Alcatel Serges on Triple Play
By Ray Le Maistre
Unstrung.com
07.28.05
Alcatel (NYSE: ALA – message board; Paris: CGEP:PA) delivered better
than expected second-quarter numbers this morning, with CEO Serge
Tchuruk saying that the second half of the year was shaping up to be
even better as revenues from triple-play deployments help the vendor’s
wireline division reclaim some lost ground (see Alcatel Up in Q2).
Revenues of [email protected] billion (US$3.8 billion) were “way above forecast,”
said Tchuruk, and the earnings per share of $0.17 exceeded analyst
expectations of $0.15. Those numbers, increased guidance for the year
— annual revenue growth of between 5 and 8 percent, instead of the low
single digits — and bullish talk about prospects for the second half,
all helped to send the vendor’s share price up by [email protected], 5 percent,
to [email protected] ($12.31) on the Paris bourse.
And analysts are positive, too. Richard Windsor at Nomura Holdings Inc.
says he has “little difficulty in keeping Alcatel as our favourite
stock in the sector.” In a research note issued today he stated this
was “a solid set of results which, combined with the increase in
guidance, should be well received by the market.”
In amongst the welter of statistics and numbers were some interesting
snippets about broadband spending trends, Alcatel’s ongoing success in
the mobile infrastructure market, and its growing presence in the IP
routing market with its 7750 service router, courtesy of the Timetra
acquisition (see Alcatel & TiMetra Seal the Deal).
And, of course, there was the usual tour de force from Tchuruk,
who loves to comment on every question asked, whether it’s asked of
him or not. And he likes to tell it like it is. When asked about the
potential for M&A among the sector’s major equipment firms he stated,
“Everyone wants to see consolidation, but everyone wants someone else
to pay for cleaning up the industry and having the pain of a major
acquisition. I’m not pursuing a massive consolidation for Alcatel as a
way forward,” he added, putting to rest any lingering questions about
a merger with Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU – message board).
Fixed-line recovery in H2
While the CEO was the main speaker on today’s call, Mike Quigley,
the vendor’s president and COO, and the perceived heir to Tchuruk’s
throne, was given far more airtime than usual, and he took on many
of the questions related to the fixed-line equipment division, which
saw its revenues fall to [email protected] billion ($1.5 billion) compared with
[email protected] billion ($1.6 billion) a year earlier.
The dip had been expected, said Tchuruk, but a recovery is expected
in the second half of the year as Alcatel “sees the benefits of the
wireline upgrades” being undertaken by large carriers such as SBC
Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC – message board), BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:
BLS – message board), and China Telecommunications Corp. (NYSE: CHA –
message board).
Quigley noted that deployments of next-generation access equipment
based on triple-play service strategies had “accelerated in the
first half of the year and will gather momentum in the second half
of the year. We hardly have a wireline customer that isn’t talking
about triple play, and we see IMS architectures being built on top
of network infrastructures built for video.”
He added: “It’s not just about access equipment. This is about optical
equipment, too, and one reason we acquired Native Networks was because
we wanted Ethernet capabilities in our OMSN [optical multiservice node]
range.” (See Alcatel to Buy Native for $55M.)
Both Quigley and Tchuruk talked up the company’s growing IP router
business. “The 7750 is very popular, and we now have more than 60
references, including SBC, China Telecom, France Telecom, and BT’s
21CN. The revenues from IP routing will be significant this year,
about ~@200 million [$243 million),” said the CEO, noting that BT’s
21CN project wasn’t yet delivering any revenues.
Quigley added that Alcatel had “shipped 200 7750 routers to France
Telecom in the first half of the year,” which were being used as the
IP edge routers for the carrier’s IPTV service rollout.
Tchuruk said this deal was won late in 2004 but that FT, which one
analyst on the call described as a “Cisco shop,” hadn’t wanted it
publicized, and that Alcatel was the only IP edge router vendor
involved in the rollout. “We are the only one — there is no Cisco,”
the CEO intoned.
In the DSLAM market, Quigley said the latest quarter had been slow
in North America, but, despite that, the company had shipped a record
5.9 million lines worldwide in the second quarter. “We expect to see a
pickup in DSL sales in North America in the second half of the year,
and the third quarter will be much stronger there in terms of net
line additions.”
