Ethiopia’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a law that will sharply restrict the activities of most civil society groups. The law has been the target of scathing criticism from opposition parties, rights groups and many foreign governments, including the United States.

The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party used its massive parliamentary majority to push through a law that gives the government broad powers over foreign funded non-governmental organizations.

The so-called Charities and Societies Proclamation prohibits any group receiving at least 10 percent of its funds from abroad from promoting democratic or human rights, the rights of children, or equality of gender or religion. Violators could face stiff fines and sentences of up to 15 years in prison.

Defending the bill in parliament, EPRDF whip Hailemariam Desalegn argued that any group advocating democracy and human rights should be run by Ethiopians, who should have control over the expenditure of funds.

Minister for cabinet affairs Berhanu Adelo, a top adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, said Ethiopia needs NGOs to help with social development. But he said it is not the job of NGOs to protect the rights of citizens. That, he said, is the government’s job.

Critics say the law effectively gives Ethiopia’s increasingly authoritarian government a large say in the affairs of as many as 3,000 charities and civil society groups with a combined budget of $1.5 billion a year, much of which goes to promote open society and multi-party democracy initiatives.

Opposition leaders were blistering in their criticism of the bill. Temesgen Zewde of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, whose party leader was imprisoned for life last week after a spat with the ruling party, called the bill part of a government effort to create a one-party state.

“This is really a domination agenda, a single party agenda, all the other stuff is simply window dressing. The agenda is to stifle these voluntary public movements that are known to assist the democratic process, the situation of human rights, and all other advocacies are vital and necessary,” he said. “They just don’t want to see this. The EPRDF cannot survive in that kind of environment.”

Another opposition leader, Dr. Beyene Petros, says the new law will effectively silence those capable of participating in the democratization of Ethiopia.

“It is totally consciously designed to undermine and restrict the role of civil society, because the ruling party is determined to advance the cause of revolutionary democracy and part of the Communist order that is going to be implemented in this country for the coming 30-40 years without anybody looking or criticizing or having any idea about what is going on. So the idea is to undermine the role of civil society,” he said.

The United States and other western governments have voiced deep concern about the effects of the new law. The Bush administration sent its top human rights and democracy official, assistant secretary of state David Kramer to Addis Ababa twice over the past six months to discuss the bill with top government officials.

A U.S. embassy spokesperson Tuesday said the Charities and Societies Proclamation appears to restrict civil society activities and the ability of international partners to support Ethiopia’s own development efforts.

NYT
Published: January 6, 2009

The following is a rush transcript of President-Elect Barack Obama’s media availability as provided by the Obama team.

Obama: When the American people spoke last November, they were demanding change, change in policies that helped deliver the worst economic crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Depression, but they’re also looking for a change in the way that Washington does business. They were demanding that we restore a sense of responsibility and prudence to how we’d run our government.

One of the measures of irresponsibility that we’ve seen is the enormous federal debt that has accumulated, a number that has doubled in recent years. As we just discussed, my budget team filled me in on - Peter Orszag now forecasts that, at the current course and speed, a trillion-dollar deficit will be here before we even start the next budget, that we’ve already looked - we’re already looking at a trillion-dollar budget deficit or close to a trillion-dollar budget deficit, and that potentially we’ve got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on at this point.

So the reason I raise this is that we’re going to have to stop talking about budget reform. We’re going to have to totally embrace it. It’s an absolute necessity.

And it has to begin with the economic recovery and reinvestment plan that Congress will soon be considering, that we’re going to be investing an extraordinary amount of money to jump-start our economy, save or create 3 million new jobs, mostly in the private sector, and lay a solid foundation for future growth.

But we’re not going to be able to expect the American people to support this critical effort unless we take extraordinary steps to ensure that the investments are made wisely and managed well. And that’s why my recovery and reinvestment plan will have - will set a new higher standard of accountability, transparency, and oversight.

We are going to ban all earmarks, the process by which individual members insert pet projects without review. We will create an economic recovery oversight board made up of key administration officials and independent advisers to identify problems early and make sure we’re doing all that we can to solve it. We will put information about where money is being spent online so that the American people know exactly where their precious tax dollars are going and whether we are hitting our marks.

But we’re not going to be able to stop there. We’re going to have to bring significant reform not just to our recovery and reinvestment plan, but to the overall budget process, to address both the deficit of dollars and the deficit of trust. We’ll have to make tough choices, and we’re going to have to break old habits. We’re going to have to eliminate outmoded programs and make the ones that we do need work better.

That’s the challenge that I’ve handed to Peter, and Rob Nabors, and the rest of my budget team. That’s the challenge that the American people have handed me. They know that we’re at a perilous crossroad and that tinkering in the margins will not do.

