Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

WORLD VISION REPRESENTATIVES VISIT WESTERN DIOCESE

ion-representatives-visit-western-diocese/
Feb 19 2010

On February 11, 2010, James Sanchez, Church Relations Director and
John Bouchebel, Director of Resource Development of World Vision of
Los Angeles visited the Western Diocese. They met with the Primate and
the Vicar General. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the ways
to further support the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

The Primate commended the humanitarian efforts of the World Vision
representatives.

OSCE MISSION HOLDS PLAN MONITORING ON NAGORNO KARABAKH AND AZERBAIJAN ARMED FORCES CONTACT-LINE ON FEBRUARY 23

Noyan Tapan
Feb 23, 2010

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. According to an agreement
reached with the NKR authorities in advance, the OSCE mission on
February 23 held a plan monitoring on Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan
armed forces contact-line, in the direction of Askeran.

>From the positions of the NKR defence army the monitoring was conducted
by OSCE Office Coordinator, Lieutenant-Colonel Imre Palatinus, Field
Assistants to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Irzhi Aberle (Czech Republic)
and Zhaslan Nurtazin (Kazakhstan).

According to the NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service, the monitoring
was held according to the schedule. No violations of the cease-fire
regime were recorded during the monitoring.

Representatives of the NKR Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry
accompanied the monitoring mission from the part of Karabakh.

BAKO SAHAKYAN: ARTSAKH IS ON PATH OF BUILDING DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

Yerkir
22.02.2010 14:35

Yerevan (Yerkir) – NKR president Bako Sahakyan delivered a speech at
the NKR National Assembly deputies of all convocations in connection
with the Artsakh Revival Day. Below is the text of the speech.

Dear attendees, I am glad to welcome all of you and congratulate all
our compatriots on the Artsakh Revival Day. Each of you carries the
very symbol of this day and has had a personal contribution to the
realization of the ideas of the national liberation movement. Many
of our friends have laid down their lives for victory of these
ideas. Eternal glory and honor to them!

20 February of 1988 became the starting point of our national revival.

We stood to defend our natural right for free and independent life on
our native land, for mastering our own destiny independently and in
correspondence with international norms and principles. Azerbaijan
reacted to our peaceful and just demand with cruel and bloody war,
which caused heavy human sacrifices and devastations.

The heroic people of Artsakh together with world spread Armenians
managed to withstand all the ordeals and chose the path of building
a democratic state. For us this way has been irreversible and final.

We are very much confident that every problem the contemporary world
faces can be solved exclusively in civilized manner, around the
negotiation table through direct dialogue. In contrast with this the
authorities of Azerbaijan continue to wage militaristic policy keeping
their own people in a situation of permanent tensions and the danger
of war resumption. These threats are vain and inappropriate. We have
a regular and efficient army that is ready to give a fitting rebuff
to any encroachment upon the security of our state and people.

Dear friends, The NKR National Assembly of all convocations has
played a great role in building an independent statehood, forming
state institutions and consolidating democratic values. Soon there
will be new regular elections of the NKR National Assembly. For our
people it is a political event of utmost importance. And we should
do everything possible for these elections as always to be carried
out in correspondence with international standards and take us a step
forward Ïn the way of building a firm and prosperous future of Artsakh.

Thank you!

NEWLY APPOINTED TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REOLUTION

Yerkir
22.02.2010 13:15

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Turkey’s newly appointed Ambassador to the United
States Namik Tan is due to hand his credentials to President Barack
Obama on February 24.

According to the Turkish publication Sabah, Ambassador Tan is planning
a meeting with the Congressmen and the influential Jewish lobby to
discuss ways to stop congressional discussion over the upcoming vote
on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.252 in the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs March 4.

To suspend discussion of the Genocide resolution, the U.S. urges to
ratify the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, Sabah said.

ARMENIA AND GEORGIA HAVE NOT FULLY USED THE EU PREFERENTIAL TRADE REGIME

ArmInfo
2010-02-22 09:49:00

ArmInfo. Armenia and Georgia have not fully used the European Union
generalized system of preference (EU GSP+), Raul de Luzenberger, Head
of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, said at the opening of the
annual International Economic Forum BRIDGE 2010, on Monday in Armenia.

He said the European Union was interested in trade with Armenia and
suggested preferential treatment in the form of zero customs rates for
Armenia. The EU assists Armenia and Georgia in making reforms that
allow trading with the European countries. However, these reforms
are not always easy to make, he said. Raul de Luzenberger is sure
that integration like a certain form of security is very important
for business and for the country in general. In the given context,
the EU is expecting Armenia to open its economy and form equal market
conditions.

Armenia and the EU launched the free trade regime in 2007. Till the
end of 2008 Armenia and the EU traded on the generalized system
of preference (GPS) that implied export of Armenian goods to the
European market on reduced tariffs. On January 1 2009 Armenia joined
GPS+ suggesting duty-free access to the EU market for around 6400
tariff lines.

news.am, Armenia
Feb 20 2010

NKR President takes part in celebrations of Artsakh Revival Day

14:28 / 02/20/2010On 20 February in connection with the Artsakh
Revival Day President Bako Sahakyan took part at the meeting with the
NKR National Assembly deputies of all convocations and delivered a
welcoming speech there.

