Turkish Hotel Denies Accomodation to 120 Children

When was the last time you heard of an Armenian hotel doing this? Then they say I'm biased!

Monaco Beach Hotel of Turkish Kemer was to accommodate the Moscow youth. But the busses with children and teens were going from one seaside resort to another till 6:00 p.m., as the children were banned from entering the hotel hall. The youngest of them were losing consciousness due to the lack of water.

...another reason of delay was the desire of hotel authorities to get $16,000 compensation for the previous group.

Filthy. Disgusting. Genuinely Turkish.

Source: Kommersant

Armenia Exports Bananas...NOT!

You must be thinking that I've gone B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Hetq found this bit of statistical curiosity and decided to investigate:

In 2006, Armenia exported 3002 tons of bananas to the Bahamas and 91 tons to Georgia. In 2005, 594 tons of bananas were exported to the Bahamas. The Republic of Armenia’s State Council on Statistics provided these figures.

If you're thinking WTF, you're not alone. Surely bananas don't grow in Armenia, so how can they be exported to other countries? Funny you should ask.

...in 2005-2006 the "Ketrin Ltd" firm exported 59.44 kilos of banana oil to the Bahamas, an amount equivalent to the 755.4 tons of bananas imported on a temporary basis for reprocessing purposes...

So some statistical bluffing, then? Sure seems wasteful to ship bananas from the Bahamas to Armenia only to ship it back, especially given the high cost of trasportation in the last couple of years. But there's more!

The "Godfather of Bananas" was Grisha Harutyunyan, the former Deputy Chief of the National Security Service. He in fact owns "Ketrin Ltd". He has been lining his pockets with untaxed profits for years on end. We’re not talking about $1 or $2 million, but rather tens of millions of dollars.

A tale of greed and the shadow economy: that's more believable!

Source: Hetq

Armenian Churches Become UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Very happy about this one!

Located in Iran, the Monastic Ensembles are represented by three churches: St. Stepanos, the Chapel of Dzordzor, and St. Thaddeus, the latter being one of the oldest churches in the world, whose construction began 1700 years ago.

A terrific step towards preserving a bit of our culture from destruction, but still a long way to go!

Source: HotelClub

German Hostages Freed in Turkey

The Kurdish group PKK has released three German hostages in Turkey.

The tourists were seized from their camp on Mount Ararat in Turkey's eastern Agri province on 9 July.

The PKK had vowed not to release them unless Germany renounced its crackdown on the group, defined as a terrorist organisation by the US, EU and Turkey.

My first observation is that climbers are indeed allowed on Mount Ararat, contrary to popular Armenian belief, and the other that the PKK is becoming a real thorn on Turkey's political ambitions.

Source: BBC News

Video: Gary Kasparov & The Flying Phallus

Words fail to describe this.

Chocolatier Nestle Upsets Azerbaijan

What can an international candy company possibly do to upset Azerbaijan? This one is sweet in more ways than one:

The CD-ROM [attached to a breakfast ceral as a gift] featured information about countries around the world but the data on Azerbaijan caused outrage there.

It said that Azerbaijan had started a war against neighbouring Armenia and that the hotly disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh belonged to Armenia.

Nestle has now issued a formal apology but some Azeris are still not happy. They accuse Nestle of playing Armenia's hand, and are demanding more than just an apology to chew on.

It looks like my choice of snack on those long days prank-calling the Azeri embassy is firmly and deliciously decided.

A free t-shirt to anyone who can produce an original CD from Azerbaijan for publication on TheArmeniaBlog.com and elsewhere!

Source: BBC News

Peace Artist Killed in Turkey

Yet another murder in a backwards society that seems to value the killing of those whose opinions are disagreeable.

The naked body of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, 33, known as Pippa Bacca, was found in bushes near the northern city of Gebze on Friday.

Ms di Marineo was hitch-hiking from Milan to Israel and the Palestinian Territories with a fellow artist on their "Brides on Tour" project.

