Author: Emil Lazarian

Baltic News Service
November 15, 2004
ESTONIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH ARMENIAN COUNTERPART
TALLINN, Nov 15
Estonian President Arnold Ruutel who is on an official visit to
Armenia met on Monday with his opposite number, Robert Kocharyan.
The meeting between the heads of state and official delegations took
place after a formal reception ceremony in front of the presidential
palace in Yerevan, the press service of the Estonian president’s
office reports.
Under discussion were potential areas of bilateral cooperation, among
them sharing the Estonian experience of reforms and European
integration, and economic, cultural and educational experience,
including on the level of local government.
The rector of Tartu University, Jaak Aaviksoo, spoke about contacts
in the field of higher education which go back for more than two
centuries. The best-known example of this is that the founder of
modern Armenian literature, Khachatur Abovyan, was a student at Tartu
in 1830-1836.
State Secretary Heiki Loot spoke about the Estonian government’s
experience of using an electronic information system at its sessions.
Ruutel met also with the chairman of the Armenian National Assembly
Artur Bagdasaryan and other members of parliament. The Armenian
lawmakers showed great interest in tapping into Estonia’s experience
through parliamentary contacts.
The Estonian head of state laid a wreath at the genocide monument.
In the afternoon the presidents opened an Estonian-Armenian business
seminar. Ruutel observed in his opening remarks that bilateral trade
is so far limited to contats between single enterprises.
“But the business delegation accompanying us has come here with a
clear interest in cooperation and finding a niche for instance in the
areas of industrial electronics, telecommunications and information
systems,” the president added.
On Sunday Ruutel and his wife, Ingrid, visited the 1st-century Garni
temple, 13th-century Geghard monastery and Lake Sevan. In the evening
the Estonian president visited also the museum of the renowned film
maker Sergei Paradzhanov.
Estonian Culture Minister Urmas Paet and Armenia’s Minister of
Culture and Youth Affairs Khovik Khoveyan signed at the museum an
agreement on bilateral cultural cooperation.
Ruutel’s official visit to Armenia will continue on Tuesday. The
president is scheduled to return to Estonia Tuesday evening.

Experts fear Armenian Chernobyl
The Times/UK
November 16, 2004
Jeremy Page reports from Yerevan
Local people and the European Union are at odds over a Soviet-era reactor

THE Metsamor atomic plant looms menacingly behind Eduard Kenyasyan as
he offers a slice of homegrown water melon on the end of his
knife. `Nuclear melon?’ he asks with a mischievous grin. After living
next to this Chernobyl-era power plant on a seismic fault in southern
Armenia for 30 years, he is usedto the threat of nuclear disaster.
`If anything happens, it will affect the whole country, not just me,’
he says, shrugging.
The rest of Europe has not taken such a relaxed approach. The European
Union has lobbied hard for the plant, just ten miles from the border
with Turkey,to close this year. It says that the pressurised
water-reactor, based on first generation Soviet technology, may not
withstand another serious earthquake. Alexis Louber, the EU’s
representative in Armenia, caused an uproarrecently when he said that
keeping the plant open was the same as `flying around a potential
nuclear bomb’.
Metsamor was built in the 1970s and shut down after a big earthquake
in 1988, which killed at least 25,000 people in northern Armenia and
hit 5.0 on the Richter scale around Metsamor. Yet the Armenian
Government reopened the plant’s second unit in 1995 because of severe
power shortages and now says that it can continue working until 2016 –
and possibly 2031.
The resulting dispute pits growing Western concerns over obsolete
Soviet nuclear facilities against Armenia’s determination to preserve
its independence and energy security. The EU has campaigned for the
closure of dozens of atomic plants in the former Soviet Union since
Chernobyl, and its concerns have intensified since expanding to
Russia’s borders.
Although Metsamor uses different – and safer – technology from that at
Chernobyl, it lacks secondary containment facilities to prevent
radioactiveleakage in the event of an accident, European experts say.
In addition, nuclear fuel has to be flown to Yerevan from Russia and
then driven along a bumpy road to Metsamor once a year, because
Armenia’s border with Turkey is closed.
Jacques Vantomme, the EU’s acting Ambassador to Georgia and Armenia,
said: ` If there is an earthquake tomorrow, would it create a nuclear
disaster? I don’ t know – it depends on the size of the earthquake.
