Author: Chavushian

PIANIST LAUNCHES KEYBOARD CONCERTS SEASON

US Fed News
August 26, 2009 Wednesday 4:28 PM EST

FRESNO, Calif., Aug. 25 — California State University Fresno issued
the following press release:

The 38th Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts season at
California State University, Fresno opens at 8 p.m. Sept. 18 with
Nareh Arghamanyan, a 20-year-old native of Armenia who placed first
in the 2008 Montreal International Music Competition.

Arghamanyan also took the top prize at piano competitions in Pontoise,
France; Valencia Spain; and Vienna, Austria. She has performed in
the United States, Russia, Germany, France and Switzerland. She is
a graduate of the Vienna Music Conservatory.

At Fresno State, she will perform works by Mendelssohn, Schumann
and Rachmaninoff and also the concert suite from "The Nutcracker"
by Tchaikovsky and Pletnev.

The concert is cosponsored by the university’s Armenian Studies
Program.

EDMONDS GETS TO TELL HER STORY

The People’s Defender
Aug 26 2009

Ohio Second District Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, R-Cincinnati, filed
nine election complaints against independent candidate David Krikorian
concerning the 2008 election in May this year.

Krikorian opposed Schmidt in the Second District Congressional race
as an independent in 2008 and is seeking the Democratic nomination for
the 2010 race in April. The complaints focus on Krikorian’s statements
during the election stating that Rep. Schmidt was taking money from
organizations related to the Turkish government in exchange for denying
the occurrence of what Krikorian called the Armenian Genocide at the
hands of the Turks during World War I.

The complaints also relate to Election Commission records on campaign
contributions Schmidt received from the Turkish American Heritage
PAC and the Turkish Coalition USA PAC.

Since filing the complaints, Schmidt’s counsel has withdrawn four
complaints, and an Ohio Elections Commission three-person panel decided
there was probable cause to hear the remaining complaints on Thursday,
Aug. 13. The five remaining complaints will be reviewed by the entire
Commission on Sept. 3.

In preparation for the Sept. 3 hearing, Krikorian’s lawyer requested
a subpoena for well known whistleblower and former interpreter for
the FBI, Sibel Edmonds. The OEC declined to enforce the subpoena,
however Edmonds agreed to speak to Krikorian and Schmidt’s lawyers
on a voluntary basis.

The video deposition was brought forward by Krikorian’s counsel to
provide background on the alleged involvement of the Turkish government
in Congressional affairs through blackmail, bribery, and campaign
contributions filtered through various organizations. Edmonds also
describes Turkish infiltration of the Pentagon and Air Force.

Edmonds’ deposition is significant because she has twice been "gagged"
by a State Secrets exemption from testifying for a 9/11 investigation
and a Congressional hearing.

"We were very surprised she was allowed to testify," said
Krikorian about the deposition. "She was gagged twice under the Bush
Administration and we have received several threatening letters from
the FBI and the Department of Justice. To Obama’s and to Eric Holder
the Attorney General’s credit she was allowed to testify."

As the Sept. 3 OEC hearing approaches, the depositions
continue. Lincoln McGurdy, Treasurer of the Turkish Coalition USA PAC
was the recent subject of a deposition and Schmidt was to be deposed
Monday, Aug. 24.

Edmonds (who is Turkish-American) called as a witness for Krikorian
(who is Armenian-American) testified to infiltration, bribery,
corruption, and blackmail within the U.S. Government, by current and
former members of the U.S. House and other high ranking officials,
on behalf of Turkish interests.

Schmidt filed the complaint with the OEC alleging "false statements"
by Krikorian when he alleged she had taken "blood money" from those
opposed to a Congressional declaration of Armenian Genocide by the
Turks during WWI.

The video deposition by Edmonds – an exclusive to The News Democrat –
can be found at Some serious charges are made
in this deposition, this newspaper/website provides this as public
information that readers/viewers may develop their own opinions and
understandings of the subject. Most of Edmonds’ deposition is relevant
to a time period previous to Rep. Schmidt taking office.

Bruce Pfaff, a spokesman for Rep. Schmidt, said that nowhere in the
testimony did Edmonds state that Schmidt had done anything illegal.

