The Mercury, Australia
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
Advertiser, Australia
July 15 2004
On this day
1099 – Three years after the First Crusade set out, the Christian
army storms Jerusalem and puts its Muslim inhabitants to the sword.
1601 – Austria’s Archduke Albert, with Spanish force, begins a
three-year siege of Ostend, the last Dutch stronghold in Belgium,
ultimately taking it.
1685 – Duke of Monmouth is beheaded in England for his part in
rebellion. It takes the inexperienced executioner eight blows of the
axe to sever his head.
1789 – France’s King Louis XVI is awakened and told that his
authority has collapsed with the fall of the Bastille.
1795 – La Marseillaise is officially adopted as the French national
anthem.
1815 – Napoleon surrenders to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon at
Rochefort.
1822 – Turkish invasion of Greece begins, and Turks overrun peninsula
north of Gulf of Corinth.
1857 – British women and children, taken by Indians at Cawnpore in
India, are murdered.
1869 – Margarine is patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries.
1883 – Death of Charles Stratton, renowned US midget showman better
known as General Tom Thumb.
1893 – Matabeles stage uprising against rule of British South Africa
Company.
1904 – Death of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, author of Three
Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.
1909 – Mohammed Ali, Shah of Persia, is deposed in favour of Sultan
Ahmad Shah, age 12.
1912 – The Commonwealth Bank of Australia opens its doors for the
first time as a savings bank.
1916 – Boeing Co, originally known as Pacific Aero Products, is
founded in Seattle, Washington, by William Boeing.
1918 – The Second Battle of the Marne begins during World War I.
1929 – Death of Hugo von Hofmannstahl, Austrian author and librettist
best known for his collaboration with composer Richard Strauss.
1945 – Italy declares war on Japan, its former Axis partner in World
War II.
1948 – UN Security Council orders truce in Palestine.
1953 – John Christie, infamous murderer of at least six women at Ten
Rillington Place, London, is hanged.
1958 – United States dispatches troops to Lebanon at request of
President Chamoun; South Africa resumes full membership in United
Nations.
1964 – Anastas Mikoyan succeeds Leonid Brezhnev as President of the
Soviet Union; The Australian newspaper begins publication in
Canberra.
1965 – US Mariner IV spacecraft sends to earth first close-up
photographs of planet Mars; US Congress passes legislation requiring
health warning labels on cigarette packets.
1974 – Officers in Cyprus favouring unification with Greece oust
Archbishop Makarios from presidency and the coup leads to Turkish
military intervention.
1975 – America’s Apollo and Soviet Union’s Soyuz spacecraft blast
into orbit for rendezvous in space.
1977 – Anti-drug campaigner Donald McKay disappears and is presumed
murdered in the southern NSW town Griffith.
1983 – Six people died and 48 are injured when Armenian terrorists
bomb a Turkish Airlines desk at Orly airport, Paris.
1985 – A gaunt-looking Rock Hudson appears at a news conference with
actress Doris Day to promote her cable television program. It’s later
revealed Hudson was suffering from AIDS.
1987 – Taiwan ends 38 years of martial law to pave the way for
multiparty elections.
1988 – Afghan rebels blast capital city Kabul with rockets, killing
20 people and wounding 24 others.
1990 – Tens of thousands of people march to Kremlin walls to protest
Communist Party control of Soviet government, army and KGB; Death of
British film actress Margaret Lockwood.
1991 – Western troops complete their pullout from Kurdish refugee
havens in Northern Iraq.
1993 – In a major purge of the federal Yugoslav army command, about a
third of its generals face replacement by officers who support
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
1994 – Former West Australian premier Brian Burke begins a two-year
jail term after being convicted of fraud; Tens of thousands of Hutus
continue to flee the Tutsi-led rebel advance in Rwanda, flooding
across the border into Zaire in one of the greatest human flights in
history; European Union leaders pick Luxembourg Prime Minister
Jacques Santer to head the European Commission, replacing Jacques
Delors.
1995 – The Sri Lanka military ends its biggest offensive in eight
years against Tamil Tiger rebels, fighting that left at least 300
people dead.
1996 – A cargo plane carrying members of a Dutch military band
crashes at Eindhoven air force base, killing 32 people.
1997 – Fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot dead outside his Miami
Beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.
1998 – Nigeria’s military government orders the immediate release of
at least 400 people imprisoned under the late military ruler General
Sani Abacha.
1999 – China reinforces a longstanding threat to invade if Taiwan
declares independence and it also announces it has developed the
technology to make neutron bombs.
2000 – In a rare display of force, UN troops launch a rescue mission
that frees all 222 peacekeepers and 11 military observers trapped by
rebels inside a UN base in eastern Sierra Leone.
2000 – Zimbabwe launches the resettlement of black peasants on farms
seized from whites in all its eight provinces.
2001 – Bangladeshi Prime minister Sheikh Hasina leaves office after
five years, longer than any other Bangladeshi leader.
2002 – A Pakistan judge convicts four defendants in the kidnapping
and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
2003 – The White House Office projects a $US455 billion ($632.52
billion) federal budget deficit for the 2003 fiscal year, the largest
in dollar terms.

Humanities Magazine, DC
July 14 2004
Recreating Pompey for Modern Eyes
By Cynthia Barnes
In 55 B.C.E., Romans applauded the debut of the world’s first modern
entertainment complex, a mammoth structure constructed by Gnaeus
Pompeius Magnus–better known as Pompey the Great, military conqueror
and rival to Julius Caesar. The showy consul named the theater for
himself. Today, using archaeology, three-dimensional modeling,
virtual reality technology, and digital research, architecture
experts are slowly raising the curtain on the Theater of Pompey.
“It’s shockingly enormous,” says James Packer, a Northwestern
University professor. “The scale is just astonishing.”
Crowds of between twenty-five and forty thousand people flocked to
see the latest spectacles played out on the 260-foot-wide stage.
Modern sports fans would recognize the curved stadium seating, the
barrel vaults, the VIP balconies–everything but the lack of
advertising–and feel right at home.
Pompey also had a curia constructed for meetings of the Senate. It
was here that Julius Caesar met his death, assassinated before a
statue of the theater’s namesake.
The Theater of Pompey became the model for all theaters throughout
the Roman Empire, says Packer. The plan for its seating areas and
façade served as models for the amphitheaters that inspired the
design for many contemporary sports venues.
