California Courier Online, June 22, 2006

1 – Commentary

VP Leaves PBS after Providing
Airtime to Genocide Deniers
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
2 – ARS Honors Outstanding Armenian
Graduates from Public High Schools
3 – Teymourian is Sole Christian
In Iran’s National Soccer Team
4 – Kazian Retires After 35 Years
As Stuntman for the Stars
5 – Tom Bozigian Trio
Performs Sundays
At Glendale Marketplace
6 – Dickranian School
Reaccredited by WASC
7- Mashdots College Commencement
To be Held June 22 in Glendale
***************************************** *********************************
1 – Commentary
VP Leaves PBS after Providing
Airtime to Genocide Deniers

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

The New York Times reported on June 14 that Jacoba Atlas, the Senior
Vice President of Programming at PBS (Public Broadcasting Service),
would be leaving her post at the end of this month. She told the
newspaper that she "did not know what she would do next."

Her departure should not come as a surprise to those who have been
following the recent controversial developments at PBS. As Senior
Vice President of Programming, Ms. Atlas was the PBS executive that
arranged the airing of a debate on the Armenian Genocide with the
participation of two genocide denialists after the broadcast of
Andrew Goldberg’s documentary on the Armenian Genocide on April 17.

By doing so, Ms. Atlas not only raised questions about the veracity
of the Armenian Genocide, but also caused serious harm to PBS itself
by antagonizing a large number of its viewers and supporters as well
as many members of Congress who provide a major portion of its
budget.

Ms. Atlas completely mishandled this highly controversial situation.
When more than 30,000 viewers sent e-mails and signed a petition
asking her not to provide a national platform to genocide deniers,
she ignored them. When a major Armenian-American organization — the
ANCA – wrote her asking for a meeting in order to discuss this
serious matter, she turned down its request. When 30 members of
Congress sent a joint letter expressing their strong objection to the
airing of the panel discussion, she dismissed their concerns, knowing
full well that the Congress could cut the millions of dollars it
provides in federal funding to PBS every year. She also ignored the
dozens of articles on this nationwide controversy that appeared in
the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and
many other publications.

All attempts to explain to Ms. Atlas that it was wrong to put
genocide denialists on the air in order "to balance" a documentary on
the Armenian Genocide, fell on deaf ears. Goldberg’s documentary did
not need any balancing, as it already included comments by notorious
denialists Yusuf Halacoglu and Gunduz Aktan. Furthermore, as the PBS
Ombudsman revealed in a lengthy report, "top PBS officials," most
probably including Ms. Atlas, were involved in editing and revising
the contents of the documentary and "requesting script revisions."

If Ms. Atlas was truly interested in further exploring the issue of
the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government, all
she had to do was to convene a panel of experts who could have
intelligently explained why and how mass murderers engage in the
denial and cover up of crimes against humanity!

Finally, in early March, out of exasperation, this writer called for
the dismissal of Ms. Atlas from PBS after she insulted the victims of
the Armenian Genocide by stating that the Armenian and Jewish
genocides were "not analogous." She made that offensive comment in
response to persistent questions on whether she would also organize a
debate on the Holocaust that would include Neo-Nazis or Holocaust
revisionists to be aired after the broadcast of a documentary on the
Holocaust!

According to reliable PBS sources, Ms. Atlas was let go after top
management at PBS concluded that she mishandled the panel discussion
and the resulting controversy, alienating many longtime PBS viewers
and supporters.

To make matters worse, the House Appropriations Committee voted last
week to substantially cut federal funding for Public Broadcasting for
2007 and none at all for 2009. Even though the Committee took this
action mostly due to partisan politics, nevertheless, it was not
helpful to PBS that one of its top executives had antagonized more
than 30 members of Congress at a time when PBS is in desperate need
of every single congressional vote and every dollar of revenue.

Following the departure of Ms. Atlas, Armenian-American community
leaders should meet with Paula A. Kerger, the newly installed
president of PBS, and patch up their differences. PBS provides a
valuable service to the community at large and deserves to be fully
supported. The poor judgments of a former executive should not leave
a lasting rift between the Armenian-American community and public
broadcasting. After all, most PBS viewers ended up not seeing the
panel discussion that Ms. Atlas had gone out of her way to put
together. The programming directors of most PBS stations nationwide,
and particularly those in the largest cities, felt that the panel was
unnecessary and did not add anything to the documentary!

After relations with PBS are patched up, the Armenian-American
community should ask the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues —
more than 150 House members — as well as the U.S. Senate, to
reinstate the budget for public broadcasting when the proposed bill
involving this issue reaches the House and Senate floors.