He said Alcatel was set to ship a total 22.5 million DSL lines in 2005,
of which 3 million would be IP DSLAM lines. That would increase to
an estimated 6 million IP DSLAM lines in 2006, about 20 percent of
the total.
And Quigley shot down the misconception that IP DSLAMS were cheaper
than traditional ATM-based units. “There are continual price and cost
reductions in the DSL market — it’s a very tough market and we’re
battling order by order. But while Ethernet-based DSLAMs provide a
lot of benefits to carriers, they’re not cheaper.”
Mobile: growth and NGN hopes
While Alcatel’s wireline business wilted in the second quarter, its
mobile infrastructure division increased its revenues nearly 35 percent
year-on-year to ~@958 million ($1.16 billion). Tchuruk said the sales
showed ongoing demand for the company’s hybrid 2G/3G infrastructure,
with new contracts in Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, France, and China.
The CEO was more excited about the future prospects for the technology
gained from the Spatial Wireless acquisition (see Alcatel in M&A
Frenzy). “The mobile NGN core has possibly even greater potential
than wireline NGN. We have 20 trials, and two deals, of our IMS-based
mobile NGN, and great expectations for this technology. The bottom
line may be negative from this business at the moment because of the
costs involved in working with customers, but we expect this will
change by the end of this year and into 2006.”
– Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading
()
;WT.svl=news3_5

International Figures to Pay Tribute to Andrew Carnegie
Topic Conferences and Events
PNNOnline (The nonprofit news and information resource)
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
International experts and commentators on world affairs will visit
Dunfermline, near Edinburgh, in October to pay tribute to the great
Scots American philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. They will be joined by
trustees and senior executives of the worldwide family of institutions
founded by Carnegie in the USA, Europe and the UK.
The visitors will be in Scotland to witness the conferring of the
Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy on six modern-day philanthropists
of international standing. The ceremony is being held in the new
Scottish Parliament building.
The experts will be taking part in an International Philanthropy
Symposium organised to celebrate the Medal Awards, previous recipients
of which include the Gates Family, the Rockefeller family and the
Sainsbury family.
This will be the first time the medals have been awarded in Scotland
where the great philanthropist and former steel magnate was born. The
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy 2005 is being organised by the four
Scottish-based Carnegie foundations – the Carnegie Trust for the
Universities of Scotland, the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund
Trusts and the Carnegie UK Trust.
The event is also being supported by the Scottish Parliament, the
Scottish Executive, Event Scotland, Visit Scotland, the Royal Bank
of Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and Fife Council.
Carnegie gave away his fortune in 1905, the equivalent of $15 billion
dollars today.
Among the many achievements of the Carnegie family of 22 institutions
which developed from that time was the founding of approximately 2,500
public libraries across the English-speaking world. They also funded
research leading to the discovery of insulin, the Magellan and Hubble
telescopes – and even the educational television series, Sesame Street.
Projects in recent years have included extensive educational programmes
in Africa, building peace and democracy in Russia and the former Soviet
Union, China and the Middle East. They also include embryology and
cutting edge global ecology research in the US, influential commissions
of inquiry into the Third Age and Rural Community Development, as
well support for student research scholarships and Professorships at
Scottish Universities.
Following a reception hosted by Fife Council, there will be a
dedication of the proposed new joint HQ for the UK-based Carnegie
Trusts which is to be built beside Pittencrieff Park, Andrew Carnegie’s
gift to the people of Dunfermline.
The dedication of the new building will be performed by two of
Carnegie’s great grandchildren, one from Scotland and the other
from the US, linking the two parts of Andrew Carnegie’s life. The
cousins are William Thomson, CBE, Chairman of the Carnegie Medal for
Philanthropy 2005 Organising Group and Chairman of the International
Medal Selection Committee and Linda Hills from Colorado.
The further program of events for the day will include visits to the
Andrew Carnegie Birthplace and Museum and, at the Business Learning
and Conference Center at Lauder College, Vartan Gregorian, President
of the Carnegie Corporation of New York will dedicate the new Andrew
Carnegie Business School.
