Author: Ekmekjian Janet

ARMENIA-NATO IPAP 84 POINTS FULFILLED

Noyan Tapan
Oct 6, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting of the Armenia-NATO
Individual Partnership Actions Plan (IPAP) fulfillment
interdepartmental commission took place on October 5. It was conducted
by RA National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasarian.

The goal of the Actions Plan is to deepen Armenia’s cooperation with
European and Euroatlantic structures and institutions. 42 events
envisaged by the program include 122 actions, 84 of which have been
already fulfilled.

A. Baghdasarian attached importance to such issues as strengthening
of security on the border and fighting terrorism, organized crime and
cyber crimes envisaged by the program, making up necessary programs
and events, coordinated interdepartmental cooperation, in connection
with which proper decisions were made.

The members of the interdepartmental commission presented the process
of carrying out the actions according to departments.

The commission recorded that the process of implementation of
actions envisaged by the program at Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
Defence, Justice, Emergency Situations, Health and at the National
Security Council completely corresponds to the schedule of program’s
implementation. Working groups have been established by commission’s
decision to work out projects of national information strategy and
national conception of civil defence.

According to the Press Service of the National Security Council
Secretary, commission’s next meeting will be held in 2010 January. The
work done in 2009 will be summed up at the meeting.

‘JERSEY BOYS’ ISN’T JUST ANOTHER NOSTALGIA FEST
By Tim Smith | [email protected]

Baltimore Sun
October 6, 2009

You don’t need to be a fan of the Four Seasons to like the musical

In the crowded field of great American pop acts from the 1960s and
’70s, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons may not rank at the top in
profound artistic quality, but certainly in high notes and – as it
turns out – in back story.

"Jersey Boys," the Tony Award-winning musical that has settled into the
National Theatre for a 10-week run, tells that tale with a disarming
energy, and a whole lot of songs. Although there are moments when you
may expect an announcer to stop the action and solicit donations to
your local PBS station, this isn’t just a nostalgia feast engineered
to unleash fuzzy feelings in people of a certain age.

Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the affectionate, but
unsentimental, show effectively mingles enough biography to produce
genuine and interesting characters onstage. The dialogue rings true,
for the most part, and is often quite funny (a sign in the lobby
warns patrons that "strobe lighting, loud gunfire and authentic,
profane Jersey vocabulary" are used in the show).

Events flash by at quite an entertaining clip – blue-collar Jersey
dives, mobsters, girls, cars, dreams, setbacks, different names
for the group – in between bursts of music. (The pacing suggests a
sensitivity to those with short attention spans.)

Director Des McAnuff has the action flowing in well-oiled fashion
through Klara Zieglerova’s sleek set design, with its metal platforms
and a few props, accented by Michael Clark’s nifty projections. And
the cast achieves a level of ensemble as tight as the Four Seasons’
harmonies.

Joseph Leo Bwarie, who looks rather like Sal Mineo, is quite the
charmer as Frankie Valli, moving in telling detail from shy teen to
confident lead singer. He’s also a classy singer who actually outshines
the original. When it comes to reproducing the falsetto-fueled sound
that gave the its trademark, Bwarie manages to maintain admirable
pitch and tone quality. (Oddly, the show never illustrates how or
why Valli developed an affinity for the vocal stratosphere.)

Matt Bailey brings an easy swagger to the role of the "not properly
socialized" Tommy DeVito, the guy who turned out to be very good and
very bad for the Four Seasons. Steve Gouveia proves quite affecting as
Nick Massi, the kinder, gentler band member, and Josh Franklin offers a
vibrant performance as Bob Gaudio, the guy with the ear and the songs.

The polished supporting cast includes Jonathan Hadley in a delectable
performance as Bob Crewe, the Brian Epstein type (with a touch of
Paul Lynde) in the Four Seasons’ road-to-fame saga.

Structurally, "Jersey Boys" is a bit off-kilter. After the long-ish,
rapid-fire first act, with its zillion incidents, a sudden interest
in more textured, darker plot development arises in the second. (Here
and there, Four Seasons hits are neatly employed in the service of
that plot.) It’s only a short while, though, before the sound-bite
pacing resumes, and the feel-good elements in the story sweep the
audience back up in a golden-oldie frenzy.

As one who’s inclined to hit the scan button if one of their songs
comes on the radio, I can vouch for the fact that you don’t have to be
much of a Four Seasons fan to find "Jersey Boys" engaging. Ultimately,
it’s a refreshing variation on the old theme of taking a chance,
finding your own way, making mistakes, making amends, and, of course,
hanging on to what you’ve got.

