Wednesday 18 November 2015

Armenian News...A Topalian ...Message from Sevan Garo (Nigighossian)




I'm contacting you to let you know about my resently launched business 

GAROGOSI www.garogosi.com [1]). 

I'm wondering if you could forward an article and my website to any 
contacts you have? 

Would this be something you would consider? 

Just to give you an idea, his is the article that's recently been 
published! 
www.retail-jeweller.com/products/brands/in-pics-garogosi-launches-debut-jewellery-collection/7002006.article?blocktitle=Today%27s-stories&contentID=16592 


tert.am 
MISSING FRENCH-ARMENIAN YOUNG WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN 
BATACLAN CONCERT HALL - ARMENIA TV
17.11.15


The 17-year-old Lola Ouzunian, who was reported missing after
Saturday's deadly bombings in Paris, has been found dead in the
Bataclan Theater's concert hall, Armenia TV channel reports.

The young woman was considered missing for three days after the deadly
shootings which claimed over 120 lives.

Apart from the Bataclan Theater, the terrorist attacks targeted also
a restaurant and "Stade the France", a Paris football stadium which
was hosting the French national team;s home match with Germany.

Several spectators at the Bataclan Theater's concert venue were
taken hostage. Over 300 people were reported injured in the wake of
the attack.


armradio.am 
TURKEY FANS BOO MINUTE'S SILENCE FOR PARIS VICTIMS 
- VIDEO
18 Nov 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan


Turkish fans booed during the minute's silence for the victims of
the Paris attacks before their national team drew 0-0 with Greece in
a friendly international soccer game on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

According to The Daily Mail, chants of 'Allahu Akbar' were reportedly
heard in Istanbul as some Turkey fans shamefully booed a pre-match
minute's silence for the victims of the Paris attacks.

The mark of respect was observed at matches across Europe, including
at Wembley where France faced England, after Islamic State militants
struck Paris on Friday killing 129 people.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Greek counterpart Alexis
Tsipras watched the game together, in a sign of reconciliation between
the two neighbors, whose relationship has suffered from hostilities
in the past.

It was the first time the two teams had met for eight years and
the Turkish Football Federation had announced a string of additional
security measures before the match at the Istanbul Basaksehir stadium,
which was a 17,000 sell out. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=BboXItT2Rr8 


armradio.am 
AIR FRANCE CUTS YEREVAN-PARIS TICKET PRICES
Marine Madatyan
November 17, 2015

Air France is now offering one way Yerevan to Paris flights starting
at 290 Euros (some 150,000 AMD).

This is almost 50% off the ticket price the same time last year.

Return service tickets at other travel agencies can be obtained at
prices starting at almost 160,000.

Shoushanna Shahinyan, an agent at Yerevan's Trichk Travel says that 
Air France is definitely promoting the route and that the price was good.

In the summer, the travel agency was selling tickets for the
Yerevan-Paris route at 500-600 Euros.

Employees at some travel agencies seemed unaware that Air France had
dropped prices. An agent at Go Travel said that prices hadn't dropped
and that they were selling tickets for 236,000 AMD. "What they told
you was incorrect somehow. Perhaps the price via Kiev has dropped.

Non-stop flights can't be sold at that price," the agent said.

This reporter was unable to get in touch by phone with Air France to
ask whether the price drop had anything to do with recent events. No
one at Air France was answering for the past two days. 


lragir.am 
WHAT ALARM IS THIS?
Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
17 November 2015
The ministers of the economic bloc have been making grim forecasts
for the Armenian economy recently explaining them by external factors.

They refer to how unpredictable the economic processes in the world
are and forecast a worse situation in Armenia in 2016.

In reality, the situation in the world is quite predictable and
positive. The United States is going through one of its best economic
periods, Europe is growing, and the key issue now is deflation,
not inflation.

The situation is getting better in Iran, the country is gradually
exiting isolation and is already signing deals worth many billions.

