Ex-oil company chief charged in alleged Azerbaijan coup plot; lawyer cries
foul
The Associated Press
Published: September 29, 2006
BAKU, Azerbaijan A former oil executive has been charged in connection
with an alleged coup plot in Azerbaijan last year, his lawyer said
Friday.
Separately, an American lawyer for Rafiq Aliev said authorities had
violated Azerbaijani law and international human rights norms in the
case.
Aliev was charged Thursday with involvement in what Azerbaijani
officials say was a plot to overthrow President Ilham Aliev, said his
lawyer, Rafiq Quliyev.
Rafiq Aliev is former chief of the private oil company Azpetrol and
brother of former Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliev, one of a
dozen people arrested before parliamentary elections last November in
connection with the alleged plot.
The opposition says the arrests were part of an effort by the
government to manipulate the vote, which Western observers criticized
as flawed.
The Aliev brothers, who are not related to the president, were both
arrested last October, but Rafiq Aliev had not been charged with
participation in the plot. He had previously been charged on three
unrelated counts, including smuggling, Quliyev said.
Meanwhile, Farhad Aliev denounced accusations against him as unfounded
in a statement from prison released by his lawyers Friday, and said
that he had been subjected to blackmail and “psychological pressure”
while in custody.
Authorities accuse an opposition leader living in exile, Rasul
Guliyev, of masterminding the alleged coup plot.
The government of Ilham Aliev – like that of his late father, Geidar
Aliev, before him – has persecuted the opposition, breaking up
demonstrations, jailing its activists and directing state-run
television to smear its leaders.
Charles Both, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer for Farhad and Rafiq
Aliev, said the authorities have violated both Azerbaijani law and
international human rights norms.
“My clients’ right to have a fair and free and effective remedy
… has been violated. My clients’ right to freedom from
discrimination on political grounds has clearly been violated,” Both
told a news conference.
He said authorities had violated the presumption of innocence by
referring to the accused as criminals even though they have not been
tried.
Both said he arrived in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on Monday and
appealed to the prosecutor general’s office the same day with a
request tomeet with his clients, but received no response.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

29.09.2006 / 16:00
Next CIS ministerial sitting to take place in Baku
ASTANA. September 29, 2006. KAZINFORM. /Zauresh Balkenova/ The next
sitting of the council of internal affairs ministers of CIS member
states will take place next September in Baku, the Russian Interior
Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told a briefing following its 32nd session
in Astana.
At the session were discussed issues on struggle with organized crime,
extremism and terrorism, illicit migration, etc.

World’s Top 50 Richest: How They Made it
September-29-2006
Forbes is out with its list of The 400 Richest Americans.
Have you ever wondered how Forbes knows who to put on the list (and
where)? Here, in the magazine’s own words, is Forbes’ methodology:
Our estimates of people’s net worth are deliberately conservative and
should be considered `at least’ figures. We do our best to value
everything, from stakes in publicly traded or privately held
companies, real estate and investments in natural resources to art,
yachts and mansions. We dig through SEC documents and court records;
call analysts, employees, competitors and ex-wives; and look at
newspaper and magazine articles. We also take a hard look at
debt. However, we do not pretend to know everything on a private
balance sheet.
All numbers have been rounded to the nearest $100 million. All
publicly traded shares were priced Aug. 31. Privately held companies
are valued by coupling estimates (or, in some cases, company-provided
numbers) of revenues or profits to prevailing price/revenues or
price/earnings ratios for similar public companies.
I’m simply going to go through the list (in order) picking out those
names that might be of interest to readers of this article and saying
a few words about them (and their companies).
(I only selected billionaires who made the top 50.)
1 – William Henry Gates III ($53.0 billion)
Bill Gates, chairman of software giant Microsoft (MSFT), once again
takes the top spot. Today, more than half of Gates’ net worth is
invested outside of Microsoft. Despite a recent resurgence in its
share price, Microsoft is as cheap as it’s been in many years. The
stock has even started to catch the attention of some value
investors. Microsoft has been buying back shares and has plans to buy
back even more.
In June, Gates announced he will give up his day-to-day role at Microsoft;
however, he will remain the company’s chairman. This transition will be
completed in mid 2008.
2 – Warren Edward Buffett ($46.0 billion)
_Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) ,
chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), finds himself in a familiar
spot – right behind his good friend Bill Gates. Unlike Gates, Buffett
still keeps the vast majority of his net worth in a single
stock. Shares of Berkshire are up over the past twelve months.
As a result, Buffett’s net worth increased, despite the beginning of
the process that will ultimately lead to Buffett giving tens of
billions of dollars to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (and four
other charities started by members of his family). The secret to
Buffett’s success: since 1965, Berkshire’s value has compounded at an
annual rate of 21.5%.
6 – Jim C. Walton ($15.7 billion)
Jim Walton is the first of several Waltons on the list. Forbes has
been incredibly lucky with their top two richest Americans, Gates and
Buffett. It’s hard to imagine two more memorable men. It’s also hard
to imagine two more similar men who appear to be so different. Gates
is high-tech; Buffet is low-tech. Gates is young (actually, he’s 50
now); Buffett is old (at 76, he’s nowhere near the oldest on the
list). Gates made his money through innovation and
entrepreneurship. Buffett (unlike most self-made billionaires) made
his fortune by steering clear of both innovation and entrepreneurship,
seeking out investments in businesses that don’t change.