“We are honoured that so many distinguished and influential people
are coming to Dunfermline and to Scotland to attend the third Andrew
Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy 2005 Awards Ceremony and to take part
in the International Philanthropy Symposium,” said Mr. Thomson.
“The Andrew Carnegie Medal and the International Philanthropy Symposium
in which so many of our distinguished guests will take part provide
a great opportunity to put Scotland and the new Scottish Parliament
in the spotlight, as well as to discuss the direction in which
philanthropy should go in modern times.
“The interest which has been shown internationally in these two
events, the Symposium and the Medal ceremony itself, underlines how
significant philanthropy is in the 21st century, a hundred years after
Andrew Carnegie made his decision to devote the rest of his life and
his fortune to philanthropy.”
The URL for this story is:

Azerbaijan close to deal on hosting US forces: report
Agence France Presse
August 3, 2005
MOSCOW, Aug 3 (AFP) – Azerbaijan is close to agreement with the United
States on the establishment of a US military presence following the
eviction of American forces from Uzbekistan, a Russian newspaper
said Wednesday.
“A decision wanted by Washington has almost ripened,” the Nezavisimaya
Gazeta newspaper quoted an unnamed source close to Azerbaijan’s
foreign ministry as saying.
The president of the strategic Caspian country, Ilham Aliyev, “in
the end will give his agreement to the deployment in the country of
an American military contingent,” the source said.
Last week the ex-Soviet Central Asian state of Uzbekistan announced
it was giving the United States 180 days to close an air base there
used to support operations in nearby Afghanistan.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta said the question of stationing US forces in
Azerbaijan was on the agenda of the country’s foreign minister,
Elmar Mamedyarov, who was in Washington this week for talks with
senior administration officials.
In talks at the Pentagon, Mamedyarov would discuss “not only general
prospects for military cooperation… but an extremely concrete
question — the possibility of transferring the American base from
Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan,” the newspaper said, summarising the views
of unnamed analysts.
In response to Wednesday’s report, a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s
defence ministry, Ramiz Melikov, told AFP the ministry had “not held
any discussions regarding this issue.”
“According to the constitution of Azerbaijan, there can be no bases of
other states on the territory of the country. But if such a decision
were to be taken it would be made by the president and we have not
received any such information,” Melikov said.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta cited a source in the Azerbaijani security forces
as saying that a team of US military instructors was already in
Azerbaijan looking at two possible sites for hosting the US military,
one close to the capital Baku and the other close to the border
with Iran.
The former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan could represent a highly
strategic location for US forces, in part because it borders Iran —
one of the countries named by US President George W. Bush in his
first term as forming an “axis of evil”.
The Caspian Sea region is being developed as a major alternative to
Middle Eastern oil sources and is considered by some analysts as a
potential terrorist target.
On Wednesday the main Uzbek state newspaper, Pravda Vostoka, denied
reports that the closure of the US base was prompted by Washington’s
calls for an independent investigation into a bloody crackdown in
Uzbekistan in May and by Washington’s support for the evacuation of
refugees who fled that violence.
According to that newspaper report, the base had originally been
scheduled to close in 2002, since when Uzbekistan had raised the
issue with the United States six times.
“It is necessary to recognise that in reality the American side used
various pretexts to avoid deciding this question,” the newspaper said.
Moscow has been wary of the growing US presence in the former Soviet
republics on its southern flank, long seen as Russia’s sphere of
influence.
The United States continues to use an air base in Kyrgyzstan, while
US military instructors have been helping to train the military of
Azerbaijan’s neighbour Georgia.

Foreign diplomats hail latest version of Armenian constitutional amendments
Noyan Tapan news agency
3 Aug 05
Yerevan, 3 August: “The revised draft of constitutional amendments
is considerably better compared to previous versions and serves as a
good basis for guarantees of the activity of democratic institutions
in Armenia,” said a report of the Venice Commission [of the Council
of Europe], which was quoted at a news conference on 3 August.
