ARMENIA CONVICTS MAN IN 2005 AZUSA SLAYING
Los Angeles Times
August 26, 2006 Saturday
Home Edition
In Brief / Los Angeles County / Glendale
A former Glendale resident who fled the country after being sought
in connection with the slaying of his girlfriend has been tried and
sentenced for the crime in Armenia, Glendale police said Friday.
Artur Khanzadyan was found guilty Friday in an Armenian court of
killing Odet Traturyan, 24, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Traturyan’s body was found in Khanzadyan’s car last September in Azusa.
U.S. officials had tried unsuccessfully to extradite Khanzadyan
from Armenia.

ENVOY SAYS RUSSIA INTERESTED IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
ANS TV, Baku
23 Aug 06
The newly-appointed Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Vasiliy Istartov,
has said that as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia is doing
a lot to find a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh problem.
In an interview with the “Point of View” programme on commercial
ANS TV on 23 August, Istratov said: “As a co-chair, Russia is doing
quite a lot within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure
that the parties can negotiate and resolve the problem between
themselves… A decision cannot be imposed. A decision can be imposed
on the negotiating group. A decision cannot be imposed on this or
another people… A decision should be adopted. This issue will take
some time.”
Asked about his reaction to the statements that the problem is not
resolved as Russia does not want it, the ambassador said that Russia
is interested only in good relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan and
praised the current level of Russian-Azerbaijani relations.
Commenting on a statement that Russia wants to join the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline, Istratov said that “if
there arises a need for the Russian companies to use it, … then
they will probably use it. The issue is about the economy. Will it
be economical? If they want to send their oil products to the region
of the Mediterranean Sea, they will take their decision”.
The ambassador said that Russia is very interested in the
implementation of the North-South energy project. Speaking about
economic projects that Russia intends to launch in Azerbaijan, Istratov
said that Ural Region was ready to take an active part in trade with
Azerbaijan and stressed that RusAl [Russian Aluminium] company is
going to invest about 1bn dollars in Azerbaijan for a lengthy period.
Asked about repeated attacks on Azerbaijanis by skinheads in Russia,
the ambassador said that their violence was not directed only against
Azerbaijanis.
Meanwhile, he regretted attacks on them. The ambassador was optimistic
about the situation of Azerbaijanis in Russia as a whole. He also
praised ethnic and religious tolerance in Azerbaijan.
Asked about Russia’s position on the development of Iran’s nuclear
programme, the ambassador said that “in view of the fact that during
the previous decades, Iran did not show that it is actually open
for cooperation with the international community [changes tack]
In short, some secret programmes were found in Iran which caused
rather serious doubts on the part of the international community. In
view of this situation, an offer was made to Iran to enrich uranium
on its behalf but – in line with a somewhat more complex scheme –
not on its territory… This was a temporary measure proposed by
the international community, including Russia. Unfortunately, as a
rule, Iran rejected our proposals which we all regard as logical and
reasonable. This is one of the reasons why the given problem is acute”.
Commenting on the situation in the Middle East, the ambassador said
that Russia wanted stability and peace in the region. He stressed
that the international community needs at least to ensure that the
crisis does not deepen even further.

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
Mira Yardemian, Public Relations Director
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon
Beirut, 28/08/2006
Haigazian University grieves the passing of its beloved longtime professor:
In memoriam of Dr. Ingrid Semaan
Dr. Ingrid Semaan, beloved teacher, scholar and researcher passed away from
complications due to illness, in the evening of August 27, 2006, at 10:10
pm local time in Hungary, at the age of 67.
Dr. Semaan received her B.A. from the University of Dubuque in Modern
Languages in 1960. In 1970 she graduated with a Masters degree in American
Literature from the American University in Beirut, and later on with a
Doctorate in English Literature from the University of Iowa.
During her longtime career, she served as an English instructor in the
American University of Beirut from the year 1969 till 1971, and as a
research assistant in the University of Iowa from the years 1974 till 1975.
She had served on the faculty of Haigazian University from 1975-1999 and
was the head of its English Department.
Dr. Semaan, a teacher of prodigious intellect, wit and humor, contributed
greatly to the academic life of the university, including research and
valuable contributions to the Haigazian Armenological Review.
Her most recent contribution to our community was the donation of a large
collection of her books to the Barsoumian Library.
Interested mostly in drama, music and handcraft, her students still recall
her joyful character, dedication and professionalism.
Dr. Semaan is survived by her husband, Dr. Wanis Semaan.
Haigazian University mourns her passing, yet thanks God that Dr. Semaan’s
gifts were shared with the community so richly.

