Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Elections 2007 or game theory at work.

The political forces in opposition to the Kocharian administration have failed to reach an agreement to unite their efforts and take part in the 2007 parliamentary elections as one entity. This indeed is good news for the incumbent parties: the Republicans, the Dashnak, the shapeless opportunists; and the Dod party.



I don't know whether this inability to unite is by design, i.e. some people have been paid to undermine the efforts, or whether this is the result of the giant egos of the opposition. When one adopts a cynical view of the opposition parties, it seems that these are not sustainable forces. They look like the private clubs of the gifted visionaries -AJM for Vazgen Manukian, HJK for Stepan Demirchian, etc. And since their ultimate goal is to get a mandate, the limited number of available seats makes the chance of getting that spot slim.



So, what can we learn from the game theory that is applicable to the current situation. Let's look at two parties vying for one available spot.



coop. alone

c-------+-------+

o either| party1|

o wins | wins |

p-------+-------+

a party2| both |

l wins | lose |

o-------+-------+

n

e



Basically, if the opposition can win only if both cooperate. If one party cooperates but the other one doesn't then the one who didn't cooperate wins. Since in this case each of the parties will not have an incentive to cooperate, they will not cooperate and both will lose.



The key here is to figure out a mechanism that gives an incentive for both of them to cooperate even though one of them will not win. I cannot come up with such an incentive. Unless some of these parties are willing to invest their efforts for changing the regime without expecting a personal payoff.


Friday, February 23, 2007

An interesting observation about the Armenian blogosphere.

Recently I have discovered that besides the English language Armenian blogs, there is actually quite a vibrant Russian language Armenian community in the blogosphere. Quite a few of the authors live in Armenia but a large portion of them are based in Russia itself.

A small list can be found in Հայկական բլոգերի լրաքաղ (or the English version Armenian blog review) bilingual site. In reviewing a recent Ayl@ntrank rally, Observer has included a list of Russian language blog posts where the authors remember the early 90-s when Armenia was in deep recession because of the war with Azerbaijan, blocked channels of communication through Azerbaijan, Georgia (due to the Abkhaz war) and Turkey. The residents of Armenia at that time will remember that the only lifeline was through the Zvartnots airport. The frequent explosions of the gas pipeline on the Azeri populated Georgian territory. These were truly difficult times but I think the authorities at the time overcame them and prevented such catastrophic events as the loss of the country to the better armed and vicious enemy.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Save MEI - the Melkonian Educational Institute.


savemelkonian_petition, originally uploaded by nazarian.




www.SaveMelkonian.org has an online petition to lobby the government officials of Cyprus to join the fight to keep the Melkonian school open. Please join us and send your request to the Cypriot officials.


There are two version of it - one is for the nationals of Cyprus, and the other one if for non-Cypriots. They both go to the same officials and the text is almost identical.


Of course, if you want to send these petitions by yourself, I have posted the emails of the President, Foreign minister, and the Education Minister a few blog entries below.


Please visit and help out the Cypriot Armenians and the Melkonian alumni. We cannot afford to lose one more Armenian landmark in Diaspora.



Sunday, February 11, 2007

Photo for February 11, 2007.


YellowTrees, originally uploaded by nazarian.

Friday, February 09, 2007

«Յոգուրտային կուլտուրական կենդանի»

I came across this phrase today: «Յոգուրտային կուլտուրական կենդանի». It translates to 'cultured yogurt animal'. It basically refers to the bacteria used to make yogurt. The funny part is that the word 'cultured' has been translated to 'kulturakan' which in Armenian means 'intellectual' instead of translating it as 'cultivated' or 'bazmacvatz'.

Lookalikes: American cartoon hero Yosemite Sam.


Seyran_Saroyan, originally uploaded by nazarian.

Lookalikes: Armenian General Seyran Saroyan.


Yosemite-sam, originally uploaded by nazarian.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Libertarian-Socialist blog.

I just came across a blog that represents 'anarchists in exile are analyzing Armenian and global politics'. The purpose is to introduce Libertarian-Socialist ideology to the Armenian audiences.



I am not a big fan of Socialism because we have seen what such policies can lead to in real life. When property belongs to everyone, it does not belong to anyone. The human beings are a little less sophisticated than what the Socialists credit them with. I know only of one example where means of production belong to the community and it actually works. It's the kibbutzism in Israel. Even then, kibbutz communities are a small minority in the Israeli society.



But I am a big fan of Libertarianism. Libertarianism does not exclude the formation of a socialist or communist society. I am against anarchy - one should keep an eye on the government but constantly opposing it is not a realistic goal.



Anyway. What does Libertarianism have to do with Armenia? If anyone has lived there, s/he has probably come across the state structure in daily life. It seems, at least to me it did, that half of the urban population is somehow employed by the government. The government acts like a big welfare system by hiring all these people and paying them salaries.



