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  • Armenia waits for formation of a new coalition

    Armenia waits for formation of a new coalition

     

     

     

     

    Gulnara İnanch,

     

    Director of Information and Analytical Center Etnoglobus (ethnoglobus.az), editor of Russian section of website www.turkishnews.com  , ([email protected]) 

     

    Declaration of statement by the chairman of “Bargavac Ayastan” (Prospering Armenia)

     

    (PA) party Gagik Tsarukyan not to form a coalition with the ruling Republicans Party has yet proved to be a game. Upon PA party officials statement that they will not agree on coalition with the ruling party and that they will declare their decision regarding minister portfolio in the government until May 31 enables us to think that Tsaraukyan is conducting discussions with ruling party.

     

    Next year’s presidential elections and ruling party’s wining 30% against the 44% increased the pretention of PA party. Party, for the purpose of justifying the confidence of voters, attracting those hesitating for presidential elections to OY and consequently obtaining majority of votes, demonstrates its power in this way.

     

    Head of Armenian government Tigran Sarkisyan in his response to the question who can hold the post of Prime minister confirmed that OY chairman Gagik Tsarukyan can lead the new government answering that he is happy to have people to hold high posts.

     

    Afterwards, Armenian government head Tigran Sarkisyan’s statement “who said PA would go to opposition” indicate how the ruling party is aware of processes and secret negotiations are under way.

     

    G. Tsarukyan’s name is mentioned among the presidential candidates along with L.Ter-Petrosyan, R.Kocharyan and S. Sarkisyan.

     

    The fact that Tsarukyan won the votes of half million of citizens enables him to be more confident in presidential elections along with flirting with the Republicans fearlessly and being pretentious for prime minister in the newly formed government.

    To change the situation to his benefit G.Tsarukyan may form a coalition lead by himself creating a new plan for presidential elections.

     

  • It will not happen to me. Guess What? It Will !!!

    It will not happen to me. Guess What? It Will !!!

    Chapter 11

    Chapter 11

     

    It will not happen to Me. Guess What? It will!

     

    Money Market Funds – The root of our problems.

     

    When the money market funds started in the 1970’s they were greeted with great joy. One did not have to wait for a whole quarter to get interest.  This was a neat deal. One could earn their monies on a daily basis, with no commissions either.

    Brokerage firms loved them because they were able to keep all their customer funds in one firm.

    All the funds sold for $1.00 there were some minimums, but when a large institution decided to withdraw their funds at one time everyone held their breath. The Partners of the firm put up the cash and the fund “never broke a buck”- until Lehman Brothers in 2008.

    There was euphoria everywhere except at your local savings bank. Depositors were rushing to withdraw their monies from the banks to the new modern investment. This spelled the death knell for the savings bank industry.

    The repercussions would be felt for decades to come. The savings banks were tightly regulated by archaic laws, which were passed thirty years before “for the common good”. The savings bank lobby was not as strong as the brokers’ lobby. Particularly, the congress did not think long term.

    As the Savings Bank Industry started to fade, the government stepped forward with their socialist program of Fannie and Freddie Mae. So our local banks would file the paperwork to the government standards and dump it on the Washington GSE’s (GSE stands for Government Secured Enterprises- Implying they were protected by the US Government.)

    As time went by, officers decided to go public and then they decided to issue stock options to themselves. Mind you, this is a government enterprise. The greed factor was working overtime at Fannie and Freddie Mae.

    That was just one problem with the money market funds. In theory they would go out every day and buy 90-day commercial paper. 90 days from now that debt instrument would become due and would be rolled over so the funds were always liquid.

    Here is the problem; there are more money market funds today than there is sand on a beach.  So now everyone started buying any kind of short-term paper (debt). Consequently everyone started lending short and not long term. Banks would issue short-term debt (remember banks were supposed to be solvent and not borrow.) Governments would buy the debt to shore up the banks and then they would turn around and offer it to the money market funds.

