Next week, Lieutenant Colonel Tzion Shenkor will become the first Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) battalion commander from Israel’s Ethiopian community. He will command a Shimshon battalion in the Kfir Brigade.

On Sunday, Major Shenkor was promoted to lieutenant colonel in a ceremony in the army’s Central Command in the presence of the commander of the Central District, Major-General Gadi Shamni. Next week, he will assume command of the battalion.

Shenkor began his military career as a paratrooper, assigned to Kfir after completing officers training. He has served as a platoon commander, company commander and deputy battalion commander. His last assignment was operations officer for the northern Gaza battalion, carrying heaving responsibilities during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza’s northern area.

(Yechiel Spira, YWN Israel)

By Stephen C. Webster | Raw Story

In an essay published Monday, the head of China’s central bank proposed a plan to displace the American dollar as the world’s standard and replace it with a global reserve currency operated from the International Monetary Fund.

“Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, argued that what he called a super-sovereign reserve currency would not only eliminate the risks inherent in currencies such as the dollar, which are backed only by the credit of the issuing country and not by gold or silver, but would also make it possible to manage global liquidity,” reported the Times Online.

“But that’s unlikely to happen, says Robert Scott, senior international economist with the Economic Policy Institute,” reported Forbes. “‘It’s partly posturing, it’s partly buyer’s remorse,’ he said, noting China, at some point, is going to have to let its yuan currency rise in value relative to the dollar’s current price – likely by upwards of 30.0%. That means China’s investments in U.S. dollars, via Treasuries, would lose a third of their value in yuan terms.

“‘hey’re getting hammered,’ Scott said. Chinese leaders’ heavy investment in the U.S. economy has exposed them to domestic criticism.”

“Zhou made his call in an essay that appeared on the website of People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, on Monday,” reported the Washington Post. “It was clearly timed to make a splash in the run-up to the G20 meeting that starts in London on April 2.

“Calling the use of the dollar as the world’s benchmark currency ‘a rare special case in history,’ Zhou urged the ‘creative reform of the existing international monetary system towards an international reserve currency.’ Zhou said the reserve currency, managed by the IMF, should be ‘disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run.'”

The IMF would operate such a currency via its “Special Drawing Right,” created in 1969 with “the potential to act as a super-sovereign reserve currency,” reported Times Online.

“The role of the SDR has not been put into full play due to limitations on its allocation and the scope of its uses. However, it serves as the light in the tunnel for the reform of the international monetary system,” Zhou wrote in his essay.

He also emphasized his hope for the IMF currency’s supremacy over other dominant world benchmarks, such as the euro and the yen.

The technical and political hurdles to implementing the proposal are enormous, so even if backed by other nations, the proposal is unlikely to change the dollar’s role in the short term.

“‘The re-establishment of a new and widely accepted reserve currency with a stable valuation benchmark may take a long time,’ Mr. Zhou said” in a report by the Wall St. Journal. “In remarks earlier Monday, one of Mr. Zhou’s deputies, Hu Xiaolian, also said that the dollar’s dominant position in international trade and investment is unlikely to change in the near future. Ms. Hu is in charge of reserve management as the head of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

“A spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury declined to comment on Mr. Zhou’s views.”

UPDATE: Moscow supports IMF currency

In a little-circulated March 16 statement, the Kremlin said it will propose the IMF-based currency at April’s G20 meeting in London.

“The International Monetary Fund should investigate the possible creation of a new reserve currency, widening the list of reserve currencies or using its already existing Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as a ‘superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community,’ the Kremlin said in a statement issued on its web site,” reported the Moscow Times.

“Russia also called for countries whose currencies currently have reserve status to adopt international rules on fiscal and macroeconomic discipline,” noted Reuters.

UPDATE:

Houston judge dismisses charge against singer Wayna

(Houston Chronicle) — A judge this morning dismissed the charge against rhythm-and-blues singer Wayna, who was arrested Wednesday at a Houston airport for carrying a collapsible police baton.

Prosecutors asked state District Judge Jeannine Barr to dismiss the third-degree felony during a brief hearing at the downtown Harris County Criminal Justice Center.

No details were available on why the dismissal was requested and at which airport the arrest took place.

The Grammy-nominated singer, whose legal name is Wayna Wondwossen, was charged with carrying a weapon in an airport after she tried to board a plane while carrying the baton, authorities said.

She uses the baton as a prop while singing Billie Club, a song about police brutality.

She did not attend this morning’s hearing.

Wayna Wondwossen arrested in Houston Airport

HOUSTON (AP) – Ethiopian-born Grammy-nominated singer {www:Wayna Wondwossen} has been arrested at a Houston airport after trying to get on a plane with a collapsible police baton that she uses while performing.

Wayna, whose full name is Woyneab Miraf Wondwossen, was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon Wednesday.

Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said Thursday that security guards at the checkpoint at Bush International Airport discovered the 24-inch baton in her carry-on bag.

Wondwossen, 35, was transported to the Houston jail and posted $5,000 bond.

