Top 15 Highlights of year 2012 [in Ethiopia & the Horn]
1. Best Person of the Year: The Ethiopian people. (for the amazing decency and civility during Meles Zenawi’s illness and after his passing on Aug. 20 at 11:20pm local time)
2. Conspiracy Theory of the Year: “Meles Zenawi was poisoned at the Food Security Summit in Washington D.C.” (As much as I don’t trust the American plutocrats, I don’t believe they do that on their soil)
3. Joke of the Year: The disclaimer by the opposition TV, ESAT, in early August, saying that “we didn’t confirm if Meles is dead, our previous news was based on hearsay. Please don’t quote us on this matter ”.
4. Scandal of the Year in the International media: “Skype is banned in Ethiopia”. (No apologies yet, except for Reporters Sans Frontiers). (Click here for a full coverage)
5. Noteworthy Analyst of the Year: Abiye Teklemariam. (Probably the first to urge the opposition camp to stop day dreaming about a revolution by PM Hailemariam Desalegne)
6. Irony of the Year: Both the ruling party and the Orthodox Church lost their leaders; the political succession proved to be faster and smoother than the religious one.
7. Best Speaker of the year. Mrs. Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN. (read her speech here – link)
8. Hypocrisy of the Year: Westerner’s continue to accuse Iranian Pres. Ahmedinejadin for Holocaust denial, yet continue flirting with Ethiopian Holocaust glorifier Eskinder Nega in spite of evidences revealed by this blog. (Click here)
9. Coarse Statement of the Year: Tamrat Negera’s (Addis Neger) claim on Facebook that His Holiness Abune Paulos Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church died due to Viagra. (The statement earned him a flood of stern rebukes – see here (link))
10. Dumbest Man of the Year: Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who said, during Meles Zenawi’s illness, “[we are] very concerned about Ethiopia, knowing how fragile the politics are there”. (But the world is worried much more about a probable carnage in March 2013 in Kenya!)
11. Disappointment of the year: South Sudan tried to solve problems with Sudan by military force. Another Eritrea in the making?
12. Promising News of the Year: Somalia‘s election. Hold your breath, this could be the end of an era.
13. Wearisome News of the Year: Kenya’s long, very long battle to reach Al-Shabaab controlled Kismyou port, just 120 Km away from her border. They finally succeeded with international help.
14. Inspiration of the Year: The Walyas, who electrified the still-mourning nation, in October, by qualifying for the African Football Cup after 31 years.
15. Best Artist Work of the Year: Tagel Seifu’s Poem – sarcastically titled "Tekeflon Aneban" (roughly trans. as "yes, we were paid to mourn Meles Zenawi’s passing)
*******************
Bonus: Noteworthy posts on this Blog in 2012:
* On Meles Zenawi’s health | Is the Premier back in town? (the most read article and also cited by International Crisis Group’s report alongside other posts in this blog)
* Skype me? Indeed | Text of Ethiopia’s draft Telecom Law (cited by Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s weekly journal’s review of the Skype saga).
* Others, include: Rare Photos of Meles Zenawi’s grave, and Ethiopia’s transition: What lies beneath the haste and pause, and On Eskinder Nega | Setting the record straight, and Ethiopia: Gay-bashing, to what end?.
[A version of this list was first posted on my Facebook Timeline.]
**************
Please check the archives for more on the issues raised above.
* This article is published as part of the “Post-Meles 2012″ Special Edition of this blog.
Comments
5 Responses to “Top 15 Highlights of year 2012 [in Ethiopia & the Horn]”Trackbacks
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[...] *Top 15 highlights of year 2012 (Daniel) ************************** "Of course, Meles didn’t believe in “bedtime stories, contrived arguments linking economic growth with democracy”. Both historical evidences and development theories prove him right." *In Defense Of Meles Zenawi (Merkeb) [...]
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[...] Top 15 Highlights of year 2012 [Ethiopian & the Horn] (danielberhane.com) [...]