MAN CONVICTED IN ROAD-RAGE KILLING OF LA DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Aug. 27, 2006
A former Burbank truck driver who was arrested in Armenia and returned
to Southern California was convicted of first-degree murder for a
vicious freeway road-rage killing of documentary filmmaker Michael
Craven.
Jurors deliberated for more than two hours Friday before reaching
a decision. They also convicted Shahen Eghia Keshishian, 34, of
vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and leaving the scene
of an accident.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 27.
Keshishian ran down Craven, 44, with a black GMC Suburban on April
29, 2000. The killing came after a road rage confrontation along the
Hollywood Freeway.
Craven had been driving on the freeway after dinner with a friend
when the Suburban pulled up and eggs were thrown. One of the drivers
had apparently cut in front of the other.
Authorities believe Craven pulled to the side of the freeway to
confront Keshishian, who stopped behind him. A passenger in the
Suburban then threw a beer bottle at Craven’s Jeep.
Craven was then run over and he died a short time later at a hospital.
Keshishian was charged June 23, 2000, with Craven’s slaying, and
charged separately by federal authorities in November 2000 with
unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Keshishian was hiding in Armenia and was arrested in late 2004 for
overstaying his visa. He was subsequently extradited to the United
States.
Glendale police said his extradition marked the first time someone
from Armenia was handed to U.S. authorities to be returned to face
criminal charges.

CONGRESSMAN EXPLAINS ‘GETTING INTO POLITICS’
By Jane Pojawa
El Vaquero Editor in Chief
May 12, 2006 (view cover)
El Vaquero, CA
Aug. 27, 2006
In El Vaquero’s May 12 issue, Editor in Chief Jane Pojawa writes about
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff’s advice to students about how to become
involved in politics, even up to becoming an elected official.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, representing California’s 29th District,
spoke in the J.W. Smith Student Center Monday on “Getting Into
Politics,” giving advice to students about getting their voices heard
as citizens or for actually becoming an elected official.
The 29th district is a sprawling area that encompasses Glendale, as
well as Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, Griffith Park, Monterey Park,
Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Gabriel and Temple City.
More than 100 students and faculty members filled the student center
for this event, sponsored by the Organization of Latinos for Higher
Education [OHLE], which was a short biographical speech followed by
questions from the audience.
Schiff was an adjunct instructor in GCC’s political science department
while serving as a state senator for California’s 21st district,
his position before election to the House of Representatives. He is
a strong proponent of educational and environmental issues.
Schiff recommends student involvement at all levels of politics,
whether that means voting (even for those who usually don’t), working
on campaigns, providing grassroot support for bond measures, which
often pass by only a small number of votes, to ultimately running
for office.
Schiff recommended that students who want to pursue a career in
politics “decide what you have a passion to do and then go after it.”
He said that the typical example of political science major followed
by law school was no longer the operative model for success, and that
his colleagues in the House of Representatives were just as likely
to have been accomplished “teachers, athletes, lawyers, doctors,
engineers, even a rocket scientist.” The common denominator is that
they “are good at what they do.” He added, “There will always be an
opportunity down the road to serve.”
Schiff is an outspoken advocate against genocide denial and believes
that the United States should condemn the 1915 Armenian genocide
regardless of pressure from the Turkish government.
In answer to a question posed during his speech about his proposed
Armenian genocide bill, Schiff described adding an amendment to a
reauthorization of a State Department bill asking the Historian of
the State Department to review the pertinent documents of the United
States to the Armenian genocide.
The state department bill was not directly related to the genocide,
but “it just happened to be my good fortune that the Turkish Prime
Minister was in town…” he recounted, and went on to describe how
the political pressure brought to bear by his amendment allowed the
bill to be reviewed at a separate hearing. The Dedicated Genocide
Resolution passed the committee with a strong bipartisan vote, but
until the Speaker of the House allows it to come before Congress,
it goes no further.
Although the overall tone of the meeting was positive and upbeat,
some of the queries fielded by Schiff questioned his accountability
in the Iraq War [he voted to authorize the use of force based on
the intelligence reports of weapons of mass destruction but has
since changed his position] and on a peculiar note, his feelings
about the 1994 parole of Lyndon LaRouche (Schiff was not associated
with LaRouche’s conviction or parole, and turned the discussion to
globalization and economics).
Schiff is opposed to invading Iran, in favor of increasing funding
to schools and believes in immigration reform.
“I believe that the magnitude of the rallies got everyone’s attention,”
he said.
He favors the Kennedy-McCain Bill, which allows for immigrants living
in the United States to become legal through a six-year application
process the “Essential Worker Visa Program” that includes background
checks and documented gainful employment, among other requirements,
but does not believe that legislation will pass both the senate and
the house this year.
“In the past, the United States has been the beneficiary of the brain
drain of the rest of the world,” the congressman said. He is concerned
that not only is the United States not cultivating scientists and
engineers, but that new immigration policies actively discourage the
best and brightest of other countries from emigrating.
He also spoke of U.S.-Chinese relations and the importance of
cultivating “not only free trade, but fair trade,” citing examples of
how Chinese policies keep the entertainment industry from competing
on an even playing field.
Students looking for a political internship program will be pleased
to hear that there are unpaid positions available at his offices in
Pasadena and in Washington, D.C. It may be the perfect way to “get
into politics.”