I’m going to have more to say about this subject tomorrow, but today I wanted to lay out an early marker with those that I’ve entrusted to help bring the changes that the American people voted for. We are going to bring a long-overdue sense of responsibility and accountability to Washington. We are going to stop talking about government reform, and we’re actually going to start executing.

That’s the charge that I’ve given the members of the administration. That’s the charge that was given to me by the American people. And we are ready for the challenge.

So with that, I’m going to take some questions. And let’s start with you.

Question: Thank you, Mr. President-elect. Do you think that you’ll be submitting a budget larger than the $3.1 trillion that President Bush submitted for fiscal ‘09? And, also, what are you doing to address concerns from other Democrats about deficit spending and increasing the deficit with the stimulus package? Read more at NYT.
———–
Who is Donating to Obama’s Inaugural Festivities? See the List
Obama raises $27 million for inaugural

The Associated Press

By SHARON THEIMER –

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the economic hard times, money keeps pouring in for President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural festivities.

The inaugural committee has raised at least $27 million, donor information on its Web site Tuesday showed. Most of that has come in over the past three weeks.

If fundraising continues at that pace, Obama’s inaugural committee will have no problem reaching or exceeding the roughly $40 million raised for each of President George W. Bush’s two inaugural celebrations.

More than 2,000 donors are helping to finance Obama’s Jan. 20 swearing-in festivities. At least 378 gave the maximum $50,000.

Top donors include financier and major Democratic donor George Soros, actors Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson, Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, directors Ron Howard, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and actor, singer and director Barbra Streisand.

The inaugural committee is releasing the names of those who give $200 or more. It is refusing money from labor unions, corporations, political action committees, foreigners and Washington lobbyists. Read More.

Click Here to See the List of Donors to the Presidential Inaugural Committee

Updated: Saturday, January 3, 2009

New York (Tadias) - Here is an updated video of Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2008, at Cafe Addis in Harlem, one of New York’s most famous neighborhoods. The event took place on Saturday, December 13, 2008.

Boomberg
By Jason McLure

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia declared its two-year occupation of Somalia a success as its forces began the last stage of withdrawal, leaving behind one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and a government close to collapse.

“Mission accomplished,” the Foreign Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “Our defense forces have carried out a successful mission to eliminate the clear and present danger that our country had faced two years ago.”

U.S.-backed Ethiopian soldiers invaded Somalia in December 2006, ousting the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamist alliance that had briefly controlled much of the country. Its attempt to reinstall the United Nations-backed transitional government in the capital, Mogadishu, was met with an Iraq-style insurgency by Islamist and clan-based militias.

More than 800,000 have been forced from their homes by the fighting, while an estimated 3.2 million people, more than 40 percent of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid. The seas off Somalia have become the world’s most dangerous for commercial shippers as the anarchy has led to rapid growth of piracy and kidnappings.

As a result of the insurgency, the transitional government controls only parts of Mogadishu and the southern town of Baidoa, while Islamists from the al-Shabaab militia, a faction of the Islamic Courts Union, control much of southern Somalia. On Dec. 29, the president of the transitional government, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, resigned following a power struggle with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. Read More.
———————————-
Ethiopia Leaves Somalia With Many Questions Unanswered
VOA
By Joe DeCapua
Washington D.C
05 January 2009

Ethiopian soldiers in
Mogadishu, (file photo)

As Ethiopian troops withdraw from Somalia, the Ethiopian government has released a statement saying its mission in Somalia has been accomplished. It says Ethiopian forces, during their two year occupation, have eliminated a clear and present danger. However, Ethiopia leaves behind a country in turmoil and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.George Washington University Professor David Shinn, a former US ambassador to Ethiopia, spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about whether Ethiopia can declare “mission accomplished.”

David Shinn

Read more at VOA.
————————————-

Four Ethiopian Soldiers Killed in Somalia
By VOA News
04 January 2009

Witnesses in Somalia say at least four Ethiopian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb near Mogadishu.

The blast took place Saturday on a road west of the capital where troops were searching for explosive devices.

Several other soldiers were injured in the blast.

Ethiopia said Saturday that the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia will be completed “within days.”

A foreign ministry statement said military commanders are handing over their responsibilities to African Union peacekeepers and Somali transitional government troops.

A ministry spokesman, Wahde Belay told VOA that sufficient precautions have been made to prevent a power vacuum in Somalia after Ethiopian troops are gone.

About 3,200 soldiers from Burundi and Uganda make up the AU mission in the country. Burundi’s Defense Minister, General Germain Niyoyankana. said Sunday the two countries would consider withdrawing their forces unless more troops and supplies are sent to the country.

