Author: Hovhannisian John

ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICA
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
Email: [email protected]
Website:

PRESS RELEASE
September 26, 2008
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Email: [email protected]

RESPONDING TO BIDEN, AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE AFFIRMS U.S.
GENOCIDE-ERA DIPLOMATIC RECORD ON OTTOMAN TURKEY’S
ATTEMPTED EXTERMINATION OF THE ARMENIANS

WASHINGTON, DC -Ambassador to Turkey designate James Jeffrey, in
response to questions from Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Chairman and Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Biden (D-DE), affirmed
that official U.S. diplomatic reports by Ambassadors Morgenthau and
Elkus and other Armenian Genocide-era U.S. diplomats in the Ottoman
Empire did, in fact, describe the attempted extermination of the
Armenian population, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

"Although falling far short of a clear and proper recognition of
the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador Jeffrey, in his response to
Senator Biden’s questioning, moved U.S. policy in the right
direction by publicly agreeing – after long years of official
disregard, disrespect, and dismissal of Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau’s proud legacy – that our nation’s diplomatic
representatives to the Ottoman Empire did, in fact, document the
Ottoman government’s clear intent and systematic campaign to
destroy its Armenian population," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "We want to thank Chairman Biden for his thoughtful
inquiries that led to this reaffirmation of the American record,
and to, once again, express our appreciation to Senators Menendez
and Kerry for their incisive lines of questioning during the
Foreign Relations Committee’s confirmation hearing earlier this
week."

In questions submitted to the Amb. Jeffrey, Sen. Biden asked:

"Do you dispute that U.S. diplomats serving in the Ottoman Empire
during the Armenian Genocide documented a systematic, government-
sponsored campaign ‘with intent to destroy, in whole or in part’
the Armenian population?"

Ambassador-Designate Jeffrey provided the following response:

No. I have read many of the historical records from 1915-1916
related to U.S. diplomatic reporting on these events in Turkey, and
I do not dispute that Ambassador Morgenthau, Ambassador Elkus, and
other diplomats during that time period reported on what they
described as an attempt to exterminate the Armenian population.

The full text of Senator Biden’s four questions and Ambassador-
Designate Jeffrey’s responses are provided below.

#####

Questions for the Record Submitted to
Ambassador-Designate James Jeffrey by
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
September 24, 2008

Question:

What concrete steps will you take to press Turkey to recognize the
Armenian Genocide?

Answer:

The United States has strongly encouraged Turkey to come to terms
with the dark spots in its history and believes that establishing
an honest dialogue within Turkey on these events would help
facilitate reconciliation, economic prosperity, peace, and
stability in the region and would help encourage a full
understanding of these terrible events. If confirmed, I will
strongly support this effort, and in particular will emphasize its
importance to bilateral relations.

Question:

Do you dispute that U.S. diplomats serving in the Ottoman Empire
during the Armenian Genocide documented a systematic, government-
sponsored campaign "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part"
the Armenian population?

Answer:

No. I have read many of the historical records from 1915-1916
related to U.S. diplomatic reporting on these events in Turkey, and
I do not dispute that Ambassador Morgenthau, Ambassador Elkus, and
other diplomats during that time period reported on what they
described as an attempt to exterminate the Armenian population.

Question:

Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is used by the Turkish
government to stifle the debate on the facts of the Armenian
Genocide. As the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey what specifically will
you do to press the Turks to repeal Article 301 and promote freedom
of speech in Turkey?

Answer:

The Administration is encouraged by recent amendments to Article
301, an article which had previously criminalized "insulting
Turkishness;" the amendments reduce the possibility for
imprisonment and require the Minister of Justice to determine
whether to accept a case for prosecution. While the amendments do
not go far enough to meet European and American standards for free
speech, the Minister’s new role should help reduce the number of
cases brought by overzealous prosecutors for political and
ideological motives.

