"Armenia’s missed opportunity"

As of today, March 29th, 2020, Armenia has 424 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths aged 55, 72, and 73.  According to official numbers Armenia has the highest number of confirmed cases in the Caucasus.

Courtesy: Armenian Unified Info Center

On March 16th, 2020, Armenia had approximately 30 cases of COVID-19 with hundreds suspected of having the virus.  While this number may seem low, keep in mind the population of Armenia hovers around 3 million people.

The first case, registered on March 3^rd, 2020, was an Armenian citizen, returning from Iran, on a plane mainly populated by Armenian citizens.  Upon arrival the government ordered the citizens to “self-isolate” in their residence, seemingly ignoring the fact these people must travel from the airport to their homes, almost all of whom were in close contract with others.  To be clear, these citizens were released directly into the public, with the infected citizen taking a taxi to reach his final destination, making a few stops along the way.  The other citizens were also released directly into the public, FROM IRAN – a well-known high-risk area for COVID-19. I cannot emphasize this point enough.  In a reactionary process, the government started gathering potentially infected people to quarantine them, at the Golden Palace Hotel, in the ski resort town of Tsakhadzor.

Logic tells us the government would have learned from their mistake and enacted mandatory quarantine for all arrivals into Armenia; sadly, this was not the case.  Two Armenian citizens and an Italian citizen working in Armenia, returned from Italy, another high-risk area, and were again told to “self-isolate”.  One of the citizens, a middle-aged woman from Etchmiadzin, or by its proper name Vagharshapat, was indeed infected with COVID-19.  Instead of self-isolating herself as instructed, the woman lied to officials, went to a salon, and then to her son’s engagement party where she spread the virus to potentially hundreds of people, with many confirmed cases including 40 children.  When questioned by officials the woman replied, “it was my son’s engagement party, I was right to go”.  This woman belongs in jail as soon as she is found to be free of the virus if it doesn’t kill her.  

While we need to hold individuals responsible for their personal actions, this could have been prevented by proper government action.  Before these events occurred, we knew the incubation period and the current and emerging “hot zones”.  Why didn’t the government act?  Why weren’t mandatory quarantines imposed on arriving passengers for the incubation period of the virus, knowing the lacking conditions of the republic’s health care system? 

The minister of health, Arsen Torosyan, has shown a complete lack of competency.  As an example, when there were calls to close schools his response was, “children are not affected by the virus, so there is no need to close the schools.”  For the sake of argument let’s say the first part of his statement was correct (which it isn't), where is the concern for adults who run the schools, Mr. Torosyan?  Even though a low percentage of children

Arsen Torosyan

show symptoms of the virus they are still carriers of the virus - who will run the schools when the teachers and administration fall ill?  Who will tend to their children?

Unfortunately, there are other areas where the government is failing; particularly, the personal protection of police and health care workers.  Why are they working with improper equipment and/or training?  In multiple videos and reports, we see health care workers wearing standard surgical masks, not the required N95 type masks?  And even when masks are available, the male workers are not shaven and many times do not have their masks on.  In addition, why are police wearing absolutely no protection and spraying people with household cleaners as if they are a window (see the video below)?

The late reaction of the government to close borders with our neighboring countries and suspend flights is unacceptable. The government failed miserably in the containment of COVID-19 spreading in Armenia.  Armenia had a special opportunity considering the nation has a low number of travelers during this season and a relatively small population - Armenia missed the opportunity.  Furthermore, the government has failed in training the very people we depend on to keep us safe.  Arsen Torosyan must resign or be removed from his post as the Minister of Health.

Deny the Truth and Push your Agenda

By now most of the U.S. had read the "article" written on Deadspin by Laura Wagner, a makeshift "reporter".  If you have not the article it can be found here.  The "article" entitled, "Don't Doubt What You Saw With You Own Eyes", in a nutshell tells anyone who saw the full, unedited video they should ignore it and stay to true the misconceptions they were fed; to ignore the truth.  My response to her "article" is the remainder of this blog post.

