karakash

Serge is not a good front man. He is a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. Vartan is part of the Robert-Serge group, that's why I'm guessing that they will rally behind Oskanian. Serge will stay where he is.

It is going to be Oskanian. The two diasporans will clash - Vartan and Raffi - and because Vartan will have the support of Robert and Serge, he will come out as the winner. As for being a fair election, that is totally different. What matters is who counts the votes, not who actually votes.

I heard rumors this weekend that Adiss Harmandian had died recently. Anyone know if this is true?

WHAT'S TO BE DONE ABOUT DARFUR? PLENTY By Nicholas D. Kristof The New York Times November 29, 2005 Tuesday Late Edition - Final In 1915, Woodrow Wilson turned a blind eye to the Armenian genocide. In the 1940's, Franklin Roosevelt refused to bomb the rail lines leading to Auschwitz. In 1994, Bill Clinton turned away from the slaughter in Rwanda. And in 2005, President Bush is acquiescing in the first genocide of the 21st century, in Darfur. Mr. Bush is paralyzed for the same reasons as his predecessors. There is no great public outcry, there are no neat solutions, we already have our hands full, and it all seems rather distant and hopeless. But Darfur is not hopeless. Here's what we should do. First, we must pony up for the African Union security force. The single most disgraceful action the U.S. has taken was Congress's decision, with the complicity of the Bush administration, to cut out all $50 million in the current budget to help pay for the African peacekeepers in Darfur. Shame on Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona -- and the White House -- for facilitating genocide. Mr. Bush needs to find $50 million fast and get it to the peacekeepers. Second, the U.S. needs to push for an expanded security force in Darfur. The African Union force is a good start, but it lacks sufficient troops and weaponry. The most practical solution is to "blue hat" the force, making it a U.N. peacekeeping force built around the African Union core. It needs more resources and a more robust mandate, plus contributions from NATO or at least from major countries like Canada, Germany and Japan. Third, we should impose a no-fly zone. The U.S. should warn Sudan that if it bombs civilians, then afterward we will destroy the airplanes involved. Fourth, the House should pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. This legislation, which would apply targeted sanctions and pressure Sudan to stop the killing, passed the Senate unanimously but now faces an uphill struggle in the House. Fifth, Mr. Bush should use the bully pulpit. He should talk about Darfur in his speeches and invite survivors to the Oval Office. He should wear a green "Save Darfur" bracelet -- or how about getting a Darfur lawn sign for the White House? (Both are available, along with ideas for action, from www.savedarfur.org.) He can call Hosni Mubarak and other Arab and African leaders and ask them to visit Darfur. He can call on China to stop underwriting this genocide. Sixth, President Bush and Kofi Annan should jointly appoint a special envoy to negotiate with tribal sheiks. Colin Powell or James Baker III would be ideal in working with the sheiks and other parties to hammer out a peace deal. The envoy would choose a Sudanese chief of staff like Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, a leading Sudanese human rights activist who has been pushing just such a plan with the help of Human Rights First. So far, peace negotiations have failed because they center on two groups that are partly composed of recalcitrant thugs: the government and the increasingly splintered rebels. But Darfur has a traditional system of conflict resolution based on tribal sheiks, and it's crucial to bring those sheiks into the process. Ordinary readers can push for all these moves. Before he died, Senator Paul Simon said that if only 100 people in each Congressional district had demanded a stop to the Rwandan genocide, that effort would have generated a determination to stop it. But Americans didn't write such letters to their members of Congress then, and they're not writing them now. Finding the right policy tools to confront genocide is an excruciating challenge, but it's not the biggest problem. The hardest thing to find is the political will. For all my criticisms of Mr. Bush, he has sent tons of humanitarian aid, and his deputy secretary of state, Robert Zoellick, has traveled to Darfur four times this year. But far more needs to be done. As Simon Deng, a Sudanese activist living in the U.S., puts it: "Tell me why we have Milosevic and Saddam Hussein on trial for their crimes, but we do nothing in Sudan. Why not just let all the war criminals go. When it comes to black people being slaughtered, do we look the other way?" Put aside for a moment the question of whether Mr. Bush misled the nation on W.M.D. in Iraq. It's just as important to ask whether he was truthful when he declared in his second inaugural address, "All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors." Mr. Bush, so far that has been a ringing falsehood -- but, please, make it true.

