Author: Andres-Papazian

DECEASED GET PENSIONS? – CONTROL CHAMBER

Tert.am
21.03.11

Recent inspections by the Control Chamber of Armenia have found the
State Social Security Service responsible for abusing authority,
particularly registering the pensions of deceased individuals and
causing a great harm to the state budget.

The head of the chamber, Iskhan Zakaryan introduced the results of
the inspections at the parliament’s Monday session, saying that their
activities are still under way.

As he told the MPs, the former head of the service, Vazgen Khachikyan,
was fired from office for the violations observed.

Earlier, Minister of Labor and Social Issues Arthur Grigoryan told
Tert.am that Khachikyan had been dismissed as per resignation notice.

Grigoryan who was present at the parliament meeting left the session
hall in the middle of Zakaryan’s speech.

Asked whether the chamber would submit the inspection results to
the Prosecutor General’s Office, Zakaryan said such act would become
possible after the documents are confirmed.

“Only the materials confirmed by the Control Chamber board are
submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office. We haven’t so far made
any decision in that regard. Though we have observed criminal and
legal violations, we still have time until June to clarify definitely
what really happened,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

CROATIAN SPEAKER VISITS GENOCIDE MEMORIAL IN YEREVAN

Tert.am
21.03.11

Speaker of the Croatian parliament Luka Bebic who is in Armenia on
an official visit has paid respect to the Armenian Genocide victims
on Monday.

On the first day of their official visit to Yerevan, the delegation
headed by Bebic laid flowers on the Genocide Memorial Complex in
Tsitsernakaberd.

At a meeting with Armenian parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamyan later in
the day, the Croatian official shared his impressions of the complex,
saying that the Armenian and Croatian nations share much in common.

The two speakers further considered possibilities of a more active
inter-parliamentary collaboration, and discussed other issues of
bilateral interest.

From: A. Papazian

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
Kasparov, Danailov Urge Introduction of Chess in European Schools

2011-03-13

The President of the European Chess Union Silvio Danailov, a
Bulgarian chess manager, and world-renowned Russian master Garry
Kasparov are moving to urge the introduction of chess in European school
curriculum.

Danailov and Garry Kasparov are going to meet with Androulla
Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism,
Sport, Media and Youth, on March 21 in Brussels to discuss their idea.

The introduction of chess in school curriculum in Europe was one
of the major campaign points of Bulgaria’s Silvio Danailov that helped
him get elected to head the European Chess Union (ECU).

Danailov hopes to increase European youngsters’ interest in chess.
He is the creator of the Junior Masters tournament in Bulgaria. During
its last edition in 2009, a total of 1 500 Bulgarian kids took part in
it.

In the ECU elections in September 2010, Danailov, who is the
personal manager of Bulgarian champion, Veselin Topalov, won with 30
votes, against the other main contender – Turkish Chess Federation
President, Ali Nihat Yazici, who got 24 votes.

Danailov’s victory is attributed to his election promise to work
for the development of the ECU and the sport, for making it both
professional and popular in schools.

All rights reserved, 2001-2011 (c) Novinite Ltd.

From: A. Papazian

International endeavor

By Darcy Gray – The Hutchinson News
Published: 03-19-20111
YODER – Police officials from the Republic of Armenia asked several
questions with the help of an interpreter as they watched a Sedgwick
County K-9 unit in action Thursday at the Kansas Law Enforcement
Training Center.

After Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputy Justin Crafton shouted a quick
order, Bullet, a German shepherd, quickly responded by putting his nose
to the ground, sniffing the area for evidence.

“The dog is given orders in a foreign language, but it typically only
responds to its trainer,” Sedgwick County Sheriff Bob Hinshaw said,
explaining the K-9 training.

The Armenian officials are spending a week and a half in Kansas as part
of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, which pairs
states with other countries in an effort to share information and learn
from each other, according to Sharon Watson, public affairs director for
the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office.

Kansas was previously partnered with Ukraine before teaming up with
Armenia in 2003, Watson said. Since then, Armenian officials have
visited Kansas many times, learning about law enforcement, medical
practices and education, and Kansas officials have also visited Armenia.

The five high-ranking Armenian police officials and two interpreters
visiting Kansas this week are focused on community policing, which they
plan to implement in Armenia, said Ed Pavey, director of the KLETC. The
group has already observed police operations in Kansas City, Kan.,
Overland Park and Wichita before spending about three days at the law
enforcement training center.

“Community policing is a philosophy – in simple terms it’s police
working with the community to solve and address problems,” Pavey said.
“They want to see if our strategies will fit there.”

The technology in the U.S. “is amazing to us,” Armenian Police Col.
Karen Mehrabyan said through an interpreter. The officials were
especially impressed with the 911 emergency operation centers, which
have not been established in Armenia, Mehrabyan said.

