Author: nina hovnanian

Prelacy Churches to Offer Prayers for Syria

asbarez
Friday, August 10th, 2012

Syria damage

LA CRESCENTA – By a decree by Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian on Sunday, August 12 during Divine Liturgy on the Feast
of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, `Der Voghormya’ prayers
will be offered in all Prelacy Churches for the safety and tranquility
of the Syrian people and nation.

In past weeks, the conflict in Syria has been escalating, especially
in Aleppo and Damascus, causing a humanitarian and financial crisis
for the Syrian people, including the large Armenian communities in
both cities. In the coming days there will be relief efforts, of
which we will keep our faithful informed.

All are invited to express their support to the Syrian people by
joining us on Sunday to pray for Almighty God to safeguard the
innocent people of Syria caught in the middle of this conflict, and
for peace to prevail in the country.

Iran’s four quakes felt in Armenia and Karabakh

news.am
August 11, 2012 | 17:52

YEREVAN. – Four quakes measured 6.2 to 6.6 jolted Iran’s north-west
near the Armenian border, Armenia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations
informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The quakes were also followed by after-shocks measured 4.1 to 4.8on
the Richter scale. The details are not reported.

The tremors were felt also in the cities of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

As the agency has earlier informed, the 6.6 magnitude quake jolted
northwestern Iran at 4:23 with an epicenter 16 km to north-west from
the city of Ahar at the depth of 15 km. The quake measured 9 on the
Richter scale in the epicenter. A 4.5 magnitude tremor was registered
in Armenia’s south and 3-4 magnitude in capital Yerevan.

Congressman seriously concerned about fate of Armenians in Syria

arminfo
Friday, August 10, 19:13

Gus Bilirakis, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has
expressed serious concern about the fate of the Armenian and other
Christian minorities in Syria increasingly suffering from the
country’s civil war and called for U.S. government support for them,
Azatutyun.am reports.

Bilirakis, who is a member of Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
introduced last week a draft House resolution that calls on the U.S.
administration to prioritize the security of Syria’s Christians and
other religious minorities in its policies on the Middle Eastern
nation. He expressed hope that the non- binding resolution will reach
the House floor as early as next month.

The lawmaker said Washington should make any aid to a future Syrian
government conditional on protection of minority rights. “We know that
[Syrian President Bashar] Assad has to go, he is corrupt, he is
funding terrorists such as Hezbollah,” he said. “But whatever
government is put in place, we want to make sure it’s in the
constitution, in the bill of rights, if you will, that guarantees
freedom of religion, expression and speech.”

Bilirakis said Washington should also make sure that Armenians and
other Christians are represented in the Syrian National Council, an
Istanbul-based coalition of opposition forces trying to topple the
ruling regime in Damascus. “We need to make it a priority,” he said.

Most of Syria’s 80,000 or so ethnic Armenians appear to remain
supportive of Assad’s regime, having benefited from relative safety
and cultural autonomy that has for decades been enjoyed by Syrian
Christians.

Hundreds and possibly thousands of Syrian Armenians have fled the
country in recent months. Many of them have taken refuge in Armenia.
Their exodus has accelerated since the outbreak of heavy fighting
between Syrian government forces and rebels in Aleppo about two weeks
ago. The vast majority of Syrian Armenians live in that sprawling
city.

Four journalists kidnapped in Syria

16:10, 11 August, 2012

Yerevan, August 11, ARMENPRESS: `Al-Ihbaria’ TV four journalists are
kidnapped in the Al-Tal suburb located in the north of Damascus. As
`Armenpress’ reports citing vesti.ru, the journalists were kidnapped
on Friday in the evening, when they were in the very place where
clashes took place.

This is not the only attack on the journalists. Such an attack was
implemented also last week. Earlier there was an explosion in the
building of the Syrian State TV, which caused injuries among the
company staff.

Armenian Emergency Ministry contacts alpinist stuck on Georgia’s Ushba Mount

news.am
August 11, 2012 | 14:07

YEREVAN.- A group of rescuers has been sent to help Armenian alpinist
Andranik Miribyan, who has climbed the Ushba Mount in Georgia.

`We have come to arrangement to send a helicopter too,’ spokesperson
for Armenian rescue service Nikolay Grigoryan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

The Emergency Ministry contacted Georgian internal ministry, emergency
situations department, Armenian embassy in Tbilisi and personally
Andranik Mirabyan.

