Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Space Ref (press release)
Dec 21 2008

Second Group of Mercury Craters Named

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recently approved a
proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to name 15 craters on
Mercury. All of the newly named craters were imaged during the
mission’s first flyby of the solar system’s innermost planet in
January 2008.

The IAU has been the arbiter of planetary and satellite nomenclature
since its inception in 1919. In keeping with the established naming
theme for craters on Mercury, all of the craters are named after
famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors.

"We’re pleased that the IAU has again acted promptly to approve this
new set of names for prominent craters on Mercury," says MESSENGER
Principal Investigator Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington. "These latest names honor a diverse suite of some of the
most accomplished contributors to mankind’s higher aspirations. They
also make it much easier for planetary scientists to refer to major
features on Mercury in talks and publications."

The newly named craters include:

Amaral, after Tarsila do Amaral of Brazil, considered one of the
leading Latin American modernist artists.
Dali, after Salvador Dali, a Spanish painter and leader of the
Surrealist Movement.
Enwonwu, after sculptor and painter Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu,
the most renowned Nigerian artist of the 20th century.
Glinka, after Mikhail Glinka, a Russian composer considered to be the
"father" of genuinely Russian music.
Hovnatanian, after Hakop Hovnatanian, an Armenian painter known for
his portraits.
Beckett, after Clarice Beckett, recognized as one of Australia’s most
important modernist artists.
Moody, after Ronald Moody, a self-taught, Jamaica-born sculptor and
painter who found success in mid-20th-century London and Paris.
Munch, after Edvard Munch, a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker,
and draftsman, perhaps most well-known for his painting The Scream.
Navoi, after Alisher Navoi, a 15th century Uzbek poet, considered by
many to be the founder of early Turkic literature.
Nawahi, after Joseph Nawahi, a self-taught artist, lawyer, educator,
publisher, member of the Hawaiian legislature for many years, and
principal adviser to Hawaii’s Queen Lili’uokalani.
Oskison, after John Milton Oskison, a Cherokee author who served as
editor and editorial writer for the New York Evening Post.
Poe, after Edgar Allan Poe, American poet, critic, editor, and
author. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre.
Qi Baishi, after Qi Baishi, a renowned Chinese painter known for his
whimsical water colors.
Raden Saleh, after Raden Saleh, a 19th century Javanese naturalist
painter considered to be the first modern artist from what is now
Indonesia.
Sher-Gil, after Amrita Sher-Gil, an eminent Indian painter, today
considered an important female painter of 20th-century India.
"It was quite enjoyable to consider candidate names from among the
world’s most accomplished people in the arts and humanities," says
MESSENGER Participating Scientist Dave Blewett, of the Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md. "It’s also
gratifying to have the IAU approve names that have meaning to the team
members. For example, the crater Poe (named for Edgar Allan Poe) was a
popular choice, as he happens to be a local favorite because of his
Baltimore ties.

"Having names for many of the prominent craters will help us to
remember and discuss specific locations in this previously
‘undiscovered country,’" adds Blewett.

An image of Mercury showing the locations of the newly named features
is available online at

The addition of these craters, along with the 12 features named in
April, brings the total to 27 newly named surface features for Mercury
in 2008. In September 2009 MESSENGER will complete a third and final
flyby of Mercury before becoming the first spacecraft to orbit the
planet, beginning in March 2011.

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and
Ranging) is a NASA-sponsored scientific investigation of the planet
Mercury and the first space mission designed to orbit the planet
closest to the Sun. The MESSENGER spacecraft launched on August 3,
2004, and after flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury will start a
yearlong study of its target planet in March 2011. Dr. Sean
C. Solomon, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, leads the
mission as principal investigator. The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory built and operates the MESSENGER spacecraft
and manages this Discovery -class mission for NASA.

d=30180

PanARMENIAN.Net

Araz Alizade: Turkey can easily neglect Azerbaijan’s interests
20.12.2008 13:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Many Turks erroneously hope that accession to the
European Union will bring them welfare, according to an Azeri
politician.

