What is in your mind...
(from readers)
The Ethiopian Calendar is not Julian
One more reason why Ethiopia needs a developmental state and a stable progressive government. With a solid infrastructure paved roads, efficient telecommunication and easy access to electricity, Ethiopia in 2015 will be an ideal country to sustain democracy and democratic institutions. For this to happen it will not be the private sector but a government that is progressive and a development oriented that would be required.
Interest in the third Ethiopian millennium has created confusion
as to why Ethiopians are behind the Gregorian by many years in celebrating
the millennium. Explanation for the difference has continued to vary. One
of the unrealistic reasons is because the Ethiopian calendar
is Julian or a variation of the Julian calendar.
Some of those who present this story also claim that
Pope Gregory modified the Julian calendar to Gregorian in
1582 and Ethiopians continued with the Julian Calendar and are
behind by seven to eight years. In realty, the difference between the
Julian and the Gregorian calendars was 10 days in 1582 and
this has increased to 13 days in 2007. Today, Wednesday, Yekatit 8,
1999 Ethiopian is February 2, 2007 Julian or February 15,
2007 Gregorian. It is obvious that the Ethiopian calendar
is not Julian. An example of a date according to
the various calendars is available here: http://isotropic.org/date/
As for the reasons for the differences between the Julian and
the Ethiopian calendars, I have tried to describe one in my
paper on the Ethiopic calendar here: http://www.ethiopic.com/calendar/ethiopic.htm
When the Roman papal chancellor, Bonifacius, asked a
monk by the name of Dionysius Exiguus to implement
the rules from the Nicaean Council for general use and
to prepare calculations of the dates of Easter, Dionysius
fixed Jesus' birth in such a manner that it falls on 25
December 753 A.U.C., thus making the current era start
with A.D. 1 on 1 January 754 A.U.C. It was about 525 A.D.
that Dionysius Exiguus, started his count (instead of the
Diocletian of 284 A.D.) with the year 1 A.D.,
considered to be the year of the birth of Christ.
Ethiopian authors imply that Exiguus used 532
in the wrong year without mentioning the A.D. year,
though he was working on his Easter calculations
in (the proleptic) A.D. 525. Thus, if the implication that
Exiguus used the 532-year cycle table in the Ethiopian
525 A.D. is true, he has arbitrarily pushed the Julian
calendar ahead of the Ethiopian calendar by about
seven years.
Dr. Aberra Molla
Ethiopian@aol.com
http://www.ethiopic.com
Hate is a very powerful emotion that drives people to do and say the
unthinkable. It is unfortunate; supporters of the opposition party in
Diaspora are blinded by hate and can not see beyond the present
government. If their hate for Prime Minister Meles and his government
is greater than their love for their country, which I am convinced it
is, they are not, were not and will never be fit to govern the people
of Ethiopia.
Thank you,
[Atsede, 02/13/07]
Dear Editor,
Thank you for opening this dialogue box concerning the issue. This is very serious issue. First of all, this fossil is unrepeatable and unique heritage of its kind for Ethiopia and the world at large. There for taking of this fossil to any other country is very risky. Secondly, I think basically it is not beneficial for Ethiopia to take its unique tourist attraction to the tourist source areas rather keep it at home and pull tourists towards Ethiopia.
I remember during "Hanover 2000 Expo" in Germany the replica of Lucy was displayed in Ethiopian Pavilion. If I am not mistaken, around three million people visited the Ethiopian pavilion alone. Such many people visited no other pavilions in place from other countries. The reason was because of Lucy. During the Expo season Lucy was the main focus of promotional activities for the organizers.
I don’t know what we benefited from that, but they did. Americans by their turn are now trying to transport not the replica but the original one. It seems that they are competing with Germans. Any way my opinion is that it is not beneficial in all aspects for us to transport not only the original one but also even the replica it self. Why people have to travel to Ethiopia to visited things if you brought them it at home?
[
Belachew T., from Vienna Austria. 2/13/07]
After our image has been tarnished year after year, with too gruesome and too unfortunate events of poverty and war, it's a little comforting to read articles like this, under the "Travel" Section of a big city newspaper.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2003561502_ethiopia111.html
Thanks to the good sons/daughters of Ethiopia, we have started to witness a slow but sure change of the world's view towards our beloved country.
As the bad images are fading in front of our eyes, the deep, rich and fascinating history, the cultural and religious dimensions, the rugged beauty of the land, the tolerant and wise people of the country, are once again becoming the headlines of media stories.
We owe this to our heroes who gave their lives for the just cause and the wise leadership. We kept our heads down for too long and it is high time for all to participate in resurrecting our country and put our heads up again. We have way much more reason to be proud than to be ashamed.
Go Ethiopia!