The crisis center management at the Armenian Ministry of Emergency
Situations received an alarm at 2.35 p.m. Yerevan time saying that an
Armenian citizen A.M. has climbed the Ushba Mount and cannot come down
due to lack of equipment. The situation is deteriorating due to heavy
snow, while food and water are running out. It will take the rescuers
three days to reach Mirabyan.

ianyan Magazine
Aug 10 2012

MidNight FistFight: Exploring the World of Armenian Zhamos
Culture Vulture – By Liana Aghajanian

In the underbelly of Armenian culture, lies the `zhamo,’ a meeting
between men set up to settle differences, but one that’s expected to
erupt in violence instead.

MidNight FistFight, a new short film produced and directed by Robert
Nazar Arjoyan and co-written with David Lafian, aims to explore this
`Armenian version of an English duel’ as Arjoyan notes but also offers
a front seat into the life of the often troubled Armenian alpha-male.

The story centers around Gev (David Lafian), who, still reeling from
the loss of his mother, channels his grief into violence and rage,
while his sister Alina (Lena Kay) is forced to take on their mother’s
role, at the risk of impacting her relationship with her long-time
boyfriend, Alec ( Movses Karapetyan).

When Alec and Gev are forced to participate in a `zhamo,’ they must
put their differences aside. But will they survive the night?

Arjoyan, who pulled the idea for the film from personal experience,
wanted to drive home the fact that zhamos are a pretty terrible way to
deal with problems.

After reaching his monetary goal on the crowd-funding site KickStarter
back in February, Arjoyan set out to raise the remaining funds needed
independently. He perfectly summed up the etymology and meaning of
what a `zhamo’ entails:

Also known as a razbirat, a zhamo is a ritualistic meeting conducted
by predominantly Armenian males at a specifically set time. Meetings
generally take place, at night and in an isolated location, in order
to solve a dispute amongst individuals or whole groups, be they
problems of verbal abuse, physical and/or bodily harm, or matters of
pride. The word zhamo is derived from the Armenian zham, which
literally means `hour.’ : We have to go to a zhamo with the guys
tonight.

Of course, fact mirrors fiction, as the practice of the `zhamo’ is not
uncommon today, especially among Armenian Diasporan youth in the Los
Angles area. In 2009, 19-year-old Mike Yepremyan was shot and killed
during a similar meet up over a text message.

While exploring the often tense relationships between the characters,
Arjoyan wanted to depict the illogical concept of the `zhamo,’ which
he says is an over exaggerated defense mechanism due to centuries of
tragic history.

`We’ve constantly been battered and beaten, and we’ve had to build
this callous skin,’ he told ianyanmag. `But inside we’re sad. It’s
also super subconscious, too.’

The film, which is currently being submitted to festivals, also
explores the overarching `machismo’ that dominates many aspects of
patriarchal Armenian culture, an issue which Arjoyan said he thinks
will be eradicated after a few generations.

MidNight FistFight premieres tomorrow night (August 11) in Los Angeles
at the Downtown Independent at 8 p.m.

Watch the trailer below

The Times of India
August 9, 2012 Thursday

Fun autowallas race from Mumbai to Chennai

BANGALORE

BANGALORE: Through the monsoon-soaked terrain from Mumbai to
Bangalore, Little Miss Rickshaws comprising Pia Brasher, Alisha Hughes
and Ruth Brown are getting plenty attention. “We’re elated to be part
of the 6th Annual Mumbai Xpress Autorickshaw Challenge from Mumbai to
Chennai with a stopover in Bangalore today. We’re riding through
villages and towns and have been receiving a lot of attention because
people see three women driving a pink auto,” says Pia, who teaches in
Dubai along with Alisha and Ruth.

Little Miss Rickshaws are rocking the challenge for another reason too
– they are in the lead with Team Shanti, Thermo’s India Express, Valle
Kulla, Team Sunshine and Hit The Road India following suit.

“We’re looking forward to our new challenge in Bangalore today – we’ve
got to give our rickshaw a makeover, Indian style,” beams Pia.

Erik Jentges from Thermo’s India Express team too, is elated about the
stopover in Bangalore. “One of the team members has a connection with
a club in Bangalore and we’re all looking forward to some Bollywood
dancing there before we ride on to finish the race in Chennai. So far,
we’ve ridden through monsoon rain and had a great journey through the
Nilgiri mountains,” says the university teacher from Switzerland.

While Erik and his teammate Thomas Kuhnelt from Germany have been last
once, first once and in the middle of this race a few times, their
main driving force is the opportunity to ride in India and visit
lesser-privileged people along the way. “We’ve ridden through
colourful towns and met diverse people, even some who don’t have a lot
of things, but they’ve all been very friendly and helpful,” he says.

