amount of marrow. Cancer cells could be lurking unseen. The next test was flow cytometry, which used antibodies to label cancer cells. Again, there were no cancer cells. But even flow cytometry could be misleading, Dr. Wartman told himself. Finally, a yet more sensitive test, called FISH, was done. It labels cancer cells with fluorescent pieces of DNA to identify leukemia cells. Once again, there were none. “I can’t believe it,” his awe-struck physician, Dr. John DiPersio, told him. Dr. Wartman, alone in his apartment, waited for his partner, Damon Berardi, to come home from work. That evening, Mr. Berardi, a 31-year-old store manager, opened the door with no idea of Dr. Wartman’s momentous news. To his surprise, Dr. Wartman was home early, waiting in the kitchen with champagne and two flutes he had given Mr. Berardi for Christmas. He told Mr. Berardi he should sit down. “My leukemia is in remission,” he said. The men embraced exultantly, and Dr. Wartman popped open the champagne. “I felt an overwhelming sense of relief and a renewed vision of our future together,” Mr. Berardi said. “There were no tears at that moment. We had both had cried plenty. This was a moment of hope.” Hunches and Decisions Dr. Wartman and his doctors had fateful decisions to make, with nothing but hunches to guide them. Should he keep taking Sutent or have another bone-marrow transplant now that he was in remission again? In the end, Dr. DiPersio decided Dr. Wartman should have the transplant because without it the cancer might mutate and escape the Sutent. Meanwhile, Pfizer had decided to give him the drug. Dr. Wartman has no idea why. Perhaps the company was swayed by an impassioned plea from his nurse practitioner, Stephanie Bauer. Dr. Wartman’s cancer is still gone, for now, but he has struggled with a common complication of bone-marrow transplants, in which the white blood cells of the transplanted marrow attack his cells as though they were foreign. He has had rashes and felt ill. But these complications are gradually lessening, and he is back at work in Dr. Ley’s lab. His colleagues want to look for the same mutation in the cancer cells of other patients with his cancer. And they would like to start a clinical trial testing Sutent to discover whether the drug can help others with leukemia, or whether the solution they found was unique to Lukas Wartman. Dr. Wartman himself is left with nagging uncertainties. He knows how lucky he is, but what does the future hold? Can he plan a life? Is he cured? “It’s a hard feeling to describe,” he said. “I am in uncharted waters.” Monday: Promise and heartbreak.
I wish I knew what kind of blood cancer it is…
In general, blood cancer is a form of cancer which attacks the blood, bone marrow, or lymphatic system. There are three kinds of blood cancer: leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. These malignancies have varying prognoses, depending on the patient and the specifics of the condition, but overall survival rates with blood cancer increased radically in the late 20th century with the development of advanced treatments. When caught early, blood cancer can be very manageable in some cases, which is one very good reason to make regular trips to the doctor a priority for people of all ages.
In the case of leukemia, the cancer interferes with the body’s ability to make blood. Leukemia attacks the bone marrow and the blood itself, causing fatigue, anemia, weakness, and bone pain. It is diagnosed with a blood test in which specific types of blood cells are counted. Treatment for leukemia usually includes chemotherapy and radiation to kill the cancer, and in some cases measures like bone marrow transplants may be required. There are several different types of leukemia, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and hairy cell leukemia.
Lymphomas are blood cancers which involve the lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. They are divided into Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s types. Lymphoma often involves swollen lymph nodes in addition to the symptoms for leukemia listed above, and it is also treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer which primarily appears in older people, involving the plasma, another type of white blood cell. Chemotherapy, radiation, and other drug treatments can be used to manage multiple myeloma.
The goal in treating blood cancer is to achieve remission, a situation characterized by the absence of symptoms. Even in remission, a blood cancer can still start up again, so people who have experienced blood cancer may need to attend regular follow-up medical appointments and annual checkups to check for a recurrence of the cancer. Blood cancer does not appear to be preventable, but like other cancers, the risk seems to be reduced among people who eat a healthy diet, exercise, and maintain good mental health.
People diagnosed with blood cancer can work with an oncologist, a doctor who specializes in cancer, or a hematologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the blood. Some patients work with both, attempting to develop a treatment plan which will be as effective as possible. Because individual cases can be quite varied, patients often benefit from second opinions to confirm the diagnosis and treatment plan.
I wish he will do tow things, apologize to the ethiopian people fix the wrong he has done on the northern part of the county before he departs the beloved ethiopia. I wish God forgive him for the sufurings he put millions of people throgh. Appologize and return what he stole from the people. If we stand together we will win. I f we try to fight and think locally, an other tigraia may be the worst of all will take over. Any ways this is the right rtime to come together.
Dear All Ethiopians,
With due respect, I am alarmed by the degree of deep hatred we have among each other. Meles is a human like everyone of us. He just happeneed to be in Arat kilo by mere chance and turn of events. As we have seen it, he has done many mistakes like everyone of his predecessors. Meles is not a saint either. Meles did not do more mistake than Emperor Yohanes, Emperor Menelick, Theodores, Hailessalise, Mengistu. I think none of you know really the histroy of your country? The comments show only too much hatred, too much negativity and most of the comments lack any maturity at all.
Some of you are talk taking power from Tigreans? oh my God, I do not really care who rule Ethiopia as long as I live in peace as a citizen, but proposing taking power to another tribe is not different either. It is the tribalism what landed us where we are today. If there was no tribalism? Meles and Cos would not have dropped out of University and decided to go live in caves for 17 years risking their lives. If Ethiopia was good, they would not have preferred to eat food baked on stones, living in caves with hunger, thirst facing hot and cold weather and at the same time fighting risking thier precious lives.
I strongly have opposed from day one of TPLF the ideology of landlocking Ethiopia on purpose. I still do not understand why an Ethiopia lobby the entire world to landlock his country? For me the biggest mistake of TPLF I can agree on is landlocking, aborting the war with Eritrea. You may not agree with me, but these are the two big mistakes I reckon. He brought the ethnic federation to respect all the ethnics so that they can administer themselves and to use their language. I am not saying it is right to divide Ethiopia on ethnic line, but Meles developed that method to address the inequality at home, he only did what he thought was good.
We all know how Ethiopians used to be treated? do not we ? The Gurages were Kuli, teshekami? the rest were bariawoch or tukuroch? The oromos were galas? I can not list all the evils which has been perpetrated in Ethiopia before Meles. The Tigreans were Yewef quanqua tenagarich? I lived in Ethiopia my teenage ages, I used to fear to speak Tigrignea in addis ababa. In Tigray people were forced to use only amharic by throwing away their language? In primary school, I studied amharic only but my native langauge and mother tongue was thrown away and I did not have any chance to study my mother tongue. Amharic was /is not my mother tongue. But I did not have the chance to learn my own langauge? There was only two high school in the entire Tigrai? one in Mekele and it was only built by a catholic mission. another in Adwa which was built and run by another mission from Germany. Even the reason Meles and cos from Adwa got the chance of to come to University was because of only that single school in Adwa.Other Tigreans did not have chance to go to school except people who lived in Adwa.
TPLF came to exist because all that and other reasons from the previous regions. You have to understand that the TPLFites were not doing further studies like Prof. Almariam and other Ethiopians like Dr. It is obvious they are /were subject to make mistakes. If was to be with them, I am sure I would have done mistakes too and you have done mistakes too like you are doing alot of mistakes here by insulting Tigreans in general.
My point, this will not help Ethiopia. We are the poorest country in the world. Our people humiliated across the globe. You may not have experienced what I have experienced, but it is heart-breaking to be honest to be Ethiopian outside Ethiopia. I once was in a class a University, in South Africa,a white South African asked where I am from? I told him I am Ethiopian. In front of my class, he said from that poor country where people are dying starvation? he did not even stop, he went on telling me that for awhile. Every student turned to me and looked at me. It was heart-breaking for me to be honest. This is not the first time I had. Wherever I go people will tell me the same thing.
You may not believe european journalists call Ethiopia now the left-behinders land? what does it mean? it means we are left behind from the world? why? the reasons is written all over on this website. I do not need to explain this. I am tired of this barbarism. That is even why I gave thumps up to Teddy Fikre when he said last time, he want to leave Ethiopian community?
Can anyone tell me what Meles has done worst crime than Mengistu, Haileslassie, Menelick,… exclude Theodores and Yohannes, they died for their country. I know he should have been better, but telling me Meles is the only man who put Ethiopia in trouble is just not true.
Please stop your irrational hatred that will never help anyone. Even if Meles dies this evening, he is human being. So what? Stop this barbaric, racist, and ethnic slogan. It appears has been holding the sky above Ethiopia? is the sky above Ethiopia going to fall upon on the Ethiopian in general or upon Tigrean in particular? Please people reason out and be logical.
You are vomiting too much hatred but it is a venom that will only destroy Ethiopia. You must know it is written in the bible that the tongue of human being is the worst enemy of human being. Because of tongue, millions of human bieng has perished on this planet. Human tongue is more threatening to humanity on earth than any Atomic bomb or any unforeseen natural force.
Having seen and lived as a child in Ethiopia where my neighbours could not sleep in their house because they will be taken to be conscripted to become forced soldiers, and having seen all that, I find it extremely biased and hateful to blame Meles as more despotic than anyone. Please guys get of the box and breath peace,love if you really love Ethiopia.