    Money market funds were delighted with the high rates and their high ratings.  What could go wrong with a country? Everyone would have to back up the credit. Right? Wrong!

    So here is the bottom line as I see it. Banks, world wide, saw easy money in selling their debt to the money market funds. As the situation became dire, different governments bought their debt in order to prop up their banks. They found it easier to resell the debt to the money market funds since these funds were clamoring for quality.

    Now everyone was borrowing short, and the figures did not warrant long term lending despite the US Federal Reserve’s Operation Twist.  That was an attempt to buy long-term bonds (20 to 30 year maturity).

    So now we face a major test of the socialist state. When a nation announces a huge debt deal to liquefy their country and we wake up in the morning to discover no one bid on the bonds. Not even a throw away bid that could be thrown out as too high.

    The possible solution is to bring back the usury laws and while those laws are in the process of being enacted worldwide, forgive interest payments.

    If you had lent your neighbor money and he was in dire straits; wouldn’t you be delighted to receive your principal back? This would cut the enormous salaries that today’s bankers are making at our expense.

    “Too big to fail?” If that is the case break them up. Socialism is when you are at the counter and the counterman tells the fellow ahead of you to order anything he likes because the guy behind you is going to pay.  Or when NASA stopped the space shuttle and within two months a Dragon Spacecraft from California Exploration Technologies Corp, a private corporation, successfully docks at the International Space Station with supplies. That is American know how can-do spirit! Only the governments of Japan, China and Russia along with the United States have put vehicles into outer space. This is the first corporation using government seed money to get started. We now have a new private industry. Let us hope that the Congress enacts legislature that will encourage investment, but protect and encourage true investments and review the statues every nine years to insure honest competition. Our corporations can compete with foreign governments because we are free and not a bureaucracy. Our Congress should set the rules and then hire the “umpires” to enforce them. Just like pro sports. You hit the referee – you are banned for life!

    When an industry like the money market funds have overstepped the boundaries of common sense the government must step in and run some and close some. When an industry fails at self-regulation it is time for our representatives to step in to protect public funds. We must limit funds to only quality and fee structure in competition for the common good for the general public. We as a country tend to overdo a good deal and in the long run bastardize it for all. When it comes to the almighty dollar greed will triumph over common sense unless we restrict their numbers.

    There are too many market funds and not enough savings banks. We should simplify laws that will solve these problems without the aid of lobbyists. When tested in the court of law we will find out who passes muster.

    These solutions might seem too drastic, but our backs are at the wall.  Soon we will not have a choice.

     

     

     

     

  • Armenians Should Form a United Front Before Any Negotiations With Turkey

    Armenians Should Form a United Front Before Any Negotiations With Turkey

     

     

     

     

    My latest column on Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s efforts to initiate a dialog with the Diaspora generated numerous reactions from both Armenians and Turks.

     

    Turkish newspapers, TV stations, and websites gave extensive coverage to Davutoglu’s reported overtures to Armenians. The Turkish media linked the Foreign Minister’s initiative to Armenian plans for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide in 2015.

     

    Armenians posted dozens of comments on websites and facebook in response to my column which was circulated worldwide in English, Armenian, Turkish, French, and Russian. The Armenian reaction was understandably skeptical and cautious. Armenian government officials quietly followed the reports on Davutoglu’s meetings without making any public comment, while the Armenian press in Istanbul simply reprinted what the Turkish media had published on this topic.

     

    Armenian readers raised two key issues: Who would represent the Diaspora if and when Armenians start negotiating with Turkey, and what should be the specific Armenian demands from the Turkish government?

     

    These are highly complex issues deserving serious consideration by Armenians worldwide. Ideally, Diaspora representatives should be selected through elections in various countries, as proposed in my earlier columns. Those elected would have the right to represent Diaspora Armenians in any negotiations.

