Bekele’s Greatness Hidden in Bolt’s Shadow

BERLIN — It is the age of Usain Bolt in track and field, as Bolt reminds us by showing off before and after he blows away world records and fields of fast, muscular men. But there is a more subtle message and athlete equally worthy of our attention at these world championships.
“What more can I do?” Kenenisa Bekele asked on Wednesday.
On the track, Bolt and Bekele, — Jamaica’s finest and Ethiopia’s finest — are polar opposites. Bolt dominates the shortest distance, 100 meters. Bekele dominates the longest, 10,000. Bolt is tall and wired for self-amusement. Bekele is small, not muscular and, despite some recent attempts to summon his inner showman, comfortable keeping his thoughts to himself.
But they are both on historic romps, racking up Olympic and world championship gold medals and thwarting inspired opposition. Bolt did it to Tyson Gay in the 100 meters on Sunday and Bekele did it to Zersenay Tadese in the 10,000 on Monday when Tadese took the only tactically sound option available and tried to wear out Bekele before the final lap.
Bekele, smooth to the point of hypnotic, continued to glide comfortably along on Tadese’s heels, brutally fast lap after brutally fast lap. And when it was time for the last lap, the 25th, the Ethiopian accelerated on command to win his fourth consecutive world championship in the 10,000.
“When he kicks like that, there’s nothing you can do,” Tadese said.
Many athletes hit the finish and shut down, having timed their effort and measured their reserves to the meter. But Bekele looked capable of continuing to run if some mischievous soul had extended the finish line. It is his hallmark, apparent when I first saw him run and win the world cross country championships on a converted horse racing track in Dublin in 2002.
“The man has a special talent for someone so young,” said Wilberforce Talel, one of the Kenyans whom Bekele beat that weekend.
More than seven years later, Bekele, who is still only 27, has not squandered that talent. He has never lost at 10,000 meters and holds world records in the 5,000 and the 10,000 that once belonged to his Ethiopian measuring stick, Haile Gebrselassie. In a sign of his versatility, Bekele has won 11 individual gold medals at the world cross country championships, which matter to Ethiopians.
Like Bolt, Bekele pulled off a rare individual double at last year’s Olympics in Beijing, winning the 5,000 and 10,000. And like Bolt, who cruised comfortably into the 200 final on Wednesday night by winning his semifinal in 20.08 seconds, Bekele will be trying for another double in Berlin. On Wednesday he confirmed that he will try to become the first man to win the 5,000 and 10,000 at a world championships.
Bekele may make it look easy, but it should not be taken lightly. Consider Tirunesh Dibaba, the Ethiopian woman who doubled in the 5,000 and 10,000 in Beijing and who was unable to start either race here because of a left foot injury.
“The timing is right; it’s a good challenge for me,” Bekele said. “Nobody’s done this, and I like the chance to be the best in history.”
But Bekele and his camp know that even if he pulls off the double, he will not steal much of Bolt’s thunder.
“It’s a pity, because it’s like a Bolt party,” said Bekele’s manager Jos Hermans.
“People like the 100 meters more maybe,” Bekele said. “If you are a successful fast man, you are getting more attention. But I can’t do anything about that. I really don’t know what else I can do.”
Winning the 5,000 on Sunday would help. So would following the Gebrselassie template by enduring, excelling and continuing to test negative. There is more oversight now than in the 1990s when there was no testing for EPO, the performance-boosting drug abused in many endurance sports.
But what separates Bekele, like Gebrselassie, from the pack is not just his medal count. It is his elegant style, which makes you forget just how demanding distance running at this level ought to be.
It has not always been easy for Bekele. In 2005, his fiancee Alem Techale collapsed and died during a training run with Bekele in Ethiopia and Bekele carryied her lifeless body in a vain search for help. Bekele is now married to Ethiopian actress Danawit Gebregziabher.
After his triumph in Beijing, he pushed himself too hard in an attempt to set a 15-kilometer road record, developing a bone bruise in his ankle in November. “It was close to a stress fracture,” Hermens said. “He missed three or four months of proper training.”
But after skipping the world cross-country championships in Jordan, he looks to be back in peak form and may even go after his 5,000 world record of 12 minutes, 37.35 seconds in the one-night meet in Zurich later this month.
He and Gebrselassie, friendly but not friends, represent a continuum. Bekele’s plan is to stay on the track through the 2012 Olympics and then move on to the roads and the marathon, where Gebrselassie now makes his living and where he set the world record of 2:03.59 last year.
“It’s good that he has Haile to compare himself with,” said Hermens, the Dutchman who manages them both.
Their paths overlapped early in Bekele’s career, when he beat Gebrselassie in the 10,000 at the 2003 world championships and in the 2004 Olympics, it is unlikely that they will overlap much on the road.
So Bekele is still looking not just for a challenge but a challenger. “I’m still waiting to see who is beating me?” he said.
For now, fair or unfair, he is losing only to Bolt.