***************************************** *********************************
2 – ARS Honors Outstanding Armenian
Graduates from Public High Schools
LOS ANGELES – It has become a tradition for the Armenian Relief
Society of Western U.S.A. (ARS-WR), Regional Executive to
collectively honor Armenian graduates from public high schools, in
cooperation with the local chapters, which select and provide merit
awards to the graduates. The merit award night hosted by the "Mayr"
Hollywood Chapter was held on June 5, at St. Garabed Armenian
Apostolic Church’s Garabedian Hall in Hollywood.
This year, 42 students were selected by nine Southern-California
chapters. The students were a diverse group of valedictorians, honor
roll and key club members, drama performers; swimmers and dancers;
tennis, volleyball, and basketball players; coaches, hospital
volunteers, Armenian Youth Federation members, science and Armenian
club members. They were born in far away places like Tehran, London
and Montreal, or locally in Burbank and Pasadena. Some were planning
on attending local universities such as California State University,
Long Beach and UCLA or traveling further to Stanford University.
Along with the graduates, their parents and siblings, their public
school counselors also attended the event. During May
2006, high school graduates living in the Fresno and San Francisco
areas, received their awards during events organized by the local ARS
chapters.
ARS-WR Regional Executive Vice-chair, Karine Barikian-Setian, made
the opening remarks, and Regional Executive Chair, Angela Savoian,
gave the keynote message. Following receipt of their certificates
from the Regional Executive, the graduates received their monetary
awards from the respective chapter chairs or representatives.
********************************* ****************************************
3 – Teymourian is Sole Christian
In Iran’s National Soccer Team
By Slobodan Lekic
Associated Press
Many soccer players have a habit of routinely crossing themselves as
they emerge onto the field for a World Cup match.
But Andranik Teymourian is different.
His simple gesture has amazed television viewers around the world
because Teymourian plays on the national team of Iran, one of most
thoroughly Islamic nations in the world.
Teymourian is a member of Iran’s tiny Armenian minority, part of an
Orthodox Christian presence dating back to biblical times. About
200,000 Armenians currently live in Iran, mostly in Tehran and other
towns of the northwest.
Although Iran is an Islamic theocratic state, Christianity and other
non-Muslim religions are not banned as in other strictly
fundamentalist states such as Saudi Arabia.
"I’m the first Christian Iranian player in the World Cup since 1978,"
Teymourian said.
The last non-Muslim player on the national team was defender Andranik
Eskandarian in 1978. He now lives in the United States.
The gangly, 22-year old midfielder, who is seen as one of the great
hopes of Iranian soccer, plays for the Aboo Muslim club from Tehran.
He also has played for Iran at every youth level so far before being
drafted to the national squad by coach Branko Ivankovic.
"He is a wonderful player. Very serious, very committed, I can rely
on him to fulfill any task," Ivankovic said. "He will definitely play
a big role on the national team for many years to come."
Teymourian says he gets along very well with his teammates, and that
religious differences don’t affect their relations on the field or on
a personal level.
"I am very happy that as a Christian I am playing for a Muslim team,"
he said. "I will put all my abilities at the disposal of the nation
and the team."
He said that normally he regularly attends church in Tehran.
"But it’s been impossible to get out of the camp in Germany because
of security, so I haven’t been able to do so here."
************************************** ************************************
4 – Kazian Retires After 35 Years
As Stuntman for the Stars
by Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
KUNA, Idaho — When Johnny Kazian’s son was a little boy, he thought
his father was Batman. "It wasn’t surprising," Kazian said. "How many
dads wear a leather helmet and goggles to work?" These days, Kazian
and his wife live quietly in a rural area near Kuna. The only clue to
his remarkable career is found on his license plates — Stunt 1.
Kazian made his living as a Hollywood stuntman for nearly 35 years.
He also was a wing walker, credited with saving the death-defying
practice from virtual extinction. Before that he was a tumbler and
before that a trapeze artist. He’s Idaho’s elder statesman of thrills
and spills. A transplanted easterner, he says he "was born where the
cement grows, but now I live in the country. When you travel all
over, you can pick where you like it best. For me, this was it.
Seattle is nice, but it’s too liquid."
An Idaho resident for 32 years, Kazian grew up in Philadelphia. It
was there that his high-flying lifestyle began, with a casual inquiry
and a trapeze.
"My father was an Armenian immigrant who designed rugs," he said. "He
had a friend who was in the circus. His friend didn’t have a son of
his own, and one day when I was 7 he asked my father if he could
train me. I don’t know any 7-year-old who wouldn’t want to be a
trapeze artist." He did his first professional show, at Coney Island,
N.Y., in 1947. He was 14. "It takes a long time to learn," he said.
"You have to be in great physical condition, and your timing has to
be perfect. If everything isn’t done at just the right time, you’re
going to the net."
Kazian spent two seasons flying hand to wrist with the Ringling
Brothers Circus. When the Korean War began, his skills made him a
natural candidate for aviation training. He became a Navy pilot and
was flying a seaplane when his wrist was badly broken in a crash. The
break didn’t heal properly, ending any chance of returning to his job