Pfaff said the OEC will decide how important, if at all, Edmonds’
deposition testimony is in the election complaint. The OEC will
convene Sept. 3 on the subject.

U.S. SHOULD RECOGNIZE INDEPENDENCE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH, FRANK PALLONE THINKS

Noyan Tapan
Aug 25, 2009

WASHINGTON, AUGUST 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. "I think that
U.S. should recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh." According
to the PanArmenian website which cites Armenian Reporter, the Co-chair
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Frank Pallone reported
this.

According to him, however, it is very difficult to reach this as a lot
of members of Congress are not familiar with the subject. Besides, the
State Department will be against the recognition of the independence
of Nagorno Karabakh. And I am not sure how much Armenia itself seeks
it," Frank Pallone said.

"Though I myself support recognition of NKR, I do not know to what
extent the Armenian community wants to show preference to that. The
Armenians of America should give preference to the issues which are
most likely to be successfully accomplished. And since the issue of
Nagorno Karabakh is a very difficult issue I would not recommend to put
it in the list of the most primary ones," the Congressman announced.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

August 24, 2009
___________________________________

SUMMER INTERNS ADVANCE THEIR EDUCATIONS AND STRENGTHEN THEIR TIES TO THE
CHURCH THROUGH DIOCESAN SUMMER PROGRAM

This summer, two dedicated and hard-working Armenian-American college
students became part of the daily life of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern) in New York City. The pair-participants in AGBU’s New
York Summer Internship Program-were the latest interns in the Diocese’s
annual summer program.

Gevorg Azizi and Taleen Terjanian interned at the Diocesan Center for eight
weeks in July and August. Azizi, of Chicago, Ill., who attends the St. James
Armenian Church in Evanston, worked in the accounting department alongside
Alex Cedeno and John Woo.

For a good portion of his internship, Azizi did inventory at the St. Vartan
Bookstore. His other duties in the accounting department included bank
reconciliation of payroll and operating and journal entries.

"Being here gave me an opportunity to network with people in my field and
understand what it is I am going into," said Azizi, a junior at DePaul
University majoring in finance and economics.

Taleen Terjanian, of Holmdel, N.J., and a member of the St. Stepanos
Armenian Church in Elberon, worked in the Department of Youth and Education
alongside Julie Hoplamazian (coordinator of College Ministry), Nancy
Basmajian (ACYOA executive secretary), and Gilda Buchakjian-Kupelian
(coordinator of Armenian Studies). She had a variety of tasks, including
working on logistics for the Ecumenical Workweek, re-organizing ACYOA
archives, and creating various flyers and brochures for the Khrimian Lyceum.
She also wrote summaries on 200 books for Jennifer Morris (coordinator of
Youth Ministry) and catalogued books in the Zohrab Center.

"There’s a lot more work involved than I thought," said Terjanian, a senior
at Rutgers University majoring in animal science with a minor in business.
"All of the departments are involved in making sure the church and Diocese
run smoothly."

Alongside their regular, 9-to-5 work at the Diocesan Center, they took part
in activities such as Bible Study sessions, and visits to St. Nersess
seminary and the Ararat Center.

They also had lunch with visiting clergy throughout the eight weeks of their
internship program.

"My impression was that as soon as we got here, everyone was open, friendly
and helpful," said Azizi.

"It has definitely been rewarding to work at the Diocese, alongside familiar
people, and also to have the opportunity to get to know a lot of the new
faces," said Terjanian.

Diocesan staff gathered for a farewell reception in honor of Azizi and
Terjanian on Friday, August 7. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the
Diocese, gave the two interns copies of the book, The Lamentations of St.
Gregory of Narek. The Primate expressed his gratitude to the interns and
their contributions to the Armenian Church on both a Diocesan and parish
level, and encouraged them to stay involved.

The interns presented the Diocesan staff with a musical card thanking them
for their guidance over the summer weeks.

