Author: Chaltikian Arsine

ARMENIA AHEAD OF AZERBAIJAN IN IT SECTOR’S COMPETITION

Noyan Tapan
Aug 07 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Although Azerbaijan suspasses Armenia
in terms of accessibility of telecommunication resources, the latter
is ahead by IT sector’s technological potential and the presence
of the world’s leading IT companies in Armenia. The director of
Synopsys Armenia company Hovik Musaelian stated this at the August
7 press conference.

In the opinion of the USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS)
Program IT cluster head, IT Foundation’s chairman G. Chugaszian,
Armenia has some advantages in this competition: the activities of
Diasporan Armenians in the IT sector, as well as the traditions of
developing IT sector in Armenia which have formed over the past 50
years. According to him, Azerbaijan incurs considerable expenses,
particularly in the telecommunication sector, but Armenia surpasses
Azerbaijan in terms of production capacities of its IT industry. But
this advantage may disappear because free economic zones have been
cretaed in Azerbaijan, and Armenia should also take steps in this
direction.

G. Chugaszian said that Eastern European, in particular South Caucasian
countries are competing in the IT sector. Steps aimed at promoting
this sector are being taken in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland,
Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Azerbaijan has become such a country
in recent years, starting to make substantial investments in IT at
the expense of oil revenues.

THE DEVIN’S ADVOCATE: L.A. STORY
By Devin Faraci

Cinematic Happenings Under Development, NY
Aug 6 2007

After I finally made the decision to move to LA, I had to figure
out how to do it in reality. I hate moving, and most of my big moving
experiences had been within sixty miles of New York City. I’ve actually
moved as far as seven blocks and found it to be a harrowing nightmare,
so moving across country seemed to be especially daunting.

After looking around and checking prices, I went with a company called
Door to Door Moving; the concept is that they supply you with a
‘moving pod’ – ie a big ass wooden crate – that you fill with your
stuff, they load it on the back of a truck and it slowly makes its
way across country as the truck loads and unloads other pods. The
price was right, and other people I knew had used them to happy ends.

Since this move was such a big one and I wanted it to be as personally
stress-free as possible, I hired movers to do the actual loading and
unloading of the pod. Fuck sweating in the sun for hours.

Of course nothing ever happens the way I plan it, so the first leg
of the journey got off to a bad start when there was confusion about
loading the pod – I was supposed to take my stuff to a warehouse and
load the pod there, but the warehouse closed early and no one told
me. I had planned my whole move to the day, and all of a sudden I had
only one more chance to load the pod, and that was the day before I
flew to LA. Thankfully, after much gnashing of teeth and sobbing of
tears (I was seriously on the edge at this point), the pod was loaded,
with a delivery date right before San Diego Comic Con. The idea was
that I would get my stuff (which included my full wardrobe and not
just the eight t-shirts I packed to fly out to the west coast) and
then go to Con.

Of course that didn’t happen either. The day my stuff was to be
delivered (they leave the big crate on the street in front of your
house), my street was shut down to film an episode of The Shield. I
couldn’t believe it, and began wondering if this was an attack on me
by the evil forces of Fox (but I fucking liked BOTH Fantastic Four
films!). By this point I had developed a zen-like acceptance of all
these setbacks, mostly because I had been living without any of my
belongings for two weeks anyway, and looking around my new bedroom I
couldn’t quite figure out how to make all my stuff work in the space
allotted. I set a new delivery date for a couple of days after Con,
and laughed to myself, ‘Oh how Hollywood!’ I stood on the street for
a couple of minutes watching Michael Chiklis making his way through
a big crowd of Armenians protesting the Turkish genocide of the last
century, but since I’m from New York City seeing TV shows being shot
isn’t that exciting, and the LA sun is like a brutal Lyndie England
to my half-Irish disposition (give me foggy days!).

But I had no idea how ‘Oh how Hollywood!’ this shit would get. When the
mover I hired showed up, he asked me a question: ‘Your email address is
@chud.com. Do you write for that site?’ I told him I did, and he said,
‘I directed a movie called Vampire Assassin, and you guys reviewed it.’

Uh oh. Had we been kind, I asked? Turns out we tore the movie a new one
(check out Wade’s withering review right here), and here was Ron Hall,
star and director of Vampire Assassin, with all of my belongings in
his care. I had already run into people who had been unhappy with
stuff written about them on CHUD (Brett Ratner just got all mad at me
on the phone the other day, in fact), but that was usually a social
or work situation – I can ignore Joss Whedon in the bathroom at the
Slither premiere just as easily as he can ignore me.

