Daily Archives: July 23, 2014

Two Ukrainian Jets Shot Down, Defense Ministry Says

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ռազմական ինքնաթիռ

 

 

Two Ukrainian military jets were shot down in the Donetsk region of the country today, the Ukrainian defense ministry said.

 

The planes were identified as Sukhoi-25 fighter jets. The fate of the planes’ pilots was not immediately known.

 

It happened at 12:30 p.m. Ukraine time (5:30 a.m. ET). Defense ministry did not state what kind of weapon was used to down the jets.

 

The Sukhoi-25 are single seat combat fighter jets. That same type of jet was shot down by a missile July 16.

 

Shortly before word of today’s shoot-down came, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt told ABC News that he’s very concerned Russia has not stopped the flow of heavy weapons into eastern Ukraine where ethnic Russians are trying to break away from Ukraine.

 

Fighting is currently taking place on the outskirts of Donetsk, one of the separatists last strongholds.

 

 

 Անկախ

Wrecked Costa Concordia sets sail on final voyage

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cota concordia-giglioThe wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship has begun its final voyage.

Salvage crews refloated the ship last week so they can move it from its resting place off Giglio Island to the Italian port of Genoa to be dismantled.

On Wednesday morning, the rusting hulk set off into open waters under tow.

It’s been more than 2½ years since the ship ran aground off Giglio Island with more than 4,200 passengers aboard, killing 32 people in a disaster that drew global attention.

The vessel will be towed — slowly and carefully — approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) to Genoa, where it will be broken up. A convoy of 17 boats will travel along with it.

The ship is expected to arrive in Genoa on Sunday. It’ll take about two years to dismantle the massive cruise liner.

Since the wreck two years ago, 24 metric tons of debris — including furniture, dishes, food, personal effects and ship parts — have been recovered from the seabed.

 

‘Put an end to this senseless devastation’: Michael Douglas and Cate Blanchett lead raft of celebrities demanding ban on big cruise ships sailing through ‘fragile’ Venice

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Michael DouglasIt has become one of the most controversial topics in the world of travel – the presence of giant cruise ships in Venice, and fears over the harm these liners may cause to the famous city.

For the cruise industry, the great Italian island citadel is one of the world’s foremost destinations – a place that adds an elegance and a sense of history to any long voyage.

On the other side are those who think the liners are enormous, incongruous intruders into a place that was never designed to host such ocean goliaths.
Now leading figures from the world of cinema – including Oscar winners Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Michael Douglas – have added their signatures to a petition, addressed to the Italian prime minister and the Italian minister of culture and tourism, calling for an end to the sight of liners dwarfing buildings such as St Mark’s Basilica.

cruise ships - Venice1Other big-screen figures are also on the list of endorsees, including Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Sir Michael Caine, Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon and Isabella Rossellini.

Other luminaries include architect Sir Norman Foster, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and Princess Firyal of Jordan – plus an illustrious line-up of fashion designers including Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Hubert de Givenchy and Calvin Klein.

Venice has already made moves to restrict the movements of cruise ships in its waters.

January brought a reduction of 20 per cent on the number of ships weighing more than 40,000 tonnes authorised to enter the Giudecca Canal (the waterway which separates the main core of Venice from the separate island of Giudecca, immediately to the south).

Further regulations which were due to come into force in November, have now been put back to January 2015.

 

Now that the Lawsuits are Settled, Let’s Build the Genocide Memorial

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Հարութ-Սասունյան1

 

By Harut Sassounian

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

 

On July 15, a Federal Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s 2011 decision, ordering the return to the CafesjianFamily Foundation (CFF) the properties intended for the construction of an Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial in Washington, D.C.

 

Here is how Appeals Court Judges Garland, Wilkins, and Ginsburg summarized the series of lawsuits and counter-suits filed by the contending parties in the past seven years:

 

Armenian Assembly of America officials, including Hirair Hovnanian and Gerard Cafesjian, “secured sizeable funding contributions, and formed a nonprofit corporation, the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial (AGM&M). They also agreed on and purchased a historic building for the museum’s site, just a few blocks from the White House. But as the years wore on, they were unable to agree on much else. Progress staggered. Tensions mounted. Little true headway was made. Eventually, one of the project’s principal founders and benefactors, the late Gerard Cafesjian, chose to part ways with the group and resigned his post as President of AGM&M. The split was far from amicable. And so began a chain of events culminating in this tangle of litigation. After several years of legal wrangling, the parties’ claims ultimately proceeded to a bench trial before the District Court. Save for a single cause of action, all of the claims were found unproven. Post-trial proceedings ensued on a multitude of issues, and, after many of the District Court’s decisions were appealed on a piecemeal basis, the assorted cases on appeal were consolidated and presented to us for resolution.”

 

In the last page of their ruling, the Appeals Court Judges voiced their frustration and dismay at the wasteful series of lawsuits. In utter exasperation, they wrote:

 

“This legal saga has been long-lived. What began as a single lawsuit to collect on an unpaid promissory note quickly escalated into a morass of litigation. More than seven years and millions of dollars in legal fees later, much of the parties’ work to achieve their dream of a museum appears to have been for naught, which is regrettable. Whatever happens next, hopefully our decision today can at least serve as the last word on this dispute’s protracted journey through the courts.”

 

I received scores of e-mails from many readers last week deploring the fact that two prominent Armenian organizations wasted millions of dollars in suing each other instead of settling their dispute out of court and building a Genocide Museum, scheduled for completion long before the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately, the inauguration of the Museum, located just two blocks from the White House, may not take place at all!

 

It is deeply regrettable that both sides had rejected all offers by third parties to mediate their dispute. The millions of dollars spent on litigation would have helped fund the Genocide Museum. This is yet another sorrowful example of Armenians acting against their own interests!

 

A miracle could still happen! Even though Mr. Cafesjian passed away last September, he had repeatedly declared that it was his fervent desire to build a Genocide Museum and Memorial in the nation’s Capital. Armenians worldwide ardently wish that his heirs and CFF trustees honor Mr.Cafesjian’s commitment to this revered project and bring his undying dream to fruition.

 

Armenia’s leaders, heads of Diaspora organizations, and community members should notify CFF trustees that they are fully ready and prepared to provide all possible support to make Mr. Cafesjian’s dream a reality. This museum shall be a lasting tribute to Gerard Cafesjian who donated tens of millions of dollars for humanitarian projects in Armenia and the United States.

 

Now that this acrimonious lawsuit is behind us, it is high time for the Armenian American community, with the consent of CFF trustees, to come together and form a pan-Armenian committee, including the Armenian Assembly, to begin planning the building of this important landmark in Washington, D.C.

 

The Genocide Museum would be a lasting reminder to millions of visitors not only of the terrible tragedy that befell Armenians in 1915, but more importantly, the story of their indomitable spirit to survive and thrive. The Museum, therefore, could more properly be called, “Memorial to Armenian Survival from Genocide.”

 

Should CFF trustees and the Armenian-American community share this miraculous vision, the groundbreaking ceremony could be held on the future site of the Armenian Memorial on April 24, 2015!