I recently saw a headline refer to _Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) as
an “entrepreneur”. Buffett is many things – but, an entrepreneur isn’t
one of them. Like many on the list, he’s an investor and a
businessman. Unlike many on the list, he has no appetite for direct
entrepreneurship. He has bought many businesses from entrepreneurs –
and those entrepreneurs continue to work for him at Berkshire. But,
the man at the top is no entrepreneur.
What does all this have to do with the Waltons? The only man that
would be as interesting a headliner for Forbes as Gates or Buffett is
Sam Walton. Of course, the founder of Wal-Mart (_WMT_
( ol=3DWMT) ) has been dead
for more than a decade now. Still, if the Walton family’s wealth is
aggregated it easily tops the list. In fact, it would now be close to
$80 billion.
9 – Michael Dell ($15.5 billion)
The eponymous founder of computer maker Dell (DELL) saw his net worth
decline over the last year as the market cut his company’s share price
in half.
Apparently, Michael Dell only has about a third of his net worth in
sharesof Dell. Part of that outside wealth is invested in _Eddie
Lampert_
( .php?GuruName=3DEdward+Lampert) ‘s
ESL investments.
Like Microsoft, Dell has started to attract the attention of some
value investors, as its price-to-earnings multiple has contracted in
the face of growing pessimism. The long-term growth outlook for Dell
certainly isn’t what it used to be; but, then again, the stock’s P/E
ratio isn’t what it used to be either.
12 – Sergey Brin ($14.1 billion)
Despite being only 41, Michael Dell isn’t even close to the youngest
name on the list. Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page (both
33), are the youngest on the list. Actually, there are eleven
billionaires on the list who are younger than Dell. But, of those
eleven, only Brin and Page are in the top twenty-five.
What’s the chance Brin and Page will eventually top the list? It’s
hard to say. But, there are a few factors going against them. The
biggest is that they’ve already sold a lot of stock. Gates, Buffett,
and the Waltons demonstrate the importance of keeping a very large
stake in a single company (at least during the period of fast growth),
thus allowing your wealth to compound atan annual rate far greater
than the advance in the general market. Selling this much stocks this
early (and planning to give away quite a bit) could keep Page and Brin
from topping the list, even if Google continues to grow at its
unfathomably fast pace.
Google isn’t cheap; so, the company will have to grow very fast just
to prevent a sharp decline in the price of its shares. Despite
Google’s youth,the company is already quite large – perhaps too large
to provide the growth needed to lift Brin and Page to the top spots.
With a market cap of $123 billion, Page and Brin’s Google is already
about half the size of Bill Gates’ Microsoft (which has a market cap
of $266 billion) and just a tad smaller than _Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) ‘s
Berkshire Hathaway (which has a market cap of $144 billion).
On the other hand, Gates and Buffett are both giving away their money
as well; so, that should keep them from pulling too far ahead of the
pack.
21 – Forrest Edward Mars Jr. ($10.5 billion)
Mars is one of the most valuable private companies in the United
States. It also happens to be a truly unique company. As a result, the
estimated net worth of the Mars family isn’t really comparable to the
estimated net worth of billionaires with stakes in public
companies. Remember how Forbes describedits methodology:
Privately held companies are valued by coupling estimates (or, in some
cases, company-provided numbers) of revenues or profits to prevailing
price/revenues or price/earnings ratios for similar public companies.
The problem with this approach is that there simply isn’t any public
company “similar” to Mars. Don’t believe me? Below is a list of Mars’
major brands.
Snackfood: M&M, Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, and Twix.
Petcare: Pedigree, Cesar, Whiskas, and Sheba
Main Meal Food: Uncle Ben’s
Let’s try to find some companies similar to Mars. There’s Hershey
(HSY).
That company has sales of $5 billion and a market cap of $12
billion. It also happens to average a double-digit return on assets
and a consistently highfree cash flow margin. Last year, Hershey had
a 46.89% return on equity.
Tootsie Roll (TR) has sales of just under $500 million and a market
cap of nearly $1.6 billion. That company generally averages a return
on assets inthe high single digits or low double digits along with a
consistent double-digit FCF margin.
Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) has sales of just under $12 billion and a
market cap of about $22 billion. However, Cadbury isn’t really all
that similar to Mars. Cadbury is actually an unusually capital
intensive business that even includes some bottling operations; Mars,
by all accounts, ties up very little capital in areas outside of the
company’s core competency.
Many of Cadbury’s brands were recently acquired rather than internally
developed long ago (as is the case at Mars). As a result, Cadbury
Schweppeshas some of the most bloated confectionary operations of any
confectioner with strong global brands.
This is evident in the company’s poor cost comparisons with the likes
of Hershey and Tootsie Roll in candies, Wrigley (WWY) in gum, and
Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi (PEP) in soft drinks. You’ll also notice that
Cadbury’s brands are generally in a weaker position than its
world-wide competitors in all of the areas in which it competes. Mars
is in exactly the opposite position.
Forbes estimates Mars has annual revenues of $19 billion. In the past,
Mars itself stated it had revenues of $18 billion (in 2005); so,
really the $19 billion number isn’t based on much actual guesswork by
Forbes – it’s essentially an acknowledged number.
As a public company, Mars would likely have a market cap of at least
$50 billion. Forbes doesn’t provide an explicit estimate for the value
of the company; however, based on the $10.5 billion net worth estimate
for the three members of the Mars family who made the list, it looks
like Forbes may be using an overly conservative estimate.
