The ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) is being aided and abetted by thousands of opportunist individuals who are not members of the party. Some such as Addisu Legesse and Kuma Demeksa claim to represent the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups in the fake coalition named EPRDF that is created by Woyanne. But let alone stand for the interest of Amharas and Oromos, these opportunist individuals are helping Woyanne in making Ethiopia a large prison camp for all ethnic groups, including the majority of Tigreans — an ethnic group Woyanne claims to represent. Their only use for the Woyanne regime is to help it gain legitimacy as a multi-ethnic regime, when the fact is that they have no say in how the government functions. They are simply decoys for Woyanne. To help expose these opportunists (hodams) further, Ethiopian Review conducts the following poll. Who among them is the most loyal Woyanne servants?

VOTE HERE

 Loading ...

Part I

Part II

By Veronika Fillitz, FM4 Radio

The country that we call Ethiopia contains a region that is said to be the most important in the history of humanity. It is from what is now the capital, Addis Ababa, that archaeologists will tell us that humans migrated around the world.

For such an important place in the story of mankind, my first impressions of Addis Ababa were rather unremarkable – a sprawling city that could be anywhere in Africa with cars and buses and masses of people hanging around public buildings. But this was a stopping off point for me to travel further into some of the rural areas in Ethiopia and to get a glimpse of the work being done by the doctors, nurses and support teams of Licht für die Welt – the Austrian charity that helps to bring access to eye-care in some of the most remote regions of the world.

Jijiga
We flew onwards to Jijiga, a city that is East of Addis, near the border to Somalia. And from there I visited a field hospital and saw for myself the work of the eye specialists and the daily challenges they face, patients who needed anything from simple check-ups to more major operations to remove cataracts. I was also invited to go to some villages and this is where I really felt the culture shock begin.

As I walked into one small village, I was greeted on the way by young children who would come up, walk alongside of me and start to chat away in their local language. The fact that I couldn’t communicate with them didn’t seem to put them off. It just made them want to put more of their questions to their European guest. The colours of the landscape, the houses and the warmth of the people made a great impression on me. Here was a country that had been beset by years of war, poverty and drought yet these people were determined to do their utmost to invite me into their homes and make sure I was fed.

Staying put
I was also keen to meet and talk with young Ethiopians about what they thought about their futures. I met a young girl who was also a kind of parliamentary speaker for the Ethiopian Youth as well as a young guy who had left home at the age of six and had been sleeping rough as child on the streets until he was befriended and looked after by soldiers. Both of them, along with other young Ethiopians that I met had similar views. Although they had seen many Hollywood movies and enjoyed western music, the thought of upping and leaving and trying to make it in Europe or America was not something they would consider. They all told me they were very proud of Ethiopia and their aspirations of continuing their education were founded on being in their country. Even though it was clear that they and their families didn’t have very much in the way of possessions, they were staying put and were cheerful and positive about their future in Ethiopia.

That really made me think because we are often lead to believe by some politicians and sectors of the press in Europe that all people in developing nations in Africa want to do is get in a boat and come to our shores. Maybe a trip to a place like Ethiopia that has known real poverty would help to modify those ideas; writers who know the continent well echo the view that despite the daily problems they face, most people whether they live in Addis Ababa or Accra have only one major goal – to face up to their own challenges at home and make a brighter future in their own countries.

Hear more about my visit to Ethiopia on FM4’s Reality Check: Progress in Africa, today (Saturday) on FM4. [podcast]http://fm4.orf.at/medias/163835/mp3[/podcast]

BANK OF AMERICA MARATHON

CHICAGO IL – Bank of America today announced two-time women’s champion Berhane Adere (ETH) will attempt a first-ever three-peat at the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, while six-time top-three Chicago finisher Daniel Njenga (KEN) looks for his first win in the Windy City. The additions of Adere and Njenga complete the elite field for the Oct. 12 race.

Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere en route to her national
record 2:20:42 in Chicago [Photo: Victah Sailer]

Adere has thrilled Chicago fans the last two years winning back-to-back championships in the final stretches, most recently sprinting past an unaware Adriana Pirtea (ROU) in the final meters of the 2007 race. In 2006, Adere and Galina Bogomolova (RUS) trailed Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROU) who led the field at record pace through the first 16 miles of the 26.2-mile course. Catching the Romanian in the 22nd mile, Adere and Bogomolova battled shoulder to shoulder until the Ethiopian edged into the lead and broke the tape only five seconds in front of runner-up Bogomolova.

Adding drama to the mix, Adere will face off against both Pirtea and Tomescu-Dita in the 31st running of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Tomescu-Dita arrives hot off an Olympic gold medal win in the women’s marathon in Beijing while her fellow Romanian Pirtea shaved five minutes off her marathon debut in Chicago last fall with a 2:28:52 in London in April.

Njenga is Chicago’s very own heartbreak kid, finishing second or third in each of his previous six consecutive Chicago appearances, including a third-place showing behind the photo finish of Patrick Ivuti (KEN) and Jaouad Gharib (MAR). Never losing to the same competitor twice, Njenga has placed behind Chicago champoins Ivuti, Robert K. Cheruyiot, Felix Limo, Evans Rutto and Khalid Khannouchi, virtually a who’s who of the world’s best marathon runners. Njenga is one of six men in the field who have posted personal bests below 2:07:00.