If confirmed, I will continue to press the Turkish authorities to
further this progress by ending legal action against citizens for
expressing their views, whether under Article 301 or other laws
used to prosecute individuals for their speech, and to fulfill
Turkey’s OSCE and EU commitments.

Question:

What specific steps will you take to address Turkey’s ongoing
blockade of Armenia, different from what has been attempted before?

Answer:

If confirmed, I will continue U.S. efforts to support the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and the opening of
Turkey’s border with Armenia. I am encouraged by increasing
exchanges and commercial activity between Turkey and Armenia over
the past several years, including the historic visit by President
Gul to Yerevan at President Sargsian’s courageous invitation, and
will endeavor strongly to further such cooperation.

Improvements in travel between Turkey and Armenia over the last few
years bode well for further economic openings between the two
countries. Turkey lifted visa restrictions on Armenians in 2002.
Armenians receive 90-day visas upon arrival at any Turkish port of
entry. According to official Turkish estimates, more than 70,000
Armenian citizens live and work in Turkey without interference,
sending substantial remittances back to their home country.
Commercial flights operate twice weekly between Yerevan and
Istanbul; during summer months a weekly charter service operates
between Yerevan and Antalya. During the crisis in Georgia, Turkey
permitted all flights to and from Yerevan to transit Turkish
airspace. Trade between the two countries, mostly via Georgia, is
valued at about $60-$120 million annually. If confirmed, I will
seek to build on these opportunities as part of the normalization
of Turkish-Armenian relations, including in close consultation with
our Ambassador to Armenia.

US GIVES POSITIVE REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS
By Jean Christou

Cyprus Mail
23 Sept 08

State doubles 2007 budget on holy sites

THE STATE spent â~B¬348,000 on conserving 17 mosques in the
government-controlled areas in 2007 and set aside almost double that
in the 2008 budget, according to the US State Department’s latest
report on religious freedom.

The report said that since crossings opened in 2003, Turkish Cypriots
enjoyed "relatively easy" access to their places of worship in the
south of the island while Greek Cypriots reported "better access"
to Orthodox sites in the north.

According to the report, 94.8 per cent of people living in the south
are Greek Orthodox, while 1.5 per cent were Roman Catholic, 1.0 per
cent Protestant, 0.6 per cent Muslim, 0.5 per cent Maronite Catholic,
0.3 per cent Armenian Orthodox, and 1.3 per cent atheist, ‘other,’
or ‘not stated’.

No serious complaints were recorded on religious discrimination during
the year but some religious organisations said they had difficulties
in registering as non-profit organisations. The report mentions
anti-Jewish sentiment separately from other religious discrimination
but said there were no recorded cases in Cyprus during the year.

"There were few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on
religious affiliation, belief, or practice, and prominent societal
leaders took posit ive steps to promote religious freedom," said
the report.

"Although Turkish Cypriots occasionally reported that unused mosques
in the government-controlled area have been vandalised, the Government
of Cyprus routinely maintains and repairs them," it added.

It said Orthodox and Maronites were prohibited from visiting religious
sites located in military zones in the north but that in 2007, the
Turkish Cypriot side completed the restoration of five Orthodox
churches. It did not say whether the buildings were restored as
Orthodox churches or put to new use after renovation.

"Greek Cypriots continued to report that vandals damaged vacant
Greek Orthodox churches and removed religious icons in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots; there were no reported law
enforcement investigations of these incidents," said the report.

"According to Turkish Cypriot leaders, in response to complaints of
vandalism, some locations were fenced for their protection," it says.

Referring to the general situation in the north as regards religious
freedom, the report said religious discrimination was negligible.

Though largely secular, some 98 per cent of the population in the
north listed themselves as being Sunni Muslim.

"Most non-Muslims residing in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots
are foreigners from Western Europe who are generally members of the
Roman Catholic or Anglican Churches," said the report.

"A Turkish-speaking Protestant congregation continued to claim
mistreatment at the hands of Turkish Cypriot authorities and
some members of the public, allegedly over fears that members were
proselytising, and they also complained they were unable to register as
an ‘association’ and thus could not establish a trust fund, construct
a place of worship, or establish a cemetery for congregants."