The conference was dedicated to the drafting of a new edition of the
Armenian Constitution and was organized by the offices of the European
Union and OSCE in Yerevan and the embassies of the USA and Britain,
which is the holder of the EU presidency. The participants highly
rated the work of the Venice Commission experts in the sphere of
constitutional amendments in Armenia.
The British ambassador to Armenia, Thorda Abbott-Watt, expressed
the hope that this draft would bring Armenia closer to democratic
values and facilitate Armenia’s integration into Europe. “We agree
with the comments of the experts that the Armenian people have to
decide themselves on what kind of constitution they need,” the British
ambassador said. She said it was necessary to involve all political
forces in the process of discussing constitutional reforms. “You will
not win if you are not in the game,” Abbott-Watt said.
The US charge d’affaires to Armenia, Anthony Godfrey, expressed the
hope that the Armenian government will facilitate a broad discussion of
the project. Asked whether the draft amendments could prevent election
rigging and human rights violations, the US diplomat said: “No-one
can be insured against election fraud and human rights violations. But
this project is a step forward and we are supporting it.”
Commenting on a possible link between the favourable attitude of
western institutions to the project submitted by the ruling coalition
and concessions to be made by the Armenian authorities in the Karabakh
issue, Godfrey said: “It is wrong to link these issues with other
problems, including the conflict. The new project is a chance for
Armenia to improve the rules of the game.”

Azeri military prosecutor’s office resumes probe into 1992 Xocali massacre
Turan news agency
3 Aug 05
Baku 3 August: On 12 July this year, the Military Prosecutor’s Office
of Azerbaijan resumed the criminal case into the occupation of the town
of Xocali in Nagornyy Karabakh, which was suspended on 31 March 1994.
The press service of the Military Prosecutor’s Office says in a press
release forwarded to Turan news agency that on 25-26 February 1992,
the Armenian troops, the Karabakh separatist forces and the military
of the 366th regiment of the Soviet army committed a crime which can
be identified as genocide.
The Military Prosecutor’s Office resumed the criminal case into
the seizure of Xocali, having re-examined the materials of the
investigation under Article 103 (genocide), 115 (violation of laws
and traditions of war), 16 (violation of norms of international
humanitarian law during armed conflicts) and 118 (military assault)
of the current Criminal Code.
The seizure of Xocali was accompanied by unprecedented atrocities –
339 residents of the town were killed, including 43 children, 109
women and 16 men over 60, 115 people went missing, 30 were taken
hostage and 421 wounded.
Moreover, on 15 July this year, the Military Prosecutor’s Office
launched a criminal case under Article 103 (genocide) into the seizure
of the village of Qaradagli in Xocavand District [in Nagornyy Karabakh]
on the night of 16 February 1992. When the village was seized, 49
people were killed and another 57 local residents were held hostage
and tortured for a long time.
At present, measures are being taken to bring to book, track down
and prosecute people who committed crimes against humanity and war
crimes in both cases, the press release says.

Azeri official urges foreign companies to leave Karabakh
ANS TV, Baku
3 Aug 05
[Presenter] The activities of any country’s companies in Nagornyy
Karabakh are illegal because they are directed against Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, the measures
the Azerbaijani authorities are and will be taking against such
companies are based on international legal norms, Deputy Foreign
Minister Xalaf Xalafov has said.
[Xalafov, shown speaking to camera] The activities of any country’s
companies in Nagornyy Karabakh are illegal because they violate
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and Azerbaijani laws.
Therefore, such companies have to understand that their activity is
illegal and that the measures the Azerbaijani side is and will be
taking are in full compliance with international legal norms.