`The EU’s policy is that we want the closure of the plant at the
earliest possible date. This type of nuclear plant is not built to EU
standards and upgrading it cannot be done at a reasonable cost.’
The EU has offered â=82¬100 million (£70 million) in financial aidto
shut the plant and develop alternative energy sources, but Vartan
Oksanyan, the Armenian Foreign Minister, described that as
`peanuts’. Metsamor notonly provides 40 per cent of Armenia’s energy,
it also sells excess power to neighbouring Georgia. Decommissioning
the plant alone could cost more than £270 million, according to local
experts. With no oil and gas, and scant wind and water resources,
Armenia has few alternative energy sources.
The mostly Christian nation is also reluctant to rely on imported
energy because of its history of hostility with its Islamic
neighbours.
`Armenia knows this plant has to go,’ Mr Oksanyan said, â=80=9Cbut
let’s make sure we have the capacity to replace it before we close it
down.’
Power shortages between 1989 and 1995 have left deep scars on the
country. Almost all Armenians can recall sleeping in multiple layers
of clothing or waking to use their one hour of power each day.
Armenia’s forests were devastated by people cutting wood for
fuel. Gagik Markosyan, the head of the Metsamor plant, said: `I saw
the energy crisis myself. We can’t talk about closing the plant down
overnight.’
He said that more than £27 million had been spent on improving safety
since the plant reopened. British experts have been training staff
there for the past three years.
The second unit, opened in 1980, was originally designed to work until
2010, but as it was shut for six years, it could now work until
2016. Tests by Russian experts on similar reactors show that Metsamor
could, in theory, operate until 2031.
`As an engineer, I would not exclude that,’ Mr Markosyan said. For
him, as for most Armenians, a new nuclear plant is the only viable
alternative. TheEU is reluctant to foot the bill, however, arguing
that Armenia, without the Soviet Union, would never have borne the
hidden costs of development and decommissioning.
`We need the plant,’ Mr Kenyasyan says. `Like it or not, we can’t live
without it.’
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The BYU Newsnet, UT
Nov 15 2004
WorlDance brings cultures, rival schools together
By Jennifer Olson Daily Universe Staff Reporter – 15 Nov 2004

Nick Sowards
Photo: BYU folk dancers perform a graceful Armenian dance style
called Aghcheekneroon during WorlDance Thursday, at Kingsbury Hall at
the University of Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY – The school rivalry between BYU and the University of
Utah dimmed for an evening as dancers from both schools joined
together Thursday, to perform WorlDance 2004 at Kingsbury Hall.
The performance bridged cultures of the Middle East and Central Asia,
through song and dance numbers from BYU Folk Dancers, the University
of Utah’s Character Dance Ensemble, the Dionysios Greek Dancers, a
Persian musician and a Persian dancer.
“It was spectacular because it was really an infusion of cultures,”
said Adam Marriot, a junior majoring in pre-management, from Salt
Lake City who performed with the BYU Folk Dancers.
The performance opened with Lloyd Miller, who spoke to the audience
about understanding other cultures through their artistic traditions.
“One night a year, there is peace between cultures,” Miller said.
“Peace not in the world, but on this stage.”
Throughout the evening, dancers gracefully twirled around the Hall
stage in hot pink, lime green and turquoise-colored costumes.
Between her two dance numbers “Tilliana” and “Sri Ganeshya Dhimahi,”
Persian dancer Radha Carman talked to the audience about the beauty
of dance.
“The hands and eyes are ornaments that highlight the feet and arms,”
she said.
WorlDance not only bridged the cultures of the Middle East and
Central Asia, but allowed students from BYU and the University of
Utah to develop new friendships.
“It put us on common ground because we were there as dancers,” said
Kristina Macbeth, a University of Utah graduate student, studying
ballet with a character dance emphasis.
Marriott said he enjoyed getting to know the University of Utah
dancers when he was backstage.
“It was fun just to talk with them – to compare thoughts on dancing
and how they do things,” he said. “It’s not the big BYU – Utah
rivalry you hear about in football.”
Marriott said that when dancers from the two schools first saw each
other backstage, they kind of stared each other down.
“The moment you start talking, it’s totally normal,” he said.
Through the Indian, Armenian, Iranian and Turkish dances performed at
WorlDance, people were provided with an opportunity to learn about
the artistic traditions of other cultures.
