Tag: Ethiopia

Closing Thought–26Feb20

How to counter fake news…..well Ethiopia has passed a new law to do just that…counter fake news…..

Ethiopia’s parliament, the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR), has passed a law aimed at combating fake news and curbing hate speech.

The passage comes three months after the cabinet led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, approved it and forwarded it to the house. It is known as the Hate Speech and Misinformation Law and was approved with a majority vote, 23 against and 2 abstentions.

Core planks of the new law include:

  • Prevent individuals from engaging in speech that incites violence, promote hatred and discrimination against a person or a group.
  • Promote tolerance, civil discourse and dialogue, mutual respect and understanding and strengthening democratic governance.
  • Control and suppress the dissemination and proliferation of hate speech, disinformation and other related false and misleading information.
  • Prohibits disseminating hate speech by means of broadcasting, print or social media using text, image, audio or video.

“It is deemed necessary to enact the law because the nation cannot address problems arising from hate speeches and fake news with existing laws,” a November 2019 statement issued from the council of ministers said.

Social media has been identified as one of the main avenues used to incite ethically tinged violence leading to deaths and displacements in East Africa’s most populous nation. The law also comes with months to keenly awaited elections.

The country is currently listed among global leaders in the area of internally displaced people. Ethiopia, as Africa’s second most populous nation, had a restrictive media space prior to April 2018 and the coming into office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Sticking by his reform promise, Abiy released hundreds of political prisoners, jailed press men and opened up the media landscape. Under his watch, media outlets previously banned were allowed to return and operate in the country.

Social media has however been a blessing and headache for Abiy. His office has effectively used Twitter and Facebook to project work being done by government.

But the platform has also been blamed for the rise in the spread of fake news and the peddling of hate speech. As expected the new law continues to receive backlash from journalists and human rights activists especially.

(africanews.com)

But then who decides what is true and what is fake?

That eternal question….and fodder for so many blog posts.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ethiopia–A Rising Star?

During the Cold War the East African nation of Ethiopia was on the front lines in our struggle with the USSR….it was a perfect region for the gathering of Sigint…..but has been happening since the end of the Cold War?

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea in the late 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades.

Ethiopia is a cog in our responses on the Horn of Africa….plus the renegade nation of Somalia is next door and from time to time has bucked the influence of Ethiopia in the region…..but their “friendship” with the US these days helps their star to rise in the Horn…..

When we think of countries competing for power and influence in the Horn of Africa, a short list of candidates comes to mind: the U.S., Iran, China, Russia, Turkey and various European powers. Notably absent from this list are countries from within the region itself. But this may be about to change. Ethiopia has recently launched a number of political, economic and foreign policy reforms aimed at redefining the country internally and externally. These moves are a sign that Addis Ababa wants to increase its influence in the region and might be laying the groundwork to emerge as a regional power.

Ethiopia is uniquely positioned to take on this role. It has a history of resisting foreign intervention and remaining, for the most part, free of external domination in a region that was widely colonized by European powers. Now, as the presence of foreign powers grows, Ethiopia will need to become more assertive if it wants to compete for influence with these outside forces. But it has a number of challenges with which it must contend if it is to project power beyond its borders. This Deep Dive will examine the country’s history that has led it to this unique point in time and the conditions it must meet before it will be able to wield more influence in the region.

https://geopoliticalfutures.com/ethiopia-regional-power-making/

Older Than We Thought?

As my regulars may know is that my daughter and I have this running battle about Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons ……that debate is ongoing….but that is not about this piece I read…

It is commonly known that “Lucy” found in Ethiopia in the decades gone by was maybe the first human to walk upright…..  but wait!  we have a new candidate…….

It’s just a small piece of a jawbone with five teeth, but its discovery in Ethiopia is changing the timeline of human origins. Researchers say the bone is from an individual who lived 2.8 million years ago and belonged to the genus Homo, the lineage from which modern humans emerged. In fact, this is the earliest known member of the group ever found—by about 400,000 years, reports AP. A student from Arizona State University found the fossil in 2013 in the same general area where one of the most famous fossils in history was discovered, that of “Lucy,” an ape-like ancestor that lived about 3 million years ago. The newly discovered fossil might be the link between Lucy, or Australopithecus afarensis, and the first primitive humans, reports the BBC.

“That’s what we are arguing,” says Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. “By finding this jaw bone we’ve figured out where that trajectory started. This is the first Homo. It marks in all likelihood a major adaptive transition.” It’s not clear yet whether the fossil belongs to a species of Homo previously known, such as Homo habilis, or is an entirely new one, reports the Guardian. An expert from George Washington University not involved with the find says it seems safe to conclude that the creature was either at the start of the Homo line or “within shouting distance.”

They keep finding these older and older evidence of our ancestors…..but so fare NO one has confirmed that ancient aliens had anything to do with it……but some keep hoping.

Dangers Of Being A Moron!

It is the weekend and as usual I have found a story that is NOT part of the driving stories of politics….as a political geek, it hurts me to write about something other than politics or economic…..but I try to be a well rounded blog……so with that said….OFF WE GO!

We have all seen the stories of this camper getting lost in the woods or that climber that has been overdue back at base and then the massive amount of rescue attempts to find these people…helicopters, people, dogs and well, the usual rescue stuff……and each of these tries cost millions to either state, local or federal governments…..

Well, my feeling is that the people that go up Mt. Hood in winter and then get caught by a storm or such….should be liable for the cost….if these people are not bright enough to know what happens then they need to pay the piper…regardless of the cost….

I bring all this up because of a situation in the Indian Ocean…..a Danish couple and their 3 children have been nailed by pirates off Ethiopia……..but there is more to this story that just that….

On a blog on which they chronicled their voyage, they reported that they had drawn up a “pirate plan” in case of attack. They sent daily position reports to naval authorities. They were comforted by the sight of anti-piracy patrol planes overhead. And they thought the vastness of the sea would help protect them.Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, Birgit Marie Johansen, and their sons, Rune and Hjalte, and daughter, Naja, ages 12 to 16, were captured by pirates Thursday in the Indian Ocean. Two adult Danish crew members also were seized in the attack on the Johansens’ 43-foot sailboat.

Please do not try to justify this!  They we well aware of where they were and what the possible consequences could be……that makes them…MORONS!  A “pirate plan”?  The pirates have massive fire power and unless this idiot had a howitzer mounted on his yacht, then it was NOT going to end well!  Any person that would put his family in that sort of danger is a MORON!  There is NO justification for this…everybody that can read is well aware the capability of these pirates and the violence that they have NO problem bringing to the table…..
If these people get out of this situation…..charges should be brought against the parents of the three children for endangering their lives…then there should be a “stupid” fine and the loss of his sea privileges….then maybe these sanctimonious a/holes will think twice before putting anyone else’s life in danger……
An arrogant a/hole that had ALL the answers!  I would almost pay to have the pirates pistol whip this guy and his wife for putting their children in this much danger……..