Islamist insurgents have taken control over many towns in recent weeks and moved to impose strict forms of sharia (Islamic) law.

Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in late 2006 to help the government oust Islamists who had taken over Mogadishu and much of the country. The offensive was successful but sparked a bloody insurgency that has killed thousands of Somalis and displaced more than a million others.

Some information for this report was provided by AF and Reuters.
—————

Ethiopia to Complete Somalia Withdrawal ‘Within Days’

Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu.
(file photo)

VOA
By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
03 January 2009

A spokesman says Ethiopian troops will complete their withdrawal from Somalia “within days,” and that sufficient precautions have been made to prevent a feared power vacuum when they are gone. Troop convoys have been seen pulling back to positions across the border in Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying military commanders have completed handing over their responsibilities in Somalia to African Union peacekeepers and soldiers of the country’s transitional government. Ministry spokesman Wahde Belay told VOA in a telephone interview all precautions have been taken to provide security for the AMISOM and TFG forces.

“We believe there will not be a vacuum. That is why we consulted with those forces, the AMISOM and TFG forces,” he said. “We made sure that we have not left a vacuum there. They are ready to take their responsibility in assuring calm in Somalia. This is all I can say for now.”

Wahde declined to elaborate on what measures have been taken, but the press statement noted that both Uganda and Burundi, the two troop contributors to AMISOM, had confirmed their willingness to boost the size of their forces. AMISOM currently has a strength of about 3,400 troops but they are ill-equipped and under-funded and have been unable to restore much stability in Somalia.

The TFG is also believed to have several thousand soldiers.

African Union officials are known to be actively trying to solicit more troops contributions.

Spokesman Wahde confirms that the Ethiopian withdrawal is well under way, and should be completed soon.

“We have specifically said it will take a few days in order to complete the withdrawal. I don’t want to comment on what will happen next,” he said.

Ethiopia had earlier said it would provide security for the AMISOM forces if they decided to join the pullout, but African Union officials have indicated they will continue their peacekeeping mission. African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping last month told reporters, “a withdrawal from Somalia is something we cannot accept, not only the AU but also the rest of the world.”

Several western diplomats, who declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly, have expressed fear of a bloodbath unless the peacekeeping forces are substantially reinforced to replace the several thousand departing Ethiopian soldiers.

Reports from Somalia over the past few days have spoken of clashes between rival Islamist factions vying for control as Ethiopian convoys head back across the border. Both western and African analysts have voiced concern that extremist forces might overrun the AMISOM and TFG troops and capture the capital, Mogadishu.

Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in December, 2006 to drive out an Islamic Courts Union that had imposed Sharia law over parts of the country. The Ethiopians installed a U.N.-backed but feeble transitional government, but were not able to provide stability in the lawless country that has been without an effective administration since 1991.
——————–
Somali police stations taken over

Ethiopian forces are leaving after two
years in Somalia

BBC
Sunday, 4 January 2009

Islamist militiamen have taken over a number of abandoned police stations in the Somali capital as Ethiopian troops continue to withdraw from the city.

The militiamen said they were moving in to prevent an explosion of violence.

They are thought to support a faction that has signed a peace deal with Somalia’s transitional government.

A more militant group, al-Shabab, is continuing the insurgency. Ethiopia has said it aims to ensure there is no security vacuum after it withdraws.

Separately, at least six people are reported to have died in fighting between rival Islamic factions further north.

Members of al-Shabab clashed with local supporters of a rival group - Ahlu Sunna Wal-jamaah - in Guriel, about 400km (250 miles) north of Mogadishu.

Ethiopian military forces began pulling out of Somalia on Friday after two years helping the transitional government fight insurgents.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s spokesman said the withdrawal would take several days.

About 3,400 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers from the African Union in Somalia are taking up positions vacated by the Ethiopians.

There are fears the withdrawal of the 3,000-strong Ethiopian force could lead to a power vacuum and that violence will continue despite a peace deal between Somalia’s transitional government and one of the main opposition factions.

However others say the pullout, together with the resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf, could make it easier for a new government to be formed.
——————-

Ethiopian Army Begins Leaving Mogadishu
NYT

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM and JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: January 2, 2009

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Ethiopian Army trucks, packed with soldiers, tents, mattresses and other gear, began to pull out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s battle-zone of a capital, on Friday in the first signs of the expected Ethiopian withdrawal.

Many Somalis in their path immediately fled, predicting that the departing Ethiopian troops would be attacked by mines and insurgents. Almost as soon as they began to move, the Ethiopians hit a roadside bomb. At lease nine civilians were killed, and an unknown number of Ethiopian soldiers.

