Author: Kamalian Hagop

COLEMAN OPPOSED TO NOMINEE FOR ARMENIA AMBASSADORSHIP

The Frontrunner
August 3, 2006 Thursday

The AP (8/3, Frommer) reports, "A Republican senator is planning
to vote against President Bush’s nominee for ambassador to Armenia
because the nominee has refused to refer to the deaths of 1.5 million
Armenians as genocide. ‘I continue to be troubled by our policy that
refuses to recognize what was a historical reality,’ Minnesota Sen.

Norm Coleman said in a telephone interview Wednesday." Turkey
"strongly objects to the use of the term, and U.S. policymakers are
wary of antagonizing an important strategic NATO ally." On Tuesday,
"the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Coleman serves,
postponed a vote on Richard E. Hoagland’s nomination until next month."

NKR PRESIDENT ARKADY GHUKASIAN MEETS WITH MATTHEW BRYZA, OSCE MG US CO-CHAIR

AZG Armenian Daily #144, 02/08/2006

NKR Issue

In the course of the Saturday press-conference Saturday
Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassian stated that the key
topic of his meeting with OSCE MG US co-chair Matthew Bryza was the
involvement of NK in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. Ghoukassian
said that all the mediators realize the necessity of involving NK in
the negotiating process. He said that he had informed Bryza of NK’s
position on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and Bryza did not object.

"Our position is logical. Of course, it somewhat differs from what the
co-chairs have proposed but Bryza has made no serious objections to
it," Ghoukassian said. He said that without visiting NK the newly
appointed US co-chair would hardly get the full picture of the
problem. He said that he did not expect much from Bryza’s visit
as he came more to listen than to propose. Ghoukassian said that
the long pause in the co-chairs’ visits to the region was mostly
of technical nature. He said that he was always invited to Yerevan
whenever the co-chairs came but he believes that it is more correct to
hold such meetings in Stepanakert. "I think there is already a clear
understanding that the problem cannot be solved without Karabakh,"
Ghoukassian said. Concerning the proposals Ghoulassyan said that
one should not consider problems outside the general context: one
should not consider the problem of Azeri refugees without considering
the problem of Armenian ones, the problem of territories without
the problem of NK’s status and security. Asked if the mediators are
pressuring the sides, Ghoukassyan said that he has been in the peace
process since 1992 and has never seen any pressure on the mediators’
part.

By Kim Gabrielian, Stepanakert

ONLY 20% OF MORE THAN 10 THOUSAND DANGEROUS FACILITIES IN ARMENIA REGISTERED

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, NOYAN TAPAN. In accordance with the RA Law on
State Regulation of Technical Safety that took effect on January 1,
2006, the person operating a dangerous production facility has to
get registered at the National Center of Technical Safety of the
RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development until September 1,
2006. It is possible to extend the deadline for registration only
in case of making the appropriate amendment to the law. Major
General Ashot Petrosian, the center’s director, stated this at
the August 1 press conference. According to him, only 20% of more
than 10 thousand dangerous facilities operating in Armenia have
been registered and undergone technical safety tests. He exlained
that mines, hydro-structures, elevators, gasoline filling stations,
etc. are considered dangerous facilities. He said that out of 4,600
elevators in Yerevan, only 1,000 have been registered at the National
Center of Technical Safety. In case of failure to get registeted,
a fine in the amount of 1,000 minimal salaries (1-2 mln drams or
about 2,440-4,880 USD) is envisaged. In the words of the center’s
director, the registration of such facilities will allow to prevent
technical accidents, reduce their damage to the society and economy,
etc. A. Petrosian said that 7 man-caused accidents have been registered
at dangerous facilities in the first half of this year.

The Times (London)
July 29, 2006, Saturday

Christina Hardyment on a century of slaughter

by Christina Hardyment

Sobering, enthralling and illuminating, Niall Ferguson’s The War of
the World: History’s Age of Hatred (Penguin, CDs, £ 16.99, offer £
15.29) begins with a plot summary of H. G. Wells’s The War of the
Worlds, then moves into an overview of the century that fulfilled
Wells’s prediction of a ruthless takeover of Earth by aliens.