My response on Deadspin (edited for some errors):

"So, basically, lie to yourself and support your confirmation bias, even when the full video provides information completely to the contrary. You leftists are truly, sincerely, and completely brain-dead. It has gotten to the point you are so caught up in your own lies and wish for Utopia you cannot even navigate through your own sea of hypocrisy, and in most cases you don’t even care to. You will simply call someone an “ist”, “ism” or “phobe” when unable to argue points mad which factually contradict your argument. For you, the world is “white bad”; “man bad”; “Christian bad”. You also (hypocritically, no doubt), scream “ACCEPTANCE!” from the rooftops, yet, you threaten or physically assault anyone who doesn’t agree with you while vandalizing their property or the property of others.  "PAY MORE TAXES!" Which comes from the ones who avoid paying taxes or pay none at all.

These kids were provoked. They were provoked by the idiotic “black Israelites”, a truly racist, homophobic, and radical group. They were also provoked by Nathan Philips, the Native American who happens to be a veteran, who is somehow relieved of his immaturity and fault in this matter due to his race and military status (which turns out to be false). The same can be said for the “black Israelites” due to their race (as we do not know their military statuses). 

The only reason the kids are the target are due to them supporting Trump, and the left’s notion president Trump is a racist. They [the left] are using this event as a platform to push their agenda, and it doesn’t matter to them these are innocent minors who stood their ground in the face of ignorance. If these boys would have been wearing “the Pussyhat” or apparel which supported a democratic candidate, they would never have been approached by Philips. They would have, however, had to deal with the “black Israelites” as they verbally assault anyone who passes who is not “black”.

Your attempts to label anything Trump - even if it means ignoring fact - is only driving the divide deeper in the country. And in all honesty, I believe it is exactly what you aim to do. You want to push every notion possible to divide the people. From “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot”, to the pulling off of hijabs, to lighting churches on fire, to spray painting swastikas and slogans, to this you are falsifying information and purposefully misguiding the public to cause civil unrest. You don’t want peace. You want war. You want war abroad, and even worse you want it at home."

I stand behind these kids and behind president Trump.  I stand behind my nation and our values.  I stand with you wearing a red hat in the face of waving a red flag.  To all of those who are standing with the Constitution in-hand, I am with you.  Stay strong.  Stick together.  Trust in God.    

Immigration: truths and falsehoods

I am simply disgusted by the way people are portraying the issue with illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers in the United States. The overwhelming majority of these people have absolutely zero insight as to the truth of the matter or immigration issues in general.

For the past 5 years I have been dealing with immigration problems caused by an issue between my wife and her ex-fiance, who got her involved in a fraudulent claim. For the most part, this issue results in a permanent ban from the United States for life if an immigration judge rules the case as fraudulent even thought it is a non-violent, non-criminal issue.

I have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars fighting this case, and there is currently no end in sight. This is our second time applying for her entry - first on a fiance visa, now on a marriage visa - and she will most likely be rejected, again, and we will have to file an appeal. We're looking at roughly 2 more years of this mess, and at the end it could still be a denial. To add to this we have a beautiful 1.5 year old daughter who is a U.S. citizen through me. Our only solution at the current time is to sporadically stay in Canada so we can be together, and other times we are separated with me in the U.S. and my wife and daughter in Armenia (~6,000 miles apart). Needless to say the emotional and financial burden this causes is astronomical.

When we filed the first case we had the option to attempt to conceal this issue or be upfront and honest with the U.S. government - we chose to be honest and follow all LEGAL channels to end this misery. We didn't attempt to enter illegally. We didn't try to circumvent the system. We followed the law, as it is the moral thing to do. There are many ways we could have "gotten around" the problem, but we chose honesty.

So, please, explain to be how a person in my situation should be circumvented by those attempting to enter illegally. Explain to me how the life of my daughter - a U.S. citizen - does not take precedence over non-citizens. Explain to me why my petition should take a backseat to those of a non-citizen. While all of you are spreading falsities about the situation at the border and fighting for illegal immigrants, you are neglecting your fellow American and making our lives more complicated as the focus is being taken off of those who chose to do the right thing, and placed on those who chose do the wrong thing. You are the ones costing us thousands of dollars. You are the ones causing us so many tears. You are the one dismantling our families.

It is the job of every nation to look our for its citizenry before others. It's too bad there are so many of you who fail to see this because you are too busy virtue-signalling to each other.