that is cheap! I thought he was like 600 or 700 per hour. I remember during the OJ trial, Shapiro and Cochran were allegedly getting 600 an hour, and that was 10 years ago. I work with people in NJ who get more than 400 and they are not as "famous" as Geragos or have as many high profile clients as Geragos...

http://www.jerusalempottery.biz/ It should work - I just tried it. There were three great pottery families who came to Jerusalem - Ohanessian, Karakashian and Balian. Ohanessian stayed until 1948 and the Karakashian-Balian joint workshop lasted from 1922 to about 1964. Since 1964, the families have worked separately and continue to work to this day. Our family was in the December 1927 issue of the National Geographic Magazine in a piece on Jerusalem. We have hundreds of their works in our home, a few from the time they were in Kutahya. The Israeli goverment even issued stamps in their honor in 2003. This is all listed at www.jerusalempottery.biz and also at http://www.uwic.ac.uk/ICRC/issue004/armenian.htm. That link has a wealth of information. Don't fall for the copied ones - only the Karakashians and Balians are the original founders that still work. Sandrouni copies everything and the rest are mainly machine made and cheap.

Go here - www.jerusalempottery.biz

Does anyone know Mark Geragos' hourly rate? I watched the Telethon from NJ via the Horizon channel and it was good. The Harout finale is always a good way to end it.

The fight was among the students at the seminary and dean. This had nothing to do with the Jews.

What do you like (in terms of Armenian music), if anything?

Here are the ones I know of: The Armenian Radio Hour of New Jersey 15 Hart Drive South Orange, NJ (973) 761-9520 The Armenian Weekly 80 Bigelow Avenue Watertown, MA The Armenian Reporter International Paramus, NJ

The beirutsis I know around where I live are spoiled and snobby. They think they are better than all over Armenians. They make fun of halebtsis and baghdadtsis.

What's wrong with Diasporan kids trying to speak Armenian to impress the Yerevantsis. At least they are trying. Most Armenians I know barely are able to speak it, so when they go to Armenia and struggle, I think that's a good thing.

how about the word for zoo gentanapanagan bardez so much to say so little.

You might be thinking about the ASA Artist's Ball. Johnny Roubian is who you are talking about... The AGBU New Year's Eve thing is in its 4th year and it is once again being held at the Union Square Ballroom, conveniently located in Union Square... Two years ago, it was a DJ. I'm guessing it will be a DJ again. If you want other types of music, Harout Pamboukjian is going to be in London; Paul Baghdadlian is going to be in Boston; and Onnik Dinkjian is going to be at a hotel in NJ.

I'll be there. I went two years ago and would have gone last year had I not been in Syria and Armenia.

where are you going in Livingston - let me guess - St. Mary's church for an event - baptism, wedding, etc... anahid - did you go see the vehapar any time this weekend.

Anyone go to the church services in NYC on Sunday, October 23 or to the dinner at The Pierre?

I think Roberts one day will become the lostest serving chief justice in American history. As for the new nominee, Miers, not much is known except that she has given money to democrats.

http://www.clanmedia.com/komidas/

Yes, Vartan Oskanian. The US is very much supportive of the Kocharian administration and is pushing for Vartan to be the next president. The 10 year rule is meaningless. As for the 1999 killings - there is no doubt that this group was behind the killings of Vazken and Garen. Vazken had a very very big ego and wanted to be the center of attention. This group felt threatened and eliminated them. This was the same group that heavily pushed for the election of Karekin II. There's no coincidence that the election for Catholicos and murders happened the same day - securing their political futures and putting their man in charge of Etchmiadzin.

Ted Kennedy voted to confirm Justice Scalia - look how that turned out...

In what sense are we different from the rest? He is a much better speaker than Karekin II. Aram I is a protege of Karekin I and tries to be like him. No one can come close to Karekin I. He was one of the most highly educated members of the clergy. His oratorical skills were unparalleled.

Serge will agree not to run and will back Vartan for president. Serge will keep his current job. Serge is not good at public speaking - he is more of a behind the scenes type of guy. That is why they loathed Vazken Sargisian and were allegedly the ones who ordered his assassination.

Isn't it all about the people counting the ballots instead of the people actually going to the polls.