December 2010
37 posts
Eyob Artwork →
Eyob Mergia is an Ethiopian American artist based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Cello Dream 8’ x 2 ½’
November 2010
48 posts
Are Humans Inherently Selfish? →
Are altruism and morality artificial outgrowths of culture, created by humans to maintain social order? Or is there, instead, a biological foundation to ethical behavior? — Newsroom
How 250,000 US embassy cables (classified... →
From a fake Lady Gaga CD to a thumb drive that is a pocket-sized bombshell — the biggest intelligence leak in history! — The Guardian
Sunni vs Shiite
What caused the original divide?
The groups first diverged after the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, and his followers could not agree on whether to choose bloodline successors or leaders most likely to follow the tenets of the faith.
The group now known as Sunnis chose Abu Bakr, the prophet’s adviser, to become the first successor, or caliph, to lead the Muslim state. Shiites favored Ali,...
United States and the Middle East: Power Politics ...
2007-08-31 12:12
In an August 17 meeting, Israeli Mossad Chief Meir Dagan thanked Under Secretary Burns for America’s support of Israel as evidenced by the previous day’s signing of an MOU that provides Israel with USD 30 billion in security assistance from 2008-2018. Dagan provided his assessment of the Middle East region, Pakistan and Turkey, stressing Israel’s (a)...
How American Diplomats View Foreign Leaders
French President Nicolas Sarkozy: ‘has a thin-skinned and authoritarian personal style’ and is an ‘emperor with no clothes’
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: ‘feckless, vain and ineffective as a modern European leader’. He is a ‘physically and politically weak’ leader whose ‘frequent late nights and penchant for partying hard mean he does not get sufficient rest’
Russian President Dmitry...
Letters between Wikileaks and the U.S. Government →
Correspondence between Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks.org, and United States government officials about the sensitivity of information contained in the Web site’s latest document release.
“One must learn how to be truthful with the help of absurd fantasy.”
– Andrei Sinyavsky
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“When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be...”
– Malcolm Forbes
Louis Armstrong
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an “inventive” cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music’s focus from collective improvisation to solo performers. With his distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for...
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Seijun Suzuki
Suzuki played chaos like jazz in his movies, from the anything-goes yakuza thrillers Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill to the daring postwar dramas of human frailty Gate of Flesh and Story of a Prostitute to the twisted coming-of-age story Fighting Elegy; he never concerned himself with moderation, cramming boundless invention into his beautifully composed frames, both color and ...
The lady in the glass house →
Cristin Norine is connected to the outside world only by social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc) for 30 days, wanting to explore how social media has changed the way people communicate.
“If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds...”
– Mitchell Burgess
WatchA short documentary that tells the story of Yegizaw “Yeggy” Michael, an Eritrean artist who now resides and works as an artist in Seattle, Washington.
… ከምድላይካ አይኮንንዩ ከምዝኮነልካ’ምበር …
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ADDIS FOTO FEST →
Browse the new website of Addis Ababa’s first International Photography Festival, ADDIS FOTO FEST, directed and curated by photographer Aida Muluneh.
Untitled, by Aida Muluneh
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12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men: a 1957 American drama film adapted from a teleplay of the same name. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. The film is notable for its almost exclusive use of one set: with the exception of two short scenes at the beginning and the end of the...
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“Four words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that...”
– Og Mandino
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The Greatest Salesman in the World →
Only principles endure and these I now possess, for the laws that will lead me to greatness are contained in the words of these scrolls.
Principle #1 – Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.
Keep it always in mind and you will overcome seemingly impossible obstacles that are certain to confront you as they do everyone with ambition. Never feel shame for...
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"Conversation"
God and I in space alone … and nobody else in view … “And where are all the people, Oh Lord” I said, “the earth below and the sky overhead and the dead that I once knew?” “That was a dream,” God smiled and said: “The dream that seemed to be true; there were no people living or dead; there was no earth, and no sky overhead, there was only myself...
“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see...”