“We’re very pleased to see all of this, but in order to implement what
we’re seeing, we need financial resources,” Mehrabyan said. “The United
States also has financial limitations in refurbishing technology, so you
can imagine how hard it would be for us.”

Pavey said United States’ tax system is different from Armenia’s, where
budgets are created for the whole country and not locally among cities
or counties, which allows financial flexibility. Armenia, formerly part
of the Soviet Union, is still developing as a country, he said.

Equipment from the Hutchinson Police Department and the Reno County
Sheriff’s Office was on display Thursday for the Armenian officials,
some of whom tried their hand at riding a Segway. The officials also
watched officers in training at the KLETC.

“This is a great benefit for both the U.S. and Armenia, because we’ve
established not just military but civilian partnerships,” Watson said.

From: A. Papazian

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
Learn about what Catholic saints represent

Staff Reporter
Published: Mar 16, 2011
Whether you’re an accountant, a construction worker or a
comedian, there’s a special saint just for you. The saints are
also there when you face life’s special challenges: St.
Columbanus will protect you against floods, St. Katherine Drexel against
racism, and St. James the Greater against arthritis.

`Some saints are patron saints, which means they are invoked for
a particular cause, or against a particular illness, or to bless a
particular profession,’ explains Thomas J. Craughwell, author of
`Saints Behaving Badly.’ `Sts. Cosmas and Damian
are the patrons of doctors because they were doctors. St. Bernadette is
the patron of asthma sufferers because she was asthmatic.’

Sometimes, he explains, it works in reverse: St. Sebastian, the
good-looking martyr usually depicted as shot through with arrows, is the
patron saint of archers. In this case, he wasn’t the archer, but
the archer’s target.

There are 40,000 Catholic saints.

Here is Craughwell’s list of some special saints and the feast
days on the Church’s liturgical calendar when that particular
saint is commemorated.

St. Anne (1st century). The mother of the Virgin Mary and the
grandmother of Jesus, St. Anne has been beloved by Catholics and
Orthodox Christians for more than 1,500 years. Feast day: July 26.

St. Jude (1st century). Although he was one of the 12 apostles and a
cousin of Jesus, there was almost no devotion to St. Jude until the 20th
century. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, a priest on the South
Side of Chicago urged his unemployed parishioners to pray to this almost
forgotten saint. So many prayers were answered that devotion to St. Jude
spread rapidly across the United States. Feast day: Oct. 28.

St. Therese the Little Flower (1873-1897). This French Carmelite nun is
considered one of the great wonder-working saints of all time. It is
said that through the prayers of St. Therese, miracles drop from heaven
like a shower of roses. Feast day: Oct. 1.

St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231). Anthony’ canonization process
was the fastest in history: He was proclaimed a saint less than a year
after his death. Feast day: June 13.

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). It is said that of all the saints,
Francis of Assisi most closely imitated Jesus Christ. He is also the
first person to receive in his hands, feet and side the stigmata – the
wounds that Christ suffered on the cross. Feast day: Oct. 4.

St. Tarsicius (died 3rd century). A Roman altar boy, Tarsicius concealed
the Eucharist, the bread consecrated at Mass, under his clothes so he
could bring Holy Communion to imprisoned Christians. A gang of men and
boys suspected Tarsicius was hiding something and demanded that he show
them what he had; when Tarsicius refused, they beat him to death. Feast
day: Aug. 26.

St. Expeditus (died 4th century). Expeditus was a Roman soldier who,
with six fellow Christians, was martyred in Armenia. In 19th century
France, Catholics began to invoke St. Expeditus against procrastination.
Feast day: April 19.

St. Marcellus of Paris (died. c.430). There is a legend that in a
cemetery outside Paris there was a female vampire who fed on the people
of Paris. To protect his flock, Bishop Marcellus entered the tomb,
confronted the vampire and killed her. Feast day: Nov. 1.

St. Isidore of Seville (c.560-636). This Spanish bishop compiled a
20-volume encyclopedia of all existing knowledge. In the 1990s, when
online technology was young, Catholics in the new industry interpreted
St. Isidore’s encyclopedia as the world’s first database
and adopted him as patron saint of the Internet. Feast day: April 4.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-80). A Mohawk Indian, Tekakwitha was
born near present-day Auriesville, New York, in the Mohawk Valley. In
1675, a French Jesuit missionary arrived in Tekakwitha’s village
– she became his only convert to Christianity and took the name Kateri
(Mohawk for Catherine). Subjected to relentless harassment, Kateri fled
to a village of Christian Indians near Quebec, where she could practice
her faith in peace. Feast day: July 14.