Offbeat concerts If it’s from Mobtown Modern, it’s going to be
offbeat, and this week’s concert is no exception. The emphasis is on
low notes, specifically those created by baritone and bass saxophones
and bass clarinet. Saxophonist Brian Sacawa and clarinetist Jennifer
Everhart will be featured in a program of works by David Langfor,
Gerard Griseyfor, Michael Lowenstern, Giacinto Scelsi, and Lee Hylafor.

The concert is at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Metro Gallery, 1700
N. Charles St. Tickets are $5 an door. For more information, go to
mobtownmodern.com.

And over at An die Musik, there will be a concert of music from the
1920s by the Greek-Armenian spiritual figure G. I. Gurdjieff, whose
teachings won him many followers and his share of skeptics. Musical
works he wrote in collaboration with Russian composer and pianist
Thomas de Hartmann will be performed by alto Nancy Caporaso and
pianist Michael Dale at 8 p.m. Thursday at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles
St. Tickets are $10. Call 410-385-2638.

If you go "Jersey Boys" will continue through Dec. 12 at the National
Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington. Tickets are $51.50
to $111.50. Call 800-447-7400 or go to telecharge.com.

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun

PARIS MATCH DEDICATES A 16-PAGE ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT TO ARMENIA

armradio.am
06.10.2009 14:46

The Paris Match, a French weekly magazine, has dedicated a
16-page illustrated supplement to Armenia in the first issue of
October. Through exceptional photos and texts, the appendix titled
"Armenia’s Revival" (Le Renouveau de l’Arménie) presents today’s
Armenia, its aspirations for the future, its weight in the region
and the place in the contemporary world.

The supplement starts with quotations of three famous Frenchmen, who
tell about their Armenian roots and the spiritual ties with Armenia.

"Armenian blood flows in the veins of my children. They have been
brought up in the Armenian spirit and know the history of their
ancestors," champion of Formula-1 Alen Prost says.

Famous singer Helen Segara tells about her childhood memories, the
exceptional concert in Armenia together with Charles Aznavour.

"For me being an Armenian first of means the debt to the memory,"
says Charles Villeneuve, famous journalist and ex-President of the
Paris Saint Germain football club

The appendix includes an interview with Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian.

Editors say that the appendix dedicated to Armenia is one of the most
successful ones and has raised a great interest among readers.

ARMENIA AND TURKEY NOT TO BE HOSTILE STATES FOREVER

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.10.2009 17:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian-Turkish relations cannot be hostile
forever, Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party member Arshavir Gendjian
told a news conference in Yerevan. "No need to be afraid of planning
projects or making steps in relation to Turkey," he said, stressing
the importance of normalizing bilateral ties and weighing all the
pros and cons before taking steps.

"Diaspora’s main concern," according to him, "is Armenian Genocide
issue." Highly appreciating President’s recent initiative in that
regard he also noted "It’s nice to see Serzh Sargsyan share Diaspora’s
concern."

He also finds it self-deception to think that Genocide issue can be
resolved without difficulty.

EIGHT KILLED AT THAI TRAIN ACCIDENT

11:17 05/10/2009
Panorama.am

A train derailed during heavy rains Monday near the coastal Thai city
of Hua Hin, killing at least eight people, including a two-year-old
girl and injuring 88 others, foreign media reports referring to the
officials.

The train jumped the tracks before dawn near the popular resort on the
Gulf of Thailand during a trip from the southern city of Trang to the
capital.

Eight people were killed and 88 injured, of those injured, 22 were
hospitalized. All of those killed were Thais, said Police.

Goal.com

Andres Iniesta & Sergio Ramos Return To Spain Squad For World Cup
Qualifiers

Twenty-four players have been called up for La Seleccion’s World Cup
qualifiers with Armenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina..

Oct 2, 2009 5:00:03 PM

Vicente Del Bosque has named his Spain squad to face Armenia on
October 10 and Bosnia & Herzegovina four days later.

The most notable selections are Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta and Real
Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, both of whom have recently returned from
injury for their clubs.

Ramos’ team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa is unavailable through a knee injury
and has been replaced by Athletic Bilbao right-back Andoni
Iraola. Osasuna defender Nacho Monreal has also been called up again,
having made his debut earlier this year against Macedonia.

Spain have already qualified for the World Cup in South Africa next
year, but are aiming to keep their 100 per cent record in the group
intact. La Furia Roja have only conceded two goals in their eight
matches so far.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool),
Diego Lopez (Villarreal).

Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal),
Andoni Iraola (Athletic Bilbao), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Nacho
Monreal (Osasuna), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona),
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona),
Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta
(Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Albert Riera (Liverpool), Marcos Senna
(Villarreal).