[T.Belay, 02-12-07]
These days the talk of the town is Tamagne’s insulting
song aimed at the people of Lalibela. A song we were
exposed to through the extremists’ mouthpiece,
Ethiomedia. We certainly live in an interesting time.
Yesterday’s derg members and Mengistu Hailemariam’s
personal entertainers pose as today’s liberal
democrats. Yesterday’s architects of white and red
terrors want to be seen as today’s human rights
advocates. No matter how much they try, though, their
old vicious hatemongering self rears its ugly head in
the speeches they make, articles they write, pictures
they post or songs they sing. To expect democracy and
human rights from this debased bunch is naivety at
best, ignorance at worst.
[Hagos, 02.11.07]
I am a dedicated CUD supporter, but every time i visit ethiopianreview.com and kinijitethiopia.org i am reminded of how much deeply Shabea is controlling my party. Everyone already knows about Elias's daily propaganda, about Afeworki's AFD plan, about Shabea & Al-ittad, about Shabea & jihadists and about the recent dangerous lies & propaganda photos from KIL. AGAIN, today i saw a video from Elias Kifle and his KIL group on his website. At the beginning of the video, it falsely says 15 times more Ethiopian troops were killed in the 98-00' border war than Eritean troops! What a shameful lie!! Not only this, the youtube video creator is Afeworki's Eritrean supporter...i really wonder how many times Elias Kefle has to show us his identity before we believe his sick plan with Afeworki, who is murdering so many innocent Eritreans that are now crossing back to peaceful Ethiopia border. How many wake up calls do we need? My message to my fellow Kinijit supporters is again- WAKE UP!!..Let us go back to the peaceful policy which all of us Kinijit founders wrote on paper and practice it! Let us be independent instead of being the tool of shabea. Wake up!
[Teddy Assefa,02/09/07]
What would have been to Ethiopia without Ras Alula and the victory at Adwa? What could have become to EPRP today if Berhane Meskel Reda was not purged and killed? What would have become to Christianity in Ethiopia without Kudus Yared? And sadly what would the lying opposition in Diaspora land be with out Ethiomidea?
Open a page of Ethiopian history and you will be hard press to find a paragraph that does not include Tigreans. Our success emanates from great people like Ras Alula and Kudus Yared, and our shame well from those who undermine 17 years of sheer aybeger struggle to dismantle the brutal derge system. Shame on you Ethiomedia editor!...[Hailu, 02/09/07]
No Wonder if Tamagne mocked at the legacy of Saint Lalibela and in fact for matters which had always been so contemptuous,Ethiopians under went through harsh conditions in hundreds of years,yet among a few of what we feel often proud is the civilization of Axum which embodies the alphabet,the obelisks, Saint Yared being the center of our denomination,the intellectuals such as Zarayacob and many more.Likewise however King Gebremeskel was the first to built rock-hewn churches in and around Lasta Laliela,the monolithic churches of Saint Lalibela were meticulously built after six centuries,thus Lasta sharing the culture,civilization,language and otherwise with Axum has always been second in line for the entire pride we enjoy .and if at all it seems vital, the birth place of Amharic is Lasta lalibela,but the likes of Tamagne who shallowly envisage Lalibela,I personally do not wonder for he seem to work on things he is with the dark about.
Neakutoleab
If Ethiopia was a cyber creation and Meles Zenawi a weak prime minister then last year would have been the year for Armageddon. Check these pictures; they are there for a purpose, arguably to galvanize support for kinijit. But as you have come to know Ethiopia is not a cyber creation but a real country with long history and Meles Zenawi is not a weak leader but time tested smart astute and kind leader. Under his leadership Ethiopia has been spared mayhem and civil unrest. Though many blame him for letting things to go out of control he has nonetheless saved the nation from being a playing ground for the wicked and banda vocal Diaspora. The pictures of yesterday may paint the vocal Diaspora winning the battle, but today is another day. Take a picture today and see if you can find Shaleqa Yoseph and Berhanu together, look further and check if Ana Gomez and alike are singing emeye Ethiopia or emey Shaibya. And ask who wrote the song Solomon or?... [Ayele T,02/08/07]
The issue then is who do you trust to be that government? EPRDF or the OLF? EPRDF or Kinijit?
For me I know OLF is not progressive, it is a liberation front not for development but for destruction. I know CUD is not progressive since the first thing that came to their mind when they were faced with making critical decision was to ask their followers not to sit and have coffee with their neighbors. Such decision can only come not from a progressive and development oriented group but from a backward and “ene kemotku serdo aybeqle” group.
But EPRDF, well you tell me after you read the following article and the many roads and schools both higher and lower levels built in the past years not to mention the prime minister’sblue print on the need to have a developmental state for third world countries, if EPRDF is progressive or not. [Zeru Hagos, 02/07/07]