TPLF is more than Meles. If Meles dies right now, TPLF will remain as it is, if you think otherwise, you are all naive. I personally believe the departure of Meles may open an opportunity for reform, but I do not believe TPLF will disappear overnight because of Meles. I am not saying all these to defend Meles. I am saying all these to say that it is better to be positive and rational that to be carried away by spontaenous emotion. Wishing evil is weakness, not strength. I will never with or be happy even if my enemies dies because I know I will die too. It will be only time difference, different time schedule.
gizaw replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 3:45 AM
you might as well join him here or upstairs!!!!
You have tried to compare apples an mangoes. This parasite is one a kind in Ethiopian history. No human being can extend mercy to this cannibal.
You sound like, Abebe Gelaw and the like have fasttracked his miserable fate, so be it!!! Get a life or go your church and pray for this beast.
Anonymous replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 8:25 AM
Gezaee,
The hate filled dictator is not human but a devil-possessed subhuman who is responsible for dividing and slaughtering hundreds of thousands young and old innocent Ethiopians in every Ethiopian province. The despicable arrogant tyrant see himself as super-being and abuses his power beyond ones imaginations. The atrocious dictator never hesitates for a second to give orders for innocent people to be thrown in jail, to be tortured and gunned down. The brutal dictator is a Godless monster evil who was born without conscience that gets thrill when he gives orders innocent Ethiopians to be locked up, tortured and killed and even gives life sentence to Ethiopians who live in and outside of Ethiopia. In every country judicial system, a person put to death for killing only one person, why then vicious dictators like Meles should live in a palace and give orders innocent people to be slaughtered…where is the justice? Why should evil-demented Meles live in a palace and go on a million dollar shopping spree, literally rob the country, send millions of Ethiopian christian Ethiopian young women to be enslaved in Arab countries, Ethiopians babies to be used as profit? Why should Ethiopians feel sorry for a vicious tyrant that has evicted Ethiopians and sell their property? The crimes of the wicked dictator and the lawless TPLF is endless. May the loving God hears the agonies of Ethiopian mothers and fathers and punish and remove quickly the heartless, the bloodthirsty wicked dictator and his evil and money-worshiper brainless criminal TPLF puppets. Praise the merciful and loving God/Allah!
Gezaee H. replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 9:40 PM
Agreed!
zimta beka replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Gezaee
I agree with most of what you said and especially the grave importance that we all should refrain from spreading hatred and tribalism amongst ourselves.
But, your comparison of Meles with Menelik and Mengistu as equally brutal is simply absurd. All may be dictators, but the two were definitely Ethiopians, who defended Ethiopian National interests and honestly fought for Ethiopian Sovereignty & national integrity. But Meles is a leader who demonstrably hates Ethiopia as a polity and its people.
Although you rightly pointed out that there are some racist comments here which does not help anyone, there is no one more racist than Meles and the TPLF, who openly and shamelessly say the Amharas are the Enemey of the Tigray People; This is venomous; In fact, the two people, in my view, share a lot in common and need to work together for a new liberal Ethiopia;
Gezaee H. replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 9:54 PM
Dear Zimta beka,
I do agree with you. I think the amhara and tigreans has to be put in training camps. They are giving problem to the rest of Ethiopians to be honest. There other ethnics are honest innocent. It is these two cousins who are really headache in Ethiopia. Amhara means Tigreans; they are the same ethnic, but they see each other as mortal enemies. I do not know how this came about. Anyway, we need change.
About Menelick, my problem with him is he landlocked the country and he sat quietly while Eritrea was controlled by Italy. He coudl have fougtht them and driven them out and we would not have the Eritrea cancer today. He aslo gave Djibouti to France? he practically landlocked the country. Yohannes and Thodorees died defending the counntry without compromising. But Menelick gave away half Tigrai. There was no Eritrea before that. I think this the root of Eritrean deep hatred against their own people and until they deny who they are. Do not you think it is because they felt they were sold out and they now hates as enemies?
Agree Meles is Lucifer alive; He should have been better person, but he is sinister. Actually Mengistu did things by ignorance because he travelled and he never had good experience. But Meles is the most travelled, and the most experienced, living in cave for 17 years must have made him as virtuous as Mandela? but Meles turned as evil as devil.
Woilita Gamo replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 9:53 AM
i agree with most of what you said except that Meles is a human being and makes mistake and therfore should not be detested. The guy has been dicatating the country for the last twenty plus years and , in my opinion, he is the worst mass murderer in Ethiopia that can be equaled to that of Menlik. No one gave him the manadate to do what ever he wanted to to do. He is a crimnal and people have the right to despise him. Only those who are around him and benefited from the system support the tin pot dicatator. Having said that, most of the points you have menetioned have merits.
Gezaee H. replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 10:01 PM
I am not defending Meles. According to me, having the 17 years life in the caves of Tigray and having all the travel experiences, Meles should have been has virtuous as Mendela? but unfortunately Meles turned as evil as Devil. What can we do? He did not even spare his own generals, ministers, artists, … systematic assassination, corruption, betrayal is his logo. what can we do? it is unfortunate. I think if he God takes him away now; we should reconcile all of us and unite work day and night with love to help our people. We are humiliated across the world. The only solution is reconciliation and healing across the nation and mobilize the entire nation to work day and night and to drive out those who have grabbed the land of our people.
peace replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Those of you equating the Emperors such as Menilik and Sleassie with Mengistu and Meles, please bring your proof that how Menilik and Selassie were mass murdrers. Because you dislike them it doesn’t mean they were mass murderes. Where is the evidence? As a non Amara myself, I believe you are sending misinformation just because they are somehow associated with Amara however these leaders have Oromo and Gurage ethnic groups. Just because of their affiliation that doesn’t give you the right to send misinformation. Go out do your own research and find out their crimes. Of course they have faults, I didn’t say they are clean but the evidence is full and visible when it comes to Mengistu and Meles. In fact you as a colonialist, you are disregarding the struggle the emperors did, it is in history, to protect against foreing invasion. Menilik mobilized and unified Ethiopians to free Ethiopia. Haile Selassie was humiliated infront of the world by the Powers when he appealed to the world. If it wasn’t for his appeal, Ethiopia would have been coloniozed. So, your alternative choice would have been since you hate the Emperors, was colonization. You choose.
Gezaee H. replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Peace,
I swear I have no any hatred in my heart to anyone. Be it Menelick or Haileslassie, it is really irrelevant for the 21 century. I just raised it to mean none of them were perfect. I raised Menelick to show he did a mistake when let Eritrea go by signing agreement with Italy. Because of that mistake, we are still bleeding and he also sold Djibouti and this is recorded. That is all I know about Menelick.
Haileslassie, he sujected his nation to famine which caused the death of millions of people in Tigray and Wollo. Who should we blame for that? because we are still starving since the time of Haileslassie. So somethign went wrong in his time and we are still stuck in famine and handout. If it was not for his bad administration; when people were dying in Tigray and wollo, food was rotting in the rest of Ethiopia. He did not even try to address the problem? Food was rotting in Gojam, Wollega, Bale, Arusi, Jimma,…. Even Europeans did not know about it. They thought there was shortage of food and they tried to import food but there was food in the country. This the reason I raised Haileslassie. I have no problem with any ethnic to be honest. I do not care about ethnic at all.
peace replies:
July 12th, 2012 at 2:08 PM
So why regurgitate by those who are bringing misery to both Ethiopians and Eritreans? There has never been real truth about what really happen about Menilik and Eritrea. Even if it happens, what could he do fighting with strong powers? If you are told either cut one of your finger vs all of your five fingers, which one would you choose. This is very common sense. Of course you would save 4 your fingers. This is obvious he did what he had to do. It has bee a miracle to come out of both WWI and WWII. Many countries lost everything. Ethiopia gained some lost some so what. I belive the truth is out there. I heard that for the first time the truth of Menilik’s speech is out there somewher in archives but for political reason I bet it is classified. Anti Ethiopians will never reveal the truth of course until their goal is materialized. It is up to Ethiopians and historians who should reveal and do research. In fact someone recently posted on Facebook and I missed it, the speech of Menilik. The nightmare from these anti Ethiopians (worse Ethiopians who are anti Ethiopians) they will face when his videos show up.
So, you are campaigning against Menilik but do you really have a concrete evidence? You are just spreading the rumors of haters that is all. When Ethiopians or Eritreans are campaigning against Ethiopains or emperors they are campaigning against themselves.
So keep on blaming for hundreds of years, which is indication of your insecurity. True leaders are in fact try to build where it is left off by uniting people, forgetting the bad and campaigning with the good that past leaders worked on. Because you can’t be as equals as the emperors by your own insecurity, blaming is the only way. It has been over 100 and 50 years ago (should I call it Million Years ago MYA?) Move the fu**** on!
Addisu replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 1:54 PM
This guy (Gezaee), has and identity crisis. Read what he wrote when he commented on Ato Yilma’s analysis on the leader of the TPLF gang.
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Gezaee H. replies:
July 8th, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Why are u accusing me? is it because you think I am Tigrean? you do not know me and you asking me to ask forgiveness? forgiveness for what? Stop judging without knowing. This is stupid. Forgive to Mengistu, then to Meles, not to me. If you want to kill Meles, first kill Mengistu, then Meles. If you kill Meles before Mengistu? then I will kill you because you do first thing first and second thing second.
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Gezaee is also propagating for Siye to replace Meles. This guy is realy confused and he is desparate. He condomns racisim and yet he advoates Siye for a PM because he is from Tigrai (isn’t this racism)?
Anonymous replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 5:03 PM
We are all suppose to despise evil, period!