Thousands of Ethiopian troops stormed into Mogadishu two years ago in an attempt to shore up Somalia’s weak transitional government and to wipe out an Islamist administration that the Ethiopians considered a terrorist threat.

But the Ethiopian occupation mostly failed. The Somali government is as divided and weak as ever. Islamist insurgents, many of them quite radical and violent, have seized control of much of Somalia. Thousands of civilians have been killed in relentless combat between Islamist militants and the Ethiopians, with European Union officials accusing the Ethiopians of war crimes. And millions of Somalis are now on the brink of famine, the victims of war, displacement, drought and disease.

The Ethiopians were never popular in Somalia. But as people in Mogadishu watched the first convoy of 18 heavily loaded trucks chug down the bullet-pocked streets and head toward the Ethiopian border on Friday, many said they feared what would happen next.

“If the Ethiopians leave, there is a possibility of war among the Islamist fighters,” said Jamal Ali, a student at Mogadishu University.

It is not clear whether the Ethiopian troops are leaving Somalia entirely or simply redeploying from Mogadishu to other areas of the country. Western diplomats estimate there are still several thousand Ethiopian troops inside Somalia, and many Somalia analysts have predicted that the Ethiopians will linger for some time inside the country or along the border as a buffer against Islamist militants.

“We have already started to implement our withdrawal plan, “ said Bereket Simon, a high-ranking Ethiopian official, according to Agence France-Presse. “It is a process and it will take some time.”

Around 3,000 African Union peacekeepers are still in Somalia, trying to protect the few fortified enclaves that Somalia’s transitional government controls. On Thursday, a little-known Islamist group called the Ras Kamboni Rebels attacked peacekeepers in two locations, though it was not clear how many people, if any, were killed.

Mohamed Ibrahim reported from Mogadishu, Somalia, and Jeffrey Gettleman from Nairobi, Kenya.

Hollywoodreporter.com

Director of several of the best-known African films ever to screen in the West, Howard University film professor, wit, maverick, impassioned critic of Hollywood, grumpy old man, warm soul — all these descriptions seem to fit Haile Gerima. “Teza,” the helmer’s film at DIFF, is about a man who returns to Ethiopia after years away in Europe. Traumatized by the hope his people place in him, he is forced to confront his childhood. Sitting in panel discussions here this week, Gerima’s views on filmmaking often drew the loudest and longest applause. THR Asia editor Jonathan Landreth met up with Gerima, 62, and his 28-year-old “Teza” star Aaron Arefe to talk about African filmmaking.

The Hollywood Reporter: How long did you take to shoot “Teza”?

Haile Gerima: Shooting was eight weeks in Ethiopia and six days in Cologne, Germany. From the first seed money I received from WDR- Arte Television in February 1993, it’s taken a lifetime.

THR: Who is the lead character Anberber and when is “Teza” set?

Gerima: First, you have to understand that there was a fascist Italian period of Ethiopia’s history that lasted from 1935-1940. This was followed by Emperor Haile Selassie, who was then overthrown in ‘74 by the military junta. Anberber has returned to his village in the beginning of the movie in 1989-90, during the most intense war between the political group and the junta it’s trying to unseat.

THR: Do you have a distributor beyond sales to Italy and Switzerland?

Gerima: I will distribute in the U.S. and Canada, the same thing I did before with (1993’s) “Sankofa.”

THR: What did you learn about self-distribution with 1993’s “Sankofa”?

Gerima: Well, initially, I wanted to use distributors because my wife (Shirikiana Aina) and I are both filmmakers. We were hoping distributors would take us through fair economic transactions. When we realized that was not the case, we organized throughout the African-American community what we call ” ‘Sankofa’ families,” because they had such an emotional response to the movie. They were just unpaid groups of people in 32 states. They opened it, in some cases, with independent theaters.

THR: How much did it cost to make “Sankofa” and did you make a profit?

Gerima: We made it for close to $1 million and by newspaper accounts it made about $3 million. But this was being distributed by footwork. Had it been distributed professionally, it would have done more with the broader African-American community and the progressive, crossover audience.

THR: Will “Teza” get Middle East distribution?

Gerima: So far, (Middle East distributors have not been) not good with African cinema. I’m hoping to explore the possibilities. … it’s an important market for us to sell and distribute, but it’s still very difficult. They’re better with North African films than with Sub-Saharan films.

THR: In this economy how will you continue to make movies with a conscience?

Gerima: A lot of African filmmakers of my generation are really exhausted from being nomadic, going from continent to continent looking for money. It can be very discouraging. Most of our national governments don’t have much vision for policy on national cinema.

