Author: Kalantarian Kevo

SPLIT ATOM: NEW EGOYAN FILM IS GOOD, NOT GREAT

New York Observer
w-egoyan-film-good-not-great
May 5 2009

The Man Who Fell to Moon
Split Atom: New Egoyan Film Is Good, Not Great
Bringing Back the Bad
Ranking NBC’s New Shows
Late Life
Adoration
Running time 100 minutes
Written and directed by Atom Egoyan
Starring Scott Speedman, Arsinée Khanjian, Devon Bostick, Rachel Blanchard

Atom Egoyan’s Adoration, from his own screenplay, is the 48-year-old,
Cairo-born, Armenian-Canadian writer-director’s 12th feature film
in a 32-year career that has spanned several media and art forms,
and many countries, and for which he has received worldwide honors. I
first became aware of his enormous talent with 1994’s Exotica, and
have been following his work ever since, as well as retroactively in
his past. What is particularly timely about Adoration, and perhaps
ahead of its time, is its concern with the creation of new identities
through technological advances in Internet communication.

Sabine (Arsinée Khanjian) is a high-school French teacher who provides
her class with a translation exercise based on a real news story about
a terrorist who plants a bomb in the carry-on luggage of his pregnant
girlfriend. A student named Simon (Devon Bostick) is so profoundly
stirred by the assignment that he re-imagines the news story as his
own family history, with his late father standing in for the terrorist.

Simon had been made an orphan some years before when his father
(Noam Jenkins) crashed the family car, killing both himself and his
wife (Rachel Blanchard). Ever since, the orphaned Simon has lived
with his uncle (Scott Speedman), and been fixated on his suspicion
that the so-called accident was an intentional suicide-murder on his
father’s part.

Mr. Egoyan has perhaps bitten off more than he can chew in fashioning
a narrative in which a series of delusionary scenes are intertwined
with disconnected realities in ever-shifting locations. As the program
notes tell us, "One of the original inspirations for the film came
from a 1986 news story Egoyan had read about a Jordanian man who sent
his pregnant Irish girlfriend on an El Al flight with a bomb in her
handbag, of which she had no knowledge until security found it."

In tracing the genesis of his film from this news story, Mr. Egoyan
explains: "The story always struck me because it was one of the first
examples of how extreme a terrorist act could be and how one could
turn someone close into an abstraction–not only a fiancée but also
an unborn child. I came across the story again in 2006 and began to
wonder about the child and the legacy of being raised knowing what
your father had done."

The big problem with the film is that Mr. Egoyan’s narrative is
frequently suspended between real incidents and mere speculations
to the point that the viewer may lose track of what has actually
happened, and by, with and to whom. Also, what doesn’t happen is more
sensational than what does. Hence, the trick ending–which I shall,
of course, never reveal even under the threat of torture–fails to
resolve the confusions of the narrative.

This is not to demean the sheer scope and ambitiousness of Mr. Egoyan’s
enterprise, and its educated awareness of global politics, economics
and technological advances in our daily lives. Mr. Egoyan himself is
a man of many cultural identities. His sensitivity to the expressive
potential of his performers is once again reaffirmed in the masterly
portrayals of Ms. Khanjian, Ms. Blanchard, Mr. Bostick, Mr. Speedman
and Mr. Jenkins among many other members of the international cast. As
for Mr. Egoyan, he remains an auteur at the highest level of cinematic
creation, and even one of his lesser films, like Adoration, deserves
to be seen.

TIGRAN KOTANJIAN WINS DUBAI OPEN

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2009 12:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian grandmasters Tigran Kotanjian and
Ashot Atanesyan showed brilliant performance at Dubai Open
championship. Although both garnered 7 points, Tigran Kotanjian was
recognized the winner due to extra index.

In the last tour, Kotanjian made a draw with Russian grandmaster
Pavel Maletin while Anastasyan defeated India’s Arun Prasad.

The championship’s prize fund makes $45 000. The winner gets
$6000. Those winning the second and third places are awarded $5000
and $4000 respectively.

Interfax, Russia
April 29 2009

Occupation of Azeri territory by Armenian forces among key threats to
Azerbaijan’s security – Aliyev

BAKU April 29

The occupation of part of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenian forces,
which has been lasting for years, is the greatest threat to security
and stability of not only Azerbaijan but the region on the whole,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said.

"This is the biggest injustice that we have seen in our region for
about two decades. Internationally recognized Azeri territories are
under the neighboring country’s occupation," Aliyev said at a joint
news briefing with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
in Brussels on Tuesday.