As Ferguson points out, there was no need for the aliens to come from
Mars. All that was required was for nation states to use industrial
techniques to exterminate men, women and children as if they were
aliens, so that the chosen folk could find "living room" in their
countries.

Although it has a respectable role, our own island’s story is far
from central to Ferguson’s global viewpoint, making it easier to
understand why the killing of the heir to the Austro- Hungarian
Empire sparked the First World War, how Asiatic ambitions decided the
future of Europe, and how inhumanly civilians have been treated as
armies flow and ebb across killing fields in Armenia, Poland, the
Balkans, Cambodia and Africa.

Nor has humankind changed. Ferguson points out that the furnace of
racial hatred still burns, and that all the elements for a Third
World War, rather than the Third World’s endemic wars, are in place
as China rivals the US in economic power.

Sean Barrett’s narration is measured and compelling.

Turning to lighter things, Emilia Fox’s gloriously fluffy reading of
Sophie Kinsella’s The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (Corgi, CDs,
£ 14.99, offer £ 13.49) fizzes with fun, but is not without an
improving moral. It introduces the incorrigibly optimistic Rebecca
Bloomwood, a savings clerk who is in debt up to her expensively
maintained eyebrows but can’t resist designer clothes, chic home
accessories and expensive meals out.

She has plenty of sassiness and inner resource; also a generous
flatmate, an almost saintly bank manager and a millionaire with a
soft spot for her could just see her through. Kinsella makes us
realise that there is a little of Beccy in us all as we roam the
shops snapping up bargains on credit. That most of what we buy seems
to be made in China takes us squarely back to Ferguson’s ominous
predictions.

To buy audiobooks at offer price with free p&p, call 0870 1608080 or
visit timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE TO TAKE PLACE IN GYUMRI, AUGUST 2-16

Yerevan, July 28. ArmInfo. The Fifth International Biennale will take
place in Gyumri, August 2-16. The Center of modern Arts of Gyumri
reported ArmInfo that 80 expert art scientists from Australia, Brazil,
Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iran,
Ireland, Russia and Switzerland will take part in the event.

Exhibitions, performances, video-art demonstrations will be held in
the frameworks of the event. The most of the events will take place at
the ‘Stile’ gallery, the Ethnography museum, shops and even in the
streets. An exhibition dedicated to this event will be held at the
Gevorgian gallery of Yerevan.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
July 27, 2006 Thursday 10:06 PM MSK

Armavia plans new examination of A320 crash

The Armenian Armavia air company, the owner of the A320 aircraft that
crashed into the Black Sea on May 3 near the airport in Sochi, has
disputed the conclusion of the Interstate Aviation Committee on the
reasons behind the crash and is going to hold another examination.

The decision was made at a meeting of the company’s leadership in
Yerevan on Thursday. Company President Mikhail Bagdasarov is
currently in Germany and did not attend.

The authorities of Armavia took a preliminary decision to ask an
independent, but authoritative party to hold another examination into
the causes of the crash.

Earlier, Bagdasarov said that he would contest the conclusion of the
committee in court.

"The committee accused the crew in the crash. However, there were
other reasons as well," he said in an interview with the Svoboda
radio station. "In particular, the actions of the ground services, as
well as weather conditions and the location of the Sochi airport," he
said.

The crash killed eight crew members and 105 passengers.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
July 28, 2006

DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH HEAD OF OKLAHOMA NATIONAL GUARD
[July 28, 2006, 13:50:12]

Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Colonel-General Safar Abiyev met July
27 with a U.S. delegation let by Major General Harry Wyatt, the Head
of Oklahoma National Guard.

The Minister said Azerbaijan- U.S. military cooperation is already of
strategic character. `The foundation for this cooperation was laid
during the official visit by national leader Heydar Aliyev to
Washington, D.C. in July of 1997,’ he said.

