Thursday, August 30, 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007

"Regis est un con" serie - 1

A Yerevan-based American-Armenian political analysts spoke today about weak signals coming from the Turkey’s government and its army, which he said indicate that they have started to comprehend the wisdom of lifting the blockade of Armenia.
The political analyst, Richard Giragosian, called these signals ‘revolutionary.”
Speaking to a news conference Mr. Giragosian argued that the passage of a resolution by the US Congress recognizing the 1915 Armenian genocide would have no impact on Washington’s relationships with Ankara ‘because they are already bad.’
Mr. Giragosian further said that Turkey and Armenia can normalize their relations only through boosting economic ties, because ’Turkey needs Armenia as an economic partner to stabilize the situation in its eastern Kurdish-populated areas.”
Mr. Giragosian also reiterated fears that Turkey’s accession to EU with its 75 million population may pose a serious threat to Europe’s integrity, but he said Armenia would benefit from a Turkish EU membership, ‘because Ankara would have to reduce its military spending and cut its armed forces.’
According to Mr. Giragosian, Armenia may act as a go-between between Iran on one hand and the USA and Europe on the other hand.
live from YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS

Friday, August 10, 2007

How the f*** could we do without you, Vartan ?

Oskanian said in an interview with the Iranian-based Armenian newspaper Huys: "Introduction of dual citizenship institute by Armenia can be only welcomed and assessed as a positive step".
"Such a worldwide-scattered nation as Armenians will have the opportunity to keep constant ties with their motherland at the same time having Armenian citizenship". He said that "at his new stage of independence Armenia must display flexibility, which is one of the national peculiarities".
“We need it to find and produce new resources in order to keep our positions. The part of new resources will come from Armenia, the other part –from the Diaspora.”
Pathetic...just can't stand it...

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

How mean can these people be .....


Found this thread on JPierre's blog, from 2005 ....

Photographes arméniens à la cour du Négus du 19 juin au 2 septembre 2007, au Jeu de Paume

Les Boyadjian photographes arméniens à la cour du Négus du 19 juin au 2 septembre 2007 à l'Hôtel de Sully dans le cadre de « Arménie, mon amie », Année de l'Arménie en France

Le Jeu de Paume Hôtel de Sully 62, rue Saint Antoine 75004 Paris

Du mardi au vendredi de 12h à 19h, le samedi et dimanche de 10h à 19h


Dans une approche historique, cette exposition met en relief le destin singulier d'une famille arménienne, les Boyadjian, photographes officiels du Négus sur plusieurs générations et témoins privilégiés de la vie de la communauté arménienne en Éthiopie dans la première moitié du XXe siècle, jusqu'aux années 1970. L'exposition est composée d'une sélection de 80 photographies (40 photos d'époque et 40 tirages modernes), issues pour la plupart des archives conservées à Addis Abeba par Berhanu Abebe. Des objets (appareils photographiques...) et des textes (lettres, carnets...) viennent également enrichir cette exposition qui rend hommage à la famille Boyadjian.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Don't tell me the world powers did not know..


Journal La Croix 15 février 1916
source : http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark :/12148/cb343631418/date1916

Friday, August 3, 2007

Sarkozy's France serie - 2


Des sans-papiers interpellés le 1er août 2007 à Lille
Soixante-sept sans-papiers, dont des grévistes de la faim, évacués mercredi de la Bourse du travail de Lille, étaient toujours en garde à vue jeudi matin et 36 ont été placés en centres de rétention à Lille, Toulouse et Bordeaux, a-t-on appris auprès de la préfecture du Nord.

Zengi, Atabek of Mosul


After a recent post (July 28, No comment serie: The last of the famous), a friend of mine asked me who was Zengi and what was the link between myself and Zengi. The picture was taken in the very place where Zengi was supposely assassinated. Hope this will clarify the situation.
Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi (al-Malik al-Mansur) (also Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, or Zanki; in Turkish İmadeddin Zengi, in Arabic: عماد الدین زنكي) (c. 1085–September 14, 1146) was the son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, governor of Aleppo under Malik Shah I. His father was beheaded for treason in 1094, and Zengi was brought up by Karbuqa, the governor of Mosul.

Zengi became atabeg of Mosul in 1127, and of Aleppo in 1128, uniting the two cities under his personal rule, and was formally invested as their ruler by the Sultan Mahmud II of Great Seljuk. Zengi had supported the young sultan against his rival, the caliph Al-Mustarshid.

In 1144 Zengi besieged the crusader County of Edessa. Edessa was the weakest and least Latinized crusader state, and Zengi captured it on December 24, 1144. This event led to the Second Crusade, and later Muslim chroniclers noted it as the start of the jihad against the Crusader states.

Though he continued his attempts to take Damascus in 1145, Zengi was assassinated by a Frankish slave named Yarankash in 1146. The Christian chronicler William of Tyre said that he was killed by a number of his retinue while he lay drunk in his bed.

Zengi's sudden death threw his forces into a panic. His army disintegrated, the treasury was looted, and the crusader princes, made bold by Zengi's demise, plotted to attack Aleppo and Edessa.

He was the founder of the eponymous Zengid dynasty. In Mosul he was succeeded by his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I and in Aleppo he was succeeded by his second son Nur ad-Din.
Zengi was courageous, strong in leadership and a very skilled warrior according to all of the Islam chroniclers of his day. The conquest of Edessa being his greatest achievement. These same chroniclers however, also relate Zengi as being a very violent, cruel, and brutal man. Muslims, Byzantines, and Franks all suffered at his hands.
“The atebeg was violent, powerful, awe-inspiring and liable to attack suddenly… When he rode, the troops use to walk behind him as if they were between two threads, out of fear they would trample over crops, and nobody out of fear dared to trample on a single stem (of them) nor march his horse on them… If anyone transgressed, he was crucified. He (Zengi) used to say: ‘It does not happen that there is more than on tyrant (meaning himself) at one time.’” By Ibn al-‘Adim (Source: Ibn al-‘Adim, Zubda, vol. 2, p. 471)