Packer is directing the excavation of the theater as part of a
research project begun in 1996 with Richard Beacham of the University
of Warwick (U.K.). In 2002 Packer joined with archaeologist Cristina
Gagliardo, architect Dario Silenzi, and engineer Massimo Aristide
Giannelli to undertake the first excavation of the theater since
1865.
Until the end of the Roman Empire in the West, the Pompey Theater
remained the preferred venue for theatrical representations in the
capital. Yet, despite its renown and architectural significance, the
Theater of Pompey’s structure almost completely disappeared through
the centuries.
Today, the façade of a movie theater conceals the entrance to a
fortress and the piazza known as the Campo dei Fiori subsumes the
remains of the theater. The inner curve of the theater’s orchestra
survives in the Palazzo Pio’s curved façade along the Via di Grotta
Pinta. Its outer curve can be seen in the Via dei Giubbonari, the Via
Della Biscione, and on the Piazza Pollarola. These outlines hint at
what the theater once was. Leisure gardens were enclosed within the
Porticus Pomeianae, a rectangular colonnade. An elaborate temple
honored Venus Victrix, or Venus the Victorious. Galleries displayed
rare works of art from throughout the Roman world. A bronze statue of
Hercules–now in the Vatican Museum–probably adorned the stage
building or the Porticus Pompeianae. The story goes that the statue
was struck by lightning, removed from its original position, and
buried next to the south foundation walls of the Temple of Venus
Victrix, outside the theater, where it was found.
Built on the marshy “Field of Mars” beyond Rome’s seven hills, the
theater’s design took advantage of new techniques in vaulted concrete
architecture with sloping barrel vaults, which supported the internal
seats and a curved stone façade. Two imitators–the Theater Marcellus
and the Theater Balbus–were quickly constructed, and the design was
widely copied throughout the Mediterranean basin. The grandeur of the
theater and the sumptuous occasions held there astounded contemporary
Romans. Dio Cassius reported on the reception Nero gave the Armenian
king, Tiridates I:
Not merely the stage but the whole interior of the theater round
about had been gilded, and all the properties that were brought in
had been adorned with gold, so that the people gave to the day itself
the epithet of “golden.” The curtains stretched overhead to keep off
the sun were of purple and in the center of them was an embroidered
figure of Nero driving a chariot with golden stars gleaming all
around him.
After the fall of Rome, the Pompey Theater remained in use until
medieval times. It was repaired around 500 C.E. by Theodoric, king of
Gothic Italy. In the ninth century C.E., it was included in the
Einsiedeln itinerary, a document listing the sights of Rome written
for Christian pilgrims during the reign .of Charlemagne. By that
time, flooding from the Tiber and continuous occupation had taken its
toll, but the structure was still recognizable as an ancient theater.
By the year 1100, two Christian churches had been built on the site,
and the transformation of the theater into other structures had
begun. The church of Santa Maria in Grotta Pinta was built into one
of the vaults under the semi-circular seating area called the cavea,
and houses were built into the theater. Beginning about 1150, the
powerful Orsini family began buying out and combining these houses,
creating a powerful fortress from which they controlled the road to
Naples.
The assimilation continued. Pompey’s masterpiece was built into and
buried under the buildings near the Campo dei Fiori. The structure
became integrated into the medieval neighborhood. Archaeological
excavations by Victoire Baltard, a French architect working in the
first decades of the nineteenth century, and Pietro Righetti, then
owner of the Palazzo Pio, cleared and reburied only part of the
monument. Their reports detailed the plan of the curved lower section
of the façade of the seating area and the circular corridor behind
it, and Righetti reported fragments from the upper storeys of the
Temple of Venus Victrix.
Most medieval and ancient remains from the theater are unaccounted
for. The city is awash in archaeological treasures, and fragments
uncovered before today’s strict accounting methods often were not
tagged or labeled as to their origins. “There are storerooms
throughout the city filled with piles of capitals, slews of column
shafts, fragments of friezes. In earlier times, all these things were
put in storerooms,” says Packer. “When they were transferred, no
information was transferred with them. So we know that there were
pieces from Pompey. They are mentioned in earlier records, both
published and unpublished. But we haven’t been able to find these
things. We don’t know what’s become of them.”
Stripped of their archaeological context, the fragments are reduced
to pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. From 1996 through 2001, Packer
collaborated with Beacham to document the accessible surviving
remains of Pompey’s theater.
Choosing new spots to excavate is no easy task. The modern streets
that pave over the site present both political and practical
problems. Disrupting traffic and rerouting underground electrical and
sewer utility services from the neighborhood is not feasible. Cellar
rooms under the theater’s cavea are accessible from Ristorante Da
Pancrazio–the arched barrel vaults of the old theater now make a
cool and cozy ceiling for diners enjoying Roman specialties such as
roast lamb with potatoes, spaghetti alla carbonara, and ravioli
stuffed with artichoke hearts.
But because these cellar rooms were filled with concrete, they cannot
now be excavated without damaging foundations and subjecting
residents to the sound of the pneumatic drills required to cut
through the fill. Extensive excavation could weaken the foundation of
centuries-old buildings like the Palazzo Pio, an archaeological and
architectural treasure in its own right.
The research in 2002 took place in one of the Palazzo Pio’s cellar
rooms, a part of the theater’s ambulacrum–the walkway, or circular
passage immediately behind the façade–adjacent to the foundations of
the stairs that led through the cavea to the Temple of Venus Victrix.
At the beginning of the excavation, researchers found that the room
had been filled with rubble from excavation in 1865 and from
post-World War II construction at the adjacent restaurant.
Removal of this detritus cleared the top of the medieval
archaeological strata that filled the excavation area and yielded
fragments of ancient, medieval, and eighteenth-century pottery. A
medieval wall closed one end of the ambulacrum. In a hole cut through
it were blocks of stone and an ancient impost block, which the
excavators temporarily left in place at the end of their season.
Rubble was hand-carried in plastic bags up a steep and narrow
staircase. “It was quite a chore,” Packer says. He and his colleagues
plan to install a small conveyor belt for the next excavation.
Packer is gathering information for a multi-authored monograph. The
Pompey Project will feature a computerized online database that spans
the entire history of the site. Virtual reality renderings of the
theater, acoustical renderings and sight lines, all known textual
references, plans of modern structures along with detailed plans of
the ancient remains, and digital photographs of all artifacts and
remains recovered at the site will be included.