Mars is a private company (and not a very public one at that); so,
it’s nearly impossible to estimate the value of the company with any
accuracy.
However, based solely on the estimated sales number and the brands the
company owns, I would say it is considerably more likely that Mars
would have a public market value in the $45 – $60 billion range than
in the $30 – $35 billion range.
So, the members of the Mars family may actually be a lot closer to the
top five or ten names on the list than their twenty-first place
ranking suggests.
24 – Carl Icahn ($9.7 billion)
Today, Icahn is probably best known for his investment in Time Warner
(TWX).
But, during the past year, he’s actually been involved in several
major dust-ups that aren’t as high-profile as the Time Warner
saga. His investments in Korean cigarette maker KT&G and biotech
company ImClone (IMCL) have made headlines. Icahn also makes
investments (particularly in smaller companies) that get little or no
attention. For example, during the last year, Icahn purchased shares
of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) among
others.
Whether he’s called a “shareholder activist” or a “corporate raider”,
the implication is clear. Carl Icahn is rarely friendly to the
existing management at the companies he invests in. In fact, he’s
often unabashedly hostile =80` as he was in his Sepetember 20 th
letter to ImClone Chairman David Kies. Thisis how Icahn concluded that
letter:
You should recognize that your leadership of ImClone should come to an
immediate end. The time has come for you to peacefully pass the baton
to a successor who will be able to bring strong leadership back to
ImClone. If you fail to do so, you will have thrown down the gauntlet
and we will have to react accordingly.
Not exactly poetry – but, it gets the point across.
26 – Kirk Kerkorian ($9.0 billion)
There’s been more than enough written about General Motors (GM) over
the past year; so, I won’t add anything here. I will, however, mention
that one point made by some blogs (and even some “mainstream” media
sources) is nonsensical. It’s been written (presumably with a straight
face) that Kerkorian can’t possibly be making a long-term investment
in GM, because (at 89) he simply doesn’t have enough time left to see
such an investment through.
The strongest argument against this line of reasoning is that making
investment decisions based on your anticipation of imminent death is
akin to making life choices based on the belief that you don’t have
free will and all future events are predestined. In both cases, if
your assumption is correct, you gain little or nothing. If your
assumption is incorrect, you lose a lot.
Besides, all of this assumes you have no interest in leaving greater
wealth behind (whether to charity or your family), which seems rather
absurd.
Kerkorian isn’t exactly forgoing his own enjoyment; he already has far
more money than he could ever spend on himself (that would be true
even if he were 29 instead of 89).
Also, it’s worth noting that Phil Carret lived to be 101. I don’t mean
to suggest Kerkorian may live just as long; rather, I mean to suggest
even at 89, you could be hanging up your cleats twelve years too
early. To put that in perspective, if the average American male
expected to die twelve years before he actually did, he would be
planning to die around the time he would start collecting Social
Security.
As a rule, investors who are as passionate as Kerkorian usually die
long before they retire.
30 – Philip H. Knight ($7.9 billion)
Phil Knight, chairman of athletic footwear and apparel giant Nike
(NKE), no longer serves as CEO of the company he founded; but, as the
departure of Bill Perez demonstrated, Knight still runs the show.
Former SC Johnson executive Bill Perez only lasted a little over a
year in the top job, before being replaced by long-time Nike employee
Mark Parker. Mr.
Parker has spent most of his career at Nike. The fifty year-old CEO
has been with Nike for more than a quarter century. He was given the
CEO job (and a directorship) in January of this year.
31 – Philip F. Anschutz ($7.8 billion)
Phil Anschutz keeps appearing in the strangest places. His Walden
Media production company produced the mega-hit movie The Lion, The
Witch, and The Wardrobe, an adaptation of the first of C.S. Lewis’
seven Chronicles of Narnia books.
Lately, most of what has been written about Anschutz has focused on
his politics – which is unfortunate, because the man is one of the
mostfascinating investors around. Anschutz has made several
interesting (and often contrarian) investments in his lifetime. His
past investments in publicly traded Union Pacific (UNP) and Qwest (Q)
are well-known (Anschutz is Qwest’s founder).
Through his private holding company, Anschutz has made investments in
energy, media, professional sports, and real estate. Lately, he has
been withdrawing from his role in these investments to focus on his
entertainment ventures (including Walden Media).
32 – Keith Rupert Murdoch ($7.7 billion)
The past year has been an unusual one for News Corp (NWS) chairman
Rupert Murdoch in that much of what was written about him didn’t focus
on his politics (or his personal life). MySpace is now the favorite
subject for those writing about Murdoch.
News Corp’s $580 million acquisition of online social network MySpace
has been written about extensively. MySpace seems to come up in nearly
every discussion of large media companies. For example, the firing of
Tom Freston, CEO of Viacom (VIA), was perceived as being due in part
to his failure to acquire MySpace.
News Corp’s stock price has risen considerably over the past
year. Right now, the biggest story surrounding the stock is continued
speculation that Murdoch and Malone will work out a deal involving the
disposition of Liberty Media’s 16% stake in News Corp.
34 – Charles Ergen ($7.6 billion)
Charles Ergen, founder of satellite TV company EchoStar (_DISH_
( bol=3DDISH) ) is generally
well respected on Wall Street. However, the Street’s view of his
company has dimmed considerably over the last year.
