Author: Nalchajian Markos

Newton remains no place for hate

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By Chrissie Long/Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
Wed Aug 22, 2007, 04:11 PM EDT
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Newton –

Members of the Human Rights Commission have postponed their decision to
withdraw from a long-standing program in the city.

Unwilling to disassociate from No Place for Hate just yet, commission
members are stalling to see tensions are resolved within the parent
organization.

"Given the way that things are developing every single day, we are in the
process of waiting to see what develops," Beverly Droz, staff director for
the HRC said, reiterating the position of the commission.

Newton may break ties with the tolerance-promoting organization if the
national director continues to oppose federal legislation, which would
officially recognize the Armenian genocide.

"I believe this is a defining issue," Mayor David Cohen told the Human
Rights Commission during their Aug. 21 meeting. "[It] will determine whether
Newton can remain a No Place for Hate community."

The small side chamber in City Hall could not hold the number of audience
members present for that evening’s meeting. Residents of Newton, Watertown,
Cambridge, Needham and other surrounding communities squeezed into that
meeting room and trickled out into the hall.

"[This meeting] has made me really proud to be part of Newton," said
Jonathan Shapira, a Newton resident and a former Anti-Defamation League
employee (the organization that sponsors No Place for Hate.) "Frankly, I was
very disturbed with what happened to a great organization with a misguided
national leader.

To the Human Rights Commission, he said, "[I would recommend] that you
continue to do everything you can to support the regional board and continue
to put pressure on the national leadership."

Most audience members seemed content with a "wait and see" response, rather
than a withdrawal.

"I am thrilled that Newton isn’t severing its ties," said Newtonville
resident Nancy Aykanian. "I think Newton’s strategy is an appropriate
one=85What I find profoundly exciting is how things are moving and percolating
upward=85This is how democracy works."

Mark Sideris, who serves as Vice President for Watertown Town Council, was
present at Newton’s meeting. While his community chose to withdraw from the
organization, he was pleased with Newton’s response.

"Watertown went to the extreme," he said. "But I want to applaud the
efforts in Newton." Communities need to continue to pressure the national
ADL until it supports congressional legislation, he said. Yesterday,
Arlington pulled out of the certification process for No Place for Hate.

Others argued that Newton did not go far enough.

"If you don’t change the head, the body can’t function normally," said
Needham resident Gulnar Sahagian, whose grandmother used to tell bedtime
stories of the Armenian genocide. "Thanks for the effort, but I am hoping
you can do more."

Anatol Zukerman, a candidate for alderman, expressed his disappointment in
Newton’s inaction.

"I am very concerned about this situation," he told commission members.
"The best way to put pressure on the national ADL is to join the town of
Watertown in their withdrawal from the No Place for Hate program. I suggest
that this commission [disassociate itself] from the No Place for Hate
program until or unless No Place for Hate changes its position."

Members of the Human Rights Commission were in agreement in their
opposition to the national director’s statement.

During the Aug. 21 meeting, they issued a vote of confidence in the mayor’s
efforts, decided to draft two more letters to national and regional ADL and
to ultimately wait for the waters to calm within the organization.

"We need to make sure that we are addressing the issue [now]," said Sona
Petrossian, a member of the Human Rights Commission. "We need to ensure that
we stay active [and] that we are right behind Watertown. Being under the
umbrella of No Place for Hate makes us responsible. I will not be under an
umbrella when I do not believe in everything that umbrella stands for."

*Chrissie Long can be reached at [email protected].*

*Source: 075
*

The Jerusalem Post
Aug 23, 2007 0:56
Armenians urge Jews to take moral high ground
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

The State of Israel and Jewish organizations around the world should
take the moral high ground and recognize the World War I-era killing
of Armenians by Turks as genocide regardless of the political
ramifications with Turkey, Armenian residents of Jerusalem said
Wednesday.

137775&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Torkom Manoogian, lays a
wreath in the city last year, marking the anniversary of the mass
killing of Armenians in Turkey.

