Firms lobbying on Armenia genocide resolution.

Six companies lobbied the federal government in the first quarter on a House resolution that would condemn World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Details on how much each company spent on lobbying in the January-March period and some of the other matters identified. The companies do not specify how much is spent on the various issues in the disclosure reports filed with the House clerk’s office.

–Chevron Corp., $6.8 million. Climate change, oil industry taxes, energy efficiency, renewable fuels, public lands policy, price gouging.

–Northrop Grumman Corp., nearly $2.6 million. Defense spending, research tax credits, climate change.

–United Technologies Corp., nearly $1.9 million. NASA funding, climate change, patent reform, energy and electricity standards.

–Raytheon Co., nearly $1.4 million. Defense spending, air traffic control funding, export control reform.

–BAE Systems Inc., more than $1.1 million. Defense spending, hybrid-electric technology, research and development tax credits.

–Goodrich Corp., $542,195. Defense spending, labor legislation, U.S. tax on overseas income

Vik Darchinyan vs. Joseph Agbeko

IBF/WBA/WBC super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (32-1-1, 26 KOs) is looking forward to winning the IBF bantamweight title from Joseph Agbeko (26-1, 22 KOs) when they clash on July 11 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Darchinyan said. ” Maybe I stay for a year at bantamweight and unify the titles then move up a division – I want to win more world titles. People are talking because I am moving up to bantamweight that my power isn’t going to be enough but that is why I want to go to America and be more focused on my training and show the world my power is more than enough at bantamweight. Everyone knows I have a lot of power in my left. Now with all my sparring – I am more focused on my right and I can feel my right hand is very powerful now, too, and my sparring partners have told me this. My preparation has been very good and there is five and half weeks to go.”

Darchinyan will be sparring with WBA featherweight champion Chris John while he is in the USA. If Darchinyan is successful in winning the bantamweight championship he will equal Jeff Fenech as Australia’s three divisional world champion. He has already equalled Kostya Tszyu by holding all the major body belts of IBF/WBC/WBA. Darchinyan is managed by Elias Nasser and promoted by Gary Shaw.

Bill Handels victim of Holocaust apologized

The Armenian National Committee-Western Region (ANC-WR), joined by community organizations and activists, met with KFI640-AM radio show host Bill Handel and station management regarding offensive comments that aired on Handel’s radio show on May 13 and 14 during a discussion between Handel and Lara Hermanson.

Acknowledging that a line had been crossed, Handel, KFI and Clear Channel management apologized to the Armenian American community. With Handel himself being a descendent of Holocaust survivors, he also made it clear that recognition of the Armenian Genocide is something he has been aware of and passionate about throughout his career and promised to continue raising awareness about the issue.

“We deeply regret the inappropriate comments that were made on Bill Handel’s show last month which deeply hurt the Armenian American community. The comments were wrong,” said Robin Bertolucci, KFI Program Director. “We take responsibility for this offense as any genocide, including the Armenian Genocide, are serious topics that should not be used as the basis for humor.” KFI issued an on-air apology on June 12. KFI also released a video apology from Hermanson and Handel.

The ANC-WR requested a meeting with KFI management to convey the community’s outrage and ask that the situation be addressed. In the meantime, the ANC-WR reached out to dozens of activists and community organizations, such as the Armenian Bar Association, eager to work together on the issue, Asbarez Daily reported

New US Ambassador in Azerbaijan?

PanARMENIAN.Net/ American MG Co-Chair Mathew Bryza, deputy to Assistant Secretary of State, is recommended as U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, American Foreign Policy journal reports.

Recommendation for Bryza’s new appointment was given by former US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried.

Fried and Bryza declined to comment, according to Foreign Policy.

Behaviour of the Turkish government towards its Jewish citizens during the Holocaust

Interview with Corry Guttstadt Turkey, the Jews and the Holocaust.
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-910/i.html

Turkologist Corry Guttstadt has published a comprehensive study of the behaviour of the Turkish government towards its Jewish citizens during the Holocaust. In doing so, she has investigated a chapter of twentieth-century history that has thus far been all but neglected by international Holocaust research. Sonja Galler spoke to her about her findings

| Bild:
| Much is made of the fact that there are approximately 20,000 Jews in Turkey today, a figure that is frequently held up as evidence of the country’s tolerant attitude towards its Jewish minority. It is often claimed that this success story began when persecuted Sephardic Jews found refuge in the Ottoman Empire, the forerunner of the modern Turkish state …

Corry Guttstadt: Well, there are currently over 20,000 Jews in Iran too. A number alone is not necessarily a reliable indication of whether somewhere is safe or free from anti-Semitism. As far as Turkey is concerned, it is important to emphasise that only 20,000 Jews now live in the country. That’s in stark contrast to the estimated 120,000 to 150,000 that lived in the region at the end of the First World War. Both before and after the Second World War, and most particularly after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the vast majority of Jews left Turkey. This was a reversal of the trend of previous centuries.

Over the course of many centuries, the Ottoman Empire was an immigration destination for Jews fleeing the Reconquista in Spain and pogroms in Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, to portray the Ottoman Empire as a “multicultural paradise” is absurd and ahistorical. As non-Muslims, the Jews were subject to countless constraints. Like the Christians, they had to pay a poll tax and were obliged to behave in a submissive manner towards Muslims. Moreover, it must be said that there were numerous fluctuations in the fortunes of the Jews in the 600-year history of the Ottoman Empire.