Instead, the situation is getting worse in Russia. On the one hand,
it depends on oil prices. On the other hand, it is being governed in
accordance with fossilized corruption and oligarchic models and is
not capable of coping with challenges. Armenia is exporting labor to
Russia, and the dropping levels of remittances do affect the economy.

However, the remittances are not the only problem. The Armenian
authorities have put all the eggs in the Russian basket which has an
unpredictable destiny.

The situation is getting worse in Turkey with which, strange though it
may be, Armenia has significant economic ties. Most products imported
to Armenia come from Turkey, and the devaluation of the Turkish lira,
as well as inflation are affecting the Armenian economy and prices.

In fact, the problem is not the unpredictable world economy but the
stakes of Armenia on countries with originally deteriorating economies.

Armenia has joined the Eurasian Union which only brings damage to the
economy. In addition, Armenia is refusing economic association with
the EU. Armenia is also pretending that it has not signed a trade
agreement with the United States in May, which is on the rise.

In fact, the ministers of economy and finance are blaming the political
leadership of the country for bids on "wrong" countries and systems,
choosing the least predictable partners which are in recession. In
other words, the ministers of economy and finance give an "unsat" to
the foreign policy of Armenia and warn that we might be "discharged"
soon.

The phrase "looming disaster" has already been heard in parliament
on the economic situation in 2016. Will the disaster result in change
of the foreign policy and priorities in foreign policy? 


Keghart.com 
Heroes and Villains of 2015 
16 November 2015 

Last year Keghart.com inaugurated an end-of-the-year list of the 
heroes and villains of the year. While the first year’s list was 
compiled by Keghart staff, our intention was to solicit readers to 
submit their candidates for the 2015 list and beyond. As we start 
compiling our editorial line-up for the end of the year issues, we invite 
you--Keghart readers-- to send us the names of people you consider 
heroes/villains as far as Armenians are concerned. Please also 
explain briefly your choice: why do you think your nominees are 
heroes or villains? 

The 2014 heroes were lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, “The
Independent” Middle East foreign correspondent and author Robert
Fisk, authors Yaer Auron/Israel Charni of Israel, the Zoryan Institute 
think tank, Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper and Minister 
Jason Kenney, California lawyer Mark Giragos, the Pre-Parliament 
of Armenia activist, the embattled Armenians of Aleppo and Artsakh,
Righteous Turks and human rights organizations in Turkey, Sheikh
Sultan Al Qasim,  Argentina, and Kim Kardashian. 

The 2014 villains were Prince Andrew of Britain (close friend of 
Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev), the Armenian Oligarchs, ADL’s Abe 
Foxman who was one of the most vociferous lobbyists against US
 recognition of the Genocide of Armenians, the Rent-A-Scholar Set 
who babble Ankara’s denialist party line, Catholicos Karekin II, Turkish 
American/Canadian organizations, Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan/Davutoglu, 
Hakan Yavuz of Utah University who publishes anti-Armenian screeds, 
Brenda Schaeffer (propagandist for Baku), and Senator Anne Cools 
of Canada who suggested that Canada renounce its recognition of 
the Genocide. 

After tabulating your choices, Keghart will publish the Heroes and Villains 
of 2015 in our late December issue. 

Send your choices to dikran@keghart.com 


keghart.com 
Only 35% of Americans Know of the Armenian Genocide 
Harout Sassounian , The California Courier Publisher
17 November 2015 
For the first time, a prestigious nationwide survey, conducted on
November 9 by Zogby Analytics, reveals the extent of the American
public's knowledge and opinion on the Armenian Genocide and Artsakh
(Karabagh). The survey results, made available exclusively to this
writer, have a +/- 3.1% margin of error.

To the question, are you aware that there was an Armenian Genocide,
surprisingly only 34.8% of those surveyed answered `yes'; 49.6% `no';
and 15.6% `not sure.' One would have expected that a much higher
percentage of U.S. citizens would be aware of the Armenian Genocide,
particularly after the large-scale Centennial commemorative events
this year. The fact that half of all Americans have never heard of the
Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians indicates that a major effort is
needed to educate the public.

