Author: Vanyan Gary

MMAjunkie.com, OH

Karo Parisyan’s feud with Nate Diaz still boiling

by John Morgan on Jul 05, 2008 at 4:07 pm ET

After more than a year since the legendary on-camera verbal clash
between UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and
eventual "The Ultimate Fighter 5" champion Nate Diaz, bad blood still
remains.

Parisyan discussed the ongoing feud while a guest on The Lights Out
Show on the TAGG Radio Network (), the official radio
partner of MMAjunkie.com ().

"The deal is, it started out kind of as a joke," Parisyan said. "I
kind of let him know, ‘You know what? You’re saying shut up in front
of everybody.’ … I came up and I starting telling him, ‘Listen,
dude. We’re on national [expletive] TV. Don’t be saying [expletive]
like that.’"

Parisyan explained that Diaz’s reactions are what caused the situation
to escalate.

"[Diaz] thinks he can get rowdy with me and walk away," Parisyan
said. "He walked away from me, next to my cousin Manny (Gamburyan),
and he started acting all ‘What’s up homies?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, are
you [expletive] kidding me? Dude I wouldn’t even have to punch
you. I’ll slap you.’"

At that point in the exchange, Parisyan then delivered his
now-infamous "do-you-know-who-I-am" speech. The 26-year-old said the
words were misinterpreted by much of the MMA community.

"When I said, ‘Do you know who I am,’ everybody was like, ‘Oh, he’s so
cocky,’" Parisyan said. "I don’t mean, `Do you know who I am?’ Of
course you know who I am. I’m Karo, and I fight in the UFC. Big deal.

"What I said to him was, ‘Hey mother [expletive]. Do you know who I am
on the street? As far as me not being an athlete, do you know what I’m
capable of doing on the [expletive] street? Do you know me that way?
No, you don’t know me. So if you don’t know me, don’t [expletive] with
me.’"

Although Parisyan said he has never had any issues with Diaz’s older
brother, the oft-debated Nick Diaz, the Armenian judoka said the
problems with Nate Diaz have extended beyond the taping of "TUF 5."

"I was very close to taking his [expletive] head off," Parisyan
said. "But then again, I had 10 to 15 athletes there holding me
back. It is what it is. Recently I almost fought at another
competition with them, at fights in the UFC, where guys held me back
again."

Parisyan said that Diaz has been a constant thorn in his side and that
the differences will eventually need to be settled — in or out of the
octagon.

"Eventually, one day, something is going to happen because I can’t
handle that kid anymore," he said.

Parisyan also discussed the release of his new book, his relationship
with Affliction, and the advantages of judo in MMA. To hear the full
interview, download Thursday’s edition of The Lights Out Show,
available for free in the TAGG Radio Network archives.

This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by The TAGG Radio
Network () specially for MMAjunkie.com
(). "The Lights Out Show," hosted by Chris Fries and
The JDH, airs Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Download
all the former episodes at

CIS STATES TO SEND EXPERTS TO PROBE SUDAN PLANE CRASHES

RIA Novosti, Russia
14:45 | 30/ 06/ 2008

World

Experts from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), a civil
aviation body for ex-Soviet states, will take part in a probe into
recent crashes of Soviet-made transport planes in Sudan, the IAC said
on Monday.

"We have not received an official request from Sudan, but when we
do, our experts, in line with international agreements, will fly
to crash sites [in Sudan] to participate in the investigation,"
the spokesman said.

A Soviet-made An-12 cargo plane with eight people on board crashed
mid-flight from Khartoum to Sudan’s southern capital Juba last
Friday. One crewmember, a local Sudanese, survived, while seven others
including four Ukrainians and one Armenian were killed.

On Monday, a Soviet-made Il-76 cargo plane crashed immediately after
taking-off from Khartoum airport, exploding into a fireball and
killing all four Russian crewmembers.

The IAC, formed on the basis of an intergovernmental Agreement on civil
aviation signed in 1991, comprises Commonwealth of Independent States
members Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: "TALKS ON NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT CONTINUE ON THE BASIS OF MADRID PROPOSALS"

Today.Az
Azerbaijan
June 27 2008

Talks on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement continue on the basis
of Madrid proposals, offered by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs late
last year, said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan.

Nalbandyan announced that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement will today arrive in Yerevan and meet
with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister and then
leave for Nagorno Karabakh to hold talks with its "leadership".

"ot new principles or proposals of co-chairs are implied, for as the
sides announced following Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting in Saint-Petersburg
the talks continue on the basis of Madrid proposals", said Nalbandyan
Friday.

The mediators plan to arrive in Armenia from Baku, where they met
with country’s leadership, in the second half of the day.

DEFENSE MINISTER HOSTED AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE TO ARMENIA

Ministery Of Defence
;p=0&id=555&y=2008&m=06&d=27
25.06 .08

On June 25.2008, RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic
of Armenia Serge Smessow.