Renting out unexercised votes: The 2010 Ethiopian Election

July 22, 2009
"Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives... The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures." Article 21, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948In the investing world, whence I borrowed the term vote renting, there is a process, not supported by many, by which an investor borrows shares in order to vote on a transaction to secure a desired outcome.My fear is that in the 2010 election the EPRDF-led Ethiopian government will employ a deliberate scheme to ´rent out´ the unexercised votes of millions of disgruntled citizens and declare EPRDF a winner. But, for democracy to work, the consent of the governed is a must. As the most fundamental concept of democracy, it means that citizens have the right to choose their leaders in free, fair, and regular elections. Other rights are fundamental to democracy too. Yet the right to elect one's representatives and to influence the political direction of one's government is democracy's indispensable political foundation.Without free elections, citizens cannot express their will and thus do not have the opportunity to change their leaders, address wrongs, or protest the limitation of their rights. Free elections establish the citizenry's and the individual's political rights.
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That is why world history is replete with stories of millions of people braving violence, intimidation, and other obstacles to demand the right to express their will through the ballot box.

8th ANNUAL CULTURAL STREET FESTIVAL IN LITTLE ETHIOPIA

8th ANNUAL CULTURAL STREET FESTIVAL IN LITTLE ETHIOPIA
Newswire Services
August 18, 2009
Los Angeles - Little Ethiopia Business Association invites everybody to the 8th Annual Cultural Street Festival on September 13, 2009 from 2-8pm on Fairfax Avenue between Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Avenue in the heart of Little Ethiopia. Each year this exciting event is attended by thousands and this year is going to be no different.Besides the usual exotic shops, street-lined booths, world-renowned restaurants and the beautiful aroma of spices and coffee, the event will include an entertainment presentation with guest speakers, as well as performances from cultural dance and music groups. The Association is working in partnership to present an International Unity Parade to take place beginning at 12pm. The parade will start at the corner of Pico and Fairfax and head north to Whitworth and Fairfax. Little Ethiopia Business Association has prepared a memorable day and invites all to enjoy the delights of one of the oldest cultures in the world. BACKGROUND ON LITTLE ETHIOPIA DISTRICT OF LOS ANGELESIn 2004, former Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn officially branded the neighborhood as Little Ethiopia.Over a 10-year period, a number of Ethiopian restaurants and specialty store businesses slowly began to relocate to a strip on Fairfax Avenue. The neighborhood was soon transformed from an abandoned boarded up drive-by strip into a hub for community life, buzzing with colors, aroma, and affability of Ethiopian´s ancestral home. As years passed, Ethiopians and Angelinos began to label the area as "Little Addis", "Little Ethiopia", and "Ethiopian Restaurant Row".The chain of events that led to the fruition of Little Ethiopia began when Meron Ahadu and Tirsit Asrat organized a fundraising for Congressman Mervyn Dymally, who played a key role in the mid 80´s in helping Ethiopians get amnesty. At the time, he was running for a seat in the California State Assembly. Unfortunately, the turnout by the Ethiopian community was disappointing. Nonetheless, it was at this event that the idea of Little Ethiopia was put forth and the Congressman pledged his support.Five women came together to plan another benefit for the Congressman with a goal to get better participation from the Ethiopian community. It was at this time that the need became apparent to form a non-partisan organization that stood for an increased involvement of the Ethiopian community in the U.S. democratic process. Hence, the Ethiopian-American Advocacy Group (EAAG) was established. In addition to raising funds for Congressman Dymally, the function held on July 26, 2002 was the launching ceremony of EAAG. Various city and state officials attended this highly successful event. One of the short-term projects presented at this occasion was Little Ethiopia and it won the support of Herb Wesson, Speaker of the House for the California State Assembly, and Councilman Nate Holden of District 10, where Little Ethiopia was proposed to be located.
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On August 7, 2002, the motion to name Little Ethiopia was presented to the Los Angeles City Council. Consequently, as a result of aggressive lobbying of several political personalities by EAAG members, the City Council voted unanimously to designate the area on Fairfax Avenue, between Olympic and Pico, as Little Ethiopia. The enormous support and candid enthusiasm of the City Council members and the larger Ethiopian community came as a pleasant surprise to many, even to those who worked on the project. A highly successful street festival organized by the community followed on November 24, 2002, to inaugurate the area as Little Ethiopia. A one-block stretch of Fairfax was closed to through traffic for a street festival featuring children´s village, cultural dance and music, fashion show and contemporary Ethiopian music. Approximately 5,000 people attended the festival from all walks of life and congratulations were received from around the globe. City officials and community leaders unveiled the sign designating the place as Little Ethiopia and thus the area was renamed bearing Ethiopia´s name.This event was truly significant in many respects; firstly, this was the first time in the entire history of the United States that a city has recognized an African country by naming an area after it. Secondly, Little Ethiopia is the only place outside of Ethiopia that bears the name of the motherland. As one drives through the area, it is difficult to ignore the official sign designating the area. There are 65,000 Ethiopians in Southern California and more than 500,000 Ethiopians in the U.S.

