Armen

Ara, all countires have corrupt regimes. It is the amount of wealth that allows the industrially developed countries to be liberal democracies. Remember, that first they became wealthy and only then they became democracies and not the other way round. The more wealthy a country's elite becomes, the more freedom is allowed to the society by the government. In case the elite's strategic wealth making mechanizm is challenged, the government will remove the freedoms without a doubt if that is needed to repair the mechanizm. I am not defending anyone. I just think that often there is a lot of pathos in your criticism. And that makes it to miss the real taget in case of Armenia proper. They removed the corrupt regimes in Georgia and Ukraine and ... brought other corrupt regimes and nothing changed. People do not need the right to curse the president's mother in public, they need to make the government share the wealth. So, you don't have to start from "Stalin and Red Sylva", go directly to taxes, wages etc. Since 1991 I haven't seen a mass strike because of wages, or a crowded demostration asking for higher tax collection on the big companies, or some other type of activity that would communicate people's will to struggle for a more just distribution of incomes. Maybe that is because NO ONE in opposition is interested in that, or maybe because our critics are busy with changing the world for better.

Hello, There has never been a Sasun Fortess. Sasun is a region in Mush Valley that consisted of several towns and villages. The Fortress Sasun in Sasna Tsrer is an imaginery fortress like the Shambala in Tibetan tales and Kitezhgrad in the Russian tales. King Gagik represents an era of Armenian history, not some historical personality. Similarly, Sasna Davit represents the Christian period and Poqr Mher simbolizes Armenia's future. You might remember that Davit is the one who builts Maruta Vank, and before that there is no notice of Chritian religion either in Mets Mher or in Sanasar and Baghdasar parts. That is because the parts that come before Sasna Davit tell about pre-Christian Armenia. Mets Mher simbolizes Armenia's Romano-Hellenic period and Sanasar-Baghdasar the Persian period. However, it is the Sasuntsi Davit part that simbolizes the present Armenian identity and consciousness.

I might be an idiot but there is one thing I know better than you. Almost no one in Armenia gives a rat's ass about what that old granny talks about truth, politics or social development. After she dies, she will be remembered ONLY for her lines from a poem that I pesonally learnt when I was 7 years old: "Lsir vordis patgam vorpes, Sirogh qo mor xosqe srtants. Aysorvanits handznum em qez, Hayots lezun hazaragandz..." Red Sylva ... I have to admit you have a very good sense of humor Ara. In Armenia people trust no one. Free market does its job. Everyone is thinking about their own interest and acts according to his/her incentives. So, the majority of people are angry that they are low paid or do not have a job at all, they are sinical and distrustful. In this situation I find it really hard to believe that some significant portion of Armenians thinks that Stalin was a messiah or that they have faith in the criminal regime. Again, they don't give a rat's ass...

Why would anyone be scared of her? The difference is that Stalin is dead and Bush is alive and kicking. I consider it a betrayal or at least some sort of serious psychological disorder when someone is calling a nation of 2 million - that has just survived its total destruction - to a new revolt against the new system. Anyway, it was Charents who stayed, criticized the regime (did not flee) and was shot for that. In other words, Njdeh should not surrender to the 11th Red Army in 1920 and should have fought to the last Armenian... so that other 59 nationalities of the forming Soviet Union were shocked at Armenian commitment towards spreading freedom and democracy...

The likes of Charents!? You mean those who took the pain to accomodate and built the Armenia out of the ruins. You mean those who where brave enough to stay in Armenia and were killed like Charents? So you think that Armenians should listen to someone telling them they should revolt against Stalin? After the Genocide and giving 300.000 deaths in WWII, Armenians should endanger their existence as a nation because Gostan Zarian told them to do so... Bolsheviks were put in Moscow by an orchestrated coup just for that reason: to purge the ablest men of the Russian empire and its sattelites. What did you expect? Ara, you sound evil sometimes. What is good about an old granny loosing her last savings? Common! This is a Bushism.

