UNFINISHED MELODY
Eva Lusikian
Yerkir.am
June 23, 2006
A commemoration concert dedicated to the 50th anniversary of composer,
piano player and musician Stepan Lusikian was held at Alexander
Spendiarian Opera and Ballet Theater on June 13.
Nune Yessayan, Syuzan Margarian, Aramo, Emma Petrossian, Armen
Gevorgian, Artur Ispirian, Alexander Vardanian as well as children’s
choirs of Tigran Hekekian and David Zolian performed the composer’s
works.
It would be easier to write about Stepan Lusikian, the artist,
composer and intellectual. The most difficult thing is to write about
him using the past tense.
One could tell about his work, his public activities. However, it is
very difficult to find words to describe his personality, his inner
world… Melody is the expression of one’s soul. This is why Stepan
Lusikian’s works are easily recognizable from the very first sounds.
One of his unique abilities was the ability to listen. He would listen
to you in a way that you seemed to find the answers to seemingly
unsolvable questions. You would look into his eyes and would see
yourself… He was an extremely interesting person to talk to. He
had a unique worldview and a unique sense of humor.
I can remember his enthusiasm when he would feel he had a new
creative idea.
He would sit in front of the piano looking somewhere far away. He
liked to show his new works to people. Their opinion was important
and inspiring for him.
He was very cautious in his relations with others. He treated
everything from the perspective of some global holistic philosophy. He
took life as it was.
He treated people the way they were, without trying to change them,
with no evil intentions.
This is probably what attracted people towards him. This is what
penetrated into everyone’s soul…
“… If you are to forgive, you must forgive the unforgivable. You must
forgive when no one else forgives, when you don’t forgive yourself.
And if you are to understand, then you must understand the
un-understandable, the absurd, the wrong. Every one can understand
what is correct.
And if you are to give hope, give it when the last ray of hope is
gone. And if you are not to sell, do it when every one else has sold.
… And most importantly, if you are not to betray someone or
something, you should not betray when it fully deserves betrayal.
Stapan Lusikian.”
Stepan Lusikian was truly connected to the country.
Patriotism is a complex feeling…
His songs are full of love towards Armenia. And this love is very
profound…
He loved Armenia’s land and water, fruits. He loved Komitas,
Sayat-Nova, Narekatsi. He loved Armenian films, mountains. He loved
the heat of Yerevan.
There was always some nostalgia in his songs as if he knew that he
would soon have to leave his homeland.
I am sure that my father lives in the hearts of those who knew him. He
will live as long as his songs and melody live…

THE BIG RED ONE: POMEGRANATE JUICEIT’S ANTIOXIDANT-RICH. IT’S ALSO HYPE- AND CALORIE-RICH.
By Erika Engelhaupt
For The Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA
June 25 2006
First it was red wine. Then green tea. Now pomegranate juice is making
the rounds as the latest good-for-you drink.
Experts say it may help lower blood pressure and even fight certain
cancers, although the research is still preliminary. But beware those
extra calories if you’re swilling a daily dose.
The near blood-red drink is cropping up all over, from chic cocktail
lounges to humble neighborhood delis.
Sales of refrigerated pomegranate juice soared from zero in 2001 to
more than $63 million in 2005, according to A.C. Nielsen, the market
research firm.
Moving beyond the martinis that appeared a few years back, the tart
juice is now sold in blends, combined with everything from mango to
lychee green tea.
At the Latimer Delicatessen near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia,
four pomegranate blends rub bottles with lowbrow colas and sports
drinks.
Running from $2 to $4 a bottle, the pom is not cheap.
The mover behind the juicy surge is Pom Wonderful, which helped create
the U.S. market for the drink when its 6,000 acres of pomegranates
started bearing fruit in 2002. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners
of the Philadelphia area’s Franklin Mint, also manage Pom Wonderful
through their parent company, Roll International, based in Los Angeles.
Apparently, everyone already knows about antioxidants and wants to
imbibe as much as possible, or at least Pom Wonderful’s ad campaign
makes it seem that way.
For those feeling left out, antioxidants are natural substances in
plants and foods that protect cells from marauding oxygen molecules
called free radicals.
Antioxidants stop free radicals from attacking LDL, or “bad”
cholesterol, and combining with cells to form plaque that hardens
arteries.
Research has shown that people whose diets are rich in fruits and
vegetables have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and
certain cancers.
A small, 19-person study by scientists at Israel’s Rambam Medical
Center in Haifa showed that pomegranate juice lowered systolic blood
pressure, the upper reading, by 21 percent and prevented thickening
of the arteries for the 10 subjects who drank about two ounces of
pomegranate juice daily for up to three years.
At least half a dozen other studies by the Israeli group and others
show similar effects in mice and humans. Some were funded by a
foundation run by the Resnicks, owners of Pom Wonderful.
Several studies also show that antioxidants in food may help prevent
prostate cancer. One study of pomegranate juice, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2005, found that
it reduced tumor size by as much as half in mice. More research is
needed to gauge the effects on humans.
Pomegranates pack more than five times the antioxidants of green tea,
and are especially loaded with a potent type called polyphenols.
Long-term studies of antioxidants also suggest that taking antioxidants
in pill form is less effective than eating them in whole foods.
“It’s worth incorporating pomegranate juice into the diet on a regular
basis as part of your armament to prevent chronic disease, and it’s
good for both men and women,” said Lisa Hark, director of nutrition
education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Hark said pomegranate juice and other antioxidant-rich foods should
be part of a prevention arsenal, but they’re not a cure. “I can’t see
pomegranate juice reversing heart disease – it’s not going to break
up plaque.”
And not all pom drinks pack the same antioxidant punch. For the
biggest wallop, look for pomegranate high in the ingredient list or
mixed with other antioxidant brews, such as green tea.
Hark also cautions that consumers should balance the healthful benefits
of pomegranate juice against the calories it contains. One 16-ounce
bottle of Pom Wonderful contains 320 calories – more than a Hershey’s
bar. Hark said drinking one bottle gives you the same calories you
would get in more than five servings of fresh fruit.
She recommends diluting the pure juice and drinking four ounces a
day to save on cost and calories. Sparkling water makes a refreshing
spritzer and won’t add calories.
Pomegranates have a fabled history. In Greek mythology, when Persephone
was tricked into eating six pomegranate seeds during a stint in Hades,
she condemned Earth to six months of infertility each year, explaining
the seasons.
Many ancient foods now are getting reviewed. “We’ve rediscovered that
food has medicinal qualities,” said Ara DerMarderosian, a professor of
medicinal chemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
who has studied folk remedies for nearly half a century.
His group has studied medicinal effects of cranberries and
blueberries and has turned to pomegranate juice. The scientist, who
is first-generation Armenian, said he had been eating pomegranates
for years and recommended eating the seeds whole from fresh fruit.
“My mother would labor over these for a long time when I was a kid,
and then we kids would devour them in a minute,” DerMarderosian said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GAREGIN II: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE NOT SUBJECT TO DISCUSSION
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2006 15:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II stated
in Istanbul that the Armenian Genocide by Turks is not subject to
discussion. “For our people it is an event, which has taken place
and should be recognized. Scholars have studied the genocide issue
for 90 years,” the Catholicos said. AP supposes that this statement
will make the completion of the visit to Turkey more complicated and
tense. Besides, Garegin II stated that protest actions organized in
Istanbul did not have an impact on him, “They did not break my spirit,
However, if these actions continue, it will prove that we have much
to do for the two societies to co-exist,” reports RFE/RL.