QARE KELISA REPLICA READY FOR DISPLAY
Iran Mania, Iran
Aug. 27, 2006
LONDON, August 28 (IranMania) – A replica of Qare Kelisa (Black
Church) in Maku, West Azarbaijan province, which was renovated by
Tehran Municipality’s Cultural and Artistic Organization in a period
of over 40 years, will go on public display at Imam Ali Museum of
Religious Arts, according to IRNA.
Reporting this on Friday, the museum’s Public Relations Department
said that the replica was founded in the 1960s and was modeled on
the original design of the historical structure.
The church, which is also known as Saint Tadi, is located in Qare
Kelisa village, a suburb of Seyyed Cheshmeh in Maku.
Qare Kelisa consists of two distinct sections namely; Black Church
and White Church, which is bigger and newer than the former.
The Armenians affiliated to ‘Qare Kelisa’, which is also known as St.
Thaddeus Cathedral, believe that the church is the first that was
built upon the order of Jesus Christ’s disciples.
Since the Armenians consider martyrdom as a great blessing for
humanity, they hold a ceremony in Qare Kelisa to mark the martyrdom
anniversary of Saint Tadi and his Christian followers.

THE MANY FACES OF BELGIAN FASCISM – LOW COUNTRY POLITICS, REAL AND SURREAL.
Opinionjournal.Com, Bret Stephens
PipeLineNews.org, CA
Aug. 27, 2006
BRUSSELS–Belgium is the birthplace of Rene Magritte. So perhaps it’s
not surprising that, in politics, even the fascism here is surreal.
Take Belgian Socialists, Flemish or Walloon. The hallmark of nearly
every European socialist party has long been hostility to religion.
In recent years, Belgium’s ruling Socialist-Liberal coalition has
antagonized Catholics by legalizing gay marriage and euthanasia,
banning crucifixes from government buildings, and abolishing the
traditional Te Deum service previously held by the government to
commemorate the inauguration of Leopold I, first king of the Belgians.
But then the Socialists began taking note of Belgium’s Muslim
community, some 500,000 strong. In Brussels, notes Joël Rubinfeld
of the Atlantis Institute think tank, half of the Socialist Party’s
26-member slate in the city’s 75-seat parliament is Muslim. In the
commune of Molenbeek, longstanding Socialist mayor Philippe Moureaux
has made halal meals standard in all schools; police officers are
also barred from eating or drinking on the streets during Ramadan.
The Socialist Party was also, improbably, the leading opponent
of a bill that would have criminalized the denial of the Armenian
genocide. This, too, is a product of burgeoning Muslim-Socialist
alliance, as is the party’s routine denunciations of Israel.
–Boundary_(ID_io7UT03scSqJnxN7x+plYQ)–

TELECOMMUNICATION LINE BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA DAMAGED BY A VESSEL
Regnum, Russia
Aug. 27, 2006
Works on restoring fiber cable at one of international sections of the
Tbilisi-Poti-Novorossiysk fiber-optical network (access to Russia, some
CIS countries, Europe and so on) belonging to the Fortnet Company is
planned to be completed by tomorrow’s morning, a REGNUM correspondent
is told at Fortnet.
According to the company, there have been no serious problems
concerning data transmitting to digital channels users in this
direction, as they all were switched to alternative channels. They
be switched back tomorrow.
The Tbilisi-Poti-Novorossiysk cable was damaged two weeks ago at
its underwater section in Poti port. According to Fortnet, most of
all the accident caused damage to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,
which have their traffic through this cable. However, it was a bit
easier for Azerbaijan, as it has an alternative traffic, the company
informs. At present moment, an investigation is being carried out to
find reasons of the accident. One of major versions says the cable
was destroyed by a vessel passing by.
The fiber channel belonging to fortnet covers a number of cities and
district centers in Georgia, particularly, Tbilisi, Gori, Khashuri,
Zestafoni, Kutaisi, Samtredia, Khobi, Senaki, Poti, Zugdidi, Bolnisi,
Dmanisi. It also has branches in three international directions:
Tbilisi-Poti-Novorossiysk, Tbilisi-Armenia and Tbilisi-Azerbaijan
(the branch is continued further towards Iran).