It’s totally different when boxes upon boxes of my belongings are
hanging in the balance.

Now, I don’t know what kind of a director Ron Hall is, but he’s
an excellent and professional mover. Ron didn’t hold Wade’s review
against me, and was in fact excited to tell me about his next project
(a new Dolemite movie, which is pretty cool), about how the money
people interfered with him on Vampire Assassin, and to talk about
movies in general. Ron and his helper got everything moved in nice
and fast, leaving me plenty of time to make it to G4’s studios to
tape an appearance on The Loop for Attack of the Show (which still
isn’t online. Someone YouTube a clip of it for me, huh?). If I was
to be moving in the Los Angeles area again and Ron was still in the
business and not getting a three picture Dolemite deal, I’d totally
use him again. If you’re moving in the Los Angeles area, you can find
Ron at emove.com under the company title of Instant Assistant. I’d
run his number, but I don’t know if he’s cool with that. Email me
and I’ll hook you up.

Next time: My sink leaks and I call a plumber. Brandon Routh shows
up to fix it.

OPPOSITION WINS METN BY-ELECTION BY NARROW MARGIN, GEMAYEL REAPS VAST MARONITE VOTES

nsf/getstory?openform&94D4DAD5721DD32FC225732F 001D543C
06 Aug 07, 07:21
Beirut

Camille Khoury, the candidate backed by opposition leader Gen. Michel
Aoun beat by a narrow margin former President Amin Gemayel in the
crucial Metn by-election, but the anti-Syrian runner reaped a vast
majority of Maronite votes.

Gemayel, a prominent leader of the pro-government ruling majority,
had been vying to replace his son Pierre Gemayel who was killed last
November in one of a series of attacks blamed by the majority on
Syria. Damascus has rejected the accusations.

Khoury won 39,534 votes, against 39,116 votes for Gemayel, whose
representative has lodged a "complaint on the results," Interior
Minister Hasan Sabah said in a press conference before dawn Monday. He
gave no other details.

Both sides declared they had won a few hours after the polls closed
Sunday.

The daily An Nahar on Monday said the Armenian community in Lebanon
played a key role in the Metn by-election victory.

It said that while Khoury obtained 8,400 Armenian votes, Gemayel got
only 1,600.

Sabeh earlier told reporters that the ruling majority candidate,
Mohammed al-Amin Itani, had won as expected a landslide victory in
another by-election which was also held on Sunday in Beirut.

Sabeh earlier told reporters that the ruling majority candidate,
Mohammed al-Amin Itani, had won as expected a landslide victory in
another by-election which was also held on Sunday in Beirut.

The by-elections were held to replace two anti-Syrian lawmakers killed
in attacks blamed by the anti-Syrian March 14 majority on former
powerbroker Damascus, which supports the Hibullah-led opposition.

The two murdered MPs were Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a
Christian who was gunned down in a Beirut suburb on November 21,
2006, and Sunni Muslim Walid Eido, who was killed in a car bombing
in Beirut on June 13.

After the end of the by-elections, the two camps immediately called
for self-restraint, as hundreds of supporters from both sides gathered
in public squares amid a heavy deployment of army and security forces
backed by armored vehicles.

One person was slightly injured by youths throwing stones in Beirut’s
northern suburb of Jdeideh where supporters of the two camps had
gathered in the same public square, an AFP photographer witnessed.

In a televised speech Aoun had announced Khoury’s victory over Gemayel,
and appealed for calm.

But Gemayel had refused to admit defeat until official results were
announced and demanded a rerun of the vote in one mainly Armenian
region where he claimed voter fraud.

"We want elections to be repeated in the Burj Hammoud district,"
Gemayel told his supporters gathered in his hometown of Bikfaya.

He said there were reports from that area of people not living there
or deceased casting votes as well as irregularities with voting cards.

The Metn by-election has deeply split Lebanon’s Christians ahead of
polls to elect a new head of state.

The outcome of the poll is expected to set the tone for presidential
elections due to be held in September. Traditionally, the president
is chosen from the Maronite Christian community in Lebanon.

"The legend of Michel Aoun as the sole Christian leader has crumbled,"
Walid Jumblat, a prominent leader of the ruling majority, told
Lebanese television.