     

    These representatives would have to coordinate their decisions and actions with the Armenian government, particularly on the critical issue of negotiating with Turkey, by forming a joint delegation. As Armenians learned from the recent fiasco of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, it would be unthinkable to reach a settlement with Turkey without the participation and agreement of both Armenia and the Diaspora.

     

    In the absence of an elected Diasporan structure, representatives of the three main Armenian political parties, jointly with the Armenian government, could take the lead in forming a single negotiating team. To make the delegation more inclusive, several major community organizations and prominent individuals could be asked to join, including representatives of Armenians in Turkey.

     

    Another critical issue is framing the agenda of negotiations with Turkish officials. What are the Armenians’ concrete demands from Turkey? This is an extremely serious and sensitive matter that requires in depth knowledge of the Armenian Cause and expertise in negotiating strategies and tactics.

     

    It would be instructive for Armenians to review how Israel and 23 major Jewish organizations came together as the

    Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, to obtain restitution for Holocaust victims; and how these organizations coordinated their positions with the State of Israel which signed a separate Reparations Agreement with West Germany? Over the years, as a result of their collaborative efforts, the coalition of Jewish Diaspora organizations and Israel received more than $70 billion dollars in restitution from Germany.

     

    Additional lessons could be learned from examples of financial settlements resulting from mass torts, asbestos exposure and product liability, and claims arising from destruction of the World Trade Center and the Gulf oil spill.

     

    There is, however, a significant difference between the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. While the Jewish people were exterminated in European countries under Nazi rule, Armenians were massacred and forcefully driven from their ancestral homeland. Therefore, no amount of monetary payment will fully compensate Armenians for the loss of their historic lands. Armenians should seek not only compensation for their personal losses, but also the return of Western Armenia as arbitrated by Pres. Woodrow Wilson — a claim Turkey has repeatedly rejected.

     

    Should serious negotiations materialize, the joint Armenian delegation could ask Turkey to take the following preliminary actions to show its good faith:

     

    — Compensate all Genocide victims;

    — Rebuild and return all religious sites to the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul;

    — Return all confiscated private and community properties to their Armenian owners;

    — Provide the Republic of Armenia with special access to the Turkish port of Trabzon for commercial purposes;

    — Give Armenians visa-free entry to Ararat, Ani, and other Armenian historical sites in Turkey;

    — Lift the blockade of Armenia;

    — End Turkey’s official policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide and annul Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code;

    — Refrain from all hostile policies directed against Armenia and Artsakh (Karabagh).

     

    These measures, if agreed upon, would represent significant progress in the pursuit of Armenian claims from Turkey, whereas the issue of territorial restitution could be addressed separately through international legal action.

     ——FOLLOW UP ————————

    Armenians Should Form a United Front Before Any Negotiations With Turkey


    Harut Sassounian,

    Harut Sassounian

    My latest column on Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s efforts to initiate a dialog with the Diaspora generated numerous reactions from both Armenians and Turks.

    Turkish newspapers, TV stations, and websites gave extensive coverage to Davutoglu’s reported overtures to Armenians.

    The Turkish media linked the Foreign Minister’s initiative to Armenian plans for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Genocide in 2015.

    Armenians posted dozens of comments on websites and facebook in response to my column which was circulated worldwide in English, Armenian, Turkish, French, and Russian. The Armenian reaction was understandably skeptical and cautious. Armenian government officials quietly followed the reports on Davutoglu’s meetings without making any public comment, while the Armenian press in Istanbul simply reprinted what the Turkish media had published on this topic.

    Armenian readers raised two key issues: Who would represent the Diaspora if and when Armenians start negotiating with Turkey, and what should be the specific Armenian demands from the Turkish government?

    These are highly complex issues deserving serious consideration by Armenians worldwide. Ideally, Diaspora representatives should be selected through elections in various countries, as proposed in my earlier columns. Those elected would have the right to represent Diaspora Armenians in any negotiations.