Teams in city today

Keeping with the spirit of the race, all six teams are visiting The
Round Table School, Roopana Agrahara, off Hosur Road, in Bangalore
today. “We partner with the CMS group in Chennai every year to host
this challenge. Along their journey, participants who come from all
walks of life visit Round Table Schools to raise money for charity and
also contribute whatever they can,” says Nikhil Bagri, fund-raising
convener, Bangalore Round Table 44.

As these gallant autorickshaw challengers ride on, Armenian filmmaker
Gor Baghdasaryan is travelling with team Hit The Road comprising
Richard Gazarian and Keith King from USA and Canada, making a film of
their journey. “It’s turning out to be very exciting for nothing is
going as per their plan. Their auto has been breaking down, they’ve
been stuck on the road many times, their engine has been replaced once
and they’ve been last always, except once!” beams Gor.

Hit The Road promises to be a blockbuster with the colours of India,
spanning 1919 km of life and otherwise.

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
August 9, 2012 Thursday
METRO EDITION

He helped build smaller computers

by DANIELA HERNANDEZ; STAFF WRITER, STAR TRIBUNE (Mpls.-St. Paul)

Harry J. Tashjian lived his life on the border between the worlds of
data and imagination. A mechanical engineer by training, he valued
hard facts and numbers, but he also saw the value of imagining a
future that didn’t yet exist.

His forward thinking helped bring about the democratization of
computers as he led teams that developed midsize computers — desktop
models much smaller than the room-size contraptions they replaced.

Tashjian, 90, worked at IBM in Rochester for more than 40 years. He
died July 27 after complications from a stroke.

Tashjian’s new powerful but cheaper models were “a major technological
achievement,” said Jeffrey Yost, associate director of the Charles
Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota. Two computer
families Tashjian helped create, System/3 and System/38, brought
computers into new settings such as small businesses and science
laboratories, Yost said.

The System/3 was the first computer system developed completely
in-house at Rochester, a feat possible because Tashjian was savvy
enough to call the technology a “unit record system” instead of a
computer. Before that, computer design was entrusted to IBM’s New York
location.

Tashjian was a trusted leader who motivated his peers to live up to
their full potential, said his son, Edward. He had a knack for
organizing people and for getting things done right. But “he hated
public speaking. He could hardly sleep the night before,” his son
said.

He remembers his dad best for his laughter and unrelenting optimism.
He donated to charities, funded scholarships, served in World War II
and was an active member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Rochester,
where he served as senior warden from 1974 to 1976.

Tashjian played violin and loved classical music. He woke up every day
by 5:30 a.m. and filled the house with recordings of Mozart, Bach and
Beethoven.

Tashjian valued education highly, his son said. Sports were not high
on his list of priorities, although he often joked that he couldn’t
die until the Vikings won the Super Bowl.

Tashjian and Alice, his wife of 62 years, met as children in Johnson
City, N.Y., and married in their late 20s after finishing college and
graduate school. Their families emigrated to the United States after
the Armenian holocaust.

Tashjian donated his body to science so medical students and
researchers could learn from it. “My dad hated the idea of his body
being taxidermied like a stuffed fish,” Edward said. “To the very end,
he was giving himself away.”

Tashjian is survived by his wife, three sons, Joseph, Edward and
Christopher; daughter Francine and 11 grandchildren. A memorial
service will be held at 1201 Yale Place, Minneapolis, from 3 to 4 p.m.
on Aug. 24, Tashjian’s birthday.

Mideast Mirror
August 9, 2012 Thursday

Washington plays a double game, but Ankara is the loser

As Washington prepares to reap the harvest of the Syrian crisis
regardless of its outcome, Ankara has created nothing but trouble for
itself, says Nahed Hattar in Jordanian al-Arab al-Yawm

The U.S. is playing a double game in Syria, argues a Jordanian
commentator. If the regime falls, it would have imposed its
unquestioned hegemony on the Middle East at no cost to itself. If the
regime wins, it can always negotiate with it. But whatever happens,
Turkey has emerged as the greatest loser from the Syrian crisis.

IMMORAL ENGAGEMENT: “The U.S. is engaged in an immoral double game in
the Syrian crisis,” writes Nahed Hattar in the Jordanian daily al-Arab
al-Yawm.

It fully realizes that the route to direct military intervention is
shut due to the newly emerging international balance with Russia,
China, and the BRIC countries. And this means that the chances of
toppling the Syrian regime by force are limited. This stems from the
following factors:

-First, the Syrian Arab Army’s overwhelming superiority over the armed
resistance.

-Second, the economic aid that the Russians and the Iranians are
delivering to Damascus.

-Third, the political backing that President Bashar al-Assad is
receiving from at least half the Syrian people.

-Fourth, the fact that the opposition is fragmented, with its
leadership disputed by various capitals and intelligence agencies,
even though its main weight has shifted towards the fundamentalist,
takfiri, and terrorist groups.