It is the virtual reality modeling that may give the theater an
audience undreamed of in ancient times. By rebuilding the theater
three-dimensionally in cyberspace, any person on the planet with
access to the internet can stroll the gardens, admire the stage, or
marvel at the travertine marble-clad grandeur of Pompey’s monument.
They can examine the ornate temple where Venus received her
offerings, or even stand in the portico where Caesar met his end.
Cynthia Barnes is a writer in Columbia, Missouri.
Northwestern University received $35,000 in NEH support for the
excavation of the Pompey Theater.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Tucson Weekly, AZ
July 14 2004
Melding of Musicians
Jesse Cook travels to multiple continents for collaborators on his
latest album
By JOAN SCHUMAN

Jesse Cook

I’ve almost burnt a hole in Jesse Cook’s newest CD, returning again
and again to the seamless transition between the first and second
tracks.
“Prelude” slams into “Qadukka-l-Mayyas” with a punch of violins and
cymbals and deep, deep drums banging against each other before Cook’s
signature flamenco guitar bursts forth. And then, 25 seconds into the
second track, Maryem Tollar blares the lyrics of this traditional
Andalusian tune in a subterranean alto. An Egyptian string ensemble
headed by Hossam Ramzy in Cairo is responsible for haunting threads,
while back home in Toronto, Cook has enlisted Chris Church to
electrify the violin on the first track.
“It didn’t start as a master plan,” explains Cook of his aptly dubbed
fifth album, Nomad. We spoke by phone between gigs on his 14-city
U.S./Canada tour, which brings him and his Toronto-based band through
Tucson on July 24.
“I usually record at home in my own little studio. I tend to do all
the writing, arranging and producing myself. But I wanted to be far
enough away to get perspective.”
Cook was determined not to let distance drag down his dream of
incorporating musicians on several continents into the 12 tracks that
make up his Juno (Canada’s Grammy equivalent) award-winning album.
“I also was dying to work with Simon (Emmerson) of the Afro Celt
Sound System. So we called him in London and he loved the idea. He’s
the one who introduced me to Hossam who said, ‘Man, you need some
strings on here.'”
In the end, Cook grabbed musicians from London, Madrid, Cairo,
Toronto, Nova Scotia and, in the States, Milwaukee, Austin and Los
Angeles.
Paris-born and Toronto-raised, Cook already had four albums under his
belt before embarking on his latest project. Since 1995, he’s
produced CDs that have soared to the top of Billboard’s World Music
charts in the United States and gone gold in Canada–albums with
quirky one-word titles mostly on the Narada label (Tempest in 1995;
Gravity a year later; Vertigo in 1998; and finally Freefall in 2000).
His last two albums featured musicians from further reaches–like
Djivan Gasparyan (dubbed the god of Armenian Duduk) and Danny Wilde
of the Rembrandts, among others.
The Gypsy Kings influence is noticeable, as are hues of the Afro
Celts’ arrangement. At Narada, he shares a lineup with a litany of
world musicians including Lila Downs, Shelia Chandra, Jai Uttal and
Baka Beyond–all mavericks fusing their own styles into new genres.
Danny Wilde comes back for a cameo on Nomad, and Cook’s masterful
guitar yields its fiery, familiar taste–a smorgasbord of expressive
rumba and flamenco arrangements–a gypsy amalgam if there ever was
one.
“Montsé Cortés is a legend in gypsy music,” Cook says, discussing the
singer’s willingness to lend her vocals to “Toca Orilla,” the last
track on Nomad.
“Gypsy is a very guarded music. Sharing it with a foreigner like
me–a mungicake–is amazing,” concedes Cook of his admittedly “white
bread” status.
As for any fears of putting together an album with musicians living
far away from each other, Cook says it wasn’t that difficult.
“Hossam invited me to stay in his Cairo apartment, and it just
snowballed from there. It made sense to contact my vocalist friend
Maryem, who happened to be in Egypt at the time. She actually lives
three blocks away from me here in Toronto,” he adds with a chuckle.
“Once you get the travel bug, it’s pretty easy to just grab the
laptop and go. It’s amazing. I was flying home from Europe and I’m
mixing with 64 tracks on my Mac right there in row 13.”
He’s quick to add, “Just because you have the capability of recording
on the fly and have access to these tools, it doesn’t mean everyone
can be a producer. Remember, it’s in the ears.”
Going to where the musicians live is crucial, says Cook. “I’m not
sure you get the best take when musicians aren’t at home. In their
own space, they’re in the groove.”
The liner notes to Nomad hint at adjustments, however. Cook sprinkles
in bits and pieces of his album journal.
Cairo, January 11, 2003, 3:15: One of the violinists has arrived. The
first musician to show for a 2 p.m. call. Cairo time. Got to love it.
“I expected to have a hard time due to my Western origins. They all
thought I was from the States. I expected more hostility, post-Sept.
11. But people were great,” says Cook about his hosts. “I guess
politics operate above humanity.”
Nomad isn’t just different from Cook’s other albums for its melding
of musicians.
“Most of my previous music is instrumental. But I knew I wanted
lyrics and singing on this album. So, scary as it was, I made a demo
so I could generate interest in this project. It’s really awful, if
you’ve ever heard me sing. You begin to understand what a great
singer can do for a song–it makes it or breaks it.”
So, Cook wrote the tune for Montsé Cortés in her range. But he took a
different tact for Brazilian singer Flora Purim.
“I was just writing another version of ‘Girl from Ipanema,’ and then,
ironically, her CDs just flew across my desk and the project clicked.
I went to L.A. to record her voice tracks.”
Liner notes expand on his process for Purim’s track, titled “Maybe.”
It’s not so much Bossa Nova as it is Brazilian samba meets rumba
flamenco.
“I love eclecticism,” says Cook. “Finding a flow is important and a
bit of a trick. Basically, all the tunes are rumbas. The guitar is
front and center, chugging away.”
He adds, “I think people are obsessed with division–culturally,
spiritually and musically. For me as a musician, the similarities are
far greater than the differences. In Tibet, for example, when we
played there, it didn’t matter what language we were singing in or
even talking in. It’s the music that’s the universal language. Boy,
that sounds clichéd. But it’s true.”
For Cook, it’s all music from the planet Earth.
When I asked him to describe contemporary music in one sentence, he
responded quickly.