Stalin was a great person and a great evil. And there were some Irish, Brit, German, French, Jewish and Scotish Americans who believed in Stalin as well. After all, the country he led defeated Hitler. At least the Jews had to be thankful to him for that ... Half of the globe was doing the same... First of all she was not awarded the Stalin prize for that particular statement. That was long before ...Second, there was some very strong irony in what she said ... and I think you should read between the lines. If you review the history of the last days of the Soviet Union, you will see that the collaps of the USSR started in Armenia and Karabagh.

This is a wrong piece Ara. You know for sure that there was no alternative to that. ALL the countries surrounding Russia were incorporated in USSR.

Hello QB. Thanks for welcome. That will practically mean that we refuse to have relations with the US, unless it officially calls it a "genocide". I think that is not Armenia's current policy.

To refuse a US Ambassador? You're kidding me. Last time it was propbably Iraq.

Well, well ... Guys you totally missed the fokal piont of that Olympiad. Who cares about chess. Here is what really matters... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,306726,00.jpg http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2212233,00.html Britain The Times June 06, 2006 How dare you take my queen? By Rajeev Syal and Raymond Keene Battle of the chess grandmasters as leading England player 'attacks' rival over dancefloor move Arianna Caoili, Australia No 3 - described as the Anna Kournikova of chess FOR one British grandmaster, his rival had made a move too far. Danny Gormally, one of Britain’s leading chess players, allegedly attacked the world No 3 at an international tournament for dancing with a beautiful Australian player. Levon Aronian, leading light of the Armenian chess scene, was apparently punched and shoved, and ended up on the floor during a party at the recent Chess Olympiad in Turin. He had been spotted jiving with Arianne Caoili, 19, an Australian grandmaster known as the Anna Kournikova of the chess world. Mr Gormally was known by team-mates to be fond of her. But the next day, after the England captain apologised to the Armenian team, the repercussions continued. When Mr Gormally went out for a coffee with friends, he was attacked by a group of young Armenian players seemingly bent on revenge for their star player. The unseemly events are expected to lead to an urgent inquiry by the English Chess Federation into Mr Gormally’s behaviour. He was advised to leave the tournament early to avoid further confrontation. Allan Beardsworth, the England captain, said that drink appeared to play a part. “Danny seems to have punched Aronian for innocently dancing with a girl that he liked. The following day, there was a retaliatory incident. It is a shame, and something that we will have to look into properly,” he said. The Olympiad is held every two years between 150 international teams and brings together the world’s best players. While the tournament went badly for Mr Gormally and the England team, the Armenians eventually won. The party was held four days ago at a nightclub called “Hiroshima Mon Amour”. Mr Gormally, 30, from Durham, spotted Ms Caoili, with whom he had struck up an e-mail relationship, according to colleagues. They are also known to have met in London. Ms Caoili, a child prodigy of Filipino descent who has ambitions of becoming a professional singer, was dancing “energetically” with Mr Aronian. She is ranked No 3 in Australia. Mr Aronian, 23, often referred to as a future world champion, is adored in his country where chess is the national sport. For Mr Gormally, the sight of the pair dancing was apparently too much — but his actions were unjustified, according to Mr Beardsworth. “I have spoken to several people who were there, and there is no doubt that Danny was in the wrong. Aronian is a lovely guy and at the very peak of his national sport. I have been told that he is treated like David Beckham at home,” he said. The England team’s management was informed of the incident and held an impromptu meeting. By 11am the next day, it had apologised to the Armenian team leader, who also happens to be the country’s defence minister. There is no suggestion of any criminal inquiry. Mr Gormally was informed, and hoped that the incident was over. However, when he went out with friends for a coffee, he was spotted by young chess players from Armenia. “They set upon Danny — he was hit several times. Luckily, one of the team-mates with Danny could speak Russian and managed to calm them down,” Mr Beardsworth said. Denis Jessop, president of the Australian Chess Federation, said that he may launch his own inquiry. “I have heard that an incident took place and that Aronian was thumped and that it was over Arianne. “I am not surprised at anything that chess players do. It is not the first time that there’s been an argument at a chess tournament and people have hit each other,” he said. Mr Gormally, 30, a professional player, declined to comment from his home, where he lives with his parents. On asked why he had been sent home, he replied: “It’s personal. It’s nothing to do with you.”