    Ahmet Davutoglu

    These representatives would have to coordinate their decisions and actions with the Armenian government, particularly on the critical issue of negotiating with Turkey, by forming a joint delegation. As Armenians learned from the recent fiasco of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, it would be unthinkable to reach a settlement with Turkey without the participation and agreement of both Armenia and the Diaspora.

    In the absence of an elected Diasporan structure, representatives of the three main Armenian political parties, jointly with the Armenian government, could take the lead in forming a single negotiating team. To make the delegation more inclusive, several major community organizations and prominent individuals could be asked to join, including representatives of Armenians in Turkey.

    Another critical issue is framing the agenda of negotiations with Turkish officials. What are the Armenians’ concrete demands from Turkey? This is an extremely serious and sensitive matter that requires in depth knowledge of the Armenian Cause and expertise in negotiating strategies and tactics.

    It would be instructive for Armenians to review how Israel and 23 major Jewish organizations came together as the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, to obtain restitution for Holocaust victims; and how these organizations coordinated their positions with the State of Israel which signed a separate Reparations Agreement with West Germany? Over the years, as a result of their collaborative efforts, the coalition of Jewish Diaspora organizations and Israel received more than $70 billion dollars in restitution from Germany.

    Additional lessons could be learned from examples of financial settlements resulting from mass torts, asbestos exposure and product liability, and claims arising from destruction of the World Trade Center and the Gulf oil spill.

    There is, however, a significant difference between the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. While the Jewish people were exterminated in European countries under Nazi rule, Armenians were massacred and forcefully driven from their ancestral homeland. Therefore, no amount of monetary payment will fully compensate Armenians for the loss of their historic lands. Armenians should seek not only compensation for their personal losses, but also the return of Western Armenia as arbitrated by Pres. Woodrow Wilson — a claim Turkey has repeatedly rejected.

    Should serious negotiations materialize, the joint Armenian delegation could ask Turkey to take the following preliminary actions to show its good faith:

    — Compensate all Genocide victims;

    — Rebuild and return all religious sites to the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul;

    — Return all confiscated private and community properties to their Armenian owners;

    — Provide the Republic of Armenia with special access to the Turkish port of Trabzon for commercial purposes;

    — Give Armenians visa-free entry to Ararat, Ani, and other Armenian historical sites in Turkey;

    — Lift the blockade of Armenia;

    — End Turkey’s official policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide and annul Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code;

    — Refrain from all hostile policies directed against Armenia and Artsakh (Karabagh).

    These measures, if agreed upon, would represent significant progress in the pursuit of Armenian claims from Turkey, whereas the issue of territorial restitution could be addressed separately through international legal action.

     

      Հայերը Պէտք Է Միասնական Ճակատ Կազմեն՝ Թուրքիոյ Հետ Որեւէ Բանակցութիւն Վարելէ Առաջ

      Հայերը Պետք Է Միասնական Ճակատ Կազմեն Թուրքիայի Հետ Ցանկացած Բանակցություն Վարելուց Առաջ

      Armenians Should Form a United Front Before Any Negotiations With Turkey

      Les Arméniens doivent former un front uni avant d’entamer toute négociation avec la Turquie

      Армяне Должны Сформировать Единый Фронт До Любых Переговоров С Турцией

     

  • It will not Happen To Me. Guess What? It Will!

    It will not Happen To Me. Guess What? It Will!

    It will not happen to me! Guess what? It Will!    Chapter 10

    THE GREEDY STIR UP CONFLICT, BUT THOSE WHJO TRUST IN THE LORD PROSPER.

    Proverbs 28:25

    Chapter 10   The Greedies- There are many.

    Editor’s note: I write these chapters on the theory that my recommendations in Part One were not followed and the entire world is sinking into an abyss that is mentioned in Revelations. That is the last book in the Christian Bible. It would behoove the dear reader to pass these chapters along to your politicians who are supposed to represent you.  All nations must have a better understanding of our problems.

    YOUR FRIENDLY BANKER IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.