Welcoming address of Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan to the
participants in the meeting with NKR National Assembly deputies of all
convocations in connection with the Artsakh Revival Day

Dear attendees,

I am glad to welcome all of you and congratulate all our compatriots
on the Artsakh Revival Day. Each of you carries the very symbol of
this day and has had a personal contribution to the realization of the
ideas of the national liberation movement. Many of our friends have
laid down their lives for victory of these ideas. Eternal glory and
honor to them!

20 February of 1988 became the starting point of our national revival.
We stood to defend our natural right for free and independent life on
our native land, for mastering our own destiny independently and in
correspondence with international norms and principles. Azerbaijan
reacted to our peaceful and just demand with cruel and bloody war,
which caused heavy human sacrifices and devastations.

The heroic people of Artsakh together with world spread Armenians
managed to withstand all the ordeals and chose the path of building a
democratic state. For us this way has been irreversible and final.

We are very much confident that every problem the contemporary world
faces can be solved exclusively in civilized manner, around the
negotiation table through direct dialogue. In contrast with this the
authorities of Azerbaijan continue to wage militaristic policy keeping
their own people in a situation of permanent tensions and the danger
of war resumption. These threats are vain and inappropriate. We have a
regular and efficient army that is ready to give a fitting rebuff to
any encroachment upon the security of our state and people.

Dear friends,

The NKR National Assembly of all convocations has played a great role
in building an independent statehood, forming state institutions and
consolidating democratic values. Soon there will be new regular
elections of the NKR National Assembly. For our people it is a
political event of utmost importance. And we should do everything
possible for these elections as always to be carried out in
correspondence with international standards and take us a step forward
оn the way of building a firm and prosperous future of Artsakh.

Thank you!

HUMOR: WHAT COUNTRY SHOULD WE INVADE NEXT?
By Steve Clifford

CrossCut
flip-side/19575/
Feb 18 2010

Our next target ought to be as different from Afghanistan as possible.

One country perfectly fits the template.

George Santayana famously warned, "Those who do not remember the past
are condemned to repeat it." With that in mind, I turn to the pressing
question: What countries should America invade in the future? How
should we wage war and govern them after a swift victory? Let us
apply the lesson we learned form the quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan.

What Country To Invade?

1. Invade a homogeneous country. In Iraq we got caught up in the
Sunni-Shea-Kurd nonsense. Who knew they couldn’t get along? In
Afghanistan we discovered that the Pashtunen don’t like the Uzbeks,
Hazara, Baluch, Aimaq, Kirghiz, Wakhi, Fariwan, Nuristani, Brahui,
Tajik, Turkmen, Oizilbasj, and Kabuli. This is should be no surprise
because in Afghanistan nobody likes anybody outside of their own
extended family.

By contrast, we enjoyed great success invading homogeneous countries
such as Germany, Japan, and Grenada. There are many homogeneous
countries to choose from: France, Italy, and the Scandinavian nations
immediately spring to mind.

2. Avoid religion. No more fanatically suicide bombers from the
Taliban and Al Qaeda: Let’s stick with countries that play by
the rules. Our next invasion must be a country that does not take
religion seriously. By many measures, France, Scandinavia, and the
Baltic Republics are the least religious countries in the world today.

3. Be sure they have WMD’s. You cannot trust the CIA when they tell
you what you have instructed them to tell you. To be sure of finding
WMD’s we should invade one of the known members of the nuclear club:
Russia, China, Britain, France, India, or Pakistan.

4. Fight in a temperate climate. US Armed Forces have been trained to
fight in temperate climates. Why make war elsewhere? Iraq experiences
some of the highest temperatures in the world. Scorching heat is
often augmented by an irritating dusty wind, the shamal, causing heat
exhaustion and heatstroke.

Afghanistan rivals Houston for the worst climate in the world. In
a single day temperatures can go from freezing at dawn to the 90s
at noon. Annually, The Mountains receive more than 40 inches of
precipitation, mostly as snow. Frontal winds sweep in from the west
bringing large sandstorms or dust storms, while the strong solar
heating of the ground raises large local whirlwinds.

France, with its generally temperate climate, homogeneous population,
and absence of religion, appears to be the perfect country to invade.

According to the CIA, we will be greeted as liberators by the
disaffected Monarchists, Vichyites, Jacobins, Girondists, Orleanists,
and Bonapartists.

How to Wage War and Govern After Victory.

1. Have powerful allies. In Afghanistan and Iraq we lack powerful
and committed allies. In Iraq "the coalition of the willing," aka
"coalition of the bribed," comprised Armenia, Moldova, Iceland, and
the Gambino Family. All withdrew troops by 2005 except for the Gambino
Family, who began operating under the name Blackwater. In Afghanistan,
NATO nations have supplied cheerleading.