(The commitee need to reconsider the coming month of Ramadan if it really want partcipation of all Ethiopians on the event) Nazrett

Ethiopian Women Found Dead in Austin Texsa (Murder Sucied?)

Updated: 8/18/2009 5:26 PMBy: News 8 Austin Staff
A female from a Northwest Austin murder suicide has been identified by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.
Senait Worku Abebe, 26, was the apparent victim of a murder suicide Monday. She was found dead with another male in an apartment off of Parmer Lane.
Sheriff's deputies got a call to check on the person who lived in the apartment Monday, but when they knocked on the door, no one answered. According to deputies, there wasn't enough suspicion for them to enter the apartment, so they left.
The apartment manager ended up finding the two after she received a call later that day asking her to check on the tenant.
Williamson County Detectives are still working on notifying the next of kin for the male found in the apartment.
Police aren't sure what type of relationship the two had.
The case is still under investigation.

Kenya: TV Series Sparks Diplomatic Row

Nairobi — Ethiopia sent a stiff protest to Kenya on Thursday, seeking to stop the Nation Media Group from airing a television programme on a rebel movement fighting the Addis Ababa Government.
Kenya's ambassador was summoned to the Ethiopian Foreign ministry as the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi launched a diplomatic offensive to block NTV's four-part investigative report on the Oromo Liberation Front, which went on air last night.
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It was the climax of a dramatic week in which Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, Mr Disasa Dirribsa, first sent a protest letter to the Nation Media Group after NTV began promoting its exclusive series on the secretive guerrilla group based in southern Ethiopia.
Ethiopia accused NTV of lending support to an unlawful organisation and warned that airing the programme could undermine relations with Kenya.
Appeals to cancel the series were backed by Kenya's Foreign ministry, which argued that Kenya's national interests were at stake in the diplomatic row.
The Ethiopian embassy wrote to the Nation Media Group dismissing the OLF as "a terrorist group whose activities have been known to be anti-democratic and anti-peace".
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Mr Dirribsa wrote: "It is a minority group whose agenda runs parallel to the aspirations of the Oromo people. Indeed, OLF has been totally rejected by the overwhelming majority of the Oromo population, who are exercising and enjoying their democratic rights."
He said airing the programme confirmed suspicion of a larger conspiracy to "speak for these terrorist elements in our sub-region, leading us to question NTV's covert or overt political agenda".
In the programme, NTV ventures into the OLF infested territory in south western Ethiopia to demystify a guerrilla outfit that has fought successive Ethiopian governments for over three decades.
The NTV crew spent five days travelling through the rough and dusty terrain cutting through Isiolo and Marsabit to Moyale at the Kenya-Ethiopia border, where an OLF linkman smuggled them into the rebels' bases on the Ethiopian side.
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So shadowy is the OLF leadership that it took the NTV crew three years to make contact with the rebels.
For three days, journalists witnessed first-hand the punishing training the OLF recruits undergo in the rough terrain.
As part of the pressure to block NTV, which is owned by the Nation Media Group, from airing the programme, Kenya's ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr Franklin Esipila, was summoned by the the Foreign ministry in Addis Ababa.
Several meetings have been held between Foreign Affairs ministry officials, the Ethiopian embassy and Nation Media Group management to lobby for the withdrawal of the programme, but to no avail.
Broke ranks
Relevant Links
The Oromo Liberation Front is a separatist outfit formed in 1973 to champion the liberation of the Oromo people from Ethiopian rule.
However, a large portion of the ethnic group participate in Ethipian politics and are even in the government.
Fighting alongside rebel forces under the command of Mr Zenawi, the OLF was instrumental in the overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The OLF later broke ranks with Mr Zenawi's transitional government.
Ethiopian forces and rebels have been accused of crossing into the Kenyan border districts of Moyale and Marsabit.
The Turbi massacre of 2005 in which 60 people were killed in Marsabit was blamed on the war between Ethiopian Government forces and the OLF.