Tesf replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 12:29 PM
Mr GeZAE is the part of TPLF who are rejected by Melese group, He belongs to Seye aberha junta. He is real TPLF from Tigray orgin trying hard to cover himself as Ethiopia defender. Mr Gezae come out in your true color. Once TPLF always TPLF. Once Leba always Leba.
Regards,
Mamo Kilo replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 1:41 PM
TPLF is more than Meles. If Meles dies right now, TPLF will remain as it iskkkkkk
Gezae your view or anlysis over the whole Ethiopian situation is really ridicoulous, woyanne has never been seen as govt to say the leastrather as an occupier that uses a colonial like system bying the Ethiopians for its assignment given by its enablers and being adviced totally by these institutions and individuals in which the peoples in your category gets recieves only after they assume they have achieved something only to strength your cyber work as it is part of the kette.
those once who are part of the meeting are Melese,Berhane ,Bereket, and the minister of health i forget his name, and these 4 peoples distribute the gudance to all different woyanne structures on how effectine it can be for their destructive work and be honoured with a very high amount of money as a loan with no transparency request,the Budget for its destructive mission in which woyannes slow killing of a nation in every aspect and geared after the peoples rejection of the gang election 97 ,that again was the request of the enablers as their 15 years imagination proved wrong that the so called doners till then thoughts as a good achievementand turned a blind eye for Ethiopian peoples,and goes with their double moral rather than forcing the gang to respect the peoples voice they started saying like Yamamotto we will change Ethiopia to a middle class society in the next years and Janday freezer i can do nothing for you it is your job to force him to repect your voices,and so many different lip services and keep on life support machine that comes to 40+ billion since they let woyanne come to power most effectively by the late Paul Hinze top CIA agent,having said that all these happenings does not save the woyanne gang vanish once and for all when the peoples talk as one which is now on the doing
and seems bearing a fruit as it was part of the hidden agenda woyanne has been using to divide with ethnic and religion and fabrication history in which some has fallen in the trap till they wake up how dangerous our enemy can be as it enjoys the cover up of some western countries and institutions and now faded in day to day basis and all the situation has let you believe that woyanne is strong and what i assure you is with out this imunity of these western govt is woyanne is only a one week picnic that you will realize in one way or other
Mamo Kilo replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 11:37 PM
Thank for the comment. The problem is you are falling into the trap of generalizing everyone is woyane. If you perceive someone sounds Tigrignea speaker, you end up categorizing everyone by putting into one black box. I live outside Ethiopia since the day Woyane controlled Ethiopia. You accusing the wrong person and accusing people by generalizing is completely wrong and can be even consdired a crime. You know nothing about me, but you dared to tell me how much I get from woyane? Ahhh, I think it is really better to stay away from the entire Ethiopians society regardless who they are. All of you are here to take way peace from people. None of you are here to bring peace or to make rational dialogue or exchange genuine ideas.
I do not believe in military strength. I do not subscribe to your labeling me woyane either. You can say it 100 times; I am tired of it and I know you will call me woyane even if I have never been. Reason: everyone of you are driven by hatred and you will not hesitate from accusing people falsely. Regardless ethnic or tribe, everyone is one of you are ready for cut throat?
What must I say to make you happy? tell me? you do not want to hear my different opinion from yours? You want me to go into your brain and know what you think and say things exactly what is in your brain? you do nnot want me to think? The TPLFites wants me to do the same? you wanted me to do the same? even the Shabians wanted me to talk for them. I do not believe in violence. Even if Meles dies right now I do not wish Ethiopia to go into anarchy? I know that will not benefit anyone. If Meles dies, the stability has to stay in the status quo. And reform has to be done in schedule and organized way while everything is running normal. May you wish to see Woyane disappear overnight? but I do not wish that because the country will be in much worse situation. Whether you agree or not, my views is that everything must be maintaned stable even if Meles dies and reform must be done in an organized way. I do not believe in violence. Military is not strength. According to me strength is to have public support which I believe lacks in TPLF because of bad policies. I believe this time around they may do reform otherwise they will face the consequences of the ultimate public anger. It is not because I wanted Woyane to stay on power. It is because I do believe in a peaceful transition. That is all. All the accusation is false and imaginary. I got no cents from Ethioipa in my entire life except from my parents. I need nothing from Ethiopia now. I just feel attached because I am born and grew up there with all soft of discrimination. I have nothing to lose from that country than discrimination. Thank you.
The Spy replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 12:13 AM
Gezaee H. (Halafi Mengedi), I like your acrobat! You alwasy try to divert attentions by raising the issue of Assab, Massawa, Shaebia, Port, land locked Ethiopia, Isaias Afowork, Eritrea, bla bla bla. What a genuis! This is your job as a TPLF cadre, pretending as if you hate Meles then divert attention from hot Ethiopian or TPLF’s issues by jumping to irrelevant issues such as ports, shaebia, Eritrea etc. Good job! Good Job! TPLF’s Cadre of the year!
Gezaee H. replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 2:04 AM
Spy aka Shabia,
You have not won woyane. WOyane will stay until you go into the deep sea of red sea. Meles has worked for you 100% for 21 years and you still hate him? Are you going to love a patriotic amhara? no ways, A Patriotic amhara will not give another Alger’s agreement. A Partiotic amhara comes to power, Shabian is done foever.
For shabia like you port is , shabia, Eritrea is irrevelant. But for Ethiopians it is not revelant we need our ports now. We will get it in few weeks. Siye Abraha is coming soon to finish the job he started. That will be the end of the story of your borderless, lawless, constitution less , nameless country. Finito, you will not win woyane at this website. You messed it up long ago. It is gone forever. Shabia can be finished anytime. You can play the oromo, amhara, tigrie game, it will not work. You tried all ways, it did not work. Even Mr. Elias will not help you.
Viva Woyane; this will bleed you from inside. Even if Meles dies, Woyane will not dispear into a thin air.
Meles dies means TPLF will become stronger than ever because TPLF will reconcile with itself and it will reform. Ethiopians will participate directly in thier affaires. Birtukan will be the Justice Minister. Dr. Berhan Nega will be the Economic Minister. Siye will be the Defense Minister until he push into the red sea. Negaso Gidada will the Prime Minister. Meles dies means Ethiopian will reconcile and become more stable and more united? that will be your nightmare? what can you do? nothing. But that is what exactly will happen if Meles dies? No doomsday, but peaceful and schedule reform. Shabia you have no any card remaing to play now. The oromo, Ogaden, Amhara, Tigray card is played already. Even you tried the Libyan card, the Somalian card, it did not work. None of them worked for you? nothing will work for you after now. Even if Meles dies and power get transferred to any Ethiopia, you have no chance of getting a border. You dream to invade Addis ended 14 years ago. End of history.
Of course,silence is not gold;in zinawi’s case,however it is that zinawi is being consumed by whatever is present in his body.But how did his weight get melted at such a lightening speed?
At this very moment,zinawi doesn’t have a brain that produces a mind.If zinawi calls it,endeaver,well, let him do so.But Zinawi had neraly four decades of criminal record and was in the hiding to escape from being captured by Ethiopians.The major component of his illness at this very moment is the fear that he harbored in his mind for too long,and one fateful day of that day of his would whisper to him,enough is enough,time is up.
It is too late for zinawi to do any sort of repetent or ask for forgiveness,or confess in silence or in words.Home matters;zinawi was born in a hate manufacturing house and was raised without discipline and entered this world that he is soon leaving without saying a word.We are extremely grateful to God for having taken a quick action on him on the basis of crimes that he had been committing on Ethiopians.
Azeb Mesfin Golla is also consumed by silence chiefly because she could not pull together her life on account of near to losing the man whom she was fully dependent for a living.Furthermore,she has been pocking her ill man with repeated request that they both depart to somewhere unknow to anyone,and keep the connection alive before things turn into ugly and worse;nevertheless,loved ones and colleagues of his have incorporated suggestions into openions that would soon Azeb Mesfin Golla must accept whether she likes them or not and made a sound decision as per the urgency of the matter.
please do not forget there are more blood suckers around him.He is trying to burn you with Chemo.Be one more step again burn him fast pull him out of his misery .
AYEEEEEEE MOTE lemanem ayker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Dear Elias,
I read some of the comments by the readers.Some try to put themselves as saint.Yes it is not good religiously to wish the death of any one. But Meles’ case is different.If anyone read the wikileaks, he planted a bomb to label OLF as a terrorist and killed the people.He committed many crimes against Ethiopians.It is not matter of hating Tygrians .But Tygrians elite must tell us his crime and strongly oppose his evil works publicly.We have seen Amhara and oromo Elite oppose Haileselassie and Derg era publicly and lost their life.But we did not see the majority of Tygrians elite opposing the work of TPLF in public but clapping and dining with Meles.Still they are taking OLD TPLF to come and control Ethiopians.Poor tygrians are suffering like any of Ethiopian people.How Ethiopians are dying! Recently in the container where the truck taking them to Mali and other places.Drown in the rivers and seas while crossing.I read in the Bible about Agag “He killed the enemy of God and God becomes happy” .Yes for the sake of all Ethiopians, Meles life must be shortened.We need a leader who can bring us together and make reconciliation so that we can close the chapter of hatred forever.Meles has lost his chance to be considered as a leader.He committed suicide on himself.I wish Meles will not see 2005 of Ethiopian calendar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish him to get time to repent for what evil things he has done through out his life time.And ofcourse i would like to see him paying for what he owed us.
Gezaee H., YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS.DONOT PRETEND,DUBA RAS.