JUNE 27 OSKANIAN TO LEAVE FOR WORKING VISIT TO GEORGIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2006 16:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 27 Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian will leave
for Georgia on a working visit, reports the Armenian MFA Press
Service. During his visit the head of the Armenian MFA will met with
Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili, FM Gela Bezhuashvili and Speaker
Nino Burjanadze. June 28 the Armenian FM will make a statement on
regional policy issues at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and
International Research.
The same day the delegation led by the Minister will return to Yerevan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEW FRONTIER POST ESTABLISHED AT ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2006 13:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ By decision of the department on frontier guarding
of Georgia the number of posts at the Armenian-Georgian border was
increased. The new post was established in the settlement of Kalinino,
Ninotsminda region. At the same time control at the Georgian-Turkish
border was weakened despite the fact that the border with Turkey is
much longer than the one with Armenia. It should also be noted that
the number of frontier guards at the Georgian-Armenian border exceeds
the number of guards at the Georgian-Turkish border, reported A-info
news agency.

FOUCHET. IT’S TOO LATE, HMAYAK
Melik Frangulyan
Lragir.am
26 June 06
Recently people have emerged in Armenia, who insist that it is better
to legalize illegality, for there is no other way to tackle it. Such
an Armenian intellectual, Hamayak Hovanisyan was fond of praising our
“superminister” Serge Sargsyan. That allegedly he is strong, very
strong, no one can do anything to him. We must make him a president
and let him wave his sward above our heads.
Recently, however, Hmayak spoke differently: Serge feeds “swine in
Armenia”, in other words, criminal business and criminal members
of parliament. He feeds them to get their support later to become
president. Perhaps, he does not believe that Hmayak will persuade
people to kneel before Serge. Hmayak was so offended that Serge treats
dread and harms our country. Whereas he had been hopeful that Serge
would get furious and clear the country of the unclean.
And Hmayak would tell everyone: look how insightful I am.
He is so deeply sorry that Serge Sargsyan can but is reluctant to
beat the oligarchy and make Armenia a free country. He was so offended
that he even threatened his Fouchet that he would be defeated easily
like that French of Napoleon.
Recently they have asserted righteously that after the secession of
Orinats Yerkir from the coalition everything changed in Armenia. Only
Hmayak did not change. And he did not change for the reason that he
cannot see the change around him. Although, most probably, he can
see but he cannot believe. Because he knows that days will pass and
Hmayaks will not be needed in Armenia any more. But we will not tell
this to Hmayak. We will do something else and quite seriously.
If Hmayak were Serge Sargsyan’s poor relative from the village of
Tegh, it would be possible to understand him as someone who suffered
that everything is so unfair, who wants to live as his relative, the
“superminister”, the Armenian Fouchet. Kinship normally prevents from
perceiving life profoundly: he is dazzled by Fouchet’s glory. But if
the superintellectual Hmayak wants to persuade the citizens that a
person such as Serge Sargsyan can “strike” an oligarch and a criminal
for the sake of someone or something, we have to confess that something
is wrong with his intellect.
But if some crumbs of intellect remain, nevertheless, Hmayak can be
made to understand the simple truth that such political merchants
as Serge Sargsyan managed to emerge and float because they created
hurdles for honest politicians through coercion, venality and plots.
These merchants know that if law and order and an electoral system
of governance is established, they will be locked up for a long time,
where people go for treason.
Everyone except for Hmayak knows that struggle against law and
promotion of unconstitutional elements are the political credo of
serges of different kinds, since power is a source of wealth and
careless life, causing sorrow and hardship to others. They do not want
to work, because they cannot work and create anything. They are not
gifted by God. Therefore they are taking revenge on people because
they are not gifted.
Hmayak is not ungifted, therefore for him it is hard to believe what
ungifted serges, who have a grudge against God, are capable of. But
if he stayed at home and prayed for serges, we would not have even
noticed him. But he is teaching intellect and consciousness to
people, inspiring people all the time that serges can do a lot but
are reluctant. And he does not think that someone may believe him the
intellectual. Believe and never stop serges, believe that they may
become better and beat the oligarchs for the sake of people. It is a
