Campers with camp co-director Armine Harutyunyan, Armenian archaeologist and executive director of the Aragats Cultural Heritage Foundation, far left, and camp co-director Lori Khatchadourian, associate professor of Near Eastern Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, middle of back row.
On the slopes of Mount Aragats, the tallest mountain in Armenia, archaeologists are painstakingly uncovering the ancient past. From July 17 to 20, six Armenian girls got an insider’s view as participants in the pilot session of Camp Aragats.
The camp is the first programmatic initiative of the U.S.-based Aragats Foundation and its Armenian sister organization, the Aragats Cultural Heritage Foundation. Founded in 2014 by Cornell archaeologists Lori Khatchadourian and Adam T. Smith, the Aragats Foundation serves as the public outreach wing of Project Aragats, a collaborative archaeological research program dedicated to exploring Armenia’s past through the modern era. The goal of the Aragats Foundation and its Armenian partner is to harness archaeology to enhance local prosperity through tourism.
“Bringing tourists into the area would be a boon to local business and a spur for entrepreneurship,” says Khatchadourian.
Education is another priority area for the foundation, and Camp Aragats represents its first public engagement effort. The girls-only pilot session was a response to the limited opportunities for girls in rural Armenia, says Khatchadourian. The camp focused on cultivating broad interests in archaeological research in addition to teaching the campers about the ancient history of their region.
“Archaeology is a terrific vehicle for sharing the thrill of scientific discovery and the possibilities of new technologies to illuminate the past. These insights and skills can be translated into domains beyond archaeology. Our goal is to ignite an interest in scientific and humanistic inquiry that can open doors and opportunities for children as they continue with their education,” says Khatchadourian. She served as camp co-director with Armine Harutyunyan, Armenian archaeologist and executive director of the Aragats Cultural Heritage Foundation.
Camper Mary draws an excavation trench at Gegharot, an archaeological site in Armenia.
The camp piggybacked on the summer field research of Project Aragats. Scholars working on the project (including several Cornell graduate students) donated anywhere from an hour to half a day to teach the campers about their work. “It was extraordinary to have so many different dimensions of research going on at the same time, but that is the culture of Project Aragats. We cultivate multidisciplinary research so that when the different pieces are brought together, the sum is much greater than the parts,” notes Khatchadourian.
Campers learned how to dig at the site of Gegharot, working alongside seasoned excavators from the nearby village. “Above all else, the children loved the process of excavation,” says Khatchadourian. “There was nothing quite like the excitement of stumbling upon a sherd of ancient pottery with their trowels and recognizing that they were directly uncovering the past.”
Like ancient potter apprentices, campers learned how to work with clay and got to attempt putting together a fragmented vessel from the Late Bronze Age. In a ceramic analysis session, they learned to identify the fragments of ancient pottery that litter the dirt roads of their neighborhood (which lies just below an ancient fortress) that they had previously thought of as mere rocks.
Campers learned how to spot ancient burials by walking the landscape with a team of survey archaeologists, and a paleolithic specialist taught them how to knap Stone Age tools from obsidian. In a session on paleoethnobotany and palynology, campers learned how botanical remains can convey information about ancient climate, agriculture and diet. And a session on human osteology allowed the girls to try their hands at identifying Bronze Age skeletal remains as they learned how bones can convey information about age, sex and health.
During the session on spatial technologies, which included working with maps, the campers learned how to fly a drone. “That was definitely a highlight,” says Khatchadourian with a laugh.
Linda B. Glaser is a staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Spain releases German-Turkish writer sought by Ankara
Agence France Presse Sunday 1:17 PM GMT Spain releases German-Turkish writer sought by Ankara Berlin, Aug 20 2017 A Spanish court on Sunday ordered the conditional release of German-Turkish writer Dogan Akhanli a day after police had arrested him at Ankara's request, his lawyer said. Berlin -- which sees Turkey's bid to have the writer extradited as a politically-motivated move by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- hailed the Spanish court's decision. "It would be terrible if, even on the other side of Europe, Turkey succeeded in having people who raise their voices against President Erdogan arrested," said German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel. Gabriel, who had discussed the case with his Spanish counterpart Alfonso Dastis on Saturday, said he had "the utmost confidence" in the Spanish judiciary and that the government in Madrid "knows what this is about". Spanish police had on Saturday arrested Akhanli, who writes about Turkey's human rights record, while he was on holiday in Granada after receiving a so-called Interpol red notice, which is similar to an international arrest warrant. Berlin quickly urged Madrid not to extradite Cologne-based Akhanli, who has previously been jailed in Turkey and was granted political asylum and citizenship in Germany. Writing on Facebook, Akhanli's lawyer Ilias Uyar said his client was "being released from detention on condition he stays in Madrid" while Turkey starts the process of formally requesting his extradition. "The battle was worth it," the lawer wrote. - Critical voice - The case comes as relations between Turkey and Germany, home to three million ethnic Turks, have been badly strained, particularly in the wake of the failed coup against Erdogan a year ago and a subsequent crackdown on alleged plotters and enemies. Gabriel last month vowed stinging measures hitting tourism and investment in Turkey and a full "overhaul" of troubled relations, accusing Erdogan of trying to muzzle "every critical voice" with mass arrests and sackings. On Saturday, Erdogan hit out at Gabriel, saying "know your limits" after the minister vehemently criticised the Turkish leader for interfering in Germany's upcoming elections. Turkey is holding several German citizens in custody, including Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, the Istanbul correspondent of the Die Welt newspaper, who faces trial on terror charges. Germany wants to prevent Akhanli from ending up behind bars in Turkey, where he was jailed from 1985 to 1987 before moving to Cologne in the 1990s and becoming a German citizen in 2001. - The Armenian question - Akhanli has written about the highly sensitive historical question of the mass killing of Armenians under the Ottoman Turkish empire. Half a million to 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1917, in a bloodletting that Armenia and Western historians describe as genocide. Turkey vehemently objects to the term, saying that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up and sided with invading Russian troops. Akhanli was arrested again in 2010 when he arrived at Istanbul airport for a visit, on charges he was allegedly involved in a 1989 armed robbery. He was released four months later after being declared innocent, before an appeals court ordered new proceedings against him. German Green MPs have taken up his cause, saying he is a victim of political persecution.