"Israel understands the issue better than anyone else… [but] her
judgment is impaired by the politicizing of the issue," said Father
Samuel Aghoyan, 66, a priest at the Armenian Patriarchate in the Old
City of Jerusalem and a superior at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

He noted that politics alone has prevented Israel from recognizing the
killing as a genocide.

"When you politicize the issue, you kill the spirit upon which both
the US and Israel were founded," Aghoyan said.

"If you don’t want to recognize it openly at least say that it
happened," he added.

His remarks come one day after the New York-based Anti Defamation
League reversed itself and called a World War I-era massacre of
Armenians a genocide after previously firing an organization official
who said the same thing.

The director of the Armenian school and library in the Armenian
Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem said that Armenians were pleased
over the about-face taken by the ADL.

"The Jewish lobby should make their minds up as representatives of the
Jewish people – as people who suffered the Holocaust – to take a more
moral stand in fully and unconditionally recognizing the killing of
the Armenians as a genocide, regardless of politics," Father Norayr
Kazazian, 30, said.

He added that Israel and the Jewish world should not be overly fearful
of the repercussions such a move could have on the Jewish community
living in Turkey, noting that hundreds of thousands of Armenians are
also living in Turkey, and citing Turkey’s good relations with both
France and Belgium even though both countries have defined the
killings as a massacre.

Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenian Christians
were killed by Muslim Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923, an event
widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying that
the toll has been grossly inflated and that those killed were victims
of civil war and unrest.

Armenian residents of the small Armenian Quarter in the Old City said
Wednesday that they sensed an unquestionable difference between the
views of Jewish people, who recognized the mass killing as genocides,
and the political leadership who were concerned with the political
ramifications of such a move with Israel’s warm relationship with
Turkey.

"I know the Jewish people are with us and recognize the killing as a
genocide but it is political interests which prevent the Knesset and
Jewish groups from doing so," said Hagop Antressain, 63, an Old City
shopkeeper who expressed mixed feelings about the ADL reversal.

The son of a survivor of the massacre, Antressain said that the Jewish
and Armenian people shared a common tragedy.

He noted that when he watches Holocaust movies on Holocaust
Remembrance Days he sees not Jewish children but Armenian children.

"It is my father’s eyes when he was seven-years-old," Antressain said.

He opined that passage of a pending US Congressional resolution, which
would term the killings a genocide, was "only a matter of time,"
adding that the legislation was brought about as a result of pressure
by Armenian and Jewish intellectuals, and not by American Jewish
groups.

Antressain lambasted recent remarks by the Executive Director of the
American Jewish Committee David Harris that Armenian and Turkish
historians should sit down together and discuss the genocide.

"Should we ask Jewish and Nazi historians to discuss the Holocaust?"
he asked.

As a native of Jerusalem, Antressain said that it was important for
him that Israel would not be the last country to recognize the killing
as genocide.

"I know the feelings of the Jewish people and I do not want the Jewish
State to be the last to recognize the genocide," he said.

The Armenian residents of Jerusalem opined that eventually all
countries would come to recognize the killing as a genocide.

"Sooner or later the right time will come," Aghoyan concluded.

PRESENT OF "ARMENTEL" TO JUST MARRIED

Noyan Tapan
Aug 21, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, NOYAN TAPAN. All those just married, who will
register their marriage in the Civil Marriage Registration offices of
Nor-Nork-Avan, Shengavit, Kentron, and Nork Marash between August 15
to November 15, will receive certificates of "ArmenTel" company. This
information was provided to Noyan Tapan by the Press Service of the
above-mentioned company.

Beginning from November 15 just married couples can change the
above-mentioned certificate for a present-complete set, which is
composed of two telephone numbers of GO tariff plan following each
other with already activated "Favourite number" service. The price
of a one-minute call made between favourite numbers makes 27 drams.

In order to receive the present, it is necessary to visit the selling
point of "ArmenTel" located in Azatutiun 24/1 and present the mentioned
certificate and the copies of their passports.

