Armenia 1st at Chess Olympiad

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) — The Russian team — touted as the strongest ever assembled for a Chess Olympiad — was derailed in Thursday open division play in round seven of the tournament by the defending gold medal Armenian team 2.5-1.5, which took sole possession of first place.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gCmwdNbwpHllEtN1Iro-PZJjL98gD94ITT2O1

How a Turk destroyed Merrill Lynch

Nothing against Turks, but it seems their homeboy Osman Semerci almost singlehandedly destroyed Merrill Lynch as we knew it.

Whispering Memories / Anadolu'dan F?s?lt?lar

Young documentary filmmaker and journalist Mehmet Binay’s “Whispering Memories” handles the story of Armenians who stayed rather than left during the incidents of 1915.

http://whispering-memories-docu.blogspot.com/

About Armenian newspapers & et ceteras

Sevana woke up my curiosity, which Armenian newspaper is that centenarian "UFO" ?
Not much newspapers - specially Armenians - can boast about such a longevity.

Thanks mayrig and internet here's the info : http://www.acam-france.org/contacts/diaspora-monde/turquie.htm

So it's JAMANAK, daily newspaper, entirely in Armenian till today, and founded in Istanbul, 1908 (not the present Jamanag newspaper of Armenia).

Chronologically speaking, i guess that the next most old one in the world, is the French oratert HARATCH founded in France 1925 (the newspaper voluntary ceased publication during nazi's occupation in WWII), also entirely written in armenian.
It celebrated it's 80th anniversary 3 years ago, which was worth an exhaustive article from France-Arménie : Haratch, une vie de plomb et de papier
"plomb" =lead, because the newspaper's still printed today in the antic way : with lead letters that a person must place in the "press" machines.

Most of armenians in France are aware of this venerable newspaper's weakness, surviving in a incredible way, absolutely linked to the life of Arpik Missakian, and whose number of armenian readers lessen more and more as time passes. And i also witness often how weak is the situation of other Armenian newspapers in France, even in french and with a slower periodicity !

Comparing France and Turkey is edifying : Armenian community in France is something like 10 times more numerous than Turkey's one... who has not only one, but 2 daily newspapers in armenian, the other is MARMARA also founded since so long, in 1940 !
Haratch in France is the only daily newspaper, there's no other Armenian daily newspaper here, even in french. Needless to say that there's no comparison possible about our community's liberties here, with the ones "tolerated" for the armenians of Turkey...

Anyway, it's like Armenian schools declining situation, and more generally everywhere : the disappearance threat of "Armenianness"... but, we don't know how, still here, and even more strongly in the worst conceivable environment.

News - bigger news to come?

So the oldest Armenian daily newspaper is 100 years old. Still being published in Istanbul. Who'd have thought it would hang on?

Also, the head negotiators from the US, Russia and France on Karabakh went to Baku and now Yerevan - and earlier in the day President Serzh headed to Karabakh - presumably to meet with the Karabakh authorities. The Armenian and Azeri presidents had in Moscow with the Russian president less than 2 weeks ago, again to discuss peace and for the first time signed a paper together, even though all it said was they would step up efforts for a negotiated peace.

Lot's of talking by two presidents who were recently elected and have 5 years in office, so they don't have to worry about elections anytime soon. Can it be they're getting serious about a deal?

What is the US hiding about the genocide?

Lawsuit filed Against US National Archives To Obtain Documentation On Armenian Genocide

Los Angeles, Calif.--A civil action against the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States was filed yesterday seeking documents as they relate to the Armenian Genocide (1914 to 1925). (Vartkes Yeghiayan v. National Archives and Records Administration of the United States of America, Case No. CV08-16248, U.S. District Court, Central District of Calif., Sept. 23, 2008).

"Repeated efforts have been made to procure these documents, but the National Archives has been non-responsive," says Mark MacCarley, partner with Glendale, Calif.-based MacCarley & Rosen who is representing plaintiff Vartkes Yeghiayan. "Its actions are in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

The initial request by Yeghiayan occurred in April 2006. "The National Archives acknowledged receipt of the request, but has not provided the information despite repeated inquires from my client," says MacCarley. "The National Archives, without explanation, has exceeded the generally applicable 20-day deadline for processing FOIA requests. We simply want the requested documentation."

Yeghiayan is an attorney who has successfully litigated lawsuits in State and Federal courts against U.S. and foreign businesses for Armenian Genocide asset restitution. More than 1.5 million Armenians were killed during the genocide with millions more deported from the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). Yeghiayan filed the FOIA request because he believes documents are being held by the U.S. government that would identify countries having either direct complicity in the Armenian Genocide or profited by the Ottoman Turks actions against Armenians.

"This lawsuit is on behalf of Armenian-Americans who are seeking documentation and information that could shed light on what happened to their loved ones during the Armenian Genocide,” says Yeghiayan.

http://www.centerar.org

European Court of Human Rights rules against Armenian government

It's great to see that the Armenian government is now accountable to a higher court of human rights, since the courts there are so obviously not interested in upholding peoples rights when it comes to people vs. the government. The ECHR gave A1+ news station in Armenia a 30,000 Euro settlement for the violations of its rights by the Armenian government. The government has agreed to pay it. Too bad the fine was so small. Even sadder is that it comes from government coffers, not from the pockets of individuals in government actually responsible for this.

If more people take their cases to this court, it's conceivable that the Armenian government will behave just a little better.