real theory of reincarnation. Maybe he is not conscious of what he is
doing. Hmayak inspires his belief in the inability of the Armenian
people to change anything in their life. He would not realize that
it is unacceptable to instill one’s own inability in other people.
They also say that he does everything to please Serge. Then we should
tell Hmayak that it is not worthwhile. It is not worthwhile because
it is already too late. Also it is too late to understand all those
things that one failed to understand. It is already too late because
one cannot do that thing without being punished. He has to give an
answer, for most people have understood that without such harmful
people as Hmayak it is impossible to allow the political adventures
of such ungifted people as Serge. And if they have realized it, they
will decide what to do with the others, they simply have to be patient.

4TH SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-BULGARIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION TO START IN YEREVAN
ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 10:22
The fourth sitting of the Armenian-Bulgarian intergovernmental
commission for trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation
will start today in Yerevan. The process and ways of development of the
cooperation between Armenia and Bulgaria in the spheres of transport,
communication, trade, agriculture, social security, youth and sports.
The Commission is co-chaired by RA Minister of Transport and
Communication Andranik Manukyan and the Minister of State Governance
and Administrative Reforms of Bulgaria Nicolas Vasilev.

YEREVAN THREATENS WASHINGTON?
Lragir.am
26 June 06
Victor Soghomonyan, the speaker of the president of Armenia, announced
June 26 that the points of the frame agreement being discussed in the
talks for the Karabakh conflict, issued by the U.S. Co-Chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group Mathew Bryza, which received different reactions,
are on the whole elements of a package agreement but do not reflect
the package fully. Victor Soghomonyan told this to the Regnum. “One way
or another, if such confessions appear in the mass media, the Armenian
side will publish all the documents that have been discussed over the
past 7-8 years in the talks,” said Victor Soghomonyan. He particularly
means the option of a “common state, the document of Key West and the
document introduced during the talks in Bucharest. “By the way, all the
three documents were rejected by Azerbaijan,” said Victor Soghomonyan.

PACE SUMMER SESSION TO START IN STRASBURG
ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 10:45
The summer session of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council
of Europe will start today in Strasburg. Yesterday the Armenian
delegation headed by NA Chairman Tigran Torosyan left for France. The
question of the mandate of the Azeri delegation is also on the agenda
of the session.
The discussion of the issue scheduled June 29 will be preceded by the
report of the CO-Chairs of the Monitoring Commission Andreas Gross
and Andres Herkel. The issue of Chernogoria’s independence will be
discussed at today’s sitting.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN-AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS TAKING PART IN TERJENIAN-THOMAS ASSEMBLY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON
ArmRadio.am
26.06.2006 12:00
Twenty Armenian-American college students, including two from Armenia,
are taking part in the Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program
in Washington, while 14 others are enrolled in a similar program in
Yerevan, Armenia. Both groups will intern in their respective cities
while taking part in a series of cultural, social and educational
activities.
They hail from some of the most competitive schools in the country
and are pursuing degrees in political science, law and medicine,
and for the next two months they will take their first steps towards
professional careers and community leaderships as participants of
the Assembly’s summer intern programs.
Washington program participants will work in the offices of Senators
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Carl Levin (D-MI) and Representatives Frank
Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ed Royce (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Anthony
Weiner (D-NY), as well as federal government agencies, non-governmental
organizations (NGO), media outlets and think tanks. Yerevan interns
– the largest group in the program’s history – will intern with the
Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, the OSCE, the Nork Marsh
Medical Center, as well as with other Armenian government institutions
and NGOs.
While in Yerevan, interns will learn more about their ancestral home
through visits to historical and cultural sites in and around Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition to their internships, students meet
senior government officials and other prominent individuals. They
also have opportunities to meet socially with local Armenians.