Blogger of the year / as is every year – Daniel Berhane
you fucken blogger almost out of 15 half of them are about that boolshit Meles . pls bro don’t be biased to this level. If you think rationally their was many things to be covered in your top 15 list.
Daniel please add #16: The most Idiot professor of the year Professor Messay Kebede:
Please look at Professor Messay Kebede’s Ratings with the link below:
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=485054&all=true
Messay Kebede
School: University of Dayton
Location: Dayton, OH
Department: Philosophy
2.1
OVERALL QUALITY
2.2
HELPFULNESS
2.0
CLARITY
2.6
EASINESS
0
HOTNESS
Number of ratings 41
User Comments and
Ratings
Professor Rebuttals
DATE
CLASS
RATING
COMMENT
1/15/13
ASI374
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
Sounds like he’s on an oxygen
tank, spoon feeds the readings,
is vague about grading, & is a
difficult grader. Took a quiz,
received a B-, was
disappointed, couldn’t read
one of his comments, & when
asked him what he wrote, he
couldn’t read his own
handwriting
Report this rating
11/8/12
PHL103
Good Quality
Easiness
5
Helpfulness
5
Clarity
5
Rater Interest
3
Dr. Kebede is a great
professor. Granted philosophy
isn’t what most people are
interested in, he still does a
great job explaining different
things you will talk about. As
long as you continually keep
an open mind and listen and
take notes from his lectures
you will do okay in his class.
Report this rating
4/11/12
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
No. Just no
Report this rating
12/1/11
PHL358
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
He is aweful. He has a very
heavy accent and hard to
understand. There is no
structure to the class and its
impossible to study for tests.
Also when you get your test
back his you can’t even
understand his comments
because his handwriting is so
awful.
Report this rating
11/28/11
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
3
Rater Interest
1
I would avoid this teacher if
you can. He is not monotoned,
but he still manages to make
every class incredibly dull.
Everything is lectured and he
has only a few quizzes, but he
is not an easy grader. This
class will put you to sleep.
Report this rating
11/13/11
PHL103
Good Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
4
Rater Interest
3
I thought Messay Kebede was
a pretty good teacher. He likes
classroom participation, and
while I didn’t participate, I still
got a lot out of the discussions
and what was being said.
Attending class isn’t even
always necessary seeing as
how everything he talks about
are in the handouts.
Report this rating
7/26/11
phil110
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
3
Rater Interest
4
The most boaring and a very
unintrested prof ever. I wish he
at least appear intrested to
teach, He seems someone is
frocing him to live in Ameria
and teach
Report this rating
7/2/11
phl103
Good Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
5
Clarity
4
Rater Interest
3
He is great
Report this rating
9/2/10
PHL370
Good Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
4
Clarity
4
Rater Interest
5
Kebede is awesome I loved
him. He made me think
differently. Class is not that
hard. You have to read the
material and pay attention in
class. He gives a lot of essay
questions but if you explain
your points well you have
nothing to worry about. I got
an A
Report this rating
4/21/10
PHL103
Average Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
4
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
2
These people need to get over
themselves. Messay is not a
bad guy at all. Lectures can get
boring, but he can talk about
some pretty interesting stuff.
Take notes and look over the
questions he e-mails the class.
Print out all readings-
sometimes he freaks out when
people don’t have theirs.
Accent is hard to get past, but
he is a very smart guy.
Report this rating
4/5/10
PHL101
Average Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
4
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
He really isn’t that bad at all.
Once you get passed his
accent it is actually not that
bad of a class. He repeats
himself a lot and what he goes
over is the questions on the
quizzes. Quizzes are all essays
and he hands them back in
order of best grades. Talking to
him outside of class is your
best option if you don’t
understand. Very insightful
Report this rating
1/22/10
philphi1
Good Quality
Easiness
5
Helpfulness
5
Clarity
4
Rater Interest
4
once you know him he is
agreat professor.