"To become a member of the EU, Turkey should recognize the Armenian
Genocide in the Ottoman Empire," said Araz Alizade, chairman of the
Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

"Turkey can easily neglect Azerbaijan’s interests if Armenians
renounce financial compensation for the 1915 events. The whole thing
is money. If Turkey, which has over $160 billion debt, is imposed
payment of compensations, it will have no future," he said.

"One should not hope that Turkey will press for return of Nagorno
Karabakh to Azerbaijan," Alizade concluded.

Georgiandaily, NY
Dec 20 2008

RUSSIA’S STRATEGIC CHALLENGES IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: AZERBAIJAN MOVES
CENTER STAGE

December 20, 2008
By Roger N. McDermott

Russia has emerged from the war with Georgia in August 2008 with
considerable long term strategic challenges, both within the South
Caucasus and in its dealings with the United States.

Whilst Moscow indulges in self congratulation over the failure of
Georgia and Ukraine to secure a timetable for NATO membership,
believing it has gained a victory over a divided and weakened Alliance
and President Dmitry Medvedev expresses his hope that the new Obama
administration in Washington will presage compromise over missile
defence, Russia will face growing problems in reconciling its
self-generated image of resurgence with economic downturn and lack of
support from close allies in the CIS.

BACKGROUND:

Moscow’s wider diplomatic efforts in the South Caucasus have yielded
mixed results. The declaration on the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution
which was signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents
on November 2 urges a political solution to the conflict. In Moscow,
this was portrayed as a diplomatic triumph partly connected with its
victory in August and its newfound penchant to promote peaceful
conflict resolution. Amongst its neighbours in the South Caucasus,
these views are less credible. Azerbaijani President Aliyev, for
instance, according to Azad Azarbaycan TV believes the document showed
that the conflicting parties are Armenia and Azerbaijan: an important
concession, since Yerevan has maintained that it is an issue between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Moreover, interviewed on Italy’s Rai International TV channel on
November 27, Aliyev said that despite the Moscow agreement, Azerbaijan
reserves the right to resolve the dispute by force, if necessary. `No
one can find in that (Azerbaijani-Armenian-Russian) declaration a
commitment by Azerbaijan to refrain from a military option (of
resolving the conflict). The fact that it says that we think a
political settlement must be in place does not mean that we refuse our
fundamental rights,’ Aliyev explained. In fact, he used the
opportunity to highlight the fragility of peace in the South Caucasus,
which had been underscored as a result of the war in Georgia last
August, though he expressed his preference to see a political
solution, questioning the international community’s intentions or
interest in this. `Armenia has been violating the Azerbaijani people’s
fundamental rights for over two decades and nothing is happening. We
hope that attention to the issue will increase, especially after the
latest developments in the Caucasus which showed how fragile peace
is,’ Aliyev said. Despite Russian protestations otherwise, the South
Caucasus is no less volatile after the Georgia conflict.

The transit of military cargoes to Armenia, which has used Georgian
territory to do this since 1994, has been made more complex in the
aftermath of the August conflict. This not only has implications for
the transit of Russian military hardware and supplies for Russia’s
base in Armenia, since Georgia will not permit this to occur using its
territory, it also affects Yerevan’s procurement options. For example,
should Armenia purchase tanks from Ukraine, these would now be subject
to Armenia-Georgia bilateral cooperation, as the tanks would be
shipped to the Georgian port of Poti and then by rail to Armenia. In
this sense, Russia has inadvertently boosted the strategic importance
of Georgia within the region. The alternative supply route is through
Azerbaijan, but this is subject to longer term fluctuations, and of
course Baku can monitor the exact nature of all Russian military
cargoes to the base in Armenia. This will remain problematic for
Russia’s MoD.

