Politics

Nothing has changed

Two years in a row an international watchdog Freedom House doesn’t register any change in Armenia in the direction of democracy and civil rights. “The impression is that in Armenia the situation is stagnant,” stated an expert of the Freedom House Catherine McAlec in her interview to Radio Liberty. She also added, “the main impression is that in Armenia the political situation is stagnant. The changes are intangible in both directions – positive and negative. The only improvement of 2011 was that the government cancelled its ban of allowing the opposition to hold rallies in the Liberty Square and entered into a dialog with the opposition. It also agreed to release the jailed oppositionists and expressed its commitment to investigating the 10 murder cases of March 1.” Despite these steps, the international organization two days ago released its report and once again rated Armenia as a “partially free” state, where there is no sufficient respect to political rights...

Business & Economy

We will meet the crisis with more vulnerable positions

While the political powers are discussing how to make teams for the elections, how to criticize the other powers, certain processes are happening in the world that may break all their plans. This concerns not only sanctions against Iran but economic processes in the world. The World Bank has published its report entitled Global Economic Prospects 2012: Uncertainties and Vulnerabilities. The World Bank has reduced its predictions concerning the Euro zone almost twice, and for the world economy – by one point. According to this publication, the growth of the world economy will be by 2.5% (the prediction was 3,6% six months ago). The Euro zone economy can be cut down by 0,3% instead of the expected 1,8% growth. If there are optimists who think that we are out of the world tendencies and our system is more or less closed and cannot be hit by the crisis, the WB informs that the crisis will first of all hit the developing countries. It would be correct to say that the processes have already hit the developing...

Society

Soldier’s eye was taken out

Legal proceedings have been launched over the recent incident in the military base called Yeghnikner on December 14. According to the spokeswoman of the defense ministry’s investigation department Mary Sargsyan, on December 14 the head of the kitchen department of N army basement of NKR Armen Tovmasyan met resistance on part of a soldier to do his order and hit with his hand and a chain in his hand a soldier named Narek Avetisyan, as a result of which the eye of the soldier was seriously injured. The investigation department of the NKR defense ministry has instituted legal proceedings under the article 375 of the Criminal Code. Narek Avetisyan is in Yerevan clinic after Malayan. The head of the clinic’s vascular unit has told the Radio Liberty that the soldier had been taken to their hospital with deep injury of eye and there could be no hope for recovering that eye from the very beginning because the injury was deep. “It was a very deep injury and there could be no word about recovering his...

Marzes

Khosrov reserve facing danger

Days ago Ecolur NGO received an alert call that the construction of a restaurant in Gilan reserve of Khostov forest had been continuing. Let us remember that the construction was on hold for awhile due to the efforts of the environmentalists. In order to find out the actual situation we visited Gilan reserve with the chair of the organization Inga Zarafyan. What a paradise… Perhaps Khosrov II Kotak King would never imagine that 17 centuries later in the forest established by him the current “elite” of Armenia would initiate a construction of a restaurant complex. The forest established by Khosrov II in 330-338 AD gained a status of a state reserve only in 1958. The reserve was created to improve and enrich the fauna and flora of the forest. It occupies approximately 27.000 hectares of land and is stretched along the south-western side of Geghama mountain chain. The Armenian moufflon (wild sheep) is the most commonly seen animal there and the goat of bezoar. Among the birds we mostly see the...

World

It is impossible

The European parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the Russian government to cancel the results of the parliamentary elections on December 4 and hold new free elections. In the same resolution the European MPs are calling on Russia to register all opposition parties before the next elections and investigate all electoral violations on December 4. The European parliament has asked the EU leadership to raise these issues during the EU-Russia two-day summit. Of course there is no possibility that Russia may invalidate the results of elections, and following the mentioned announcement the Russian foreign minister announced that those issues would not be discussed during the meetings as those were not included in the agenda. According to the Russian government, this resolution is not correct and it is an attempt to interfere with the internal affairs of another country. However, this announcement concerning violated elections concerns positive messages too. Maybe it is not so much targeted at Russia but other...

Science

“There is nothing that is not or will not be there”

- In Armenia the same archaic method of granting academic degrees without actual academic investment continues. We have numerously mentioned that education is first of all politics. It is the weapon of rectifying the role of each person in the state. - Not having science is equal to not having weapon and armament on the battlefield although the science is being bargained and especially in the field of politics. During the years of the Cold War, and in my opinion it still continues, big powerful states are establishing special scientific directions. The goal is to divert the countries from their main directions and objectives. The enemy state was thriving to this direction and policy. They’d survey, spend money and then realize that no results have been achieved. And now in the world science there is a middle level, where talented scientists are included. Their work is being monitored by educational centers of powerful states. We first of all mean the scientists of the third world, including Armenia. After...

Technology

Steve Wozniak: ‘Everything is yet starting’

Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple Computer Inc., a Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist for more than thirty years, has helped shape the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products the Apple I and II and influenced the popular Macintosh. In 1976, Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. with Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. The following year, he introduced his Apple II personal computer, featuring a central processing unit, a keyboard, color graphics, and a floppy disk drive. The Apple II was integral in launching the personal computer industry. In 1981, he went back to UC Berkeley and finished his degree in electrical engineering/computer science. For his achievements at Apple Computer, Wozniak was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President of the United States in 1985, the highest honor bestowed on America’s leading innovators. Through the years, Wozniak has been involved in various business and philanthropic ventures, focusing primarily...