Dibaba deals Ethiopia medal blow, Robles struggles

By Luke Phillips (AFP) – 4 hours ago
BERLIN — Ethiopian world medal hopes were dealt a further blow Wednesday when Olympic champion and world recorder holder Tirunesh Dibaba pulled out of the women's 5000m here.
Cuba's Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles was also left uncertain for the semi-finals of the 110m hurdles after battling through his heat with an injured left lead leg to eventually clock the slowest time of all qualifiers.
Dibaba, a two-time world champion over the 5000m (2003 and 2005) who is also the Olympic 10,000m champion, had already pulled out of the longer race last weekend after suffering from an ankle injury all season.
Turkey's Ethiopian-born double Olympic silver medallist Elvan Abeylegesse, who pulled up during the 10,000m race, also failed to start the 5000m.
It was instead Dibaba's arch-rival and compatriot Meseret Defar, the reigning world champion, who set the fastest qualifying time, winning her heat in 15min 15.45sec.
"I pushed the pace because I've been a little bit sick and I wanted to see how my body would respond," said Defar. "I feel okay. I'm pleased I qualified because I really want to win the final."
She will be accompanied in Saturday's final by a trio of team-mates - Sentayeju Ejigu, Meselech Melkamu and Genzebe Dibaba.
Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot, Sylvia Kibet and Iness Chenonge all also looked comfortable while progressing at a sun-baked Olympic Stadium.
There looked like being an upset brewing in the 110m hurdles when Robles found himself in sixth place at the halfway mark of his heat.
Robles, sporting a bandaged left thigh under his singlet, fairly laboured over the first five hurdles with his lead left leg failing to snap out over the hurdle.
But he somehow managed to find the reserves to pull through the field and sneak into third in 13.67sec.
"I feel pain in my left thigh," Robles admitted. "I don't know what's going on. I thought it was only a small problem but now I know that I really have a problem.
"I cannot say that I'll continue to run or not. I'll talk with the physiotherapist and doctor, and we'll see.
"I promised Fidel Castro to bring home the gold medal for him and I want to keep my promise. I am a warrior and I will fight."
There was also not a good start to the day for Robles' fellow Cuban Leonel Suarez in the decathlon, which saw Jamaica's reigning.
American Trey Hardee ran a very decent 10.45sec, long jumped a best of 7.83m and recorded a best shot put of 15.33m to lead the overall standings after three events on 2,814 points.
Suarez, the Olympic bronze medallist and firm pre-event favourite for the 10-sport, two-day event in the absence of American Olympic champion Bryan Clay, only managed 11.13sec in the 100m, 7.24m in the long jump and 15.20m in the shot, sitting 14th out of the 38 starting competitors.
There was earlier heartbreak for reigning world silver medallist Maurice Smith of Jamaica who pulled up during the 100m with what looked like a hamstring injury.
In qualification for the women's discus throw, Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton failed to hit the minimum standard of 61.50m, managing a best of 61.23m but progressing as one of the top 12 finishers.
"This will hopefully stimulate me to my best in the final because I consider myself as an underdog," the American said.
The opening heats of the women's 200m were cancelled because of the low number of entrants and those entered will now go straight into the quarter-finals in the evening session later Wednesday.