Germany welcomes release of writer sought by Turkey
Associated Press International Sunday 4:45 PM GMT Germany welcomes release of writer sought by Turkey BERLIN BERLIN (AP) - Germany welcomed the release Sunday of a German writer detained in Spain on a Turkish warrant and accused Turkey of abusing the international system used to hunt down fugitives. Turkish-born writer Dogan Akhanli, who has German citizenship, was arrested Saturday while on holiday in southern Spain. Akhanli was conditionally released after a court hearing Sunday, but ordered to remain in Madrid while Turkey's extradition request is considered, his lawyer said. It wasn't immediately clear what Akhanli is accused of, but the author has in the past written about the mass killing of Armenians in Turkey in 1915. The killings are a sensitive subject in Turkey, which rejects the widespread view that they constituted genocide. In a statement, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel praised Akhanli's release and said "it would be terrible if Turkey could get people who raise their voice against (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan imprisoned on the other side of Europe." "I have complete faith in Spain's judicial system and know that our friends and partners in the Spanish government understand what's at stake," Gabriel said. Erdogan hit back while speaking to supporters in Istanbul, attributing Ankara's souring relations with Berlin to next month's German election and warning Germany to "mind its own business." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the arrest of Akhanli was wrong. "We mustn't abuse international organizations like Interpol for this," she told German broadcaster RTL. The already high tensions between the two countries hit another peak on Friday when Erdogan said all of Germany's mainstream parties were enemies of Turkey and urged Turkish-Germans to not vote for them in the upcoming election. Merkel called Erdogan's comments "completely unacceptable." "I invite everyone to vote, here in a free country," she said. Merkel said she would work hard to improve prison conditions for a number of Germans currently detained in Turkey on accusations of supporting banned organizations. Akhanli emigrated to Germany in 1991 after spending years in a Turkish prison following the 1984 military coup in the country. The German section of the writers' association PEN called the arrest warrant against Akhanli politically motivated. Spain is also holding Turkish-Swedish reporter and writer Hamza Yalcin who was arrested Aug. 3 in Barcelona on a Turkish warrant for alleged terrorism. PEN and Reporters Without Borders have demanded his release. The Swedish branch of Reporters Without Borders said Yalcin's arrest was an attempt by Erdogan to show he can reach critical voices abroad. Spain's Freedom of Information Defense Platform said it welcomed the decision on Akhanli, but reiterated that it expects Yalcin to be let go and Spain to explain both arrests.
Armenia hosts first summer school on theoretical physics
YEREVAN. – The first summer school on theoretical physics opened in Armenia’s capital city Yerevan.
The summer school is funded by the Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF) in cooperation with Italy-based International Centre for Theoretical Physics funcitioning within UNESCO.
Professors invited from France, England, USA, Portugal and Ireland will give lectures during the five-day summer school. The selection of students was based on letters of recommendation.
“Majority of students are from Armenia, but we have 10 participants from Iran, 4 – from Europe, and 2 participants from Russia. It is interesting that this time the interest of Armenian students is high. In the past we had similar projects, but the participants came mainly from other countries. NEWS.am leading researcher at Yerevan State University, organizer of the FAR/ANSEF-ICTP summer school Armen Nersesyan. “>Approximately 20 Armenian students participate in the summer school of FAR/ANSEF-ICTP,” Armen Nersesyan, a leading researcher at Yerevan State University, the organizer of the summer school, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.
Armenian physicists are well known in Armenia and abroad, they are publishing works in international rating journals and most physicists receive the main part of scientific grants among Armenians, said deputy director of the Armenian branch of the Armenia assistance fund, Eduard Karapetyan.
“ANSEF has always been contributing to the development of science in Armenia, but this summer school is the first example of the fund’s cooperation with another international organization – ICTP,” Armen Nersesyan added.
According to him, theoretical physics is the most developed science in Armenia, this is the reason for choosing this area for a summer school.
Hovhannes Demirchyan, postgraduate student of the Byurakan Observatory is one of the participants. He is engaged in astrophysics. According to Hovhannes, participation in such projects contributes to the development of professional skills of young researchers.
“It is very important to have this format in Armenia, as it provides an opportunity to get acquainted with new colleagues from Armenia and to start interaction with young researchers from other countries,” Hovhannes said.
Dmitry Chernyavsky has already participated in Armenia-hosted summer school. All expectations are not only justified, but are surpasses, he said.
“FAR/ANSEF-ICTP school covers several topics of theoretical physics, and here I would like to explore some areas of theoretical physics that I have not encountered before. The school provides an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in something new. There are many young people and good lecturers gathered here who are very interested in interacting, exchanging experience,” Dmitry explained.
Eugen Radu, a professor at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, is one of the lecturers of the summer school. He has been in contact with professors both from Armenia and from the Armenian diaspora for many years.
“I have great experience of working with Armenian professors, I was in Armenia nine years ago and fell in love with this country. Having received an invitation to participate in this project, I thought that it would be very useful. There are people from different countries, with different backgrounds, and we have the opportunity to discuss many details. I really enjoy it,” he said.
FAR/ANSEF-ICTP summer school funded by Armenian researchers from in the United States will last until August 26.
Zartonk Daily 22.08.2017
Dear A reader,
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Thank you we are, that selected me «Let’s wake up» to read:
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«Let’s wake up»in: Editing
Today's link of "Zartonk" on 22.08.2017.pdf
Arpi Stepanyan: Without love there is no winning in mathematics
Mathematics is the driving force of love, justice, and progress. Mediamax and VOLO launch a joint project, MathArt. It will tell about the talents developing Mathematics in Armenia, and their work.
