Life in Armenia

[Pazooki]

Re: Armenia

Terrorist & Patriot are the same thing, it just depends what side of the battle field your on.

One man's Terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

[Federate]

Re: Life in Armenia

Armenians Buckle Up Amid Police Crackdown


After decades of negligence, motorists in Yerevan began wearing their safety belts in droves on Thursday to avoid paying hefty fines finally enforced by traffic police.
The use of seat belts has long been mandatory in Armenia. The Armenian police began cracking down in earnest on the widespread and long-standing defiance of the legal requirement in the capital on Wednesday, one week after the government approved a five-year plan to make roads safer for car drivers and pedestrians. Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian singled out seat belt use as a key element of that plan.

According to the police, more than 200 persons were fined 5,000 drams ($13.5) each on Wednesday for failing to buckle up while driving. That explains why the vast majority of Yerevan drivers appeared to be driving with fastened seat belts the next day.

“I didn’t expect to see such a drastic change,” Arsen Arshakian, commander of a road police battalion, told RFE/RL. “I enjoy observing it.” “The traffic police are ensuring a gradual transition to safer driving,” he said.

“We buckle up so they don’t fine us,” explained one motorist. “I didn’t do that until yesterday. Why should I pay 5,000 drams?”

Some drivers found the experience unusual and inconvenient. “It feels likes something is handing from your neck,” said one of them. “True, we are not used wearing seat belts, but little by little people find that normal,” said another.

Other drivers interviewed by RFE/RL made no secret of their dislike of the measure. “I will find it normal if this law applies to everyone,” said one man. “There are people who still don’t fasten their belts.”

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1804210.html

[Eddo211]

Re: Life in Armenia

Seat belts saved my life once when my friend crashed my street Rod a week after I sold it to him. There was no seatbelt law back then and after seeing his erratic driving I buckled up (followed by him once he saw me doing it) and less than a minute later he lost control and smashed head on into a pole. He FUBARed my baby.

Helmets have saved my life twice already so far.

[AR MENIA]

Re: Armenia

cool beans, the armenian gov, and wealthy diaspora, should invest in wind, solar energy, as part of the things they spend on Armenia, to help with energy there in general, i think the wind power would do great.

And KarotheGreat, you should really change your signature, b/c there are good turks, i sugest you look up Orhan Pamuk, Elif Şafak, Taner Akçam, and many many more... Statements like that is why the Turks in Turkey who are lied to since the day they were born is one of the many reasons they think were evil, and believe their government

Just because a turk recognizes the Armenian genocide doesnt make them good! actually it's very normal for turks recognizing the genocide, it should be like, ooo he is a turk and recognizes the AG so he is good...

[jgk3]

Re: Armenia

Just because a turk recognizes the Armenian genocide doesnt make them good! actually it's very normal for turks recognizing the genocide, it should be like, ooo he is a turk and recognizes the AG so he is good...

What about the Turks during the AG who let Armenians hide in their homes even though if they were caught by the authorities, they would be hung for sheltering public enemies? These aren't good Turks?

[Eddo211]

Re: Armenia

Just because a turk recognizes the Armenian genocide doesnt make them good! actually it's very normal for turks recognizing the genocide, it should be like, ooo he is a turk and recognizes the AG so he is good...

You guys are both right......nothing is ever that simple in this world.

I have come across (few in between) Turks who really are as Ara describes, and then I have bud heads with Wolfs who not only will not deny it but couldn’t wait for the orders to attack.

[Anoush]

Re: Life in Armenia

Yeah I appreciate RA's government enforcing the Buckle UP law. Remember in Princess Diana's car when it crashed, they said it later that if Dodi and she wore their seatbelts, even at 90 miles an hour they would've lived. Helmets are also very important when you're bicycling or motorcycling.

[AR MENIA]

Re: Armenia

What about the Turks during the AG who let Armenians hide in their homes even though if they were caught by the authorities, they would be hung for sheltering public enemies? These aren't good Turks?

It should be normal that when you see a whole nation getting butchered to give them shelter.. That is actually what many more should have done.. unfortunately almost no one did because they are turks..

[Icy]

Re: Life in Armenia

Toys, computers, cell phones and more: Armenian good boys and good girls write letters to Santa Claus

Source:http://www.armenianow.com/features/2...hristmas_gifts



Four-year-old Ani Grigoryan writes a letter to Santa Claus with the help of her mother.