This occupation turned about one million Azeris into refugees and
displaced persons, he said.

"The policy of ethnic cleansing against Azeris has put seven districts
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh under the control of Armenian armed
forces. We are trying to resolve the conflict in line with
international law, including OSCE decisions and UN Security Council
resolutions demanding that the Armenian armed forces be immediately
withdrawn from our territories," Aliyev said.

Armenia’s position is based on Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to
self-determination, he said.

"This right absolutely does not mean that self-determination should
lead to the violation of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The
Armenians have determined themselves as a nation. They have a
sovereign state of Armenia. If you use this logic, some 20 countries
with Armenian populations can be created throughout the world. Second,
self- determination of Armenians and Azeris in Nagorno-Karabakh can
and must be within the borders of the sovereign Azeri state. This is
required by international law. Azerbaijan firmly stands on this
position, and I am sure that the conflict can be resolved only on this
basis," he said.

ONE MORE STABILIZATION LIKE THAT AND PEOPLE WILL FIND THEMSELVES IN THE GRIP OF TOTAL POVERTY: LEVON TER-PETROSYAN CONCERNING THE FINANCIAL POLICY OF THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES AND DRAM DEVALUATION

ArmInfo
2009-05-01 17:02:00

ArmInfo. As we had predicted during the 1 March rally, great
trials awaited the country’s economy, especially as a result of
the impending danger that the dram would be devaluated, the first
president of Armenia, the leader of the Armenian National Congress
Levon Ter-Petrosyan said during an opposition rally today.

The press service of the Armenian National Congress quotes
Ter-Petrosyan as saying: "In particular, I had mentioned in my speech:
"Very soon the government will have to abandon the policy of the
artificial preservation of the fixed rate of the dram. Meanwhile,
the dram will be depreciated not gradually, as it happened with the
Russian ruble, but, simply, as a result of a galloping drop." The
plunge happened two days after the rally, i.e. on 3 March, revealing
the bankrupt, if not criminal, nature of the policy pursued by the
government and the Central Bank. Up to that point the authorities were
assuring the public that the dram had a floating, rather than a fixed
exchange rate, which proved to be a complete lie, since a currency
with a floating exchange rate does not lose 30% of its value in one
day. It became clear also that the $800 million from the reserves of
the Central Bank had been spent not so much for shoring up the dram’s
exchange rate, but for a completely different purpose. That sum, as
well as the hard currency that has been collected as the public was
exchanging it for the local currency, has wound up in the accounts of
bankers, high officials and oligarchs, which cannot be characterized
as anything but a plunder of our national wealth in broad daylight.

The authorities are now expressing their satisfaction that
following the plunge on 3 March, the exchange rate of the dram has
stabilized. But it is not clear why they are forgetting that as a
result of the drop in the dram’s exchange rate and the subsequent
hike in the prices caused by it, there has been an approximately 30%
decrease in the population’s living standards.

Relying on the iron-tight logic of the government, we can even consider
the stabilization perfect if we take into account the very significant
facts that in the first quarter of this year there was a negative
growth of 6.1%, while the tax revenue has constituted only 40% of the
number envisioned by the budget. One more stabilization like that and
people will find themselves in the grip of total poverty. Although
now the dram indeed has a floating exchange rate, it is also not
clear why it is floating in one direction only – toward increasing
and continuing loss of value. That can only mean that no economic
stabilization can be achi eved in the near future. We should not
forget that the banks have found themselves in an extremely difficult
situation because of the losses they have incurred for loans in drams,
and because of the difficulties that have arisen in the repayments of
the loans in dollars. Inevitably, these problems are going to bankrupt
some of the banks, and as a result of that, the dram is going to lose
much more of its value.

As a result of the devaluation of the dram and the increase in prices
the Armenian economy is confronted with yet another alarming problem,
which is the shrinking of the volume of trade and the resultant
sharp decrease in the tax revenue. The budget has become nothing more
than a piece of paper, and the government is operating on the basis
of the most elementary bookkeeping instead of that law, which means
that on any given day it spends as much as it collects, barely being
able to cover the operational expenses of the government and to pay
the salaries of its employees. The catastrophic decrease in the tax
revenue has forced the authorities to tighten the administration of
tax collection, to encourage arbitrariness on the part of the tax
and duty collection agencies, using also the courts as an instrument
for the same purpose. As in the past, the tax burden thus continues
to fall disproportionately on the shoulders of the small and medium
size businesses, which are teetering on the brink of20bankruptcy even
without that problem.

