VIRGINIA, USA (ea4c.org) — Creigh Deeds and the Democratic ticket suffered a sweeping defeat, turning what Obama turned into a “Blue State” back into the red column of the Republican Party. The loss suffered by the Democrats was stunning in scope and magnitude. Not only did the Democratic Party lose its hold of the Governor’s mansion, they also lost the Lt. Governor’s election and the Attorney General’s election. Furthermore, the Democrats also lost control of the State House. And in a completely jaw-dropping fashion, Deeds not only lost statewide, he lost in Democratic strongholds such as Fairfax and in Northern Virginia as a whole.
The one “Blue” spot in a sea of Northern Virginia red occurred in the City of Alexandria and Arlington. Amazingly, these were the only areas that Deeds won. These two cities are part of the 8th Congressional District, a district which is home to a massive Ethiopian-American community. By showing up in droves to the polls, Ethiopian-Americans were able to join a coalition of voters that kept at least one part of Northern Virginia blue. The turnout of Ethiopians in support of Creigh Deeds did not happen in a vacuum. Creigh Deeds reached out to the Ethiopian community on October 17th. Based on that outreach, Ethiopian-Americans for Change formally endorsed Creigh Deeds and the Democratic slate. In order to gauge the level of support that Creigh Deeds enjoyed, Ethiopian-Americans for Change conducted a scientific poll two days after Deed’s initial outreach.
The support Deeds enjoyed at that time from the Ethiopian-American community was anemic at best. The first poll revealed that Deed’s support level stood at an astonishing 28%. Moreover, only 45% of Ethiopians intended on voting on November 3rd. Based on these findings, Ethiopian-Americans for Change conducted an intensive voter outreach effort from October 19 through election night. In order to gauge the effectiveness of our effort,Ethiopian-Americans for Change conducted a second round of surveys to over 14,000 registered Ethiopians who live in the eight congressional district in the days leading up to the big election on November 3rd in Virginia. This was a follow up poll to get a feel of how the race is going and how much of an impact the Ethiopian-American community can have on the outcome of the state-wide race. The turnaround between the first poll (Oct 19th -21st) and the latest poll (Oct 31st-Nov 1st) was stunning.
* A 20 point increase in the number of Ethiopians who stated that they are currently registered (from 68.1% to 88%). This was not due to newly registered voters, rather, it was due in the increase of awareness on behalf of folks who voted last year yet thought they were not registered for this election
* A 26 point increase in the number of Ethiopians who stated that they were aware of the Nov. 3rd election (from 45% to 71%)
* A 22 point increase in the number of Ethiopians who stated that they plan on voting on November 3rd (from 36.3% to 58%)
* A stunning 28 point increase in the number of Ethiopians who stated that they plan on voting for Deeds (from 28.8% to 56%)
We did not have a data set from the previous poll for Jody Wagner, but on the latest poll, Jody Wagner was garnering 53% of the Ethiopian vote while Bolling was mired at 3.0%.
The massive shift can be explained in part by the sustained efforts Ethiopian-Americans for Change has made upon endorsing Creigh Deeds and the Democratic slate.
Consider:
1. Made over 2,500 phone calls using the database of 14,000 + registered Ethiopian voters we have from the 8th Congressional District
2. Held the “Meet the Candidates” forum where we introduced Deeds, Wagner et al to the Ethiopian community
3. Passed out over 2,000 flyers and posters to Ethiopian businesses and individuals
4. Sent out 4 emails to our Ethiopian-Americans for Change email database
5. Sent out countless press releases to generate interest from Ethiopian media
6. Leveraged our website (EA4C.org), facebook and twitter accounts to build up excitement within and outside of the Ethiopian community
7. Customized a youtube commercial on behalf of Deeds to the Ethiopian community
Based on these results, we are confident that our effort in the 8th Congressional District increased turnout significantly and netted Deeds anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 votes. When the multiplier effect that our efforts had in other districts that have a heavy Ethiopian presence (10th, 11th, and the 7th), the Ethiopian-American community would have cast a decisive vote if the election this year was as close as the election in 2005.