“It’s music of the next millennium. Our travel time is shorter now,
though we cover great distances, compared to say, France in the 18th
century. It changes how we listen. So, Britney Spears now has a
Bollywood string riff, and people don’t hear it as such. They just
hear that they like it.”
Yet with the shrinking of travel time and the ubiquitous ability to
taste everything, Cook says the business of musical genres and
audience promotion is slower to catch on.
“Here in Canada, the CD went gold. In the States, it’s more of an
underground following. Is it the music business or a cultural thing?
I don’t know. Some songs did quite well, even charted on the radio.
But not in the States. Oddly, “Qadukka-l-Mayyas” charted in the
United Arab Emirates.”
With all this globalism, Cook says he had the hardest time,
ironically, working with one musician closer by in the States.
“Once I decided I wanted to work with the BoDeans on the track ‘Early
on Tuesday,’ I went looking for Kurt Neumann in Austin. We made all
the arrangements, and I’m about to leave Toronto, and the SARS scare
hit. Kurt cancels, saying we all had cooties up here,” Cook quips.
“I spent a good deal of time convincing him that we’re all OK. No one
I knew had gotten sick–it’s a big city, you know. But Kurt wasn’t
taking any chances. The running joke later was that I’d be somewhere
in the States working, and I’d call Kurt in Austin just to tell him I
was doing OK.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Pasadena Star-News, CA
July 15 2004
Chess players poised for a strategic move
By Naush Boghossian , Staff Writer
GLENDALE — Chess enthusiasts are getting ready to move from their
normal haunts in local cafes to the city’s new $540,000 chess park,
which opens Saturday evening.
More than three years in the making, the free park offers 16 boards
amid towering chess piece sculpted in a converted passageway along
Brand Boulevard.
“We’re definitely excited because there are a lot of kids who like to
play at their leisure and don’t have a permanent place to play,’ said
Harout Akopyan, 23, a coach for the All American Association Chess
Club, which runs chess schools for youngsters in Glendale, Reseda and
Hollywood. “This park is good for everybody.’
Glendale is something of a chess hub, since the game is very popular
among Armenians, who make up more than 70,000 of Glendale’s 200,000
residents.
In Armenia, people begin playing chess when they’re young, and the
schools there encourage competitions from a very young age. Akopyan’s
club, which serves about 150 children, continuously produces national
champion chess players.
Akopyan has 13 national championship titles himself.
The concept for a park came from local chess clubs, who encouraged
the City Council to maximize the potential of the little-used
passageway.
“We’ve taken a piece of property that was underutilized and created
an urban park that is not only aesthetically attractive but serves
the community,’ senior project manager Emil Tatevosian said. “We’ve
realized that we have a large chess community in the city, and this
is a good venue for all of them to come together.’
The new park is divided into zones, each accented with a chess piece
King, Queen, Bishop and Rook and has tables with inlaid game boards
and benches.
And chess-themed light towers also will allow for nighttime games.
“There is potential to create a hub of activity there with the Alex
Theater and Brand Books, which is open until midnight,’ Tatevosian
said.
The concept of having an area for chess players to gather and play is
very popular in other countries, said president of the L.A. Chess
Club Mick Bighamian.
But in Southern California where the only other chess park is in
Santa Monica players tend to gather at coffee shops, where the
unwritten rule is you have to spend money to be able to stay and
play.
“I think this is a great movement as far as keeping the youngsters
and senior citizens to have something leisurely to do at no cost to
them,’ Bighamian said. “And the park helps the promotion of chess to
get the image it truly deserves as a fun and challenging game.’
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Coalfield Progress, VA
July 15 2004
Book studies Turkish, Melungeon links

By ROBERT BAIRD, Staff Writer

KINGSPORT, TENN. – A new book by Brent Kennedy and Joseph Scolnick
Jr. sheds some light on a neglected area of U.S. history – the
migration for centuries of Turkish people to America. The book also
explores where the Ottoman Empire and Turkey fit in the history and
culture of the Melungeon people and their descendants. The authors
and their book, “From Anatolia to Appalachia: A Turkish-American
Dialogue,” were featured during last month’s Fifth Union Melungeon
Gathering held here. There’s evidence of a connection between
Melungeons, Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Scolnick says. “The
Melungeons are apparently mixtures of Caucasian, Native Americans,
and Blacks, who as well have genetic links to the entire
Mediterranean area, plus, in some instances, Anatolia (the heartland
of Turkey), the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Northern India,” Scolnick
wrote in the book.
“The Turkish-Melungeon relationship exists and will be of interest to
many people, if for no other reason than that it records human
interactions across centuries and continents,” Scolnick continued.
Kennedy wrote: “Whatever the final scholarly verdict may be on the
origins of these so-called ‘mystery people,’ a seemingly irreversible
association has developed between the various Turkic populations of
the world and the Melungeons of Appalachia. This book is an
exploration, as opposed to an explanation, of these developing
relationships.”
Scolnick is a political science professor at University of Virginia’s
College at Wise and a noted foreign policy scholar with a longtime
interest in the Mediterranean area.
A Wise native who now lives in Kingsport, Kennedy founded the
Melungeon Research Committee and wrote the groundbreaking book “The
Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People” 10 years ago.
Scolnick and Kennedy first began collaborating on the book during a
1999 trip to Turkey. In addition to essays written by Scolnick and
Kennedy, the book is a collection of interviews with a variety of
Turkish citizens, including representatives of the Assembly of
Turkish American Associations and the Turkish ambassador to the
United States.
The work was printed last year by Mercer University Press and is part
of Mercer’s Melungeon book series.
DNA research has linked Melungeons to Turkey, Portugal, Italy,
northern Africa, Malta, northern India, Cyprus and the Canary
Islands, plus has shown connections to Native Americans, northern
Europeans and African-Americans, Scolnick said during a lecture on
June 17, the first day of the three-day Fifth Union event.
Kennedy said, “We mixed with people. That’s the nature of human
beings and of migration.”
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Ottoman Empire was
founded in the late 13th century by Turkish tribes in Anatolia and
existed until 1918. At its height, the empire included portions of
northern Africa, the Middle East, central Europe and western Asia.
The Ottoman Empire was huge and included such present-day areas as
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Albania, the Balkans and Austria,
Kennedy said.
Scolnick said the Ottoman Empire covered a wide area and was ruled by
a government that never attempted to assimilate its people. It was an
“enormous melting pot.”
