Author: Boshkezenian Garik

89.3 KPCC, CA
Jan 6 2010

Krekorian sworn in as newest LA councilmember
Jan. 5, 2010 | KPCC Wire Services | KPCC

Former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian took the oath of office today,
becoming the newest member of the Los Angeles City Council.

Krekorian fills the Second District seat vacated by Wendy Greuel in
July, when she became city controller. He will finish out the
year-and-a-half remaining in her term. He will be representing the
northeast San Fernando Valley.

Krekorian’s first City Council meeting will be Wednesday.

"We face a great budget crisis and many other challenges and I’m very
mindful of that, but I’m really excited about getting to work and
starting to address some of those challenges,” Krekorian said.

City Clerk June Lagmay administered the oath to Krekorian while he was
surrounded by his wife, his 4-year-old son, his year-old daughter,
friends and staffers at the media briefing room behind City Council
chambers.

The ceremony was held hours after the City Council formally certified
the results of Dec. 8 runoff election in which Krekorian defeated
former Paramount Pictures executive Christine Essel.

Krekorian received 10,810 votes 57 percent of the total, even though
Essel spent about twice as much on the campaign as he did.

"The campaign is over. Now is the time to govern and in a time of
crisis like the city is now facing, it’s really going to take our
entire focused collective efforts working together to solve the
problems that are ahead of us,” Krekorian said.

"I don’t expect to be a go-along-to-get-along kind of council
member,” he added. "I expect there will be times when I will make
some waves among colleagues and take different approaches than they
do, but I think it’s incumbent upon all of us as elected officials to
pull together and make sure

our oars are all in the water at the same time, because we face
challenges that I think are pretty much unprecedented, certainly in my
lifetime and maybe in the last century.”

Krekorian said he believes the biggest issue facing his district is "a
crisis of confidence in the city government.”

"I think there’s widespread feeling within the Second District that
the Valley has been neglected for far too long, that decisions are
made downtown that don’t take into account the unique nature of the
neighborhoods of the valley and they want to know that their voice is
heard.”

Krekorian also vowed to focus on public safety; limit development in
such a way that balances economic gains with the quality of life in
local neighborhoods; stimulate the economy; and develop jobs.

"I know that building on his past record, (Krekorian) is going to do
an extraordinary job here,” City Council President Eric Garcetti
said. "We look forward to welcoming him tomorrow, which happens to be
Armenian Christmas, which is fitting for the first Armenian-American
to serve in this Council chambers.”

Krekorian was elected to the Assembly in 2006, and eventually became
its assistant majority floor leader.

Before that, Krekorian was a lawyer for 20 years and served on the
Burbank Unified School District Board of Education.

Krekorian received his law degree from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s
degree in political science from USC.

The Second District stretches from Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood
Hills to Big Tujunga Road in the Verdugo Hills. It includes parts of
Lake View Terrace, La Tuna Canyon, North Hollywood, Shadow Hills,
Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sunland, Sun Valley, Tujunga, Valley
Village, Valley Glen and Van Nuys.

an-sworn-newest-la-councilmember/

A Lemon Liqueur Bottled for Friends Becomes a Business
Asbarez
Jan 4th, 2010

FRESNO (The Fresno Bee)-Last year, Fresno entrepreneur Arthur
Hartunian took the advice of friends and family and turned his love of
making lemon-flavored liqueur into a business. And he’s glad he did.

Hartunian, the former owner of a financial-services company, recently
won top honors at the World Beverage Competition in Switzerland for
his Meyer Lemon Limoncello Liqueur. His micro-distillery, based in the
Napa Valley, beat out competitors in the Spirits Division from New
Zealand, Germany and the U.S.

`It’s all very surreal, and I don’t think it has fully hit me,’ said
Hartunian, who runs the small company from Fresno with his wife
Lusine.

And the recognition keeps coming.

His hand-crafted liqueur was mentioned recently on the Fox Business
News program, Hot Mixology – a show about new cocktails and products.

Hartunian admits he didn’t think his company would take off so quickly.

He planned to produce about 500 cases next year, but a major
distributor has asked for 1,500 cases.

He makes two blends of limoncello: an Italian style that has a cloudy
texture, and a California version that has a more clear appearance.

Pino Borrelli, executive chef of GiGi’s Cucina Italiana in Fresno,
says that Hartunian’s company – Napa Valley Limoncello – stands out
because of its attention to detail.

As part of the liqueur-making process, Hartunian uses only organic
Meyer lemons whose rinds are painstakingly peeled to remove the white
pulp.

The rind and premium distilled alcohol are combined and stored in
stainless-steel tanks, where the lemon’s essential oils flavor the
mixture.

`It has a very smooth and clean flavor,’ said Borrelli. `It really
shows that he takes his time in preparing the lemons and getting the
zest.’