(For full detail of the poll and any follow up questions, contact [email protected]. Raw numbers from the poll will be made available for all media outlet that have a valid credential.)
Dubai, UAE (IAAF) –Although Haile Gebrselassie won both previous Dubai races easily, an overenthusiastic first half ruined his first record attempt, in 2008; and turning into the teeth of a rainstorm at 30k washed out 2009. So Haile goes back for a third attempt at a world record in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 22, 2010.
The most famous man in Ethiopia – and probably the busiest as well, with all his business ventures – took time out in Addis Abeba last week to sign another contract with Dubai co-organisers, Peter Connerton and Ahmad Al Kamali.
“I think it’s still possible for me to break the world record there,” said Gebrselassie, “but everything has to be right, and I’m not going to spoil my chances by predicting it. I still can’t believe I didn’t break the world record in 2008. Everything was perfect except the pace for the first half of the race, which was too fast. Last year the rain was bad and I wasn’t feeling 100%, so to win and prove I could run well in the wet weather was a bonus for me.”
When the race was upgraded two years ago, with an overall prize pot of two million dollars, marathon record holder Gebrselassie was the obvious target for the organisers. “There are few, if any, greater names in athletics history than Haile Gebrselassie,” said race director Connerton. “So once again we are proud and delighted that he has chosen to make his next marathon appearance in Dubai in three months time.”
“It’s only a short flight from Addis (to Dubai),” said Haile,”the weather is usually beautiful, the course itself is very, very good, and the athletes are treated really well. I’m already training hard, and looking forward to running again in Dubai.
“For the three months leading up to Dubai, I start slowly with a number of long runs. I will then do a month of speed training and by December everything has to be ready. I will do a number of speed “tests,” these are very important to gauge how well I am running and what I still need to do to be absolutely ready for a world record attempt.”
Now 36, Haile has set 26 World records or world bests in a career stretching back to the early 1990s. He had a hesitant start to his marathon career when he launched it in 2002, with a third place in London behind the World record of Khalid Khannouchi. Three years later, fast wins in Amsterdam, Berlin and Fukuoka were offset by two more poor runs in London, ninth (“the worst race of my career”) and a failure to finish, which was later discovered to be due to pollen allergies.
All that was put behind him later that year, 2007, when he returned to Berlin and ran a World record 2:04:26. He improved that the following year, again in Berlin, with the current World record of 2:03:59, adding the first sub-2:04 to an already illustrious barrier breaking career.
In both previous Dubai races, he has been on course for similar sub-2:04 times, only to be thwarted by his own presumption in 2008, and a thunderstorm earlier his year. Undaunted he is preparing for another tilt at a third marathon world record in his third Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.
“I will do 30-35km maximum road training per day split into morning and afternoon runs. I will also work in the gym – treadmill, cycling, exercising – for around three hours minimum once a week. By the time I start the Dubai Marathon I will weigh 58kg. By the time I finish, I will weigh 54kg.”
I am a member of parliament (MP) and deputy chairman of Public Account Standing Committee (PAC) of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of Ethiopia, elected as a representative of Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) from Limu Kossa District, Jimma zone, Oromia region.
I want to give my honest and sincere testimony of the conditions currently prevailing in Ethiopia. This testimony is in no way intended to defame the ruling party and its cohorts. The main purpose of this letter is to expose the hidden facts in Ethiopia.
Today in Ethiopia there is no democracy, rule of law, respect for human and civil rights. The judiciary system in totally under the control of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). There is no justice and independent court proceeding.
If you are an MP, you are duty bound to ask questions. But if you ask questions, you are branded as OLF and you are a terrorist and a criminal. Article 54(5) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution, states that “No member of the House may be prosecuted on account of any vote he cats or opinion he expresses in the House, nor shall any administrative action be taken against any member on such grounds.” But the person who asks the democratic and human rights of the people to be respected is automatically branded as OLF member, and I am one of the victim.