Colonel-General Abiyev continued that the Azerbaijan- U.S. military
cooperation enhanced after the waiver of the section 907 of the
Freedom Support Act. He said: `Azerbaijan continues to succeed in
bilateral cooperation with the North-Atlantic alliance. We highly
value the role of USA in development of this cooperation. Azeri
troops are actively involved in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo,
Afghanistan and Iraq.’

The Minister described the current military and political situation
in the South Caucasus as extremely tense. `Solution to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has not yet been
found. Activity of the OSCE Minsk group dealing with the problem is
unsatisfactory. We want the conflict to be settled on the basis of
the international legal norms and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, and demand withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from
the occupied territories,’ he said. The Colonel-General called
Armenia’s behavior as inadequate to the current state of affairs.
`Given the existing situation, Azerbaijan has to take adequate
steps,’ he said.

Major General Harry Wyatt praised Azerbaijan’s involvement in the
fight against global terror that, he added will be more active with
the country’s growing economy.

The General welcomed cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO under
the Individual Partnership Plan, and the country’s intention to be a
democratic and secular state.

Touching on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict,
General Wyatt confirmed that the U.S. has been supporting territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, and wants it to be resolved in diplomatic
way.

The sides also exchange views on the prospects of the Azerbaijan-US
military y cooperation.

The meeting was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Derse.

Music

Jul 28 2006 12:00 AM
Doing their own thing
System Of A Down plans to take break after Ozzfest

By David Friedman
NEWS-TIMES MUSIC WRITER

System Of A Down
includes, from left,
singer Serj Tankian,
bassist Shavo Odadjian,
drummer John Dolmayan
(foreground) and
guitarist Daron Malakian.

Growing up, John Dolmayan collected comic books featuring popular
superheroes the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, Batman
and the Incredible Hulk — plus lesser-known series like the Watchmen by
Alan Moore and an early, more serious and dark version of Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman.
So what does this have to do with Dolmayan’s primary job and passion of
the past nine years — playing drums in the multi-platinum, Grammy
Award-winning alternative metal band System Of A Down?
Well, when System takes a much-deserved hiatus after headlining on the
Ozzfest 2006 tour, which includes a July 30 show at New England Dodge
Music Center in Hartford, Dolmayan plans on opening an online comic book
super store.
"Oh, dude, I’m into almost every kind of comic book you could think of,"
Dolmayan said in a July 21 interview from Columbus, Ohio, after putting
in a dinner order for barbecue chicken pizza. "Right now, I’ve got
almost 6 million books. By the time I’m up and running, I’ll probably
have about 20 million. The company’s gonna be called TorpedoComics.com.
Right now there’s a mailing list. People can sign up and get information
as I have it. There’s gonna be a lot of pop culture stuff too, as well
as comic books."