Hartunian’s limoncello recipe is the same one he has been using to
make small batches for friends and family.

He took the leap from making holiday gifts to running his own business
a year ago and hasn’t looked back.

`I have been in the financial services industry all my life, and while
it has been very kind to me, it was not something I grew up wishing to
be,’ Hartunian said.

`I always wanted to do something more creative, and this year after I
turned 40, I decided to something that I really loved to do.’

These days, Hartunian’s liqueur in stylish 750 mL bottles sells for
$29.99 to $35.

It is sold at outlets in Northern and Southern California. Locally, it
can be bought at Old Doc’s Liquor, and starting in January at
Beverages and BevMo.

Hartunian also plans to introduce two new products next year: a Meyer
lemon-infused vodka and a regular vodka.

news.am, Armenia
Jan 5 2010

2010 year of international pressure: Yervand Bozoyan

12:05 / 01/05/2010 The most significant event of 2009 in foreign policy
was signing of Armenia-Turkey Protocols, and the law on amnesty `the
most important one in domestic policy, expert Yervand Bozoyan told
NEWS.am. He hailed negative the fact that Protocols signed in Zurich
are conditioned by Karabakh peace process. `I repeatedly stated that
politics supposes political processes but not legal. Legal documents
usually are of less significance, frequently they remain ink on paper.
It is important what political consequences these juridical acts will
have. As to Armenia-Turkey Protocols, they are directly linked with
Karabakh issue,’ the expert said.

The expert considers that 2010 will be a difficult year for Armenia,
as international community will increase its pressure in the peace
process, influenced by Ankara which links Protocols’ signing with
Karabakh conflict settlement. `Ankara has greater weight for
international community than Yerevan, and Turkey’s conditions on
Karabakh will be accepted. Armenian authorities will need great will
to resist the pressure that supposes unilateral concessions from
Armenian side on Karabakh peace process,’ Bozoyan stated. He
underlined that situation will depend not on leadership only, but
political forces on the whole. `Political forces should respond
adequately to the events. If they, and particularly Armenian National
Congress, react as they did in 2009, Armenia will be in deplorable
state as it was in 1920,’ Bozoyan outlined.

According to him, if Armenian side makes concessions in Karabakh
issue, Turkey will not ratify the Protocols. `In this case new
political situation will need new approaches for the establishment of
relations with neighbors, new approaches that will not have
consequences of notorious &`football diplomacy.’ Before this diplomacy
was launched, Turkey itself was ready to make the first step. They
started speaking about normalization of the relations with Armenia,
guided by &`zero problems with neighbors’ concept,’ the expert
concluded.

A.G.

news.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 30 2009

Azerbaijani deputies believe that society and army are ready for war
Wed 30 December 2009 | 05:53 GMT Text size:

Gultekin Hajibeyli Azerbaijani society should be more active in the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict should be ready for war anytime,
MP Gultekin Hajibeyli.

The agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkey to provide military
assistance makes it possible to supply Baku with ammunition, military
equipment and manpower during the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and
the military action.

This statement was made by the Azerbaijani deputies. They feel that
the society and the army are ready for war.

"The Azerbaijani society should be more active in the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict should be ready for war anytime", said deputy
Gultekin Hajibeyli.

According to her, OSCE Minsk Group’s attempts to resolve the conflict
peacefully have been ineffective making opinions about conflict
settlement by way of war frequent.As an example, she cited the
security agreement on free military assistance, signed between the
Azerbaijani president and the Turkish side.

"Certainly, if Azerbaijan launches anti-terror operations for the
liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories, Turkey
will be first to support us. Turkey can provide Azerbaijan with
ammunition, military equipment and manpower if necessary’, noted
Gultekin Hajibeyli.

MP Malahat Ibragimgizi noted that the agreement in connection with the
free military aid once again shows that the Azerbaijani leadership has
already developed a serious plan towards the settlement of the
conflict and has taken significant steps for implementing the plan.
According to the deputy, if Azerbaijan chooses the military way to
resolve the Karabakh problem, Turkey is ready to grant military
assistance and would do so. The year of 1918 is a bright example of
that. The same can naturally be attributed to Azerbaijan.

"The expansion of economic opportunities and changes in social
conditions in the country have removed the factors that led to
Azerbaijan’s defeat in the 90th years. From this perspective, the
society is ready to release the territory by military means", said
deputy Zahid Oruj.

Vahid Ahmedov noted that due to the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group has
not taken concrete steps, the President of Azerbaijan will have to
choose the military way.

"Both the authorities in Azerbaijan and the opposition believe that
the territory should be freed. If that cannot be done peaceful, the
war is inevitable. I believe that sooner or later Azerbaijan will free
territory through war because peace talks are inconclusive. Such a
state as Palestine has been at war for 50 years and this war involves
superpowers but no results are seen", said Vahid Ahmedov.