Gezaee H. replies:
July 9th, 2012 at 10:14 PM
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Anonymous replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Gezaee,
The laugh is on you moron. What is going on in Ethiopia at the hands of the most hateful man is not a LAUGHING MATTER. You are the one who try to find an excuse for an excusable acts of evil that have been done by the heartless coldblooded dictator and his TPLF thugs. You support a tyrant that has evicted and thrown men, women and children out in the cold with no place to go and given their land to foreigners. Even the evicted and the despair Ethiopians were thrown out of the church in the cold by the evil Meles appointed fake patriarch. You support an evil possessed man that has no an ounce of kindness in his body, that has given orders people to be locked up, tortured and slaughtered and gunned down. You support a brutal dictator that left Ethiopia land locked and undoubtedly, hate Ethiopia and Ethiopians. You support the very man that has given orders Ethiopians to be harassed in and outside of Ethiopia. You support the very man that has looted the country and has become rotten rich while 12 to 15 million Ethiopians are expected to die of a lack of a cup of water and piece of bread a day. You support a wicked man that has given orders bombs to be planted and killed law abiding Ethiopians. You support an evil man that doesn’t believe in God and who feels superior than the Almighty God and who see no wrong of committing horrible crimes against humanity. Everything what dictator Meles and his well trained TPLF killer dogs have been doing for the last 30 years to Ethiopia and Ethiopians, including to some of our own Tigreans brothers and sisters who believe in Ethiopiawinet is PURE ACT OF EVIL. Only EVIL, takes pride in dividing in creating hate between ethnic groups and religion, harassing Ethiopians in and outside of Ethiopia, evicting Ethiopians and thrown them in the cold, falsely accusing innocent Ethiopians and locking them in prison, gunning down innocent Ethiopians, looting the country blind and stashing the Ethiopian tax payers money and the foreign aid in their personal account in foreign countries, torturing innocent Ethiopians like our beloved Eskinder Nega and the likes, shipping millions of Ethiopian poor girls to be slave in Arab countries, literally selling Ethiopian babies, mass murder Ethiopians in Gambela and in other provinces, on and on and on…For you and your kinds to find an excuse and adore the deeds of an evil possessed disgraced dictator and his TPLF thugs is a GREATEST SHAME of our country!!
Gezaee H. replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 11:49 AM
Dear Anonymous,
I share many of your concerns; but all are not true. I do not support Meles and never did I. I do not have a rotten conscience to support Meles to be honest. I have to tell you I have been banned from Tigrai online and Aiga websites for three years now. I used to write articles, but all the Tigreans websites did not want to publish my articles. Tigreans some reason they wanted to serve only Erittreans. I do not know why they sacrifice themselves to somebody elses. My articles based on truth and condemns wrong doings against each other and against other Ethiopians. For instance I condemned the following:
1. The killiing of Hayelom
2. The landlocking of Ethiopia
3. The betrayal of Ethiopian soldiers and the signing of alger’s agreement by Meles
5. The imprisonmnet of Professor Asrat Woldeyesus
6. The slave service to Eritreas at the expense of themsleves and other Ethiopians.
7. I condemned the giving away of the entire Gambela to foreigners
8. I condemned the shipping of teenage girls to rabs to be raped
I almost condemned everything that is wrong for our people. Trust me, they never listen; they are always right. They never accept construtive critism at all. You are their enemy if you say wrong is wrong. They just want you to say everything is good. What am I supposed to do honestly? I meet some across Canada and we end up fighting. Specially, Tigreans are more committed to serve Eritrea than Ethiopia. You will find Tigreans who stand up from their sit to defend Eritrea and to support the landlocking of Ethiopia? what can you do with such kind of people? What must I do? they banned me from thier websites for three years now. You telling me and accusing me I support them? did you ever see me supporting them? how come you accuse me based on biase only? is it fair if someone accusing you while you are innocent? Put yourself in my shoes? you blaming for nothing why? I wish I could support them, but unfortunately I do not support what they have been doing all along. What annoys me honestly being accused as supporter just because like you default me to be their supporters? why? This is very bad to be honest.
After I have been banned at Tigrai online, Ethiomedia, Aiga, Tigrainet, I tried to use the Amhara websites; but they did not like my articles either. Reason: my articles are based on truth than based on ethnics. Amhara, Tigreans websites are there to fan thier ethnics only. None of the Amhara or Tigrai websites are neutral at all. I repeat all the Amhara and Tigrain websites are set up to cater only their tribes. So people like me has no place in any of them. Because of that I quited writing and I also decided it is useless to teach backward people. I must repeat, amhara + Tigrean are ignorant and primitive people who hate each other like no one on earth while they are the same race, the same ethnic. It is them who are giving headache the country.
What I am supposed to do in a society where truth and balanced thinking never exist? It is not just Meles, Ethiopians in general are the same. They have the same mindset and attitude. Attitude is social, national, not individual. The attitude of Ethiopains is the same. Even if Meles dies today, they will fight each other tomorrow. They cried about Mengistu? now they are crying about Meles. They will cry even if another comes but they will still find themselves with the wrong person. Reason: they do not work together to put the right people on power. They keep on blaming each other and fighting each other. That is the reality.
About Eskinder: well, I have to be honest. Eskinder is my brothers friend and a friend of my cousin. I do love him like any Ethiopia. I have told many times he was crossing red lines. He did not listen. I emailed me three times after reading his articles. But he refused to listen except telling me he will continue. Listen, I live in Canada. Once I was looking for job? okay, one of the question was? did you ever tried to incite violence to overthrow the Canaidan government? so no goverment on earth would keep quiet while an individual is calling publicly for the overthrowing of the regime which he hates. There is no such democracy anywhere where you are allowed to incite violence? no where. I am not trying to defend the regime. but that is the truth. Democracy has limit; there is no open ended democracy anywher on earth. About Eskinder, I have to be honest I do not care anymore because I have given brotherly advise in advance because I knew it was coming.
One of the thing I also do not like, Ethiopians blame everything on Meles even if it is them who did the wrong things.
Let me tell you a secret which I have spoken before. I was a member of kinjit. I only withdrew from Kinjit after I knew the secret. The secret was that Ethiopains who were killed during the protest in addis ababa in 2005 were killed by the order of Kinjit leaders. Kinjit leaders order their affiliates from the police members to kill the civilians. I was informed by top level kinjit kernel. I asked why? the plan was create hatred against TPLF. I said oh my God? I could not believe. I responded this by protesting this is an evil plan. But the kinjit kernel told me that it is the best method for TPLF to be hated. This is the reality. But who being blamed for it? Meles was blamed for it. But the truth Meles did not give order for civilians to be killed. Kinjit did the dirty job and the made us the way we are today. After that I completely withdrew from kinjit. I cut communication with then kinjit leader who is Doctor.
I think this will go on forever unless a civil leader is being put in place in time. We do not need all these rebels. We need civilians who are professional who have ethics and morals to address our national problem.
Anonymous replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Gezaee also known as Halafi Mengedi,
Here is what you said:
“Let me tell you a secret which I have spoken before. I was a member of kinjit. I only withdrew from Kinjit after I knew the secret. The secret was that Ethiopains who were killed during the protest in addis ababa in 2005 were killed by the order of Kinjit leaders. Kinjit leaders order their affiliates from the police members to kill the civilians. I was informed by top level kinjit kernel. I asked why? the plan was create hatred against TPLF. I said oh my God? I could not believe. I responded this by protesting this is an evil plan. But the kinjit kernel told me that it is the best method for TPLF to be hated. This is the reality. But who being blamed for it? Meles was blamed for it. But the truth Meles did not give order for civilians to be killed. Kinjit did the dirty job and the made us the way we are today. After that I completely withdrew from kinjit. I cut communication with then kinjit leader who is Doctor…”
OMG! You’re indeed mentally unstable! to say the least. There is videos where the well trained Agazi Army gunning down Ethiopians that dark day in May 2005. You’re indeed a very sick individual contradict with yourself repeatedly. Now, I see, why you’re band from other websites. By the way, most of the websites are Ethiopian websites, not Amhara websites. I really believe you need to make an appointment to see a psychiatrist.
Jegnaw replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 7:17 PM
Well i have been telling every one now for the last six month this man Gezaee is mentally psychologically sick that he needs a mental health professional.(he need to be committed in to psych ward before it is to late for him) i will just pray that he gets help for his mental illness..
All the TPLF leaders including Siye, Gebru, Meles etc., are intoxicated with corruption, greed, cruelity, ethnicity, you name it. The only good TPLF is a dead one. We tigreans have been marginalized than ever before, since the TPLF’s rise in power the poor, the masses have gained nothing, but isolation and hate in and outside of Ethiopia. Siye, Gebru and others triggered the war with Eritrea and since then tigreans at the border have been living in fear and worry, and they have been poorer than before, while Siye is relaxing in the United States and Gebru becomes a rich business man with the blood of our brothers with the looted money from the poor Ethiopians. I lost a brother and many cousines in the border war with Eritrea. It makes me mad when anyone mentioned the names of Siye or Gebru. It makes me sad and deepresed when I think of where we are tody, we are the most hated ethinic group in Ethiopia, we are hated by all the Somalis, and Eritreans. Because of the TPLF’s policies we have been isolated and hated than ever before. I lost all my friends, Amharas, Oromos, Eritreans etc. I lost all the trusts I had with my friends. If Meles dies he is leaving Tigreans with a time bomb planted here and there. The Amharas, Oromos, Gambelans, Ogadenis, Somalis, Eritreans, etc are waiting for the right time to revenge, I have many sleepless nights when I think of this. Sorry to say it, but I hate that I am a Tigrean.