Zogby Analytics provides extensive information about the background of
the participants in the survey. Here are some interesting details:
-- While male respondents are evenly divided on the above question,
there is a serious imbalance among women -- twice as many females are
unaware of the Armenian Genocide compared to those who are.
-- Around half of all respondents are equally ignorant about the
Armenian Genocide, regardless of political party affiliation. Liberals
are slightly more knowledgeable than Moderates and
Conservatives. Surprisingly, the majority of `Tea Party' and `Occupy
Wall Street' sympathizers are cognizant of the Armenian Genocide.
-- College graduates are more likely to know about the Armenian
Genocide than those who are not.
-- The age group 25-34 is the most knowledgeable about the Armenian
Genocide, while the least knowledgeable is the age group 35-53.
-- Hispanics are far more knowledgeable than `Whites' about the
Armenian Genocide; African-Americans and Asian-Americans are the least
knowledgeable.
-- Catholics are more aware of the Armenian Genocide than Protestants.
-- West Coast Americans are more aware of the Armenian Genocide than
their counterparts in the East; while those living in Central and
Southern U.S. are the least knowledgeable.
-- Americans with the highest income category ($100,000+) know the
most about the Armenian Genocide; those making $35,000-$50,000 a year
know the least.

In summary, the American most informed about the Armenian Genocide is:
male, right or left wing political activist, college graduate, 25-34
years old, Hispanic, Catholic, lives on the West Coast, and makes over
$100,000 a year; whereas the American least informed about the
Armenian Genocide is: female, mainstream political party member, not a
college graduate, 35-53 years old, African-American or Asian-American,
Protestant, lives in the Central or Southern states, and makes $35,000
to $50,000 a year.

Here are eight other genocide and Artsakh-related questions that
survey participants were asked to answer:
-- 46.5% of Americans agree that the United States government should
call on Turkey to publicly admit the Armenian Genocide; 16.1%
disagree; and 37.4% don't know.
-- 39% agree that `the U.S. Congress should pass a resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide¦ even if it risks destroying
diplomatic relations with a key, strategic ally in the Middle East';
22.5% disagree; and 38.5% don't know.
-- 63.2% agree that `if an ally of the United States initiates a
program to eradicate, persecute or displace populations within their
own country, the U.S. should end economic and/or military aid to that
ally'; 10.5% disagree; and 26.3% don't know.
-- 20.1% believe that when a country commits genocide, it should pay
reparations `in cash'; 11.8% say that it should compensate by
returning the occupied `land'; 10.7%, `by other symbolic act'; 9.4%,
`no reparations should be paid'; and 48% don't know.
-- 31.3% believe that the United Nations should determine what the
reparations should be when genocide is committed; 23.8% say it should
be decided by the International Criminal Court; 12.1%, the United
States Congress; 3%, Amnesty International; 2.5%, the European Court
of Human Rights; 0.8%, the Pope; and 26.5% don't know.
-- 37.9% believe that the United States should use `economic
sanctions' against a country that `refuses to recognize and take
responsibility for its crimes against humanity'; 16.4% say the
U.S. should use `political/diplomatic pressure'; 8.6%, `embargo';
2.6%, the U.S. should declare war; 4.5%, `do nothing'; and 30% don't
know.
-- 38.3% agree that `the United States should intervene if Azerbaijan
acts to expel the ethnic Christian Armenians [of Artsakh] who have
resided there for centuries'; 21.8% disagree; and 39.9% don't know.
-- 40.4% agree that if Azerbaijan attacks Artsakh, the United States
should call on Israel, which is selling sophisticated weapons to Baku,
to cut off its diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan; 16.9% disagree;
and 42.7% don't know.
This first of its kind survey could serve as a valuable guide to the
Armenian-American community to know where to concentrate its
educational efforts and lobbying resources. 

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