Despite this, the U.S. continues to peddle the illusion of toppling
the regime by ‘whatever means available.’ It is encouraging the armed
elements, including the terrorists, and backing them politically,
financially, and in terms of intelligence. It is providing cover for
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey’s efforts to arm and finance these
elements. And it is doing so in the hope that ‘a miracle’ will occur
and the regime will fall as a result of terrorist attacks accompanied
by political and media incitement and defections.

But that is just a hope; it is not a realistic aim. In fact,
Washington has admitted that it knows little about what is really
happening in Syria and that this does not allow it to form a practical
and realistic vision for the future. Despite this, the Americans have
some practical and realistic aims in Syria. These consist of
prolonging the country’s haemorrhage, destroying its infrastructure
and economy, exhausting its army and society, and breaking the Syrian
people’s will so that they will accept U.S. hegemony and
reconciliation with Israel.

These aims explain the large number of terrorist attacks that are not
intended to weaken the regime, but to undermine the state and the
army’s capabilities. These include blowing up infrastructure, such as
railway lines, gas and oil pipelines, water pipelines, electricity
plants, and public installations, and the assassination of scientific
and military cadres. (What political aim, for example, could be
derived from the assassination of the director of the Syrian missile
project?) In fact, via the monitoring of contacts between American and
Free Syrian Army (FSA) officers, it has been proven lately that these
attacks were planned by the U.S.

The argument over Syria is no longer meaningful. The picture is now
clear, with no embellishments or shades of grey. We are now in the
midst of a war between the Syrian army and the armed groups of every
shape and color. The final word today belongs to force, not to debate
or demonstrations or political and media hallucinations. It is the
outcome of the war on the ground that will decide the political
situation.

For the Americans, if the regime falls, they will reap an all-out
victory in the Middle East at no cost. On the other hand, there is
nothing to prevent them from negotiating with Damascus after it
decides the battle militarily. In the first instance, the Gulf rulers
will find themselves lining up behind their American master. In the
second case, they will have to pay the price in the form of terrible
vengeance.

But regardless of its outcome, the greatest loser in the Syrian crisis
is Turkey. Today, it has lost its regional status and is mired in its
hostility with Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Russia. But its greatest loss
lies in the dramatic explosion of its Kurdish problem. The secession
of the Kurdish region, which includes some 20 million people, is now a
possible item on the agenda.

Damascus delivered a strategic blow to Ankara when it recognized the
Syrian Kurdish problem and armed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
fighters who are now seeking to carve out a safe zone inside Turkey
with the aim of transforming it into a base for liberating the entire
Kurdish province.

A united Kurdish state is looming on the horizon. And this in turn
will reopen the file of Iskandarun Province [Turkish Hatay] as well as
the issue of Arabs, Alevis, and Armenians in Turkey. This adventure in
Syria has burnt the fingers of a major regional state of Turkey’s
stature. What are we to expect in the case of a state such as Jordan?

In Jordan’s case, we are not only referring to the country’s limited
capabilities. We also have in mind the realistic elements of the
project to transform Jordan into an alternative homeland for the
Palestinians. These factors will come together with a qualitative leap
as soon as – God forbid – we move towards anarchy.

“The likelihood of this is growing as demonstrated by numerous and
shocking indications,” concludes Hattar.

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN ECON COOPERATION COMMISSION TO MEET IN AUTUMN

ITAR-TASS
Aug 8 2012
Russia

The Russian-Armenian intergovernmental economic cooperation commission
will meet this autumn, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a
meeting with his Armenian colleague Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday.

Russia appointed Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov co-chairman of the
commission. “The meeting of the Russian and Armenian colleagues is
planned in near future, in the autumn,” Putin said.

The president noted that the economic ties between the two countries
have been developing well and that trade turnover between Russia and
Armenia has reached the pre-crisis level /one billion dollars/. “The
growth in the first half of this year was very good, at 72 percent,”
he added.

Putin underlined that Russia is Armenia’s key export partner and
that the volume of Russian investments accumulated over 15 years,
was considerable.

“I’d like to thank the Armenian leadership which is providing constant
support to Russian investors,” Putin said.

Sargsyan expressed confidence that Russian-Armenian relations were
developing dynamically and progressively. Speaking about the level
of trade, he noted that “it is not the limit” and that “it could be
doubled or even tripled in the next two or three years.”

Sargsyan reminded that Armenia had extended the term of presence of
the Russian military base in 2010. “I believe it meets the interests
of our security,” he underlined.

In the autumn, Armenia will host a drill within the framework the
Collective Security Treaty Organization,” the head of the Armenian
state said.