Haters on the loose...

WOooooooow, I did not see this coming.....
It's so wrong in many levels!
1. to assume the Ethiopian public does not deserve any entertainment.
2. to assume every problem, wrong and issue has to be resolved before businesses, individuals, etc.. embark on a venture, that venture being the entertainment business...
3. to link this the any political situation that is.
4.
5. To discourage any potential for a growing entertainment industry to play a role in the financial sector of the country. I question: “should that potential, be ignored, sidelined or maybe shut down”?

As for the mentioned "intellectual" property issue; could it not be worked out via a deal or whatever with the local Copyright holders in Addis? I am sure there are other similar issues all over the world that are sorted out in a legal and satisfying manner to both parties. So why did the author not think of that? Is so insulting....
Or maybe the whole thing might not be financially viable to one party or the other and get closed down, sold or whatever business-nature has in store for it.

And also, about this copyright business, in this situation, it feels so greedy.
Has the presentation of a news show ever been copyrighted? Should we all come up with different ways of presenting and broadcasting the news? How about the circus, if an Ethiopian circus is in business, should they pay fees for intellectual property to the idea holder?
How about cooking shows; there is one in Ethiopia. Sould it be liable to the US food network channel for the idea? How about a way of dancing? Can Ethiopians hold the patent to eskesta? This could get ridiculous.

I am amazed by those who write these types of opinions. They seem to know the pulse of the public in the country from wherever they are, and I bet they are not in Ethiopia. Given the chance, if for example, the person with that opinion was to become part of the leadership of the nation; would he/she tell the entertainment industry (by the way the industry has recently surfaced in a positive and entrepreneurial way), "guys, close up shop, we have other important issues to deal with!"? From idea the author is projecting, that seems be his tone, had he been in the leadership.
What then? Will he be applauded, for being so focused on resolving big issues?
Or will he be labeled stupid, idiot, moron, controlling, etc…

T.

Here is the article…
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Pop goes a nation’s sense of priority
Pop Idol, the television programme in which people who can’t sing are insulted by some other people of no world-historical importance, has taken off in a big way in Ethiopia; record ratings and so on.
They even have their own equivalent of Simon Cowell — a musician called Feleke Hailu who is so nasty to the contestants that on one occasion he was hit with a stick.
The Ethiopians, however, have not obtained permission to make their own version of Pop Idol and FremantleMedia, the London-based company that owns the intellectual copyright for the format, intends to make them pay up.
What a strange thing over which to hold “intellectual” copyright. And it seems a bit of a shame, too, that in their legitimate desire to acquire the accoutrements of First World civilisation, the Ethiopians should have got Pop Idol first, well before, say, competent democratic governance, respect for human rights and food.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-1974871,00.html

Ethiopian Idol in full swing...

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"...Most of the time I tell [contestants] to go back to their old jobs, forget about a career in singing," he said. "Or I tell them they sing like donkeys. Sometimes they get angry. The girls burst into tears, and a few weeks ago one singer threw a stick at me after I told him he had failed to get through to the next round.
"The problem is in our culture it is not common to tell the truth or criticise. People cannot take criticism..."

"..I am a very good singer but the judges kept saying I had serious problems reaching the high notes," said Natinel. "They did not even listen to me. What they have done is a very bad thing. They made me look a fool..."



"...Medina Mohammed, 17, a student who made it to the next round after travelling some 200 miles from the Afar region to compete, said her family watches in a bar. "We love it," she said.
"Feleke wasn't too tough, but his reputation had made me nervous," added Medina, who has tribal scars on her cheeks and performed in the multicoloured beads and red cloth of her Afar ethnic group, singing a traditional love song. The judges described her voice as "honey-like..."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story
/0,3604,1681083,00.html

Also:
http://www.news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/01/wethiop01.xml&sSheet=/
news/2006/01/01/ixworld.html


http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment
/Spotlight/2006/01/08/1384403-sun.html

Pictures: The first one is of Jony Ragga (not related to the show), the second is of Medina Mohammed ,a contestant, and the last is of a music producer, Dagmawi Ali (not related to the show).

Qinijit has died and gone to heaven!?