Aaron Arefe: In my generation, there are a number of filmmakers who are building a consumer base that is steadily growing and increasingly attracted to African movies like “Teza.” Through grassroots efforts — pounding on doors, advertising on sites like Facebook and My Space– my friend, Yehdegeo Abeselome in Los Angeles, got his film “Thirteen Months of Sunshine” into theaters in five or six cities in America. The consumers are Pan-African and cross-generational. In the future, this will be a viable pool for finances.

THR: Where’d you grow up?

Arefe: I grew up in the Fairfax district of L.A. until I was about eight, then Iwent back to Ethiopia until I was 18, but came back every summer. My mom is a development consultant for international companies in Africa.

THR: Obama? Does his being president help African cinema?

Gerima: No. I think Hollywood is a monster of its own. The Congress has so many other problems and I don’t think politicians have the consciousness, nor do they care to get into democratizing Hollywood. Mine could be a minority opinion, but the industry doesn’t respond like that. There’s too much money, too many stars at stake.

THR: Won’t more people take an interest now that the U.S. president is the son of an African?

Gerima: The African-American community has always been interested in African films. Despite the neglect of distributors, African films have constitutions, they have consumers. … The problem is that the capitalists, the people who are the gatekeepers of the distribution system, don’t have that much interest in African films.

THR: There are small independent films about Africa, then there are films such as “Hotel Rwanda.” Is there hope for anything in between?

Gerima: Well, there was “Sometimes in April” for HBO, also by Peck. “Hotel Rwanda” can’t come close to that film in terms of the way it fleshed out the very causes of the genocide.

Arefe: I would concede that the current Hollywood system is incapable of adjusting itself, but in the time of Obama, it’s obvious that we’re moving toward a wider demographic than the Pan-African audience. … The traditional isolationist mentality doesn’t exist any more (in the U.S.). In the end, Hollywood’s a consumer-driven system, and I definitely think that within the next eight years there’s going to be a dramatic shift.

THR: Is what Aaron’s saying a reflection of youthful idealism?

Gerima: It doesn’t speak to history. Go talk to Danny Glover about what he has to do to get a movie done. The only chance that Aaron’s generation has is to create an alternative using new technology. … If they’re capable of using digital cinema as an alternative medium of expression, then the revolution will happen.

NASA

Written by Joshua Rodriguez/Global Climate Change

The slow evolution of clean-energy solutions is about to kick into high gear, if Sossina M. Haile has anything to say about it. As a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., she hopes to make this “technology of the future” practical for today’s applications.

Current fuel cell technology is hamstrung by impracticality. The most efficient and powerful fuel cells need large amounts of heat and space, whereas those suitable for smaller scale operation require lots of precious, expensive platinum. “If we converted every car in the U.S. to fuel cells, we’d need more platinum than there is in the proven reserves,” Haile says.

Haile’s research, which initially began several years ago with fuel cell researchers at JPL, has led to breakthroughs in more “consumer-ready” fuel cell technology. She’s developed fuel cell systems that strike a balance between power and manageability –- perfect, she says, for standalone residential generators. Her team has worked hard to reduce the amount of platinum needed for each system.

Haile’s team has also taken on one of the biggest roadblocks to widespread fuel cell use — their reliance on hydrogen as a primary fuel. Hydrogen requires lots of energy to extract and it’s difficult to store and distribute.

Size comparison of a dime and a single fuel cell - the device pictured at
the top of the page is a stack of these individual cells.

In fact, Haile thinks that the verdict is still out on whether hydrogen “makes sense” as the fuel of the future. “When most people hear ‘fuel cells,’ they think hydrogen,” says Haile. “That’s a common misperception — fuel cells aren’t necessarily restricted to hydrogen.”

Haile’s team has focused on developing fuel cells that can run on more traditional fuels, like ethanol or biomass, while also solving many of the problems of conventional hydrogen fuel cells.

Zongping Shao, who is now a professor at
Nanjing College of Chemistry in China,
listens to an MP3 player being powered
by two fuel cells.

Fuel cells that use carbon-based fuels still produce carbon emissions, but at a much lower rate than their internal-combustion counterparts. Because fuel cells extract energy from electrochemical reactions instead of burning their fuel, they are much more efficient and environmentally friendly. “It’s a unique middle ground,” explains Haile — one she believes will speed the integration of these new technologies into the current energy infrastructure.

For Haile, the incentive to design practical, unconventional fuel cells is simple: “Science should be in the service of society.” She thinks that fuel cells that can use renewable energy resources like biomass will help end what she calls she calls “drawing from the bank” — using fossil fuels as a source of energy.

“There’s scientific proof that CO2 concentrations have been rising for decades to levels not felt on the Earth in millenia,” Haile says. “We need to have a diverse approach to solving the problem before it’s too late.”