From: A. Papazian

US AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: SAAKASHVILI WILL DISLIKE OUR POSITION

18.03.2011 | 13:29 | | Noyan Tapan | Region

(Noyan Tapan – 18.03.2011) Georgia cannot reclaim its lost territories
by force and should better show itself a successful economic and
democratic model in the region, US Ambassador to Georgia John Beyrle
said in Moscow.

He noted that military supplies would do Georgia an ill turn for it
will increase distrust of Abkhazians and Ossetians toward Georgia.

“President Saakashvili will hardly like our position. If we render
military assistance to Georgia, the Russians will possibly hamper
implementation of our strategic interests,” he said, reported CAUCASUS
PRESS.

From: A. Papazian

WORLD BULLETIN

Diplomacy

18 March 2011 Friday

Turkey’s EU minister urges Turks in US to get organized

Bagis also urged Turkish parents in the U.S. to present the best
opportunities for their children in their education.

Turkey’s top official for relations with the European Union has called on
Turks living in the United States to get organized among themselves to watch
out for Turkey’s interests there.

“We could get to speak as one voice whenever necessary if you stay in touch
with each other as well as with our ambassador and consul generals here,”
Egemen Bagis told in Washington “The Turkish American National Leadership
Conference,” co-hosted by the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations
(ATAA) and the Federation of Turkish American Associations (TADF).
Bagis said expatriate Turks all had a responsibility to their motherland,
adding that Turks living in the U.S. had even a great responsibility.

“You are living in the country that can create the biggest of butterfly
effect. That is why Turks living here do not have the luxury to make up
excuses in the face of developments, whatsoever. Issues that involved Turkey
in the U.S. have their effects else where in the world, which doubles the
burden on your shoulders,” Bagis said.

“We are expecting much from you. Do not forget that each and every one of
you is a Turkish ambassador here representing Turkey,” he said.

Bagis also urged Turkish parents in the U.S. to present the best
opportunities for their children in their education.
“Giving better education to our children here can help us access to key
positions in the U.S. politics, academia, civil society, arts and culture,”
he said.

Bagis said Turkey’s relations with the U.S. have grown to be much more
powerful than they were a decade ago, adding that American have come to
understand Turkey better over the years.

AA

From: A. Papazian

AS IF ANDREW WAS NOT IN ENOUGH TROUBLE

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 14:51:50 – 16/03/2011

Andrew is only one of the many friends of Azerbaijan

As if UK trade envoy Prince Andrew is not in enough trouble, he is now
facing scrutiny over his cosy dinners with Ilham Aliyev, president of
Azerbaijan. But it seems unfair to roast only Prince Andrew. Many have
extended that hand of friendship to this oil-rich and human
rights-poor country on the Caspian Sea.

In 2009 former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Azerbaijan,
had a private meeting with Aliyev and is thought to have accepted
£90,000 for a speaking engagement there. There is a Conservative
Friends of Azerbaijan group to foster relations, and the Lib-Dems go
one further. Last year the party received £11,500 in donations from
The European Azerbaijan Society, an NGO run by LSE-educated Tale
Heydarov, which promotes his country’s interests to the world. His
wealthy father Kamaladdin Heydarov also runs Azerbaijan’s Emergency
Ministry – `widely viewed as a cash cow for Baku’s elite, and the
Heydarov family in particular,’ as a WikiLeaked US cable put it.A
spokesman for The European Azerbaijan Society insists it does not
receive any funding from the state of Azerbaijan.

From: A. Papazian

Unknown people steal stars of Henry Vernoy and Ruben Mamulyan

arminfo
Wednesday, March 16, 18:09

Unknown people have stolen the stars of film directors of Henry
Vernoy and Ruben Manulyan. The stars were laid in 2010 near Moscow
Cinema within the frames of Golden Apricot Film Festival.

Director of Golden Apricot Programs Mikayel Stamboltsyan expressed
doubts at today’s press conference that the stars have been stolen for
further sale of the metal. “The stars are made of brass, which is not
of big value. Unfortunately, this is not the first or the last attempt
to do a bad turn to Golden Apricot, we can say that we have already
got accustomed to it”, he said.

To note, the stars of other film directors, Parajanov and Beknazaryan,
are currently being renovated at the initiative of Golden Apricot.

From: A. Papazian

WikiLeaks’ Assange transfers 11,000 leaked cables to Turkish publication

12:39 – 16.03.11

The founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange
has entered into a deal with the Turkish newspaper Taraf, transferring
11,000 leaked cables to the publication, the Turkish media reported.

Taraf will reportedly publish the cables in the near future.

According to the Turkish media, Assange had been conducting long
secret talks with Taraf, agreeing finally to transfer to the Turkish
newspaper 11,000 cables consisting of 24,000 pages. Taraf reporter
Yesemin Cungar has met Assange in Britain to receive the documents

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian