T P O

T   P   O
The Patient Ox (aka Hénock Gugsa)

G r e e t i n g s !

** TPO **
A personal blog with diverse topicality and multiple interests!


On the menu ... politics, music, poetry, and other good stuff.
There is humor, but there is blunt seriousness here as well!


Parfois, on parle français ici aussi. Je suis un francophile .... Bienvenue à tous!

* Your comments and evaluations are appreciated ! *

Monday, July 30, 2018

The Wolf in Shorts ~ Hénock Gugsa


The Wolf in Shorts 
~ Hénock Gugsa ~

Washington Post (07/25/18) ===>
 

<< He [Trump] asked Americans who are struggling to “just be a little patient.” Pointing to the press riser, Trump attacked what he called “the fake news” media. “Stick with us,” the president said. “Don’t believe the crap you see from these people.”
-- Trump’s quote reminded many people – including a former CIA case officer – of “1984,” the dystopian novel. “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command,” wrote George Orwell. “And if all others accepted the lie, which the party imposed, if all records told the same tale, then the lie passed into history and became the truth.”  >>
_______________________________
 

 
Le loup en slip!

   

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Inclusive Democracy and "Medemer" (መደመር) ~ by Hénock Gugsa


Inclusive Democracy and "Medemer" (መደመር) 
~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

DEMOCRACY !!!
The Inclusive Democracy Project ( መደመር )
==============================
<<Inclusive democracy involves more than the formal equality of all individuals and groups to enter the political process, but entails taking special measures to compensate for the social and economic inequalities of unjust social structures. >> Iris Marion Young (extract from her book: "Inclusion and Democracy")
_______________________
<<What is Inclusive Democracy?
by Takis Fotopoulos  

Inclusive democracy is a new conception of democracy, which, using as a starting point the classical definition of it, expresses democracy in terms of direct political democracy, economic democracy (beyond the confines of the market economy and state planning), as well as democracy in the social realm and ecological democracy. In short, inclusive democracy is a form of social organisation which re-integrates society with economy, polity and nature. The concept of inclusive democracy is derived from a synthesis of two major historical traditions, the classical democratic and the socialist, although it also encompasses radical green, feminist, and liberation movements in the South. Within the problematique of the inclusive democracy project, it is assumed that the world, at the beginning of the new millennium, faces a multi-dimensional crisis (economic, ecological, social, cultural and political) which is caused by the concentration of power in the hands of various elites, as a result of the establishment, in the last few centuries, of the system of market economy, representative democracy and the related forms of hierarchical structure. In this sense, an inclusive democracy, which involves the equal distribution of power at all levels, is seen not as a utopia (in the negative sense of the word) but as perhaps the only way out of the present crisis .... >>  --- Source: inclusivedemocracy.org
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In Ethiopia, these days, they are using the term "መደመር" [Medemer] a lot in their political discussions.   That is the zeitgeist now !
Literally, the word "medemer" means "to add" as in the arithmetic sense, or "to count", or "to be counted".  In actuality, that word nowadays may be having a much bigger and more significant relevance in the political life of Ethiopians.  Of late, I've been made to understand that the specific reference of
"medemer" is to "unity" (as in "United we stand, divided we fall"). But there is also a general allusion to "Inclusive Democracy", because in such a democracy, everybody counts and gets counted.  
To top it all off, ... the impressively progressive leadership of the new Prime Minister seems to be steering the country in all the right directions !🤔🙂🙂  
B R A V O !!!

 

Monday, July 16, 2018

Le Triomphe de la France ~ Félicitations les Bleus !



Le Triomphe de la France 
~ Félicitations les Bleus ! ~
////////
 Les Bleus sont champions du monde !  [ France is the conquering champion! ]


Isabelle Matuidi, femme de Blaise , avec leur fils dans le stade de spectateurs. [Isabelle Matuidi, wife of Les Bleus' #14 Blaise Matuidi,  rooting in the stadium along with "Mini Matude"!]

 

Friday, July 13, 2018

Ethio-Eritrean Brotherhood ! ~ by Hénock Gugsa



Ethio-Eritrean Brotherhood ! 
~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

I was born in Addis Ababa, but my entire family roots are Eritrean.  And although I identify as an American now, I most assuredly haven't forgotten my ties to either Ethiopia or Eritrea.

Of all the events that have happened in my lifetime, the current and beautifully budding relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea is the most exhilarating and memorable one for me.

May the two countries continue on the good path that they are on, and may they
eventually even reach a confederation state !!!


 

Thursday, July 12, 2018

ZERO ~ by Hénock Gugsa



ZERO *
~ by Hénock Gugsa ~

Indulge me here for a philosophical moment if you will.   I am reaching for something, for nothing, and for everything ...  I'm attempting to focus on "ZERO".

What is zero?  More specifically, what does it signify in our lives?  I'm sure everyone of us have thought about it, or been affected by it in some form or another.

Zero isn't just a number or a point on a number line, mathematically speaking.  It is more of a vortex from which nothing and everything emanates.  We are way beyond abstraction when faced by zero ... we are in the region of metaphysics here.  But let us leave theology out of it.

I am imagining a starting and an ending point ... am I in a circle? .... Is this indeed infinity, a journey without beginning and/or end?

The zero zone (Black Hole?) has no direction and no dimension, or maybe they are infinitely multitudinous!  You cannot touch zero, and it does not touch you or your consciousness.  Yet you know it is there.  Comfort and ennui, confidence and uncertainty, light and darkness and everything in between are all there!