IMPLICATIONS:

In late November, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry raised serious
reservations over a recent bilateral defence cooperation agreement
reached between Armenia and Georgia. The terms of that agreement
appear to give Armenia transit rights through Georgia’s territory for
non-Russian military cargo. Additionally, the agreement foresees
Armenia sending its tanks for maintenance to the Tbilisi tank repair
facility, something Baku considers could be a potential security
concern for Azerbaijan. While this situation remained unresolved,
Tbilisi, buoyed by the reaffirmation of NATOs support for its eventual
membership of the Alliance in the aftermath of the NATO foreign
ministers’ meeting in Brussels 2-3 December 2008, carried out a
government reshuffle designed to bring more experienced politicians
into the Georgian government. Baku has also stressed its strategic
partnership with Tbilisi as a way of ensuring a favourable resolution
of concerns over the Armenia-Georgia defence cooperation
agreement. Tbilisi, on the other hand, has positioned itself well to
raise its own objections about Azerbaijani territory being used as a
transit route for Russian military cargo at a time when Russia is an
occupying power on Georgian territory. Moscow has limited leverage in
these issues.

Similarly, NATO’s role may be changing in the South Caucasus, but it
has hardly relinquished its interests as the Kremlin would like to see
happen. Turkey’s embassy in Baku organized meetings at NATO
headquarters on November 17-18 2008, attended by delegations from
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Although a wide range of issues were
discussed, the central focus was how to improve the delivery of NATOs
Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAP). This presaged the mooting
of the idea at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in December to
develop annual action plans, rather than concentrating on the more
controversial Membership Action Plans (MAP), which were denied to
Georgia and Ukraine. Moscow, contrary to the statements made by its
political leadership on the issue of NATO `backing down’ on the MAP
issue for Georgia and Ukraine, is in reality powerless to prevent the
Alliance from developing more targeted and systemic assistance for its
partners in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan’s first phase of IPAP, endorsed in April 2005, was
completed in January 2008. Since April 2008, talks have centered on
moving the second phase IPAP beyond its current draft stage. NATO
would like to have the new IPAP agreement with Baku published in full
in order to promote transparency and defuse unnecessary speculation on
Alliance assistance to Azerbaijan’s armed forces. NATO wants to
further support the transformation of the Azerbaijani military
education system and strengthen the professionalism of sergeants
amongst other tasks in order to help promote bringing military
training and standards into line with NATO standards.

NATO has pressed for the formation of a joint headquarters in
Azerbaijan’s military structures, which Baku has agreed to implement
by late 2009 or early 2010. These advances combined with an undoubted
interest in further modifying IPAP to suit its needs, suggest that
Baku is open to closer cooperation with the Alliance. Baku needs
assistance in strengthening these aspects of its armed forces, which
NATO members are able to provide. NATO is encountering an appetite for
`graduated relations’ with the Alliance amongst its partners in the
South Caucasus.

CONCLUSIONS:

Russia is subject to the impact of the global financial crisis,
shoring up the ruble, flight of foreign capital since the war in
August, and faces the prospect of a continued slide of world oil
prices. It has committed to building new military bases in Abkhazia
and South Ossetia which will be expensive and an additional security
and financial drain on the Russian state. Equally, its recognition of
the `independence’ of the two breakaway regions in Georgia has not
elicited any support from its CIS neighbors. NATO’s cooperation with
Azerbaijan and Georgia ` far from being minimized ` is likely to
witness deeper assistance individually tailored to the host country
needs and promoting defense and security sector reform, while
stimulating further Euro-Atlantic integration. Russian power, after
the war in Georgia, may be more illusory than real.

AUTHORS’ BIO: Roger N McDermott is a an Honorary Senior Research
Fellow, Department of Politics and International Relations, University
of Kent at Canterbury (UK) and Senior Fellow in Eurasian Military
Studies, Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC. He specializes in the
militaries and security issues in Russia, Central Asia and the South
Caucasus.

URL:

tent&task=view&id`04&Itemid=132

Belarus backs Russia’s missile plan to counter U.S. shield

17:00 | 19/ 12/ 2008

MINSK, December 19 (RIA Novosti) – The Belarusian president said on
Friday he fully supported Russia’s idea to deploy short-range missiles
in its Kaliningrad exclave in response to a U.S. missile shield in
Central Europe.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened in November to deploy
Iskander-M short-range missiles in the country’s westernmost region,
which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, if the U.S. missile
defense system was deployed in Central Europe.

"I absolutely support this statement by Medvedev. He simply warns the
Americans that there is a response – a low-cost response – to the
deployment of a missile-defense system. And he warns all the Europeans
who are now ready to station these systems on their soil," Alexander
Lukashenko said.