    I remember reading the Wall Street Journal about how the “friendly banker was calling  people and saying , “want to borrow some money?” That was in the mid-1960s. My how times have changed!

    The 1929 crash was blamed on too much easy credit. Margin for stocks was 10%.  That means if one wanted to buy $1,000 of stock ; all one had to do was put $100.00. If a stock r5ose 10% one would double their money. Conversely if a stock dropped 10% one’s investment was wiped out There is an old rule on the Wall Street. “Never meet a margin call with cash – the stock is telling you something- SELL!”

    Today Margin for stocks is 50%. This means if you want to buy on margin then all you have to do is borrow some money in order to pay 50%.  I have seen margin rates in the 1960’s as high as 90%. The Federal Reserve used to raise or lower margin rates to curb enthusiasm or dampen speculation.

    Today margin rates for US Treasuries are 10%. Many commodities are the same, but some are raised or lower in order to protect the players. When one is making a long term commitment in a commodity such as some precious metals they should pay cash and take delivery. Some firms provide storage space. This prevents the individual from getting whip sawed by professional traders.

    So in 2012 the big problem has been in derivatives and collateralized mortgages or CMO’s. All these debt instruments are started off by buying a slug of treasuries at lowest possible margin rates and adding and mixing products with those moneys at enormous fees(all hidden of course). Then to add frosting on their cake they split it all up into several “tranches”( really layers) and pass some off to the unsuspecting public marked up even further.

    There has been a feeble attempt for “transparency” which means the buyers want to know the commissions involved.

    These so called debt instruments break another cardinal rule for brokers. If it is to complicated to explain to your potential buyer forget it. It is

    called the KISS. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!”

    It is almost impossible to track each part of these instruments since record keeping is at the kindergarten level. But all future trades should be banned and existing one allowed to mature whenever that may be.

    All these problems are result of the Glass-Stiegel Act in the 1930s and rescinded in the 1990’s. The problem was that the Congress did not review this act for almost 70 years and it became a hindrance to the banking industry and eventually the public. Times change and industries mature and acts like this one should be reviewed by a bipartisan commission every 12 to 15 years.

    Congress should revisit the Federal Reserve Act and realign the Federal Reserve districts  so that each one has equal dollar weighting.

    Immediately, banks and brokerage firms should be segregated the old fashion way. Split from each other.  It is the Volker rule with force. A banker is a banker and loves reserves. A broker is a broker and a risk taker. He loves to trade and take risks. A banker is not a broker and a broker is not a banker.

    When a major player can disrupt the steady flow of income and earnings of a normal investment by using manipulating strategy that are unavailable to the general public – they should be banned.

    The banking industry has to take a big hit in order to restore fairness and an even playing field for the public and long term growth.

    The government must be in control of a financial system with hard and fast rules that must be enforced with a vengeance. They should be the umpires or referee’s that professional sports enjoy. Have you ever seen a professional hockey player take on the referees that are on the ice breaking up fights?

    The only referees that I have seen step back  were the ones working Wayne Gretzky games. He had an enforcer on his line that would go “ape” if anyone took a cheap shot at Hockey’s greatest star. I even saw a player he was after run off the ice and never came back on the ice

    Business should have similar rules and then we should all prosper.

    Our Congress is the body to make the laws to help for the common good. It is up to the Supreme Court to determine whether that law is valid. This is our check and balances that the founding fathers had faith in. The lobbyist have become to powerful force that denies the citizen his individual rights in favor of the larger corporations.