She had said she wanted to show that she could put her trust in the kindness of local people.

What is there left to say? Even peace inspires murder in Turkey.

Source: BBC News

Pic: Is this the future of Yerevan?

Is this the future of our fair capital? It would be a stretch to compare Moscow to Yerevan, that much is true, but the above picture is a possible glimpse into the future of a fast growing city, one that puts profits ahead of a sustainable, long-term growth.

Photo by Alexander Petrenko. Click for bigger version.

Jet Crashes in Zvartnots, All Survived

Not the kind of news you expect to see on a day as innocent as Valentine's Day.

A plane carrying 21 people has crashed on takeoff from Armenia's capital, but there were no deaths reported...

The plane, a Canadair CRJ-100, was heading for Minsk, Belarus, when it flipped over on the runway at Zvartnots Airport and burst into flames...

What a miracle that no one was injured, but it seems suspicious that they have not yet identified the airline to which the plane belonged. Armavia was at the tip of my tongue, to be honest.

Update: Thanks to reader AB, it seems that the airline was Belavia, the national airline of Belarus. It is also revealed that the airplane's wing clipped the runway on takeoff, causing it to crash. On board were 4 citizens of Belarus, 1 of Russia, 1 of Ukraine, 5 of Georgia, and the rest of Armenia.

Source: AP

Turks Remember Hrant Dink

It seems like yesterday but it has indeed been more than a year since Hrant Dink was assassinated in Turkey. Here is an excerpt from a BBC article:

At a short ceremony led by Mr Dink's close friends and family, crowds of people marked his murder at 1457 (1257 GMT) on 19 January 2007 with a moment of silence outside the offices of the Agos newspaper.

The trial, which began in July, is being held behind closed doors because the alleged gunman, Ogun Samast, is 17 years old.

Mr Dink's family has accused the authorities of collusion, and the court is also considering allegations of a cover-up.

Shouldn't something as crucial as this trial, at least to Turkey's future as a member of the EU, be highly public so that the entire world can see whether justice is being served or merely covered up? This simply inspires more due suspicion from the Armenians, Turks, and the world at large.

Stealing Armenia's Gold, Again

Ah, gold. What self-respecting Armenian doesn't have at least a few pounds of it stashed somewhere? As of this very moment, the price of Gold stands at $833.20, having made a mad rush to that position in the last few years, no thanks to the present economic uncertainties. So where does Armenia fit in all of this, you ask?

In the town of Ararat - about an hour's drive south of Yerevan, Armenia's capital - investors from Russia have moved in to take control of what is believed to be one of the biggest gold-mining operations in the country.

But there's more to it than that.

Azerbaijan says a considerable amount of the Zod mine is in its territory, at present occupied by the Armenian military.

And let's not forget the previous owners:

In 2002, AGRC was taken over by a company controlled by the family of Indian mining billionaire Aneel Agarwal. But its operations were closed down after the Armenian authorities accused the company of reneging on various licensing agreements. The company was charged with tax fraud and environmental violations and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Besides the laughable notion of the Armenian government charging anyone with tax fraud, this is yet another nail in the coffin that is Armenia's economic future. We've given away nearly everything in the name of short term profits, but what of the future?

Critics will contend that some of the assets are actually on a long-term lease, but this isn't the case with all of them. Besides, how absurd is it that to revitalize the economy and move it forward means giving control of important assets to foreigners? We only have so much left!

Source: BBC News

Turkey Attacks Kurds, Again

Looks like Turkey is attempting to relive its glory days once again, the days when it attempted to eradicate entire communities for sport.

Fighter planes attacked positions held by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a 35-minute raid, the army said.

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Levent Bilman told the BBC the United States "supplied actionable intelligence" for that operation.

Besides the healthy dose of bullshit present in the article as well as the entire conflict, the level of patriotism over U.S.-made weapons at the control of barbarians is also laughable. Frankly, I await the day when Turkey is no longer a strategic ally of the United States and is forced to return to its not-so-distant caveman past.