Were we to invade France, we could count on support from her
traditional enemies — Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Canada. The
military plan is already in place. Germany could replay the 1914
Schlieffen plan while the US, Britain, and Canada land on the beaches
of Normandy. Sensing opportunity, Italy could repeat its invasion of
1940. It would be a race to see who surrenders first.

2. Have a compelling doctrine. In Iraq we employed Bush doctrine —
Piss me off and I’ll unilaterally kick your ass and then send in a
bunch of twenty-something Bible School graduates to privatize social
security, outlaw stem cell research, and preach abstinence-only sex
education. This doctrine failed to resonate.

Afghanistan witnessed the evolution of the more nuanced Obama Doctrine
— Send enough troops to keep it really close for 18 months until
you pull them out. This has also failed to resonate.

Our war fighting doctrine should be: Win, but not too fast. Bush told
Time magazine in 2004, "Had we to do it over again, we would look
at the consequences of catastrophic success, being so successful,
so fast, that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in,
escaped and lived to fight another day." To avoid winning too fast,
we should invade France during the short window where the French Army
is not engaged in contract negotiations, job actions, or strikes.

3. Quickly establish a competent government to win the hearts and
minds of the people. In Iraq, de-Bathification ousted all competent
government employees. In Afghanistan we backed a corrupt tribal
faction.

Today, only French cabinet ministers change when a new government is
formed. Therefore, we can rely on a competent staff of civil servant
to implement our new policies. We will not need to engage in nation
building. We already know how to fix most of France’s problems —
economic slowdowns, banking crisis, immigration, political gridlock,
and health care costs.

4. Have an idealistic and moralistic purpose that all Americans
can embrace. The biggest problem with the French is that they are
Un-American. The women are well dressed, svelte, and know how to tie
scarves. The men prefer intellectual theorizing to NASCAR. France
coddles their citizens with universal health care, long vacations,
and job security. They think food is more important than Tea Parties.

Think what would happen if we installed US-style free-market capitalism
there. This could be a real game changer, transforming the entire
European Union. Think of France with long work weeks and short
vacations, a fifth of the nation lacking health insurance, little
job security, lousy food, obesity, and the top 1 percent having more
income than the bottom 95 percent. France then would look a lot like
the France of 1788. We could even bring back Louis XXVII.

3 SHRINES CAN CONSOLIDATE THE NATION, SAYS MRS. HAKOBIAN

Aysor
Feb 18 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Ministry of Diaspora has declared this year as Year of
Mother Language, told journalists Thursday Minister of Diaspora,
Mrs. Hranush Hakobian.

"There are three shrines which can consolidate the nation, and these
three things are Motherland, Mother Tongue, and faith," she said.

Hranush Hakobian paid an attention to the growing assimilation process
of Armenians in Diaspora, despite the big number of organisations and
their efforts. According to officials, number of Armenian-speaking
people decreases. "We should very seriously focus on the issue of
the Mother Language, and join our efforts for its preserving and
developing," said minister.

It’s worth mentioning, that February 21 marks the Mother Language Day.

Mrs. Hakobian pointed that it’s for 4 years already that the Mother
Language Day is being celebrated among national holidays, and even
has been recognized by the UNESCO.

EMBASSY: FRANCE TO PRESERVE NEUTRALITY WITH REGARDS TO AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Trend
Feb 16 2010
Azerbaijan

France, as a mediator in the process of peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, attaches great importance to the
preservation of neutrality with regards to Azerbaijan and Armenia,
and any item of signed memorandum on military cooperation between
France and Armenia does not cast doubt on this neutrality, the French
Embassy in Azerbaijan reported

Defence ministers of Armenia and France inked a memorandum on military
cooperation in Paris, Feb.10.

The paper approves subjects of cooperation between the defence
ministries of two countries, embassy said

France offers Azerbaijan to sign the similar document, the report said

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

Egypt to build its first nuclear power plant

CAIRO, February 8 (RIA Novosti)

Egypt will build its first nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean
coastal town of El-Dabaa, reviving the country’s civilian nuclear
power program after more than two decades, the El-Ahram newspaper said
on Monday.

Egyptian authorities announced in 2007 plans to build nuclear power
facilities in the country to meet the increasing demand for
electricity.

The north African state’s nuclear program was originally suspended
after the Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union in 1986.

The paper quoted Egyptian energy minister Hassan Younes as saying the
construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant would take
about 9 years. He said the decision to build the plant in El-Dabaa was
based on a report by a team of international experts.

The minister was quoted as saying the construction would cost from
$1.5 to $2 billion.

Russia, the U.S., China and the European Union support Egypt’s
peaceful nuclear program and have offered their assistance to the
country’s government.

In March 2008, during Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s visit to
Moscow, Russia and Egypt signed an agreement on cooperation in
peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The document stipulates Russia’s
right to participate in tenders to build nuclear power facilities in
Egypt.

In 2009, the Egyptian authorities officially invited Russia to
participate in a tender to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant

Egypt, which possesses large reserves of uranium ore, has two
experimental nuclear reactors, one of which was constructed in 1958 by
the Soviet Union. The other was bought from Argentina.