Mathematics is of key value in the modern world and we hope that MathArt will help attract Armenian youngsters into that particular science.
Arpi Stepanyan is the Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, researcher at the Department of Real Analysis.
Her workday is full of silence, which is not a strange thing in the life of a mathematician who is deeply engrossed in the science of numbers. The only noise that can be heard in her office during the day the slow whisper of trees coming out of her half-open office window. The peaceful ambience is a necessary working condition though for the 35-year old researcher.
Arpi has inherited the love of math since early childhood from her parents, both mathematicians. She had two options- painting or math, but following her parents’ steps her choice fell on mathematics.
“It has always been math for me. My life has always been full of it, starting from school. So, when time came to choose between Applied Mathematics and Mathematics, the latter won,” she says.
Photo: Mediamax
Arpi joined Yerevan State University’s Department of Mathematics and Mechanics in 1999. After getting her master’s degree, in 2005 she started working at the Institute of Mathematics (IM) as a junior researcher. After a while, she was unfortunately forced to quit her job due to a lack of financing and worked as a Scientific Secretary at the National Academy of Sciences. She returned to IM in 2012, but later took a maternity leave; she is married to a mathematician and is a mother of 3 beautiful children.
“My husband is also a mathematician, but he is currently working more in the environmental sphere. I have three kids. Only my son goes to school and he loves math, he is very good at it. No surprise here though. He does his homework at school. In my children’s upbringing, I’m mostly focusing on foreign languages rather than math, trying to provide them with wider options, so that they can make their own choice when they grow up,” Arpi says.
After returning to the IM for the third time, parallel to her scientific research Arpi also began to teach at the American University of Armenia.
“Initially my primary focus was on orthogonal arrays. I had an opportunity to work in Germany and during my time there my focus had somewhat shifted from real analysis to complex one. But my supervisor and I had one common interest – Universal arrays, which I am currently working on.”
Discovering the world of mathematics
Math develops the mind. Sometimes my students ask me why I necessarily need to solve this or that particular math problem. Maybe I won’t need the solution for this specific problem in the future but solving it will make my brain sharper and my mind stronger. Solving math problems on paper helps finding solutions to problems in real life. It gives you satisfaction and a sense of victory.
Photo: Mediamax
My students think that solving a math problem is simply a task for me. In fact while teaching it’s a great pleasure for me to see that they understand the task and gain something new from the whole process. You need a unique teaching method with each and every student. With each solved math problem you help your students increase their own self-esteem. Just like in life: overcoming obstacles makes us stronger and increases our spirits. Wisdom comes with age.
Without love there is no winning in mathematics.
Mathematicians
Mathematicians are very emotional people but they are a little bit more restrained in expressing their feelings. They treat everyday problems calmly with less dramatics.
Photo: Mediamax
There is a wrong stereotype way of thinking that mathematicians are cold and strict people. Mathematics cannot be cold; it requires precision and accuracy, which in turn requires subtlety. In solving a math problem, every little detail and every nuance counts and here lies the beauty of it.
Mathematicians view many things logically without emotion. Their mind works and feels that way. But there are things that cannot be solved solely logically and here is where your heart steps in. This is what mathematics is about and it’s captivating.
Eternal questions through the eyes of a mathematician
Love. It’s a way of living. Loving your husband, kids, parents or friends, it doesn’t matter… You express it differently. But how can one live without love? I remember once reading an article in a magazine where a three-dimensional sine formula was pictured. It was described as mathematician’s formula of love. I couldn’t figure out how they have come up with it.
Life and death. These are natural phenomena. During my first years at the university, learning mathematics was an automatic process, but later on when I began studying logic I was drawn by Gödel’s incompleteness theorem which proves that complete systems don’t exist. There can’t be a system which can prove everything. This is some kind of a life theorem. Nothing is perfect in life.
The same applies to death. When I am told that I look younger than I actually am I get angry. It’s insulting for me. I don’t want to look 20 because I used to be different person at that age. It’s a good thing that people get older, mature, and it’s quite natural that death awaits us at the end of this journey. We live in a Christian country after all and this ideology makes it easier to think about death.
Complex problems solved in mathematics and life
What attracted me in mathematics has always been complex – orthogonal arrays and Franklin systems. I can’t say which one was more difficult. It was hard at first but with time the problems became more complex and the solution easier.
I am always trying to treat life easily. But there is the other side as well. It’s rather boring without complications. People enjoy overcoming difficulties. Probably, one of the hardest things I have done and am still doing was having and raising children.
Life expressed in a math formula
I can’t tell for sure what math formula I would have used to describe my life, but I am sure it would have contained sine, cosine and a positive increasing function. I always believed that life is much better at this given minute than it used to be a moment ago. It is increasing positively. Why sine, cosine? Because they fluctuate, one is increasing and the other is decreasing, just like it always happens in life. To cut the story short, to describe my life I would have used trigonometry, an increasing function.
The thin line between the real and unreal
Mathematicians seem to be detached from the real world. We cross that thin line very often. I often dream about math formulas, even find solutions in sleep. Then I wake up and simply solve the problem I have been working on for weeks. This is a common occurrence with mathematicians.
When we start doing something we never think how what we have done can be used later. It’s interesting for us, we have a problem and we simply solve it. We are dealing with things that very often cannot be used directly. In real analysis we can carry out research the results of which are not seen at that moment but can be used in the future, like for example in physics. I think maybe mathematicians also help humanity in some way.
Armenia on the mathematical global map
Armenia occupies its own place on the global mathematical map. We had world-famous mathematicians. For example, Alexander Talalyan, the Head of the Real Analysis Department of NAS Institute of Mathematics, who passed away last year. His works are known everywhere. We have Norayr Arakelyan, who is working on Complex Analysis and is the current head of that department. Our mathematicians are well respected and we have a lot to give back to the world.