–Boundary_(ID_w2PNEwZYB+qYVtm FfKPOMA)–

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN OFF TO NEW YORK TO PARTAKE IN THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION

armradio.am
23.09.2008 16:03

President Serzh Sargsyan left for New York today to participate in
the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly, where he is expected to
make a speech, President’s Press Office reported.

In New York the Armenian President will meet with UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon and his counterparts from a number of countries.

Serzh Sargsyan will have meetings with representatives of the Armenian
National Committee of America, the Armenian Assembly of America and
the Armenian community of New York. He will also visit the Eastern
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.

The Armenian Embassy in the US, the Permanent Representation of
Armenia in the UN and the leading American-Armenian organizations
will organize a reception in honor of the President of Armenia.

Los Angeles Times, CA

Westchester Lutheran School rallies to help mother find missing Silah
brothers

Authorities believe that the father abducted the children; also
missing are their cousin and his father.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 21, 2008

Zarouhi Meguerian’s older son started first grade at Westchester
Lutheran School in 2002 and since then, she’s never missed the first
day of class.

On Sept. 8, Meguerian continued her ritual, visiting the classrooms of
sons Alex and Zaven Silah. But the industrial engineer walked alone,
holding hands with other mothers instead of her boys.

Authorities say Alex, 12, and Zaven, 8, were abducted in July by
Meguerian’s former husband, George Silah, 46, an Armenian Syrian. The
same day, Silah’s brother John left town with his 8-year-old son Greg.

Parental abductions are not unheard of in Los Angeles, where freeway
signs often advertise amber alerts for the missing. But the Silah
boys’ case has had a profound effect on students, teachers and parents
at Westchester Lutheran, a 58-year-old private school of 400 students
on busy Sepulveda Boulevard. The school has rallied around Meguerian
with fundraisers, Internet postings — and comfort.

Meguerian, 36, grew up in Philadelphia as a naturalized
U.S. citizen. She had an arranged marriage in Syria at age 16, then
returned to Philadelphia, Three years later, they had another wedding
ceremony in Philadelphia and her husband, who graduated from medical
school in Armenia but was not licensed to practice in the U.S., moved
here to live with her. His brother later joined them and married in
1996; the two men worked for chiropractors, Meguerian said.

In 2000, the Silahs moved to Los Angeles, and George and John started
a consulting business in Marina del Rey. John Silah and his wife,
Christine Jeanbart, divorced in 2003, and Meguerian and George Silah
divorced in 2006.

After the divorces, George and John Silah had limited custody of their
sons. This summer, they initially agreed to take the boys to George’s
time share at the WorldMark Resort in Big Bear for the July 4 weekend,
Meguerian said. George Silah was then supposed to take his sons to
South Florida, the start of a weeklong Disney cruise in the
Caribbean. John and Greg Silah were due to return July 6.

Soon after the boys left, their mothers say, they stopped answering
their cellphones. After fathers and sons failed to show up at the
resort or board the cruise July 5, police declared the boys missing.

On July 23, a Superior Court judge found that George and John Silah
had violated conditions of their custody orders and the district
attorney issued warrants for their arrest on three felony counts of
child abduction. Los Angeles police are working with agents at the
local FBI field office but have yet to find the group.

Meguerian has appeared on Fox News and MSNBC and was interviewed for
an episode of "America’s Most Wanted," set to air soon. Detectives
hope the publicity will help them find the missing boys.

Los Angeles police do not keep statistics on parental abductions, but
Det. Lonya Britton, who handles many of the cases, said that 98% of
the time, she can return a missing child within a week — if she finds
the child within 48 hours.

"Each day makes it harder and harder," Britton said of the Silah
boys. "That’s why we keep putting it out on TV, hoping somebody has
seen them."

