Police: Students Plotted School Attack
Teens Charged in Alleged Plan to Attack Md. School

18-year-old Yonata Getachew Photo Montgomery County Police

Editor's Note: Based on one of the suspect's name, this website assumes suspect Yonatan Getachew is of Ethiopian descent".

FOX News

* By PAUL WAGNER AND WILL THOMAS/myfoxdc

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Two Montgomery County teenagers are facing conspiracy to commit murder charges after police say they unraveled a plot to bomb their high school.

Police say 17-year-old Anthony Torrence and 18-year-old Yonata Getachew— both 11th graders-- planned to kill the principal of Springbrook High School using chemical reaction bombs. Police say the pair had a hit list that also included a school guidance counselor Camille Bosoco.

The plot was revealed Tuesday afternoon when a school resource officer began questioning Torrence outside the school. Police say Torrence told Officer Rodney Barnes about the plot and pointed a finger at Getachew.

When police searched the pair's homes, they say officers found flammable liquids, a carbon dioxide cartridge, nails, balloons, homemade wicks and fireworks.

Ethiopia Mourns Treasured Singer at State Funeral VOA
By Peter Heinlein Addis Ababa 23 April 2009

Tilahun Gessesse

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have attended a state funeral for legendary singer Tilahun Gessesse, considered a symbol of national unity since the time of Emperor Haile Selassie. Many of Tilahun's songs were considered anthems, binding together a country through war and famine, monarchy and dictatorship.

Mourners wailed in the streets and security forces struggled to control massive crowds as a nation said farewell to a man many call 'the father of Ethiopian music'. Radio stations interrupted regular programming for a live broadcast of the memorial service.

Hours before the service began, tens of thousands of fans, many with tear streaked faces, gathered under a blazing sun in Addis Ababa's main square, chanting and singing along with Tilahun Gessesse's songs.

Fifty-year-old Antene Gizachew said nobody will replace him in Ethiopia's heart.

"He's a legend for Africa," said Antene Gizachew. "He was motivator, humanitarian, so the United States has legends, as a young man I remember Elvis was a legend. He's like our Elvis. He lives in each Ethiopians hearts and minds forever."

Tilahun's golden voice captivated a struggling nation, transcending politics and time. He was a favorite of Emperor Haile Selassie, and served in the Imperial Guards.

His fame grew through the years of Marxist dictatorship known as the Dergue, under Mengistu Haile Mariam. His songs about starvation raised millions of dollars for a famine-stricken nation. He traveled abroad, thanking the world for its support during the famed "We are the world" campaign.

But unlike many who fled the terror of the Dergue, he overlooked politics and kept on singing to his adoring public.  

He won over the current government a decade ago during Ethiopia's war with Eritrea when he went to the front to entertain the troops.

The front row of seats at the memorial service was dotted with the faces of top government officials.

Also prominent at the service was a massive floral bouquet sent by the young singing sensation Teddy Afro, whose songs were adopted by the opposition during the violent anti-government protests following the 2005 elections. Afro is currently serving a prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run traffic accident.

Famed artist Sileshi Demisse says even though Tilahun's music sometimes had a political edge, politicians of all stripes embraced him.

"He was not anti any government personally, but through his music he expressed his feelings during all these three regimes, and all these governments were going to give him a hard time," said Sileshi Demisse. "But he wasn't that politically hard, but he was saying what he wants to say."

Prominent actor Abdullah Balcha, who also served as Tilahun's personal attorney, says the singer not only had a knack for expressing the people's feelings, but could do it in several languages.

"There was some operation in every form at the time of the emperor, at the time of the dergue, there was that feeling of expressing, and he was always the voice of the people," said Abdullah Balcha. "He used to sing perfectly and eloquently in Amharic and Oromifa and in Sudanese, Arabic as well."

Tilahun had been in poor health in recent years, suffering from diabetes. He died Sunday, hours after returning to Ethiopia from the United States. He was 68-years-old.

http://www.ethiomarley.com/Menu.php?Name=Tilahun%20Gessese

The King of Ethiopian Music, Tilahun Gesesse dies at the age of 69

April 20th, 2009

The renowned and veteran Ethiopian vocalist, Tilahun Gessesse, passed away on April 19, 2009.

Tilahun Gessesse (Amharic: ጥላሁን ገሠሠ) (also spelled Telahun Gesesse or Tlahoun Gèssèssè) is an Ethiopian singer. He was born on September 29, 1940, in Addis Ababa and died on April 19, 2009.

Gessesse was born to Woizero Gete Gurmu, and Ato Gessesse Negusse. When he was fourteen years old, he was taken by his grandfather to Waliso where he began attending Ras Gobena Elementary School.

As time went by, his interest in music became increasingly clear, although his grandfather urged him to concentrate on his academic studies. The Ras Gobena School Principal Mr. Shedad (who was from Sudan), encouraged Gessesse's interest in music and urged him to go to Sudan to pursue his music career. Although Gessesse did not go to Sudan, he took Mr. Shedad's advice very seriously. When Woizro Negatwa Kelkai, Ato Eyoel Yohanes and others artists from the Hager Fikir Theatre came to his school to perform, Gessesse took the opportunity to discuss his interest in music with Ato Eyoel. He was told to go to Addis Ababa if he wanted to pursue a career in the field.