Devotees and the future of mathematics
Unfortunately financial problems prevent many talented young people from choosing mathematics. Many of them, especially young men, leave the country or simply choose other occupation, for example Information Technologies. We have a huge potential but we cannot keep it. Today there are more women in our institute than men, because they leave the country and a few of them ever come back.
Photo: Mediamax
I hope that thanks to people truly and utterly devoted to mathematics, it will have a bright future in Armenia. But besides mathematicians the state must be also devoted to this science. I hope the situation in the country will improve as well. Our talented and bright young people will never leave the country if the financial situation is solved. They will stay here in Armenia and develop mathematics.
VOLO is the general partner of the project
Marie Taryan
Photos by Emin Aristakesyan
Filters and flour: Pitt student mixes photography and baking
Rachel Lombardo / For The Pitt News
With three vanilla pound cake rounds cooling in front of her, Elaine Khodzhayan combines the perfect concoction of peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar into her signature frosting.
Khodzhayan, a rising senior majoring in human resources management and business information systems, is the baker and brains behind And A Chocolate Drizzle, a baking Instagram page and blog she started in 2015.
Almost two years and over 27,000 followers later, the Instagram world cannot seem to get enough of her perfectly frosted cakes, gooey cinnamon rolls and artfully crafted cookies.
Her mouth-watering desserts — each racking up thousands of likes and dozens of reposts across Instagram — are all made in the small, galley kitchen of Khodzhayan’s Oakland apartment. This inventive culinary dynamic — along with her love for rap music and inclusion of rap influences in some of her cakes — has led to her being referred to as the love child of Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg.
“It’s a funny story,” Khodzhayan said, explaining how her blog started. “In high school, I started taking pictures on my phone of what I was baking just to be like ‘oh look what I made’ and I’d post it on my personal Instagram page with a description of what it is […] and a chocolate drizzle on top.”
Many of Khodzhayan’s peers in high school made fun of her for her baking instagram, claiming that baking was a waste of time and potential for a girl as intelligent as herself. But Khodzhayan did not allow the discouragement to stop her.
One day a coworker brought up the idea of Khodzhayan creating a separate blog for her baking. So that same month Khodzhayan launched the Instagram page with a name that came ever-so naturally — And A Chocolate Drizzle.
“It was a very organic growth, which to this day is so surprising,” Khodzhayan said.
Khodzhayan scurries between her kitchen and hall closet. Her hall closet, she says, is the baking closet — full of piping bags, bulk containers of mini M&M’s and anything a baker blooming into culinary stardom could need.
Despite the popularity of her baking Instagram page, Elaine, a student in the business school, says she doesn’t plan to pursue a career in the culinary arts. (Photo by Anna Bongardino | Visual Editor)
Khodzhayan remembers her first post to reach over one thousand likes distinctly — three Oreos with the cream scooped out and replaced with cookie dough. Within the sixteen hours following that post, her account gained over a thousand followers from all over the world.
“I want my followers to feel like we’re friends,” Khodzhayan said. “It means a lot that so many people get excited when I post.”
One day, one of her followers — a girl named Abby who is not much younger than Khodzhayan herself and a prospective student at Pitt — direct messaged And A Chocolate Drizzle to tell Khodzhayan how much of an inspiration she was and ask about the business school at Pitt.
It seems as though many portions of Khodzhayan’s life — as a baker and Pitt Pathfinder — collided into one. Khodzhayan enthusiastically sent Abby a variety of information about Pitt. A few months later, Abby found herself on campus and asked to meet with Khodzhayan. The two ended up meeting, sitting and talking about baking and their mutual love for Pitt.
“[Meeting Abby] made me so happy,” Khodzhayan said. “And I would trade it [And A Chocolate Drizzle] all. I would trade everything for that one interaction.”
Luckily for the Instagram world and anybody who has had the privilege to taste her delicious treats, she doesn’t have to.
She grew up in the food business. Her parents are owners of two pizza shops, Steve-O’s Pizza and Fresco Pizza and Wings in Jamestown, New York.
From early on, it was clear that cooking and baking were much more than jobs or hobbies for Khodzhayan. Always surrounded by family and food, the kitchen became her natural habitat, stress-reducer and happy place.
“I collect cookbooks. I’ll read a cookbook like an actual book,” Khodzhayan said, citing Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” as her all-time favorite.
From these cookbooks and a long history of family recipes, Khodzhayan adapts her own recipes for And A Chocolate Drizzle.
Khodzhayan begins stacking the rounds of vanilla pound cake on top of one another, smearing layers of peanut butter frosting and mini M&M’s between each layer.
“Hands down my favorite thing to bake is birthday cakes,” Khodzhayan said.
Ranging from a Minecraft-inspired cake for her younger brother, to a cake decorated with her roommate Giulia’s favorite Kinder chocolate candies, to a variety of specialized cakes for her family members, Khodzhayan has mastered beautiful, personalized delicacies for her loved ones.
“My mom would always say whenever you go to someone’s house, you should bring them something sweet as a way to remind them of how much is good in life,” Khodzhayan said. “I think giving someone something sweet on their birthday in a way to remind them all the little good things there are.”
In addition to inspiring her cake-gifting etiquette, Khodzhayan says her mom’s baking inspires her own passion.
“The most famous thing my mom makes is her baklava,” Khodzhayan said. “She’ll always tell me, ‘It’s healthy! It has nuts! It’s good for you!’”
According to Elaine’s best friend Giulia, the baklava does not fall far from the tree.
“My absolute favorite has to be her Armenian baklava,” Giulia said. “It’s so, so good, I absolutely love it.”
Elaine Khodzhayan’s baking Instagram page has over 27,000 followers. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Khodzhayan)
Both Khodzhayan and her mother are inspired by their Armenian culture. Not only do they specialize in baklava, but in other traditional Armenian desserts like karakoul — an apricot meringue and ginger dough cake — and a bird’s milk cake.