Report this rating
12/27/09
ASI374
Average Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
4
It’s hard to understand his
accent and he is really strict in
grading. He doesn’t give out
good grades to everyone all
the time. Still, don’t worry
about taking his class. Work
hard and learn the material.
You can do well. If you ask him
questions about the material,
he’ll help you, you have to ask.
We didn’t have a text- it was
all on ereserves
Report this rating
7/3/09
HIST101
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
This Professor is very vague in
his lecture, he speaks for
himself has no contact with
students. I wonder how he was
teaching in his home country.
A survey and review of his
background as a teacher is
importnat.
Report this rating
4/14/09
PHL370
Average Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
3
Not as bad as everyone makes
him out to be. True, his accent
makes him hard to understand
a lot, but if you pay attention
and take notes it’s a pretty
easy A. Make sure you bring
the readings and pay attention,
bc he does sometimes
randomly freak out about that.
You also dont have to buy a
book..he sends the readings
via email.
Report this rating
10/30/08
phl103
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
Kebede is difficult to
understand, lectures
constantly and is relatively a
pain as a prof. I am actually
sitting in his class at the
moment… and he just reads
from the packets/handouts
that he sends out… read the
packets as much as you can
and you might be ok.
Report this rating
4/3/08
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
This teacher was hard to
understand at first but you get
used to it and if you actualy
pay attention in class for the
most part its an easy A. The
hard part is sitting in his class
and listening to him lecture for
50 minutes. Very boring class
but easy A with little effort
Report this rating
1/8/08
PHLSECT
Average Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
Many people do not seem to
like this professor, but he
really isn’t that bad. He is hard
to understand at times, but you
get used to it quickly. I had not
interest in Philosophy before
taking class, but the man has
actually got me to think about
some things. Do the readings
and speak up in class. You will
do well as long as you pay
attention.
Report this rating
12/16/07
PHL103
Average Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
3
Rater Interest
4
Many people give him crap
because his class is mostly
lecture. If you pay attention
and write down the homework
answers when he goes over
them it’s not bad. He really
likes what he’s teaching. Raise
questions in class if you can.
Only grades are quizzes,
midterm, paper, and a final.
You should do fine as long as
you don’t use class as
facebook time
Report this rating
11/29/07
philo103
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
He doesnt speak plan english.
he is so confusing. you will
want to drop this class asap.
the quizzes and tests are
straight up essay. if you like
being lectured about pointless
information you will never
need to know or care than this
is the class for you.
otherwise..run away!! save
yourself…before its too late!
Report this rating
11/16/07
PHL101
Average Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
you must go to class and take
notes in order to get a good
grade..sometimes he is difficult
to understand but he means
well and likes what he
teaches…wite down the
answers to the questions he
emails you and that will set
you up for the quizzes/
tests…hes actually a really
funny guy in class and makes
jokes about “cold beer”…i
learned alot
Report this rating
11/12/07
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
3
WORST teacher i have EVER
had. cant understand half the
things that come out of his
mouth. if you dont word things
the exact way he wants them
on tests and quizes you do
horrible. overall HORRIBLE
teacher, avoid at all costs!!
Report this rating
10/29/07
Phl101
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
WORST teacher EVER!!!! DO
NOT TAKE! Emailed our class
the night before class to tell us
we had a quiz on material that
we knew nothing about!
Report this rating
5/4/07
PHLPHL
Average Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
2
If you have trouble
understanding accents I would
not recomed him. He was not a
horrible teacher, he had good
intentions, but it was just
boring to me.
Report this rating
4/30/07
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
idk he’s different…don’t like
him at all. Class is impossible
to pay attention to between his
rambling, boring discussions
and accent. Moderately, hard
grader and tended to get mad
at us when we did badly. All in
all, horrible teacher; do not
take.