George and John Silah’s parents, with whom the sons had shared a
rented house in Playa del Rey, moved back to Aleppo, Syria, shortly
before the men disappeared, Meguerian said. Britton said police have
checked the U.S. borders, flagged the fathers’ passports and
identification and found some evidence they may have gone overseas,
although there is no sign they fled to Syria.

Shortly after Alex and Zaven disappeared, Westchester Lutheran
Principal Sandra Masted sent e-mails and letters alerting parents and
the 300 families at Westchester Lutheran church, where her husband is
pastor. Masted also posted fliers with the boys’ photos in the school
office and invited Meguerian to speak to her sons’ classmates.

At the start of school, Meguerian watched other mothers at the school
snap pictures of children in the same new blue-and-white uniforms she
had at home, waiting for her sons. Near the back of what would have
been Zaven’s third-grade classroom, she found his wooden desk, stacked
with workbooks, school supplies and his paper name card.

Students filed into the room, including one of Zaven’s best friends,
Nico Villalobos, who wore a blue-and-white plastic bracelet reading
"Find Alex and Zaven Silah." Nico and other classmates spent a
Saturday afternoon with their parents selling the bracelets for $20
each outside a nearby supermarket. They raised $2,000 for the
Assn. for the Recovery of Children, a Redondo Beach-based nonprofit
that is trying to find Alex and Zaven.

Parents at the school also met with leaders of the local Rotary Club
and Chamber of Commerce about upcoming fundraisers at the school to
raise $20,000 for the two mothers and the nonprofit. As of this week,
they have raised about half the money. They also contacted the Los
Angeles City Council, which in August voted to offer a $25,000 reward
for information leading to the Silah boys’ return.

Westchester Lutheran will hold a children’s choir concert Thursday, a
Halloween dance party Oct. 24 and a rummage sale in November, to
benefit the ARC effort to find Alex and Zaven.

Chris Maeder, 45, a mechanical engineer who serves on the school
board, created a blog to help find the boys,
More than 6,000 people have viewed it
since July.

After Meguerian left her younger son’s classroom, she headed to the
church to speak with about 40 of her older son’s classmates.

Meguerian asked if any of them had access to Alex’s online accounts
and passwords. She explained that earlier this month, a student who
had helped Alex set up his MySpace page used a password to access the
account, alarming police. They spent a day tracking the girl down,
thinking she was Alex, Meguerian said.

None of the students said they knew Alex’s passwords.

"Are George and John using fake identities and stuff?" asked Tor
Larsen, 12, another of Alex’s best friends.

"Unfortunately, that is something we don’t know," Meguerian said.

Tor, who wore one of the blue-and-white bracelets, frowned and slumped
into the church pew. Well into the first morning of school, he and
Alex would normally have been in trouble for talking or falling out of
their seats laughing.

Instead, Tor was sitting quietly by himself.

Back in first grade, Tor explained, he and Alex were class "rejects"
who pooled their lunch money to buy soda, joined the same Boy Scout
troop and visited each other’s houses.

He last spoke with Alex a few days before he went missing. They made
plans to see Angelina Jolie in "Wanted," but Alex never followed
up. Tor left for summer camp and didn’t find out Alex was missing
until he returned.

He immediately sent Alex messages on YouTube and MySpace asking where
he was, without luck.

"One last question I have for you guys," Meguerian said as she
finished addressing the students, "Has anybody heard from Alex after
July 2?"

Tor looked around. Everybody was quiet.

"Nobody?"

Silence.

Meguerian sat in a pew as the children filed out of the church and
back to class. She was exhausted but glad to be at the school again.

Just being around the other parents and children gave her hope, she
said. She pictured herself walking her younger son back to class. She
could almost feel his hand in hers.

molly.hennessy-fiske @latimes.com

E. BEZOYAN: UNEVENNESS VS BAD QUALITY

Panorama.am
20:11 19/09/2008

Edward Bezoyan, the director of "road construction" project of "Lins"
foundation has summed up the projects of the current year. 16mln USD
has been disposed for the projects of regional and country construction
and reconstruction of roads in Yerevan. 20mln 900 thousands USD has
been used for the implementation of the project in Yerevan.

