Letter to My Nephew Emanuel

Always Be A Student

If You’ii always be a student,

You’ii find the secrets to success

And travel on the golden road

To place and happiness

By Joanna Fuchs

Dear Emanuel,

First I would like to congratulate you on your achievements. I wish you and your sisters much success for the future. Few weeks ago I had the opportunity to see your school report card. It was the happiest moment in my life. I am so proud of you. I am so glad that you become genius student. I just got very emotional over this. So, I decided to write this letter to you.

Dear Emanuel,

Remember this! Never too young to work hard and be expected to do best in school and in life for that matter. In fact, I am not lucky to see you in person for long year. However, I always talk by phone with your father about you. He tells me how smart and amazing kid you are.

Dear Emanuel,

I remind you! The time you spend in school and study today will certainly benefit your future career goals, family values, and overall excellent in the future. Most importantly, always listen your parent advices. Give unconditional love to your big sisters Bete and F as well as all your families and friends. Try to make good friends but do not waste your valuable time with bad peers.

Dear Emanuel,

You should set some pretty lofty goals for yourself, and the only way you will be able to accomplish those goals is if you start working hard towards those goals. If you working hard consistently and vigorously, trust me one day you will be a great Scientist, Astronomers, Astrophysics, Pilot, Medical Doctor or of course, a president. Keep it up your good job! Be enthusiastic! Dream big! Do not give up!

May almighty God Bless You Abundantly,

China and Africa

China has identified the African continent as an area of significant economic and strategic interest. It is clear, even with the economic down turn, China’s economy is still growing. In Africa, China sees the raw materials it needs to feed its hungry economic engine. An economic policy consultant, Sichinas Jack, says that “China and Africa relation began decades ago when china offered ideological solidarity as the continent was struggling to liberate itself from its colonial masters such as Britain and France.” For years, a key element of china’s foreign policy has been to enhance friendship and cooperation with African and other developing countries. However, China care only about trade and has no interest in human rights issues.

Homelessness

When I moved to San Jose city seven years ago, I did not see many homeless people. The city was quiet and clean. Currently, however, you can see many homeless people in the city street. Homelessness affects all ages and includes children, women, men, young, senior citizen, black, and white, Spanish, Asia and other minorities. The homelessness in downtown San Jose is very deep some how disturbing to anyone. I believe it needs special attention by governmental and non-governmental organization to solve this problem. In fact, the city of San Jose’s Homeless Division funds a variety of programs for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. But, the homelessness problem in San Jose is huge. It needs assistance from several organizations. The city of San Jose’s homelessness division alone cannot tackle this huge crisis

What will be the ICC’s Next Action?

It has been several months since the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. ICC accuses Beshir of criminal responsibility for “exterminating, raping and forcibly transferring large number of civilians.”
However, Omar al-Bashir is still at large. It seems nothing can stop him from traveling. In the last three months alone, he traveled to Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and attended Arab the summit in Qatar. But, no attempt has yet been made to arrest him during any of these trips. The African Union and the Arab league have supported Bashir. In fact, many African countries have said they will not arrest Al-Bashir even though other nations have supported the arrest warrant. So, what will be the ICC’s next action?

I love Ray Charles

The legendary, multitalented, blind, musician Ray Charles was the best vocalist, piano player, song writer, and arranger in the last several decades. According to the Legends of Swing Music.net biography, Ray Charles was born during the great depression in the Deep South and was raised on blues, country, gospel, jazz, and big band music.
Throughout his long career, Ray skillfully and artistically combined these separate musical elements together, added his own unique personality and style, and released the end result for the world to hear.
I have listened to Ray music since I was a child. I like most of his songs. Most of all, I like “America the Beautiful,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Mess Around” and “I Got A Woman.” Ray won 17 Grammy Awards. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. I watched a very exciting film about Ray. The film explored his life and career. The film star, Jamie Foxx has been awarded the 2005 Academy Award for the best actor for this film.

The New Beginning

During the 2008 presidential election, president Obama pledged to lift travel restrictions so that the Cuban-Americans can visit their families in Cuba. He also promised to eliminate caps on the remittance they can send back to their families.
Mr. Obama’s promise has eased the United States’ long–standing embargo on Cuba, allowing Cuban Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and send money to them more easily. I support Mr. Obama’s policy towards Cuba. I believe that the U.S policy toward Cuba for the last 50 years failed. The U.S. foreign policy needs to be changed.
Besides, president Obama said during the summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago last week, “the U.S. seeks a ‘new beginning’ with Cuba and an ‘equal partnership’ with all the nations of the Americas.” I hope the new U.S. administration’s foreign policy toward the Americas will be more successful than the previous one.

Soccer

“Some people believe that soccer is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude, it is much, much more important
than that!” Billy Shankey soccer fun.