He said on Thursday that Belarus had no plans to respond to U.S. plans
to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe.

"Belarus is not yet going to react to missile defense deployment in
Europe. First of all, there is no missile defense in Europe, and
second, it is big money we don’t have yet," Lukashenko said.

However, he added that if necessary, the country would find the money
to respond.

Lukashenko arrived in Moscow on Friday ahead of talks on Monday with
Medvedev to discuss Russian gas prices in 2009.

Over the weekend, Lukashenko will play in a match between a team of
world stars and officials from Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom, the
Belarusian president’s press office said, without saying which team the
president, an avid ice hockey fan, would play for.

Belarus has joined Russia in condemning U.S. plans to set up an
interceptor missile base in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech
Republic, saying the missile shield would destroy the strategic balance
of forces and threaten national security.

The United States says the system is needed to protect against attacks
from "rogue" states such as Iran.

TURKEY’S MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY CONDEMNS APOLOGY CAMPAIGN FOR "1915 INCIDENTS"

Turkish Press
Dec 18 2008

ANKARA – MPs from Turkey’s Main Opposition party, CHP, condemned
Wednesday the campaign launched to apologize from Armenians for the
incidents of 1915.

Parliamentarians of Republican’s People’s Party (CHP) who hold seats
at the foreign relations committee of the Turkish Parliament, released
a communique saying that Turkey had nothing to apologize for regarding
1915 incidents.

"The claim that Turkey committed a crime in those years, requiring
an apology has no legal or historical foundation. If there is someone
who needs to apologize, it is the Armenian side, who attacked Turkish
soldiers and killed hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens while
siding with and supporting a foreign country on an attempt to invade
Ottoman territory," said the communique.

The Parliamentarians also said the Armenians also needed to apologize
for massacring thousands of Azerbaijani citizens, invading Azerbaijani
territory and forcing one million of its citizens to exile.

They also said Armenians needed to apologize for not prosecuting and
punishing ASALA terrorists who assassinated Turkish diplomats.

"While these facts remain, the attempt to apologize from Armenians
has been rather an act violating the homage we owe to our history
and ancestors, and one that hurts the honour of the Turkish Nation,"
said the communique.

INSURANCE OF LIABILITY PROCEEDING FROM USE OF MOTOR TRANSPORT TO BECOME COMPULSORY IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Dec 18, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. At the December 17 sitting, the
Armenian government appoved the draft law on compulsory insurance of
liability proceeding from the use of motor transport.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, based
on the draft law, the government also approved the bills on additions
to the RA Customs Code, the RA Law on Central Bank of Armenia, the RA
Law on Insurance and Insurance Activity, the RA Law on Registration
of Legal Entities, the RA Law on Ensuring the Safety of Road Traffic,
the RA Law on Motor Transport, and the RA Law on Personal Data. The
indicated bills will be submitted to the RA National Assembly in
order envisaged by law.

AUCTION OF STATE BONDS WITH 11-WEEK REDEPTION PERIOD HELD

Noyan Tapan

Dec 19, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. An auction of state (treasury)
short-term bonds of AMGT11053095 issue with a 11-week redemption
period was held on December 18.

According to the RA ministry of finance, the total amount of bonds
subject to placement made 1 billion drams (about 3 million 247 thousand
USD), demand – 1 billion 306 million 572 thousand drams. The placement
of bonds made 1 billion drams. The revenues from placement amounted
to 981,112,233 drams.

The weighted average yield of placement made 9.0006%. 9 dealers and
the treasury depository participated in the auction.

Armenian Youth Federation of Australia
259 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW 2068
PO Box 238, Willoughby NSW 2068
E: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] | W:
<;

18 December 2008

HASG College Year 12 Students on HSC Distinguished Achievement Honour Roll

25% of HASG College Year 12 attained Distinguished Achievement (Band 6)
results in the HSC for 2008 and were listed on the Honour Roll. In
addition, 100% of the College students who sat for Mathematics Extension (3
Units) and Legal Studies achieved results in the top 2 Bands in the State.