"It was a true pleasure to have Taleen and Gevorg working with us this
summer. Not only did they grow professionally, but they also grew culturally
and spiritually during their time here," said Julie Hoplamazian, who
supervised this year’s interns. "I was continually impressed with the
professionalism, maturity, and efficiency they displayed in their work, as
well as their love for the Armenian Church."

"Our summer intern program is a great opportunity for young people to come
to the Diocesan Center and cathedral complex, become a part of its daily
life, and get to know New York City," said Archbishop Barsamian. "But it’s
equally an opportunity for the Diocese to welcome our young sons and
daughters, to get to know them, encourage them on their life’s path, and
send them back to their home parishes with a stronger attachment to our
church."

"It’s a great benefit to everyone involved, and a very welcome period of
each year," the Primate said.

###

Photo attached: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian presents interns Gevorg Azizi
and Taleen Terjanian with copies of the book, The Lamentations of St.
Gregory of Narek.

PR-USA.net (press release)

The Online Money Quiz QuizBoom.com Expands the Services

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

The online quiz game QuizBoom.com has announced the expansion of the
services, which will allow more pleasant participation in the game for
players in many countries of the world, including several European
countries, countries of South America, Africa and Asia. The developers
of QuizBoom.com have expanded the system of payments – now the list of
countries, where players can buy game chips via SMS, is supplemented
by twenty nine countries all around the world.
QuizBoom.com developers reveal that the players of QuizBoom consider
purchases using SMS as one of the most convenient payment methods. By
basing upon the suggestions of the players, the service of SMS
payments is now implemented in many countries, where this service was
not available before.
The exact list of countries, where the SMS payment system is recently
implemented, contains twenty nine countries – Russia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Belarus, Georgia, Greece,
Ireland, Ukraine, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico,
Peru, Chile, Montenegro, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Republic of South Africa, Portugal and United
Arab Emirates.
QuizBoom.com is an online quiz game, which started to operate in June
2009. In the game portal players from all around the world compete for
money prizes by answering quiz questions. In two months time there
already are more than 8000 registered users in the portal; and the
developers of QuizBoom continues to expand the game both
geographically and in the variety of the service.

Market Wire (press release) (press release)

Lydian International Ltd.

Aug 20, 2009 08:30 ET

Lydian Centralizes Head-Office Close to European Operations in
Jersey-Opens Business Development Office in TorontoTORONTO,
ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Aug. 20, 2009) – Lydian International
Ltd. (TSX:LYD) ("Lydian"), a diversified mineral exploration and
development company, today announced that it had met the requirements
and guidelines for registration as a Jersey-based enterprise.
Jersey is a pro-business Island offering an internationally
competitive corporate tax regime, doorstep access to major banks and
investment funds, easy access to capital markets in Europe and North
America and direct airport access to investors in London, Zurich,
Geneva and Paris. For a Toronto-listed company it is important to
strike a balance between proximity to operations and its North
American shareholder base. It was considered equally important for
Lydian to boost its continuing presence in Toronto and to service
investor needs by employing the North American market expertise of
Pro-Edge Consultants Inc. ("Pro-edge").
"Jersey is a highly regarded jurisdiction and an ideal business
environment for a centralized head office," said Tim Coughlin,
Lydian’s President and CEO. "The fiscal regime is competitive and the
island provides direct access to some of our most important markets as
well as easy links to our operations in Armenia and
Kosovo. Maintaining a presence in Toronto is of course a necessity for
any TSX listed company. Lydian has a director based and residing in
Toronto and a business development presence by way of its relationship
with Pro-Edge Consultants".
"Jersey encourages high value low resource business and having Lydian
establish a head office is a welcome example," said Wayne Gallichan,
Director, Inward Investment & International Trade at Jersey Enterprise
().
Pro-Edge Managing Partner Tracy Weslosky commented: "Lydian offers a
high quality investment opportunity that builds industry reputations –
leadership backed by a compelling story and driven by a strong
business model."
About Lydian International
Lydian is a diversified mineral exploration and development company
with expertise employing "first mover" strategies in emerging
exploration environments. Currently Lydian is focused on Eastern
Europe developing advanced precious and base metal assets in Armenia
and in Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244). The two main projects are gold at
Amulsar in Armenia, and zinc, lead, silver and gold at Drazhnje in
Kosovo. Lydian also has a pipeline of promising gold and base metal
exploration projects in the Balkans and Caucasus regions, and operates
a 50/50 gold and copper exploration joint venture with Newmont
Overseas Exploration Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont
Mining Corporation in the south Caucasus region.
Lydian’s management team has a track record of success in grassroots
discovery, in acquiring and developing undervalued assets, and in
building companies. Lydian has a strong social agenda and a unique
understanding of the complex social and political issues that
characterise emerging environments. The Company’s three largest
shareholders are the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member
of the World Bank Group, Newmont Mineral Holdings B.V. (owned by
Newmont Mining Corporation), and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD). More information can be found on Lydian’s web
site at
Dr Tim Coughlin, MAusIMM; is the Qualified Person overseeing Lydian’s
exploration programmes. Dr. Coughlin has supervised the preparation of
the technical information contained in this press release.
Lydian employees are instructed to follow standard operating and
quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling
techniques and sample results meet international reporting
standards. All assay work for the released results was carried out by
ALS Chemex analytical laboratory in Rosia Montana, Romania, in Perth,
Australia, or in Vancouver, BC. Please see Lydian’s web site for more
information.