During his research of the Melungeon people, Kennedy says he saw
references to Turkey and Armenia. Some Melungeon families have
connections to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, he said.
Turks, Armenians and Arabs were brought to Jamestown as slaves,
Kennedy noted.
Some people brought to the New World by Spanish, Portuguese and
French settlers had Ottoman backgrounds, Scolnick said. Some of those
individuals escaped or were stranded once they got here, he said, and
it’s possible they met and were incorporated into Native American
tribes, married and had children.
DNA research indicates Melungeons have roots in Turkey, the Middle
East, India, Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, as well as having
Native American and African-American ancestry.
America was started by people from many countries and regions,
Scolnick said. It’s utter nonsense to believe the notion that this
country was created only by settlers from England, he says.

Azer Tag, Azerbiajan State Info Agency
July 15 2004
MM CHAIRMAN MEETS UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR
[July 15, 2004, 14:22:51]
Chairman of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan received Ambassador of
Ukraine in Baku Boris Aleksenko on the occasion of completion of his
diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan.
The Speaker highly appreciated the role of Boris Aleksenko in
development of relationship between the two countries. He noted that
the Azerbaijan-Ukraine friendship whose foundation had been laid by
nationwide leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev, had
reached today the level of strategic partnership. According to Mr.
Alasgarov, the bilateral relations have been given a new impetus
after the recent visit by President Ilham Aliyev to Ukraine. He
finally expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian government and people
for the support in the process of solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the hope that Boris Aleksenko
would continue to maintain contacts with Azerbaijan and contribute to
expanding bilateral relation during his follow-up activity.
Ambassador Boris Aleksenko noted in response that it was great leader
Heydar Aliyev who laid the foundation of the friendly relations
between the two countries: Heydar Aliyev not only overcame the
blockade and achieved the country’s worldwide recognition but also
rendered great help to the Ukrainian people, who will never forget
this good, he said.
The diplomat stressed that no matter who wins at the presidential
elections expected in Ukraine on 31 October, the attitude towards
Azerbaijan would remain the same. According to him, the stance of the
official Kiev and ordinary people as to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem will also remain unalterable.
Mr. Aleksenko expressed deep gratitude for the high award – the Order
`Glory’ – conferred upon him by President of Azerbaijan. He also
announced that the staff of the Kiev State University had given to
Murtuz Alasgarov the title of Honorary Doctor of the University, that
will officially take place during his upcoming visit to Ukraine.
During the meeting Murtuz Alasgarov and Boris Aleksenko have also
exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
The Age, Australia
July 15 2004
D-Day for accused Olympic athletes
Friday is D-Day for two Australian Olympic athletes accused of drug
offences.
Weightlifter Caroline Pileggi will learn whether her appeal against
being dumped from the Athens Games is successful, and cyclist Jobie
Dajka is expecting to learn the outcome of police investigations into
him.
Accused cyclist Sean Eadie, meanwhile, will have a nervous weekend.
His appeal against a drugs infraction notice for allegedly importing
banned human growth hormones will be heard in the Court of
Arbitration for Sport in Sydney on Monday evening.
Pileggi, who was to have been Australia’s first Olympic female
weightlifter, was dropped from the Athens team after refusing a drugs
test in Fiji in June.
But she told the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Melbourne that
she fled from two drug testing officials in Sigatoka, Fiji, because
she did not know who they were.
“I didn’t feel safe,” she told the tribunal.
One of the New Zealand testing officials, acting on behalf of the
Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA), later admitted that he was not
familiar with the regulations and had not correctly identified
himself at their first meeting.
He also said he had not followed the correct procedure for signing
the form.
“The circumstances were less than ideal,” Vaughan Jones told senior
Tribunal member Narelle Bell.
Dajka expects to know the outcome of police investigations into his
case, including possible links with an Adelaide veterinarian.
Dajka, 22, has had his nomination for the Athens team suspended
pending police inquiries and continuing investigations by former WA
Supreme Court judge Robert Anderson, QC.
The clock is ticking on a number of other matters which need to be
resolved before the July 21 deadline for finalising Australia’s
Athens team, expected to number 475.
These include:
+ A Customs check on all potential Athens team members to determine
whether any of them may have been involved in importing banned
substances. The Australian Sports Commission expects results on
Friday. These will be forwarded to the Australian Olympic Committee,
which is waiting to finalise the team.
+ The result of a drugs test on former Armenian weightlifter Sergo
Chakhoyan. Chakhoyan, who served a two-year suspension after testing
positive at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane in 2001, was recently
tested in Armenia. A spokesman for the ASDA said the outcome was
expected in the next few days.
+ The outcome of four appeals by track and field athletes who missed
out on selection – Patrick Johnson (100m, 200m), Tim Williams (4x100m
relay), Annabelle Smith (400m), and Paul Pearce (4x400m relay). The
appeal will be heard in Sydney on Friday and the results are expected
on the day.
Mountain biker Josh Fleming was added to the Athens team after
successfully appealing his original non-selection.
Cycling Australia’s appeals tribunal found that the selection
criteria had been incorrectly applied.