“I hope that people took home a greater respect for where people come
from,” Marriott said.

Assyrian International News Agency, CA
Nov 15 2004
U.S. Must Protect Iraq’s Christians
Iraqi Christians are being persecuted in unprecedented numbers since
the U.S. invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraq’s Christian
community is only 3 percent of Iraq’s population, but according to
the United Nations, 20 percent of the refugees who leave Iraq are
persecuted Christians.
In raw numbers this is 20,000 to 30,000 of Iraq’s Christian community
of 800,000. The United States, as the champion of liberty and
democracy, must address this unplanned consequence of the war.
Freedom of worship and religious tolerance are pillars of liberty and
democracy.
During Hussein’s regime, Iraq was a secular dictatorship. Christians,
for the most part, were able to worship unmolested.
Christians have lived in Iraq since the time of Jesus Christ.
Christian groups include Chaldean Assyrians (Eastern Rite Catholics
who recognize the authority of the pope), the independent Assyrian
church and Armenian and Syrian Catholics.
Since April 2003, those groups, which form one of the world’s oldest
Christian communities, has been threatened with extinction.
Christian businesses are closing because of violence. Iraqi
businesses that traditionally are run by Christians are being
vandalized.
Bishop Mar Adai of the Assyrian Church of the East was attacked on
the streets of Baghdad by people who wanted to steal the gold cross
around his neck.
In August, Islamic extremists systematically bombed Christian
churches.
In September, there was evidence that Islamic extremists were
systematically kidnapping and torturing Iraqi Christians.
On October 16 and 17, five churches in Baghdad were bombed by
extremists.
There are reports that non-Christians dump garbage in the homes of
their Christian neighbors.
The new interim Iraqi government is unable to provide protection to
minority Iraqi Christians from acts of violence and bigotry.
While we talk of democracy and liberty for Iraq and the Middle East,
we fail to discuss the details, including the freedom to worship as
one pleases without fear of persecution. This is overlooked by the
media and the politicians in their discussions of Iraq’s future.
Unfortunately, many of our allies in the Middle East, such as Saudi
Arabia, do not permit their citizens or others the right to worship
as they please. As a result, the native Christian community
throughout the Middle East is fast disappearing because of
persecution. It is now happening in Iraq.
Because of the U.S. presence in Iraq, there is an unequaled
opportunity to stop religious persecution there and to influence the
course of religious tolerance for years to come.
But for that to happen, we must let our elected representatives and
national policymakers clearly understand that democracy and liberty
include religious freedom for all.
Religious minorities should not be forced to flee Iraq because of
America’s foreign policy or lack of attention. As one Iraqi Christian
leader said, “If the doors were opened to America and Australia,
there would not be a Christian left in Iraq.” The United States must
address the plight of Iraqi Christians.
To be fair, Iraq is not the only nation in the Middle East lacking
religious toleration or whose Christian population is diminishing.
But the United States liberated Iraq and its people. To make that
liberation complete and to make democracy and liberty a reality,
Iraqi Christians — and all Iraqis — need to be guaranteed the right
to worship without fear of persecution.
By Paul L. Whalen
Kentucky.com
Paul L. Whalen, a Fort Thomas lawyer, presented a resolution at the
United Methodist Church’s 2000 General Conference recognizing the
International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

Azeri foreign minister accuses Armenia of settling occupied territories
Media-Press news agency
15 Nov 04
BAKU
Baku has the information that the occupied Azerbaijani territories are
being illegally settled by Armenians, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov has told Interfax-Azerbaijan.
“We have exact information about Kalbacar, Lacin, Zangilan and
Cabrayil to which the Armenian side is luring people with loans,
credits and other forms of financial support,” he said.
The minister said that this information has been provided by
operational sources, the mass media and independent sources, namely a
US State Department report. Mammadyarov stressed that in an effort to
attract international attention to this act of lawlessness, Baku has
succeeded in putting the issue of the situation in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories on the UN General Assembly session’s agenda.
“Just imagine us reaching a real outcome in the negotiations with
Armenia and displaced people starting to return to their homes only to
find the Armenian families living there. This represents a potential
for the resumption of the conflict. Therefore, we think that the
discussion of the issue in the UN is extremely important,” the
minister said. He disagreed with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan’s opinion that the discussion of the issue in the UN could
affect the Karabakh peace process and represents an attempt by the
Azerbaijani authorities to take the issue out of the hands of the OSCE
Minsk Group.