The EPRDF/TPLF regime is simply a dictatorship. It does not respect its own constitution. It murders, detains, tortures and arbitrary arrests innocent citizens. The regime is particularly on a campaign of detaining Oromo nationalists. Human rights abuses are common and a day to day activity of the regime, particularly in Oromia. Authorities imposed the new structures the “Garee” and “Goxii” system to monitor the speech and personal lives of the rural population, to restrict and control the movement of residents. If you oppose the system, you are thrown in prison to stay there for years without appearing before court.
Article 12 (1) and (2) of the FDRE constitution requires transparency and accountability but on the ground the fact is different. In 2008, from the 20 Federal Government Institutions, over 192.5 million birr was detected as deficit (misuse). From this money, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia account for the biggest share of improperly spent money. Expenditures of 560 million birr by Revenue Authority and 121.9 million birr by the Ethiopian Customs Authority have not been backed up by any document.
The Ethiopian Mapping Agency and Ministry of Mines and Energy billing customers without the proper tariff has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Furthermore, the former Ministry of Infrastructure has collected over 47.2 million birr annual fee with out any approved tariff.
Our finding also reveals that over 226.5 million birr worth of purchase by six institutions were not in accordance with the purchase manual of the government. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has paid 98,000 birr to its former head as salary and allowance when the head was not at his position for 27 months.
The National Bank of Ethiopia on the recent gold scam reveals that contrary to the bank procedure, one individual has been supplying gold to the bank without registering. Package that contains the brick of gold has not been properly inspected after it was certified it was gold by the Ethiopian Geological Survey office. The bank has also paid the gold value without properly weighing it and has accepted 38 similar gold bricks that weigh the same and with equal carat levels.
The finding revealed illegal procurements, unlawful payments, spending beyond the allocated budget, and expenditure that could not be accounted for, amounting to more than 2.5 billion Birr. Also the government of improperly borrowing an extra 3.3 billion birr from banks. This borrowing has contributed to the inflation rate in the country.
Corruption remains a serious problem in the country. As to our responsibility to investigate this fact, the response of the government is to disparage and disqualify the activity. On the other hand, the government officials appeared to manipulate the privatization process, state and party owned businesses received preferential access and misuse of public funds.
Such misdeeds and crimes were causing me mental anguish for the last three years. I have been receiving death threats for speaking up against the wanton disregard for the rule of law. My conscience could no longer allow me to continue to be a member of the party, an MP and deputy hairman of PAC of the House. I have chosen to resign from the regime and its rubber stamp parliament.
The Ogaden Liberation Front (ONLF) officials yesterday said that they took over control of more Woyanne regime military basses in eastern Ethiopia.
Abdukadir Hassan Hirmoge, deputy chairman of ONLF, claimed victory over Woyanne forces following clashes in the past few days.
Abdulkadir said that ONLF forces attacked Woyanne-controlled areas such as Dufan and Dudume Adde about 20 kilometers from Dhagahbur and many other military targets. He said that the ONLF fighters took over the Woyanne military bases in Dufan and other areas that they attacked in the recent fighting.
When Daniel Bekele, an Ethiopian lawyer, takes the stage at a Human Rights Watch dinner Friday in Toronto honouring his bravery, he will give a speech but he won’t tell his story.
He fears his government will send him back to the same prison from which he has just been released if he reveals too much about his ordeal.
“In my country I know how every word would be interpreted, so when you ask me a question about what happened and I try to answer it, my mind is also thinking how every word I say could possibly be interpreted in a hundred and one ways. So, unfortunately, I can’t speak freely,” Mr. Bekele explained in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Bekele, 42, was among an estimated 30,000 civil-society leaders, journalists and politicians arrested in the wake of Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 election, in which the opposition won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats but failed to topple Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The opposition claimed the vote had been rigged, as did a team of European Union election observers. A parliamentary inquiry concluded that nearly 200 civilians were killed in a subsequent government crackdown on the opposition.
