NEWS YOU CAN AFFORD TO MISS
By Anna Arutunyan
Moscow News (Russia)
August 31, 2005
Siberian Engineer Proves Fermat’s Last Theorem on TV
An engineering professor from Siberia’s Omsk, Alexander Ilyin, proved
the ever-elusive Fermat’s Theorem live before TV cameras. Last week,
NTV aired 15 minutes of the professor proving the theorem. The proof
has yet to stand up to the tests of the Russian Academy of Science,
and if it holds up, it will be published in one of the academy’s
scientific journals. Pierre de Fermat came up with the theorem in
1660. Since then, mathematicians have been struggling to prove it.
Andrew Wiles finally proved the theorem in 1994, basing his proof on
the Shimura-Taniyama-Weil Conjecture. But mathematicians from around
the world are still trying their hand.
Those Russians are always coming up with something. Couple of years
back, folks from Armenia astonished the world with their 100 percent
effective AIDS cure. Oh, wait, Armenians aren’t Russian… Still,
Lenin invented the light bulb, the steam engine, and I’ll bet he
even proved Fermat’s Last Theorem back in grade school. What, like
it’s hard? I never could figure out why Yutaka Taniyama had to get
into elliptic curves just to prove a theorem that would help prove
Fermat’s theorem. He committed suicide, by the way. So the theorem
states that the equation xn+yn=zn has no non-zero integer solutions
for x, y, and z where n > 2. What’s there to prove? Let’s have x=1,
y=2, and z=3. For n=3, you get 1+8 =27. See? That wasn’t so hard. I’d
explain further, there’s just not enough space on page 11.

Turkey must drop preconditions for diplomatic relations – Armenia
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 1, 2005 Thursday
YEREVAN, September 1 — Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey without any preliminary terms, the Armenian
president’s press secretary, Viktor Sogomonian said on Thursday.
“Armenia’s stand remains unchanged. We are ready to enter into a
constructive dialogue with Turkey at any time,” he said, adding that
the two leaders discussed these issues in messages they exchanged
lately.
“Yerevan has a very positive vision of the ever-stronger dialogue
between Moscow and Ankara, and of their efforts to enhance cooperation
and security,” Sogomonian said. “Relations between Russia and Armenia
have a strategic dimension to us. We believe that deeper cooperation
between Moscow and Ankara may prove a certain mediatory resource for
addressing our own issues,” he said.
Armenia and Turkey have a 330-kilometer-long common border,
but no diplomatic relations. Ankara says it is ready to normalize
bilateral relations with Yerevan, if it stops demanding international
acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915
and curtails support for Nagorno-Karabakh in the smoldering conflict
with Azerbaijan.

Switzerland bans Flash, Air Van Airlines: official
Agence France Presse — English
September 1, 2005 Thursday 7:17 AM GMT
GENEVA Sept 1 — Swiss airline regulators have banned two companies,
Flash Airlines of Egypt and Air Van Airlines of Armenia, from flying
in Switzerland, an official list of banned airlines showed on Thursday.
The list was published by the Swiss regulating body, the Federal
Office for Civil Aviation, following the publication of lists of
airlines considered unreliable by France and Belgium.

Swiss ban two airlines over safety
The Independent – United Kingdom; Sep 02, 2005
BERN After being criticised for keeping secret the names of banned
airlines, Swiss authorities said they had banned Egypt’s Flash
Airlines and Armenia’s Air Van Airlines from landing in the country.
The ministry of transport said it was due to ‘systematic safety
problems’. The ministry also said it would not allow airlines
restricted in other European countries to reroute flights to
Switzerland.