“On the contrary, I believe that by putting the issue of the situation
in the occupied Azerbaijani territories on the agenda of a UN General
Assembly session we will facilitate the process of negotiations. We
don’t think the UN discussion can in some way replace the discussion
of the issue by the OSCE Minsk Group. Azerbaijan has repeatedly said
that it wants the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen to be more active,” the
Azerbaijani foreign minister said.
Mammadyarov spoke in favour of resumed negotiations at the level of
foreign ministers “within the framework of the discussions held in
Prague”. The negotiations were suspended on the initiative of the
Armenian side.
“We are ready to meet at any time and in any place within the
so-called ‘Prague process’ because the discussions we held in Prague
gave hope for the possibility of progress in the talks. But on the
other hand, it is difficult to believe in the sincerity of the talks
while the Armenians are settling in the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, including in the areas outside the administrative borders
of Nagornyy Karabakh,” the minister said.
“We expect the Armenian leadership to realize that the settling of the
occupied territories runs counter to all norms of international
humanitarian law and international conventions. There are well-known
1949 Geneva conventions about the law of armed conflicts. Under these
international legal documents, the settling of occupied territories is
prohibited. We think the Armenian administration has to understand
that and start evacuating and resettling the families that moved to
the occupied territories earlier and are living there now,” the
Azerbaijani foreign minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BOLSHOI THEATER BALLET FINISHES ITS U.S. AND MEXICO TOUR
RIA Novosti, Russia
Nov 14 2004
MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti’s writer Natalia Kurova) The Bolshoi
Theater ballet is finishing its six-week U.S. (Boston and Chicago)
and Mexico tour, the first one in over 30 years. Raymonda ballet is
closing the tour in Chicago on Sunday.
The Bolshoi performed its modern version of Romeo and Juliet as well
as classical Raymonda, Giselle, and Don Quixote ballets.
“Through all the six weeks and over 40 performances, the house was
overcrowded,” director general of the Bolshoi Theater Anatoly Iksanov
told RIA Novosti exclusively, “In Mexico, newspapers wrote it must
have been the Lord himself who had sent the Bolshoi ballet to the
Mexican audience. Of course we are pleased with the result of the
tour, but most of all I am happy about landslide success of the Romeo
and Juliet, a ballet that produced controversial remarks among the
Russian public. On returning back to Russia, we will make a tour of
Russian regions and post-Soviet countries.”
According to Iksanov, on November 21-23 there would be three gala
concerts in Tajik capital Dushanbe; in May the Bolshoi’s ballet
company will perform in Armenian capital Yerevan, while in January
2006, the ballet will move to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia.
In Moscow, he added, the ballet will begin rehearsing A Midsummer
Night’s Dream with renowned American choreographer John Neumeier.

Glimpses of Ottoman Palestine
Bahrain Tribune, Bahrain
Nov 14 2004
‘The exhibition at Beit Al Quran was a one-to-one conversation with
the elite and the ordinary
– an exchange of thought and not an eloquent exhibition of wit or
oratory.’
It may appear naive, a little preposterous, to expect 104 photographs
and photocopies of 18 hand-written documents to do full justice to
the mighty Ottoman empire that ruled Palestine for over 400 years –
almost uninterrupted.
It will also be naive to expect such a small exhibition – crammed into
a small gallery with only breathing space – (had there been a crowd,
there would have been more jostling than actual viewing), to expose
you to the complexities and the psyche of the ruler and the ruled in
all bitter-sweet aspects.
Realising that any pre-conceived notions would be only a bias and
dangerous, I stepped into Beit Al Quran – not to see what I wanted
to see, but to see what was all there to see: glimpses into freedom,
harmony, camaraderie and community spirit in Palestine between 1850
and 1919.
Water-carriers, women from Siloam selling vegetables or melons, Shaikh
Noury offering food to passers-by, gypsies, boating in Engaddi/Arnon
(Dead Sea), fishermen using their dishes as cymbals, pilgrims at the
Lion’s and the Damascus gates, celebration of the renewal of Jerusalem
water pipeline… well, it was a gallery of people of individual honour
and personal character, of independence, of the faces of humanity
without mask. There were no masters, no dictators, no champions.
It was also a hall for a one-to-one conversation with the elite and
the ordinary – an exchange of thought and not an eloquent exhibition
of wit or oratory.