The problem isn’t specific to his company. The outlook is simply a lot
more pessimistic for both of the big satellite TV operators, DirecTV
(_DTV_ ( V) ) and
EchoStar. The “triple play” threat from cable companies who can bundle
phone, internet, and television services at a reduced monthly rate has
slowed subscriber growth at EchoStar and DirectTV. There’s also some
fear that phone companies will be able to compete effectively with the
other television service providers.
Fairholme, a highly concentrated mutual fund, currently has about 10%
of its assets invested in EchoStar, making it one of the fund’s big
positions along with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and Canadian Natural
Resources (CNQ).
Fairholme’s manager, _Bruce Berkowitz_
( GuruName=3DBruce+Berkowitz) ,
gave his opinion of Charles Ergen in an interview with Value Investor
Insight:
“We think Charlie Ergen is a great jockey who has done an unbelievable
job, who clearly has skin in the game=80¦”
35 – Sumner M. Redstone ($7.5 billion)
The 83 year-old Redstone now serves as chairman of two separate public
companies, CBS (CBS) and Viacom (VIA). Of the two, Viacom was supposed
tobe the fast grower; CBS was the stodgy old media stock. Since the
split: CBS is up, Viacom is down, and Freston is out. Sumner Redstone
fired Tom Freston, CEOof Viacom, earlier this month.
38 – Donald Edward Newhouse ($7.3 billion)
Donald Newhouse runs privately held media company Advance Publications
with his brother, Samuel Newhouse. Donald and Samuel’s father (also
named Samuel) began purchasing stakes in newspapers during the 1920s.
Many of those early investments were forgettable. For instance,
Samuel’s first purchase, The Fitchburg Daily News, went out of
business within a year of his investment. Two of Samuel’s purchases
proved to be critical to the company’s success. In 1934, Newhouse
purchased a majority stake in the Newark Ledger. Five years later, he
bought the Newark Star-Eagle and combined histwo Newark properties to
create The Star-Ledger.
Today, The Star-Ledger is New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper by
far. In fact, it has a daily circulation greater than that of its next
three New Jersey competitors combined. The Star-Ledger is one of the
top twelve American dailies by circulation, with a weekday circulation
of approximately 400,000 and a Sunday circulation of over 600,000. The
paper has one of America’s lowest staff to circulation ratios and
manages to generate more advertising revenue than some other papers
with slightly higher circulation numbers.
Advance Publications (named for the Staten Island Advance, a paper
acquired by Newhouse in 1922) probably has annual sales of over $6
billion. The company is the second largest magazine publisher in the
U.S. – onlyTime Warner (TWX) is larger. The company’s magazine
properties include such high-profile names as The New Yorker, Vanity
Fair, and Vogue. However, the company’s low-profile newspaper
properties are responsible for much of the value Forbes sees in the
media company.
Advance also has stakes in cable properties and has substantial online
operations.
49 – Steven Paul Jobs ($4.9 billion)
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer (AAPL), actually has most of his
wealth in Disney (DIS). As a result of the merger between Disney and
Pixar, Jobs has a 15% stake in Disney, making him that company’s
largest shareholder.
Approximately $4 billion of Jobs’ estimated $4.9 billion net worth is
attributable to his stake in Disney.His ego may be invested in Apple;
but, his wealth is invested in Disney

A1+
CHARLES AZNAVOUR SANG IN THE REPUBLIC SQUARE TODAY
[07:54 pm] 29 September, 2006
Today the voice of Charles Aznavour sounded for about 15 minutes in
the Republic Square. The passers by were surprised to find out that
the renowned singer was standing on the stage himself. Nevertheless,
the concert `Aznavour and friends’ will take place tomorrow at 08:00
p.m.
Aznavour himself wanted to check the equipment in the square, the
stage decorations and the cameras. Nevertheless, he did not sing with
his full voice but saved it for tomorrow.
After the rehearsal the Abovyan street was closed for a while so that
Aznavour could leave the square.
By the way, the security of the concert is provided by a large number
of policemen who guard the stage and the enclosed area.

Agence France Presse
29 septembre 2006 vendredi
La communauté arménienne en France (ENCADRE)
Paris
La communauté arménienne en France compte aujourd’hui quelque 450.000
membres, soit la plus importante en Europe occidentale, selon le
Centre de recherches sur la diaspora arménienne (CRDA).
Trois vagues d’immigration marquent principalement son arrivée sur le
territoire : celle de négociants à Marseille au XVIIe siècle, celle
des rescapés du génocide de 1915 par les Turcs et enfin celle de
ressortissants plus jeunes nés au Proche-Orient et en Turquie.
Survivants et descendants (troisième et quatrième générations
aujourd’hui) sont principalement regroupés dans trois zones
géographiques avec 200.000 personnes en région parisienne, 150.000 à
Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) puis 100.000 en Rhône-Alpes,
notamment à Lyon.
Alfortville, dans le Val-de-Marne, surnommée “la petite Arménie”,
reste la ville la plus représentative, avec un Arménien pour six
habitants.
La communauté vit dans une assez grande pluralité politique et
religieuse, une majorité restant fidèle à l’église nationale
arménienne (chrétienne orientale).
Elle poursuit par ailleurs un travail important de culture et de
mémoire avec au moins six établissements scolaires arméniens, une
centaine “d’écoles du dimanche” ainsi que la création du CRDA (Centre
de recherches sur la diaspora arménienne) en 1976.
Ce centre conserve des milliers de documents sur l’histoire du peuple
arménien, marquée essentiellement par le génocide de 1915 par les
Turcs. Les Arméniens estiment que jusqu’à 1,5 million des leurs ont
péri dans un génocide orchestré par l’Empire ottoman entre 1915 et
1917.