Forwards: Daniel Guiza (Fenerbahce), Juan Mata (Valencia), David Silva
(Valencia), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).

Anthony Wright, Goal.com

Business Wire (press release)

October 02, 2009 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

The Green Grid Calls for Widespread Adoption of Data Center Energy
Efficiency Techniques

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–At a forum hosted in New York by the NYSE
Euronext (NYSE: NYX) at the New York Stock Exchange, The Green Grid
today announced new tools and reports to assist business leaders and
data center managers globally improve efficiency in their
operations. Representatives from The Green Grid, United States
Environmental Protection Agency and United States Department of
Energy, along with executives from a variety of industries, shared
their challenges with data center energy management and offered
practical steps for improvement.

EPA Assessment Report

The Green Grid presented the results of a recently-completed
assessment of a mid-tier data center operated by the EPA, along with
recommendations for next steps that EPA can follow to improve
efficiency.

`We applaud EPA’s leadership in opening up their operations to this
level of examination, and we encourage other organizations to work
with us to develop standards and explore ways they can improve their
own operations,’ said John Tuccillo, Chairman of the Board of The
Green Grid. `If the EPA can deploy techniques that improve efficiency
by 20 percent, they can save $15,000 per year in this one data
center. IDC estimates that there are 75,000 similar-sized data centers
across the United States, and if all of them could achieve that same
level of savings, more than $1.1 billion in annual energy costs could
be avoided in data centers across the country.’

`We want to thank The Green Grid for their commitment to helping
improve energy efficiency in data centers across the globe,’ said
Linda Travers, Acting Chief Information Officer and Acting Assistant
Administrator, Office of Environmental Information, EPA. `This is an
excellent first step in the government’s path to operating as
efficiently as possible. As October is Energy Awareness Month, this
marks an appro
ead.’

Collaboration with The U.S. Department of Energy

The Green Grid continues to assist the Department of Energy in testing
and validating the DC Pro tool, an online software tool provided by
the U.S. Department of Energy to help industries worldwide identify
how energy is being consumed by their data center(s) and identify the
best opportunities for savings.

The Green Grid and the U.S. Department of Energy Save Energy Now
program are working together to enhance the Department of Energy’s DC
Pro software tool suite by:

* ensuring common energy metrics between The Green Grid tools, DC Pro
and the ENERGY STAR portfolio manager tool
* developing an IT energy assessment module and
* creating a complementary Certified Energy Practitioner program where
data center energy professionals would perform energy assessments
using DC Pro.

New Regional Tools For Free Cooling

The Green Grid also announced new free online tools and maps designed
to help data center and facilities managers in Japan and 33 European
countries easily determine how much outside air ` also known as free
cooling ` is available for individual data centers.

These new tools provide data center managers in Japan and Europe with
real-world data to help lower energy consumption and related costs,
potentially extending the life and improving the energy efficiency of
data center facilities.

Using country and city names, data center managers in Europe or Japan
can input their specific variables – such as local energy costs, IT
load, and facility load – to determine the specific potential energy
savings for individual facilities. In addition to free cooling from
outside air, the tool provides information about savings that could be
obtained using water-side economizers. For example:

* A 1 megawatt (1000kW) data center in Paris, France, with power at
13.2 cents per kW hour, could save ?¬330,000 per year using free
cooling, or ?¬180,000 per year using a water-side economizer.
* A 1 megawatt (1000kw) data center in Tokyo, Japan
¥43,020,000 per year using free cooling, or ¥27,500,000 per year
using a water side economizer.

Tools are now available for the U.S., Japan, and the following
European countries: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine,
and United Kingdom.

New PUE Reporting Tool

The Green Grid also introduced a new free online tool for data center
managers to record their Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) scores that
will establish global consistency in reporting the split between
energy flowing to IT equipment and facility operations.

`The Green Grid’s PUE metric is now widely adopted as the standard for
measuring data center efficiency, and we’ve taken necessary steps to
refine it so that it becomes even more impactful,’ said The Green
Grid’s Tuccillo. `We expect that the user-driven database will be an
invaluable tool for data center managers to determine the relative
energy efficiency of their operations by comparing to others across
industries, or even inside their own company.’