The still moments carried in them infinite space, and this infinite
space was infinitely exhibited – as the everlasting joy.
Kudos to the Turkish embassy in Bahrain and Beit Al Quran for the
judicious selection of the photographs from the collection of Turkish
Consulate General in Jerusalem.
“Of an estimated 15,000 photographs in existence – until the end of
the Ottoman period in Palestine – the Consulate General has acquired
copies of 1,500 after years of painstaking search of the archives of
Orient House, the Arab Studies Society and other local institutions as
well as private family albums,” the Director of Museum at the centre,
Ashraf Al Ansari, tells me.
The photographs – faces, landscapes, town scenes, holy places – all
captured the fabric of the communities, their unity in diversity, the
social, economic and cultural life, the Ottoman Turkish architectural
imprint on monuments and structures. The documents, provided by the
Ottoman Archives Department of the Directorate General of the State
Archives of the Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey, depicted the
social and administrative aspects of Ottoman governance in Palestine
– a place which had remained one of the most important districts of
the empire from 1517 until the end of World War I.
The most important document was the ferman (ordinance) of Fatih
Sultan Mehmet guaranteeing religious freedom to all the clergymen
from different religions in Al Quds in 1457 – and affirming that the
empire was one of the most tolerant in the world.
“Unlike the preceding rulers, the Ottomans allowed the majority of
Muslims and Christian Arabs as well as minorities such as Jews,
Circassians, Druses, Serbs, Assyrians, Armenians and Turks to
peacefully coexist – as a natural right – regardless of their religious
or ethnic backgrounds,” Al Ansari says. The population also included
large groups of foreign missionaries, teachers and fringe groups of
Christians and Jewish refugees.
To further affirm his argument, Al Ansari points to another ordinance
(issued on August 31, 1565) on keeping of the holy places in Al
Quds such as Mariam’s Tomb and Qadem-Isa clean and the prevention of
improper acts on such sites.
“Most of the inhabitants, Arabic speaking Christians and Muslims,
lived in a few hundred villages with self-sufficiency. The elite lived
in the towns and were different from the subjects in the villages. The
high priests were often Greek though the congregation was Arabian. The
landowners were often Turks,” Al Ansari says.
The state never prevented any of the Christian communities from
exercising their historically acknowledged rights of free passage into
Jerusalem nor interfered in any way with their religious conduct, he
says. Further evidence that the empire kept to its contract with the
People of the Book is provided in church documents. They reveal the
systematic building, renovation and upkeep of churches and monasteries
in Jerusalem and beyond.
For instant, the permission to the Armenian Catholic community
in Jerusalem in 1887 to build a church on property close to a
Muslim mystic fellowship, even though the Armenian Catholics in
Jerusalem numbered just four households of 22 men and women. What is
extraordinary about the incident is that the permission was given
at about the same time as state elements were massacring Armenians
in Anatolia.
No visitor to the exhibition would miss the eclectic social milieu
and its various moods – a man selling ice-cream in Jerusalem (1917), a
local Arab pasha in full Ottoman Army insignia (1900) children watching
through the magic box (1919), an American cavasse (1905) the cattle
market in the Sultan’s pool (1900), a Samaritan with a scroll (1901).
More, a 1918 photograph of a women’s union making handicrafts
in Ramallah is perhaps the best evidence of women’s emancipation
during the Ottomans when they were allowed to earn a living with a
condition of not getting involved with men. The sorts of employment
were embroidery and weaving.
Education was another priority of the empire which encouraged the
teaching of both Arabic and English languages by opening the Arab
Primary School and the Friends School in Ramallah.
Other achievements include a railway line between Jerusalem and Jaffa
opened in 1892, the first major highway joining the two cities that was
completed in 1867l the town hospital was rebuilt in 1891 in the west
side of Jerusalem, the first windmill was built in 1839, the Citadel,
near Jaffa Gate, was repaired, adding a few adjoining structures,
the Clock Tower, a magnificent square tower with four huge towers
at the top of each side, was built in 1909 on top of Jaffa Gate as
a memorial to the British conquest during World War I.
In 1863, the local authority ordered the removal of all market
platforms to create space for pedestrians in 1885, old street tiles
were replaced in all of the City’s alleys and main streets, with the
provision of side channels for drainage.