Soccer is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. Soccer or football is a very likable sport in Europe, Latin America and Africa. According to a history of soccer website, almost 150 years have passed since soccer was officially born in a Tavern, in London. In such a short period of time, soccer went from a local phenomenon around England, to an international game that is watched and loved by close to 3 billion people worldwide. FIFA (Federation International Football Association) is responsible for the organization and governance of football’s international tournaments.
UK, Italy, and Spain have strong soccer teams. The players come from different parts of the world. Most professional players are paid a big amount of money. I have liked to watch soccer since I was a child. Italy, Brazil, Ghana, Cameron and Nigeria are my favorite teams. The U.S. men’s soccer team has been improved in short period of time. Soccer has steadily grown in popularity in America. The U.S. Soccer team is now ranked 15th in the FIFA world ranking. The U.S. soccer team will participate in the next World Cup. The next World Cup will be held in South Africa, between June 11 and July 11, 2010.

Obama's Apparent Bow Caused Outrage

Saudi Arabia is one of a number of countries where courts continue to impose corporal punishment, including amputations of hands and feet for robbery, and lashings for lesser crimes such as “sexual deviance” and drunkenness. This country is an undemocratic country. I do not know how the leader of the free world chose to bow to this king. I do not think any presidential protocol exists on the president bowing. It was poor judgment on his part. The Washington Times said in an editorial, “By bending over to show greater respect to Islam, the U.S. president belittled the power and independence of the United States.” However, the White House denied that the president bowed.

Madonna

Pop star Madonna’s bid to adopt a Malawi child has filed in last week. Madonna, who was asking for an interim adoption, appealed against a high court decision denying her bid to adopt a four-year-old girl. Malawi is an impoverished country that has an estimated one million orphaned children. Madonna has set up a charity for Malawian children. The country is devastated by the AIDS epidemic like most African countries.
This adoption child would be Madonna’s second child from Malawi. Even though Madonna’s adoption has failed so far, she and Angelina Jolie adopt more infant from Africa, inspiring more Americans to consider African adoption. According to Federal Office of Immigration Statistics, last year, nearly 23,000 children born abroad were adopted into American families-more than three times the number of international adoptions. Also, the number of African adoption children adopted by American parents rose from 66% to 94% respectively, between fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

Why should Eat Smart?

Eat Smart workshop held at Costanoan room March 10 from 10am to 11am. The workshop was organized by Department of Nutrition, Food Science, and Packaging. The workshop main goal is to inform and teach students about the new easy food labeling initiative’s on campus and help students to make smart food choices.
There were 17 people participating in the workshop. Most of them are nutrition major students. The majority of participate were women and only five men. There were two professors among participants. The program was very interesting. To me it was a unique experience. The discussion was support by statistical data and many graphs. Most of the studies were done at San Jose State University.
During the workshop, it was asked “Why should Eat Smart?” and “Why you should we care?” the answers were as follows: help maintain energy, reduce risk of diseases and lower cholesterol. According to speaker, Eat smart project is the part of health campus 2010 program.
Likewise, San Jose State University, the Oklahoma State University has such a kind of program. The University Nutrition Department is encouraging students to make smart and easy food choices by organizations such a kind of programs. At the end of Eat Smart workshop the speakers showed easy labeling. All participants were labeling the food on display.
In summary, the Eat Smart workshop was very interesting. However, I was disappointed at the lack of participants.

Lose 20 labs in 2 day

The “Lose 20 lbs in 2 days” workshop was held on March 10 at Ohlone room. The workshop’s main object was to teach the truth about fad diets. Only seven people five women and two men attended. The speaker starts the workshop by asking, “What are Fad Diets.?”
In fact, the fad diet is a totally new idea to me. I had never heard about fad diet before this workshop. I never knew anyone who has tried a fad diet either. Fad diet is “a diet or idiosyncratic eating patterns that promise quick weight loss and are usually popular for only a short time.” Some examples of fad diets are Atkins, negative calorie diet and zone diet. Most fad diets are typically short-term diet plans. Not only they are low in calories but also they are likely to be lacking adequate nutrition.
One important thing I learn from this workshop was that the fad diet is not good to any one because fad diet offer only short term weight loss. Also, it is hazardous and unhealthy. Instead, you can loss your weight without skip meals, by watching protein sizes and by eating a variety of foods. I think the workshop was very helpful those who have planed to lose weight without skipping their favorite food. The workshop teaches safe and practical ways to approach healthy weight loss.
In conclusion, the workshop was excellent. To me it was an unforgettable moment. However, the participants were very few. Even some workshop participants left the room at the middle of discussion.