Wayna released her second album, “Higher Ground,” in 2008. One of the songs on the album is “Billy Club,” a ballad about police abuse, and Wondwossen twirls and points the baton when she performs the song live.

[More from dcist.com]- According to a statement released by her management team, Wayna was attempting to go through security when she was questioned about a stage prop found in her carry-on bag. The item, which is being described as a 24-inch baton, is used during the performance of her song, “Billy Club,” off of her album, Higher Ground. The song, which also features Three Stars artist Muhsinah, is an eerie ballad that protests police brutality. She explained that she was a performer and had inadvertently packed the item in her carry-on as opposed to checked luggage. Even though she insisted that she had no intent to use the prop as a weapon, Wayna was arrested and charged. Early this morning, she was released from jail on $5,000 bail, according to the statement.

“She’s very shook up but she’s had encouragement and love from family and friends around the world,” said Fiona Bloom, Wayna’s publicist.

Just last month, Wayna was up for a Grammy award in the “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” category for her song, “Loving You (Music).”

An arraignment hearing is set for Friday in Houston.

By Seifu Tsegaye Demmissie

The participation of Ethiopia’s dictator {www:Meles Zenawi} in the summit of the group of 20 or G-20 does not have any significance other than validating his status as an accredited International beggar. Zenawi is the name most familiar in the door steps and corridors of western donors and their financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Hence, the designation International beggar is quite befitting to describe his role in his warm relationship with the west.

European leaders and their favorite beggar Meles Zenawi at the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon

Various sources indicate that the west have spent between 36 and 40 billion dollars on the regime of Meles Zenawi via budget and other support mechanisms. This is a big sum which could have had a significant positive impact on the country if a legal Ethiopian government had been in place to use it. In fact, he does not deserve any kind of western assistance given his dismal human rights records. Commandeering a bloated, expensive but an inefficient bureaucracy whose primary function is to serve as a pillar of his reign of repression and terror, Meles Zenawi is in constant need of foreign aid and financing. Besides, he owns and operates an extensive and permeating network of a repressive security apparatus which requires a substantial amount of resources. Thus, it is not difficult to see where the lion`s share of the budget support he receives from the west ends up. He has to constantly refine and sharpen his begging skills and tools.

The group of 20 or G-20 includes the so called industrial democracies and emerging new economies and was formed after the financial crises of the 90`s. The crisis had mainly hit the emerging Asian and Latin American economies which applied the economic prescriptions of the western financial institutions like the World Bank. However, the current crisis is global in nature and is not restricted to certain geographic areas of the world. Foreign aid dependent regimes can not be immune to the crisis.

The invitation of Meles Zenawi to the summit of the so called group of 20 or G-20 demonstrates his increasing reliance on foreign aid and vanguard role as an International beggar. Thus, the participation of Meles Zenawi in the preliminary and the annual summit of the group of 20 does not raise his status as a statesman as his cadres and beneficiaries would like us to believe. This is not something to brag about but Meles Zenawi and his zombies are devoid of any feeling of qualm and shame and count it as one of their greatest achievements. Rejected by the vast majority of Ethiopians but loved by the west, Meles Zenawi has no legal or moral ground to represent Ethiopia neither at national nor International level.

Considering the criteria for eligibility for western aid, development aid can best be described as a political partnership between western politicians and their client dictators or lackeys in the so called third world. It is well known that developing countries which would like to take their destinies into their own hands and exercise their universally accepted rights of independence and sovereignty, do not qualify for western aid and favours. In general, it is through this partnership (development aid) that the western powers get clout and trample upon the recipient countries. Thus one can not fail to grasp the big influence donors have on the decision making in the recipient countries. The other characteristic feature of this unholy partnership is that it is riddled with corruption and graft which account for the siphoning off and wastage of considerable resources. Though claiming to combat poverty, the partnership is perpetuating dictatorship and preventing the population from taking part in the vital decision making organs and processes. A conducive system built on a broad and free public participation ensuring accountability and transparency, is the prerequisite for combating poverty and attaining economic growth.

The enduring damage this partnership is inflicting on the causes and forces of democracy, freedom and social justice, is visible in Ethiopian at the moment. The regime is escalating its widespread human rights violations and economic deprivations. We have a living memory of the scandalous role of some western diplomats or envoys in bailing out the brutal regime of Meles Zenawi from the strong storm caused by his rigging and daylight robbery of public votes in the aftermath of the May 2005 elections. It is also regrettable to witness that the storm lost its sweeping force in part due to the indecisive and vacillating opposition who failed to seize the moment and go ahead. The cost of removing Meles Zenawi from power is much lower than letting him to stay in power even for few months. After having survived the potentially destructive storm, Meles Zenawi has simply accelerated his paces of killings, imprisonments and secret dealings to give away our legal land to neighbours. Despite the survival of the regime of Meles Zenawi, an increasing number of Ethiopians are convinced of the fact that the era of ballots is over. Emboldened by the unconditional support he gets from the west and lack of domestic resistance, he is determined more than ever before to consolidate and perpetuate his dictatorial rule in the country.