The empire has gone, but the holy territories have retained to
date some remarkable features of the bygone era empire in the daily
socio-cultural life in Palestine. The Ottoman concept is still in the
memories of the Palestinian people. And the exhibition succeeded in
its aim – if it was to depict the remarkable cultural ebb and flow,
which characterised the Ottoman period, if it was to try and find
out hints from the Ottoman rule in this territory so that they could
be feasible examples for the present day, if it was to remember the
longest stable period of the Palestinian history with respect.
A walk through the gallery was like a visit to the Holy Land. At the
same time, it was a reminder of her spirit as a land of peace and
the possibility and hope for a better future.

Ve3d.com
IGN Insider
Nov 13 2004
The Pirates of Pirates!
Part two focuses on William Kidd and Jean Lafitte.
November 12, 2004 – If you checked in with us yesterday, you saw the
kickoff of our Pirates! feature. In it we detailed Stede Bonnet and
Blackbeard, two of the pirates you’ll be sharing the seas with when
Firaxis and Atari ship Pirates! later this month.
We continue the feature today by taking a look at pirate/pirate
hunter William Kidd and Jean Lafitte.
William Kidd
Captain Kidd’s story serves as a cautionary tale, warning of the
dangers of privateeringand of the blurry line between that occupation
and outright piracy.
In December, 1695, a privateering vessel named the Adventure Galley
was launched at Deptford, England, on the Thames River. The ship was
to sail around Africa and destroy pirates operating in the Red Sea
and to harass French shipping there. She was commanded by William
Kidd, an experienced captain and privateer.
The Galley’s maiden voyage was beset by ill luck and delay. Upon
departure Kidd promptly lost almost half of his crew to the English
navy’s press gangs and was forced to make up the missing men by
recruiting the dregs and scum of New York harbor. It took five long
months for Kidd to make the voyage around Africa, and on arrival he
immediately lost another fifty men to a tropical disease.
By the time he reached the Red Sea the surviving crewmen were almost
in open mutiny and Kidd was ready to resort to almost any means to
keep them in line. Unfortunately, most of the French shipping had
been driven out of the area, and all Kidd encountered were neutral
vessels. But Kidd was desperate, probably fearing for his life, and
he attacked and captured a number of neutrals, believing (or hoping)
that ambiguities in their ownership and papers made them legitimate
prizes.
On January 30th of 1698, Kidd encountered the Quedah Merchant. Owned
by Armenians and flying under false French colors, the Merchant was
one of the richest prizes ever taken at sea. Kidd was enormously
pleased with his good fortune – until he discovered that the Merchant
had an English captain, which made his attack an act of outright
piracy. In horror, Kidd ordered that the ship be freed, but his crew
angrily refused. Instead, they sailed the ships to the African island
of Madagascar and divided the plunder (surprisingly, they gave Kidd a
full privateer captain’s portion of 40 shares). Then all but a
handful of men deserted Kidd for another pirate in the area.
Convinced that he was an innocent victim of the actions of his
mutinous crew, Kidd took the remainder of his men back to New
England, where he hid some of his treasure before reporting to the
local authorities. The authorities made Kidd reveal where he had
hidden the treasure, then shipped him back to England in irons.
After rotting in prison for a year, Kidd was put on trial. He was
quickly found guilty of piracy and sentenced to be hanged.
Even then his bad luck didn’t desert him: the rope broke and it took
his executioners two tries to kill him.
(Incidentally, this is the only known instance of a pirate burying
any substantial amount of treasure. Most everybody else spent their
loot as quickly as they got it.)
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte was born sometime around 1778. He and his older brother,
Pierre, went to sea at an early age; somewhere off the west coast of
Africa the two quarreled with their captain, and began new careers as
privateers. An extremely brave, skilled, dashingly-handsome and
personable young man, Jean Lafitte quickly earned himself a
captaincy. After a good run in the Indian Ocean, the Lafittes moved
on to the Caribbean, where they established a base of operations on
Grand Terre, an island in the mouth of the Mississippi. Lafitte ran a
tidy little criminal empire in the Louisiana bayous. His men ranged
far and wide over the Caribbean while he and his brother fenced much
of the loot in New Orleans, where they became something akin to folk
heroes.
When the US took possession of New Orleans, the new Governor tried to
have the rogues arrested, but without success. With intimate
knowledge of the swamps and bayous of Louisiana – as well as the
enthusiastic support of the locals of New Orleans – the Lafittes were
virtually untouchable.