The announcement completes the field for the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. A complete start list follows.

2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Elite Field
Name Citizenship Personal Record

Women
Berhane Adere ETH 2:20:42
Bezunesh Bekele ETH 2:23:09
Alevtina Biktimirova RUS 2:25:12
Desiree Davila USA 2:37:50
Colleen De Reuck USA 2:26:35
Zoila Gomez USA 2:33:53
Lidiya Grigoryeva RUS 2:25:10
Kate O’Neill USA 2:36:15
Adriana Pirtea ROU 2:28:52
Kiyoko Shimahara JPN 2:26:14
Worknesh Tola ETH 2:25:37
Constantina Tomescu-Dita ROU 2:21:30

Men
Moses Arusei KEN 2:06:50
Christopher Cheboiboch KEN 2:08:17
Timothy Cherigat KEN 2:09:34
Evans Cheruiyot KEN 2:09:16
Joseph Chirlee KEN 2:12:10
Arata Fujiwara JPN 2:08:40
James Getanda KEN 2:11:50
Salim Kipsang KEN 2:07:29
William Kipsang KEN 2:05:49
Richard Limo KEN 2:06:45
David Mandago KEN 2:07:23
Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15
Daniel Njenga KEN 2:06:16
Michael Reneau USA 2:17:46
Todd Snyder USA 2:21:00

Bank of America Chicago Marathon
The 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will start and finish in Chicago’s Grant Park beginning with the wheelchair race at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. Registration opened to the public on Feb. 1 and closed on April 23 when the participant capacity of 45,000 was reached. In advance of the race, a two-day Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place on Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11. In its 31st year, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon annually attracts 45,000 runners, 1.5 million spectators and 125,000 Expo visitors and generates more than $10 million for charities. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is one of the five races that comprise the World Marathon Majors. More information on the race and how to get involved is available at chicagomarathon.com.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 25 million active users. Bank of America offers industry leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
www.bankofamerica.com

Out to prove herself again after Beijing

By Michael Butcher for the IAAF

Newcastle, UK – Anyone who has witnessed Gete Wami’s gutsy trademark runs knows that this is one athlete who has no fear of digging deep to get the best out of herself.

Gete Wami successfully defends in Berlin
[Photo: Bongarts]

That is why, when the field lines up on Sunday morning in Newcastle for the annual Bupa 13.1 Mile jaunt to the seaside in South Shields, that the compact Ethiopian will be the one to beat.

It is almost a year since the 33-year-old impressed the world with her double marathon feat of winning in Berlin before engaging in an epic battle just 35 days later with Paula Radcliffe through the streets of New York.

Radcliffe eventually won that titanic struggle and her shadow hangs over this race too since she holds the Tyneside course record of 65:40, a time that Wami has never challenged in her long career.

The Ethiopian’s best stands at 70:22 from Berlin two years ago while her best so far this year is outside 71mins when she finished third in Dubai.

Wami has something to live up to since there have been two previous Ethiopian winners of this race, the imperious Derartu Tulu three years ago, and former track star, Berhane Adere. Will Wami make it three out of four for the east African nation?

The only doubt hanging over her is the fact that she dropped out of the Olympic marathon in August. So there is an element of having to prove herself once again despite her experience.

Johnson, Tulu, Pavey… to challenge

If there is any sign of weakness there are plenty of candidates more than willing to turn the screw including former winners, Benita Johnson of Australia and Tulu herself who returns once more to the north-east.

Unlike Wami, Johnson finished the Olympic marathon, though in a lowly 21st, just ahead of Radcliffe, so there is more injured pride seeking a return to form since her glory year of 2004 when she streaked away with the World Cross Country title.

But there is one person who has trained specifically for this race who might trump them all, Britain’s Jo Pavey.

It is four years since the Exeter runner finished fourth here on her debut over the distance and she is determined to make amends for missing out on a top three spot. In the final mile she almost folded, but gathered herself to finish gamely.

After Beijing, where she contested the 10,000m,crossing the line 12th in a personal best 31:12.30, the 35-year-oldhas been putting in the miles to give herself the best chance possible of carrying off the honours on Tyneside.

“My training has been going well,” said Pavey, who suffered a bout of flu after the Games. “I’ve been completely focussed on being in the best shape possible for this challenge.”

Two weeks ago she topped up her preparation with some useful speed work by finishing third in a women’s Hyde Park 5km behind the Olympic 5000m bronze medallist, Meseret Defar (ETH).

Other contenders for the title are another Ethiopian Worknesh Kidane and Hungarian Anika Kalovics who proved she is in shape winning over the distance in Udine last month in 70:08.

Kibet the favourite in the men’s race

The men’s race welcomes the 2007 World Championships shock marathon champion, Luke Kibet of Kenya. It was the unsung Kibet who mastered near impossible conditions in Osaka to record only the second Kenyan World championship marathon victory in 20 years, setting the country up nicely for its first ever Olympic marathon men’s title this year through compatriot Sammy Wanjiru

Former Berlin, Chicago and London marathon champion Felix Limo (KEN), is also in the field while USA’s Abdi Abdirahman could figure prominently. The former Somalian is looking for a sharpener for his New York marathon appearance in a month’s time.

Kara Goucher became the first American women to win this race last year in its 27-year history. Is it Abdirahman’s turn to do likewise for the men?