This means that responsibility for any potential consequences of their
operations in Nagornyy Karabakh rests solely with these companies. And
these companies have to realize their responsibility and give a due
assessment to what they are doing. They have to end such activities.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/03/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ANC Office Opens Doors to the Middle East 2) Azerbaijan Close to Agreement on Hosting US Forces 3) Greek PM Puts off Turkey Visit Ahead of EU Talks 4) Karabagh Accuses Azeri Media of Stirring Public Opinion, Points to International Law for Conflict Resolution 1) ANC Office Opens Doors to the Middle East BEIRUT (Aztagdaily)--A ceremony marking the opening of an Armenian National Committee (ANC) Middle East office was held on August 2 in Beirut, Lebanon. As the ANC offices of the United States and Europe, the Middle East office will promote Armenian genocide recognition efforts throughout the region. Among those present for the celebration were ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markarian, members of ARF Lebanon's leadership, Lebanese Parliament member Hagop Pakrodouni, Armenia's Ambassador to Lebanon Areg Hovhannisian, and Bourj Hammoud Mayor Antranig Messerlian. In her remarks, the Executive Director of the Middle East office Vera Yacoubian noted the successes of the ANC in the US and Europe and explained the necessity for establishing the office. "This undertaking by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation is based on the necessity to expand our reach and coordinate activities so as to counter Turkey's efforts to deny the Armenian genocide." She noted the difficulties of the imminent challenges, but stressed that every occasion must be exerted to overcome them by presenting the case of Armenians to Middle Eastern intellectuals and political forces. ARF Bureau representative Markarian said it is imperative to develop relations in the Middle East where Armenians found refuge after the genocide and have also lived for centuries. Pointing to political interests that promote anti-Islam sentiment, he said that we unintentionally end up on the opposition end. "Our cause is a political one, which should not be placed in the category of religion or faith. We must, therefore, not forcibly end up on the losing side while our opposition is victorious." 2) Azerbaijan Close to Agreement on Hosting US Forces MOSCOW (Combined Sources)--Azerbaijan and the US are close to reaching an agreement on establishing a US military presence in Azerbaijan, reported the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The move the paper said would follow the pull out of US forces from Uzbekistan. "This move that Washington is pushing for is almost completed," an unnamed source close to Azerbaijan's foreign ministry told the Russian paper. Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday, reportedly discussed the possible deployment. Washington announced last week that Uzbekistan had given the US 180 days to close an air base there, which is used to support operations in Afghanistan. Citing a source in the Azerbaijan's security forces, the paper said that a team of US military experts are already in Azerbaijan reviewing possible sites for hosting the US military. One site is reportedly near the capital of Baku, and the other close to the Iranian border. After his meeting with Rice, Mammadyarov referred to the Karabagh conflict, telling journalists that as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US will exert effort to make the regulation process more effective. He also said that the US position on the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is unchanged. Mammadyarov also met with Minsk Group's US co-chair Steven Mann. While in Washington, Mammadyarov will hold meetings in the Pentagon and National Security Council, and will meet with representatives of the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and non-governmental organizations. He will also address representatives of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce in the Washington based Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center on Wednesday. On Thursday, Mammadyarov will deliver a speech at the US Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 3) Greek PM Puts off Turkey Visit Ahead of EU Talks ATHENS (Reuters)--Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis postponed this month's trip to Turkey on August 3 as pressure grew for Ankara to recognize Cyprus before starting EU accession talks in October, an official at the prime minister's office said. Greek officials said that the trip, which would have been the first by a Greek premier to Turkey in more than 46 years, will take place at a later date but did not say why it was postponed. "The prime minister will visit Ankara later in the autumn," the official told Reuters. "The date has not yet been determined." Diplomats said the trip, announced during a meeting of the two leaders on a Greece-Turkey border post last month, was too close to October 3, when Turkey is expected to start European Union accession talks. "Let's just say a visit after October 3 would be more comfortable. After that date, the visit will be less complicated," a diplomatic source told Reuters. "The two sides could not agree now on the date and the agenda of the meeting." The diplomat added that the decision to postpone the trip was taken in late July before Turkey signed a key EU protocol with new member states of the bloc, including Cyprus, but which Ankara refused to recognize. While ties between the former arch-rivals have greatly improved in the past six years, they remain divided over the island of Cyprus, split along ethnic lines for over 30 years. Turkey signed a protocol