As for the roads which are also constructed but have some "unqualified"
characteristics, he said that the roads should not be considered as
unqualified. "There have been some shortcomings but they are being
developed," he said.

ANDREY ARESHEV: OSCE MG DEATH CAN ALREADY BE CERTIFIED

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.09.2008 16:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ After a serious defeat in the Georgian-South
Ossetian front, Western "builders of new Transcaucasia and Central
Asia" are trying to vent their frustration on the Azeri-Karabakh
conflict, a Russian expert said.

"Moscow’s increasing activity in the Karabakh issue was noticed
by the West. It can hardly be referred to the joint activities of
the OSCE Minsk Group, whose death can be already certified at the
moment. Russia’s official recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
opens new horizons in the Karabakh issue," said Andrey Areshev,
expert at Strategic Culture Foundation.

It’s not surprising that Russia, the U.S. and EU act avoiding
coordination of steps with each other, according to him.

"Possibility of Nagorno Karabakh’s joining the talks, active contacts
between Moscow and Stepanakert, willingness to resolve humanitarian
issues create a favorable atmosphere for final determination Karabakh’s
status. Moscow has a good opportunity to shape its policy in the
South Caucasus," Areshev said.

THE WARNER CENTER WAR II IS ON, AND THE PARAMEDICS ARE READY
By Steve Kim

Maxboxing
Sep 19, 2008

On the night of November 2, 2007, Art of Boxing Promotions held
their initial show at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills,
California, featuring the return of Juan ‘El Pollo’ Valenzuela. As a
sizable crowd arrived, they grew restless as the show failed to start
anywhere near on time, which is not that unusual for local club shows;
after all, without television and the need to fill as many seats as
possible, most promotions get started late.

But there was a good reason why this show didn’t get kicked off until
a good hour or so after it was supposed to – there was no licensed
paramedic at ringside. And no matter what the size or magnitude of a
card, and no matter who’s promoting it, a fight card can not proceed
in the state of California without the proper personnel being present.

As Kahren Harutyunyan holds his second edition of the ‘Warner Center
War’ at the same venue tonight (which is scheduled to begin at 8 pm)
he promises that the proper medical personnel will be in attendance.

"Yes," he says with a laugh, when asked about perhaps the biggest
lesson he learned thus far as a promoter. "It was the biggest one. That
was the only mistake I made and of course, if I can’t learn from the
only mistake I made then why am I in here?

"Here’s the deal, I don’t know the particulars. As far as I’m
concerned, a van that has lights on it, it’s an ambulance, it’s
a paramedic, whatever. I don’t know the difference between the
names. That’s my ignorance. So I checked on it many times. I checked
with Dean Lohius (of the California State Athletic Commission), I
checked with the paramedics. I thought I either needed EMT or paramedic
– I thought it was the same thing. I requested it a month-and-a-half
before that my EMT was going to be there. So it turns out that it’s
different. I also need paramedics too. I can’t blame anybody else
but me."

And that’s basically because Art of Boxing Promotions is a one-man
operation. Printing out posters and fliers and getting them circulated,
procuring sponsors, doing most of the matchmaking and handling all
media requests, all falls on Harutyunyan. But his first outing was
a critical, if not commercial, success.

"The quality of the show and the response that I got from the people
there, it was very good," he says of the card, which was attended
by the likes of James Toney and Brian Viloria. "For a small show,
for a first time promotional endeavor, it was a success. Financially,
it wasn’t. But everybody says that it’s expected. I tried to push it
as hard as possible to at least break even. I was down a little bit,
but this time the promotion is going way better. I’m promoting in a
lot of places, a lot of websites, television, radio stations. I have
more fights, better fighters, it’s going better."