What kind of "stuff" exactly?"You know what, if I tell you everything
I’m gonna have, we might be doing this interview for about eight hours
because I have so much stuff it’s just ridiculous," said Dolmayan,
declining to disclose specifics for fear of being beaten to the punch.
"But it’s cool, man. People that are fans of music will be able to find
cool stuff there too. Like I said, it’s gonna be a lot of pop culture,
so it’s gonna encompass all kinds of different things. If I ever had a
dream store that I would go to to buy stuff, I’m building it basically.
But it’s gonna be online because it’s a little easier these days to do
it online."
Before revolutionizing heavy metal with a string of top-selling albums
and MTV and radio hits that included "Chop Suey!" and "B.Y.O.B.," the
members of System Of A Down came from far more humble beginnings.
Dolmayan, singer Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian and bassist
Shavo Odadjian are all of Armenian descent.
Born July 15, 1973, Dolmayan, like Tankian, is originally from Lebanon.
His father played saxophone and cut hair during the day to pay the
bills, while his mother was a teacher. The couple also had a daughter.
When John was 4, his parents left Lebanon, where a battle was raging,
for Canada. They lived there for four years before moving to the Los
Angeles area.
Growing up, Dolmayan listened to The Who, the Rolling Stones and jazz
greats Maynard Ferguson, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Stan Getz. The
musical variety prepared him for his role in SOAD, where "there’s so
much happening in the music that you have to have a wide range of tastes
and styles to bring that out and give the music what it deserves," he
said.
Dolmayan, who began playing drums at age 15, was in six or seven bands
before joining System. He also worked at a variety of jobs before
focusing on music full time. He was employed at a summer camp and by
Pepsi-Cola, UPS and Robinsons-May Company.
System Of A Down formed in 1995 and shared a rehearsal studio with
Dolmayan, who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.
In late ’97, System signed to American/Columbia Records. The following
year, they released their self-titled debut, which has since gone
platinum and includes the Mainstream Rock hits "Spiders" and "Sugar."
Working with producer Rick Rubin once again, the band released its
followup, "Toxicity," in 2001. The triple platinum CD featured the No.
7, Grammy nominated Modern Rock smash "Chop Suey!" and a No. 3 hit in
its title track. Meanwhile, the song "Aerials" reached No. 1.
While metal bands rarely get radio play, System had a knack for writing
catchy songs.
"I think that’s a natural part of System Of A Down," Dolmayan said.
"What you’re talking about is melody. And because we have melody, I
guess it seems `catchy.’ But it’s just melody. We just have our own
thing going on. We don’t write for the sake of radio. We don’t write
toward appeasing (the public). We just do our own thing. And it’s worked
out well for us because people have accepted it. It could just as easily
have not been accepted and we’d still be doing the same thing."
In 2005, System released companion albums that hit store shelves within
roughly six months of one another. The first, "Mezmerize," contained the
No. 4 Mainstream Rock hit "B.Y.O.B.," which won the Grammy Award for
Best Hard Rock Performance; and the No. 7 hit "Question!"
The title track to "Hypnotize," meanwhile, was a No. 1 hit. Another song
from that album, "Lonely Day," hit No. 10.
The big news, though, was that — like "Toxicity" before them — both
"Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In
fact, the 2005 releases made System only the third act in history, along
with the Beatles and DMX, to debut two studio albums at No. 1 in the
same year."That’s one of the reasons we’re taking a hiatus — (because)
that was a lot of work," said Dolmayan, who lives in Las Vegas. "We just
felt like we had too many songs to put them on one album and we didn’t
feel like there was anything that we could necessarily leave off. We had
another maybe 10 songs. We probably could have put out three albums had
we made that decision."
After Ozzfest, System’s members will keep busy with other projects:
Malakian with the rock band Scars On Broadway, Odadjian with RZA of
Wu-Tang Clan and Tankian with a solo CD. They’ll also likely continue
posting links on their Web site to articles on political and social
issues affecting people across the globe, including the pursuit of
recognition by the Turkish governments of the Armenian Genocide in
1915."I don’t know if you can call us political activists," Dolmayan
said. "We definitely are not afraid to bring up topics that are not
necessarily comfortable for other people, but we just try to tell the
truth. We try to enlighten people to the truth. Just to have them expand
their mind and learn as much as they can about something before they
judge it — that’s what we’re trying to tell people. It’s not so much
about `You have to vote for this or that.’ It’s about before you make a
decision, make sure it’s an educated decision."’
The show begins at 10 a.m., with 18 bands performing, including
Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Hatebreed and Zakk Wylde’s Black Label
Society. The venue is at 61 Savitt Way. Tickets are $85.50, $65.50 and
$35.50. Call (203) 744-8100.

y.php?id=1008137

Press Release

ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee
421 E. Airport Freeway, Suite 201
Irving, Texas 75220
Contact: Jason P. Capizzi, Esq.
Tel: (972) 635-5347
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: <;

ARMENPAC SURVEYS ALL 1,944 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES TO ASSESS THEIR
POSITIONS ON ARMENIAN-AMERICAN ISSUES

Irving, TX – ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee,
recently issued its 2006 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire to every
candidate seeking election to the United States Congress on November 8,
2006. ARMENPAC is glad to be the first Armenian advocacy organization to
tackle this very important project, and to apprise the Armenian-American
community of its local candidates’ positions on Armenian-American issues
before Election Day. "ARMENPAC implemented this daunting research project
not just to educate the Armenian-American community, but to also educate the
candidates on our issues that they will face if elected to Congress," said
ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah and Edgar Hagopian. "By beginning dialogues
and building relationships with Congressional hopefuls early on, ARMENPAC is
cultivating a bipartisan majority in support of Armenian-American issues."