Une proposition de loi socialiste vise par ailleurs à compléter la
loi du 29 janvier 2001 par laquelle la France reconnaît le génocide
arménien. Elle fait de la négation du génocide un délit punissable
d’un an d’emprisonnement et de 45.000 euros d’amende. Son examen par
l’Assemblée nationale a toutefois été interrompu sans être achevé et
son vote reporté sine die, le 18 mai.
Le président Jacques Chirac a lié implicitement l’adhésion de la
Turquie à l’Union européenne à la reconnaissance du génocide
arménien, dans une interview aux “Nouvelles d’Arménie” rendue
publique mercredi par le mensuel.

Los Angeles Times
CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS
Crime a Key Issue in Race for Top Lawman
Brown and Poochigian battle over criminal justice credentials as they
campaign for attorney general.
By Eric Bailey
Times Staff Writer
September 29, 2006
OAKLAND – His brow furrowed in concentration, Mayor Jerry Brown sat
before a police computer, tracking a parolee by global positioning
satellite. It was a chance to appraise the latest law-and-order
technology he helped bring to this city – and bolster his
crime-fighting credibility as the Democratic candidate for state
attorney general.
Three hundred miles south, his Republican opponent, state Sen. Chuck
Poochigian of Fresno, vowed at a Los Angeles conference on DNA
policing that as attorney general he would boost “CSI”-style
forensics. He also jabbed at Brown, noting that Oakland police failed
for a year to nab a child molester identified by DNA, allowing him to
molest again.
Crime might trail education and illegal immigration in surveys of what
is important to Californians, but it still commands center stage in
the race for top state lawman.
In television ads and on the stump, Brown and Poochigian are warring
over criminal justice credentials and crime-fighting
philosophies. Brown calls Poochigian, a three-term legislator, an
extremist on the conservative right. Poochigian labels Brown, a
two-term former governor and three-time presidential contender, an
extremist of the liberal left.
Brown has reinvented himself in Oakland as a mayor unafraid to live in
a high-crime neighborhood and eager to support the needs of local
police. Henow has endorsements from the California Police Chiefs
Assn. and, in a television ad playing around the state, ridicules
Poochigian for voting in 2004 against legislation banning .50-caliber
sniper rifles.
Poochigian and his campaign team aren’t buying the 68-year-old mayor’s
criminal justice conversion.
They’ve dubbed the Democrat a “fictional crime fighter” and focused on
his “Gov. Moonbeam” past: Brown’s veto of the death penalty in 1977,
the recall of state Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird after she helped
block more than 60 executions, his opposition to the state Victims’
Bill of Rights, and lefty pronouncements on talk radio in the
mid-1990s.
The Republican also has highlighted a spike in Oakland crime this
year. The city of 300,000 was hit by 111 murders in nine months, a
pace that by year’s end could double the 60 homicides that occurred in
1999, Brown’s first year in office.
“He’s promising to inflict the same punishment on California that he
has on the good people of Oakland,” Poochigian said.
Brown concedes that he is troubled by Oakland’s violent crime, much of
it related to gangs and drugs. But he also believes a more accurate
assessment compares his whole eight-year tenure to that of previous
mayors. If the statistics are sliced that way, serious crime has
fallen 30% more in the Brown years than under his Oakland
predecessors.
Poochigian’s criticism, Brown says, is political rhetoric.
“I don’t think he’s ever been in the position of dealing with a police
force in an operations sense,” Brown said. “He doesn’t know the
challenges. What has Chuck Poochigian ever done?”
Poochigian remains little known outside the statehouse; four of five
voters in an August poll – the most recent survey data available =80′
had no opinion of him. And his own campaign has focused largely on
Brown.
A lawyer and former top aide to two Republican governors, Poochigian
has in his dozen years in the Legislature forged a reputation as an
affable conservative popular on both sides of the aisle. During his
last years in the state Senate, he was vice chairman of the Public
Safety Committee.
Poochigian was principal co-author of a law signed by the governor
last week that will help keep sexual predators behind bars longer and
increase parole supervision. He is also co-chairman of the campaign
for Proposition 83, which would restrict where sex offenders can live
after their release.
This year, he pushed through a law requiring authorities to track
identity theft crimes. But he failed to win approval of bills to boost
penalties for identity theft and “phishing,” the use of e-mail to
deceive consumers into releasing private information.
Poochigian also helped fight a ballot measure in 2004 that would have
weakened the state’s three-strikes law, and earlier this year he
battled legislation that would have placed a moratorium on capital
punishment.
Fighting gun control is “not part of any agenda of mine,” Poochigian
said, noting that he voted this year to authorize civil penalties for
anyone who creates a nuisance by using assault weapons or
large-caliber rifles. Poochigian has also sponsored legislation to
boost penalties for criminals who use guns.
Though an opponent of prison reformers – he says they coddle criminals
– Poochigian was one of the few Republicans to support Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s unsuccessful plan this year to buff up rehabilitation
efforts in state penitentiaries. But more than anything, Poochigian
fashions himself as a champion of crime victims.
After his recent speech to the lunchtime gathering of the Fifth Annual
DNA Awareness Educational Forum at Cal State L.A., he talked about the
parade of shattered loved ones he has watched come to the statehouse
seeking legislative help.
“I want to be known as the A.G. who is aligned with their causes,” he
said.