These people, of course, have to justify their existence. So you have a situation where most of what you want to do it regulated. The state creates issues for the citizens to resolve, and when one attempts to resolve them, s/he has to run around from one department to another, from one room to the other, and so on. 'Notes from hayrenik' blog has a number of such Kafkaesque stories.



The newly formed 'Aylntrank' ('The Alternative') movement in Armenia (disclaimer, some of my friends are members of it), also mentions the problems created by the bloated government system. The Armenian population has to be weened off of the tit of the government (I was going to say 'weened off of the tit of the taxpayer' but that sounds a little disturbing). The taxpayers' money should be utilized more efficiently - good education system that is available and affordable to every single citizen, strong defense force pretty much like the American Marines, modern communications infrastructure such as a railroad to Zangezur or fast internet pipelines through fiber optics and satellite systems, etc. People have to have a sense that they are responsible for their livelihoods - a major portion of the population has this sense but a lot of people expect government handouts, and a lot of them are employed by the state to basically create problems for the ones who don't.


Monday, February 05, 2007

Another effort to prevent the closure of Melkonian.

Cyprus Mail has another article about the Melkonian School closure in Cyprus. I had posted an earlier update about the AGBU being granted the right to sell the property of the school.



The Armenian community has not seized its fight to keep the school open. I believe that there is a case for the European Court. Let us see how the events proceed.



I have sent emails to the government representatives bringing the issue to their attention. I urge my fellow Armenians to contact these officials as well to put pressure on them. Here is the text of the email for Cypriot Armenians:



Dear Mr. [name] ,



I am writing this letter to urge you to take action towards the preservation of the Melkonian School in Lefkosia. You may know that Melkonian School was founded to accommodate the scholarly needs of the children orphaned by the Genocide of the Armenian nation in 1915. Since then the school has grown into a renowned institution worldwide. It has had thousands of graduates from Cyprus, and all over the world.



The Cypriot graduates of Melkonian have had a tremendous input in developing Cyprus into a strong and vibrant country. I am sure you know some of them.



The international students of Melkonian have returned to their countries with utmost respect for the Cypriot society and have, and continue to spread the word about Cyprus. This is an important avenue to foster and maintain the Cypriot goodwill around the world. These graduates have become influential in their respective societies and continue to advocate for the just resolution of the problems facing Cyprus such as the illegal occupation of the North.



Unfortunately, Cyprus is facing the prospect of losing this important pipeline of influence abroad. The current trustees of Melkonian have shut down the school. To me, and fellow Cypriots that I have communicated my fears to, this is not acceptable.



We have to seize this opportunity and show to the worldwide Armenian community that we, the Cypriots, value our heritage, and understand the long-term consequences of losing Melkonian.



As a Cypriot I urge you to take a firm stand and fight to keep Melkonian in Cyprus. It is far too important of an institution to lose.



Sincerely;




Here is the text if you are not a Cypriot citizen. Your opinion is important as well. It is probably more important than a Cypriot's letter.



Dear Mr. [name],



I am writing this letter to urge you to take action towards the preservation of the Melkonian School in Lefkosia. You may know that Melkonian School was founded to accommodate the scholarly needs of the children orphaned by the Genocide of the Armenian nation in 1915. Since then the school has grown into a renowned institution worldwide. It has had thousands of graduates from Cyprus, and all over the world.



The Cypriot graduates of Melkonian have had a tremendous input in developing Cyprus into a strong and vibrant country. I am sure you know some of them.



The international students of Melkonian have returned to their countries with utmost respect for the Cypriot society and have, and continue to spread the word about Cyprus. This is an important avenue to foster and maintain the Cypriot goodwill around the world. These graduates have become influential in their respective societies and continue to advocate for the just resolution of the problems facing Cyprus such as the illegal occupation of the North.



Unfortunately, Cyprus is facing the prospect of losing this important pipeline of influence abroad. The current trustees of Melkonian have shut down the school. To me, and others concerned about Cyprus that I have communicated my fears to, this is not acceptable.



We have to seize this opportunity and show to the world community that the Cypriots value their heritage, and understand the long-term consequences of losing Melkonian.



As an Armenian friend of Cyprus, I urge you to take a firm stand and fight to keep Melkonian in Cyprus. It is far too important of an institution to lose.



Sincerely;




Here are the addresses that the letters can be sent:



The President of Cyprus: president@presidency.gov.cy


The Foreign Minister Lillikas: minforeign1@mfa.gov.cy


The Minister of Education Georgiades: pgeorgiades@moec.gov.cy


The Attorney General of Cyprus: roc-law@cytanet.com.cy