The Toronto Sun
September 2, 2005 Friday
FINAL EDITION
THEY’RE IN OUR SYSTEM;
QUARTET BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE
BY LIISA LADOUCEUR, SPECIAL TO THE TORONTO SUN
NEVER underestimate the power of a good musical pummelling.
For who would have believed that System of a Down, four
Armenian-American underdogs playing complex, kooky, uncatchy hard
rock with a communist (or at least very socialist) manifesto could be
stadium superstars.
The California group emerged from the late-90s Ozzfest scene to
become a leading voice for pierced activists and aged headbangers
alike; their influence in the underground has been growing as
steadily as their goatees.
But as they proved last night at the Air Canada Centre in front of
15,000 stoked fans, System of a Down are not actually the kings of nu
metal — they are the new kings of metal.
Emerging onto a stark stage dressed all in black with fancy
aristocratic jackets, they took control of the crowd immediately with
their recent hit BYOB and for almost two hours, never let go.
It’s almost impossible to sing along to their tunes, but leader Serj
Tankian’s mix of rapid-fire speak and operatic singing was like a
tribal war cry and the crowd responded on cue.
Guitarist Daron Malakian was the team spazz, racing about. The
rumbling bass and rapid-fire kick drums had the power and fury of
death metal, but without the relentless pacing and ridiculous lyrics.
Well, “pull the tapeworm out of your a–” is pretty ridiculous and
most of the songs that aren’t political are equally goofy but how
else to turn everyone in the room into a fist-pumping 14-year-old
boy?
Besides, the band’s musicianship is so stunning, so dynamic and
dramatic any juvenile geeking out was forgiven.
This was not Fred Durst-style goofing off. It was utterly intense and
refreshingly playful.
When Serj sat down with an acoustic guitar to play Questions, it was
the heaviest unplugged interlude ever.
The band didn’t say a word to the crowd, and didn’t have to.
Tunes that sound chaotic on radio flowed seamlessly from one to the
next, from Violent Pornography to Mr. Jack to War To Prison Song,
with ferocity and precision.
They even worked in some Neil Young and Dire Straight references.
By the time they got to bombastic hits like Ariel and Toxicity,
System of a Down were playing as good as Metallica in their heyday,
and perhaps better than any other metal bands on the road today.
Two devil saluting thumbs up.
—
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
Air Canada Centre
‘New kings of metal’
— LIISA LADOUCEUR
Sun Rating: 5 out of 5
GRAPHIC: photo by Ernest Doroszuk SINGER SERJ TANKIAN dances to the
beat of his own drum last night at the ACC.

Hard, loud, smart System of a Down mesmerizes live
by Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
The Toronto Star
September 2, 2005 Friday
The success of System of a Down defies all logic, and that’s why it
truly is something to be celebrated.
A pathologically brainy metal band with cabaret leanings spewing
cryptic, leftist rants and Zappa-esque gibberish and flaunting a proud
Middle Eastern heritage while from Los Angeles, all four members are
of Armenian descent is, by all logic, not supposed to be allowed to
exist in 21st-century America, let alone sell 10 million records and
command sold-out arena shows all over its home continent. You’d think
the band would be bound, hooded and handcuffed and on its way to
Guantanamo Bay, not debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.
System’s rise is a true grassroots phenomenon, and one that makes a
hell of a lot more sense when one gets to engage with the quartet in
a live setting.
Make no mistake, the band’s four albums are superb slices of madcap,
dauntingly technical thrash subversion, even if it was only on this
year’s smash Mezmerize that its cartoonish pummelling really began
hardening into substantial songwriting. But onstage…onstage it all
becomes crystal clear why these unlikely geek-boy rock stars have
become unlikely geek-boy rock stars.
At the Air Canada Centre last night, System of a Down headlined
before more than 15,000 fans who somehow seemed to have deciphered
and memorized every single rapid-fire syllable tumbling out of
duelling singers Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian’s mouths,
and who responded to convoluted, brain-bubbling metal suites such as
“Chop Suey!”, “Needles” and “Deer Dance” as if they were “Freebird.”
It’s the sort of thing that makes a critic want to weep with joy,
because this is a band that sits at the top of the contemporary rock
‘n’ roll heap despite seemingly doing everything in its power to
remain nothing more than a cultish commodity.
System’s unrelenting, speed-metal-derived heaviness is likely the
great unifying thread, as there’s a dearth of bands out there these
days that really hit that meaty, Satan-is-my-co-pilot low end that
made Metallica, Testament, Death Angel and Pantera such forces.
Yet what the operatically inclined Tankian and Malakian, along with the
nimble rhythm section of Slavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan do with that
heaviness – sometimes rubbery, sometimes molasses-thick and menacing,
sometimes galloping along at a pace beyond human comprehension is
entirely original and never boring. This despite the fact their set
list last night only really relented from a hair-raising pace for
the eerie near-hit “Aerials” and Malakian’s surprisingly sensitive
“Lost In Hollywood.” There are few bands on the touring trail today
as disciplined or as poised, yet you’re allowed to have much more
fun at a System of a Down show than you are at a Radiohead gig.
If Mesmerize’s sequel, Hypnotize previewed in a couple of spurts last
night comes anywhere near as hard as its predecessor, this band is
gonna rule the world.

Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
September 1, 2005 Thursday Final Edition
System of a Down sings different metal tune
by Graham Rockingham
Showtime
What: System of a Down, with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip
When: Saturday, doors open at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.
Where: Copps Coliseum
Tickets: $31 to $56.50 through Ticketmaster or at the Copps Coliseum
box office. 905-527-7666
Sometimes music writers can simply dig too deep in their quest for
answers. Take the case of System of a Down.
In the overly homogenous world of metal music, this California
quartet with the strange name stands apart from the pack. So far, in
fact, that the metal brand is disingenuous.
Their vocal harmonies are theatrical in character, at times almost
operatic. Their music, especially off their latest release Mezmerize,
is intricate and melodious, combining thrashing guitar attacks with
prog/rock themes and soft acoustic interludes.
Their lyrics offer some of the finest social satire since Frank
Zappa’s cinematic explorations in the early ’70s, offering up savage,
yet often hilarious, attacks on war, greed, drugs and the Hollywood
celebrity machine.
It’s only natural that observers would search for answers to what
makes System of a Down so different. Much of the analysis has centred
on the band’s Armenian ethnic roots.
Bassist Shavo Odadjian, guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, singer Serj
Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan all speak the mid-eastern language.
Although only Odadjian was born in Armenia, all are well acquainted
with the brutal persecution Armenians suffered at the hands of Turkey
in the early 20th century. Malakian and Dolmayan were both born in
Lebanon. All four were raised in Hollywood, Calif.
It’s easy to be overly analytical about this stuff. Here’s a
long-winded example from the Miami Herald: “The band members’
experiences as progeny of the Armenian diaspora provided the fuel for
(the album) Mezmerize.”
When I interviewed Odadjian this week, I asked him about the effects
of this “diaspora.” The answer surprisingly enough, focused on the
Swedish ’70s disco band Abba.
“It comes from us listening to a lot of music, not from us coming
from a specific place,” the 31-year-old said just before going on
stage in Montreal.
“From The Beatles to Slayer, from Abba to Frank Zappa. You might be
able to tell we listen to Zappa but did you know we listen to Abba?”
No. In fact I would never have dreamed such a thing. Slayer, yes. But
Abba? The Swedish disco singers are about everything anathema to
heavy metal. Is he serious?
Even over the phone, Odadjian can sense my incredulity. He offers to
recite every word of Abba’s hit Dancing Queen just to prove he’s not
joking. Please don’t.
“But it’s true,” he continues listing some Broadway show tunes to
underscore his point. “Go put on a good old Iron Maiden record and
then listen to Phantom of the Opera. Then you’ll see where we get
some of our stuff from.”
That, I admit, would go a long way toward explaining the band’s
theatrical sound. But what about those lyrics — the wickedly
sardonic anti-war politics of their latest hit single B.Y.O.B. (Bring
Your Own Bombs) or the hilariously witty This Cocaine Makes Me Feel
Like I’m On This Song?
Bands like System of a Down and Green Day have made it cool again for
kids to take an interest in politics or at least question authority.
Odadjian, however, says the band isn’t trying to be preachy or
convert anyone.
“We don’t tell them ‘This is right and this is wrong.'” he says. “We
tell them to, at least, have an opinion. We’re not going to preach
.. because it wouldn’t go with what we are saying which is have your.
own specific thought. I don’t want them to have the same thoughts
about government or politics that we do. Just have some thoughts
about it.”
Whatever the message, it’s certainly working. Mezmerize was released
in May, opening at the top of the charts. Sales are pushing toward a
million.
The followup album Hypnotize, recorded at the same time as Mezmerize,
is slotted for release in November.
[email protected]
905-526-3331
GRAPHIC: Photo: SPECIAL TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR; System of a Down
also known as John Dolmayan, left, Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian and
Shavo Odadjian perform at Copps Saturday night.

