The following is an interview Woyanne Godfather Sebhat Nega gave to a Woyanne Radio:

Shaebia (EPLF) was… showing signs of compromising on the independence of the Eritrean people. The power-sharing deal EPLF held with the Derg in an East German city and under the mediation of the East German government was evidence of Shaebia kneeling down to Derg. There were also other EPLF-Derg talks after the defection of Dawit Wolde-Giorgis.* Shaebia was also trying to give in to Derg during the foiled 1989 army generals coup led by General Bulti in Asmara and Generals Fanta [Belai] and Merid Negussie in Addis Ababa. The plan was to replace Mengistu with somebody else, and Shaebia would get its share. After the coup, Shaebia sent a message to us [TPLF]. Shaebia told us to make a swift decision and welcome a delegate of the coup leaders that was coming to meet with us via Adi Quala, Eritrea. Our response was clear: TPLF knows no compromise with the Derg. The goal of our struggle is to bring about a total change of the system. TPLF might have considered negotiation had the coup been led by soldiers other than high-ranking army officers. Even at that level, we never believed a coup would change the system. Therefore, we turned down Shaebia’s request to accept the plea of the coup. Our decision was – much to the dismay of Shaebia – announced on our Radio. Therefore, that was another occasion Shaebia had also considered a power-sharing arrangement with the Derg. The danger of this deal was not only aimed at sabotaging the interest of the Eritrean people for independence. It was also a move aimed at destroying the aspirations of the Ethiopian people for a democratic governance… [read more]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sebhat and his Woyanne gang did not want any negotiated settlement with the Derg regime is not because they stand for the interest of the people of Eritrea, but to advance the “Greater Tigray” agenda. Eritrea under the leadership of Isaias Afwerki is the only obstacle to the Woyanne grand plan. Continue reading the interview here.

By PAMELA ROBEL – The Olympian

IDAHO, USA — Nesradine Schumaker wears a bright orange helmet while he rides his training-wheeled bike up and down the street. He is sturdy and curious about the world around him, which has changed dramatically over the past few weeks.

One month ago, Nesradine was living in an Ethiopian orphanage, a casualty in the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is sweeping through parts of eastern and sub-Saharan Africa and leave many children as orphans

A 2005 AIDS in Ethiopia report estimated there were 368 AIDS-related deaths a day in Ethiopia, as well as 744,100 orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.

“We knew there were orphans, and we knew there were children who needed homes,” said Nesradine’s adoptive mother, Signe Schumaker.

The Schumakers have seven biological children of their own and decided they wanted to open their home to adopted children as well.

“We had been thinking about how to help other people and this seemed like a natural thing for us to do,” Rick Schumaker said. “Some of the attraction to adoption was watching other families who had adopted. The reason we decided to have kids when we got married was watching other people we knew with their children.”

Nesradine is 4 and still figuring out how to get along with his older brother, Soren, 5, and his younger sister, Helen, 3.

“The dynamic has just started to change with Nesradine and his sister, Helen. She’s used to having her own space in the afternoon, and there are things he doesn’t understand yet, like hide and seek,” Signe said. “Helen tries to play with him and he’s like, ‘Why would I want to hide?'”

Rick and Signe began the process to adopt Nesradine about a year ago, contacting an agency that facilitates adoptions in Ethiopia and other countries around the world.

Nesradine, unlike some other children, was given up by his living mother, who was abandoned by her husband when he found out she was HIV-positive.

“We didn’t know he had a mother going into this,” Rick said. “The paperwork didn’t make that clear.”

The Schumakers are among a growing number of area families adopting orphans from Ethiopia. Matt and Renae Meyer adopted two little girls almost three years ago. The girls’ mother died in childbirth.

Kilkidan Meyer, 5, and her sister, Melat Meyer, 3, bicker and play chess with rules only they understand while their parents describe the process that expanded their seven-child brood to nine.

“We were pretty happy with six kids, then our oldest daughter tore something out of the newspaper about adoption, and we started to pursue it,” Renae said. “The process took about one year. The Ethiopian adoption was straightforward and easy. We moved to Moscow, and I found out I was pregnant again, so our family jumped from eight to 12.”

The Meyers, who initially decided to have four children while living abroad in Brazil and Indonesia, changed their minds and added two more biological children to their family before adopting.

They saw the need for homes for orphaned children during their travels.

The “something” the Meyers’ oldest daughter tore out of the newspaper happened to be a news story about orphaned girls in China. It inspired the Meyers to begin trying to adopt a girl from an Asian country.

“We met the age and financial requirements, but we never thought we’d have too many kids to adopt (from Asia),” Matt said. “Then I thought maybe it was an indication that we shouldn’t adopt, but Renae said, ‘No, we’re doing this.'”