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But has now made a come-back as a spirit!
Following is a funny article on the claim of Qinijit's spiritual status.
Maybe the Catholic chruch should canonize the organization as saintly in the year 2020.


__________________________________By: Mulugeta Aserate Kassa3rd, January 2006.

If Kinijit is a Spirit, then Ethiopia is a bon-fire waiting to happen.

When I first read the extraordinary claim by the paleo-consrvative, not to say ultra-right CUD leadership, that the Coalition of Unity and Democracy has morphed itself into “a spirit,” I just brushed it aside as one of the never-ending gaffes of Kinijit. But now its Diaspora ‘satellites’ have started echoing similar sentiments, I thought it proper to mug it before it strikes again at the minds and hearts of gullible Ethiopians. Mind you, not only are the cemeteries of Addis Ababa full of men and women who had thought that Ethiopia would die the moment their heart-beat stopped, but still alive and kicking are those who vividly remember our political masters of yesteryears making claims to divinity. So what’s wrong with the CUD claiming to be a spirit may sound a plausible argument under the circumstances. But when a supposedly literati-studded party like Kinijit unashamedly claims to be a spirit at the dawn of the 21st century, it is sinful to stand and stare while this spirit of hate and division is attempting to make its presence felt among hyphenated Ethiopians around the world.
The best place to deal with a spirit is none other than the Scriptures where copious readings are available in order to ward us off from harmful spirits. In one of his pastoral letters, the apostle John – who is also the author of the Gospel of John – admonishes us to test the spirits when he said: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”(NIV) By Jove, do we need to test the spirit of Kinijit!
The Germans who had borne the brunt of Nazi brutality during the Second World War have come up with the word Shadenfreude to describe the unappetizing act of getting pleasure in the misfortunes or embarrassment of others. So, those who insist that Kinijit is a spirit have to come to terms with the naked truth that it is ‘the spirit Shadenfreude.’ How else do you explain the spirit that prompts you to hate a man simply because you don’t happen to like his ethnic back-ground? What kind of spirit urges you to avoid Mr A because Mr A happens to support a party of his choice? How else do you explain the spirit that nudges you to send money to the unemployed of Addis so that he/she would sacrifice their life and limb in a street riot, only to see you secure a position of authority in a government formed by violent, rather than non-violent means? How else can you describe the spirit that made you jump on your feet in London at media reports of the withdrawal of EU aid to unfortunate Ethiopians when, you are, in fact, a beneficiary of the British welfare system yourself? That must be the irony of all ironies! What name do you give to the spirit that glues you to the Eritrean Television at a time when that State is in a state of belligerency not with Meles per se but with your brothers and sisters back home? What kind of a spirit anaesthetized you enough so that you were able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shabea – who once described gallant Amharas as “Hadgi” (asinine) – outside 10 Downing Street in mid-December 2005?
That is why I staunchly believe that (a) it is incredulous for a party to regard itself as a spirit, and (b) even if its gung-ho and smear-aholic supporters in the Diaspora insists that Kinijit is a spirit, then Ethiopia is a bon-fire waiting to happen.

State of progress in the international arena...

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The UN, on the border issue between ETh and ERi

"...But Ethiopia rejected the decision and Eritrea refused to hold new talks on it, creating the current impasse.

Eritrea then grounded U.N. helicopter flights in October and imposed other restrictions on peacekeepers. That prompted both sides to move troops and arms nearer to the border, stoking fears of a resumption of fighting along the border.

While Ethiopia has since agreed to pull back its troops, in line with a Security Council request, Eritrea has refused to do so, saying the troops on its side were actually militia fighters "carrying out agricultural activities," Annan said.

U.N. officials say the restrictions have made it harder for them to monitor troop movements, supply U.N. outposts and conduct emergency medical evacuations.

Among Annan's options for future mission changes were moving its headquarters to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, from the Eritrean capital Asmara, changing the operation into an observer mission with limited monitoring and conflict-prevention capabilities, and downgrading the mission to a liaison office with even less ability to monitor the border and prevent a fresh outbreak of war..."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03300422.htm

Southern ETH...

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Landscape and a Surma tribesman in Ethiopia - Picture from BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery
/05/africa_ethiopia0s_remote_people/html/1.stm