Flathead Beacon
By Keriann Lynch , 01-03-09

Photographer Andrew Geiger is afraid the subjects of his favorite work are going extinct.

The self-sustaining tribes scattered across the remote regions of Ethiopia. An elderly woman in Burma whose ethnic group had been all but wiped out. Centuries-old architecture and traditional rituals, dress and cultural norms.

“I go back to some of these places and everyone is wearing Nike-swoosh T-shirts,” Geiger, of Kalispell, said. “It disgusts me because I don’t think my kids will get to see these places and people. And I want to capture the rawness of what the reality is now in my pictures.”

In addition to a busy commercial photography schedule, Geiger has made it an ongoing personal project to document countries where he feels capitalistic or Western ideas are changing the culture at a rapid rate. After becoming interested in that type of work, Geiger began in earnest after being successfully treated for cancer about eight years ago.

“It was kind of an epiphany,” he said. “It made me think if I was going to do this I needed to get going, and really amped up my efforts.”

Since then, the project has taken Geiger to Burma, Mali and, most recently, Ethiopia.

On Jan. 22, Geiger will bring his work much closer to home, marking the opening of his new Kalispell gallery with a free event and a series of images from Ethiopia. Geiger’s gallery is in the lower level of the Eastside Brick apartments, the site of the old Kalispell hospital on Fifth Avenue East.

Geiger’s photos from Ethiopia feature tribes where life has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. With detail shots and portraits, Geiger’s photos pay particular homage to the beautiful array of body art by scarring, piercing and painting used by the Mursi tribe.

One of the most famous of all the indigenous Ethiopian tribes, the Mursi are located in the Southern Omo Valley. Geiger’s trip there began with a stop at a military headquarters where he and his traveling companions were assigned two armed guards. From there, Geiger’s interpreter, a pre-teen boy, helped him communicate with the native residents.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “In some of these places, if you don’t have a local, you don’t get in.”

But as evidenced by his work, Geiger’s planning, patience and interpreter gained him extensive access. There are close-up shots of Mursi women who split their lower lip and insert a round clay plate at a young age, stretching the bottom of their faces into a broad oval. Men and women alike cut their skin in elaborate patterns, rubbing ash in the wounds to infect them and create a raised look.

Geiger even photographed a cow-jumping ceremony, a traditional event marking a Mursi boy’s transition to manhood. As part of the day-long ceremony, Mursi women taunt and encourage the tribe’s men to hit them with wooden switches.

“It’s bloody and intense and unlike anything we think is OK or normal,” he said. “But when you’re there, it’s different. You’re an observer, but also kind of an invader.”

Geiger spent most of his childhood in Glendive, before moving to Kalispell where he graduated from Flathead High School. He accepted a scholarship to study engineering at the University of Montana but, already an avid photographer, left school about a year later to start shooting full time.

Geiger freelanced across the western states and Australia before moving to New York to establish a larger and more diverse client base. But the more connections and work he found in New York, the more he ended up returning to Montana.

Andrew Geiger in his studio - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

“People kept sending me on assignments out here,” he said. “They figured that because I was from Montana I could shoot it better. Finally, I decided enough of this, I’m moving back.”

For the past 12 years Geiger and his family, wife Dena and daughters Hannah, 5, and Madison, 1, have lived in Kalispell. Geiger satiates his love for travel with photo assignments around the country and abroad – and, of course, with his private project.

He has traveled to more than 25 countries – a number he describes as “not that many, not enough” – and his client list includes names like Cabela’s, Audobon, Field and Stream, Forbes, Newsweek, People, Timberland and Discover, among others.

“A lot of photographers like to stick to one kind of work, say commercial or portraits or landscape,” Geiger said. “I can’t do that; I’d get bored. And being able to do a lot of different things has sort of become my niche.”

If You Go:
Gallery Opening, Images from Ethiopia
Andrew Geiger’s Gallery, 723 5th Avenue East Loft #44B, Kalispell
Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Richardson Withdraws Name as Commerce Secretary-Designee

The Washington Post
By Michael D. Shear

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration as commerce secretary for President-elect Barack Obama, citing an ongoing investigation about business dealings in his state.

Richardson, 61, who competed unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination, was secretary of energy and U.N. ambassador during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and also the first high-profile Latino named to Obama’s Cabinet.

But a grand jury in New Mexico is currently looking into charges of “pay-to-play” in the awarding of a state contract to a company that contributed to Richardson.

The importance of the inquiry was apparently dismissed when Richardson was first nominated. But it may have taken on more weight in light of the “pay-to-play” allegations involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“It is with deep regret that I accept Governor Bill Richardson’s decision to withdraw his name for nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce,” the president-elect said in a statement released early this afternoon. “Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office.