ARMENIAN ECONOMY SHOWS FURTHER DECLINE IN JULY

Asbarez
menian-economy-shows-further-decline-in-july/
Aug 21st, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Despite a more optimistic economic outlook that has
been presented by Armenian government officials of late, the country’s
economy continued to decline in July amid a deepening fallout from
the global recession, showing a 18.5 percent Gross Domestic Product
contraction in the seven months of 2009.

The country’s GDP shrank by 16.3 percent in the first half of this
year, with the government warning that its full-year contraction
could hit a 20 percent rate.

Earlier this month, however, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan sounded
more upbeat on the prospects of the economy as he said that the
anti-crisis measures taken by the government should result in a
slowdown of the decline later this year that would ultimately have
made only 12 percent annually. The premier said the government also
expected the Armenian economy to grow by a modest 1 percent in 2010.

The current economy decline follows six years of robust growth in the
Armenian economy when it expanded at a double-digit rate largely due
to large-scale housing construction projects.

The global financial crisis resulted in a dramatic reduction of
investments and other money transfers that had serviced the booming
construction and other sectors of the economy.

The volume of construction work carried out in the country shrank
by 55.5 percent in the seven months of this year, significantly
contributing to the total GDP fall. This is by one percent worse than
the index posted for January-June.

Economist Ara Nranian, who is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation faction in parliament, says "nothing unexpected has happened
considering the contents and branch structure of the economic decline."

"Construction is one of the main causes of the decline. This again
shows that we have serious problems in terms of our economic structure
and policies. This crisis has only revealed and accentuated the scale
of problems that we’ve had," Nranian told RFE/RL.

Earlier this month, Urban Development Minister Vartan Vartanian argued
that the dramatic decline in the construction sector would ease in
the second half of this year thanks to wide-ranging measures taken
by the government.

"There is quite a bit of [construction] activity in the second
half," Vartanian told RFE/RL. "The government has taken all necessary
measures, and I am sure that quite positive results will be observed
in the second half, both in [private] housing construction and projects
financed from the state budget," said Vartanian.

The construction sector has been a focal point of government efforts to
alleviate the consequences of the crisis. Last April, the government
approved 20 billion drams ($55 million) in loan guarantees to private
developers struggling to complete their housing projects. Five
construction firms have reportedly received such guarantees since then.

The government also plans to spend just over one quarter of a $500
million anti-crisis loan provided by Russia on housing construction
in Armenia’s northern regions still reeling from the devastating
1988 earthquake.

Another $33 million portion of the loan is to be channeled into
a recently established state mortgage fund tasked with providing
relatively cheap housing loans to the population.

RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN WAR AND EU’S EASTERN POLICY

Messenger.ge
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Polish political analyst Marek Chikhotsky thinks that if there is
another war in Georgia the EU will conduct itself as it did last
year. Chikhotsky suggests that certain aspects of the EU’s eastern
policy have changed since Russian-Georgian war. The rhetoric of many
Western political analysts changed radically at that time, as they
began to be more critical of Russia and said that a new Western policy
towards Russia needed to be elaborated. The new Eastern Partnership
Programme is welcome, Chikhotsky says, because it envisages the
facilitation of close relations with six post-Soviet countries,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which
were under the Russian influence for a long time.

Chikhotsky thinks that the war in the Caucasus created criticism of
Kremlin energy policy in the region. The world has started searching
for alternative routes to counter the Russian monopoly on natural gas
supply. This has resulted in the development of the NABUCCO project,
which has now been agreed after being much speculated about before
August 2008.

The analyst thinks that Russia’s war with Georgia has not weakened
Russia’s position in dealing with the West. Russian-German Cooperation
has increased, the USA supports intensive dialogue with Moscow, a
new stage of Russian-NATO relations is being discussed, but the war
in Georgia showed that Moscow will use military force in the region
without hesitation to protect its interests, including Eastern Europe,
which is more important to EU than the South Caucasus. This gives a
very important hint to Poland what challenges lie ahead in eastern
policy.

Chikhotsky says the conflict in the Caucasus should be a lesson for
Poland. Before the war Georgia could boast about US support but during
the conflict itself Tbilisi did not receive adequate support. He
suggests that in crisis situations, either political or economic,
European countries look for a solution outside the EU by asking the
USA to help. This diminishes the EU’s role.

THREE ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN TO PARTICIPATE IN WORLD JUDO CHAMPIONSHIP IN HOLLAND

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.08.2009 19:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 24, Armenian judo team will leave for
Holland to participate in Rotterdam World Championship scheduled on
August 26-30. Our team consists of 3 sportsmen, chief coach Arthur
Gevorgyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent.

"We first planned to send 4 representatives to participate in male
tournament and one representative – in female tournament. But Hakob
Arakelyan, one of sportsmen qualifying for championship, suffered
an injury and will be unable to leave for Rotterdam with us. As to
female representatives, we do not yet have anyone qualifying for
world competitions. Our goal is to win and not just participate,"
Gevorgyan said.

Thus, the following sportsmen will represent Armenia during
championship: Hovhannes Davtyan (w/c 60 kg.), Armen Nazaryan (w/c 66
kg.) and Robert Vardanyan (w/c 73 kg.).

Judoists will return to Armenia on August 28 since competitions for
their weight classes are to finish on August 27.

Armenian judo team consisting of 16 sportsmen is currently conducting
a training session in Abovyan under the supervision of chief coach
Gevorgyan.

News.am

Turks reckon Armenia as an enemy: International Strategy Research
18:07 / 08/15/2009

According to International Strategy Research Organization public
opinion poll results, 47% Turks find their external policy failed, 49%
consider it successful, 56.3% see their future in EU, 23.6% – in
Turkish world, Islamic-10%, Eurasian Community-7.2% and 2.7% link
their future with U.S.
Turks believe that U.S. (32%), Israel (23.6%), Russia (11.6%) and
France (9.5%) threaten world stability.
More than half (56.3%) respondents consider religious and cultural
differences might hinder Turkey to join EU, while 15.4 % indicate
democracy problems as an obstacle, economic differences (10.9%) and
population problems (7.2%). Only 4.5% of all find Armenian issue
problematic.
U.S. (25.4%) will render assistance to Turkey in the case of war,
military conflict or natural disaster, 10% set hopes upon Azerbaijan,
8.6% – are for Japan, 7.4% – Turkish states, 7.2%- Islamic countries,
3.6%-Greece and 1.09% – goes to Russia.
Among Turkey’s friendly states Azerbaijan rated first with 23%, then
Bosnia and Herzegovina- 10.8%, U.S.- 8.5%, Germany-0.6%.
Turkish enemies’ list heads U.S.-25.4%, Israel-15.6%, France-12%,
Armenia-10.3%, Greece-7%, Russia-6.4% and Germany-1.8%.
According to polls of 2005, 6% reckons Armenia as an enemy and 2.8% –
Russia.
The poll was conducted in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Bursa.