The Nahmias Cipher Report

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 00:17 AM EDT, 21 March 2012 BEIRUT, Lebanon – An Ethiopian domestic worker, Alem Dechasa, was taken to a psychiatric hospital following an attempt by a group of Lebanese men to kidnap her outside the Ethiopian embassy. First aired by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), the video shows Dechasa lying [...]

Thousands of Israelis, many of whom originally from Ethiopia, take part in a demonstration against the discrimination of Ethiopian-Jews in Israel. the protesters march from the Israeli Parliament to the city center in Jerusalem, on January 18, 2012. Keren Manor

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 18:52 PM EDT, 27 February 2012 SANAA, Yemen – Exiled Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh is rumored to have made plans to live in exile in Ethiopia. News sources have already published photos of the ousted president standing with the Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi. Saleh and his family, according to [...]

Reblogged from Follow The Money: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16770932 The African Union has inaugurated its newly built headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The entire $200m (£127m) project was funded by China as a gift to the AU, as Beijing continues to strengthen its influence in Africa. In front of African leaders a huge golden key was [...]

Reblogged from ethiopiantimes: SHAGARAB REFUGEE CAMP, SUDAN — Moving at night through the cold, flat desert, armed people smugglers are exploiting, abducting and sometimes killing Eritreans fleeing their authoritarian homeland, the UN and refugees say. “People catch us, sell us like a goat,” one Eritrean asylum-seeker said of the human traffickers. Like others who have [...]

This is an inspirational time of the year because of the proximity of the major holidays of the Abrahamic religions. We have just concluded Ramadan and now we are celebrating the Ethiopian New Year.  Enkutatash is the  word for new year in Amharic the official language of Ethiopia. The new year is also known as [...]

Teshome Shewaye is an Ethiopian citizen who provided the NCR with a more detailed account of the Ethiopic Calendar. The Ethiopic Calendar differs from the Hebrew, Islamic and Gregorian Calendars and is followed by more than 80 million people worldwide.

“The day starts with sunrise” is the conceptual basis for the clock in Ethiopia and many of its neighbors. Being near the equator this translates to roughly 6 AM each day with an even 12 hours of light and darkness with only a little seasonal drifting. A twelve hour clock is used that begins at “12 AM” with sunrise (aka 6 AM in the West), reaches “noon” at “6 AM”, followed by “12 PM” 6 hours later and “6 PM” at “midnight”. Think of it as a clock or watch with the “6” at the top and the “12” at the bottom.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today in the nations capital it is gray and overcast and people continue to examine and prevaricate about the death of Osama Bin Laden with the latest assertions that he hid behind the skirt of his wife in an effort to avoid being shot. A claim which has subsequently been proven false.

In any case since I am going to focus on some serious topics in the next few posts, I thought I would lighten the mood with a video that provides a funny take on the vagaries of temptation.

Hope you enjoy it.

The Ethiopian church places a heavier emphasis on Old Testament teachings than one might find in any of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Protestant churches, and its followers adhere to certain practices that one finds in Orthodox or Conservative Judaism. Ethiopian Christians, like some other Eastern Christians, traditionally follow dietary rules that are similar to Jewish Kashrut, specifically with regard to how an animal is slaughtered. Similarly, pork is prohibited, though unlike Rabbinical Kashrut, Ethiopian cuisine does mix dairy products with meat.

Women are prohibited from entering the church during menses; they are also expected to cover their hair with a large scarf (or shash) while in church, per 1 Cor. 11. As with Orthodox synagogues, men and women are seated separately in the Ethiopian church, with men on the left and women on the right (when facing the altar). (Women covering their heads and separation of the sexes in church houses officially is common to some Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christians, as well as many conservative Protestant and Anabaptist traditions; it also is the rule in some non-Christian religions, Islam and Orthodox Judaism among them.) Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers remove their shoes when entering a church, in accordance with Exodus 3:5 (in which Moses, while viewing the burning bush, is commanded to remove his shoes while standing on holy ground). Christmas is a public holiday in Ethiopia, and on Christmas Eve’s night (Christmas Eve is on January 6, Christmas on January 7), Christian priests carry a procession through town carrying umbrellas with fancy decorations. (Christmas is called Ganna in Ethiopia) Then the procession finally ends at local churches where Christmas mass is held. (Christmas mass can also be held on Christmas morning). Then on Christmas morning, the people open presents and then they play outdoor sports (that are native to Africa) to celebrate. Usually the wealthy shares a medium-sized feast with the poor and a large feast with their family and friends.

Dishes include Doro Wat and Injera. Most people usually put up decorations that symbolize something relating to Christmas, like a male infant to represent the birth of Christ, or a small Christmas tree to represent Christmas decorations. (Source: Wikipedia)