Education

Modern writers are no more pneumonic and untimely dead

But it is anticipated that it will happen in the school textbooks. The school curriculum of literature is made in such a way that the knowledge of the students starts from Mashtos and ends with Hrant Matevosyan. So it is impossible to receive any information about the modern literature. Perhaps the reason is that, according to the developers of literature curriculums, the modern writers don’t have any valuable pieces. So it would be a total waste of time for the students to become acquainted with those writers and their pieces. But the doctor of literature, expert of literature Ani Pashayan and the candidate for literature Arkmenik Nikoghosyan have a different opinion. A.P. –Armenian language and literature subjects should be most expected ones. Literature is among the first with its context and existence. Here the teacher has to play a priority role. We should understand who the teacher is and how he/she teaches. It is impossible to connect teaching of literature with only the textbooks. First of...

People

“Hey Armenian people, your salvation lies in accurate methodic work”

Says PR expert Vazrik Bazil

Books & Arts

“I like to dig into the nature of people” says painter Anna Navasardian

When looking at twenty two year old painter Anna Navasardian’s paintings (annanavasardian.com) the first impression is wonder. The depth of impression, cool colors, and the dramatic inner state of her characters are jarring, and you ask yourself “is it possible that the author of these paintings is so young?” Anna lives in the United States where she moved with her family at the age of one. She started painting when she was a child, attended high school for the arts, and later graduated from the College of Fine Art at Carnegie Mellon University. - So you knew what you wanted to do as a child? - I have always liked painting and sketching. I used anything available, markers, pens, etc. - You work on a relatively large scale. Do you have a lot to say? - You know why? Usually I prefer to paint people. On large canvases figures have more presence. More so, they become part of their environments. My purpose is not to describe the physical attributes of a person but to illuminate at least one moment...

Leisure

Armenicum against tuberculosis

Haik Avetisyan, who is a registered patient in the Abovyan city tuberculosis dispensary of the RA Ministry of Healthcare asked us to examine the results of an experiment done in 2005, which in fact had to be done by totally different institutions. According to him, after testing the Armenicum medicine 29 people with tuberculosis sickness have died. “In 2005, when the Armenicum had been just discovered, they had to do some experiments. At that time I was getting treatment at the tuberculosis dispensary. They tested the Armenicum on 30 people, 29 out of which died, and one of them stayed alive because managed to escape,” assures V.Avetisyan and adds that it was done by taking signatures from the patients. He says doctors have suggested him too but he refused. “I was there at that time. The patients subject to the experiment were guarded by people with guns and one could not see what was happening inside. It was not injection, it was a long procedure. Those 29 guys died,” he said. We called...

Sports

Our football players played brilliantly

“The whole nation was following the game of Armenian national team with the greatest attention. The national consolidation and great attention are the most valuable achievements irrespective of the results of the game. I don’t want to give evaluation to the outcome of the game, but I must say that our football players played brilliantly” stated RA President Serzh Sargsyan during the annual award in the sphere of IT technologies referring to the football match Armenia vs. Ireland and added: “Nobody could even dream about such a success two or three years ago. Professionals will always find their way, but it requires much effort, patience, persistence and purposefulness. I am sure we possess those features as a united entity, as Armenian nation. I am sure the awards you were given today may prove it the best, since you earned it due to honest and persistent work”....

Health Care

Dentistry should be developed in Armenia,- says doctor from Germany Octavian Fagaras

During these days Doctor Octavian Fagaras visited Armenia, who is a certified expert of DGOI (Association of Oral Implantologists of Germany), Diplomat of ICOI (International Congress of Implantologists) and authorized representative/trainer of German Bredent Medical company, who also has his own clinic in Romania. The visit of Dr. Fagaras to our country has the purpose to examine the sector of dentistry in Armenia and try to cooperate with the experts of dentistry in the country. After examining the sector of dentistry in Armenia Dr. Octavian Fagaras thinks that Armenian specialists have to develop the sector because still there is a lot to do in dentistry in Armenia. Armenia, as the other post-Soviet countries, is apart from the international developments technologies and permanent achievements in implantology. - When did you start cooperation with Armenian implantologists and what kind of programs are you going to implement with Armenia in the future? - I visited Armenia for the first time in 2010 by the...

Pressing

Russian capital in Armenia: political or economic presence?

The “Pressing” club adjacent to “168 Zham” newspaper held a discussion on the topic of the presence of the Russian capital in Armenia. Namely, the discussion was focused on the issue whether the presence of the Russian capital has political reasons or no. The conductor of the discussion, economic analyst Ara Galoyan said that there had been many facts proving both the political presence and the economic presence and asked the participants whether such big share of presence of the Russian capital in Armenia is not dangerous. “I have the latest publication concerning the foreign investments in Armenia. The share of direct investments on the part of Russia during the period of January-June, 2007, grew by 3,8 times, and the indirect investments - by 24,4 times. How is such great growth possible in the Armenian economy just from the economic point of view? Is the reason the fact that our economy is small?” he asked. The president and general director of “ArmRusGazard”...