“My family is aggressively Armenian — I grew up speaking Armenian. We are very culturally tied to it,” Khodzhayan said.
Khodzhayan even earned the nickname “Ponchik” from her family — meaning “doughnut” in Armenian — after several trips to Armenia and ravenous consumption of those flat, cream filled confections at her favorite Armenian bakery.
“I try to be very open about my culture and background. In my [Instagram] profile I have an Armenian flag because I always get really excited when other Armenians interact with one another,” Khodzhayan said. “You can spot another Armenian from a mile away. We’re like born with a radar.”
After smearing an even layer of frosting across her nearly eight-inch cake, Khodzhayan begins piping swirls of frosting around the edge of her cake and sprinkling mini M&M’s and melted chocolate across the top.
Michael Callahan, a rising senior majoring in environmental science, is Khodzhayan’s friend, designated dessert sampler and the self-proclaimed Kris Jenner to her Kim Kardashian.
“I wish her all the success in the world. Mostly because she deserves it, but also because I need someone’s coattails to ride to fame and fortune,” Callahan said. “And A Chocolate Drizzle has been such a fun project to watch grow and transform into something that has been amazing accomplishment after amazing accomplishment for Elaine.”
Regarding the future of And A Chocolate Drizzle, Khodzhayan plans to continue to bake for as long as it continues to fulfill her life in some way.
In the meantime, Khodzhayan will be working to finish her senior year at Pitt and continuing to sprinkle joy and drizzle chocolate across every aspect of her life.
“More than anything, the little eight-year-old ‘ponchik’ in me is so, so happy that all of this has happened,” Khodzhayan said.
Khodzhayan assembles a makeshift photography studio around her cake, making sure to use the natural light from her living room window to properly illuminate her cake. With her Nikon D3200 she begins meticulously photographing her creation before slicing away a piece to devour.
BAKU: Armenia’s drift towards NATO and panic among Moscow Armenians
Mon 11:13 GMT | 7:13 Local Time
Pro-Western Armenians do not hide their enthusiasm with this fact and are waiting for the moment when Armenia finally “throws away” Russia and runs under the wing of a new “ally” – the US, in order to start a new stage of aggression against its neighbors. However, such prodigies are not shared by the pro-Armenian forces that settled in Moscow.
Obviously, if Armenia betrays Russia and finally surrenders to the US and NATO, the fate of the powerful Armenian lobby in Russia will be unenviable and their positions will shaken. Including the positions of “near-Armenian” figures, such as the editor-in-chief of Regnum news agency Modest Kolerov.
After all, Kolerov and others like him managed to create the image of “the great patriots of Russia” among the Russian public, and the illusion that Armenia is the ‘surest ally of Russia’. But if Armenia betrays Russia, Kolerov won’t be able to play the same game anymore.
It will also become clear that for many years Modest Kolerov, as well as all kinds of Baghdasaryans, Margaritas Simonyans and others like them, fooled the Russian society, made them support the regime, which eventually ended up betraying Russia and becoming the enemy of their country. In this case the representatives of Moscow Armenian lobby will also be suspected of betrayal, and, as a result, “the money flows” of Russian Armenians will be excommunicated. And their lives become more complicated – since no matter how naive the Russians are, they will hardly finance Armenian structures after Armenia joins the ranks of Russia’s enemies.
Therefore, it was not accidental that the material of Sargis Artsruni entitled “Moscow incites Azerbaijan to a new war” recently published on the website of Armenia’s pro-Western First Information expresses an extremely negative reaction on the attitude of the same Modest Kolerov to the rapprochement between Armenia and NATO which goes contrary to the aspirations of the pro-Western “First Information” .
Sargis Artsruni writes: “In Moscow they can not accept the fact that Armenia took part in NATO military exercises held in Georgia. Even if this participation of Yerevan was agreed with Moscow, the situation changed drastically after the new US sanctions against Russia and against the backdrop of US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Georgia. Several Russian publications openly question the loyalty of the Armenian authorities.
In an interview with the First Information, the editor-in-chief of the Regnum news agency, political analyst Modest Kolerov, who is known for his connections with the Kremlin, spoke rather harshly. “Armenia itself said that it has solidarity with NATO. And this solidarity takes place with the joint participation with Turkey and Azerbaijan. That’s all. And if Armenia participates in such projects jointly with Turkey and Azerbaijan, it does not mean that it does not need a united military group with Russia. So, let Armenia call on NATO to reconcile it with Turkey and Azerbaijan, ” Kolerov said.
In this case, Sargis Artsruni accuses Modest Kolerov of lies and fraudulent facts. In particular, he writes:
“Russian officials and experts have tactics to bring their message or even threat to the appropriate audience at all means – even resorting to obvious falsifications. For example, Kolerov obviously deceives readers, giving the impression that Azerbaijan participated in military exercises in Georgia. Or the political scientist creates a completely false picture that Moscow is allegedly occupied with the Armenian-Azerbaijani or Armenian-Turkish reconciliation processes, and this is when Moscow arms the parties to the Karabakh conflict, and the Russian military base deployed in Armenia is one of the obstacles to the probable Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. However, all these manipulations are trifles in comparison with tthe threat clearly voiced by Kolerov. “So, let Armenia call on NATO to reconcile it with Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Kolerov said, diplomatically making it clear that Armenia will pay a high price for participation in NATO exercises.
The conclusion of the First Information is purely speculative. Sargis Artsruni believes that Moscow has found a “legitimate” basis for issuing carte blanche to Azerbaijan for a new war – it is supposedly the Armenian authorities’ review of their foreign policy. In his opinion, Moscow makes it clear that if Armenia continues to cooperate with NATO, or even signs a new agreement with NATO, they will provoke Azerbaijan to a new war against Armenia – laying the blame on our “pro-Western” authorities.