This show will feature a bevy of his fellow Armenians in Vito ‘Casper’
Gasparyan and Art ‘Lion Heart’ Hovhannesyan, along with the likes of
Dean Byrne. Musical performances from Lucy Hart and Chronic are also
scheduled. His flier lists jr. middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan
as a special guest, but he has his own fight in Primm, Nevada tonight.

This tough little jr. bantamweight boxer-turned-promoter knows that
he won’t be getting rich off this event. He hopes that if he ends up
in the red again, it’s a loss-leader to a bigger picture.

"I believe in this series, and it even comes to the name of the show,
too," he explains. "I started with ‘Warner Center War’, now we’re
going to ‘Warner Center War II’ because we’re in the same venue and
hopefully it’ll have a continuation. Again, everybody told me not to
expect money the first time around. I tried really hard to break even,
didn’t happen, but hopefully this time it will. I made some changes
to my approach and hopefully it’ll work a little better."

The graduate of UCLA says his eyes were not necessarily opened by
the business aspect of the sport; what was unsettling to him was
the unprofessional behavior of some of the managers and fighters he
dealt with.

"It’s not so much about the business because by nature I’m a person
that’s very organized. I like to take a very organized approach to
things. So that aspect of the business is not hard for me, to be on
top of my paperwork, to talk to the commission and the managers," he
says. "But I didn’t realize that fighters can just back out of fights
real easily, not thinking about integrity, their name, anything."

Harutyunyan, who was a tough out in his days in the ring, is
non-plussed by fighters who so blithely turn away opportunities to
perform and further their careers. Part of the reason he got into
promoting is so that fighters like himself could find a place to
fight regularly in the local area.

"I couldn’t imagine that; I took fights any time I could, especially
not having a big promotional or managerial contract behind me. If
you’re in a situation where you’re ready to take fights to move your
career, you have to take fights. I’m amazed at how many fighters,
they commit to a fight and then they just call me, a week before the
fight, and say they’re not going to do it."

Welcome to the business of boxing.

So when will we know if there’s going to be a ‘Warner Center War III’?

Harutyunyan says with a laugh, "Around 9 pm on Friday."

INFO

You can buy your tickets online at ArtofBoxingPromotions.com and you
can call either 818-749-1571 or 310-691-3823.

The Warner Center Marriott is located at 21850 Oxnard St. Woodland
Hills, CA.

BIG BUCKS

K2 Promotions won the purse bid for the IBF heavyweight title clash
between Wladimir Klitschko and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin
with a bid of $13 million (yes, you read that correctly.)

Two thoughts go through my mind with this.

First, once again, that old adage about there being boxing, and then
heavyweight boxing. Just think of how many good fights could be made
for that amount below the heavyweight division. In fact, you can make
classic trilogies, hell, even a best-of-seven series with that type
of coin.

Second, the business of boxing might be struggling in the United
States, but markets like Europe are doing quite well.

$13 million. Wow.

Klitschko-Povetkin will most likely take place on December 13th
somewhere in Germany as part of a HBO telecast that will pair it with
the replay of Pacquiao-De La Hoya.

FIGHTS

I had a chance to view some fights that took place overseas recently.

On September 15th in Japan, 21-year old Roman Gonzalez would
capture the WBA minimumweight title by stopping Yutaka Niida in four
rounds. The Nicaraguan has unnatural power and he would bloody the
nose of Niida and cause severe swelling over his right eye. This could
best be described as a mercy stoppage, because this wasn’t going to
get any better for the defending champion.

I think Gonzalez can have a long and glorious run at 105-pounds. They
say punchers are born, not made. Well, this guy was certainly
a born puncher, but he also seems to be a pretty well-rounded
fighter. Gonzalez is now 21-0 with 19 stoppages.

In one of the worst decisions of the year, Australian Billy ‘the Kid’
Dib would get the nod over South African Zolani Marali in front of
his homefolks. The Australian announcing crew even said that if Dib –
who is an excruciatingly reluctant fighter – was to get the decision
that it would be a ‘travesty.’ Which is exactly what this was. This
was ‘Down Under’ homecooking – and it tasted terrible.