on July 29 extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus, clearing the last official obstacle to the start of EU entry talks. However, the country also issued a declaration making clear the signing did not mean official recognition of Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot government is viewed in Brussels as the sole legitimate authority. The government has no diplomatic ties to Turkey, which invaded the northern third of the island in 1974. "This move certainly did not facilitate the visit," the diplomatic source said. Athens, which is a strong supporter of Turkey's bid for EU membership, has called on Ankara to "lift this paradox" of not recognizing a member of a club it wishes to join, while other EU members including Austria and France want full recognition of Cyprus before the start of accession talks. "It doesn't seem conceivable to me that a negotiation process of whatever kind can start with a country that does not recognize every member state of the EU, in other words all 25 of them," French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said yesterday. 4) Karabagh Accuses Azeri Media of Stirring Public Opinion, Points to International Law for Conflict Resolution STEPANAKERT (Armenpress)--Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) accused Azerbaijan's media yesterday of misrepresenting its positions and stirring public opinion as a result. "Without knowing the details and the pace of the peace talks on regulating the Karabagh conflict, inaccuracies about our position are published," the MKR Foreign Ministry said through a statement on Tuesday. The result, according to the statement, is that the Azeri public is not allowed to evaluate the continuing discussions, as well as alternative means to attaining peace. "It is beyond any doubt that a proper resolution to the conflict can only be found by establishing effective ties between Karabagh and Azerbaijan." The ministry stressed that the conflict must be regulated on the basis of international law, and Azerbaijan's leadership is responsible for any consequences resulting from unrestrained military actions. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Vanity Fair: Turks Boasted of Payments to Hastert
19 Corporate Crime Reporter 32(1), August 3, 2005
Corporate Crime Reporter, D.C.
Aug 3 2005
Turkish officials boasted of giving “tens of thousands of dollars in
surreptious payments” to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois)
in exchange for political favors.
That allegation is contained a profile of Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) whistleblower Sibel Edmonds in the current issue
of Vanity Fair magazine.
The article, “An Inconvenient Patriot,” by British writer David Rose,
reports that Edmonds was asked to listen to wiretaps as part of what
appeared to be an FBI public corruption probe into bribes paid to
members of Congress – both Democrat and Republican.
Rose, citing “some of the wiretaps,” reports that “the FBI’s targets
had arranged for tens of thousands of dollars to be paid to Hastert’s
campaign funds in small checks.”
The article notes that under Federal Election Commission rules,
“donations of less than $200 are not required to be itemized in
public filings.”
The article reports that Edmonds has given confidential testimony
on several occasions – to congressional staffers, to the Inspector
General, and to staff from the 9/11 commission.
“Edmonds reportedly added that the recordings also contained
repeated references to Hastert’s flip-flop, in the fall of 2000” to
“the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the killings of
Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 as genocide.”
According to the Vanity Fair article, the resolution never went
anywhere until August 2000 when Hastert announced he was supporting
it – in an effort to win over his district’s large Armenian community.
According to the article, the resolution passed the House International
Relations Committee by a large majority “thanks to Hastert.”
“Then, on October 19, minutes before the full House vote, Hastert
withdrew it,” the article reports.
Hastert said at the time that he withdrew it because of a letter he
received from President Bill Clinton that the bill would harm U.S.
interests.
And while the Vanity Fair article reports that “there is no evidence
that any payment was ever made to Hastert or to his campaigns,”
it also reports that “a senior official at the Turkish Consulate is
said to have claimed in one recording that the price for Hastert to
withdraw the resolution would have been at least $500,000.”
The article reports that Edmonds testified that she heard about the
payments when listening to “Turkish wiretap targets.”
In one wiretapped conversation, a Turkish official spoke to a State
Department staffer.
“They agreed that the State Department staffer would send a
representative at an appointed time to the American-Turkish Council
office, at 1111 14th Street, N.W. where he would be given $7,000 in
cash,” the article reports.
Another call Edmonds heard allegedly discussed a payment to a
Pentagon official “who seemed to be involved in weapons-procurement
negotiations,” according to the article.
Hastert’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
But he told Vanity Fair that Hastert is “unaware of Turkish interests
making donations” and his staff has “not seen any pattern of donors
with foreign names.”

A System of speaking up
Band’s material sprinkled with political, social commentary
Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
Although his band’s latest album comments on the Iraq war, the demise
of Western culture and the polarization of American society, singer
Serj Tankian doesn’t want System of a Down to be narrowly categorized
as a “political band.”