About The Green Grid

The Green Grid is a global consortium of companies, government
agencies and educational institutions dedicated to advancing energy
efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems. The
Green Grid does not endorse vendor-specific products or solutions, and
instead seeks to provide industry-wide recommendations on best
practices, metrics and technologies that will improve overall data
center energy efficiencies. Membership is open to organizations
interested in data center operational efficiency at the Contributor,
General or Associate member level. Additional information is available
at

About NYSE Euronext

NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets
and provider of innovative tradin
urope and the United States trade equities, futures, options,
fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With more than 8,000 listed
issues, NYSE Euronext’s equities markets — the New York Stock
Exchange, Euronext, NYSE Arca and NYSE Amex — represent nearly 40
percent of the world’s equities trading, the most liquidity of any
global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, the
leading European derivatives business and the world’s second-largest
derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers
comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data
products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in
the S&P 500 index, and is the only exchange operator in the S&P 100
index and Fortune 500. For more information, please visit:

MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS: KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS SHOULD MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS

armradio.am
01.10.2009 15:45

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the
Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador
Robert Bradtke, United States) are in Yerevan to meet President Serge
Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

The Co-Chairs will also travel to Stepanakert October 2-3 and Baku
October 4-6 in advance of the proposed meeting between President
Sargsyan and President Ilham Aliyev in Chisinau, Moldova October
8. They will discuss the key remaining unresolved issues within the
Basic Principles.

The Co-Chairs reiterate the points made separately by each of
their governments that the Minsk Group negotiations are a separate
process that should move forward along its own rationale, without
preconditions, without any linkages, within a reasonable timeframe,
and without imposed acceleration or delay.

PRESIDENT OF BELGIAN SENATE DUE IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
30.09.2009 13:20

The delegation headed by the President of the Belgian Senate Armand
de Decker will arrive in Armenia on a two-day visit today.

On October 1 the Belgian delegation ill be received by the President of
Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, the President of the National Assembly, Hovik
Abrahamyan. The same day Mr. Decker will be hosted by His Holiness
Gregin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The
delegation will visit the museums of Holy Etchmiadzin and Zvartnots
Temple.

On October 2 the delegation headed by the President of the Belgian
Senate will meet Armenian Prime minister Tigran Sargsyan and Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian. The guests will visit the Armenian State
University of Economics, Yervand Kochar’s Museum, the Memorial of
Tsitsernakaberd.

On October 3 the delegation of the Belgian Senate will participate
in the 14th international conference on "The interaction between
constitutional courts and parliaments in guaranteeing the supremacy
of the Constitution."

BRITISH COUNCIL’S NEW PROJECT TO SUPPORT EU INTEGRATION CHALLENGE
Tamar Khurtsia

Georgian Business Week
Monday, September 28, 2009 – 03:47

The British Council, a UK-funded cultural organization, has launched
a three-year project to help Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan move
closer toward integration with the European Union.

Dubbed ‘EU Skills’ and funded by the British government, the
undertaking will focus on developing state institutions.

"This is a very important project which will hasten Georgia’s
integration into the EU," British Ambassador Denis Keefe said on
Sept. 23. "I spent four years helping the Czech Republic prepare
to join NATO and the EU, I know how important it is for developing
countries to continue the study of the new skills while they [are]
integrating into Europe."

The project is divided in four main phases and consists of the
components and activities such as capacity building, training programs,
networking and experience sharing.

Training will prepare 30 trainers from the South Caucasus – 10 from
each of the three countries – who will then disseminate knowledge to
others in local training institutions.

Participants of the project will visit Brussels to familiarize
themselves with the structure and function of the EU institutions.

The training program, according to the British Council, is based on
the survey of needs analysis conducted early in June in all three
countries.

"EU Skills will help the state institutions officials to improve their
knowledge in communication, negotiation, PR and media management,
presentation and project management skills as well as European
structures and terminology," said Paul Doubleday, the British Council’s
director for the South Caucasus.

While the cost of the project has not been disclosed, coordinators
stress that ample funding will be provided to see the program through.

The new project is being implemented in partnership with the government
of Georgia with direct support from the Prime Minister and Georgia.

The project is through the "European Neighborhood and Partnership
Instrument" which was formed in 2003 with the goal to offer member
countries a privileged relationship with EU built on mutual commitment
to common values principally within the fields of the rule of law, good
governance, the respect for human rights, including minority rights.

The initiative covers all of the Mediterranean shores of Africa and
Asia, as well as the European CIS states in the Caucasus and Eastern
Europe, excluding Russia and Kazakhstan. Along with neighboring
Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia was included in ENP in 2004.

The Eastern Partnership is comparatively a new initiative specifically
for the six post-Soviet states of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus,
Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Inaugurated this year in Prague, the Eastern
Partnership is seen as Europe’s response to increased tensions with
Russia, and is intended to simplify visa processes and improve free
trade with EU countries.