Gessesse left school to go to Addis Ababa, a journey he began on foot without his grandfather's consent. When his grandfather realized that Tilahun was no longer in Woliso, he informed Gessesse's great-aunt in Tulu Bolo. After Gessesse traveled fifteen kilometers on foot, he was caught in Tulu Bolo and stayed overnight with his great-aunt Woizero Temene Bantu. The next day, he was forced to return back to his grandfather in Woliso. Since his interest in music lay deep in his heart, Gessesse chose not to stay at his grandfather's house in Woliso. After staying only one night at his grandfather's house, he again began his journey to Addis Ababa, this time hiding himself in the back of a loaded truck.

In Addis Ababa, Gessesse was first hired by the Hager Fikir Association, which is now known as Hager Fikir Theater. After a few years at the Hager Fikir Theater, he joined the Imperial Bodyguard Band where he became a leading star singer. During his time with the band, Gessesse ran afoul of the government after the attempted coup d'état of December 1960 by the Imperial Bodyguard. He was arrested and put in prison for a time.

Gessesse moved to the National Theater where his success continued. He was so famous that he appeared three times in front of Emperor Haile Selassie I. During a visit, the Emperor advised him not to abuse his talent.

The majority of Gessesse's recordings are in Amharic, though he has recorded a number of songs in Oromo.

He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Addis Ababa University, in appreciation of his contribution to Ethiopian music. He has also received an award for his lifetime achievements from the Ethiopian Fine Art and Mass Media Prize Trust.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilahun_Gessesse

Ethiopian emperor's singer dies

Tilahun Gessesse began singing in the days of Emperor Haile Selassie The popular Ethiopian singer, Tilahun Gessesse, has died at the age of 68. He had been the most dominant figure in Ethiopian music for more than half a century and will receive a state funeral later this week. The country's radio and TV stations broke into their programmes to broadcast tributes. He started singing in the days of the Emperor Haile Selassie, and was for a time the lead singer in his imperial bodyguard band. The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says that over the years, his plaintive tenor voice sang of love, family and friendship, as well as the more public themes of liberty, unity and justice. He had been in poor health in recent years because of diabetes.

Happy easter!

Royal breakup

Royal breakup for 'Real' Housewife

BY Marie Mcgovern and Nancy Dillon
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Saturday, April 11th 2009, 4:00 AM

Loud/Getty

LuAnn de Lesseps attends the launch party for "Project Green Prom" at Whole Foods Market Tribeca.

The fairy-tale marriage of Countess LuAnn de Lesseps is crumbling over a princess.

The mysterious Ethiopian beauty at the center of the divorce between Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York" star and her husband, Count Alexandre de Lesseps, has been unmasked as Princess Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar, reports Ethioplanet.com.

She is the descendant of King Abajifar, the last ruler of a powerful kingdom in the Gibe region of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian news Web site said.

An unnamed source said it was the wish of both the princess and Count Lesseps, 59, that she no longer be identified as "the Ethiopian woman" but rather with her royal credentials.

It was last month that de Lesseps, 43, discovered her husband of 16 years was serious with another woman in Geneva. She said she was "blindsided" by the news and added that she found out after the count sent her an e-mail.

"I just think some people aren't good at confrontation," she said.

The former model, who has a book due out next week titled "Class with the Countess," told People magazine that she quietly separated from her husband more than three months ago but felt "ashamed" when news of his infidelity broke.

"It's been like a death," she told People. "You go through anger, bereavement. It's really an end to a part of your life."

She and the count have two children: Noel, 12, and Victoria, 14.

ሰላም ነው!!!

ሰላም ነው እንዴት ነው? ይመስገን ይህን ታህል አልን ፤ይህ ሳምንት በጣም አስገርሞኝ እንድተነፍስላችሁ የዳዳኝ ነገር ቢኖር "የሰላም ነው" ነገር ነው ።ጓደኞቼንም ሆነ ማንኛውንም ሰው ሰላም ማለት ከጀመርኩበት ግዜ ጀምሮ አፌ ላይ የሚመጣው የሰላምታ አሰጣጥ ሰላም ነው !! የሚለው የሰላምታ አሰጣጥ አይነት ነው። ለማውቀው ሰው ሁሉ ነው የምለው ምናልባት በእድሜ ለገፉ ሰዎች ወይም እንግዶች እና አክብሮት በሞያችው ለሚቸራቸው ሰዎች ካልሆን በቀር በየጊዜው የማገኘውን ሰው ሁሉ የምለው ሰላም ነው!!! ነው ታዲያ በዚህ ሳምንት ውስጥ ነው አብሮኝ የሚሰራ አማርኛ ተናጋሪ ሰው አለ ታዲያ ይህ ሰው በጨዋታ መሃል ሰላም ነው የሚለው ሰላምታ አሰጣጥ በቅርብ ጊዜ የተለመደ እንደሆን አስረግጦ ነገረኝ ፤ ባይገርማችሁ እንደዚህ አይነት ነገር ሲያጋጥምኝ የመጀመሪያዬ ነው በእሱ አባባል የዚህ ትውልድ ልጆች ናችሁ ይህንን "ሰላም ነው" የሚለውን የስላምታ አሰጣጥ የምትከተሉት አለኝ በርግጥ እኔ ከዚህ ትውልድ በፊት ስላልነበርኩኝ ስለ ድሮ ሰላምታ አስጣጥ ይህ ነው ብዬ የምለው ነገር የለም ነገር ግን በርግጠኝነት የምናገረው ነገር ቢኖር "ሰላም ነው" የሚለው ሰላምታ አስጣጥ በጣም የተለመደ  መሆኑን ነው እስኪ እርሶ የሰላምታ እሰጣጦቻችን ላይ ያለዎትን አሉታዊም ሆነ አዎንታዊ አስተያየት በግርጌ ማስታወሻ ላይ ያስፍሩ መልካም የስራ ሳምንት።