But the fact is that the sale of arms to Azerbaijan and Russian-Azerbaijani defense cooperation which is absolutely legitimate and mutually beneficial and consistent with Russia’s interests is just being presented by the supporters of betrayal of Russia by Armenia as a “proof” of the fact that ‘Russia is not Armenia’s friend’. And these theses are repeated again and again.
Thus, a split has emerged in the formerly monolithic international Armenian lobby. Russian Armenians began to realize that the betrayal of Russia by Armenia could touch them personally. And they frantically try to “slow down” the process in the present stage, when Armenia seems to continue to remain Russia’s ally, while flirting with the West.
But such an”intermediate” state can not be preserved forever. Either here or there. And, judging by the latest trends, it is rather “there”. Armenia’s insidiousness as an ally and treacherous essence of the Yerevan regime will soon become apparent even to the most naive Russian patriots.
News.Az
ANKARA: Turkish politician in Germany sentenced for social media share
Turkish-born politician Bekir Sipahi was sentenced to 30 days in jail by a German court for a share he made on social media.
Sipahi, a member of the Duisburg Assembly, was sued by Cem Özdemir, the co-chair of the German Green Party, after he had reacted to Özdemir last year on social media for bringing the 1915 incidents to the Bundestag’s agenda last year. While Armenia and the Armenia diaspora pursue worldwide recognition of the 1915 incidents that occurred in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, Turkey always emphasizes the “suffering of both communities” during conflict and calls for an international research.
After the 14-monthy case, a court in Duisburg sentenced Sipahi to 30 days in jail.
Sipahi contended that Özdemir’s intolerance of opposing ideas was exposed with this behavior. “I did not label anyone in the share, I just declared my idea. I will seek my rights in the legal way against the so-called libertarian Özdemir, and I will go to the court of human rights [ECtHR] if necessary,” he said.
He explained that he participated in a protest rally in Berlin last year shortly before the allegations regarding the 1915 incidents were brought to the agenda of the Bundestag under the leadership of Özdemir.
“Özdemir was constantly attacking Turkey and President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan in the press. I couldn’t remain indifferent as a Turkish-born politician who loved his country, his nation, and I criticized Özdemir for his allegations against Turkey regarding the 1915 incidents with two tweets. Despite him slandering Turkey numerous times for restricting social media and the press, he sued me for my tweets,” he said. Sipahi called his sentence a “scandal,” and claimed that he has not been informed by the court regarding the ongoing legal process. “Is that Germany’s justice? Where are human rights, freedom of speech? Why did they wait 14 months to make such a decision? I will not pay the bail and serve in the prison,” he said.
BAKU: Azerbaijan-Israeli relations: sincere friendship of peoples and strategic partnership of countries
Mon 11:27 GMT | 7:27 Local Time
Over the last twenty-five years, the relationships between Israel and Azerbaijan have improved critically and drastically. It is historical fact that no country in Eurasia has closer or warmer ties with Israel than Azerbaijan. The relationship between the two countries is particularly surprising because Azerbaijan is a majority- Muslim country.
In the development and strengthening of relations between countries, political and economic interests play a special role. I am more than confident that human relations, a human bridge between the Azerbaijani and Jewish people, play a special and vital role in the relations between Israel and Azerbaijan. We can look at the recent history of these relations and actually see the reflection in today’s reality.
Relatively few people outside the Azerbaijani or Jewish communities know about the remarkable role that the Jewish community has played in Azerbaijan. The first health minister of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918-20 was Jewish, and there were representatives of Jewish groups in parliament. In addition, during the existence of the Republic from 1918 to 1920, Jewish communities published a Caucasian Jewish Bulletin, the Palestine newspaper and a biweekly magazine, Youth of Zion. Moreover, throughout the Soviet period, Jews played a major role in the intellectual, economic and political life of Azerbaijan.
Unlike many cultures, Azerbaijanis have never viewed Jews as foreign or alien. Israelis with roots in Azerbaijan many years are doing a great deal to foster the emerging economic and even geopolitical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel. The Jewish people have lived in the territory of Azerbaijan for over 2600 years and have never experienced harassment, insults, pogroms and anti-Semitic
actions.
It is necessary to point out the words of 9th Israeli President Shimon Peres, during his historical visit to Azerbaijan: “I know that the policy of Azerbaijan is of peace, friendship, development but also of independence. With your unique geographic location, there is no doubt that you already are, and will continue to be, a key country in this part of the world.”
Today it is not secret that Israel has always been attracted to Azerbaijan, not only because there is no anti-Semitism in that country. At the same time, Baku has repeatedly denounced manifestations of anti-Semitism elsewhere and Azerbaijan today is center and wonderful multiculturalism sample for the world. The multiculturalism and tolerance historically inherent in the life of Azerbaijanis today became an integral feature of everyday life of each citizen of the Azerbaijani state, irrespective of national identity, language and religion. Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shiite Muslim country, is also home to several other ethnic and religious groups, including ancient Zoroastrian, Christian, and Jewish communities. Respect and tolerance for national minorities has played a vital role in the development of the country from antiquity to the days of the Silk Road to modernity. Azerbaijan has for millennia been a safe haven for a wide array of diverse peoples fleeing persecution and oppression, perhaps most notably, the Jews. Today, the close bilateral relations of Israel and Azerbaijan—owing much to the hundreds of thousands of Jewish Azerbaijanis who left during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, only to return to a free and prosperous Azerbaijan—provide an interreligious, geopolitical, and cultural map for how Jews and Muslims can and do act toward one another and how they can and do coexist.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev also celebrated the strength of the relationship between the two countries by using these words: “For centuries, Azerbaijan and Jewish peoples have lived in peace and this friendship and brother relations continues to exist between our countries. The Jewish community in Azerbaijan actively helps to strengthen our bilateral relations. In Azerbaijan, there are seven synagogues, five of which are located in the capital Baku and there are Jewish schools in the area. In recent years the relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel produced many advantages for both countries”.