     

  • Turkey struggles to preserve childhood cartoon – Boston.com

    Turkey struggles to preserve childhood cartoon – Boston.com

    By Christopher Torchia and Emrah Betos

    Associated Press

    Cin Ali, the squiggly stick figure in a cap whose benign adventures in big-print, picture books helped a generation of Turks learn to read in primary school. In this undated photo, teacher Rasim Kaygusuz, creator of Cin Ali, stands with his primary school students. File/Kaygusuz Family/AP
    Cin Ali, the squiggly stick figure in a cap whose benign adventures in big-print, picture books helped a generation of Turks learn to read in primary school. In this undated photo, teacher Rasim Kaygusuz, creator of Cin Ali, stands with his primary school students. File/Kaygusuz Family/AP

    ISTANBUL—If you mess up in Turkey, a common way to laugh it off is to invoke Cin Ali, the squiggly stick figure in a cap whose benign adventures in picture books helped a generation of Turks learn to read.

    Cin Ali, a village character who was created around 1970, is out of sorts in Turkey’s brash new world, epitomized by the perpetual buzz of Istanbul, its continent-straddling biggest city. Today, as he’s eclipsed by more flamboyant cartoon characters, a few ardent fans are working industriously to revive this faded icon, who helped steer the early consciousness of many Turks who describe him wistfully as a cute, childhood companion.

    “I couldn’t even draw Cin Ali,” goes the self-deprecating idiom, embedded in adult lexicon long after the cartoon boy was officially sidelined from state classrooms nearly a decade ago as an antiquated teaching tool. Today’s Turkey barrels ahead, buoyed by economic growth that has so far weathered the worst of the crisis in Europe, its chief trading partner, and intent on pioneering political change in the Middle East.

    via Turkey struggles to preserve childhood cartoon – Boston.com.

    more:

  • Israel offers compensation to Mavi Marmara flotilla raid victims

    Israel offers compensation to Mavi Marmara flotilla raid victims

    £4m paid to Jewish foundation in Turkey, which will distribute the money to the victims and their families

    guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 May 2012 23.13 BST

    Mavi Marmara flotilla raid

    The familis of activists who were killed in the raid on the Mavi Marmara have been offered compensation. Photograph: Kate Geraghty/Sydney Morning Herald/Getty

    The Israeli government has offered £4m in compensation to the families of Turkish activists killed by Israeli commandos who stormed a ship taking part in an aid flotilla in May 2010, according to a lawyer representing the victims.

    Ramzan Ariturk said the money would have been paid to a Jewish foundation in Turkey for distribution and would be followed by a statement of “regret” for the raid by the Israeli government on the Mavi Marmara, which was bound for the Gaza Strip.

    The lawyer, one of several representing 465 victims and relatives of the dead and injured on board the Mavi Marmara, said that the Israeli government had made a proposal to him through an intermediary foreign ambassador in Ankara.

    Turkey cooled diplomatic relations with Israel after nine of its citizens were shot dead by Israeli commandos who landed on the Mavi Marmara to prevent its passage to Gaza. Protesters on the ship repelled the first wave of lightly armed commandos, but then the Israeli soldiers used lethal force against the unarmed passengers to end their resistance.

    Ariturk said he told the ambassador a month ago that he did not think the offer was appropriate or moral. “I also discussed the issue with the victims and their friends and they also stated that they could not accept this,” he said.

    He declined to disclose the nationality of the intermediary or the name of the Jewish organisation that would distribute the compensation but said the Turkish foreign ministry agreed with his decision, saying Israel should have contacted it directly.

    According to sources in the Turkish foreign ministry who spoke to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israel had not presented the offer to them directly. The source said that the principle of damages was accepted by Turkey but the obstacle was Israel’s admission of guilt which Turkey insists upon.

    “Israel is opposed to declaring publicly that it apologises and Turkey is not prepared to accept a wording of regret that does not include taking responsibility, that is required in an expression of apology,” the sources said.

    Mark Regev, the spokesman for Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, declined to comment.

    On Wednesday an Istanbul prosecutor submitted an indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders in connection with the raid, including the chief of general staff at the time.

    The United Nations report on the raid last September concluded that Israel had used unreasonable force but that its blockade of Gaza was legal.

    via Israel offers compensation to Mavi Marmara flotilla raid victims | World news | guardian.co.uk.