The Ignorance of Amer Zahr

Amer Zahr, of the University of Detroit-Mercy, is foolish.

I had the displeasure of watching Mr. Zahr spew ignorance as Tucker plowed him over like a bulldozer.  While on the show, Zahr claimed the media has a bias against non-Caucasians when they commit crimes.  Clearly, he was most concerned with how Arabs and Muslims are portrayed.  He insinuated it was wrong to assume terrorism when Muslims commit crimes such as mass shootings, bombings, etc.  Well, Mr. Zahr, let's take a look into why, shall we?

The fact of the matter is the overwhelming majority of terrorism stems from Muslims, and the religion is by far the most fundamentalist [1].  To add to this, there is a deep support for extremism.  According to data from Pew Research, there are 680,030,000 radical Muslims in Muslim-majority countries and nations with large Muslim populations - meaning the research does not cover the world as a whole, so the number is lower than it should be [2].  Some highlights from the research includes:

Pakistan - 76% of the people want strict Sharia Law in all Muslims countries
Bangladesh - 2/3's support honor killings of women
Turkey - 32% state honor killings of women could be justified
Egypt - 70% hold a positive or mixed view on Osama bin Laden

Perhaps this is the reason we are able to understand why Muslims committing such crimes have a motive, or maybe it's the fact the perpetrators yell "Allahu akbar" ("God is the greatest) and/or make claims their actions are for various terror organizations. 

On to the conflation of religion and race/ethnicity.  For a man who is a law professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy, you sure seem to be void of common sense and logic.  First and foremost (as Tucker so clearly pointed out), Islam is a religion, not a race/ethnicity.  There are Muslims from all walks of life, ethnicities, and races.  To add to your ignorance, you asked Tucker what he considers the Boston Bombers.  The Boston Bombers were Muslim - no one cares if they are Arab or Chechen.  Their ethnicity is irrelevant.  When focus is taken from the true root of the problem the problem grows and remains unsolved.  This is not a race issue, it's an ideological issue.  You've put yourself at the same level as the Huffington Post who publishes false headlines such as:

Mr. Zahr, I suggest you use a bit more logic in the future.  No one is falling for the "we are the victim card" in regards to Islamic extremism.  The use of terror by Islam is not something of new, but something of old - let us not forget events such as the Muslim invasions of the Levant, Armenian Highlands, and Europe.  Let us not forget the Armenian Genocide, Greek Genocide, Assyrian Genocide, and others.  It's time for Islam to address itself, as Christianity had to do so long ago. 

You've done a massive disservice to the university you instruct at.  Stick to comedy, Amer, because you're clearly inept to be involved in academics.

U.N. Resolution 181: Why it matters

The resent passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 has created both celebration and resentment. The resolution, which condemns Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is receiving a massive backlash from Israel and her supporters; however, pro-Palestinian states are applauding the result. Both sides of the battle have been pointing the finger at each other since 1946, but could this all have been avoided by a resolution passed in 1947?

Resolution 2334 was passed due to the United States of America's abstention, which has damaged relations with Israel. The U.S., being a permanent member of the Security Council, does hold veto power - a power the U.S. has used 49 times in Israel's favor. Ironically, if all sides, including the U.N., enforced Resolution 181(II) (adopted in 1947) this whole situation would have been avoided.

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (U.N. Resolution 181(II)) set out a two state plan for Mandatory Palestine (map below) and conditions for Jerusalem. Under the plan Jerusalem, including Bethlehem, is to be a separate entity or corpus separatum which is to be "under a special international regime and administered by the United Nations." Under this international regime citizens from either state are allowed freedom of movement and access to the city; people residing in the city would apply for citizenship in either Palestine or Israel.

It is abundantly evident the amount of land granted to what would have been the second newly-created Arab nation (khaki colored area) was substantially more than that of today (even without Israeli settlements), and the battle over the location of holy sites would have been almost completely avoided - both of which play into the arguments for and against U.N. Res. 2334.