"Amin Gemayel has won the political battle. Michel Aoun has fallen
politically despite all his alliances," he said.

Following the by-elections, parliament’s challenge will still be to
elect a new president to succeed pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud
by a November 25 deadline.

While the majority controls enough seats to elect a president, it
needs the opposition to take part for the two-thirds quorum required
for parliament to convene.

The by-elections came amid heightened political and security tensions
in the deeply divided country as a deadly showdown between the army
and Islamist extremists in the northern Palestinian refugee camp
of Nahr al-bared continues to rage after 11 weeks.(AFP-Naharnet)(An
Nahar photo shows Aoun supporters celebrating in Jdeideh)

SERBIA MAY COMPROMISE ON KOSOVO

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.08.2007 13:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serbia’s foreign minister is convinced a compromise
solution can be found to decide the future of Kosovo. He said Serbia
is even ready to give up some of its certain sovereign prerogatives.

"Like being able to have their own access to the World Bank and the
IMF, like the international financial institutions, like some kind
of representation abroad.

We are prepared to give up a lot of things, but they also need to be
prepared to give up something," the Serbian Foreign Minister stated.

He also underlined thanks to Russia’s principled position – principled
adherence to international law, Serbia got this opportunity to hold
negotiations with Albanians of Kosovo, the BBC Russian Service reports.

Kosovo with its 90% ethnic Albanian population has been governed by
the UN since 1999, when NATO bombardment forced the Serbian troops
leave the province. A new round of talks is due to take place between
Belgrade and the Kosovo Albanian leadership after moves to introduce
independence were blocked at the UN Security Council. The United
States, Russia and European Union are also participating in talks.

JACK’S A RINGER FOR HIS GRANDAD

Canterbury Bankstown Express
July 31, 2007 Tuesday
Australia

BOXING since the age of three, eight-year-old Jack Wilson of Belmore
doesn’t just have the experience, he has the sport in his blood.

The youngster is the latest of three generations of boxers in his
Armenian family, including his father Andrew, who is actively involved
in training, and his grandfather Jacques, who was a professional
fighter until 1969.

Jack has been counting the days until he’s allowed to fight in
competition and is working hard with his dad at Belmore PCYC to
prepare for what’s ahead.

"I just love fighting, training and sparring it’s all a lot of fun,"
Jack said.

"I want to go to the Olympics when I’m 17 and become the youngest
boxer to win a gold medal."

Recently, Andrew pulled out the old newspaper clippings and records
of Jacques from his glory days to show his son how significant the
sport is in the family.

"These records are very important to us," he said.

"When Jack gets older he can understand why he started the sport and
how he has the ability to be a champion like his grandfather."

But Jack said he is well aware of how deep boxing goes in his family
almost 60 years.

Among the records were recent newspaper articles about Jacques’
trainer and close friend, Bernie Hall, who died from Parkinson’s
disease in May.

"It was sad to see him pass away," Andrew said.

"It would have been great for Bernie to teach Jack his specialties,
like good footwork and how to baulk like a pro."

But Andrew and Jacques believe that the youngster has what it takes
to make it all the way.

"I’ve taught him the importance of discipline and how toughness on
the inside can make a great fighter.

"You need the ‘no fear’ factor as well."

A COLLECTION OF MATERIALS ‘HOT ECOLOGICAL SPOTS THROUGH THE EYES OF JOURNALISTS’ IS PUBLISHED

arminfo
2007-07-30 16:55:00

A collection "Hot ecological spots through the eyes of journalists"
has been published, where the results of press’s and society’s
years-lasting fight vandalism against the environment of Armenia. The
book was published by the support of World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
and Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The materials of
journalist- members of the journalists’ club "Ekolur" were compiled
during the last two years, but global ecological problems, which have
been impossible to be solved during more than ten years, found place
in them.

Bogging of Lake Sevan and illegal site-development of its shores
filled with tailing dams with numerous gold-bearing and polymetallic
mines, river pollution with toxic materials and illegal activity on
the territory of reserves and wildlife sanctuaries remain among such
problems. The materials of "ArmInfo" news agency, of the "Hayastany
Hanrapetutyn" newspaper, of "Kentron" TV company and of a range of
regional mass media are included in the collection.