“It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time.”

Obama added that he would “move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson’s decision.”

Richardson said in a statement that: “Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact. But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process. Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his Administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done.” Read More.

Obama family moves to Washington

The Obama family spent the holiday
period in Hawaii

BBC

US President-elect Barack Obama and his family have arrived in Washington in preparation to take up residence at the White House later this month.

Mr Obama’s wife and their two daughters are staying at the Hay-Adams Hotel, which overlooks the White House. He is expected to join them later.

Malia, 10, and seven-year-old Sasha are due to start classes at the exclusive Sidwell Friends School on Monday.

The Obamas will move to the official presidential guest home on 15 January.

Blair House, which is located opposite the White House and has previously housed presidents-elect before their inauguration, is booked solidly until then, Bush administration officials said.

The Obamas arrived back at their home in Chicago early on Friday, following a 12-day family holiday in Hawaii, and began the move to Washington less than 48 hours later.

The Hay-Adams Hotel, built in 1928, stands across Lafayette Square from the White House, where the Obama family will take up residence following the inauguration ceremony on 20 January.

The Hay-Adams Hotel

Security has been tightened around the hotel, with parking restricted in nearby streets until 15 January, according to city officials.

The Obamas are expected to stay in one of the historic hotel’s luxury suites, which cost several thousand dollars a night, as their daughters start school.

Other children of prominent politicians to have attended the private Sidwell Friends School include Chelsea Clinton and the daughters of President Richard Nixon.

In the coming days, Mr Obama is expected to spend time with Congressional leaders, as they work on a multi-million dollar stimulus plan intended to aid the country’s embattled economy.

The president-elect has also been invited to lunch at the White House on Wednesday, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George Bush Senior.

Blagojevich row

Meanwhile, a row continues over the appointment of Roland Burris to fill Mr Obama’s now-vacant Illinois Senate seat.

Mr Burris was picked by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is the subject of a criminal inquiry and has been charged with attempting to “sell” Mr Obama’s seat to the highest bidder.

The governor - who denies any wrongdoing - has defied pressure from party leaders to step down and last week chose Mr Burris, the state’s former attorney general, to fill the position.

Senate Democrats have said that while there are no questions about Mr Burris’s personal integrity, they will reject anyone appointed by Mr Blagojevich.

The president-elect has said he agrees the Senate “cannot accept” a new senator chosen by Mr Blagojevich, adding that Mr Blagojevich himself should resign.

New Senate members will be sworn in on Tuesday, as the new session of Congress opens.

Mr Burris said on Saturday he still planned to go to Washington on Monday to take up the Senate seat, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Los Angeles Times

The narcotic leaf is a time-honored tradition in Africa but illegal in
the U.S., where demand is growing.

By Cynthia Dizikes
January 3, 2009

Reporting from Washington — In the heart of the Ethiopian community here, a group of friends gathered after work in an office to chew on dried khat leaves before going home to their wives and children. Sweet tea and sodas stood on a circular wooden table between green mounds of the plant, a mild narcotic grown in the Horn of Africa.

As the sky grew darker the conversation became increasingly heated, flipping from religion to jobs to local politics. Suddenly, one of the men paused and turned in his chair. “See, it is the green leaf,” he said, explaining the unusually animated discussion as he pinched a few more leaves together and tossed them into his mouth.

For centuries the “flower of paradise” has been used legally in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as a stimulant and social tonic.

But in the United States khat is illegal, and an increased demand for the plant in cities such as Washington and San Diego is leading to stepped up law enforcement efforts and escalating clashes between narcotics officers and immigrants who defend their use of khat as a time-honored tradition.

In the last few years, San Diego, which has a large Somali population, has seen an almost eight-fold increase in khat seizures. Nationally, the amount of khat seized annually at the country’s ports of entry has grown from 14 metric tons to 55 in about the last decade.

Most recently, California joined 27 other states and the federal government in banning the most potent substance in khat, and the District of Columbia is proposing to do the same.

“It is a very touchy subject. Some people see it like a drug; some people see it like coffee,” said Abdulaziz Kamus, president of the African Resource Center in Washington, D.C. “You have to understand our background and understand the significance of it in our community.”

Increased immigration from countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia has fueled the demand in this country and led to a cultural conflict.

“We grew up this way, you can’t just cut it off,” said a 35-year-old Ethiopian medical technician between mouthfuls of khat as he sat with his friends in the office.

In the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East, khat is a regular part of life, often consumed at social gatherings or in the morning before work and by students studying for exams. Users chew the plant like tobacco or brew it as a tea. It produces feelings of euphoria and alertness that can verge on mania and hyperactivity depending on the variety and freshness of the plant.