The Temple Mount

According to the resolution all of East Jerusalem is "occupied territory as of 1967", which means not only is the Temple Mount within Palestinian Territory but all of the "Old City". Calling East Jerusalem "occupied territory" is one of two things - a lie or a complete lack of historic knowledge. On May 15th, 1948, just after Resolution 181(II) was passed, Israel was attacked by the Arab League along with other forces [1]. Jordan, known as Transjordan at the time, attacked Israel from the west taking full control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Eventually, in 1950, the gained territory was annexed and officially made part of Transjordan; a move the Arab League deemed illegal and invalid. Interestingly enough Pakistan, Iraq, and the United Kingdom recognized the annexation, which lasted nearly 20 years until Israel's victory in the Six-Day War. In 1988, Jordan gave up all claims to the territory, but maintains stewardship of holy Muslim sites within Jerusalem. In 1994 the two countries signed a peace treaty normalizing relations.

So, why is this important? One of the most pressing arguments against the resolution is that it places the Temple Mount within Palestinian territory. The Temple mount is Judaism's holiest site and the third most holy site for Muslims. The site, which would have been part of the corpus separatum, was illegally occupied by invading Arab forces, then taken by Israel in a war nearly two decades later. Resolution 181(II) was not "violated" by the Israelis, it was "violated" by the Arabs. Now, nearly 70 years later, the land should be "returned" to the very people who "violated" the resolution - a resolution which was reluctantly accepted by the Israeli side.

This isn't the first time Jewish claim to the site was attacked - most recently UNESCO voted in favor of a resolution which attempts to deny Judaism's connection to the Temple Mount; a blatantly dishonest rewrite of history (...but that's a topic for another blog post).

Settlements

Israeli settlements are no secret to the world. Since 1972 settlement population has grown from approximately 10,500 to almost 547,000 (2013) in the West Bank [2], with other claims at 385,900 (2015) [4] The settlements, which number over 200 [3], are peppered throughout the West Bank creating a web of checkpoints. Many suggest these settlements are strategically placed to prevent free movement of Palestinians from one location to another. One such settlement is Har Homa, which is placed between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem cuts access between the two cities. The settlement, which now has 25,000 residents, was approved in 1998 by Netanyahu; the move received intense backlash from the west. The layout of the settlements has caused major disruption in Palestinian life having been placed in a way which creates a network of checkpoints, making life for the average Palestinian extremely complicated - it's not uncommon for a Palestinian to cross at least 2 checkpoints while en route. It's also important to note the widespread home demolition which plagues the Palestinian people.

Not surprisingly, natural resources - primarily water - is also a sources of conflict between the two parties. According to various sources, Israeli settlements take the overwhelming majority of water from underground aquifers within the Palestinian territories, then sell the Palestinians desalinated water [5]. Also, according to the UN, Palestinians have been regularly prevented from accessing their farmland [6].

The primary issues with the settlements is they are deemed illegal under international law and also the perceived intent of annexation, which isn't too far fetched in light of a recently passed law in Israel. Israel is doing itself no favors with this practice both in terms of its people and their image on the international stage. Creating unnecessary suffering is never excusable, which is what these settlement networks are doing. When Israel portrays itself as a model country - which it is in many ways - it should be sure to reflect that portrayal in its actions - something it is not doing with its settlement policy.

This was all avoidable

Circling back to Resolution 181(II), it's clear all of this could have been avoided. This resolution provided a sound plan for the partitioning of lands and gave the Palestinians much more than what they have today. For the Palestinians it was a proposal delivered on a golden platter, and I am not the only one who believes this way. In 2011, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas stated the Arab's refusal to accept the resolution was a mistake he was working to "rectify" [7]. 

In this case the Arabs shot themselves in the foot, plain and simple. If it were not for the concessions made by the Jewish side, the current borders of Israel would reach to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and Amman would be an Israeli city. Although both sides have their faults in this conflict, it seems the U.N. has completely disregarded the past actions of both parties, and the language contained in Resolution 2334 clearly shows this.