Fleming, 28, replaces South Australian Chris Jongewaard, 24.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/16/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1. US House Adopts Schiff Amendment on Armenian Genocide 2. Congressional Republican Leadership Attacks Schiff Amendment 3. Hastert, DeLay Blunt Statement on Schiff Amendment 4. $17,000 Raised in San Francisco for Karabagh Resettlement Program 5. 84th ARS Convention Underway 6. AYF Badanegan: bringing the kids together 7. AYF Volunteers Set for Work in Armenia, Little Armenia 1. US House Adopts Schiff Amendment on Armenian Genocide "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Government of Turkey to engage in contravention of section 1913 of title 18, United States Code, relating to lobbying with appropriated moneys, with respect to HRes 193, Reaffirming support of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and anticipating the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 (the Proxmire Act) on November 4, 2003." Amendment to Foreign Operations Bill prohibiting Turkey from using US foreign aid to lobby against Genocide Resolution --Rep. Knollenberg's Leadership key to maintaining military aid parity for Armenia and Azerbaijan WASHINGTON, DCIn a powerful rebuke to the Turkish government's campaign of genocide denial, the House of Representatives this evening adopted the Schiff Amendment, prohibiting the Turkish government from using US foreign assistance in its multi-million dollar campaign to defeat legislation (HRes 193) recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The amendment, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), was passed by a voice vote and added to the fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill (HRes 4818). The foreign aid bill was later passed by a vote of 365 to 41. In his remarks on the House floor introducing the measure, Rep. Schiff told his colleagues that, "today I offer a simple amendment that will honor the one and a half million Armenians who perished in the Armenian Genocide of the 1915 and 1923. I consider this a sacred obligation to ensure that the men, women, and children who perished in the Armenian Genocide are not lost to history and that this Congress not fund shameful efforts to deny that the Genocide occurred." Commenting after the vote, Rep. Schiff said, "We are another step closer to silencing those who would deny the murder of 1.5 million Armenians," adding that, "This amendment stands true to the memory of the victims." "The passage of this amendment is a major victory," said Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. "It clearly sends a message that the United States House of Representatives will not tolerate Turkey's lobbying against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide." In his remarks during consideration of the measure, the New Jersey legislator stressed that "it is time for this body to stop defending and funding a government that continues to deny its own history, and refuses to break with the pattern of intolerance established by past Turkish governments which dealt with minority issues by committing genocide against Armenians, massacring and driving Greeks from its shores, restricting the rights of Christians to worship, and denying the existence of its Kurdish citizens." "We want, first and foremost, to thank Congressman Schiff for his tireless leadership in advancing this amendment, to recognize the strong support of Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg, and to note the pivotal role that Chairman Kolbe played in helping this measure reach the House floorwhere, as we all saw this evening, it enjoyed overwhelming bi-partisan support," said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. The Genocide Resolution, HRes 193, reaffirms US support for the Genocide Convention and cites the importance of remembering past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. It faces intense opposition from the Turkish government, which has enlisted the backing of the White House in its efforts to block this measure from being scheduled for a vote of the full House. The Genocide Resolution was introduced, in the House, in April, 2003, by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI). Its Senate companion measure was introduced, in June, 2003, by Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ). HRes 193 was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee last May. Support for the measure has been widespread off of Capitol Hill as well, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious, civil and human rights organizations calling for its passage, including American Values, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National Council of La Raza. Rep. Knollenberg Leads Effort on Foreign Aid Issues: Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Joe Knollenberg, who serves as a senior member of the House panel dealing with foreign aid issues, rallied the support of his colleagues behind key pro-Armenian provisions in the Foreign Operations bill. Foremost among these was the successful effort to maintain parity in US military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan. This February, the Administration's budget proposed breaking the parity agreement, struck in 2001 between the White House and the Congress, by allocating $8 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Azerbaijan and only $2 million for Armenia. The foreign aid bill, adopted today by the US House, sets FMF levels for both nations at $5 million. "We value the leadership and hard work by Congressman Knollenberg in maintaining the principle of military aid parity in the face of White House and Pentagon pressure to break an agreement that has, for the past three years, contributed meaningfully to regional stability in the Caucasus," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. The House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, which is chaired by Arizona Republican Jim Kolbe, supported a hard earmark of $65 million in US assistance to Armenia, and $5 million for Mountainous Karabagh. The Bush Administration's proposal had requested $62 million for Armenia and had not set any specific funding level for Mountainous Karabagh. The Subcommittee's decision, made against the backdrop of decreasing aid levels to the former Soviet republics, would effectively reduce US assistance to Armenia by $10 million from FY 2004 levels. 2. Congressional Republican Leadership Attacks Schiff Amendment WASHINGTON, DCIn a front-page statement posted today on the web-page of the Speaker of the US House, Congressional Republican leaders, who have for the past eighteen months blocked the progress of legislation recognizing the Armenian genocide, attacked the adoption, yesterday, of the Schiff Amendment by the full US House, reported the Armenian National Committee (ANCA). The amendment restricts the Turkish government from using US foreign aid dollars to finance its campaign to defeat the Genocide Resolution, HRes 193. The statement issued by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) states that, "we are strongly opposed to the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, and we will insist that conferees drop that provision in conference. . . Turkey has been a reliable ally of the United States for decades, and the deep foundation upon which our mutual economic and security relationship rests should not be disrupted by this amendment." Armenian Americans have the opportunity to express their disappointment to the authors of this statement by visiting the ANCA website: "Speaker Hastert and his colleagues in the House leadershiphaving spent the past year and a half trying to kill the Genocide Resolutionare now trying to subvert the clear will of an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in support of this human rights measure," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We find it deeply offensive that these officials would allow a foreign nation particularly one that so blatantly disdains the democratic values of the American peopleto impose its dictates on our Congress." Yesterday evening, the US House voted to approve the amendment, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). The measure was passed by a voice vote and added to the fiscal year 2005 foreign aid bill, HRes 4818. The Genocide Resolution, HRes 193, reaffirms US support for the Genocide Convention and cites the importance of remembering past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. It faces intense opposition from the Turkish government, which has enlisted the backing of the White House in its efforts to press Congressional leaders to block this measure from being scheduled for a vote of the full House. 3. Hastert, DeLay Blunt Statement on Schiff Amendment (WASHINGTON DCSpeaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt released the following statement regarding House adoption of the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. "We are strongly opposed to the Schiff Amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, and we will insist that conferees drop that provision in conference. We have contacted the Bush Administration, and they have indicated their strong opposition to the amendment. We have also conveyed our opposition to Chairman Kolbe and he has assured us that he will insist on it being dropped in the conference committee." "Turkey has been a reliable ally of the United States for decades, and the deep foundation upon which our mutual economic and security relationship rests should not be disrupted by this amendment." "On its face, the amendment is meaningless. Current US law already prohibits foreign governments from using American foreign aid to lobby. But we understand the political motivation behind the amendment, and for that reason, we will insist that it be dropped." "Our relationship with Turkey is too important to us to allow it to be in any way damaged by a poorly crafted and ultimately meaningless amendment." "Furthermore, we have no intention of scheduling H Res 193, as reported out of the Judiciary Committee in April, during the remainder of this Congress." 