In 1812 the US declared war on England. An admirer of the United
States, Jean Lafitte offered his services to the US Governor in
return for full amnesty for him and his men, but the Governor
declined the offer. When the British invasion was imminent, the
Governor launched a surprise attack against Grand Terre, driving
Lafitte and his men into the dismal swamps.
Lafitte’s men wanted to join the British to exact revenge against the
Americans, but Lafitte stood firm. Staking his freedom and his life
on one last throw of the dice, Lafitte decided to meet in person with
General Andrew Jackson, the newly-arrived commander of New Orleans’
defense.
A former Tennessee lawyer and politician, “Old Hickory” was known as
a brilliant soldier and an honest, straightforward man. Much to
everyone’s surprise the general and the pirate got along famously,
and Jackson quickly accepted Lafitte’s offer.
The events of the Battle of New Orleans are well-known. Lafitte and
his men acted as guides for the US forces, allowing them to launch
surprise attacks against the approaching British, delaying their
advance until the American defenses were in place below the city. In
the final battle Lafitte led an independent force of sharpshooters
against a regiment attempting to outflank the American position,
while his other men worked the American artillery, earning Jackson’s
admiration for their coolness under fire. The American position was
unassailable, and the British Army was driven back with heavy losses,
securing New Orleans for the United States. General Jackson was true
to his word, and Lafitte and his men received full pardons.
— Firaxis

ARKA News Agency
Nov 12 2004
ISC-Star Company does not plan to stop its activity at
telecommunication market of Armenia
Today Armenian IP telephony companies hold protest action near
armenian Parliament building
Estonian President to arrive in Armenia with official visit on
November 13-16
The exhibition of Armenian goods and services to be held in Tbilisi
on March 16-18, 2005
Armenian Government allocates AMD 40 mln for providing accommodation
to 66 families in village of Lernadzor of Syunik marz
*********************************************************************
ISC-STAR COMPANY DOES NOT PLAN TO STOP ITS ACTIVITY AT
TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET OF ARMENIA
YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. ISC-Star Company does not plan to stop
its activity at telecommunication market of Armenia, press service of
the company told ARKA. According to the statement of the company,
ISC-Star plans to realize its projects using high professional
potential of personnel and acting in the frames of RA Constitution
and international law. “We don’t participate in political games and
do not have any geopolitical or party orientation. We were dealing,
are dealing and will be dealing only with business”, press release
states.
Note ISC Star planned to submit application for participation in the
tender for provision of mobile communication services.
On Nov 4, 2004 RA Government recognized K-Telecom the winner in the
contest for provision of mobile communication.
Armenian-Russian JV ISC Star was registered in Armenia on September
24, 2001. The founders of the JV are both juridical entities and
individuals from some foreign countries, including Russia (Komin LLC
and LanRusinvest OJSC), as well as the residents of RA. The unified
system of Star (ISC Star) includes over 100 nets of IP communication
and paging all over the world. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
TODAY ARMENIAN IP TELEPHONY COMPANIES HOLD PROTEST ACTION NEAR
ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING
YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. Today Armenian IP telephony companies
held action protest near the building of RA Parliament.
Representatives of about 200 IP telephony companies demanded audience
by the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Arthur Baghdasaryan for
delivering him an open letter signed by circa 10 thou Armenian
citizens. As Armenak Khachatryan, Representative of organizational
committee of IP telephony companies, Director of Deltacom told ARKA,
the protesters demand that the Parliament reviewed license of
ArmenTel, which was granted IP telephony monopoly. The
representatives of the organizational committee were received by
Tigran Torosyan, the RA NA Vice-Speaker, who promised to pass the
letter over to the Speaker and to intercede for their meeting with RA
Prime-Minister. The IP telephony companies plan to hold a rally on
Liberty Square, if approved by the Municipality.
To remind, the Armenian IP telephony companies started a one-day
strike in protest against granting ArmenTel with IP telephony
monopoly. 95% of companies on IP market take part in the strike.