At the beginning of the meeting the Ambassador congratulated Seyran
Ohanyan on assuming the Defense Minister’s office, expressing hope
that the bilateral cooperation will further develop during the latter’s
tenure in office.

Speaking about the gradually deepening bilateral relations, the
Minister said the centuries-old friendship between Armenia and France
has no precedent today. Seyran Ohanyan expressed confidence that
it is necessary to develop the relations especially in the field of
peacekeeping, stating that the possible participation of France in the
military exercises to be held in Armenia in autumn would contribute
to the development of cooperation between the Armed Forces of the
two countries.

Turning to the 2008 military cooperation program, the parties discussed
issues related to military medicine and teaching of languages,
expressing hope that the active communication between the two countries
will result in signing of an agreement on military cooperation.

For his part, Serge Smessow noted that he highly appreciates Armenia’s
warm attitude towards his country, stressing the high level of
bilateral relations.

At the end of the meeting that parties discussed the current state of
bilateral relations and the perspectives of deepening those. They
exchanged views on a number of issues of regional security and
stability.

Turning to the settlement of the Karabakh issue, the interlocutors
stressed the importance of its resolution in a peaceful way,
underlining that being an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country, France
should maintain parity in its military cooperation with Armenia
and Azerbaijan.

RA MINISTER OF HEALTH PARTICIPATED IN WHO EUROPEAN MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

armradio.am
27.06.2008 10:55

Over 500 health decision-makers – including ministers of health and
finance – from 53 countries have set the WHO European Region on course
to tackle both longstanding and new challenges to health systems,
at the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Health Systems, which
is taking place in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Conference made a public health breakthrough by providing,
for the first time, a platform for debates on often sensitive and
politically charged health issues, such as equitable access to health
care, transparent health financing and accountability for public
health spending.

In ministerial panel discussions, ministers of health from Armenia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia
and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, emphasized that a
good health system is not a luxury for affluent countries alone,
but a fundamental part of prosperity for all countries.

Speakers stressed that a health system involves much more than
simply paying for doctors and hospitals. "It encompasses all parts of
society and its various institutions that affect health. It includes
the health ministry’s ability to influence other ministries – such
as transport, environment and education – to follow policies that
improve the health of the population," said Dr Marc Danzon, WHO
Regional Director for Europe.

Nevertheless, participants repeatedly stressed that investing in
health is not enough; performance matters. "If you call for more,
not less, spending on health, based on the claim that it creates
additional health and economic benefits, and at the same time you
give the health ministry more intrusive powers that allow it to
affect the policy-making decisions of sister ministries, then you must
demonstrate the effectiveness of these measures," said Dr Nata Menabde,
Deputy Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for Europe. This means
being accountable for where money is spent, choosing the appropriate
technology and showing that it was the best of the available options
and properly used.

Ms Maret Maripuu, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia, and President
of the Conference, said, "We need to see health beyond health care. We
need to realize that health stands on three rails: prevention, cure
and care, which are all equally important components of an effective
health system. We need to find a way to measure the performance in
order to maintain the effectiveness."

In her keynote address, Ms Mary Robinson, President of Realizing
Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative, stressed that health is
a fundamental right of all people and has value in itself, and that
it is in the interest of all governments to be more accountable for
the performance of their health systems.

Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, United Kingdom, emphasized the complex interrelationships
between health systems, health and wealth. He noted the many
difficulties in measuring health systems’ performance, including
finding effective indicators for the task, and the lack of systems
for performance measurement in many WHO Member States.

The information and perspectives presented at the Conference have
advanced the debate on health systems, health and wealth. Many
countries are eager to improve the performance of their health systems,
although they recognize the need to face challenges in, for example,
the financing and governance of their systems.

NALBANDIAN: OSCE MG WON’T SUBMIT NEW PROPOSALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2008 14:13 GMT+04:00

The talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are continued
on the basis of Madrid proposals, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian told a news conference in Yerevan today.

"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs will arrive in Armenia on June 27. The
mediators will meet with the Armenian President and Foreign Minister
and then depart for Stepanakert for talks with the NKR leadership,"
he said, adding that the Co-chairs will not submit new proposals.

"When in Saint Petersburg, the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
agreed to continue talks on the basis of Madrid proposals," the
Minister said.

The OSCE MG Co-chairs will arrive in Yerevan on June 27. Earlier this
day they will visit Baku to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT PLANS TO INVITE GUL TO WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCH

Today’s Zaman
June 26 2008
Turkey

Serzh Sarkisian, the president of Turkey’s estranged neighbor,
Armenia, has said he plans to invite Turkish President Abdullah Gul
to Yerevan to watch a soccer match together between the two countries’
national teams.

"I intend to take new steps toward establishing relations with
Turkey. I will probably invite Turkish President Gul to Yerevan
to attend a soccer match between the Armenian and Turkish national
teams," Sarkisian, who was sworn into office in April, was quoted as
saying by Armenian media earlier this week at a meeting with members
of Moscow’s Armenian community.