as a trapeze artist. What initially looked like bad luck, however,
proved to be a jackpot. "A friend helped me get a job as a stuntman
in Hollywood. You do a little of everything when you work in a
circus. I’d been a tumbler, as well as a trapeze artist, so I knew
how to fall and hit an air bag. I’d tumble out of movie belfries
dressed as a German officer, get thrown out of jeeps, that sort of
thing."
The pay reflected the risk. "I have an engineering degree from Temple
University, but I could make more money doing stunts," Kazian said.
"I got $500 just for showing up. I’d get another $500 for every bump
(stunt), more if it was something special. It was fairly easy to make
$2,000 a day." Every stunt was planned to minimize the risk. "You
plan it so you go to the bank and not the hospital."
He worked as a stuntman in movies and television programs, doubling
for James Brolin, David Hasselhoff and other actors. But it was wing
walking that brought him his greatest fame. The practice — some
would say madness — of walking on wings of airplanes while they do
loops and rolls was popular during the barnstorming era of the 1920s.
With the more powerful planes that followed, higher speeds made it
increasingly difficult and dangerous. By the time Kazian began
experimenting with it in the late 1950s, wing walking had become a
memory.
"I learned that if you make yourself an airfoil at the higher speeds,
you’ll be lifted off the wing," Kazian explained. "If you curve your
back enough, it becomes a lifting surface and you fly off. The key is
to lean forward at the correct angle into the wind. That keeps you
from becoming an airfoil.
In 1975, Kazian doubled for actor Robert Redford in the title role
for the wing walking movie, "The Great Waldo Pepper.
Kazian retired from stunt work in 1994. "I found out then that my
wife was worried the whole time and never let on," he said. Mary
Kazian admits that the nature of her husband’s work kept her awake
nights. "The traveling around the country made me as apprehensive as
his performing every weekend," she said. "I was happy when he decided
to retire. I felt he had the right to relax and spend more time at
home doing what he loves — fishing, boating and hunting."
Ten years after retiring, Kazian was inducted into the Airshow Hall
of Fame, honoring four decades of work as a wingwalker and stuntman.
********’******************************* **********************************
5 – Tom Bozigian Trio
Performs Sundays
At Marketplace
GLENDALE – The Tom Bozigian Trio will be performing this summer at
the Glendale Marketplace on several Sunday afternoons, from 1 to 4
p.m., except for July 30th when the group will perform from 5 to 8
p.m.
The Trio, which consists of Bozigian, on percussion, Nick Movsesian
on the clarinet, and Alex Piperkov, on the synthesizer, perform a
broad repertoire of western and eastern Armenian music, and a
smattering of middle eastern tunes, familiar to practically all dance
aficionados.
The trio’s performances are free to the public and the Marketplace is
located at 144 S. Brand Blvd.
Performances have started in June and will continue on July 9, July
30, Aug. 13, and Aug. 27. All performances are scheduled from 1 to 4
p.m., except the July 30 event, which will be held from 5 to 8 p.m.
********************************************* *****************************
6 – Dickranian School
Reaccredited by WASC
LOS ANGELES – On its 25th anniversary year, the T.C.A. Arshag
Dickranian Armenian School was granted a six-year accreditation by
the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
In March, a four-member accreditation commission studied every aspect
of the Pre-K through 12th grades. They worked closely with Principal
Vartkes Kourouyan, computer Instruction Vardan Abramyan and General
Supervisor Vasken Boughourjian. They also observed classroom
instruction and met with faculty and students.
In addition to the School Administration and faculty, others entities
associated with the school, such as the Education Committee, the
Student Profile Committee and the Community Profile Committee, were
all involved in the accreditation process.
***************************************** *********************************
7 – Mashdots College Commencement
To be Held June 22 in Glendale
GLENDALE – The 14th commencement exercises of Mashdots College will
be held June 22 at 7 p.m., at the Armenian Nazarene Church 411 E.
Acacia Ave., Glendale.
College Trusteess, faculty, students, community and civic leaders,
friends will gather to salute the Class of 2006 and celebrate the
College’s achievements.
College Department chairs will join board of Trustees Chairman Dr. W.
Donald Clague and College President Dr. Garbis Der Yeghiayan in
awarding diplomas to the 172 graduating students.
The class of 2006 has satisfactorily completed all requirements for
degree or certificate programs in one or more of the following
majors: Armenian Studies, Early Childhood Education, Bilingual
Education, Psychology, Computer Science, Computerized Office
Management, AutoCAD/3D Rhino, Website Design, Medical Billing, and
Foreign Languages.
Glendale Mayor David Weaver will serve as Keynote speaker at the
commencement exercises. A medley of Armenian songs and other musical
selections will be performed by Mashdots College students.
**************************************** **********************************
*************** ************************************************** *********
The California Courier On-Line is a service provided by the
California Courier. Subscriptions or changes of address should not be
transmitted through this service. Information in that regard should
be telephoned to (818) 409-0949; faxed to: (818) 409-9207, or
e-mailed to: Ccourier@compuserve.com. Letters to the editor
concerning issues addressed in the Courier may be e-mailed, provided
it is signed by the author. Phone and/or E-mail address is also
required to verify authorship.