Mr. Bekele was charged with inciting violence against the government, punishable by life in prison or death.
A human-rights lawyer who had led election-monitoring efforts, he refused to sign a letter of apology, choosing instead to go to trial to test the rule of law.
He was convicted and spent 21/2 years in prison before being released by presidential pardon.
Fearing repercussions when he learned Human Rights Watch was honouring him with an award, he requested his name not be published until he and his family had left the country.
Birtukan Medekssa, an Ethiopian opposition politician who was also jailed in 2005 and subsequently released was rearrested last year after reports suggested she publicized certain conditions of her release.
“For this reason I find it difficult to go into this story of my arrest, what I was accused of and what I did to defend myself,” said Mr. Bekele, a husband and father of two.
He hopes his silence will serve to underscore the dangers still faced by human-rights advocates who are continuing to press for change in Ethiopia in the run-up to a new round of parliamentary elections in May.
“The challenge is that there is still a huge mismatch between what the constitution says and the reality on the ground,” Mr. Bekele said.
He is currently completing a PhD at Oxford University, but eventually plans to return to Ethiopia to continue his work: “I have every intention of going back and that’s why I have to be so careful,” he said.
“I need to continue to do this. Somebody needs to do this job.”
ADDIS ABABA (VOA) — Ethiopia’s Prime Crime Minister Meles Zenawi says failures in the U.S. financial system are largely to blame for Africa’s economic crisis, and pointed to China as a possible key to recovery. Our correspondent in Addis Ababa has details of the Ethiopian leader’s keynote address to the annual African Economic Conference.
Speaking to an audience of academics and policymakers, Ethiopia Prime Minister the khat addicted dictator Meles Zenawi painted a gloomy picture of Africa’s economic outlook. He said the theme of the conference, fostering development in the current economic climate, may be impossible.
“The first question that comes to my mind is: Is it possible to foster development when we have a whole era of economic crisis ahead of us? I am going to suggest today that while it is probable that Africa will not be able to foster development in the current era, it is nevertheless possible to do so,” said Meles Zenawi.
Mr. Meles, a former Marxist rebel leader, launched a blistering attack on what he called “discredited neo-liberal economic policies” imposed on Africa from outside. He said unsustainable consumption by the United States when times were good had condemned Africa to a protracted period of low growth ahead.
“The United States has hitherto served as the consumer of last resort and helped to maintain the unsustainable division of labor and division of production and consumption,” he said. “It is no longer able to do it, and this is the main cause of the current crisis.”
Mr. Meles suggested Africa’s best hope might be a massive infusion of cash from China and other countries that have amassed surplus savings by producing goods for the consumers.
“It is possible to imagine that the Chinese will decided to redirect some of their surplus savings to infrastructural development in Africa,” said Meles Zenawi. “It is possible to do so because to some extent it is already happening. Such a shift would mean tens of billions of dollars per annum invested in African infrastructure, again opening the opportunity for the transformation of the overall economy. Indeed, it is not only possible but highly probable that the Chinese will take steps that would widen the window of opportunity for Africa.”
The Ethiopian prime minister, who will lead the African delegation to next month’s Copenhagen climate summit, expressed doubt the world is serious about tackling global warming. But he said a climate deal could be a boon to Africa, with its sources of renewable energy.
Some experts say Africa stands to receive as much as $100 billion a year from rich countries to offset the effects of climate change.
The three-day African Economic Conference is being held against a backdrop of low-growth forecasts for the near future. The 2009 growth estimate for sub-Saharan Africa is just 1.3 percent, with a prediction of an increase to four or five percent next year.
African Development Bank chief Donald Kaberuka, said prospects for recovery remain fragile. He said a full recovery would not occur until the continent returns to seven-percent growth, possibly within a few years.
The most famous man in Ethiopia – and probably the busiest as well, with all his business ventures – took time out in Addis Abeba last week to sign another contract with Dubai co-organisers, Peter Connerton and Ahmad Al Kamali.