But some experts are not convinced that its health and social effects are so benign. A World Health Organization report found that consumption can lead to increased blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia, constipation and general malaise. The report also said that khat can be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems.

“It is not coffee. It is definitely not like coffee,” said Garrison Courtney, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. “It is the same drug used by young kids who go out and shoot people in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is something that gives you a heightened sense of invincibility, and when you look at those effects, you could take out the word ‘khat’ and put in ‘heroin’ or ‘cocaine’.”

Khat comes from the leaves and stems of a shrub and must be shipped in overnight containers to preserve its potency. It contains the alkaloid cathinone, similar in chemical structure to amphetamine but about half as potent, according to Nasir Warfa, a researcher in cross cultural studies at Queen Mary University of London.

The United Kingdom determined last year that evidence does not warrant restriction of khat. In the United States, the substance has been illegal under federal law since 1993.

But the world supply of khat is exploding. Countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya now rely on it as a major cash crop to bolster their economies. Khat is Ethiopia’s second largest export behind coffee.

Khat usage has grown so much in San Diego that Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) wrote a 2008 bill that added cathinone and its derivative cathine to California’s list of Schedule II drugs along with raw opium, morphine and coca leaves.

As of Thursday, Anderson’s bill made possession of khat a misdemeanor in California, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Possession of the leaf with intent to sell is a felony that carries a three-year maximum sentence in state prison.

In some cases, khat seizures have resulted in warnings and probation. In other instances, like New York City’s “Operation Somali Express” bust in 2006, which led to the seizure of 25 tons of khat worth an estimated $10 million, the perpetrators were sent to jail for up to 10 years.

“In my mind, [such arrests are] wrong,” said an Ethiopian-born cabdriver who was arrested in November in a Washington, D.C., khat bust and spoke on condition of anonymity. “They act like they know more about khat than I know.”

Khat leaves are sold attached to thick stalks or dried like tea leaves. A bundle of 40 leafed twigs costs about $28 to $50.

The plant’s cost has been linked to family problems, including domestic abuse, said Starlin Mohamud, a Somali immigrant who is completing a dissertation on khat at San Diego State University.

In fact, within the East African community in the U.S., there are many who welcome the khat restrictions.

“I have seen what it does,” Mohamud said. “Families who are trying to make ends meet on a daily basis cannot afford it. It just creates so many problems between a husband and wife to the point where a broken family is going to be the result.”

Not all lawmakers, however, support the increased efforts to prosecute khat sellers and users. California state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) called khat use “a minor problem that may be nonexistent and little understood” and voted against Anderson’s bill.

“The Legislature cannot continue to add on penalties and punishments filling up critically overcrowded prison system without weighing the consequences on how this will affect California,” she said.

Even though khat smuggling continues to grow in the United States, the level is nowhere near that of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroine and methamphetamine. Still, law enforcement officials worry that in a refined, stronger and more portable form, khat could spread outside the immigrant communities.

In Israel, a pill known as hagigat (essentially Hebrew for “party khat”), has emerged on the club scene.

“I don’t think we are going to see American teenagers chewing the plant,” said Phil Garn, a U.S. postal inspector in San Diego. “But based on what I saw with meth and how it spread across the country, I can absolutely see how khat in a refined form could be a major problem.”

cynthia.dizikes@latimes.com

NYT
By IAN URBINA
Published: January 2, 2009

WASHINGTON — Presidents come and go from this city. Hosting inaugurations is nothing new. But for residents here, over 92 percent of whom voted for President-elect Barack Obama, his inauguration this month is special.

The day ushers in hopes and expectations for a president who speaks to local residents and brings with it the excitement of a predominantly black city welcoming the nation’s first black president.

With the inauguration scheduled for the day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the timing also strikes a chord for a city that was racked by riots after Dr. King’s assassination.

“For D.C., this inauguration is less like hosting a visiting official and more like throwing a homecoming party for a family member,” said Ronald Walters, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

He added that normally, the inauguration is an exclusive black-tie affair. “This time,” he said, “it feels like the city has taken ownership of what is becoming a people’s party.”

At Ben’s Chili Bowl, one of the city’s oldest and most famous restaurants, the inauguration offers a certain historical reconciliation.

“It took about 40 years,” said Kamal Ali, the owner and son of the restaurant’s founder, Ben Ali. “But in terms of race relations, the celebration that day will bring this neighborhood, this city, full circle.”

In April 1968, four days of race riots after the King assassination left 12 people dead here. Huge swaths of what was then called Black Broadway for its concentration of black-owned clubs and theaters were destroyed. Ben’s Chili Bowl was one of the only restaurants along U Street that was not burned or ransacked. Read More.