Dib, whose style would fit in fine in the Olympics, simply isn’t a
world-class fighter, and it would be an upset of epic proportions if
he can upset WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano on October 18th
on the Pavlik-Hopkins undercard.

Then there was the much disputed bout between heavyweights Nicolai
Valuev and John Ruiz, which has been debated back and forth between
the two camps. Personally, I thought it was a fight that was won
by Valuev on the basis of his steady jab. But what’s interesting is
that while two judges had the behemoth ahead at the end of 12 rather
comfortably at 116-111 and 116-113, a Japanese judge by the name of
Tak Shimakawa had him up by just one point at 114-113.

I mention this because two of the judges in the Dib-Zolani fight were
Thai. This, on the heels of Glen Hamada being the dissenting vote in
the bout between Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, one that most every
other observer saw as a comfortable win for Diaz.

Geez, I know Asians have a reputation as being terrible drivers
(hey, the truth hurts, what can I say?), but I think their judging
of prizefights also leaves something to be desired.

Finally, in what should be at least be mentioned in ‘Fight of the Year’
discussions, Jorge Arce overcame some rough moments in rounds three
and four to halt the game Rafael Concepcion in nine innings in front
of a lively crowd in Monterrey, Mexico. Say what you will about Arce
and whatever shortcomings he has, the guy is never in a bad contest.

GOOD NEWS

It’s now being reported that Oscar Diaz, who fell into a coma after
his bout against Delvin Rodriguez two months ago, has awakened and
is now in stable condition and off a ventilator.

He’s still not out of the woods in his recovery, but this is certainly
a step in the right direction.

I WANT MY YOUTUBE!!!

With MTV and VH-1 basically no longer airing music videos, it’s pretty
clear to me that the place to go to see them is youtube. And what’s
great is that all the classic songs from the past can be punched up
within seconds.

Yesterday I spent more than a few minutes watching some of my old
favorites – and stuff I didn’t even know existed in video form –
from the likes of Lisa Lisa, Stevie B, Sweet Sensation, Expose,
the Cover Girls, the Jets, Seduction and Jermaine Stewart (yeah,
Jermaine Stewart, what of it? C’mon admit it, ‘We Don’t Have to Take
Our Clothes Off’ is a great song. Rest in peace, to him.)

I’ve now gotten into the habit of opening up two tabs on my
browser. One to go on various websites, the other to listen to my
music. It’s like having a lap-top version of an Ipod.

FRIDAY FLURRIES

Anyone see the interview with ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen in the
latest edition of the Sporting News? I love that guy, he’s a real
renegade and the world needs more like him….Congrats to T.O. for
becoming the second all-time touchdown maker in NFL history at
his position. He’s a great receiver and a finer sportsman. Get your
popcorn ready!!!….Say what you will about the O’Neal’s, but isn’t it
great to see fathers and sons doing stuff together?….Mark my words,
Darrell Scott and Speedy Stewart of Colorado will be the next great
running back duo in college football….My college football lock of
the week, gimme Wake Forest and the four points against FSU at Doak
Campbell. This might be Jim Grobe’s best squad….

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: GOOD PRECONDITIONS EXIST TODAY FOR SOLVING THE KARABAKH ISSUE

armradio.am
19.09.2008 10:33

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded to the questions of
"Arminfo" agency. The full text of the interview is presented below.

Q.: Mr. Minister, according to the information disseminated by Azeri
media, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza declared
in Baku that Turkey can have its contribution to the process of
the Karabakh conflict settlement and help Armenia demonstrate more
flexible position. What’s your opinion about this view?

A.: If we believe in the citations of Azerbaijani media, then most
probably Mr. Bryza incorrectly used the word Armenia instead of
Azerbaijan, since Turkey can use its influence for making Azerbaijan’s
position more flexible, deriving from the reality that Azerbaijani
leaders have many times described the relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkey as "one nation – two states."