On the one hand, the military agreements signed between the two countries, worth about five billion dollars, granted Azerbaijan with better technology and an ally to the Northern border with Iran. Fundamentalist Iran and aggressive Armenia, which continues to occupy 20% of Azerbaijan lands, are interested in Azerbaijan turning off cooperation with State of Israel on security issues and struggle against terrorist threat. Official Tehran is trying to isolate Azerbaijan from Israel and the West, although this is even theoretically impossible, because in this sense Iran is a more neutral country with respect to the Karabakh conflict than Israel. Israel is very important for Azerbaijan, not only an economic, political, but also a strategic partner for security issues and geopolitical and military partnership.
Despite the fact that official Baku has not yet opened its diplomatic mission in Israel, the Azerbaijani government permanently sends numerous official delegations to Israel and, in turn, receives even more Israeli guests in Baku. This is especially true and revealing, given the sharp and continuing expansion of economic ties with Israel, given the purchase of Azerbaijani oil and Israeli investments in the Azerbaijani economy and agriculture. In turn, Azerbaijan needs modern high technologies in agriculture, military industry, telecommunications, and this list can be continued. At the same time, countries promote educational, humanitarian and cultural projects.
The visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Azerbaijan on December 8, 2016 was super historic. Despite the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu was in Baku in August 1997, this visit was the first official visit of the head of the Israeli government to Azerbaijan for the 25-year history of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Azerbaijan. This meeting between Prime Minister of Israel and Azerbaijan President in Baku once again confirmed that the political dialogue between the two countries is at the highest level, while the economic component and trade turnover are constantly growing. Azerbaijan-Israel cooperation and partnership are flourishing; trade turnover between the countries is almost 3.5 billion dollars. If earlier this turnover was focused on the oil and gas industry, currently the development of this relationship is diversifying, covering other sectors of the economy.
As Alexander Murinson wrote that in the near future, “it is likely that Azerbaijani-Israeli relations will only increase in areas such as scientific cooperation, information technology, medicine, water purification, agriculture and cultural exchanges. More importantly, strategic cooperation in defense and intelligence fields, as well as in the fight against terror, has proven that two small countries located in an expanded Middle East, have found the unique blend for a successful symbiotic relationship in a highly insecure environment”.
Military-technical partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan is actively and permanently developing and strengthening. In recent time, some Israeli media, with the help of some representatives of the Armenian lobby in Israel, are trying to spread false information about the “problems” in Israeli-Azerbaijani military cooperation. After the April events of 2016 – during a rapid counter-offensive, the Armenian side’s front defense line was broken in multiple places and Azerbaijan army has retook several strategic heights and inhabited places. We actually have seen anti-Israeli hysteria and antisemitism in Armenia, even in Israel the Armenian community held rallies against the Azerbaijani-Israeli partnership.
Concerning the criticism of Armenia on Israeli-Azerbaijan military cooperation, it necessary to emphasize that Azerbaijan and Israel themselves choose their friends and partners, and these countries themselves determine the level of strategic cooperation and partnership in the military-technical field. Moreover, no one has the right to interfere with it. Azerbaijan does not ask that there are military bases of the third state – Russian Federation on the territory of Armenia and what military assistance this country provides and will provide to the Republic of Armenia, which occupied 20% of Azerbaijan territories. It is absolutely absurd and senseless when a country that has been occupying the territory of Azerbaijan for more than 25 years accuses official Baku in violating the norms of international law. Armenia started its undeclared war, with the goal of extending Armenian territory to the greatest degree possible at the expense of Azerbaijan.
At the beginning of 1992, Armenia began using Russian military and material assistance to intensify its occupation, starting with settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh. The worst atrocity took place on February 26, 1992, when Armenian forces perpetrated a genocidal massacre against Azerbaijani civilians in the town of Khojaly. The bloody massacre that transpired in the small Azerbaijani town of Khojaly was also a crime against humanity. Armenian armed forces, like the Nazis before them, committed unspeakable atrocities and barbaric acts. 613 people were killed, 487 people were crippled, and 1,275 civilians — men, women, children and the elderly — were captured, murdered, raped and tortured in manners reminiscent of the Nazis. Most notably, the mass extermination of the civilian population of Khojaly was carried out for one reason — all were Azerbaijanis. International journalists and an official Azerbaijani investigation reported disfigured corpses, dead women and children, and the murder of fleeing civilians.
Unlike in the aftermath of World War II, the Nuremberg Trials, and the ongoing hunt for Nazis, the perpetrators of the extermination of Khojaly live freely in the modern-day Republic of Armenia. Many, even today, occupy high-level positions in government — former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan, current Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, to name a few of the notables. Each participated in atrocities and like the Nazis, they must be brought before an international court to answer for their crimes. Like the Nazis, copious records exist attesting to their involvement and complicity. Unlike the Nazis, who were personally secretive about their crimes, several of these men gave interviews to the media lauding their criminal acts. Their reign, too, will end, as the Nazis did and as Armenia grows out of its warring infancy.
Unlike modern-day Germany, which meticulously teaches its young people about the horrors that Nazi Germany committed, a profound blemish on the modern Armenian society as a whole is the cult of personality that exists today around Dro and Nzhdeh. In honor of them, coins are minted with their likenesses, monuments are erected, and films are produced about their lives and deeds, as if they are some sort of diabolical folk heroes. History will not forget the cruelty of a 20,000-strong Nazi Wehrmacht Armenian legion during WWII. Led by an Armenian nationalist commander called Dro they participated in death marches and the annihilation of thousands of Jews and others disliked by the Nazi regime.
It is even more absurd when you consider the current official ideology in Armenia: The Republican Party, which has ruled since 1998, openly claims its fidelity to anti-Semite and fascist Garegin Nzhdeh a leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. It is worth emphasizing that the forces of some marginal political groups do not support the cult of these bloodthirsty fascists and anti-Semites, behind these actions is the state, or rather the criminal terrorist leadership of the modern Republic of Armenia. The fact that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan once again confirm that they consider themselves real and genuine heirs of the Armenian fascist and anti-Semite Nzhdeh in the opening ceremony of the monument to the fascist and anti-Semite, General Garegin Nzhdeh. A square is named after Garegin Nzhdeh and monument of Garagin Nzdeh is created and opened in the heart of Armenian capital. Let`s underline: a cult cannot be created by some marginal political groups – it is the government that stands behind these acts.