Zero is a tool for understanding and making sense of the universe.  Moreover, there is much practical application and use for "zero" in science and technology.  We have benefited a great deal from zero,  but we have not given it the respect or even modest appreciation it deserves.  So, let us start now ... let us thank zero for its challenge to us, for its nothingness and everythingness, and above all for bringing the past, the present, and the future into perspective.

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* The motivation or trigger for this article is: "The mind-bendy weirdness of the number zero, explained" by  Brian Resnick( https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/7/5/17500782/zero-number-math-explained )


Wednesday, July 11, 2018

L'histoire de Frania - de TV Magazine 13:15 dimanche



L'histoire de Frania 
- de 13:15 dimanche -
(Magazine d'actualité)

Frania Eisenbach Haverland est née en Pologne il y a quatre-vingt-douze ans. Rescapée de la Shoa, elle n’avait jamais voulu revoir son pays natal avant d’y consentir accompagnée de sa petite-fille en mai 2018 (voir le replay du magazine "13h15 le dimanche") : 90% des juifs polonais ont été exterminés pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, parmi lesquels soixante membres de sa famille.

Chaque survie est une somme de hasards ou de miracles, chaque libération une épopée différente. Frania est libérée près de Prague. Après avoir survécu à l’enfer des camps nazis, elle rejoint la France en 1945 à bord d’un avion militaire et découvre un pays qui lui est totalement inconnu. Trois jours passés à l’hôtel Lutetia à Paris, où reviennent tous les déportés, et voilà la jeune fille seule dans la capitale libérée depuis déjà dix mois.

"J’étais dans la même situation ...."

"Je voyais des personnes âgées, des bébés, je n’en avais pas vus depuis six ans, des femmes chapeautées, les gens étaient souriants… Je me suis dit qu’ici il n’y a pas eu de guerre, se souvient la survivante des camps d’extermination. Et je ne savais pas quoi faire de moi. J’ai erré dans les rues de Paris, ne sachant pas où j’étais. Je ne savais pas ce qu’était le métro. J’ai vu des gens descendre les escaliers et je les ai pris par curiosité. J’ai voyagé jusqu’au terminus, et puis dans l’autre sens. J’ai passé toute une journée comme ça dans le métro à observer les gens ...."

"Il a l’air d’avoir froid, dit l’arrière-grand-mère en découvrant un homme allongé sous une couverture de survie sur la pelouse d’un parc, au pied d’un arbre. J’étais dans la même situation. Je dormais sur un banc. Je ramassais des bouts de pain dans le bac à sable où jouaient les enfants. Je les mettais dans mon soutien-gorge. C’était un progrès pour moi d’avoir un soutien-gorge car on n’en avait pas dans les camps. Je me demande, quand il va faire frais la nuit… cette couverture n’est pas suffisante. Qui mieux que moi peut le comprendre ? On ne peut pas imaginer ces moments où on ne sait pas quoi faire de sa personne, et, qu’après les camps de concentration, il faut encore vivre ça .…" 
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L'histoire de Frania!  ... The Story of Frania!
================================
Frania, mémoire vivante des camps

Frania Eisenbach Haverland est née en Pologne il y a quatre-vingt-douze ans. Après avoir survécu à l’enfer des camps nazis, elle est arrivée en France en 1945.

Depuis, elle n’a jamais voulu revoir son pays natal, où les soixante personnes qui composaient sa famille ont été assassinées. Pourtant, en mai dernier…
Un intense voyage dans le temps

Eléonore demande à sa grand-mère de se rendre avec elle en Pologne. La petite-fille veut comprendre son histoire. Alors, Frania accepte cette épreuve.

Pour le magazine "13h15 le dimanche" (Facebook, Twitter, #13h15), Meriem Lay, Henri Desaunay et Smaïn Belhadj ont suivi ce voyage dans le temps, d’une intense émotion.

-----------------------------------------------.
Frania, living memory of the camps 
==========================

Frania Eisenbach Haverland was born ninety-two years ago in Poland.  Having survived the hellish nazi camps, she came to France in 1945.

Ever since that time, she has never wanted to revisit her native land where sixty family members (relatives) were murdered.  However, last May ...

Eléonore [Frania's grand-daughter] begged her grandmother to go to Poland with her.  The little girl wished to learn her [and her family's] history.  So, Frania agreed to undertake this task (this duty].

The story is covered by the [TV magazine, 13:15 Sunday] ... Meriem Lay, Henri Desaunay et Smaïn Belhadj were on board to witness and record this intensely emotional voyage.




Friday, July 6, 2018

The Presidency is "debased" ! ~ by Sen. Jeff Flake


Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona

The Presidency is "debased"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Arizona's Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican, declared last May (2018) in an address to the graduating class at Harvard Law school.
 
~ We haven't seen any improvement in the situation, and it is not likely we will soon.
Per Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post :
<< “There’s a lot of time between now and 2020,” Flake said in the interview. He said, though, his thinking hasn’t changed lately: “It’s not in my plans, but I’m not ruling anything out.”
He added: “I do hope that somebody challenges the president in the primary — if only to remind Republicans what Republicans stand for.”

Flake said he hoped that more Republicans will stand up to Trump.  
“I am concerned that we are sounding too much like the president’s Cabinet. And we’re not,” he said. >>