I don't base my judgements on that poem but rather on his "A Journey to Arzouroom" (Arzouroom-Erzroum). Yes, he is sympathetic but ... in a way that I'd rather reject his sympathies. At the same time, maybe he was just unaware that those times were not one of the best in Armenian history.

I guess he had his reasons. God knows which one of his countess-lovers had an affair with some Armenian officer in the Czar's army. In any case, people thought and felt different in those times. You can read Beliy or Mandelshtam for a change, with eldless phrazes about how Armenians are the best...

That's right China and India are the factors that made global demand and supply almost equal (BP World Outlook stats for 2005). In this kind of situation (when supply almost equals demand) any "Katrina" or a "Nigerian revolt" or "US statement on Iran" can make the crude oil price (and gas as a consequence ) go up overnight. Here is a pretty good summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_price_increases_of_2004 P.S. Barev Azat jan

Nature Is Simple In my opinion there is the correct path and...it is in our power to find it. Our experience up to date justifies us in feeling sure that in nature is actualized the idea of mathematical simplicity. Albert Einstein, Le Matin, March 29,1922, quoted in Abraham Pais, Einstein Lived Here, 1994

Eurovision is a rather distasteful event that makes me think of Soviet pop music (the so-called "Estrada"). It is ment to unite the Euro community and its neighbours in synthesing some "All European" type of music I guess, but like everything artificially "united" it has become some big party were all people are happy but they don't realy know why. I watched it the last time and that's what it looked like. Andre's song suits there very well.

Good writers were/are almost always treated like that, be it a third world country or a developed democracy. Developed democracies also silence few of their critical writers who make the difference... Either with money or with unfavourable circumstances.

Linares R14: Levon Aronian wins Morelia/Linares Super-GM 11.03.2006 This prestigious event was won not by FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, nor by the other favourites Svidler and Leko, but by 23-year-old Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian, who after all is number five in the world rankings. Aronian achieved this by beating Peter Leko with the black pieces in the final round. http://www.chessbase.com/news/2006/linares/aronian01.jpg

http://www.ajedrezenlinares.com/XXIII_ciudad_linares.htm Looks like Levon won Linares as well ... What a day! I think this time everyone should fly the flag when he comes back. Spain's Linares is the most serious championship together with the Dutch one.

I remember once when I was 12 y/o I opened some general medical information book and found out that I had nearly 95% of illnesses listed there, including some 10 STD, some 15 types of cancer, different variations of schizophrenia and paranioa. Now I have difficulty separating a group of Armenians that are not either Ottomanized or Sovietized...Are we such a clinical case?

Shnorhavor Vava. Amenayn barin qez.

Azat jan, I bet that's your favourite place in Yerevan, right? The colors, the smells, the conversations... Are you realy coming?

Yup. This year's snow caught the municipality off guard. That was the reason for kilometers of traffic jam. Not that they have ever been ON guard ... but this year they outperformed themselves. Meanwhile, I had never seen this much snow in Yerevan during my whole pathetic life.

Vat chem eghbayr. Chem hascnum parzapes. Nerogh elnes.

Barior Azat axper. Antsnum ei ... aseci mi xeloq ban el yes asem

So that you have an idea what are you talking about let us establish first that not one is taking down Matenadaran, Opera House or any national landmarks. We are talking about some old, dusty quarters of Yerevan like Kond, some 20 to 30 one or two storied quasi-colonial buildings. You can also add some nightmares of Soviet architecture like the Youth Palace (or the Krtsats Kukuruz) or Hotel Dvin. I highly doubt that this stuff was going to attract tourists.