Mike Reynolds, father of the three-strikes law and one of California’s
most recognizable victims’-rights advocates, supports Poochigian, who
is a friend.
“We know Chuck Poochigian is solid on crime,” Reynolds said. “The
question is: Do you roll the dice and take Jerry at his word that he’s
a born-again crime fighter?”
Brown has had his work cut out for him in a city long shackled by
California’s highest per capita murder rate.
Brown helped champion several high-tech initiatives at the Oakland
Police Department, among them GPS monitoring of high-risk parolees and
a “shot-spotter” system that triangulates the sound of gunfire to
speed the response to shootings. The fancy equipment arrived, Oakland
Police Cmdr. Pete Sarna said, because of Brown’s commitment “to spend
the money to do what it takes.”
A few of the basics have been tougher to come by. The city has a
chronic shortage of street officers. And the department has been
criticized, as Poochigian said, for letting DNA cases slip through the
cracks.
Out in a squad car for yet another ride-along, Brown got a look at the
department’s latest weapon against crime. An infrared camera system
mounted on the cruiser records licenses plates as cars pass by, and
within seconds a computer spits out an alert for any stolen
vehicle. In the first 10 days of its use, police arrested 20 suspected
car thieves.
People might not associate Brown’s past with criminal justice, but
during his governorship the state’s inmate population jumped 40%, he
said. Brown also boasts about having signed the first measure
mandating prison for the use of a gun in a crime.
He admits mistakes. In 2003, Brown testified before a state watchdog
group that he regretted signing a sentencing law a quarter-century ago
that replaced the use of parole boards to judge an inmate’s readiness
for release with determinate, or fixed, sentencing.
Today the prisons are a revolving door, with 120,000 inmates leaving
each year – three-quarters of them destined to return. Though prisons
don’t fall under the attorney general’s purview, Brown says he would
use the bully pulpit to push for better education and skills training
for inmates, beefed-up drug treatment and tougher supervision outside
the walls.
Poochigian contends that his opponent is disguising a “radical
ideology” with a phony crime-fighter’s cape. Over the course of the
campaign, he hasnoted that Brown as governor pardoned seven
first-degree murderers and in 1976 vetoed a bill to provide
bulletproof vests for local law officers.
He also has cited Brown’s 1990 pronouncements on Bay Area talk radio.
Brown called the war on drugs a scam, opposed the execution of
“freeway killer” William Bonin, described lethal injection as a
“Nazi-style” form of sanitized execution and suggested that banning
capital punishment would elevate society to a “higher state of
consciousness.”
“That somehow he can divorce himself from all that and serve in a way
that’s fair to victims of crime and tough to the perpetrators is hard
to accept,” Poochigian said.
Such talk rankles Brown as he glides along in the police cruiser.
Ronald Reagan pardoned 40 first-degree murderers during his two terms
as California governor, Brown noted, all of them men or women who had
served their time and went on to live law-abiding lives outside.
And he may have vetoed state financing of bulletproof vests for local
police, but as governor, Brown signed a bill to buy body armor for the
California Highway Patrol.
As for his radio years, Brown said, it is a case of the medium as much
as the message.
“I was doing a talk show,” he said. “There is a huge entertainment
factor in that. I’m not going to stand behind every remark I made.”
[email protected] atimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-crime29se p29,1,4560238.story?coll=3Dla-center-politics-cal

Posted on Thu, Sep. 28, 2006
Barbs fly in race for attorney general
ONE HOPEFUL CALLED `FLAKY,’ ANOTHER CALLED `EXTREME’
By Steve Geissinger
MediaNews
SACRAMENTO – Though Democrat Jerry Brown is better known, has more
money and enjoys a double-digit lead in the polls, a state Senate
Republican is making a serious bid to defeat him for the office of
state attorney general.
Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno is warning that Brown is too “flaky”
for the job of the state’s top cop. The senator principally calls
Brown soft on crime and cites his opposition to the death penalty.
“Jerry Brown is the last person who should have the responsibility of
protecting California’s families as attorney general,” said
Poochigian spokesman Kevin Spillane.
But Brown, a former California governor and now Oakland’s mayor, is
saying Poochigian is “too extreme” for the state, considering his
opposition togun control and abortion rights.
Brown campaign strategist Ace Smith said Poochigian is “trying to
pass himself off as a moderate when in fact he’s an extremist.”
The campaign, so far, is being carried out primarily through
occasional appearances and an exchange of costly television ads.
The attorney general, a statewide elected officer, runs the Justice
Department and represents the people of California in civil and
criminal matters in the courts. The office also serves as legal
counsel to state officers, agencies, boards and commissions.
The attorney general further coordinates local and regional narcotics
enforcement efforts, participates in criminal investigations and
provides forensic services.
Also, the attorney general operates programs aimed at protecting
Californians from fraudulent, unfair and illegal activities that
victimize consumers or threaten public safety, and enforces laws that
safeguard the environment and natural resources.
The current attorney general, Democrat Bill Lockyer of Hayward, is
termed out and is running for treasurer against Republican Board of
Equalization member Claude Parrish.
Poochigian calls Brown “flaky,” pointing out that Brown’s own city,
Oakland, is suffering a high homicide rate and noting that Brown
vetoed a bill reinstating the death penalty in the late 1970s — only
to have the Legislature override his veto.
Brown responds that he formed a special police unit earlier this year,
among other things, in response to a public outcry over the soaring
homicide rate in Oakland.