On November 3, RA Government made a decision on making amendments to
the licence of ArmenTel Telecommunications Company. According to the
amendments, ArmenTel is deprived of its monopoly right to provide
GSM-services and portable satellite communications services. Also,
the company is deprived of its monopoly right to Internet traffic in
Armenia. At the same time, the company is given monopoly right to
IP-telephony, which will bring to closing down 250 companies
operating in that sphere. L.V. –0–
*********************************************************************
ESTONIAN PRESIDENT TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA WITH OFFICIAL VISIT ON
NOVEMBER 13-16
YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. On November 13-16 Estonian President
Arnold Ruutel and his spouse will arrive in Armenia with official
visit. As Armenian President Press Service told ARKA, the main
purpose of the visit is fostering of development of inter-state
relations, deepening of bilateral cooperation, defining of further
economic interrelations as well as discussion of a number of issues
of mutual interest. On November 15 the presidents will have
tete-a-tete conversation after which the bilateral negotiations will
be continued in enlarged format.
During his visit Arnold Ruutel will meet the Armenian Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan, and PM Andranik Magarian. As it is mentioned in the
press release, the Estonian President will meet Catholicos of All
Armenians His Holiness Garegin II in Holy See of Echmiadzin as well
as will lay a wreath to the Memorial of the Armenian Genocide of
1915. During Ruutel’s official visit there will be held
Armenian-Estonian business forum. The Estonian President also will
meet lecturers and students of the Yerevan State University. He also
will visit historical sites of Armenia. On November 16, the
delegation headed by Estonian president will leave Armenia. T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
THE EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN GOODS AND SERVICES TO BE HELD IN TBILISI
ON MARCH 16-18, 2005
YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. On March 16-18, 2005, the first
exhibition of Armenian goods and services “Armenia today EXPO 2005”
will be held in Tbilisi. According to LOGOS EXPO Center, products of
food, machine-tool, stone-working, chemical industries and products
of electrical technice and electronics industry, building materials,
paints and varnishes of Armenian production, services in the sphere
of cargo and passengers transportation will be exhibited. The main
goal of the exhibition is to advance export of Armenian products,
establish mutually advantageous business cooperation with Georgian
business circles and promoting the established relations.
According to the press-release, the area under the exposition will
make 450 square meters, and 38 companies already are willing to
participate in it as of November 10, 2004.
LOGOS EXPO Center is acknowledged for organizing the exhibition with
the general support of RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development
and the official support of RA MFA and the Union of Manufacturers and
Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia. A.H.—0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES AMD 40 MLN FOR PROVIDING ACCOMMODATION
TO 66 FAMILIES IN VILLAGE OF LERNADZOR OF SYUNIK MARZ
YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. Armenian Government allocates AMD 40
mln for providing accommodation to 66 families in village of
Lernadzor of Syunik marz. As Armenian Government Public and Press
Relations Department told ARKA, the Armenian Finance and Economy
Ministry is instructed to allocate the envisaged by the budget lump
sums to deposit accounts of the agent banks of the mentioned
families. As the press release mentions that non-refundable financial
assistance will be directed at implementation of construction or
purchase of accommodation. (1 AMD – 503.47). T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************
–Boundary_(ID_F30XQCSxhZ6w+527tuRS6w)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Global Population Implosion
The New American
Nov 12 2004
“For decades, much has been written about the world’s exploding
population,” noted an October 7 Christian Science Monitor report.
“But 60 countries, about a third of all nations, have fertility rates
today below 2.1 children per woman, the number necessary to maintain
a stable population. Half of those nations have levels of 1.5 or
less. In Armenia, Italy, South Korea, and Japan, average fertility
levels are now close to one child per woman. Barring unforeseen change,
at least 43 of those nations will have smaller populations in 2050
than they do today.”
“This baby dearth has potentially weighty economic consequences for
governments worried about everything from economic vitality to funding
future pension programs and healthcare,” continues the Monitor. “That’s
why many of them have been taking measures designed to encourage their
citizens to multiply.” France is offering mothers a birth subsidy of
800 euros per baby; Italy offers mothers of second children a bonus
of 1,000 euros.
South Korea has been offering tax incentives for families with young
children. Japanese prefectures (roughly the equivalent of state
governments) have been organizing hiking trips, cruises, and other
singles events with an avidity that would make the stereotypical
Yenta proud. In Japan, notes the paper, singles “are often called
‘parasites’ because, when they retire, they have no children paying
into the national pension system or helping out otherwise.”
Such efforts to address the birth dearth, like previous efforts to
combat the “population explosion,” illustrate that most governments
continue to regard children as a social resource to be managed by
the state.