Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Recognition of Emperor Haile Selassie I's Contributions to the OAU. March 28, 2013

BREAKING NEWS: Queen of Sheba Research Foundation charge the African Union with rewriting OAU and Pan-African History

>PRWEB.COM Newswire

Chicago, IL, March 28, 2013 - On the eve of the inauguration of the African Union’s (AU) 50th Anniversary Celebrations in Addis Ababa on March 21, 2013, Ethiopian President Girma sent a letter to the Ethiopian Prime Minister recommending that “a statue must be erected to commemorate the Emperor who was the first leader of Africa-- I think he deserves a statue.”

President Girma's letter was clearly referring to the AU and the Ethiopian government’s continued failure to recognize Emperor Haile Selassie I’s contributions to the OAU as a result, their actions prompted numerous Petitions on the internet.

President Girma's letter went viral over the internet receiving the attention of international scholars and historians who found his actions "refreshing" and "a welcomed change from the previous Ethiopian administration who had denied Emperor Haile Selassie I his rightful place in the history of the Pan African Movement and the OAU, for years".

The issue first began last year when the Ethiopian government and the AU inaugurated its newly constructed Headquarters in Addis Ababa with the erection of a statue, front-center, dedicated to Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, for his contributions to African Unity, while Ethiopian King of Kings, Emperor Haile Selassie I’s pivotal contributions to African Unity and His significant role as the single unifying force behind the establishment of the OAU, along with his title as "The first leader of Africa", was ignored.

Barbara Miller, Queen of Sheba Research Foundation historian, referred to the matter as, "an unforgivable slight in His Majesty's own country." International debates spilled onto the floor of the Ethiopian parliament, where former Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was also President of AU and had always been critical of Emperor Haile Selassie I, was said to have downplayed the issue. As a result, Emperor Haile Selassie I's accomplishments were stricken.

For those who are unaware, Emperor Haile Selassie's contributions to the OAU are well documented: It was Emperor Haile Selassie I, not President Nkrumah, who called and hosted the May 25, 1963 Conference of African Heads of State in Addis Ababa; and it was His Majesty’s electrifying speech that inspired two conflicting political groups (Casablanca and Monrovia) to lay aside their differences, come together, and establish an organization that would unite all of Africa, which they did:

    “The commentators of 1963 speak, in discussing Africa, of the Monrovia States,
    The Brazzaville Group, the Casablanca Powers and many more. Let us put an end
    to these terms. What we require is a single African organization through which
    Africa’s single voice may be heard, within which Africa’s problems may be studied
    and resolved.” Emperor Haile Selassie I, May 25, 1963

At the end of the speech, all 32 African leaders and founding fathers of the OAU were invigorated andas a result, they elected Emperor Haile Selassie I the first President of the OAU; and unanimously voted Emperor Haile Selassie I the “Father of African Unity".
Eric Nickerson, former Mayor of Dixmoor, Illinois and member of the Queen of Sheba Research Fuoodation noted, “just as no one can deny Dr. Nkrumah's role in the Pan-African Movement, no one should deny Emperor Haile Selassie I’s pivotal role in the establishment of the OAU, and those who continue to do so make the spirit of pan-African unity nothing more than an aberration.” 
      
On Friday, May 24, 2013, letters of encouragement from members of the Queen of Sheba Research Foundation were hand-delivered to the President and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, care of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC; the letters praised President Girma’s position on the issue and encouraged the Ethiopian government to separate politics from history by correcting previous historical oversights, errors, and omissions and grant Emperor Haile Selassie I His rightful place in the history of the OAU/AU.

African-American historians believe that at the end of the day, the Ethiopian government would demonstrate to the world community that the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia supports the truth of history even when it may not always identify with it.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10770461.htm


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1269421#ixzz2UZyxkZTJ

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Brazil to 'Write Off' $900M in African Debt


 
Brazilian President Rousseff at the 50th anniversary of the African Union in Ethiopia (Simon Maina/AFP/Getty)













At the recent African Union summit in Ethiopia, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff announced that she would write off or restructure $900 million in African debt to her country. BBC News reports that Rousseff hopes this move will further open business deals between Brazil and the resource-rich continent.
Congo-Brazzaville owes the most to Brazil - $352m - followed by Tanzania ($237m) and Zambia ($113.4m).
Some Brazilian companies have already negotiated deals in Africa, but not without controversy. 
Last month, hundreds of protesters in Mozambique blocked the entrance to a Brazilian coal mine in a row over a compensation deal agreed after they were displaced.
Human Rights Watch, a rights group, said farming communities had been resettled on arid lands and had suffered food shortages.
The Brazilian giant Vale, which owns the mine, and the government of Mozambique said improvements were being made.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR): Geneva, 22 May 2013. Support to disaster-proof schools and hospitals at Global Platform



Government ministers call for support to disaster-proof schools and hospitals at Global Platform

GENEVA, 22 May 2013 - Representatives from 35 governments who met with business executives and senior experts at the 4th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, have issued a call "to develop nationally agreed standards for hazard risk assessments especially of critical infrastructure (including schools, health centers, electricity and water supply systems, nodal ITC centres, road and transport systems) by 2015."