Source: BBC News

Gary Kasparov Beat, Detained

The latest trend in "democratic" Russia:

Riot police beat and detained opposition leader Garry Kasparov Saturday as they took dozens of protesters into custody at a rally against President Vladimir Putin, his assistant said.

He was later taken to a city court, where he was charged with organizing an unsanctioned protest and resisting arrest. The court proceedings were continuing Saturday evening and it was unclear whether Kasparov would be released.

Kasparov has been speaking out against Putin for quite some time.

Source: AP

Jews Spitting on Armenian Crosses in Jerusalem

Jews have always been Anti-Armenian, but they've reached a new low even by their standards.

On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.

"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" asks Archbishop Nourhan Manougian.

The boy's punishment? A promise of a "trial" and a ban of 75 days from the Old City. Let me go to a synagogue and spit on and break a Star of David and then let's see if I will get a 75 day ban.

And by the way, the source is Haaretz, a Jewish news site, not anti-Semitic nonsense.

Welcome to Hell, aka Georgia

Click to enlarge.

Here's what the BBC has to say on the issue, which seems to be winding down:

In an address on state television on Thursday, Mr Saakashvili gave in to opposition demands and brought presidential elections forward to January.

A day earlier, he had imposed a state of emergency after riot police used force to put down opposition protests in the capital, Tbilisi.

Something tells me that we haven't see the last of the Georgian stormtroopers.

David Nalbandian: Armenian-Argentinian Tennis Pro

Sound familiar? David Nalbandian is of Armenian descent and was born in Argentina in 1982. As of May 2007, he ranks 18th among all male tennis players in the world. In fact, he won the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup!

Is tennis the fourth sport that we're slowly coming to dominate? Boxing, wrestling, weight lifting, and now, tennis!

Source: WikiPedia

Dr. Kevorkian Released from Prison

I realize I'm posting this about 3 weeks too late, but it's news to me!

...he will live with friends and resume the artistic and musical hobbies he missed while in prison. His lawyer and friends have said he plans to live on a small pension and Social Security while doing some writing and make some speeches...

...and euthanize some more people!

Source: The Seattle Times

Video: Turkish Children Circumcised by Butchers

I don't normally post things of this nature, but this video shocked me so much that I decided to publish it anyway. Here is the caption:

50 Turkish children from poor families were circumcised in a butchers in Geyve, north western Turkey on Monday, an event organised and paid for by Geyve Municipality. The children were lain down on a bench in the butcher's and circumcised one by one.

If you doubt the butcher claim, have a look at the surroundings: it's a market and the signs and writings in the video prove it.

I must warn you, this video is EXTREMELY GRAPHIC and contains mature content. If you feel you may be offended by barbaric violence, some nudity, and other reprehensible content, please DO NOT watch.



Please leave your reactions in the comments area.

Armenia's Diamond Trade in Decline

The stone itself may last forever, but its trade certainly doesn't!

Armenia's diamond trade overall however has hit a rough patch in the past two years. Armenia reported a 35 percent decline in rough imports from all nations for the first couple of months in 2007, following an overall diamond export drop of 20 percent in 2006 to $212 million.

The article does not mention the reasons for this decline, but I suppose it has to do with cheaper labor in places like India and globalization. Anything can be blamed on globalization!

Source: Rapaport News

Possible Imprisonment for Hrant Dink's Son

Will the madness ever stop?

The Istanbul prosecutor office urges up to 3 years of imprisonment for Arat Dink, the son of Hrant Dink. An action against Agos editor Arat Dink and his fellow Sargis Serobyan was brought for a repeated publication of Hrant Dink’s interview where he recognized the Armenian Genocide.

"The most absurd and dangerous is the fact that describing a historical event as 'genocide' is perceived as insulting Turkishness," Arat Dink said.

Absurd isn't quite the word I'd use to describe the laws and lack of freedoms in Turkey!

Source: PanArmenian