SUIT OF RA PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE AGAINST AGRC NOT EXAMINED DUE TO ABSENCE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF SIDES

Noyan Tapan
Aug 20, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, NOYAN TAPAN. At the August 20 sitting, the
RA Economic Court (chairman Judge Taron Nazarian) decided not to
examine the suit of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office against Ararat
Gold Recovery Company (AGRC) LLC as representatives of neither the
plaintiff not the defendant were present at the court sitting. Under
the RA Civil Procedure Code, if one of the sides is not present at
the sitting and does not request examining the case in its absence,
the suit is not examined.

To recap, according to information on the official website of the
RA Prosecutor General’s Office, the deputy prosecutor general of
the RA Gagik Jhangirian on August 2 filed a lawsuit against AGRC to
the RA Economic Court, requesting that the Agreement on Putting into
Operation the Sotk Gold Mine in Gegharkunik Region signed on March 13,
1999, between the RA Ministry of Environmental Protection and AGRC be
terminated ahead of time and, as a consequence, the special licence
HA-L-14/166 for mining activity (granted to AGRC by the RA Ministry
of Trade and Economic Development on June 7, 2004) be cancelled. At
the same time, the deputy prosecutor general asked the RA Economic
Court that 4 bln 6 mln 137.5 thousand drams (about 1 bln 189.1 mln
USD) and a sum equivalent to 10 mln USD be confiscated from AGRC and
transferred to the RA state budget. Besides, he requested that before
the court examination, sequestration in the amount of the suit cost
be put on the defendant’s property and accounts.

AGRC is being accused of considerable financial violations.

Cardiovascular Device Liability Week
August 26, 2007
SECTION: EXPANDED REPORTING; Pg. 142

CHRONIC HEART FAILURE;
Scientists at Yerevan State University, Department of Physiology
target chronic heart failure

Fresh data on chronic heart failure are presented in the report
"Calcium-regulating peptide hormones and blood electrolytic balance
in chronic heart failure. Calcium-regulating system is important for
the functional activity of myocardium. However, little is known about
the role of this system in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular
diseases," researchers in Yerevan, Armenia report.

"Blood samples from the patients with chronic heart failure (CHF)
caused by ischaemic disease (coronary artery disease) (NYHA class
I-IV) were used to analyze the levels of calcium, inorganic
phosphate, sodium, potassium, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and
parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP). The heart beat rate and
arterial blood pressure were chosen as additional tests for the
functional status of cardiovascular system. The alteration of
electrolytes homeostasis was found dependent on the severity of the
pathology being maximally expressed in the NYHA class IV patients.
Similar tendency was demonstrated for circulating PTH and PTHrP with
the highest blood concentrations observed in patients of the NYHA
class III and IV. The extent of these changes was found more
pronounced in the female patients," wrote K.P. Arakelyan and
colleagues, Yerevan State University, Department of Physiology.

The researchers concluded: "It is suggested that the
calcium-regulating hormonal system is involved in the pathogenesis of
the ischaemic heart disease; however the sharp increase of PTH and
PTHrP at the severe stages of pathology may play a compensatory role
in maintaining the heart function."

Arakelyan and colleagues published their study in Regulatory Peptides
(Calcium-regulating peptide hormones and blood electrolytic balance
in chronic heart failure. Regulatory Peptides, 2007;142(3):95-100).

For additional information, contact K.P. Arakelyan, Yerevan State
Medical University, Dept. of Physiology, 375025 Yerevan, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Regulatory Peptides is:
Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This article was prepared by Cardiovascular Device Liability Week
editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Cardiovascular
Device Liability Week via NewsRx.com.

KIM KARDASHIAN SAYS HER BUTT IS REAL

Starpulse.com, CT
5/kim_kardashian_says_her_butt_is_real
Aug 15 2007

Disgraced socialite Kim Kardashian denies she underwent surgery
to improve her bottom, insisting it is her ethnicity that gives
her curves.

The pretty brunette – who hit the headlines last year when footage
of a sex romp with rapper Ray J was leaked to an internet porn firm –
claims she is not against cosmetic surgery, but does not think it is
necessary given her natural curves.