In November, Turkey was pitted against Spain, Belgium, Bosnia, Armenia
and Estonia in group five of the European qualifying competition
for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Armenian media said
that the Armenian and Turkish national teams would play a match in
September in Yerevan.

While there was no official response to reports on Sarkisian’s remarks
in Ankara, a senior US diplomat has welcomed them in Washington.

"It’s an amazing development. Both leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
seem to be pragmatic, practical and ready to explore each sides needs
when it comes to a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Matt Bryza, deputy
assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told
reporters. Armenia’s position on the establishment of relations with
Turkey is exact, and there can be a closed border between neighbor
states in the 21st century, Sarkisian also said.

PENNINGTON HOPES FOR CONFIRMATION OF MARIE YOVANOVITCH AS U.S. ENVOY IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.06.2008 14:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Appointment of Ambassador is extremely important
for the Armenian-American relations, said Mr. Joseph Pennington,
the U.S. Charge d’Affairs in Armenia.

"The U.S. Embassy hopes for soonest appointment. Ms. Marie
L. Yovanovitch will be questioned by the Senate members, who are to
decide whether to confirm the designation or not. It’s a democratic
process and we hope for a positive decision," he said.

President Bush’s previous nominee as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
Richard Hoagland, was subject to two legislative holds by Sen. Bob
Menendez (D-NJ) and was ultimately withdrawn by the Administration,
following the nominee’s statements denying the Armenian Genocide.

On March 28, 2008, Bush nominated Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch to serve
as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia.

"The U.S. government – and certainly I – acknowledges and mourns
the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations that
devastated over one and a half million Armenians at the end of
the Ottoman Empire," new Ambassador-designate said during the June
19 hearing.

"The United States recognizes these events as one of the greatest
tragedies of the 20th century, the "Medz Yeghern" or Great Calamity,
as many Armenians refer to it. That is why every April the President
honors the victims and expresses American solidarity with the Armenian
people on Remembrance Day."

"It has been President Bush’s policy, as well as that of previous
presidents of both parties, not to use that term. The President’s
focus is on encouraging Turkish citizens to reconcile with their past
and with the Armenians. He seeks to support the painstaking progress
achieved to date. President Bush believes that the best way to honor
the victims is to remember the past, so it is never repeated, and
to look to the future to promote understanding and reconciliation
between the peoples and governments of Armenia and Turkey. A key
part of that effort is to end Armenia’s isolation in the region by
encouraging normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey
and the opening of their land border," Ms. Yovanovitch said.

SHANT PLUS AND ASHTARAK KAT RECOGNIZED AS COMPANIES WITH DOMINATING POSITION IN MARKET

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 18, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. At the June 18 sitting, the RA State
Commission on Protection of Economic Competition recognized Shant
Plus and Ashtarak Kat companies as economic entities with a dominating
position in the market. By a decision taken by the Commission in 2005,
Shant Plus was also recognized as an entity with a dominating position.

By the data presented by 14 economic entities operating in the
ice cream market, 2,449,852.1 kg of ice cream was made in Armenia
in 2007. Ice cream sales amounted to 2,310,332.2 kg, exports – to
130,389 kg. The following companies had the largest shares of sales:
Shant Plus (30.73%), Ashatarak Kat (25.82%) and Tamara (21.64%).

ARMENTEL GIVEN 15 DAYS FOR PROVIDING A DISTRIBUTION NETWORK TO ARMENIA’S INTERNET-PROVIDERS

ArmInfo
2008-06-18 17:23:00

Today the State Committee on Protection of Economic Competition decided
to give ArmenTel company 15 days for providing a distribution network
to Armenia’s interner-providers.

The Committee considered the claims of Web, Crossnet and Arminco
companies against ArmenTel. The companies said that, while providing
internet users with cheap and high-speed Hi Line communication,
ArmenTel prevented them from providing the same service by refusing
to lease its distribution network. (Similar claim was filed in early
May). Besides, the companies complained that ArmenTel refused to
lease fixed networks.

The third point says that it is necessary to study the local market
as so to find out which company dominates in the field of provision
of fiber-optic communication from abroad. This is important for the
retail internet service market and the tariff policy. The providers
say that they are ready to start providing the services as soon as
ArmenTel sets relevant tariffs. ArmenTel is ready to do it if offered
specific technical and organizations terms.

To remind, on Apr 30 a number of internet-providers of Armenia
asked the authorities to regulate the situation on the telecoms
market. On May 12 ArmenTel said that it was ready to negotiate. On
May 22 ArmenTel and 7 providers – Web, Netsys, Arminco, Softlink,
Crossnet, Cornet and Ucom – signed a memorandum on cooperation with
a view to resolve the above-mentioned problems.