The Meyers began the adoption process in 2005 and were e-mailed an adoption proposal in January 2006 asking if they wanted sibling girls.

“Girls are more sought-after so we didn’t think any would be available,” Renae said. “Our family is boy-heavy and we thought girls would even it out.”

Lisa and Russell Qualls are among other families in the area with children adopted from Ethiopia. They have adopted four children from the African country.

“For us, we had some very good friends from upstate New York who called us on Valentine’s Day three years ago to say they were adopting two little boys from Ethiopia, and we knew there was a crisis, but we didn’t know the magnitude,” Lisa said. “We started investigating it and thought it was something we could do.”

The Qualls’ oldest child is Beza, 10, who was adopted in August 2008. There is also Kalkidan, 7, Ebenezer, 3, and Wogyau, 2.

“We didn’t plan to adopt more, but when we were at the orphanage, we met an 8-year-old little girl, and while we were at the orphanage she stayed beside us and helped us take care of the baby,” Lisa said.

Lisa said she and her husband tried to get other families they know to adopt Beza but could not find a family for her.

“Finally, last January, I was just talking to Russ and said I thought the reason we couldn’t find her a family was because she is part of our family,” Lisa said. “It’s been delightful to watch her become part of the family.

“To watch her learn what it’s like to have a mother, a family. It’s just incredible to watch this happen in her life. Adopting an older child has been a remarkable experience.”

The Quallses have gotten so much from their experiences that they’ve helped inspire other families to do the same.

That was the case with the Schumakers.

“I was thinking maybe this is something we’ll do in a couple of years, but Lisa (Qualls) gets so excited about it and she showed us some pictures,” Signe said. “Once you see a photo of a child, it’s done.”

By Josh Green | Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA – Quincy Jackson‘s murder trial will spill into a second week but could end as early as Monday, prosecutors said after a fourth day of testimony Friday.

First on the list of witnesses Monday should be the state’s star witness, Lorna Araya, an Ethiopian immigrant and the alleged mastermind behind three home-invasion robberies that culminated in the March 2008 death of Lilburn (a suburb of Atlanta) resident Tedla Lemma, 51 — also an immigrant from Ethiopia.

Police have said Araya has implicated all her co-defendants since her capture.

Jackson, 29, of Riverdale, is the first of four suspects to be tried who police believe played a role in Lemma’s killing. He faces 17 counts, including felony murder, burglary and kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Lemma’s wallet, Social Security card and other possessions were found in Jackson’s home. His defense team argues prosecutors lack direct evidence linking him to the crime scenes.

In testimony Friday, cell phone experts told jurors that a phone registered as Jackson’s was used near each of the three crime scenes within hours of the robberies.

Jackson’s attorney, Matthew Crosby, pointed out that such records track only when and where the phone was transmitting, not who was using it.

Christa Kirk, Assistant District Attorney, said the state plans to call three or four more witnesses, including investigators and the county’s chief medical examiner. Closing arguments by the state could come Monday afternoon.

Crosby said the defense has six witnesses subpoenaed and prepared to testify, but it remains to be seen how many of them, if any, he’ll call. Much is riding on Araya’s testimony, he said. “As of right now, we’re on the fence,” he said.

By Roman Mica | Examiner.com

With the Boston marathon just around the corner, I thought you might appreciate a few tips on how to run your fastest marathon ever.

So I asked somebody who should know.

As you may be aware 36-year-old Ethopian superstar Haile Gebrselassie recently broke his own world record when running the Berlin Marathon. His time of 2:03:59 was 27 seconds quicker than his previous best.

So it comes as no surprise that Gebrselassie knows a thing or two about running the 26.2 miles fast—very fast.

And yes, I didn’t actually have a sit down chat with Gebrselassie to ask him how he does it. But I did track down this video of him giving advice just before the up coming London marathon (which he has run three times) to a British reported—which is almost as good I think.

SANA’A, Yeman (Saba News) – Interior Ministry of Yemen has reported that about 247 Ethiopians, including 24 women and children, entered the Yemeni territories illegally last month.

Nearly 190 Ethiopians have arrived to the coasts of Abyan and Taiz governorates through sea coming from the African Horn, according to statistics issued by the Ministry.

The rest of them have been arrested on land by the security authorities in governorates of Mahweet, Marib, Aden, Taiz and Hodeidah, in addition to four persons have been held at the Haradh border outlet trying to sneak to the country via the Saudi borders, the Ministry said.

All arrested Ethiopians have referred to the immigration authorities to be deported to their homeland, as Yemen, hosts over 750,000 Somalis as refugees, can not afford another issue of Ethiopian immigration into its lands.