Q.: Does the information about the meetings of Armenian and Turkish
diplomats in Switzerland correspond to reality?

A.: There have always been contacts between Armenian and Turkish
diplomats and there is nothing extraordinary in these meetings.

Q.: There are talks about the three-way meeting between the Foreign
Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Will you confirm the
information?

A.: As early as September 7 in Yerevan we arranged with the=2 0Turkish
Foreign Minister to meet in New York on the sidelines of the 63rd
session of the UN General Assembly. Mr. Babacan suggested to organize
another meeting in a trilateral format. I do not mind organizing such
a meeting.

Q.: The talks about the change of the OSCE Minsk Group are rather
active today. To what extent are there grounded?

A.: The Minsk Group is the acting format of resolving the Karabakh
conflict, which enjoys the support of the international community. The
negotiations continue on the basis of eth proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs. I think that today good preconditions exist for the
resolution of the issue, which can open new opportunities for regional
cooperation for all countries.

Q.: According to Turkish media, some document is going to be signed
during your meeting with Ali Babacan in New York. What would you say
about the authenticity of this information?

A.: Upon the instruction of the Presidents of Armenia and Turkey, as a
result of the talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Babacn we declared
about our resoluteness to fully normalize the bilateral relations and
we are trying to make steps in this direction. I hope we will move
along that way without creating artificial obstacles fro each other.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY INDEX REDUCES BY 5.4% TO 65.3 IN ARMENIA IN Q3 2008

ARKA
Sep 19, 2008

YEREVAN, September 19. /ARKA/. Economic activity index reduced by 5.4%
down to 65.3 (on the 100-scale) in Armenia in the third quarter against
the same period of last year, the Press Service of the Central Bank
of Armenia (CBA) reported. A 17.7% reduction in economic activity
index was recorded as compared with the second quarter of this year.

Composite index of consumer confidence dropped by 1.6% down to 51.6
in the reporting quarter as compared with the same period of last year
(4.3% increase against the previous quarter).

According to the CBA, business environment index reduced 5.6% down
to 49.3% in annual terms (0.4% increase against the previous quarter).

Despite the fact that two out of three indices showed downward trend
in the third quarter, still they remained stable – over 45.

Economic activity index is calculated based on averaged estimates and
expectations of respondents on production output, production orders and
expected changes in production reserves. At the same time, consumer
confidence index is the arithmetical mean of responses of households
on their expectations on income, expenditures and employment level,
as well as on their attitude toward the current economic situation.

Business environment index is determined through averaging estimates
of organizations on changes in general economic condition and risks.

Since the begi nning of 2005 the CBA has been conducting quarterly
polls of non-financial, financial organizations and households to
assess change in the current economic situation as compared with the
previous period, to assess economic expectations of the entities and
households and to calculate and publish composite economic indices.

Random 833 industry, construction and service organizations and
1,813 households were studied in Yerevan and all 10 regions of
Armenia. The polls were conducted through the Internet, telephone,
mail and fax. Indices of economic activity and consumer confidence were
calculated on a 100-point scale (over 50 – high activity, below 50 –
poor activity, 50points – unchanged status) based on the results of
the polls.

TURKEY US’S ALLY IN CAUCASUS ISSUS: SECRETARY OF STATE

Trend News Agency
19.09.08 12:49
Azerbaijan

The United States cooperate with Turkey to settle the Caucasus issues,
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State said, CNN Turk agency
reported.

The world community does not support Russia’s actions in Caucasus and
the United States continues its cooperation with Turkey, Rice said,
making a speech at a conference of the Marshal Fund. "We are jointly
working with allies, such as Turkey to lay bases of cooperation in
Caucasus," Rice said.

The US Secretary of State stated the necessity to solve the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as to develop
cooperation to diversify energy resources. The United States cooperates
with Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan to transit energy resources of
the region to the west, Rice said.