The former governor said Poochigian supports high-powered sniper
rifles and opposes a woman’s right to abortion.
Poochigian responds that, at the time of the 2004 gun vote, the rifles
were legal in 49 other states and that he would not work to outlaw
abortion. Here are their positions on the environment, crime,
abortion and gun control:
ENVIRONMENT
Brown supports assertions that Poochigian opposed the 25 most
important environmental bills from 2003-05. Poochigian dismisses the
allegations as Sierra Club propaganda for Brown.
CRIME
Poochigian criticizes Brown for Oakland’s homicide rate and for
vetoing a bill reinstating the death penalty in the late 1970s. Brown
says Oakland’s overall serious crime rate has fallen and vows to
uphold the death penalty. Poochigian says the former governor has
personally protested against an execution, that he supports the
Prisoner’s Bill of Rights and that he opposed the Crime Victim’s Bill
of Rights.
ABORTION
Brown asserts Poochigian is opposed to abortion and would work to
outlaw it. Poochigian says Brown’s statement that he would work to
outlaw abortion is “categorically false.” However, Poochigian
acknowledges that he opposes abortion rights, except in cases of rape,
incest or when necessary to savethe life of the woman.
GUN CONTROL
Brown attacks Poochigian for his opposition as a state lawmaker to
banning 50-caliber sniper rifles. Poochigian responds that his 2004
vote came whenthe rifles were legal in 49 other states and counters
that, in 1976, Brown vetoed legislation providing front-line officers
with bulletproof vests.
Three other candidates also are running for the office: Jack Harrison
of the Peace and Freedom Party; Kenneth A. Weissman of the Libertarian
Party; and Michael S. Wyman of the Green Party.
© 2006 MercuryNews.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Les Echos
28 septembre 2006
Les eurodéputés menacent de rompre les négociations avec la Turquie
par JACQUES DOCQUIERT
DE NOTRE ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL À STRASBOURG.
Les eurodéputés ont sommé, hier à Strasbourg, la Turquie de respecter
ses engagements et de poursuivre les réformes, qui marquent le pas
depuis un an, en demandant à la Commission et aux Etats membres de
rompre, si nécessaire, les négociations d’adhésion ouverte avec ce
pays en octobre 2005.
A une très large majorité de 429 voix, 71 contre et 125 abstentions,
le Parlement européen, qui n’a cependant qu’un avis consultatif en ce
domaine, souligne que la non-application, en 2006, par la Turquie du
protocole d’Ankara dans lequel elle reconnaissait l’existence de
Chypre «aura des implications sérieuses en ce qui concerne le
processus de négociation et pourrait même l’arrêter». «Nous exhortons
ainsi le gouvernement turc à appliquer le protocole d’Ankara et à
accélérer le rythme des réformes politiques avant la fin de l’année»,
a expliqué le député conservateur néerlandais Camiel Eurlings, auteur
du rapport adopté hier qui dresse un constat sans concession des
manquements turcs. «Des efforts significatifs, précise ce document,
sont nécessaires en ce qui concerne les libertés fondamentales et les
droits de la personne (…) de même qu’une intensification de la
lutte contre la torture (…) et une exécution rapide et correcte des
décisions de justice par les services de l’Etat.»
Le Parlement a, par contre, renoncé à faire de la reconnaissance du
génocide arménien par Ankara une condition préalable à
l’élargissement comme le demandait une partie de la droite, les
socialistes et les libéraux notamment ne souhaitant pas accabler le
gouvernement de Recep Erdogan. Le rapporteur de l’assemblée s’en est
félicité. «Nous estimons qu’il est indispensable qu’un pays
reconnaisse les erreurs qu’il a pu commettre dans son histoire. Mais
on ne pouvait pas, pour autant, en faire un nouveau critère pour
rejoindre l’Union», a expliqué Camiel Eurlings.
Ralentissement des réformes
Ces mises en garde ont immédiatement été soutenues par la présidence
finlandaise de l’Union, qui dénonce depuis cet été le ralentissement
des réformes en soulignant qu’il peut avoir des conséquences «graves»
sur le processus d’adhésion. Olli Rehn, le commissaire chargé de
l’Elargissement, est aussi revenu à la charge. «Peu de progrès ont
été observés ces douze derniers mois et il est indispensable que les
choses changent dans les mois à venir», a-t-il expliqué. La balle est
cependant dans le camp de la Commission et des gouvernements
européens. L’exécutif communautaire doit présenter son évaluation de
la situation en Turquie le 8 novembre, les dirigeants de l’Union
devant, lors de leur sommet de décembre, en tirer des conclusions
opérationnelles. Pour de nombreuses capitales, il serait improductif
de couper les ponts avec Ankara en interrompant les négociations.

Agence France Presse
29 septembre 2006 vendredi
Arrivée de Jacques Chirac en Arménie pour une visite d’Etat de deux jours
Le président français Jacques Chirac est arrivé vendredi soir à
Erevan, en Arménie, pour une visite d’Etat de deux jours, la première
d’un chef d’Etat français.
M. Chirac, en provenance de Bucarest où il avait participé au Sommet
de la Francophonie, a été accueilli vers 19H45 (14H45 GMT) à
l’aéroport de Erevan par son homologue arménien Robert Kotcharian.
Les délégations de ministres des deux pays ont échangé des poignées
de main et Jacques Chirac a tapoté l’épaule de M. Kotcharian.