WatchOut replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 1:21 AM
Dear W/O Letai,
Unfortunately, you are the only Tigrean who worried while the rest of your group are looting the country as if there is no tomorrow. Do you know what I have discovered recently? From my lifetime experience with Tigreans and Eritreans I am able to portray both as a group who do not know the word “consequence”. Am I right?
Gezaee H. replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 8:45 AM
This Shabian propaganda. That will happen only in your brain. Evil Shabian thinking like that. Evil Shabians would have finished the Tigreans 14 years ago when they bombed kindergartens. If Meles dies, it will be a blessing for Ethiopia and the end of the Era of shabia only.
W/O Letai replies:
July 10th, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Gezaee H., You are a paranoid confused guy as someone mentioned above. You are on denial or you are one of the TPLF cadres or one of the beneficiaries of the system. Have you ever visited the border area with Eritrea, I was there two months ago and have closely observed their lives and I spoke with many of them. People are living in fear and worry, they want the border issue to be settled so as they will live in peace. Haven’t you heard the VOA lately that the Tigrean unverstity students wrote a letter to PM Meles to settle the border issue peacefully so as their family at the border area could live in peace. Can’t you understand all the comments in this website how much people (the rest of Ethiopians) hate the TPLF. Can’t you observe in your interaction with the other ethinic groups in Ethiopia how they treat you or how they feel towards Tigreans. Can’t you see or understand how the Somalis and Eritrans feel towards Tigreans. If you call all this hate by Ethipians, Somalis, and Eritreans the work of Shaebia you need to see a doctor my brother. I am speaking the truth on behalf of Tigreans for the sake of Tigreans. Let’t us not pretend and let’s face reality and seek a solution collectively as Tigreans. Let’s us not jump on to label anyone who speaks the truth. With current policies of the TPLF we are heading towards more wars, destruction, and marginalizations. Meles’ children and all the top TPLF’s children are studying abroad, while our children are fighting for them. You will see if things go wrong what will happen to Tigreans everywhere, the TPLF leaders will abondon the people of Tigrai and will fled the country. Look how Gebru and Siye are currently living after their stupidity caused war and consumed over 100 thousand innocent youths during the border war with Eritrea. A war which could have been avoided with wise leaders on both sides. I am not here to speak about other countries leaders, but our leaders could have done more for the sake of Tigreans. I am praying for Meles to recover and solve all these problems peacefuly before it is too late, internal or external problesm, for the sake of the people of Tigrai. It gives you a headache when you hear anyone talking about peace and reconcillation. You can give me any label you want, but one day you will remember what I am writing here. Peace to Ethiopia and the region!
Gezaee H. replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 12:05 AM
W/Letai,
I did mining now and I have your detail. I know where you are and who you are. you are Ethiopian. You Eritrean pretending a Tigreans. Do you want me to post your detail? I am serious? You may use W/Letai as nick, but internet is not amazon forest it is easy to track people.
Ethiopians Shabians are here to sow deliberately confusion. Becareful. W/Letai, if you want I can post your detail here. Let me know and I will see who you will defend your lies.
W/O Letai replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 1:46 PM
Mr. Gezaee H., Halafi Mengedi, etc. why are you threatening me. Is it because I speak peace and recorcilliation with the opposition parties and peaceful demarcation and normalization of relations with Eritrea. I don’t think you are from Tigrai, but pretending as a Tigrean and stirring division and hatred within other ethinic groups and propagating for war with Eritrea. Who benefits from this, those who are enemies of the Tigrai people and those people who are like you who pray day and night for the destruction of the Tigrai people.
Have you ever visited the border area and speak to the people who live there? They don’t speak it loudly because of fear of harrasement by the local leaders, but they are living in fear and worry. They want peace and peaceful coexistence with their Eritrean brothers, but anyone who speaks his heart will be labeled as enemy of the state. Who is benefiting from the current status of the situation? Only the top TPLF leaders. The masses are living in poverty, fear, and worry.
I have reviewed all you comments in this website and concluded that you are not from Tigrai, you are using different names in this website and stirring divisions among the Tigrai people, among different awrajas of Tigrai. Sometimes you side with Meles and sometimes you are pro Siye Abraha. Sometimes you are an Adwan and sometimes you advocate against Adwans. You encaurage the other awrajas to rise against Adwans. I think you are someone who is wishing war and destruction for the people of Tigrai. Whoever you are you are an enemy of Tigrai.
Peace within Ethiopia and the region!
The prayer of Amhara farmers who are condemned by fascist Meles to starve and slow death, the innocent Ethiopians killed in Gambella, Somalia, Afar,Oromia etc the burning to death of Yenesew Gebre are all crimes of fascist Meles and hope he will get his punishment in hell if not in the Hague.
July 8, 2012
A New Treatment’s Tantalizing Promise Brings Heartbreaking Ups and Downs
By GINA KOLATA
Beth McDaniel’s oncologist, a bear of a man, hugged her and twirled her around. “Holy cow, Beth!” Dr. John J. Gohmann exclaimed. For the first time since a rare cancer appeared eight years before, her lymph nodes had shrunk to a normal size, her skin was no longer bright red and inflamed, and the itchiness that plagued her had subsided. Mrs. McDaniel, the 69-year-old wife of a retired corporate executive, had gambled on the ultimate in personalized medicine, an approach known as whole genome sequencing, and it seemed to be paying off. Scientists had compared the entire genetic sequences of the tumor cells invading her body with those in her healthy cells, searching for mutated tumor genes that could be thwarted by drugs approved for other cancers or even other diseases. That had led them to give her an expensive drug approved just a month earlier for melanoma patients. It had never been given to anyone with a blood cell cancer like hers. In theory, the drug should have killed her. Instead, it seemed to have halted or even reversed her cancer. But would it last? And what would it mean if it did not? In the end, Mrs. McDaniel’s journey to the edge of genetics research turned out to be a decidedly mixed experience. It was hard — much harder than anyone in her family had imagined — to get the sequencing and analysis done. It was breathtaking to see the results, which indicated that her cancer was driven by a strange gene aberration that could be attacked with a new drug. But it was heartbreaking to see how quickly her cancer recovered from the assault, roaring back in a matter of weeks. Mrs. McDaniel’s story offers a sobering look at the challenges for this kind of quest for a treatment, even for someone like her, who had both the means and the connections to get the intricate geography of her cancer charted. Her husband, Roger McDaniel, was a former chief executive of two companies involved in semiconductor manufacturing, and the family could afford the approximately $49,000 that the search would cost. They had expected to pay much more, but to their astonishment, Mrs. McDaniel’s insurance company covered almost all the drug costs. And the scientists who did the data analysis did not charge. From the start, the family knew the odds were against Mrs. McDaniel, but she thought she had little to lose. “You cannot feel bad if this doesn’t work or I die,” she told her son Timothy, a molecular biologist. “I would have died anyway.” Scarlet Skin and Infections Beth McDaniel’s cancer began with itching all over her body. Then her skin turned scarlet and started becoming infected. In 2005, after she had spent more than a year going from specialist to specialist, a dermatologist figured it out. Mrs. McDaniel, then 62, had Sezary syndrome, a rare T cell lymphoma, in which white blood cells become cancerous and migrate to the skin. All her doctors could tell her was that the disease was incurable, that there was no standard treatment, and that on average patients at her stage die within a few years. “Of course I was shocked,” Mrs. McDaniel said in an interview last September. She wept that day as her husband drove her home. And she asked God to help her cope. Before cancer, she had had a vibrant life, hiking in the mountains, traveling the world, entertaining her wide network of friends. Her disease destroyed all of that. She could not even enjoy her luxuriant garden because sun on her inflamed skin was agony. Although there is no standard treatment, for five years chemotherapy held her disease at bay. But in the summer of 2010, she got worse, much worse, with hundreds of tumors popping up under her skin. Some grew as large as kiwi fruits and split open. Her son, Dr. McDaniel, decided he would orchestrate the use of the most advanced techniques of gene sequencing and analysis to take on her cancer. Because of his job — he works for Illumina, a company that does DNA sequencing — Dr. McDaniel had read scientific reports and gone to medical conferences where he heard talks on whole genome sequencing. He noticed that the patients all seemed to have rare cancers. “Every time I heard one of those stories, I thought, ‘That’s my mom,’ ” he said. For now, there are not many drugs that can target specific gene mutations in cancer cells. But the hope is that when more is known and more drugs are developed, doctors will treat cancer by blocking several major genes at once. With several escape