"I am proud of the academic achievements of our Year 12 in 2008," said
Principal Kaylar Michaelian. "They have worked very hard throughout the
year. Whilst the HSC result is an indication of a student’s personal
academic achievements, HASG College always strives to nurture and support
each student to achieve their best academic potential.

During the course of the year, HASG College organised special HSC Workshops
for Year 12 to help them to prepare for their examinations.

"Our HSC workshops have been effective in assisting our Year 12 students
reach their individual potential and we will follow through in 2009 in
continuing and expanding these special Workshops for Years 11 and 12," added
Mr Michaelian.

HASG College Alumni Executive member, Mr Haig Kayserian said: "HASG Alumni
will be playing a greater role in 2009 in assisting Years 11 and 12 of
College in their preparation for the HSC through these dedicated Workshops."

He added: "Having recently gone through the experience of the HSC, the HASG
College Alumni can offer invaluable insights, experience and guidance for
our College students who are preparing for the HSC. This is one of the ways
the HASG College Alumni give back to their alma mater and to the Community."

Haig Kayserian was a graduate of HASG College’s Class of 2000, which
out-ranked all High Schools and Colleges in the Northern Beaches area,
including Manly Selective High School, in the HSC that year.

HASG College Board Chairman Ara Vartoukian said: "Nurturing and guiding our
students to achieve their personal best academically is one of the pillars
of our College."

He added: "We are very proud of our Class of 2008 and wish them success and
fulfilment in their tertiary studies and careers ahead."

On average, over 65% of HASG College Graduates each year enter Universities.
In some years, this figure is more than 80%. This is more than double the
state average of 30%, according to the NSW Board of Studies.
[end]

Nurturing individual excellence and community values
A K-12 co-educational, non-selective, bilingual Armenian and English
Christian College
5 Chiltern Road, Ingleside NSW 2101

GEORGIA’S CLAIMS TO CHURCHES IN ARMENIA
Alisa Gevorgyan

"Radiolur"
18.12.2008 14:03

The recent rally in front of the Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi and the
demand of the protesters to return a number of Georgian monasteries
to the Georgian Orthodox Church was am immediate counteraction to
calm down or stop the noise raised by the Armenian side around the
Armenian Church of Norashen.

Nevertheless, some reason was necessary for posing such a demand,
even a most subjective one, historian Alexander Kananyan says. "The
question, of course, refers to temporary authority. Those churches
have been under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Church only for a
short while, from the end of the 12 to the start of the 13th century."

Moreover, according to the historian, all priests of the churches
were Armenian, spoke Armenian, but sang Masses in Georgian because
of diplomatic principles.

According to the historian, the Tashir-Agarak Diocese the Georgian
Church established in Armenia in 2005 was a political provocation,
which creates bases for exerting pressure on the Armenian side. In
general, the Georgian Church lays claims to Khuchap, Akhtala
monastries, Hnevank and Kobayr. There are some smaller churches in
the list.

SYSTEM CREATED BY ANM HITS THE VERY ANM LIKE A BOOMERANG, DPA CHAIRMAN ARAM SARGSIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan

Dec 17, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. In the opinion of Aram Sargsian,
the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA), unless the
the Armenian National Movement (ANM) took part in the RA presidential
elections, society would get rid of the current government system, the
foundation of which has been laid by the very ANM. According to him,
that is why the current situation in Armenia does not rehabilitate.

"The system created by ANM hits the very ANM like a boomerang. They
also used the same actions in 1995 and 1996 towards political forces
being opposition at that time," A. Sargsian said during the December
17 meeting with journalists.

According to his estimation, no exact political estimation has been
given yet to the March 1 events in Yerevan. According to A. Sargsian,
those events should be indeed discussed in an unbiassed way and those
indeed guilty should be called to account. And those indeed guilty,
in A. Sargsian’s opinion, are first RA President Levon Ter-Petrosian
and former RA President Robert Kocharian.

ANM Board member Hovhannes Igitian said that ANM’s fault is only that
they decided to take part in the elections and to change country’s
government system. He also said that illegal actions were done towards
the people arrested on the March 1 cases.