At different times, Armenia has tried to avoid peace negotiations by artificially escalating the situation and violating the ceasefire regime. To this end, the Armenian army has intensified armed provocations in the occupied territories, targeting Azerbaijani residential settlements and the civil population.
President Sargsyan often declares that Armenia is consistently building up its defense capability in the framework of military-technical cooperation with Russia. He stressed the role of the 102nd Russian military base located in Armenian territory. Moreover, Armenia joined the anti-aircraft defense system of the Russian Federation in November 2016.Clear, Armenia does not have independent defense strategy as well as military procurement policy. Armenia is a member of Collective Security Treaty Organization and bilateral agreement on establishment of joint military union with Russia deprives Armenia from all tenets of having independent armed forces.
I believe that the possible military cooperation between Israel and Armenia are nothing more than a political bluff. In order to supply the weapons to Armenia, Israel should have strategic relations with this country, and really these relations on zero level. Armenia does not have financial means to make serious defense procurement contracts with Israeli companies.
From commercial point of view, Armenia does not promise any perspective. Armenia, as a subsidy and donation, acquires Russian military equipment and technology. Isolated in the South Caucasus region, Armenia, due to the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands, has remained largely outside the main geopolitical and geo-economic projects associated with the gas and oil resources of the Caspian Sea. It is an indisputable fact that Armenia is the most dependent and poor country in the South Caucasus. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has been completely tied up and depends on Russia’s external political and economic ambitions. Armenia, a small country with a population of 1.5 million, has been in the position of geopolitical isolation in recent years.
The State of Israel supports the fair position of Azerbaijan – it actively supports the territorial integrity of the country and calls for resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. For more than 25 years, the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia has continued. As a result of this aggression, there are 1 million refugees in the country. In this complex geopolitical situation, support for Azerbaijan’s fair position on the part of such an important strategic partner and strong geopolitical actor in the Middle East as the State of Israel is very necessary and very important for the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Other than military, the relations between the two countries also concern the energy, medical, agricultural and technological sector. Today Israel represents the second importer after Italy of Azeri oil; 40% of oil imported from Israel, corresponding to about 30 million barrels a year, comes from Azerbaijan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. More over Israel participates to the economic diversification efforts promoted by the Azerbaijani government to reduce the vulnerability of oil market.
“We obviously have a strong energy relationship,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. “We are talking not only about the sale of oil from Azerbaijan to Israel, which is a very important part of our oil imports, we are talking about the use of common facilities for exporting gas and gas, Interconnection of Israel’s gas exports potentially to a large gas pipeline that is being built as we are now talking about Azerbaijan in Turkey “. Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to a plan to export Israeli gas via Turkey to European markets, using The Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) pipelines run by Azerbaijan.
As an Israeli citizen, I can say proudly that the leadership of Azerbaijan shows a great degree of deference and partnership to the Jewish community. Under the patronage of President Ilham Aliyev two synagogues and the largest Jewish educational center in the South Caucasus have been built. Plans are in place for the first Azerbaijani Jewish museum, which will be the first Jewish museum in the South
Caucasus.
If one wonders how the majority Muslim country of Azerbaijan came to such a rich alliance with Israel today, one need look no further than the Red Village, a tiny river conclave in the mountainous region of Quba. There, for centuries, a Jewish community has thrived amid a Muslim population. The ancient town of ‘Krasnaya Sloboda’ (Quba) in northern Azerbaijan, said to be the only all-Jewish town outside of Israel, is the pride of Azerbaijan.
During historical visit of World Jewish Congress Ambassador Ron Lauder to Azerbaijan I had honor to ask him about his impressions of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan. Ronald Lauder pointed out that it was very interesting to be acquainted with the Jewish identity and Jewish way of life in Azerbaijan. “I know that during the Holocaust, Azerbaijan became one of the few havens for the European Ashkenazi Jews who saved their lives and the lives of their children from the Nazis. The notion of “Mountain Jews” once seemed very abstract to me. I have heard a lot about them, but I have never seen their settlements. However, in Azerbaijan’s Guba district, I saw a warm and friendly attitude of the Azerbaijani people and leadership towards the Mountain Jews. I visited a beautiful synagogue in Krasnaya Sloboda and was very inspired to see a large number of people who met our delegation and me
Honestly, I did not expect to see a powerful Jewish community in a Muslim country with a Shiite majority. There are no such precedents in the world. I think that the Krasnaya Sloboda is a great role model for other countries. Azerbaijan can be proud of its achievements in the area of multiculturalism. As a President of the World Jewish Congress, I highly appreciate the respectful and warm attitude of the Azerbaijani people and the Azerbaijani leadership towards the Jewish community and I want to express my sincere gratitude to the President of Azerbaijan,” – said me Ronald Lauder during his visit to Azerbaijani
In this region, Jewish and Muslim Azerbaijanis have been living harmoniously for centuries. Despite Armenia’s ethnic cleansing and aggression toward Azerbaijan, which includes occupation of 20% of its territories and one million refugees and internally displaced people, Azerbaijan is a true model of inter-civilizational and interfaith dialogue. Tolerance and multiculturalism are key foundations of the Azerbaijani society. Azerbaijan has made a concerted effort to create and foster the necessary political and social conditions for developing and strengthening the country’s traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance.
Time and again, Azerbaijan has demonstrated that harmony is possible, and issues can be resolved without resorting to violence or strife. Importantly, President Aliyev as earned the respect of a wide swath of Israeli society for his dedication in this realm and to the Jews of Azerbaijan.