routes barred, the cancer will not be able to break free of the drugs stopping its growth. Full-Time Help From a Son In theory, it seemed straightforward for Dr. McDaniel to help his mother. The technology for getting and analyzing DNA sequences has advanced greatly, and the cost has plummeted. In fact, Dr. McDaniel said, the price of sequencing has dropped so fast that if the work were done today, it would cost just $26,200 instead of the $46,280 it cost last year. The first obstacle was just getting a sample of Mrs. McDaniel’s cancer cells. One doctor told her the odds of success were so slim that she would be better off spending her money on a vacation. Another seemed interested but did not follow through. A third did two biopsies but was unable to get usable DNA. Finally, Dr. McDaniel and his wife, Gia, decided he would make helping his mother a full-time job. He took a leave of absence from Illumina, and he, Gia and their three young children moved from San Diego to Lexington, Ky. “I have not been a particularly humble person,” Beth McDaniel said. “That humbled me.” Dr. McDaniel’s parents had two homes in the Lexington area. One, on a horse farm, was vacant, and he appropriated a bedroom on the second floor for his office. He treated his work like a regular job, driving to the office each day from another house where he and his family were living. He dressed in his normal work clothes, slacks and a collared shirt. Meanwhile, his mother’s cancer was erupting. “She was covered in tumors, almost like cobblestones,” said Dr. Fernando R. de Castro, her dermatologist. “They felt like marbles and pebbles all over her skin.” Large ones on her arms and legs had burst open. “We started talking about hospice.” Mrs. McDaniel said she was not a vain person, but with red lumps all over her face, she was embarrassed to go out. She slept on a cooling pad and carried one with her to relieve the constant itching. Every evening around 5:30 when the itching became most unbearable, she would lay her head in her husband’s lap as they watched TV in their great room and he would gently tickle her back for hours on end — trying to ease her discomfort. The disease continued a relentless course until finally, accepting what seemed the inevitable, Mrs. McDaniel gave away her clothes, planned her funeral and wrote notes to a few people she thought she had offended in her life, asking them to forgive her. “She believed, we all believed, she would die before we got the sequencing done,” Dr. McDaniel said. Then, in January 2011, Dr. de Castro got a tissue sample from a tumor and, for comparison with normal cells, her saliva. He had removed a plug of tissue the size of a pencil eraser from one of the hundreds of tumors on Mrs. McDaniel’s skin, frozen it in liquid nitrogen and shipped it overnight to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. By April, scientists at Illumina and TGen, a nonprofit research institute, had completed the genetic sequencing of the samples. Next came the hard part — the analysis. With time short, Dr. McDaniel worked on it himself and recruited two small biotechnology companies and TGen to help. Three Billion Symbols in a Cell John Carpten, an oncologist at TGen, and David Craig are accustomed to working with gene sequence data, but it is hard even for them to get used to the scale of such a project. The hard drive containing Mrs. McDaniel’s genetic data arrived in the mail — it had too much data to send electronically. It took a full day just to pull this terabyte of information off the drive. Dr. Carpten explained that there were three billion symbols, made from four letters — A, T, G and C — in just one cell’s DNA. If those letters were printed on paper, they would fill a medium-sized elementary school’s library. But there are unavoidable errors in sequencing, so to be sure the data is correct, researchers repeat the sequencing 30 times — 30 libraries’ worth. They do this for the normal cells, too — another 30 libraries’ worth. This kind of data, though, does not come in neat genetic words and sentences. Instead, Dr. Craig said, “It looks like it’s been through a shredder.” “It is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle that has a billion pieces,” Dr. Carpten said. Finally, they compared the sequences of normal cells and cancer cells. They found about 18,000 differences, most with no known significance for the disease. At last, the work was done, and on May 18, Dr. McDaniel flew to TGen. The researchers noticed an intriguing aberration in Mrs. McDaniel’s cancer genes. But they were uncertain what it meant. It looked as if two genes had fused to each other in Mrs. McDaniel’s cancer cells. The result was that the cell growth signals in the cancer cells were reversed, like crossed wires. The research team theorized that every time those cancer cells, T cells of her immune system, got a signal to stop growing, they reacted as though they had gotten a signal to grow. And every time they got a signal to grow, they responded by stopping their growth. If they were right, the way to stop her cancer’s growth could be to signal it to grow. And that was what a new melanoma drug — ipilimumab, its trade name Yervoy — was designed to do. It spurred the growth of normal T cells. But if the researchers were wrong, the drug could kill her. They spent two hours at a whiteboard on Wednesday, May 18, trying to understand what the fusion really meant. Then Dr. McDaniel took the data home and asked a colleague at Illumina to try to fish out a handful of crucial genetic sequences that were buried among 50 million others. On Sunday night, May 22, Dr. McDaniel had them and began trying to decipher them. By 10 p.m., he had it figured out. The TGen scientists’ findings were real. “The brake pedal had been wired to the accelerator,” Dr. McDaniel said. He worked all night, found a paper by scientists who had deliberately fused those very genes and discovered that, yes, the genetically altered T cells had their growth signals reversed. At 5:45 a.m. Dr. McDaniel sent an e-mail to his collaborators. “I was so tired at that point that, believe it or not, I had forgotten about the drug,” he said. He fell asleep and woke at 11 a.m., rushing back to his computer. The melanoma drug he had forgotten in his exhaustion should hit that target. And that could stop his mother’s cancer from growing. “My jaw was just hanging open,” Dr. McDaniel said. “The implications were so tantalizing that I didn’t dare believe them.” A Remarkable Turnaround Mrs. McDaniel had her first infusion on July 28, and the result seemed remarkable. Her oncologist, Dr. Gohmann, was overwhelmed. Her son, who had been terrified that he and the doctors might have made a terrible mistake, was overjoyed. Mrs. McDaniel, who had not left her house for several months except to see her doctors, began going to movies and restaurants every day. On Sept. 2, she and her husband went to the Heirloom Restaurant, in the middle of horse country, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. She had given away so many of her clothes when she thought she was dying that she puzzled over what to wear. She had a favorite blouse that was loosefitting and comfortable, but Mr. McDaniel recalled, “It was long gone.” She could not drink wine with the medicines she was taking, so she and her husband sipped iced tea in the quiet dining room. “We reminisced, but also talked about the future as we hoped it would be,” Mr. McDaniel said. But the reprieve lasted only weeks. By the end of September, the cancer was back. Dr. McDaniel did not want to give up. Mrs. McDaniel’s tumor was sequenced again, looking for a new mutation, but there was nothing striking. As Dr. McDaniel sifted through the data, he called his parents every day. They began calling him the governor, hoping he would bring his mother another stay of execution. The doctors considered a less appealing target, a mutated gene that T cells use to stop growing. Unpublished studies in mice suggested that a kidney cancer drug might stop the growth of T cells with this mutation. By then, Mrs. McDaniel’s body was ravaged by the cancer and her treatments. She had entered hospice care, with a hospital bed in her home and a nurse and an assistant to help. “We had this shaky evidence, based on the genome and on unpublished data,” Dr. McDaniel said. But the drug’s side effects were mild, and her family and doctors decided she should try it. “If we do nothing, she will be dead in one to six weeks,” Dr. McDaniel explained. Mrs. McDaniel took the drug on Nov. 26. But she was so ill that she was unable to get out of bed, unable to drink from a straw. Her son Tim took his children to her bedroom one at a time so they could say goodbye. “She wasn’t talking, but her eyes were open, and she acknowledged each one with a weak chuckle,” Dr. McDaniel said. Three days later, she briefly rallied. Her husband held her hand. “She said, ‘I love you,’ ” Mr. McDaniel said. “She then repeated it twice more. I kissed her forehead and told her that I loved her. Those were our last words to each other.” The next morning, Nov. 30, Mr. McDaniel woke early and went to his wife’s room. Her breathing had become erratic. Worried, he stepped out and asked the hospice nurse to call the doctor. “In the seconds that I was absent, she died,” Mr. McDaniel said. The team that tried to save her was heartbroken too, and was left with a long list of what-ifs. “If you really look at it, what did we buy her?” Dr. de Castro asked. Mrs. McDaniel was dying last January. Yet would she have survived as long even without the sequencing or the drugs? Did the team make a difference? “I hope we did,” Dr. de Castro said, “but it’s hard to know.”. Tuesday: What a tumor holds in store.
Great news
long live ethiopia.
I just got bonus in my job.
monday is my favorite day.
today is the day i heard the news
this guy fought his own people and country. Then he fought our church. Devil worked so much for years on this guy. But now it is time. God said this will be your time to leave this world. I strongly suggest to him to ask his own people apology and repent from his sin. God will give him marcy. Please Meles use your last minute chance before you die.