DARK FILMS LEAD TO DARK OPERA
By Reuters
Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
August 27, 2006 Sunday
FINAL EDITION
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, renowned for award-winning movies
that explore the dark sides of human behaviour, is taking a turn at
helming a grand opera with similar brooding features.
Egoyan, 46, the Egyptian-born son of Armenian parents who migrated
to Canada, has examined incest, the horrors of war and the mysteries
of fate in such deeply psychological films as Exotica, The Sweet
Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey and Ararat.
He will revisit some of those themes for an upcoming Canadian Opera
Company production of Richard Wagner’s 19th century opera Die Walkure.
The Wagner classic, the second of the four-part epic cycle Der Ring des
Nibelungen, is a complex tale in which incestuous love, the will of the
gods and fate combine to advance the overall themes of the Ring Cycle.
During an interview at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts in Toronto, where a production of the entire Ring Cycle will
open for a three-week run on Sept. 12, Egoyan described similarities
in his approach to making movies and opera.
“In my films I am very interested in subtext and what makes people
act the way they do,” he said. “I try and bring that detail to the
way I direct the opera but also the way I stage it. The way I create
visual ideas which can reinforce the psychology of the piece.”
This is not Egoyan’s first foray into directing opera. He began with
a 1996 Canadian Opera Company production of Salome. He directed an
earlier production of Die Walkure – the source of Wagner’s famous
Ride of the Valkyries – for the company in 2004.
When the Toronto-based director was first presented with the
opportunity to direct Die Walkure, he was full of doubt, he said,
because he could read music but at the time had no background in opera.
“It’s that doubt and that fear that actually create excitement,” he
said. “And I think if you don’t feel that, then maybe there’s something
a little bit wrong. You have to be able to rise to the material.”
The director cites the central conflict in the Ring as being “the
power of love versus the love of power – that’s the theme that comes
up over and over again because in order to get power you have to
relinquish love.”
The narrative of the Ring Cycle, which Wagner wrote between 1848 and
1874, was inspired by a German tale and Norse legends.

EGOYAN’S STUDY OF HUMAN DARKNESS MOVES TO OPERA
by Julie Mollins, Reuters
Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia)
August 27, 2006 Sunday
Final Edition
TORONTO — Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, renowned for award-winning
movies that explore the dark sides of human behaviour, is taking a
turn at helming a grand opera with similar brooding features.
Egoyan, 46, the Egyptian-born son of Armenian immigrants, has examined
incest, the horrors of war and the mysteries of fate in such deeply
psychological films as Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey
and Ararat.” He will revisit some of those themes for an upcoming
Canadian Opera Company production of Richard Wagner’s 19th-century
opera Die Walkure (The Valkyrie).
The Wagner classic, the second of the four-part epic cycle Der Ring des
Nibelungen, is a complex tale in which incestuous love, the will of the
gods and fate combine to advance the overall themes of the Ring Cycle.
During an interview at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts in Toronto, where a production of the entire Ring Cycle will
open for a three-week run on Sept. 12, Egoyan described similarities
in his approach to making movies and opera.
“In my films I am very interested in subtext and what makes people
act the way they do,” he said. “I try and bring that detail to the
way I direct the opera but also the way I stage it, the way I create
visual ideas which can reinforce the psychology of the piece.”
This is not Egoyan’s first foray into directing opera. He began with
a 1996 Canadian Opera Company production of Salome. He directed an
earlier production of Die Walkure — the source of Wagner’s famous
Ride of the Valkyries — for the company in 2004. He most recently
directed the play Eh Joe in London’s West End.
When the Toronto-based director was first presented with the
opportunity to direct Die Walkure, he was full of doubt, he said,
because he could read music but at the time had no background in opera.
“It’s that doubt and that fear that actually creates an excitement,” he
said. “And I think if you don’t feel that, then maybe there’s something
a little bit wrong. You have to be able to rise to the material.”
The director cites the central conflict in the Ring as being “the
power of love versus the love of power — that’s the theme that
comes up over and over again because in order to get power you have
to relinquish love.”
The narrative of the Ring Cycle, which was written by Wagner between
1848 and 1874, was inspired by a German tale and Norse legends.
An emphasis on the bloodlust and horror of war will be a major focus
in the Egoyan production.
“Wagner was not really criticizing the war machine,” Egoyan said,
“and I think this production is showing quite explicitly the horrifying
results of that approach where war becomes an economy unto itself.”