In his recent statement President Ilham Aliyev urged the Azerbaijani
army and society to be ready to liberate the territories at any
moment.

ANS PRESS

Kurds clash with police in Turkey’s southeast
27.12.2009 17:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kurdish demonstrators clashed with the police when
protesting the arrest of 23 Pro-Kurdish Party (DNP) activists who were
accused of terrorist activities. The crowd pelted stones at the
security guards, burned tyres and crashed shop windows. The police
used water cannon and tear gas to stop disorders. According to Turkish
media reports, 30 people were detained.

ACCORDING TO PRIME MINISTER, IN 2009 ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT CHOSE EFFICIENT AND CORRECT ANTI-CRISIS STRATEGY

NOYAN TAPAN
DECEMBER 25, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. "Some time is needed to summarize
the results of 2009 in order to form an in-depth opinion about what
challenges face us. However, it is already obvious that the year 2009
was full of difficulties and ordeals, and our young state demonstrated
that we can overcome such disasters with the least losses," Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated at the press conference held on
December 25 to finalize the results of this year.

In his words, the global financial and economic crisis revealed
the weaknesses of our economy. As for the anti-crisis strategy of
the government, the prime minister said that cooperation with the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other international
organizations shows that the government has chosen an efficient and
correct strategy. In particular, expenditures grew by about 900 billion
drams which stimulated the development of some sectors of the economy.

In 2009 pensions increased by 16%, salaries in the state and private
sectors rose by 11%, and 3 thousand jobs were created. Large-scale
construction work was done in the earthquake zone, with 415 km of
rural and republican roads and 300 km of water pipes built. 500 km
of water pipes will be laid in 2010.

At least a 3.5% growth is expected in the information technology
sector in 2009. "We give priority to the IT sector in terms of economic
diversification, and it is extremely important that under conditions
of the crisis it stood the test and strengthened its position,"
T. Sargsyan underlined.

According to him, favorable conditions have been created for small and
medium business as well. As a result, 32 thousand entities enjoyed VAT
privileges by not paying taxes of 24 billion drams. Besides, excess
payments of 20 billion drams were refunded to the private sector,
which helped improve its financial position.

The prime minister said Armenia is the only state whose banking system
was prepared for the crisis: it has not rendered any assistance to
the commercial banks which have managed to overcome difficulties
on their own. In his words, deposits of citizens grew by over 30%
this year, which bears evidence of the population’s increased trust
in the banking system.

DOCUMENTARY ON 20 YEARS SINCE THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES IN BAKU SHOT

Panorama.am
16:49 24/12/2009

The shooting of the documentary on 20 years since the Armenian massacre
in Baku is nearing its end. "We have managed to obtain documentary
cadres the public has been unaware of so far," the project manager,
journalist Marina Grigoryan told Panorama.am.

Note that a project sponsored by the RA President’s Administration
PR and Information Center is being conducted in the frames of which
documentaries on the Armenian genocide, mass violations, the killings
of the Armenians in Azerbaijan and NK territories in 1988-92 are
being shot.

The film includes the memories of the Baku Armenian refugees,
appraisals by the Armenian and foreign experts, international
documents.

"The film aims to tell the truth over the incidents that occurred in
January, 1990 in Baku. This is very significant from the viewpoint of
the historical justice and truth, since 20 years after the tragedy,
Azerbaijan is intent to eliminate the traces of the offence, and they
cynically distort the January events when about 300 people were killed,
hundreds of others got injured and handicapped," M. Grigoryan said.

The presentation of "Baku, January 1990: a Common Genocide" documentary
is due mid-January next year. The film will be showed in Armenian,
with simultaneous translations into Russian and English languages. The
film will be available on the Internet and on DVDs.

Films on the Armenian genocide in Sumgayit, Baku, Maragha, Khojalou
events, as well as the war prisoners and their fortune during the
Karabakh movement are to be shot and spread.

TURKEY ATTEMPTS TO INTENSIFY ITS ROLE IN JAVAKHK

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.12.2009 19:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey holds a radical stance on influencing
Armenia and Javakhk, according to Edward Abrahamyan, expert at "Mitk"
analytical center.

"Ankara is now carrying out active work towards neutralizing Armenia’s
influence on Javakhk and intensifying its role in the Georgian region,"
he told a news conference in Yerevan.

At that, he expert pointed out to Turkish organizations’ intention
to invest about $ 100 million in the construction of a hydro-electric
power plant in the Armenian-populated region. "Some villages in Javakhk
region have empty houses, and God knows who will own them," he noted.

With regard to Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, Abrhamyan said it was
not advantageous to Armenia since opening of the interstate border
will necessarily entail Ankara’s intensified influence on Armenia’s
foreign policy.