4. $17,000 Raised in San Francisco for Karabagh Resettlement Program SAN FRANCISCO$17,000 was recently raised for the Karabagh resettlement program through a series of fundraising events, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) San Francisco Kristapor Chapter. Fundraisers were held at the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Sako Shirikian and Mr. and Mrs. Hriar Moroyan and were followed by a July 9 event at the San Francisco Armenian Center. After welcoming the audience gathered at the Armenian Center, ARF Kristapor Chapter representative Hriar Sarkisian spoke about the purpose of the fundraising drive and how it will assist the work of the newly formed "Mountainous Karabagh Republic Resettlement Assembly." "The government of the Mountainous Karabagh invites Armenians to settle and raise their children within the borders of their motherland," he noted. "Between 1992-2001, the Karabagh government was able to build 4061 homes and 193 buildings, which house 5112 families today. In addition, the country's numerous schools cater to 3474 students. The Resettlement Assembly asks all social, political, and philanthropic organizations to contribute to these efforts." The Armenians of San Francisco, Sarkisian stated, have throughout the years supported Armenia, Karabagh and the Diaspora both morally and financially and recently lent assistance to the Armenian communities in Iraq, Javakhk, and Shahumian. 5. 84th ARS Convention Underway Delegates from 23 chapters joined invited guests on July 15, for the opening of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), Western Region's 84th convention that will be taking place at the Glendale, California Hilton until July 18. Among those addressing the more than 200 gathered were Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Consul General of Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles Gagik Kirakossian, and ARF Central Committee member Vahe Bozoian. Honored guests included Glendale City Councilmember Rafi Manoukian, police chief Randy Adams, Armenia Fund representative Maria Mehrabian, Armond Agakhani representing State Assemblymembers Dario Frommer and Fabian Núñez, and representatives of sister organizations. 6. AYF Badanegan: bringing the kids together By Sanan Haroun In the aftermath of the genocide, Karekin Njdeha fedayee and field worker for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)brought a group of youth together with the purpose of instilling future generations with the Armenian spirit. The idea, which Njdeh successfully implemented in Boston over seventy years ago, has since spread throughout the United States. Today, the group that was created through his initiativethe Armenian Youth Federation (AYF)serves youth under the age of 16 through its Badanegan organization. The AYF Glendale Badanegan chapterestablished in 1981is just one of the many chapters that provides young Armenians an environment, in which they can gather, learn about Hai Tahd, and volunteer for their communities. Members of Badanegan participate in all sorts of activities that make the Armenian spirit an important part of their lives. Such activities include singing traditional songs, assisting political campaigns through phone banking, and participating in discussions about Armenian issues during weekly meetings. The AYF Glendale Badanegan is divided into two portions: the Shant chapter, which accepts youth between the ages of 7-13, and the Simon Zavarian chapter, which is composed of 14-16 year-olds. Both chapters meet on Friday nights: Shant from 6:30-8:15pm and Simon Zavarian from 7:30-9:00pm at the Glendale Armenian Center/Ararat Elderly Day Care Center, 721 S. Glendale Ave. During a typical one-and-a-half hour-long meeting, members read news from Armenia, learn new Armenian words and participate in quiz bowls and other fun games. Additionally, guest speakers are invited to attend meetings and discuss career opportunities. Speakers in the past have presented information about a variety of professions, including plumbing, psychology, law, and dentistry. Each badanee, as members of Badanegan are called, also has an opportunity to speak to the chapter about their personal hobbies. Badanees have spoken about playing instruments like the violin and guitar, roller-blading, water polo, and drawing. Furthermore, meetings sometimes include casual debates amongst the badanees over issues that affect Armenians in the Diaspora. One such topic is the importance of Armenian language to the Armenian identity. Divided into two groups, members eagerly wait for their chance to express their thoughts and opinions. In addition to the meetings, AYF Glendale Badanegan members plan and participate in social and athletic activities. Sleep-overs, movie nights, pool parties, trips to amusement parks, hikes through waterfalls, visits to the beach, bowling and ice skating are just a few examples of the activities that badanees enjoy. These excursions provide endless memories and create strong friendships that last a lifetime. Some of the badanees' more elaborate projects include trips to AYF Camp Big Pines and Malibu Beach, where members camped out on the sand and woke up by the ocean. The Glendale Badanegan also has a long tradition of presenting plays about heroic Armenian figures and Armenian issues in the Diaspora. Some of the plays presented include "Njdeh," "Menk Hayers," "Yert Arants Tartsi," "Siamanto," and "Black and White." In both 1991 and 2001, song tours were organized in Glenddale to mark Armenian Independence Day. Badanees also distribute Christmas cards during each December. The Glendale chapter is continually busy in planning events that are both fun and educational. The idea of bringing together a few Armenian kids in 1933 has developed into a large organization dedicated to involving youth in the Armenian Cause. Today, the growing Glendale Shant and Zavarian chapters have over 70 members. The AYF Badanegan provides leadership training and education for future generations. Countless young Armenians attribute their involvement in social and political causes to their experiences as AYF badanees. The badanees who enjoy their social and educational experiences become life-long community activists. Sanan is an executive member of the Glendale AYF Badanegan Zavarian Chapter 7. AYF Volunteers Set for Work in Armenia, Little Armenia AYF Youth Corps Ready to Get to Work in Artsakh YEREVANThe participants of this summer's AYF Youth Corps program arrived in Armenia on Thursday, to spend most of their summer in Stepanakert, the capitol city of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (Artsakh), working to rebuild the ARS Soseh kindergarten and the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Center there. Though 2004 marks the 10th anniversary of the AYF Youth Corps program, it is also the third year the program targets the reconstruction of the kindergarten and Parpeligic center. This year's program participants from throughout CaliforniaGlendale, the South Bay, and the West San Fernando Valley, will have the opportunity to meet with government officials, local ARF representatives, and AYF members, and will spend weekends sightseeing in Armenia and Artsakh. The AYF Youth Corps program, founded after the 1994 Karabagh cease-fire, has sent over 100 Armenian youth to Artsakh and Armenia to assist in rebuilding efforts of various Armenian structures such as schools, centers, churches, and youth camps damaged during the war. Back to the Streets of Little Armenia in September LOS ANGELESThe planning and organization of the Second Annual Little Armenia Clean Up has begun, and efforts to beautify the portion of Hollywood named after Armenia will take place on September 25. The clean up is co-sponsored by Council Member Eric Garcetti and the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). After the 8:30 AM opening on clean up day, which will include remarks by Council Member Garcetti, volunteers will hit the streets and sidewalks of Hollywood work to remove litter and unwanted weeds. The clean up effort, a project of the AYF Little Armenia Beautification Program, will include replacing the "Welcome to Little Armenia" banners on various major intersections of Little Armenia, with new ones. "It is an honor to the Armenian American community to have an area of the City Los Angeles named after our homeland," said Vicken Sosikian, Chairman of the AYF Western Region. "Since October of 2000 we have enjoyed this honor; we therefore not only need to give back to Little Armenia and its residents, but also to the city of Los Angeles." Turnout for the 2003 Little Armenia Clean Up was tremendous; mostly AYF youth, and some older volunteers scoured city streets and placed the welcome banners that now mark Little Armenia. The AYFa volunteer youth organization, seeks the support of the Armenian community to make this outreach event a success. Interested volunteers for the clean up, or those who want to contribute to the effort in anyway, should email the AYF at: [email protected]. 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) 2004 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.