U.S. Flag

“The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment not of sentiment, but of history.” Wilson, Woodrow T

The flag of the United States is one of the nation’s most widely recognized symbols. This flag has been an important part of our culture. The U.S. flag was first authorized by Congress June 14, 1777 this date observed as Flag Day throughout America. Between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and strips to be added to reflect the admission of each new state. According to Americanflag.org the U.S flag had survived over 200 years and two world wars. The flag has evolve physically and symbolically in times if crisis and achievement. During the Vietnam War, the flag took on conflicting meanings that split the nation, and by the Gulf war, the flag was again a uniting force. Sep11, 2001 the flag become a symbol of hope and pride. I will be a naturalized citizen of the United State of America within the next 6 month. I love this country! I love this democracy! As Jessie Lane Adams say “I love my freedom. I love my America.” So do me!

let me say something about myself and my country

My name is Tibebu. My last name is Abebe. My name relates with my life history. Tibebu means in English wisdom. My parents gave me this name because it relates with my disability. I was born in a small town in a remote area. I was very ill when I was one month old. There was not any hospital in my birth place. It takes 8 hours drive to get to a clinic or hospital. My parents expected me to pass away. However, I was lucky to have survived. As a result, my parents gave me a unique name to say god saved our son in his wisdom.
Ethiopia has more than 80 languages. Amharic is an official language. I speak and write Amharic and Tigrinya fluently. I learned to speak Amharic from my family and write from school. I learned Tigrinya by living with Tigriay region. Also, my parent, my brothers and my sisters speak and write Amharic fluently. In Ethiopia Amharic, Tigrinya and Oromgia are spoken widely. However, Amharic is spoken by majority people. It has its own Alphabet. Amharic is spoken by several million people than Swahili in Eastern Africa region. I remember there was some debate among African Union members. Ethiopian delegation and some of African countries delegation advocated Amharic to become an official African official language.
Currently, I speak Amharic in the U.S. with my girlfriend, my sisters, and Ethiopian communities. I go to Ethiopian church every Sunday morning; the service is given in Amharic. I pray and bless God usually in Amharic.
English is my third language. I am learning to speak and write English in the U.S. by taking several classes in Mission College, by watching different TV programs, reading several books and newspapers, making new English speaking friends, and chatting online to meet different people.
Learning a language as a kid and as an adult is very different. For example, I learned Tigrinya when I was a kid in a short period of time. But, in my adult age studying English is not as easy as Tigrinya. I started to speak Tigrinya fluently within six-months. On the other hand, even though I have studied English since I came to the U.S. 7 years ago, I cannot speak English fluently. In fact, I speak English in an Ethiopian accent.
In short, I can speak and write three languages – Amharic language from my heritage and Tigrinya by living with Tigrinya speaking people and English by going to school. Amharic, Tigrinya and English each have their own Alphabet and pronunciation.

I miss Tim Russert

Tim Russert was a famous NBC news' Washington bureau chief and the moderator of "Meet The Press.'' He was one of my favorite journalist in this country. I miss Tim Russert! I miss his Sunday morning show! I miss his tough questions for his guests.
































Earlier this year, Time Magazine named Tim Russert one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Now, no Tim Russert on Sunday morning show! No "Meet the Press." Since Tim Russert death, I do not watch Sunday morning show. Instead, I read my bible!

Gaddafi's Vision

Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi was elected by African leaders. The chairmanship of an African Union is rotating every year. Gaddafi in his acceptance speech gave emphasis his vision of the United States of Africa. He argues the unity process should start immediately. But, some African leaders dis-agree with him. They need more time to study the unity process.
According to Gaddafi, Africa should have one flage, one Constitution, a single military, a single currency and a single passport to move freely with in the Continent. The United States Africa proposed by Nkrumah, Emperor Hiles Selisa and well known African freedom figthers 50 years ago. However, those African hero dream yet vain.
Gaddafi lacks of moral and political rectitude to call such a great unity. He is one of African dictator for the last 40 years. Currently, majority of African leaders are corrupted and brutal dictators. I believe , one day the United States of African dream will be real by democrat next generation African leaders.

Mr. Obama first interview in Arabe Media

“My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy” the new president Barack Obama told Al Arabiya TV in an interview broadcast in the Arabe world. The interview was the first smart PR move since Mr. Obama took the office.
In fact, during the campaign Mr. Obama promised to change American foreign policy. It is a good start the new president to reach his message to Arabe world. For long years the United States and Muslim world relation has a problem. During the last eight years in Bush’s era the problems become worse. The new administration has a big task to shape around this. In this interview Mr. Obama mentions sending former Senator George Mitchell to the Middle East as the first step to deal with the Israeli and Palestinian issue. Mr. Obama seems committed to the region even though the Palestinian and Israeli conflict has complicated. Of course, he knows how this peace process is complex.
The new president first ever interview with Al Arabiya TV was attracted large audiences. Even he has tried to push his origins “Islamic and African Root” to win the Muslim world’s heart. He says “I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.” It is an excellent step for the U.S. to build a bridge to a good relation with the Muslim world. This is a good start for diplomacy. Also, a wise move by the new administration to change hearts and minds the Arabe world. I can not wait to see his first speech to address to Muslim world at a Muslim capital.