AYF TEAMS WITH ARS JAVAKHK FUND FOR CHRISTMAS ‘PIGGY BANK’ FUNDRAISER

Asbarez
Dec 22nd, 2009

AYF members from the Glendale and Burbank chapters working with the
ARS Javakhk Fund to prepare for the fundraiser

BURBANK, CA-Members from AYF chapters in Glendale and Burbank on
December 18 volunteered with the Armenian Relief Society to prepare
for a much-anticipated holiday fundraiser dedicated to helping the
children of Javakhk.

"We are always happy to help the Armenian Relief Society since their
humanitarian effort helps Armenians most in need, be that in Armenia
or the Diaspora," said Nanor Aghamalian, a member of the Glendale AYF
‘Roupen’ chapter." It is the duty of the youth to help our brothers
and sisters in every corner of the world whenever that help is needed."

The fundraiser, known as the "Javakhk Piggy Bank Drive," is organized
every Christmas season by the ARS Javakhk Fund. The campaign mobilizes
school children from local Armenian schools to raise money for the
organization’s various humanitarian and youth-oriented projects
in Javakhk,

"The Piggy Bank Project’s aims are two-fold," explained Haigoush
Kohler, the chairperson of the ARS Javakhk Fund Committee."Other
than the aim to raise money to provide humanitarian assistance in
the region, the program also seeks to help educate our youth, those
attending Armenian day and Saturday schools, about the needs of the
children living in Javakhk."

"AYF members continue to volunteer for this program and we are thankful
that parents and school administrators have been supportive of the
drive and take their responsibility seriously," she added.

A predominantly Armenian region located in Southern Georgia, Javakhk
is home to tens of thousands of Armenians. Today, it is the most
underdeveloped and impoverished region in the country, with the
highest rate of unemployment and the lowest rate of state investment.

Javakhk is a geographic, economic and political island, almost cut
off from the rest of the world.

"Javakhk is the last piece of our historic homeland outside of the
Republic of Armenia and Artsakh that is still populated by Armenians.

It is imperative to prevent their exodus," another Glendale AYF member,
David Arakelyan, noted. "The Armenians worldwide need to work together
to create better living conditions in the area so that the people do
not leave Javakhk."

The ARS Javakhk Fund Committee works in the Javakhk, Tsalka,
Akhaltskha, Ninotsminda, and Akhalkalak regions of Georgia to renovate
and repair not only local schools and youth centers, but also clinics
in need of care. With many projects already underway-the Fund also
provides the clinics with necessary supplies on a year-round basis.

The Fund has also repaved roads and renovated water and electricity
systems in Javakhk to compensate for the region’s non-existent
infrastructure and its primitive agriculture and local industry.

Alongside regular drives and fundraisers for Javakhk, the Fund also
holds an annual fundraiser cruise. Last year’s cruise raised almost
$60,000 in humanitarian assistance to the Armenians of Javakhk.

Over the summer, the AYF worked with the Fund to organize a
photo-exhibition and sale, displaying original photos by Tamar
Yerdamian Baboujian, who had visited Javakhk and chronicled the
everyday life of its people. The event’s goal was to raise $6,000 to
purchase two cars for the Javakhk Armenian youth organization, which
has faced difficulty in organizing activities in Armenia over the
years due to a lack of transportation. The photo exhibit is ongoing
and interested donors can [email protected].

"The AYF has always considered helping the motherland as a top
priority," said Shahan Boghigian, an AYF member from the Burbank
‘Varak’ chapter, who volunteered that evening. "theProviding the
youth in Javakh an opportunity to visit Armenia is an important way
of ensuring that the future generation of Armenians in that region
will retain their connection with the homeland and work with the rest
of the nation to help us achieve our mutual goals."

WORLD VISION ARMENIA TEAM MEMBERS ELABORATED A PROGRAM FOR JUVIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.12.2009 16:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During a round table discussion on reforms aimed to
combat juvenile delinquency, representatives of World Vision Armenia
(WVA) introduced the results of their two-year program launched
in 2009.

In her remarks, World Vision Armenia Advocacy Expert Tatevik Davtyan
indicated the two objectives of the program, these being broadening
the scope of preventive measures and enhancing their quality and
assisting in judiciary reform processes.

The round table was attended by representatives of Armenian government,
Police and regional centers, as well as international NGOs.

The program is aimed at creating rehabilitation centers for juvenile
offenders, training relevant specialists (investigators and judges)
and carrying out joint work with public organizations.

Program managers focused attention on Vardashen school which is highly
experienced in working with anti-social children. They stressed the
importance of creating similar centers in all regions of Armenia and
elaborating alternative methods for punishing such children. As to
preventive measures, participants attached major importance to the
role of schools and social workers.

According to WVA Child Protection expert Hasmik Hovhannisyan, 27
judges were trained in the framework of the program.

The round table organizers also focused on the funding problem as
one of the most vulnerable aspects of the program.