Serge Sargsyan himself confessed during his last press-conference
that the big business continues to evade taxes. If it was a sincere
confession, it would have given hope that the situation would
improve. But as long as Sargsyan occupies the post of the president,
the big business will continue to evade taxes, because the latter is
the most reliable base of his kleptocratic regime and the source of
his personal enrichment."

MOSCOW APPROVES OF ARMENIAN TURKISH RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.04.2009 17:55 GMT+04:00

Moscow approves of Yerevan’s and Ankara’s efforts to normalize
bilateral relations, RF MFA official representative Andrey Nesterenko
stated. "This is a chance to thaw long-frozen relations, transferring
them to a new and constructive sphere," he emphasized.

According to Nesterenko, positive dynamics in Armenian-Turkish
relations will have a favorable effect on NKR conflict settlement
atmosphere, RF MFA Press Service reported.

Agence France Presse
April 26 2009

Scorecard of Obama’s campaign promises

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama made hundreds of campaign
promises on the road to the White House — and has pressed ahead on
several of the most high-profile in his first 100 days.

According to a scorecard of more than 500 campaign pledges collated on
the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact.com, Obama has kept 27
promises and broken six, but the vast majority are still a work in
progress.

Among the major promises KEPT by the new Democratic leader:

— Most combat troops are being pulled out of Iraq by August 2010 and
all US forces are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.

— Extra troops are being dispatched to Afghanistan — 21,000 this
year — and Pakistan is at the center of a new drive against the
Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

— A 75-billion-dollar fund has been created to help embattled
homeowners.

— New loans are coming on tap for small businesses.

— A state health insurance scheme for children has been expanded.

— Unemployment benefits have been enlarged.

— Predecessor George W. Bush’s restrictions on stem-cell research
have been overturned.

— Two Republicans are in the cabinet. Obama had promised at least
one.

— Curbs on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to their
communist-run homeland have been lifted.

— And the Obama girls have a new puppy.

Obama has also made a start on rolling back Bush’s "war on terror"
policies by ordering the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention site
and banning abusive interrogations of terror suspects that critics
called "torture."

In foreign policy, Obama’s pledges to engage with Iran and to reset
ties with Russia remain in an embryonic phase. Tough talk on trade has
not led to any action against China or America’s NAFTA partners Canada
and Mexico.

But the president did make good on a vow to deliver a speech in an
Islamic capital in his first 100 days during a recent visit to Turkey.

Among promises BROKEN:

— US recognition of the Ottoman Empire’s "genocide" during World War
I against Armenians. Obama avoided the word during his stay in Turkey
and in a message on Armenian Remembrance Day.

— A ban on former lobbyists working in the White House has been
waived for at least three staffers.

— Obama’s popular pledge to scrap income tax for seniors earning less
than 50,000 dollars a year did not figure in his huge economic
stimulus package.

— Also missing from the stimulus bill and subsequent proposals has
been a promised tax credit of 3,000 dollars for companies adding
full-time workers.

Other promises are classed by PolitiFact.com as STALLED with
administration officials talking down prospects for action. Those
include ending the Pentagon’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy on gays
serving in the military.

Neither is there any sign of Obama’s promised windfall tax on giant
oil company profits, with energy prices well off their record highs of
last year amid the global economic crunch.

States News Service, USA
April 24, 2009 Friday

STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE DAY

WASHINGTON

The following information was released by the White House:

Ninety four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th century
began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who
were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final
days of the Ottoman Empire. The Meds Yeghern must live on in our
memories, just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.

History, unresolved, can be a heavy weight. Just as the terrible
events of 1915 remind us of the dark prospect of mans inhumanity to
man, reckoning with the past holds out the powerful promise of
reconciliation. I have consistently stated my own view of what
occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. My
interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just
acknowledgment of the facts.

The best way to advance that goal right now is for the Armenian and
Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a part of their
efforts to move forward. I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and
Armenian people to work through this painful history in a way that is
honest, open, and constructive. To that end, there has been courageous
and important dialogue among Armenians and Turks, and within Turkey
itself. I also strongly support the efforts by Turkey and Armenia to
normalize their bilateral relations. Under Swiss auspices, the two
governments have agreed on a framework and roadmap for
normalization. I commend this progress, and urge them to fulfill its
promise.