She says "Everyone now says I have a fake butt or butt implant. I’m
Armenian; you should see all the women in my family. The women have
bigger breasts and bigger butts. That’s how I was born. I can’t help
it. I’m not gonna fight it.

"I definitely need to work out more and tone up, but I’m proud of
my body."

"NO PLACE FOR HATE" THROWN OUT OF WATERTOWN
by Chris Helms

Watertown TAB & Press, MA
For comments
Aug 15 2007

Before a packed house in the council chambers tonight, the Town Council
voted unanimously to rescind all ties between Watertown and the "No
Place for Hate" program, because of the stance toward the Armenian
Genocide of its co-sponsor, the Anti-Defamation League.

The regional director for the ADL, Andy Tarsy, spoke at the meeting
to hisses and boos and cat calls of "liar!" from the largely
Armenian-American crowd. Tarsy reiterated the ADL’s public position
that the issue of whether there was a genocide against the Armenians
perpetrated by the Ottoman government during and after World War I
is a matter for Turkey and Armenia to solve.

Town Council Marilyn Devaney urged that the town’s "No Place for Hate"
sign be taken down tomorrow.

This move is bound to have national repercussions. Were you at the
hearing tonight? Comment below and share your thoughts. We’ve also
got an online poll going here.

OVER 5,000 ARMENIANS APPLY FOR U.S. VISAS IN JANUARY-JULY

ARMENPRESS
Aug 16 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS: The Consulate of the U.S. Embassy in
Armenia said some 5,091 Armenian citizens applied for non-immigrant
visas from January 1 to July 31 of 2007.

It said of 5,091 applicants, 2,115 people received visas (almost
42%), and 2,976 were denied. The Consulate also received a total
of 973 applicants (citizens of Armenia and non-citizens) seeking
non-immigrant visas in July.

During July, as well as the rest of the year, the vast majority
of non-immigrant visas are for tourist visas. For July the number
of tourist visa applications was 791, or 81%. The Consular service
received 39 student visa applications in July, or only 4% of the total.

In Yerevan for the period of January through July there were 383
non-Armenian passport holders (about 7% of the overall total). Of
these, 160 received visas, which works out to nearly the same rate
as for Armenian citizens.

The Consulate said at the moment, the one upcoming change that
will happen soon is the requirement to take all 10 fingerprints of
applicants, which the State Department is implementing for all consular
sections worldwide. The U.S. Embassy will be using new scanners to
do this, and it should actually be easier than doing the two index
fingerprints it now requires.

The standard non-immigrant visa fee is $100, which is now collected
off-site at branches of ArmEconomBank. For applicants who qualify for
visas on the day of the interview, the officers may offer an optional
1-year multi-entry visa that costs an additional $50.

GOLDBERG’S ‘THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ TO BE SCREENED IN WASHINGTON

Yerkir.am
August 03, 2007

"The Armenian Genocide," a documentary by director Andrew Goldberg,
will be screened on August 5 on the PBS in Washington. The film,
screened in Canada in 2006 was acclaimed by movie critics.

The one-hour-long documentary produced by Goldberg’s Two Cats
Productions deals with the first genocide of the 20th century. The
film was shot on locations in the US, France, Germany, Belgium,
Turkey and Syria.

It contains interviews with Turkish and Kurdish citizens of the modern
Turkey: they tell the stories heard from their ancestors.

The film was widely covered by the US media. The New York Times called
it a "powerful" film that "pays tribute to the memory of the genocide
victims," Noyan Tapan said.

Major TV companies of Italy, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Greece,
Finland and other countries have already bought the right to show
the film.

AVERAGE WAGE IN ARMENIA RISES TO $210

ARMENPRESS
Aug 3, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS: The average wage in Armenia in
January-June rose to 70,700 Armenian Drams ($210).

According to Armenia’s national statistical service, the highest
wage-210,000 Drams- was in banking and financial sectors, followed
by mining industry with 151,000 Drams wage, power, natural gas and
water industries with 110,000 Drams.

The highest average wage-92,000 Drams- was in the southern province
of Syunik.

The average wage was 3.7 times higher of the minimum wage.