– Guess who?
15 cosas por las que somos Yucatecos
You know you are from Yucatan, Mexico:
1-Comemos panuchos no sopes
2-Decimos mare’ cuando hablamos mas yucas
3-Decimos PELANA
4-Hablamos aporreado no cantadito :D
5-Decimos XOO! Envés de cállate
6-Decimos xick envés de axila
7-Decimos TUCH no ombligo
8-No somos Gordos Somos hermosos :DD
9-Comemos Cochinita los domingos de ley :]
10-Los mayas construyeron una sala de Fiestas “CHICHEN”
...
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The Battle of the Conservatives and the Liberals...
Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox News commentator, has been waging a full-scale attack on the liberal, Hungarian-American billionaire, George Soros, accusing him of “conspiring to bring America down.”
Beck has been busy churning out “investigative reports” that exposed Soros as an evil man who takes advantage of countries’ economic misfortunes and who also meddles in their internal affairs...
5 away from 30. →
loverfly:
One month from today I’ll be turning 25. I’m nervous, I’m absolutely terrified, I’m happy, I’m growing older, and it’s life. Things start getting real at certain age periods; 18: I’m “legal”, 21: I can get smashed, 25: I need to get my shit together, but 30! Dreaded 30 is right around the…
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Ninotchka
“Ninotchka: a 1939 American film by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch which stars Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas; written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch, based on a screen story by Melchior Lengyel; Greta Garbo’s first full comedy, and her penultimate film; one of the first American movies which, under cover of humorous light romance, depicts the Soviet Union...
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“WITH A SHRIEK BIRDS
FLEE ACROSS THE BLACK SKY,
PEOPLE ARE SILENT,
MY BLOOD...”
– Meša Selimović, a Bosnian writer quoted in Before the Rain, a Macedonian Film by Milčo Mančevski
… a cynical optimist …
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“I’ve worked with my fair share of jerks. I learned on the fly, making lots...”
– Cathie Black, soon-to-be NYC School Chancellor
“President Obama isolated ahead of 2012” is the kind of biased reporting that’s typical of politico.com. I am a Democrat who has worked on this election in a very conservative state for the last year. I see NO evidence of the kind of dissatisfaction that these reporters chronicle. It’s amazing to me that the President and the Democrats could achieve the kind of remarkable...
“This guy swept to power on a wave of adulation, and he learned the wrong lessons...”
– A Democratic official quoted in politico.com, President Obama isolated ahead of 2012
Sir William Arthur Lewis
Sir William Arthur Lewis (January 23, 1915 — June 15, 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist well known for his contributions in the field of economic development. In 1979 he won the Nobel Prize in Economics, becoming the first black person to win a Nobel Prize in a category other than peace. Lewis published in 1954 what was to be the most influential development economics article, “Economic...
“Sudan is passing through the most critical stage of its modern history and is...”
– Lam Akol, leader of SPLM for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC), South Sudan Referendum: First Things First
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The only opposition party MP speaks →
Girma Seifu—a member of Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, which is a member of MEDREK, a coalition of eight different parties—was the only opposition party candidate who managed to secure a seat in the May 2010 national elections in Ethiopia. The following is an excerpt of the interview he had with Ethiopian Reporter, a local newspaper:
Reporter: Do you consider yourself...
Republican House Victory
The Nov. 2, 2010, results of midterm elections for the US Congress:
US House: 185 seats for Democrats and 240 seats for Republicans, John Boehner replacing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House [Majority 218 seats, the House has 435 plus 6 non-voting members representing the People, representatives serve two-year terms, each State receives representation in the House in proportion to its...
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Traditional Themes with Warm Earthtones
The paintings of Fikru G/Mariam, an Ethiopian painter.
Fikru’s paintings have some traditional Ethiopian themes, along with warm African earthtones. Some of his paintings depict stylized elongated African masks, others are influenced by Harari women—who are highly decorative in the way they dress—and others are just purely abstract creations. — tribaltruth.org
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