Asked about the commentary on Mezmerize, the first installment of a
two-disc project (the second, Hypnotize, is due in the fall), Tankian
says the CD and the band have “political and social ideas . . . along
with personal narratives and stories, theoretical evaluations and
humor.”
Like such bands as Green Day, Pearl Jam and Wilco, which take an
occasional swing at politics and social commentary while singing
about more traditional rock subjects at other times, System of a Down
doesn’t take itself too seriously.
But Tankian acknowledges that even when his band, a foursome with
Armenian backgrounds, is singing about a subject such as death (the
focus of its new single, Question!), it’s taking only a temporary
detour from social consciousness. The band performs in Phoenix
on Monday.
Tankian says that some groups who joined the wave of acts campaigning
against President Bush last fall have fallen silent since John Kerry
was defeated.
“They focused on the election, and then they lost touch with their
political or social ideas,” says Tankian, who met two of his three
bandmates, Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals) and Shavo Odadjian (bass),
while attending a private Armenian school in Hollywood.
“When people feel like they’re being listened to or heard, they
speak. When they feel like no one’s going to listen, they don’t.
Well, we talk all the time.”
Using a combination of wildly creative instrumentation and vocals
that range from Freddie Mercury-style swooning to solemn chanting
to operatic octave-jumping, System of a Down has an instantly
recognizable sound.
For instance, the new Violent Pornography, which criticizes American
television, bounces between Middle Eastern guitar riffs, thrashing
metal, rapid-fire vocals and pleasant harmonies.
“It’s a violent pornography . . . turn off your TV,” Tankian sings
before adding, “Can you say ‘brainwashing’?”
Mezmerize’s debut single, B.Y.O.B., moves among five rhythms played
by drummer John Dolmayan as Tankian rails against the destruction
in Iraq: “Everybody’s going to the party, have a real good time /
Dancing in the desert, blowing up the sunshine.”
Asked whether the band gets much feedback from fans about such
diatribes as B.Y.O.B., Tankian, 37, mentions a particularly troubling
e-mail from a Marine who had returned from Iraq:
“He told us that while they were attacking Fallujah, they(broadcast)
our song Jet Pilot. . . . Using the loudspeakers of the mosques (U.S.
forces) actually played that song. It literally left me speechless. I
shared it with the guys, and they were all concerned.”
Despite his band’s penchant for intellectually stimulating subject
matter, Tankian knows the messages that he and Malakian pen wouldn’t
be heard without music that moves the masses. (A million copies of
Mezmerize were shipped at its May launch, and it debuted at No. 1 on
Billboard’s Top 200 album chart.)
“I think the music is the most powerful vehicle,” he says. “Music
touches people’s hearts; speaking touches people’s minds. But the
heart can always overwhelm the mind.”

ADOPTION OF NEW CONSTITUTION TO OPEN WAY TO EURO-INTEGRATION, SAYS EC REPRESENTATIVE
ArmenPress
Aug 3 2005
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS: The Council of Europe special
representative Boyana Urumova told today at a press conference
that “The adoption of new Constitution will open a way to
Euro-integration.” She said the success will witness about the maturity
of the Armenian political field. Noting that the opposition must
be able to display readiness for making concessions she added that
the Venice Commission underscored the discussion of constitutional
amendments with civilians and opposition for securing mutual agreement.
On behalf of the Council of Europe B. Urumova thanked the Armenian
authorities as well as all the experts for securing success in
the process and pointed out the support provided by international
organizations and embassies. Thorda Abbot Watt, Great Britain and
Northern Ireland’s ambassador to Armenia, welcomed the positive
assessment of the Venice Commission concerning the amendments and
said that “This is a step which will help Armenia in establishing
democratic values and will open the way to Europe,” said she.
According to her, Armenian people must chose what Constitution they
would like to have and in what country they want to live.
The OSCE Yerevan Office Director Vladimir Pryakhin said the process
of constitutional amendments is essential from the point of view of
securing development of democracy. He said the suggestions of the
Venice Commission which are included in the package of amendments
has made the document relevant to international standards.