Report this rating
4/16/07
PHL101
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
2
Horrible Professor. His
expectations for an intro level
class are way, way too high,
impossible to understand, puts
down wrong answers. I got
docked a grade for poor
handwriting on a quiz;
however, I had to go and talk
to him to figure out what he
wrote on my paper. DO NOT
TAKE!
Report this rating
4/2/07
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
2
Not a good teacher, he barely
even speaks english. I still
pulled off a B but I had to work
and pay attenetion.
Report this rating
12/29/06
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
5
Dr. Kebede’s intentions are
good, but it is so hard to
understand him. However, you
can get a pretty good grade if
you pay attention and read the
handouts he e-mails to the
class. He lectures kind of fast,
so I found it helpful to bring my
laptop and take notes on Word.
If you want to do well, I
suggest that. He is not a very
good teacher, though.
Report this rating
11/15/06
PHIL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
5
Messay has great intentions
and much interest in what he is
teaching. what he is lacking is
the ability to understand the
student in papers and he is not
very clear with what he asks or
wants. His handwriting is
atrocious.
Report this rating
4/6/06
PHL 103
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
3
foreign. canNOT understand
him. fun to listen to his accent
though…
Report this rating
11/21/05
PHL 103
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
1
Horrible horrible teacher. Try
not to take this man. I found
that if I didn’t listen to his
boring lectures everyday I did
better on the quizzes. Does not
explain things. And if you ask
for help he either thinks you
have a learning diability or
your just plain stupid and don’t
do any of the work.
Report this rating
7/26/05
Philosophy
101
Average Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
2
Rater Interest
4
Professor Kebede’s class can
be very monotonous at times.
Discussion is rare, and the
material is very regimented.
That is, he wants you to read/
listen and regurgitate. Do not
expect to leave this class with
any new revelations. In order
to get an A, speak with him
during his office hours. He
respects those who show
interest and participate.
Report this rating
7/14/05
PHL
Poor Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
5
He is very hard to understand;
Think an ethopian version of
Ben Stein! Not as funny
though… He sucked the fun out
of the subject, and
alwaysmade me fall asleep in
class. I had on average 6-7
hours of sleep a night! If you’re
looking for an easy prof or
class, this is not it. If you’re
looking to learn, avoid at all
costs!
Report this rating
4/11/05
PHL 103
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
4
Never take this teacher! I was
looking forward to philosophy
before this class and I was very
disappointed.
Report this rating
1/28/05
PHL 101
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
Very hard to understand, avoid
at ALL costs.
Report this rating
12/15/04
PHL 103
Average Quality
Easiness
4
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
3
Rater Interest
3
I enjoyed the class. He sends
handouts in email that are the
main conversation in class. It
makes the class easy to follow.
He is specific with what he’s
looking for but if you pay
attention you get the gist of
what he is looking for. There
aren’t any papers, just a
couple tests/quizzes.
Report this rating
12/6/04
philosophy
Poor Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
1
the most boring class i’ve ever
taken, hes not good at
explaining things at all, and
hes really hard to understand.
dont take this class if you have
trouble focussing in class-
cause it is was by far the
longest hour of my life
Report this rating
11/10/04
PHL 310
Average Quality
Easiness
3
Helpfulness
3
Clarity
3
Rater Interest
3
very hard to understand.
Report this rating
11/9/04
PHL 103
Average Quality
Easiness
2
Helpfulness
2
Clarity
4
Rater Interest
5
If you don’t word everything
the way he’ll understand it, you
fail. Period.
Report this rating
11/5/04
PHL 103
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
4
Kebede is difficult to follow and
understand. He has high
expectations for and into to
phil class. He made it difficut to
succeed and favored some
students over others.
Report this rating
11/2/04
PHL103
Poor Quality
Easiness
1
Helpfulness
1
Clarity
1
Rater Interest
3
Very hard to understand b/c his
english is so bad. Not good at
getting his point accross to his
students, een after meeting w/
him I had difficulty
understanding what he
wanted. Worst I’ve had at UD.
Report this rating
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