The 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate Questionnaire is comprised of
questions that succinctly and objectively apprise candidates of the issues
affecting the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The
brief survey broadly addresses, and seeks the candidates’ position on, the
following topics: United States Reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,
United States – Armenia Trade Relations, Turkish and Azeri Hostility toward
Armenia, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Peace Process, and the Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues.

The 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate Questionnaire was mailed, during
the week of July 17, 2006, to this year’s 1,944 candidates running for seats
in either the United States Senate or the United States House of
Representatives. Each candidate received a unique "username" and "password"
granting them access to a secure area of the ARMENPAC website,
<; , so that they can submit their
responses to the ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate Questionnaire on-line.
Once a candidate responds to the Congressional Candidate Questionnaire, his
or her answers are posted in real time in the "Candidate Response" section
of the ARMENPAC website for all to view and consider before Election Day.
The ARMENPAC Board of Directors will issue its list of endorsed candidates
before October, 2006 based, in part, on the information collected in
response to the Congressional Candidate Questionnaire.

"If your local candidates have not yet responded to the 2006 ARMENPAC
Congressional Candidate Questionnaire, please call their campaign office
today and request that they do so before August 15, 2006. Their response,
or lack of response, is crucial as ARMENPAC strives to identify which
candidates are deserving of ARMENPAC’s support and endorsement," said
ARMENPAC Executive Director Jason Capizzi.

Candidates can download additional copies of the 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional
Candidate Questionnaire from the ARMENPAC website, and can contact ARMENPAC
at 877-286-1046 if they misplaced their unique "username" and "password" and
need another.

"By issuing the 2006 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire, ARMENPAC has
achieved much success by making 1,944 individual candidates aware of the
issues that are most important to the Armenian-American community. We must,
however, expand upon that success by contacting our local candidates TODAY
to let them know that their responses to this survey are of importance not
just too Armenian-American voters, but everyone who desires peace, security
and stability in the Caucasus region," said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah
and Edgar Hagopian. "Additionally, we all must make sure that we are
registered to vote, and do vote on Election Day, November 8, 2006." The
voter registration forms of all fifty (50) states are available on the
ARMENPAC website, <; . Just click
on the name of your state in the "Register to Vote" link, download your
state’s form, and mail it to the designated agency before your state’s
registration deadline. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact
ARMENPAC at (877) 286-1046 and we will gladly mail you copies of your
state’s application forms.

ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee
established to shape public policy by raising awareness of, and advocating
for, Armenian-American issues. ARMENPAC provides financial support to
federal officeholders, candidates, political action committees and
organizations that actively support issues of importance to
Armenian-Americans. For more information and how to join ARMENPAC, please
call (877) 286-1046 or visit <; .

Baroness Caroline Cox paying her 61st visit to Artsakh

ArmRadio.am
27.07.2006 17:20

July 27 NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan received the delegation headed
by Vice-Speaker of the UK House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox.

The President congratulated Mrs. Cox on paying her 61st visit to
Artsakh and noted that due to the traditional visits of the "Cox team,"
comprised of representatives of British, Americana and European public
circles, Artsakh has acquired many friends.

On her part Mrs. Cox informed about the program of training of doctors
and nurses of Artsakh by the "Humanitarian Aid: Reinforcement of Trust"
organization and her July 21st speech in the British House of Lords
on the demolition of Armenian khachkars by Azeris.

At the request of the participants of the meeting, Arkady Ghukasyan
answered a number of question about the socio-economic condition of
Artsakh and the prospects of development.