July 9, 2012
A Game Changer in Revealing a Cancer’s Prognosis
By GINA KOLATA
In May 2011, Cassandra Caton, an 18-year-old with honey-colored hair and the soft features of a child, suddenly went blind in her right eye. Five months later, an ophthalmologist noticed something disturbing. A large growth in the back of her eye had ripped her retina, destroying her vision. He sent her to Washington University in St. Louis, a three-hour drive from her sparsely furnished apartment in the working-class town of Sedalia, Mo. And there, Ms. Caton, mother of a 2-year-old daughter, wife of a chicken factory worker, got almost incomprehensibly bad news. The growth was cancer, a melanoma, and it was so huge it filled her eyeball. “Am I going to die?” Ms. Caton asked. “Is my baby going to have a mommy in five years?” It is a question that plagues cancer patients. Doctors try to give survival odds based on a tumor’s appearance and size, but often that is just an educated guess. But Ms. Caton had a new option, something that became possible only in this new genetic age. She could have a genetic test of her tumor that could reveal her prognosis with uncanny precision. The test identifies one of two gene patterns in eye melanomas. Almost everyone in Class 1 — roughly half of patients — is cured when the tumor is removed. As for those in Class 2, 70 to 80 percent will die within five years. Their cancers will re-emerge as growths in the liver. For them, there is no cure and no way to slow the disease. No test has ever been so accurate in predicting cancer outcomes, researchers said. The data from studies of the test are “unbelievably impressive,” said Dr. Michael Birrer, an ovarian cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “I would die to have something like that in ovarian cancer.” While for now the ocular melanoma test is in a class by itself, cancer researchers say it is a taste of what may be coming as they continue to investigate the genes of cancer cells. Similar tests, not always as definitive but nonetheless able to give prognostic information, are under development or starting to be used for other cancers, like cancers of the blood. Having a prognosis allows people to plan their lives, but most do not want to know if they have a gene for an incurable, fatal illness, like Huntington’s disease or early onset Alzheimer’s. The eye test raises a similar choice, with an added twist. This is not a test offered to healthy people, but to patients who have just gotten the news that they have cancer. The results will either give them reassurance that they will survive the cancer — or near certainty that they will die from it. Can patients in the throes of getting this terrifying news really make an informed choice about whether they want the test? Are they able to understand at such a fraught time that, for now at least, there is nothing that can save them if they get the bad prognosis? Some doctors do not offer the test, reasoning that there is little to be gained. But other doctors, including J. William Harbour of Washington University, who developed the test (but does not profit from its use), encourage patients to have it. And probably because of the way he describes it, Dr. Harbour says his patients almost always want it. Ms. Caton was no exception. Without the test, doctors would have had to guess her outcome based on the size of her tumor. And the conventional wisdom is that people with growths as large as hers have a slim chance of surviving. But perhaps, her doctors hoped, the genetic test would come up with a different answer. Heralding the Future Dr. Harbour, a genial and burly man with salt-and-pepper hair, has a way about him that relaxes patients, makes them feel everything will be O.K. “I give them as much information as I think they can handle,” Dr. Harbour says. And he’s an optimist. The ocular melanoma test is just the beginning, he believes, of a new understanding of that cancer — and perhaps other cancers as well — and why they spread. About 2,000 people a year, or about 5 percent of melanoma patients, have ocular melanoma, a tumor of the dark brown melanocytes that forms a sheet much like a photographer’s backdrop behind the retina. Those with very large tumors are most likely to have a bad prognosis, but patients with small tumors also can have the deadly type. Often there are no symptoms; the tumor may be discovered by an ophthalmologist during a routine exam. Other patients, though, lose vision or see flashing lights or a sea of floaters in an eye, all signs of damage to the retina as the tumor encroaches. Most get radiation, a highly radioactive disc placed on the surface of the eye that destroys the tumor in a few days and then is taken out. But those with huge tumors, like Ms. Caton, must have their eye removed. Ocular melanoma specialists had long noticed that some patients did well and the rest did not, but Dr. Harbour wanted to know why. Then he saw an opportunity. Ever since he came to Washington University in 1996, Dr. Harbour had been storing bits of tumors from ocular melanoma patients and keeping track of what happened to the patients. Working with his colleagues at the genome center, Dr. Harbour looked for genetic differences in tumors that spread and those that did not. The genes themselves were no different. But a group of several hundred genes that looked the same in cells from patients in Class 1 and Class 2 were acting differently in the patients who did poorly. The genes were churning out many more proteins in the cells of patients in Class 2. Dr. Harbour found that he could look at the activity of 12 of those genes and predict how well a patient would do. After a rigorous study to confirm that the test worked, the university licensed it to a small company, Castle Biosciences. They bill more than $6,000, with the price depending on the quality of the sample. But the company has programs to make sure that the poor or uninsured can receive the test, said Derek Maetzold, the company’s president and chief executive. Some cancer specialists, though, ask what is to be gained by using the test. When it comes to dividing patients into two prognostic groups, “the data are really astonishing,” said Dr. Keith Flaherty, a melanoma researcher at Massachusetts General. Yet, he added, “There is no treatment yet that will alter the natural history of the disease.” “Why would you want that information when we don’t have anything we can do for you,” Dr. Flaherty asked. “That is the fundamental question that has caused people to pause.” For the majority treated with radiation, having the test requires a biopsy of the tumor before treatment. After going through that, those in Class 2 have no real options other than to wait for the inevitable. Nothing has been shown to prolong the lives of Class 2 patients, said Dr. Evangelos S. Gragoudas, an ocular oncologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Not more frequent monitoring of the liver, not more aggressive or earlier chemotherapy. Nothing. Dr. Gragoudas tells patients that the ocular melanoma test is available. Then, he said, “I tell them that I do not do it at the present time. But if you want it, there are people who will do it.” “I had only one patient tell me, ‘I want to know,’ ” Dr. Gragoudas said. Dr. Harbour has a different view, and conveys it to his patients. He tells them that if they are Class 2 he will monitor them closely, doing liver scans every six months and blood tests in between, and will treat metastases with chemotherapy, delivered to the site of the cancer’s spread, as they occur. Patients sometimes think that means they can be cured, Dr. Harbour confesses, adding that he makes a point of repeating the information about what the test results mean on several different visits to be sure it sinks in. Dr. Harbour says he believes that frequent monitoring and prompt treatment of the cancer may be extending some patients’ lives, although that has not been rigorously established. Dr. Gragoudas says a study he did found that early treatment made no difference. But Dr. Harbour says his approach means patients have a different sort of death. Before the gene test was developed, patients would not know their cancer had spread until they were at the end stages of their disease. Then they would suddenly shed weight, lose their appetite, fall ill and their skin would turn yellow from liver failure. Within a few months they would be dead. Now, by finding the cancer as soon as it spreads to the liver, it often can be controlled, at least for a while. The cancer then tends to spread to the lung or bones, where it can also be controlled. Death still tends to be from cancer in the liver, but even if it occurs at the same time, it may be less painful, Dr. Harbour says. “Would you want a horrible death that is relatively short,” he asks, “or a death that is slower?” Dr. Harbour thinks there may be ways to impede the cancer’s progress in Class 2 disease by blocking a gene, BAP 1, that seems to be driving the cancer’s spread. That is his hope for clinical trials with one of two drugs: a histone deacylase inhibitor, a class of new anticancer drugs being tested against a cancer of white blood cells, or valproic acid, an old drug used to treat epilepsy and other disorders. But then again, if Class 2 patients, most of whom are doomed anyway, find out about valproic acid, which is cheap and easily available, would they really wait for a clinical trial, taking a chance they could be randomly assigned to take a placebo? Yet without a rigorous study, it will be impossible to know if the drug helps Class 2 patients. ‘Praying for a Miracle’ Cassie Caton and an older man came in for their biopsy and treatment on a frigid morning in early December. Both would have to have their eyes removed — their tumors were too large for radiation. First was Joe Ritter, age 70. “We are praying for a miracle,” his wife, Judy, said that morning, as Mr. Ritter sat silently in his bed, waiting to be wheeled into the operating room. At 11:30 that morning, Ms. Caton’s surgery began. Dr. Harbour looked at her dilated eye. There, visible behind her blue pupil, was a brown halo, the melanoma. He began to work, carefully and efficiently, preserving and pinning back the muscles that control her eye’s movement. About an hour into the surgery, Dr. Harbour removed Ms. Caton’s eyeball, cutting the optic nerve with a scissors. Her eye looked like a white marble with a blue pupil on top and a little white wicklike stalk on the end, the stub of the optic nerve. He took the eyeball to a metal table and cut it open. It was filled with what looked like slices of brown olives, the melanoma. A fluid squirted out, the vitreous. Normally it would be clear and jellylike. But cancer had made it liquid and the color of weak tea. Some of that cancer tissue would go to Castle Biosciences for analysis. The rest would be stored for future research. Then Dr. Harbour covered a plastic ball about the size of Ms. Caton’s eyeball with the outer layer from a cadaver’s eyeball, and put it into her eye socket so the ball would move like her eye. Finally, he carefully sewed the controlling muscles in place. In about six weeks, an artist would paint a thick contact lens to match Ms. Caton’s remaining eye, giving her a prosthesis that would be all but indistinguishable from her healthy eye. Mr. Ritter would also end up with a prosthetic eye that would look and move just like his healthy one. Both Ms. Caton and Mr. Ritter would return in about a month to find out if they were Class 1 or Class 2. Awaiting the Verdict On Jan. 9, they arrived to hear their verdicts. Mr. Ritter went first, bringing his wife with him into the small windowless room. After a few pleasantries, Dr. Harbour delivered the news. “Based on what we found from your biopsy result, it was Class 2,” he said. Mrs. Ritter looked stricken, her eyes filled with tears. She crossed the room and hugged her husband. Mr. Ritter grinned nervously while Dr. Harbour explained how he would like to monitor him. And, he said, he planned to start some clinical trials to see if he could slow the cancer in Class 2 patients. Perhaps Mr. Ritter could join one. Then Dr. Harbour stepped out of the room, allowing the Ritters to compose themselves. Mr. Ritter reflected on how the news about his eye had steadily worsened. “I started out thinking it was a cold in my eye,” he said. “Then I thought it was a cataract. Then they told me it was a torn retina. That turned into a tumor. Now it’s a Class 2.” Mrs. Ritter tried to be positive. “Maybe we caught it in time,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of prayers coming our way.” Ms. Caton and her stepfather came in next. He had driven three hours from his home in Kansas City and picked her up in Sedalia. The two had arrived in St. Louis the night before. She had been too nervous to sleep. With few preliminaries, Dr. Harbour told her what the test showed. “Your test result,” he said, “was very good.” Her tumor was not only Class 1 but it was a subset of Class 1 that had an even better prognosis than Class 1 in general. It was Class 1a. “That is very, very good news,” Dr. Harbour said. “In the old days, the size of a tumor was the best indicator,” he told Ms. Caton. “People would have told you, you were at very high risk,” he said. “Your tumor was almost an inch in its largest dimension. Pathologists’ eyes widened when they saw it. But molecular testing trumps all of that.” “If you did not have this test you would have walked away being told you have a bad prognosis when you actually have a good prognosis,” he added. Ms. Caton could not stop smiling. Then, still grinning, the 18-year-old asked her next question. “When can I wear eye makeup again?” This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: July 9, 2012 An earlier version of this article misstated the given name of an ovarian cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who praised the accuracy of a genetic test to determine the course of ocular melanoma. He is Dr. Michael Birrer, not Matthew. An earlier version also misstated the five-year mortality rate from Class 2 eye melanomas. It is 70 to 80 percent.