Together, Armenia and Turkey can forge a relationship that is
peaceful, productive and prosperous. And together, the Armenian and
Turkish people will be stronger as they acknowledge their common
history and recognize their common humanity.

Nothing can bring back those who were lost in the Meds Yeghern. But
the contributions that Armenians have made over the last ninety-four
years stand as a testament to the talent, dynamism and resilience of
the Armenian people, and as the ultimate rebuke to those who tried to
destroy them. The United States of America is a far richer country
because of the many Americans of Armenian descent who have contributed
to our society, many of whom immigrated to this country in the
aftermath of 1915. Today, I stand with them and with Armenians
everywhere with a sense of friendship, solidarity, and deep respect.

Cleveland Indy Media
April 24 2009

Obama Follows the ADL Line on the Armenian Genocide
by Ciaran Dubhuidhe Friday, Apr. 24, 2009 at 9:51 PM

Obama denies the Armenian Holocaust

One day after vowing to battle Holocaust Denial, President Obama has
publicly denied the Armenian Holocaust . In an exhibit of hypocrisy
matched only by the `Anti-Defamation’ League’s Abraham Foxman’s denial
of the Armenian Holocaust , President Obama has dishonored anniversary
of the start of the genocide by releasing a statement describing the
Armenian Holocaust as an `atrocity.’

Apparently, to President Obama, history is something to be twisted to
the wishes of those who hold more power. Obama, like Foxman, values
the cooperation of the Government of Turkey more than he values the
principles that give rise to the dictum: `Never again!’

By denying the Armenian Holocaust, President Obama broke yet another
campaign promise . We can now add `Holocaust Denial’ to the long list
of his other disappointments: the abandonment of single payer health
care insurance, the escalation of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
the failure to address `Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ the failure to produce
a stimulus plan that aides American workers, the failure to oppose
outsourcing of American jobs, and the failure prosecute those who
ordered and participated in torture.

As if these broken promises were not enough, President Obama has
sought to defend and expand the NSA’s ability to spy upon Americans ,
give the Government the ability to search personal computers at will ,
and to shut down the Internet at will . Despite these grievous
violations of our trust, the American left has failed to organize
against President Obama’s Administration. Shall we add ourselves to
the list of American hypocrites?

009/04/37583.php

TURKISH MASS MEDIA: WHAT IS NOW EXPECTED IN ANKARA IS THAT OBAMA WILL REFER TO THE BREAKTHROUGH IN ONGOING RECONCILIATION TALKS IN HIS STATEMENT AND WILL REFRAIN FROM DECLARING THE EVENTS OF 1915 AS ‘GENOCIDE’

ArmInfo
2009-04-24 13:18:00

ArmInfo. In the eleventh hour before the US president decides what
vocabulary to employ in recognizing history, Turkey has agreed with
Armenia on which route to take toward reconciliation in the hope of
staving off the word ‘genocide.’ But the road before them presents
its own set of obstacles, not least of which is how Turkey finds a
way to keep Azerbaijan onside, Turkish Hyrriet says.

In a historic move, neighbors Turkey and Armenia have announced
an agreement on a framework to normalize ties, which could see the
establishment of diplomatic relations and a reopening of the border.

"The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual
understanding and they have agreed on a comprehensive framework for the
normalization of their bilateral relations in a mutually satisfactory
manner," read the statement released late Wednesday. It also said
both parties had determined a road map to reach this end.

Coming just before April 24 – the day that commemorates the mass
killings of Armenians in 1915 – the statement is an attempt to prevent
U.S. President Barack Obama from declaring the word "genocide" today
in a presidential statement about the World War I-era events. Ankara
has so far denied that an accord will be signed with Armenia amid
growing uneasiness in Azerbaijan.

What is now expected in Ankara is that Obama will refer to this
breakthrough in ongoing reconciliation talks in his statement and will
refrain from declaring the events of 1915 as "genocide", despite his
personal convictions to the contrary.

HAYLAND.AM REMINDS U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA OF HIS PROMISE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmInfo
2009-04-24 13:15:00

ArmInfo.Hayland.am social network has initiated Wake Up action at
the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan on April 23.

Despite hard rain, the action participants stood in front of the
Embassy in silence until 2.00 p.m. local time when they proclaimed
the hour of change with switching on alarm clocks. Then balloons with
a slogan ‘When the time of changes will come?’ flew up as a token
of hope. The action participants carried posters with the slogan:
"It’s the time to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Join the voice of
justice, change the world, keep your promise".