May 2011
80 posts
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WatchRevolutionizing Education in Ethiopia
April 2011
46 posts
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“In 2006 I was sexually assaulted. I never expected to blog about it. One evening...”
– Silence Is The Enemy, Sheril Kirshenbaum
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Direct Democracy: Origin of the Species →
In October 1911, California adopted the three tools of modern direct democracy: referendums, recalls and initiatives. It was not the first state to do so. South Dakota had adopted initiatives in 1898, and Utah, Oregon, Montana, Oklahoma and other states had begun mixing their own cocktails of direct democracy from the three ingredients.
Californians thus explicitly chose a path that diverged...
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Rebellion: Smashing stereotypes of Arab women →
Arab Women have been at the forefront of various Arab uprisings, forging their own identity in the process.
… This new model of home grown women leaders, born out of revolutionary struggle, represents a challenge to two narratives, which, though different in detail, are similar in reference to the myth of Arab cultural singularity; they both dismiss Arab women as inert creatures devoid...
“Life, in its mental and spiritual aspects, is by necessity insecure and...”
– Erich Fromm
My thoughts n prayers with people in Arkansas, Missouri …
What a terrible storm!
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Ethiopian Coffee, original coffee →
Ethiopia has a lot of great attractions—castles, medieval cities, even werehyenas—yet the thing visitors rave about the most is the coffee.
… Most people arrive in the capital Addis Ababa first, and this is the place to try Ethiopian cafe culture at its best. There are hundreds of cafes throughout town, from chic Italian-style places to little roadside stands. In Ethiopian...
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“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in...”
– Albert Einstein
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I celebrate myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease … observing a spear of summer grass.
…
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.
The smoke of my own breath,
Echos, ripples, and buzzed whispers...
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Was Christianity plagiarized from pagan myths?
Easter was another name for Astarte or Istar, which were other names for the queen of heaven. This festival in ancient Babylonianism was a 40-day weeping period for Tammuz just prior to the festival of Astarte (or Istar or Easter), who was said to have received her son back from the dead; for it was taught that he was slain by a wild beast (boar). To him the egg was sacred, depicting the...
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Phonetic Clues Hint Language Is Africa-Born, duh! →
The world is just waking up to the obvious facts concerning the real Africa …
‘A researcher analyzing the sounds in languages spoken around the world has detected an ancient signal that points to southern Africa as the place where modern human language originated. … His study was prompted by a recent finding that the number of phonemes in a language increases with the number of...
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“The situation is pushing us. They are controlling us with the power of the gun,...”
– Jamo Luyombya, 24, a day laborer, Ugandan Food Protests Grow Violent, New York Times.
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“Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see...”
– Don Delillo
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The idea of being "well-read" ... →
If “well-read” means “not missing anything,” then nobody has a chance. If “well-read” means “making a genuine effort to explore thoughtfully,” then yes, we can all be well-read. But what we’ve seen is always going to be a very small cup dipped out of a very big ocean, and turning your back on the ocean to stare into the cup can’t change...
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“Nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first known.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci
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We are so over!! ... the world of Friends.
In one of the Friends episodes, when Rachel found a new job with the help of a stranger, Ross obviously became jealous, and so he got drunk and had sex with the girl from the copy place, Bonnie. Rachel found out what happened and they broke up. Ross, after he broke up with Rachel, had to choose between Bonnie and Rachel. He chose Rachel, of course, but Rachel wrote him 18...
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Street Art →
Amazing art … in the ‘museum’ of Street Utopia … must see!
… ˌefərˈvesənt …
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When the mind does what the heart desires, either magic or sh*t happenz … and when the heart does what the mind desires, it just pumps blood.
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‘Afro Optimist’ …
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WatchPrime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya speaking on the democratization process or its lackthereof in Africa at Center for Strategic & International Studies.
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Meet Abel Tesfaye (aka TheWeeknd) →
The 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Toronto is on the forefront of an idiosyncratic new cut of R&B. Thanks in part to support from fellow Toronto native Drake, he’s been in heavy rotation since the March 21st release of his mixtape debut House of Balloons. — Rollingstone
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Anonymous asked: so what is with all this silence? very disappointing son. :)
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i carry your heart
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is...
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“… ተስፋ አንቁረጥ። አንድ ጊዜ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሆነን ተፈጥረናልና!”
– አልወለድም በአቤ ጉበኛ
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“Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something,...”
– The Alchemist
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“For a country to have a great writer is like having another government....”
–
The First Circle, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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New York African Film Festival @ Lincoln Center →
There will be two films that particularly focus on Ethiopia: Shooting with Mursi, and Lezare. And many other interesting films repping the continent!
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Meklit Hadero →
Meklit Hadero: An amazing, San Francisco based—New York raised, Ethiopian American musician, songwriter, and performer! Check her out! Her voice will take your breath away … especially when she sings live on stage!
Get her “on a day like this” album, and listen to her “wake up” track as many times as you can—absolutely beautiful, my favorite piece!
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