Many news, in history, and around 56% were found baseless, after many of them reported death stories. Esayas Dead., President Girma Dead. Meles Zenawi Dying. Mubarak Brain Dead…to tell you the truth, I was deceased. My name remains Word Salad. The culprit took $2.4 Million in worngful death, when I was found alive and registered voter. I did not get a penny, because the recovered was scrambled by more than 23 ethiopians and their tailgating attorneys, who had chance to do so and so and so and so, accordingly. Only three or four were found Caucasians and African Americans. To make matters more funny, I was told that it is too late, because of the sovereignity issue and circuit thing. Critics expect one Ethiopian News correspondent as one of the recovery bebneficiaries. Because of that, I do not support, gossips, unless they ahppen in real time. The guy is young, and it is very unlikely story. I do not support government and media. I could not support myslef. Forget the media or Meles. I support myslef. The hemorrhage here, is more detrimental than true brain hemorrhage, because it is Obaman.
Seleshi replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 3:58 PM
who cares one cocroach or rat dead or handicapped he will face charges in Den Hague ICC
Dear Elias,
It took them years to understand why I could not understand the internal strife and hatred that media and Zenawi developed, through years. To tell you the truth, I as an Ethiopian and obligated by law, do not curse and/or support on the death of human race. I do not have any comment on an illness. But I could not point finger on Zenawi, because the wing here in the U.S is tenty times, more dangerous and detrimental than what he does out there. Governments like Ethiopia are very vulnerable to more crimes, because our constitution is quite different than the western world. What you felt as butcher out there, was a father, believe it or not. What you felt as a father out there, was a butcher in this index. To me, the Potomac gang deserves genocide trial. To them, it is a hero. If I point finger on Zenawi, it is the same way America point fingers on Obama or Bush when things go wrong, nothing more than freedom and liberty. Mine goes, when he did not attend St. George[sanjaw] games, for example. What do you think is/was the reason?
Please people move cautiously morally ethically wisely in accordance with that good nurture that we got from our all-good teachers and that beautiful nature. Having had somewhat similar schools, having taken similar national examinations, we know each other more than we may think to enable something tangible common good come out of this. Dead or dying he was long deceased in people intellect since 2005. He is dead man walking in a cage like museum beast shielded from Ethiopians with machine gun welding bodyguard in a glass cage.
Team up to win. As a team further (in addition to all those organizations out there) organize for justice and bring to justice those criminals TPLFites for their crimes. Justice not jest the physical punishment. Justice is more than that. Join pens to bring those criminals to justice.
Bring them to justice here through literature, through collections of evidence, documents, testimony, publications, records hospitals school churches mosques images office records etc for display to the good people of Ethiopia and the world. Being conscious of facts most people do the right things; they would most likely say hung him high.
Imagine collecting row data pertinent for future presentation where when there is one independent court. All people around the world have documents evidence in their minds, places, offices, or they have it with in a reach. With dedicated team sorting compiling others analyzing well managed will bring victims names faces voices alive.
Perhaps Elias could display those documents by providing a space such as Victim Names, Type of Crime, Suspect’s Name, Length of Incarceration, Asset Loss Amount, Nature of Rights Violation, Reporting Organizations Name (optional), Reporting Persons Name (optional), and what ever those who know about these things may say is for our common good justice.
Being on higher ground we shall judge them humanly. Only those on higher ground shall judge. They shall have right to defense. These pens exercise can transition to compiled ready document for pubic prosecutor when there is a physical court.
The way Libyans treated their dictator is distastefully uncivilized and cruel. He was humiliated and dead lost is amounts of information they could have obtained. Above all those wronged in underground prisons, political prisoners, innocent journalists would get a chance to see the evil turned devil on his face and tell him of his evil deeds.
They shall have their day in court. One thing so, death penalty is cruel. Build a museum around them for life. Let their legacy fully be in shelve in libraries in minds of people deserving their miserable inheritance for future generations to know what we have faced in our time and cautions against them type in his time.
The evil will be gone.
You do not wish any human being death or distruction but in the weyanes maffia family members case the almighty god will handle them one by one starting with the abebe/legesse/melesse and his boss mebrahtu g/hiwot (aka bereket simon): judgement to start soon for all of weyanes maffia family members.
It sounds some propagandists are hitting the war drum. The king of welfare tgray elites who are armed to the teeth with food stamps that unfortunately would get paid off either by the next Ethiopian generatiolns or might written off in kind, do do not mind at all doing so that would definetly relieve them by stealing away the looming Ethiopian peoples attention. Cry for all my beloved tikur sew/people!!!!!!
Hope they will let Mengistu Hailemariam pee on Meles face before they burn his body.
What I wish to PM Melies is that to get full recovery form what is ailing him and just like Gadafi to be captured by the Ethiopian people and then put in a cage inside a museum so that people can visit him on a daily basis and tell him what he is – a butcher, a killer, a thief, a looter, a child seller, a puppet of the U.S., a mafia leader, a gang leader, prisoners abuser, journalists abuser, pathologic lier, deciver, etc. somebody please help I forgot most of his cruiel dids.
He is already dead if more people in Ethiopia and the surrounding countries are praying for his death. He is a living dead, if those who are praying for his death outnumber those who are praying for his recovery (99% to 1% respectively). There is nothing worse than millions of people praying for your death (you are dead even if you are living physically). He lost weight not because of what he has been eating, as his supporters are saying, but because of what is eating him inside.
Seleshi replies:
July 11th, 2012 at 3:54 PM
Ethiopian people and then put in a cage inside a museum so that people can visit him on a daily basis and tell him what he is – a butcher, a killer, a thief, a looter, a child seller, a puppet of the U.S., a mafia leader, a gang leader, prisoners abuser, journalists abuser, pathologic lier, deciver, etc. somebody please help I forgot most of his cruiel dids.
I do agree puting him in a cage and Museum but there must be a film show parallel to give a lesson for human nature can change to an animal cause the guy was never a human with a closer observation you can see he is on his 3 evolution status . A 60 year old crature with 60 years lies.
Blood Cancer, he is cancer him self, we will hang him any way even after he die.
Like “he is cancer him self”
Crime Minister Meles Satnawi is dyeing. For all suffering he cause to Ethiopian people God is punishing him.
I was very sorry and really felt bad after finishing reading the different comments and wishes related to the PM’s health. I could see that almost all the bad wishes are the feelings of a few vocal diaspora and they don’t represent the feelings and wishes of tens of millions of Ethiopians living in Ethiopia and thousands of silient diaspora. I also heard and read some heart-braking comments and wishes pertaining to the health of the PM. I couldn’t understand why many vocal diaspora wished all sorts of possible cancers to the PM who is in excellent health, but lost weight to keep his good health. As far as I know, the PM has displayed world-class leadership to all citizens of Ethiopia and to the world. He has been repeatedly appreciated and admired by the well-known leaders in the universe. Unless we blinded ourselves with hatred heart toward the current goverment of Ethiopia, there is a lot to see when it comes to the growth of the country. I don’t have time to list the unspeakable growth the country is enjoying interms of infrastructure, education, health, economy, food security, freedom, democracy etc. I would say that all this has been attained and obtained by the pure and excellent leadership of the PM. I personally admire this guy. Please don’t label me as “EPRDF” as the many vocal diaspora do. I am not a politician at all. I have never been involved in politics. However, I have seen so many good things which are very hard to beleive that they are happening in Ethiopia. Let me also talk about freedom and democracy. We have never seen the kinds of election we have had in the last 10 or 15 years in our history. Many oppositions had been given so many opportunities to disclose their policies and they have publicly opposed the leading party. This practice has been missed in the previous regimes. So, why do we deny that this is atleast the beginning of the last? I am not saying that everything was perfect, but we should know that we are just starting and all things could have been improved. We shouldn’t expect the election to be the same as the election here in the US. I really don’t have the time and I don’t want to take your time to list many more things that the country is enjoying in the current regime.
So, why do the vocal diaspora wish something like this?? This is just because they are filled up with hatred toward one tribe (Tigre). Please be aware that I am not a Tigrean. If we are filled with hates, then all our oppinions and wishes won’t be fair.
Finally, let me remind you that there are millions of Ethiopians who wish the best to our PM. I wish he would lead the country for the coming 20+ years. But it is a pity that he has only 2 more years on his office. We, the majority of Ethiopians wish him an excllent health and a successful power transfer. All the vocal diaspora who wished him the worst should also know that their wishes will be just vanity after vanity and nothing will bring to the betterment of our country by just wishing evil like the evils do.
I love the PM and I love my country.
Gebre
Habesha replies:
July 14th, 2012 at 12:52 AM
Nice comment!!! Thanks Gebre for giving us a healthy and pure testimony.
mulumebet replies:
July 15th, 2012 at 3:18 AM
Wow Gebre!! as habesha said it HEALTHY COMMENT GBU!!!
Jegnaw replies:
July 15th, 2012 at 4:56 PM
YOU cant fool us this is not TPLF forum you are in” ER “we smell TPLF/band just by the word they use to describe them self.you are not fooling us WOYANE.
Die slowly. Melt slowly- REST IN FIRE