Despite the repeated denials and dismissals, the regime of Meles Zenawi is encountering a chronic shortage of hard currency which is forcing the few foreign material dependent domestic manufacturing factories to halt production. The reality on the ground in Ethiopia shows that the acclaimed economic boom of Zenawi is actually a simple flattery of his cadres and beneficiaries. It is a bust which is causing a drastic fall in the standard of living of the vast majority of the population of the country. As one author has rightly noted, development aid has become Africa`s debilitating drug trapping the continent in its vicious cycle of corruption and poverty. Thus, the aid addicted Economy of the regime of Meles Zenawi is very vulnerable to the current global financial crisis and can collapse in a short span of time in the absence of the badly needed financial injections by his donors.

By Richard Leakey

You may have heard about the raging controversy regarding a massive dam that is under construction on the Omo River in Ethiopia. It is called the Gilgel Gibe III dam and it has a wall that will soar 240 metres high – this is the tallest of its type anywhere in the world. It will hold back a reservoir 150 kilometres long.

The Ethiopians say that they need this dam as it will provide 1800 megawatts of electricity. That will more than double the country’s current generating capacity in one hit, and according to their Prime Minister Ethiopia’s dictator, Meles Zenawi, it will solve a national energy crisis.He says they can’t afford not to have Gilgel Gibe III. He also claims that it will enable the country to store water and regulate the flooding downstream in the Omo River.

This new dam will produce far more electricity than the country is capable of consuming, most will be exported to neighbours like Sudan and Kenya.

I think that this project is fatally flawed in terms of its logic, in terms of its thoroughness, in terms of its conclusions.

It looks to me like the Environmental Impact Assessment was an inside job that has come up with the results that they were looking for to get the initial funding for this dam.

I and the Environmental Resources Group believe that rather than being beneficial to the river valley as the Ethiopian government say, the dam will produce a broad range of negative effects, some of which would be catastrophic to both the environment and the indigenous communities living downstream.

Even if the science is in dispute – this is reason enough to invoke the precautionary principle and stop the project before it is too late because if the Ethiopian government is wrong, those communities living along the lower Omo River Valley all the way down into neighboring Kenya will pay a heavy price. I believe that one immediate consequence will be the aggravation of armed conflict in a war over the shrinking natural resources.

What do you think, should Ethiopia be allowed to go ahead despite the concerns of down stream environmental and social impacts affecting over 500,000 people and Lake Turkana in Kenya?

(Richard Leakey established WildlifeDirect to create a direct relationship between those at the front line of conservation and those who care anywhere in the world. He is the chairman of WildlifeDirect. All donations made on this blog will contribute towards the training and technical support to blogging members on wildlifedirect.org)

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND (Gazette.net) — Opening night of the New African Films Festival brought more than 400 people to the lobby of the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre and Cultural Center March 19, but it wasn’t a typical night at the movies.

While awaiting the first movie, “13 Months of Sunshine,” attendees of the opening night cocktail hour could bypass the usual movie popcorn and candy, and opt for a buffet featuring ye’abesha gomen (collard greens) and tikil gomen (cabbage) as well as beets and Ethiopian bread, compliments of nearby Abol Ethiopian Restaurant.

The film festival, which celebrates African culture and aims to give a better feel for life in African countries, had seven successful days at AFI, its third year at the theater on Colesville Road in downtown Silver Spring. Now in its fifth season, this year’s festival featured about 30 films.

Susan Bluttman, AFI’s media and public relations manager, was thrilled with the opening night turnout, noting that while only 195 tickets had been sold in advance, the first movie was sold out, and the standby line was still growing with only a few minutes to go before the 7:30 p.m. showing.

The festival tries to present a greater understanding of life in Africa “instead of just having your understanding from a single shot on CNN,” said Mwiza Munthali, director of public outreach for TransAfrica, a foreign policy advocacy organization and one of the event’s sponsors. AFI and afrikafe, a networking group for Africans and friends of Africa, also were sponsors.

“Our goal each time is to offer the Washington community African films and to give Africa a chance to show off its films,” said Kishere Mbuya, CEO and founder of afrikafe, and a Silver Spring resident, adding that many of the films are award winners.

Todd Hitchcock, film programmer at AFI, said while there is no theme, the goal was to offer newer films as well as a few classic ones.

“We strive for representation across the Diaspora,” said Lori Donnelly, an associate film programmer.

Alfia Johnson of Washington, D.C., attended because, “I’m a lover of films, a lover of culture. I support all African culture.”

Candace Mickens of Takoma Park also was excited to attend. “Africa is part of our life, being an African-American,” she said.

Another moviegoer, Rike Ojediran of Washington, D.C., echoed her sentiments. “I’m fascinated by this concept. It’s something I want to support. I’m going to try and come most of the weekend.”

Bluttman said attendance over the weekend was good. “We had more people in the African films than we did in any of the first-run movies,” she said, referring to the currently running “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Class.”

Silver Spring resident Yvonne Captain, a film professor and self-proclaimed film buff, praised the festival for not just showing good films but also for “giving people a chance to be proud.”