Banditocracy and the army

While it is difficult to find anything positive in the behavior of the SS regime, sometimes there are things that are outside of the regular absurdity of their thoughts, words and actions.

This blog has in the past reflected upon the sometimes outrageous atmosphere in the Armenian Army. After all, they are part of the muscle that oppresses the people and massacres them when ordered as we saw on March 1 of 2008.

But beyond that, their main duty is to protect the peace and territory of Armenia and Karabakh so I, just like the majority of Armenians, are willing to praise them for the positive steps taken to make sure that they remain the guarantors of the safety from our enemy - Azerbaijan.

Lately the army has been willing to allow openness of information instead of sweeping the bad news under the rug. The latest example was about an army base commander who assaulted a group of young persons one of whom eventually died as a result. In the old days, he would have gotten away with it. Now he has been relieved of his duties.

He will still not go to prison (this, after all, remains a banditocracy where murderers are highly prized) but at least there has been a symbolic gesture of some kind of adverse reaction.

One step at a time, I guess.

Ohan Durian.

Heaven admittied one more soul today. Ohan Durian passed away this morning.

Rest in peace, Maestro.

Ernest Vardanyan admits guilt, asks for clemency.

Ernest Vardanyan was a journalist of Armenian origin that was imprisoned in the Trans-Dniestr Republic for espionage. Prior to that, he was a very active member of the Armenian Forums calling the political prisoners 'criminals that deserve to be imprisoned'. As luck had it, he himself became what was considered a political prisoner jailed for his journalistic activities.

Well, it is now clear that this is not quite true. He was not a journalist jailed for his views. He has now admitted to being a spy. So much for all that support for him.

[...] Էռնեստ Վարդանյանն այդ նամակում ընդունում է իր մեղքը: Նա նշել է, որ խաբեության ճանապարհով 9 տարիների ընթացքում հավաքագրված է եղել Մոլդովայի հատուկ ծառայությունների կողմից, սակայն Մոլդովայի օգտին լրտեսությամբ զբաղվել է իր կամքին հակառակ, իսկ ձերբակալությունից հետո զղջացել է կատարածի համար, իր մեղքը գիտակցում է եւ խնդրել է ներում շնորհել: [...]

more on Radio Liberty

Let's see what happens.

Very Important Interview.

Today's Aravot has an interview with Levon Zurabyan. He touches a number of issues but the main point is the necessity of open and honest relationships with the people.Here is an excerpt:

[...] I have always believed in people's collective intelligence. It may seem that people do not understand these nuances but it's not true. The political power, which presents the political realities honestly and in depth, wins. It also wins when it presents what the nation needs to do to defend the interests of the people of both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh people's interests, and it wins when it shows diplomatic flexibility. [...]

The full interview is available here in Armenian. Use Google Translate to get an idea of what Mr Zurabyan says in English.

Armpit News.

Ments make it big: Rolling Stones quotes Alik Sargsyan, "I do not like emos, in fact. I absolutely don't like them."

Lag Time: 3 Weeks.

I've noticed a curious coincidence with the speeches of Putvedev and Serj Sargsyan. There seems to be a 2-3 week lag between what Putin or Medvedev say and what Serj Sargsyan says. For example, a few days ago SS made a speech at his party's gathering which was the same as Medvedev has said 3 weeks earlier.

November 23, 2010: "We have seen a threat of stability becoming a factor of stagnation. Such a stagnation is equally damaging for the ruling party and opposition forces" - Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president

December 19, 2010: "Very stable conditions can lead to a solid state, weakening of dynamics, standing water typically becomes a swamp" - Serzh Sargsyan

via Smbat Gogyan

Shortage of Eastern Armenian Actors in LA

Yesterday I was catching up with the Showtime series Weeds. An older theme there was an Armenian drug dealing gang.

There are two types of Armenian characters in Hollywood productions. One is a hard working small business owner who is a descendant of the Metz Yeghern survivor. The other type is a violent criminal belonging to an Armenian gang. The first type is a Western Armenian. The second type is a recent emigrant from the USSR.

What was strange was that the actors playing the Armenian gangsters were Arabs. And the language they spoke was in Western Armenian.

With the latest news stories of some of our criminal compatriots trying to rip off the US government, trying to sell weapons to terrorists and the Armenian government selling weapons to Iran, it's clear that the negative stereotypes of Armenians are going to persist and probably become worse.

To portray these characters in the movies and the media, there will be opportunities for Armenian actors to have a steady stream of villain roles.

The Misery of the Armenian Police State

Հանրահավաքի ավարտից հետո, սակայն, երբ մասնակիցները որոշել են երթ անցկացնել, ոստիկանության մեծաքանակ ուժերը հարձակվել են երթի մասնակիցների վրա եւ բռնություն կիրառելով, փորձել են խոչընդոտել երթի անցկացումը:

Արդյունքում ՀԱԿ-ի ակտիվիստներից մեկին` Հրանտ Թամրազյանին ոստիկանության «Վիլիս» ավտոմեքենայով տարել ոստիկանության բաժին, որին որոշ ժամանակ անց բաց են թողել: Ոստիկաններից մեկն, անգամ փորձել է ֆոտոլրագրող Գագիկ Շամշյանի ձեռքից խլել ֆոտոապարատը:
Մանրամասները կարդացեք՝
http://news.am/arm/news/40353.html
Տեսանյութը՝ Գագիկ Շամշյանի
Video by Gagik Shamshyan

2003 Armenian Arms Procurement for Iran

There simply are lines that you do not cross.

I've been following the WikiLeaks documents about Armenia and the banditocracy and so far all the information looks OK. Unfortunately, there is one bomb so far where it is revealed that Armenia re-exported arms to Iran which were later found at a scene of an attack on US soldiers in Iraq.

This is very disturbing for American-Armenians. American-Armenians want to see Armenia as an ally to the US. Selling arms to Iran and other terrorists is contrary to these wishes.

[...]Secretary Rice, Assistant Secretary Fried, Deputy Assistant
Secretary Bryza, and Ambassador Yovanovitch have raised with you our
deep concerns about Armenia's transfer of arms to Iran which
resulted in the death and injury of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
Notwithstanding the close relationship between our countries,
neither the Administration nor the U.S. Congress can overlook this
case. By law, the transfer of these weapons requires us to consider
whether there is a basis for the imposition of U.S. sanctions. If
sanctions are imposed, penalties could include the cutoff of U.S.
assistance and certain export restrictions.

To avoid such sanctions, it is essential that you present
compelling evidence that your government is now in partnership with
us to ensure such transfers do not occur in the future.

To convince the United States that this will not happen again,
we seek a written agreement from Armenia, memorializing its intent
to implement measures that will prevent Armenia from becoming a
source of weapons for Iran or other states or groups involved with
terrorism and/or weapons proliferation. [...] The full text is available here.

The accusations might be baseless or false but the fact that Yerevan has declined to comment on them indicates otherwise.

Ազա՛տ, Անկա՛խ Հայաստան

Another video via Tzitzernak