Armenia ready to establish relations with Turkey – presidential aide
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
1 Sep 05
Yerevan, 1 September: Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey without any preliminary conditions, the press
secretary of the Armenian president, Viktor Sogomonyan, said today.
“Armenia’s position is unchangeable – we are ready to start a
constructive dialogue with Turkey at any time and establish diplomatic
relations without any preliminary conditions,” he said at a news
conference, adding that these issues were recently touched upon in
correspondence between the Armenian and Turkish leaders.
“Yerevan highly rates the fact that Moscow and Ankara are strengthening
the dialogue and deepening cooperation and security,” the Armenian
president’s press secretary said.
“Taking into consideration the context of strategic relations
between Armenia and Russia, we think that the practical deepening of
cooperation between Moscow and Ankara can also be a certain mediatory
resource for us in solving our problems,” Sogomonyan said.
Having a common border of 330 km, Armenia and Turkey have not
established diplomatic relations up till now. As a condition for
normalizing bilateral relations, Ankara is demanding that Yerevan give
up on the international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide
in the Ottoman Empire and stop supporting Nagornyy Karabakh in its
conflict with Azerbaijan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan vows to defend region’s independence
Mediamax news agency
2 Sep 05
Yerevan, 2 September: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
[NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, said today that “our state has proved to
the world that it has become not only a de facto state, but also is
ahead of many of its neighbours by the level of its compliance with
the standards of the European community”.
Arkadiy Gukasyan said this in his address on the occasion of the
14th anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of the NKR,
Mediamax reports.
“Nobody taught us lessons of democracy, as it happens every day and
every hour with regard to Azerbaijan, a country where not a single
election, be it a presidential, parliamentary and municipal election,
has met simple norms of a modern democratic society so far. Today
Azerbaijan cannot even protect the rights of its own people, not to
mention the national minorities living in that country. This fact
alone is enough for the world community to recognize the right of the
Nagornyy Karabakh people to its own sovereign state independent from
Azerbaijan,” Arkadiy Gukasyan said.
The NKR president said it was not by chance that “the Baku authorities
have been trying their best to hide from the Azerbaijani people the
achievements of Nagornyy Karabakh in building a law-governed and
democratic state, not allowing their citizens to visit the NKR and
communicate with the Karabakh people”.
“However, this behaviour has no future because it alienates the two
nations from each other and puts back a comprehensive and mutually
acceptable settlement of the conflict. Moreover, such actions by
the Azerbaijani leadership, as well as their stubborn refusal to
negotiate with the Karabakh side, seriously question the prospects
of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh problem in a civilized way and on
the basis of reasonable compromises. For this reason, the unsettled
status of the conflict still remains a factor that might lead to the
new destabilization of the situation in the region.
The NKR leadership is devoted only to a peaceful settlement of the
conflict with Azerbaijan. At the same time, our people can be sure
that nobody will ever deprive us of Artsakh’s independence which
we gained at the cost of irreparable losses. The NKR defence army
is capable of repelling with credit anyone who dares to invade our
motherland. We have all the necessary means and possibilities to do
so,” Arkadiy Gukasyan said.
“The establishment of Karabakh’s statehood would not have been
possible without active assistance and help from Armenia and the
diaspora. However, we are still not making full use of the economic and
political potential of the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora triangle, including
in the issue of the NKR’s international recognition. I am sure that
we have something to work on in this sphere,” the NKR president said.

Ukrainian premier says she is not Jewish
Inter TV, Kiev
2 Sep 05
[Presenter] Today the journalists asked the prime minister [Yuliya
Tymoshenko] not only about the battle over the Nikopol ferroalloys
plant. Olha Klyuyeva has the details.
[Passage omitted: Tymoshenko reports on the state of the economy]
[Correspondent] Not a single news conference goes without personal
questions. Today the prime minister revealed the secrets of her ethnic
background. It turns out that her mother is Ukrainian, and her father
is, contrary to popular opinion, not Armenian but Latvian.
Tymoshenko said she does not have any Jewish ancestry, as the
transport minister [Yevhen Chervonenko] recently suggested, but
respects representatives of this nationality.
[Correspondent] That they made my father an Armenian and gave my
mother another nationality, I think Yevhen Alfredovych [Chervonenko]
was trying to feel solidarity with me this way. [Audience, Tymoshenko
laughing]. But I would like to say that in any case I am together
with him in the fight against any instances of anti-Semitism in our
country. There is no need to look for additional questionable evidence.
[Correspondent] In order to ask the prime minister about the scandalous
film entitled “Yuliya”, which was made in Russia and produced by
State Duma member [Aleksey] Mitrofanov, the Moscovites even sent
a film crew. The characters of the 26-minute-long erotic film bear
close resemblance to Tymoshenko and the Georgian president [Mikheil
Saakashvili]. Tymoshenko is ready to forgive the filmmakers for this.
[Tymoshenko, in Russian] You know, these things can be done by people
who can only fantasize about sex but who are unable to do anything in
real life. So we must forgive them everything. [Audience, Tymoshenko
laughing, applause]