The call comes in a communique made public today by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, following a High-Level Meeting which took place yesterday in the wake of revelations from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction that economic losses from disasters are in the range of
$2.5 trillion so far this century. The High-Level Dialogue was moderated by Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland.

The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, said: "Who can forget the shocking fact that 97% of the schools in Port-au-Prince collapsed in the
2010 earthquake? It is of huge concern that the lives and education of millions of children living in seismic zones and flood plains around the world are at risk. Over the last ten years, earthquakes and tsunamis have killed almost 700,000 people, the majority of them children. Economic losses are also a deep concern.

"We have agreed today to support a global safe schools and safe health structures campaign in disaster-prone areas with voluntary funding and commitments to be announced at the World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2015. From national level data collected from governments by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction we know that thousands of schools and health centres are damaged or destroyed in disasters each year. Hazard risk assessments are essential before investing in critical infrastructure which can lead to loss of lives if not disaster-proof."

Martin Dahinden, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Chair of the Global Platform, said: "We believe that disaster risk reduction is essential to global efforts at poverty reduction and to achieve sustainable development. We have agreed to advocate for disaster risk reduction and the building of resilience to be a central part of the post-2015 development agenda together with mitigation and adaptation to climate change. All of which will be supported by a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction when the current Hyogo Framework for Action comes to a conclusion."

In addition to a campaign to start a global safe schools and safe health structures campaign in disaster-prone areas, the High-Level communiqué called on the private sector to integrate disaster risk in its risk management practices and for collaboration between the public and private sectors at local and national levels in risk management.

The following 35 countries were represented at the High-Level Dialogue:
Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, China, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

****
Download the High Level Communique here:


Read online: http://goo.gl/a1siF

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

November 1, 2007,” Pipeline Accident Report NTSB/PAR-09/01, October 14, 2009.


http://community.fema.gov/connect.ti/readynpm/view?objectid=84747


NEW EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT LESSON LEARNED: MISSISSIPPI PIPELINE RUPTURE

Terry Hardy 2 days ago   Reply
On November 1, 2007, a 12-inch-diameter liquid propane pipeline segment operated by Dixie Pipeline Company ruptured near Carmichael, Mississippi. It is estimated that about 430,000 gallons of propane was released. The resulting gas cloud drifted over a nearby residential area and ignited. Two people were killed, seven were injured, and four houses were destroyed in the explosion. The property damage exceeded $3.3 million. The NTSB found in its investigation that the rupture was caused by a failure in a weld that caused the pipe to fracture along the longitudinal seam weld, a portion of the upstream girth weld, and portions of the adjacent pipe joints. The NTSB also stated in its investigation that Dixie Pipeline Company’s oversight and evaluation of the effectiveness of its public education programs were inadequate. Dixie Pipeline Company distributed safety literature to stakeholders as part of its public awareness program. However, the company found after the accident that 10 addresses in this rural area were missing from the list used to distribute the safety data. This safety data described the pipeline hazards and what residents should do in case of an emergency. These ten addresses included the houses of two residents who were killed and other houses that were destroyed. In addition, the NTSB stated that Dixie relied on a contractor to perform the mailings, and did not assess the effectiveness of its awareness program. Dixie did not conduct surveys to find out if the customers received the mailings or whether they understood the guidance. The NTSB also stated that 911 operators were not invited to be part of the company’s outreach program for emergency responders. As a result, these 911 operators may not have had the proper training to recognize the hazards associated with a large release of propane, and therefore they were unaware of the actions to take in an emergency of this magnitude. Although it did not affect this emergency, the NTSB also noted that a radio signal repeater for the fire department, the primary radio system for the county dispatch, was not working. Communications cables of the radio signal repeater had been inadvertently disconnected during routine housekeeping. Following the accident the county implemented regular tests of the communications equipment.
Lessons Learned: Training is certainly much easier to conduct if it is limited to the personnel in one organization. However, real emergencies often involve personnel from multiple organizations including fire departments, police departments, emergency dispatch units, and so on. A failure to include these personnel in training could result in an ineffective and inappropriate response to a disaster.
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, “Rupture of Hazardous Liquid Pipeline With Release and Ignition of Propane, Carmichael, Mississippi, November 1, 2007,” Pipeline Accident Report NTSB/PAR-09/01, October 14, 2009.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Posse Foundation Scholarship

Hello juniors,
If you are interested in attending one of the following schools next year, please take a look at the guidelines for the Posse Foundation Scholarship.

• Bucknell University
• Grinnell University
• Lafayette College
• Sewanee: The University of the South
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Posse Foundation Scholarship is a full tuition scholarship to one of the above schools. The following are the criteria:

1. Be high school seniors in the fall of 2013

2. Demonstrate extraordinary leadership within their high school, community, or family.

3. Excel academically and have strong GPAs. Although there is no minimum requirement, only nominees who have consistently progressed toward academic excellence will be given the opportunity to be a Posse Scholar. While the ACT or SAT are not a focus of Posse’s evaluation, students should take them. The Posse Program is open to students of all backgrounds.


More information on the program can be found on: http://www.possefoundation.org/.

Thank you,
Ms. Burke

Attachments:
PosseNominationForm.pdf

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