Les hymnes des deux pays ont été joués devant une garde d’honneur
puis les délégations ont rapidement pris place dans des voitures et
quitté l’aéroport.
En descendant la passerelle de l’avion, M. Chirac s’est tourné vers
la gauche et a tendu la main en direction du mont Ararat situé en
Turquie et bien visible par temps clair. Une fois descendu il a
répété le même geste puis une troisième fois avec le président
Kotcharian. Bien que situé en Turquie voisine, le mont Ararat a une
haute valeur symbolique pour les Arméniens.
Le président français, accompagné par son épouse Bernadette, devait
avoir vendredi soir un dîner d’Etat au palais présidentiel avec le
couple présidentiel arménien.
Samedi matin, il doit se recueillir au mémorial de Tsitsernakaberd,
érigé à la mémoire des victimes du génocide arménien.
La France, qui compte 400.000 citoyens d’origine arménienne, a
reconnu l’existence de ce génocide par la loi du 29 janvier 2001.
Le chef de l’Etat français, qui est accompagné d’une importante
délégation, doit également assister samedi soir à un concert
exceptionnel du chanteur d’origine arménienne Charles Aznavour, avant
de regagner la France dimanche.

Agence France Presse
29 septembre 2006 vendredi
Chirac en Arménie pour une “visite à très forte portée symbolique”
(ACTUALISATION, PAPIER GENERAL)
Le président français Jacques Chirac a entamé vendredi soir une
visite d’Etat en Arménie, la première d’un président français, qui
revêt pour la France une “très forte portée symbolique” et est
qualifiée d'”historique” par l’Arménie.
M. Chirac, en provenance de Bucarest où il avait participé au Sommet
de la Francophonie, a été accueilli vers 19H45 (14H45 GMT) à
l’aéroport d’Erevan par son homologue arménien Robert Kotcharian.
“C’est une visite à très forte portée symbolique et l’occasion de
retrouvailles entre deux peuples, la découverte aussi de l’Arménie
moderne pour plusieurs centaines de milliers de Français d’origine
arménienne”, a expliqué le porte-parole de la présidence française,
Jérôme Bonnafont.
Cette visite témoigne pour l’Elysée de “la volonté de la France de
contribuer à l’Arménie moderne”, cette “jeune république d’une
vieille nation”.
“C’est une visite historique. C’est pour notre Etat et notre peuple
un grand honneur que d’accueillir un hôte de si haut rang. Outre les
émotions historiques qu’elle portera en elle, cette visite aura une
importante signification politique et économique”, a déclaré pour sa
part à l’AFP le ministre arménien des Affaires étrangères, Vardan
Oskanian.
En descendant l’escalier de l’avion, M. Chirac a tendu la main en
direction du mont Ararat, bien visible par temps clair. Une fois
descendu, il a répété le même geste puis une troisième fois avec le
président Kotcharian. Bien que situé en Turquie voisine, le mont
Ararat a une haute valeur symbolique pour les Arméniens.
Les deux présidents devaient se retrouver vendredi soir pour un dîner
d’Etat au palais présidentiel et, dès samedi matin, le chef de l’Etat
français doit se recueillir au mémorial de Tsitsernakaberd, érigé à
la mémoire des victimes du génocide arménien. Il y plantera un arbre.
Le génocide arménien a débuté en 1915 dans l’empire ottoman et s’est
poursuivi jusqu’en 1917. Plus de 1,5 million de personnes ont trouvé
la mort selon les Arméniens, entre 250.000 et 500.000 selon les Turcs
qui réfutent l’idée d’un génocide.
La France, qui compte 400.000 citoyens d’origine arménienne, a
reconnu ce génocide par la loi du 29 janvier 2001, ce qui a été perçu
“comme un témoignage de solidarité envers le peuple arménien, surtout
dans la diaspora”, selon l’Elysée.
Le chef de l’Etat français, qui est accompagné de son épouse
Bernadette, compte aussi marquer cette visite de plusieurs “gestes
d’amitié et de mémoire”, dont l’inauguration, samedi, d’une “Place de
France”.
Cette visite d’Etat est également l’occasion de lancer à Erevan
l’année de l’Arménie en France, intitulée “Arménie mon amie”.
Celle-ci débutera par un concert exceptionnel du chanteur français
d’origine arménienne Charles Aznavour, en présence des deux chefs
d’Etat, sur une place publique d’Erevan samedi soir.
Après un entretien avec le chef de l’Eglise apostolique arménienne,
Karékine II, Catholicos de tous les Arméniens, et une visite de la
cathédrale d’Erevan, le couple présidentiel regagnera Paris dimanche.
Jacques Chirac est accompagné d’une importante délégation comprenant
quatre ministres (Affaires étrangères, Transports, Fonction publique
et Culture).
Il est également accompagné de l’ancien ministre d’origine arménienne
Patrick Devedjian, du président de la Commission de Défense de
l’Assemblée nationale français, Guy Teissier, de plusieurs députés,
ainsi que de l’ancien ministre Renaud Muselier, président de
l’Etablissement public Euroméditerannée, et de Lévon Sayan,
conseiller artistique de Charles Aznavour.
Des chefs d’entreprises dont Alain Manoukian (textile), Jean-Cyril
Spinetta (Air France – KLM), Serge Tchuruk (Alcatel), Jean-François
Dehecq (Sanofi), Jérôme Clément (Arte), ainsi que le footballeur
Youri Djorkaeff et le journaliste Daniel Bilalian, accompagnent
également Jacques Chirac.