“Dear Santa, I want you to bring pink shoes with feathers, glass beads, and high-heels to me. And I want a sub-machine gun,” Ani concludes the series of her wishes. The last item is a toy. We hope.

Her mother – 31-year-old Arpine Karapetyan, seals the envelope and tells her daughter that she is going to send it to Santa. “This year I am lucky, I will spend little money. The shoes that she wants, she has already gotten as a present, however, I have hidden them to give them to her now, so the only thing that is left to buy is the sub-machine gun, and it costs 2,000 drams ($5), I can afford it,” Karapetyan says.

The New Year is not only a festival of joy, but also a festival of concerns for parents in Armenia. Besides assigning money for the New Year table, they have to allocate money from the family budget to buy toys and presents for their children. For some, the financial side of the holiday is a challenge.

According to official data the average family income in Armenia is about $520-760 a month. It is estimated that the New Year Table and related expenses will cost about $390-520 per family.

During recent years, Armenian children, like almost all children all over the world, started asking for presents according to what they see on television.

Lusine Khojoyan , 34, a mother of three, says that nowadays, children choose their toys mainly from TV cartoons. “Basically they want ‘Power Rangers’, their DVDs, masks, and clothes.”

“All of it is quite expensive. For example, the ranger mask cost about 4,000 drams (about $10), which is a lot for a family having an average income. It is good that my sister’s brother has bought presents for my twins, so I will not have to buy new ones. But now they want clothes, and I told them that clothes are not sold, so that they leave me alone, though I am sure that the clothes they want, are sold,” Khojoyan says.

Marine Sharyan, manager of Mankan World of Toys shop confirms what Khojayan says.

“Now there is a big demand for the toys of cartoon and TV serial heroes – transformers, rangers, etc. They, of course, are not produced in Armenia, but we try to satisfy the desires of our consumers, and we sell them (those toys), too,” Sharyan says.

Eight-year-old Alisa Sharafyan, also asked for Transformers from Santa Claus. It is one of the most expensive toys of the season, costing about 4,000-12,000 drams (about $11-$31).

Even though Alisa’s mother is planning to buy the toy, she says that it is quite expensive for a family having average incomes.

Another most favorite New Year wish among children is to see a real Santa Claus. Frida Hakobyan’s 7-year-old daughter has written a letter to the (Armenian) Santa Claus, and asked him to bring “an American Santa Claus”.

“Oh, they asked for so many things (from Santa), they name a new thing every minute. We have already written a letter, so there is no way out. My daughter says, mom, let’s put 1,000 drams (about $2.50) into the envelope so that Santa comes to our house. She does not know that Santa’s visit costs not 1,000 drams, but 20,000 drams (about $50),” Hakobyan says.

This year during holidays buying a half-hour visit from a Santa and a Snow Maiden costs from 15,000-20,000 drams (about $38-$50), and on the New Year eve – up to 100,000 drams (about $260).

However, there are some children who want neither a Santa, nor Transformers; they want a cell phone or a computer, or like Hakob Mkrtchyan, 13, an MP3 player. The teenager says his mobile phone is no longer suitable. “Now I listen to music by my cell phone, but it gets discharged very fast, so I want to have a player to be able to listen to my favorite music,” Hakob says.

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia's Economic Pulse

I dont want to start a new thread just for this so i posted it here.

ROAD CAMERAS TO APPEAR IN ARMENIA

News.am
12:12 / 02/02/2010

The Road Police department of the Police of RA intends to equip the
roads of the republic with an automat system of detection of traffic
regulations violations, RA Police press service informed NEWS.am.

These measures would allow to discover and identify the very means
of transport in the flow of the means of transport recorded in the
road cameras which have made the following violations of driving
regulations:

- violation of speed limit;

- passing under a red light;

- exit to the opposite traffic zone;

- violation of stop and parking rules;

- violation of the demands of the traffic signs;

- violation of the demands of the traffic lines.

For each violation case the corresponding data will be sent to the
center of data development where an administrative violation protocol
(containing the photographs of the means of the transport violating
the driving regulations) and a corresponding decision will be composed
and published.

To realize this project, a competition is arranged. For composing the
technical task and foreseeing the corresponding financial resources of
the mentioned competition all the organizations and firms experienced
in this field are asked to present their suggestions by February
20,2010.

Road Police Department of the Police of RA, Isakov str. 9, Yerevan,
Republic of Armenia.

Tel. (374)10564588, (374)10580424, (374)10565994, (374)77888871

Fax. (374)10564588, (374)10546790

email:[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]