UEFA.com
July 15 2004
Dinamo go back to the future
Forty-eight hours after the 2004/05 edition of the UEFA Cup opened,
the first qualifying round continues tonight with the remaining 24
first-leg ties.
Previous winner
After Hungary’s Budapest Honvéd FC won 1-0 at MIKA FC in Armenia on
Tuesday, another 27 countries – spanning the breadth of Europe from
Iceland to Azerbaijan – are represented in tonight’s matches.
However, there is only one previous winner of a European trophy, FC
Dinamo Tblisi, involved.
Bottom rung
The Georgians played under the Soviet flag when they captured the
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena 2-1 in the
final in Dusseldorf. Now, more than two decades on, they are starting
out on the bottom rung when they visit the Belarussian club FC BATE
Borisov.
Serious business
While players from the continent’s higher-profile leagues are still
working their way back to full fitness, for the clubs in action
tonight the serious business has begun already. Arguably the best
quote in the build-up to these matches came from Saulius Širmelis,
coach of Lithuanian side FK Ventspils.
Warning
His team face B68 Toftir in the Faroe Islands and Širmelis warned: “I
hope none of my players are expecting the game to be easy. I remember
how Rudi Völler and Germany came to the Faroe Islands smiling and how
pale they were at the end of the match.”
Heat is on
Elsewhere, Romanian club CF Otelul Galati’s preparations for the
visit of KS Dinamo Tirana were not helped by a brief players’ strike.
The Otelul squad refused to train for several days before receiving a
promise that they would be paid money the club owed them. Meanwhile,
it seems no amount of training can have fully prepared F.Y.R.
Macedonia’s FK Sloga Jugomagnat for the expected 40C heat they will
face when they play Omonia AC in Cyprus. Of all the venues tonight,
nowhere is likely to be as hot as this.

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iBerkshires.com, MA
July 15 2004
BArT principal hopes to `change lives’
By Linda Carman –

Michelle Close, the principal of the Berkshire Arts and Technology
Charter School. (Photo By Linda Carman)
NORTH ADAMS – The principal of the Berkshire Arts and Technology
Charter School had a teacher and mentor who opened a new world for
her, and now she wants to do the same for this generation of
students.
Michelle Close, who worked from Providence, R.I., until Friday, said
her 7th and 8th grade teacher in Brookline, Margo Strom, developed a
curriculum titled `Facing History and Ourselves,’ a study of the
Holocaust which Close found galvanizing.
`It changed my world. It asked critical questions, such as who’s
responsible, and are there such things as innocent bystanders,’ she
said. The curriculum began with Holocaust studies, and has expanded
to cover the Armenian genocide, the Sudan and other venues for its
exploration of peace and personal moral responsibility.
Close worked for Strom after college, motivated by enthusiasm for the
curriculum, and the non-profit organization Strom founded.
`It made me wide awake in the world, and once I was wide awake in the
world there was no going back,’ she said at the BArT offices on Main
Street in North Adams Tuesday.
Close said she is confident that the charter school, to be located at
One Commercial Place in Adams, will open in September as scheduled,
and is pleased with Gov. Mitt Romney’s recent veto of a moratorium on
new charter schools in the state. An override vote by the legislature
on the moratorium is possible.
`I’m thinking positively,’ Close said. `We’ve been having talks with
[legislators]. We’re moving ahead as if the school is going to open.
All the plans are in place. I’m believing in the school and hoping
the state is too.’
Close grew up with a teacher near at hand; her mother was an early
childhood educator. She identifies her epiphany – her realization
that she wanted to pursue education as a career – to a bus trip in
Israel, where she lived on a kibbutz after traveling widely in
Europe.
`I really, truly believe my education changed my life, and I hope to
do the same for others,’ she said.
Close joined BArt June 1. She and her husband, who will teach in
Pittsfield, and their two children, ages 2 1/2 and 5, have moved to
Williamstown, where the children will attend Williamstown Elementary
School.
During her 15 years of teaching, Close has taught at a broad spectrum
of schools – alternative, standards-based and project-based. In
Providence, she taught humanities, mentored student teachers from
Brown University, trained teachers in arts literacy, among other
topics, and developed curricula for several organizations.
Most recently, she said, `I did a unit on witch hunts throughout
history – the Salem witch trials, the Japanese internments during
World War II, and the anti-immigrant measures post 9/11.’
The students’ final project includes an exploration of `whose
responsibility is it to end witch hunts? Who instigates them?’ she
said. `Everyday activities become a scaffold for students to show
they understand. Everyday learning is connected to the final
outcome.’
The educational name for this approach is understanding by design or
backwards learning, starting with the idea of what the student should
be learning.
This approach can be taken in practically any educational setting,
but Close said the exciting part of this charter school is `teaming,’
a sort of educational huddle of teachers planning for each individual
student.
This, she said, results in `project-based learning that is rigorous,
challenging and cross-curricular.’
Here, she said, this approach will focus on community, tying together
statistical analyses, biographies, and environmental effects in an
endeavor that `still covers all the standards in Massachusetts.
Skills and content connect.’
Close said she was drawn to this BArT charter school because students
are teamed with teachers who know them more intimately.
`It’s difficult for students to fall through the cracks,’ she said.
To graduate from BArT, students will take a senior seminar, pass a
college course, complete an internship, all in addition to state
graduation requirements, she said, adding that the Commonwealth
Corporation, a quasi-public organization, is helping guide BArT.
Close was drawn to BArT by the prospect of synergy between arts and
technology.
`That was a big pull,’ she said. She most recently worked in a
technology-based school.
Close received her bachelor’s degree from the University of
Massachusetts and her master’s degree in education from Tufts
University, with additional course work at the University of
California at Berkeley and Brown University.
`I’m excited about the challenge here,’ she said. `So many people
have done so much work before me. I feel blessed.’