A special place in the collection is given to photos of "hot spots",
where the felling problem in the northern forests of Armenia (in
Tavush and Lori regions), site-development on the shores of Lake
Sevan and the territories around the tailing dams in Syunik and Lori
regions contaminated with toxic substances are vividly shown. The
collection may serve as a unique guide for beginner ecologists
and the journalists, who wish to cover ecological problems, since
information about the flora and fauna of Armenia, as well as about
the environmental risk factors are included here. The collection
will be distributed among regional libraries and those in Yerevan,
the ecological educational Centers of "Orkhus", as well as to NGOs
and public authorities of the country. The creation of a network of
ecology journalists, called to react operatively and inform their
colleagues about environmental threats whenever necessary will be the
continuation of the cooperation of journalists representing different
mass media of the country.

YEREVAN ARARAT IN LEAD OF TOURNAMENT TABLE OF ARMENIAN FOOTBALL HIGHEST GROUP CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Jul 30, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The postponed Ararat-Banants match of
the twelvth stage of the Armenian Football Highest Group Championship
took place in the Nairi sports ground of Yerevan on July 26. This match
ended with a score of 2-1. Arsen Balabekian, a forward of Banants,
opened the account of the match at the 30th minute. Three minutes
later Brazilian Markos, a forward of Ararat, made the score equal at
first (with a 11m penalty), then scored the second goal at the 66th
minute. This is the first victory of Ararat with Serbian Dushan Miyich,
the new principle trainer, at the head.

Yerevan Ararat is in the lead of the tournament table with 32
points. Pyunik has 31, Mika and Banants 24 points each.

A break has been announced until August 5 in the Highest Group
Championship.

TURKEY BLOCKS GUN SHIPMENT TO ARMENIA

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 27 2007

Turkey turned back an Albanian ship transporting heavy weaponry bound
for Armenia at the Bosporus, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has
announced, according to news reports that appeared in the Azerbaijani
press on Thursday.

"Officials in Ankara have refused transit to a sizeable consignment
of weapons and ammunition bound for Armenia. The ship was turned back
at the Bosporus along with its cargo," Berisha was quoted as saying
in Azerbaijani media, according to the private ANKA news agency.

Berisha said 60 containers of heavy weaponry on the ship, mostly
artillery, had departed from Albania’s Durres port on its journey to
Armenia. The ship was currently docked in Durres, he said.

Azerbaijani newspapers wrote that a little while ago the Armenian
Ministry of Defense contacted officials at the Albanian Ministry of
Defense and ordered a significant amount of land and anti-aircraft
artillery with calibers ranging between 75 to 122 mm.

An arms company named MEIKO had legal permission from the Albanian
Ministry of Defense to ship the weaponry, according to the reports.

Officials from MEIKO were quoted as saying Albania was not a side in
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The sale of weaponry had
been conducted in compliance with the law and all legal procedures
had been observed, the officials said.

BRITISH BARONESS’S VISIT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO BE DISCUSSED AT BRITISH PARLIAMENT: AZERBAIJANI AMDASSADOR

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
July 25 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend K.Ramazanova / Rafael Ibrahimov,
the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK, will have a meeting with the
British MPs on 25 July to discuss Vice Speaker of the House of Lords,
Baroness Caroline Cox’s visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani
region under the Armenian occupation.

Ibrahimov said in a telephone conversation that he is going to meet
with the British MPs, including Lord David Olton, a friend of Cox,
who visited Azerbaijan but have never been in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ibrahimov said that the embassy had on numerous occasions raised the
issue of Baroness Cox’s tour of Nagorno-Karabakh. These visits reflect
the Baroness’s private position, whereas the British parliament holds
an absolutely different position on this issue," the Ambassador noted.

According to the Armenian media reports, during her sixty-third visit
to this region, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords of the British
Parliament, welcomed the "presidential elections’ held in the so-called
‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ held on 9 July.

NKR PRESIDENT HAS SIGNED LAWS

Azat Artsakh Tert, Nagorno Karabakh Rep.
July 26 2007

The NKR President Arcady Ghoukasian has signed NKR laws "About safety
of foodstuffs", "About an atmosphere substances destroying the layer
of zone", "About charity", "About precious metals", "About education
of the persons requiring special conditions of education".About
the laws on entering additions in NKR laws – "About licensing",
"About local duties and payments" and "About the organization and
carrying out of check-ups in NKR", about the changes in NKR laws –
"About the VAT" and also about the changes and aditions in NKR laws –
"About trade unions", "About a state tax", "About education" (the
acting press secretary of the NKR president reported)