References:
1. "The Arab-Israeli War of 1948", United States Office of the Historian, accessed 28 February 2017, <https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/arab-israeli-war>
2. "Statistics on Settlements and Settler Population", B'tselem, accessed 7 March 2017, <http://www.btselem.org/settlements/statistics>
3. "Netanyahu and the Settlements", The New York Times, accessed 7 March 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/12/world/middleeast/netanyahu-west-bank-settlements-israel-election.html?_r=0>
4. "Settler Population was 385,900 by the end of 2015", Jerusalem Post, accessed 5 April 2017, http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Settler-population-was-385900-by-end-of-2015-469607
5. Hass, Amira, "The Israeli 'Watergate' Scandal: The Facts About Palestinian Water", Haaretz, accessed 5 April 2017, http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.574554"
6. "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the Occupied Syrian Golan", United Nations Human Rights Council, accessed 5 April 2017, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Documents/A_HRC_28_44_en.doc
7. Eldar, Akiva, "Abbas Should Change His Locks Before Next Wave of Palestinian Prisoners Freed", Haaretz, accessed 5 April 2017, http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/abbas-should-change-his-locks-before-next-wave-of-palestinian-prisoners-freed-1.399760

President-elect Donald J. Trump

Republicans, Democrats, 3rd Parties, and the media all said he could never do it; now who's laughing?

On November 11th, 2016, I woke up to the site of Donald Trump leading in the election; if memory serves me correctly, Trump was ahead with 140 electoral votes.  Honestly, I was in complete and utter shock.  Without getting myself too excited by the thought of Hillary Clinton watching her hopes fade away I thought to myself, "Holy crap, Donald J. Trump is going to to be the next president."  This was definitely an overconfident belief, considering none of the 6 major states had been called.

As I watched the map of the U.S. turn blood red, as well as the faces of Cenk Uygur and Anna Kasparian, it was clear the results of the left's detrimental activities had come home to roost.  The American public is simply fed up with their [the left] oppressive and illogical policies; policies which only cater to emotion, rather than logic, fact, and reason.

Over the past 8 years this administration has made the world less safe both domestically and internationally, implemented a failed healthcare system completely counter intuitive to core American values, and catered to movements rooted in misinformation, hate, and violence which have divided the nation to the point of irrecognition.  We have a border akin to a block of Swiss cheese and war tactics which resemble those of Vietnam.  Our nationalized healthcare system was a massive glitch from inception, and now people are unable to keep their doctors and are facing up to 116% premium increases (1).   There are people marching in the streets in the name of "social justice", unjustly infringing on the rights and safety of others.  The country is broken, and the people look to Trump to fix it.  The question is, can Trump do it?

Throughout the election my primary complaint about Trump was his vagueness.  He regularly used simple sentences which described his changes as "great", "huge", "big things", etc., and was awfully repetitive.  In his defense, there were some speeches of his that impressed me, but they still didn't provide a true insight into where we were going - just that it would be "better".  ...but what does "better" mean and how do we get there?

In recent days Trump has set out a plan for the first 100 days (2), which offers some impressive points:

1. Issue notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
2. Cancel restriction on American energy
3. Reduce regulations - for every new regulation, two old regulations will eliminated
4. Protect America's infrastructure
5. Investigate abuses of visa program
6. Impose five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists after leaving the administration and a lifetime ban on executive officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government

Personally, this opens my eyes a bit to how we are getting to where we are going; especially, number 6.  In my personal opinion the majority of the blame for our nation's incorrect path is on the shoulders of lobbyists.  Rather than making choices which best suite the American people as a whole, lobbyists use billions of dollars (3) to sway politicians to do their bidding, many times hanging constituents out to dry.  If you had doubts about Trump "draining the swamp", this should be a wake up call.  Based off this list, I also believe it's safe to say he is serious about immediate job creation, security, and immigration (although we'll all be waiting on The Wall).

Unfortunately, we don't have much to work on as far as gauging Trump.  All we can do is wait and watch with the hope his somewhat ambiguous goals come to fruition to the benefit of the people.  I do believe this will happen, which is why I openly supported Trump over Hillary Clinton, but only time will tell.  He has already delivered on keeping Ford's small car production line in Kentucky (4) and is currently working to keep Carrier Corporation from moving to Mexico (5).  If president-elect Trump is also able to deliver on these 6 points within the first 100 days, I think it's safe to say we have president who is a man of his word.

The Hye-Phen's Radicalism

So, when gays are telling me The Hye-Phen Magazine and Collective is an embarrassment to their community, all I can do is ask them why they are not speaking up. Here is a magazine which claims to be there for homosexuals, yet all they do is attempt to promote ultra-liberal ideals and place blame on anyone besides the responsible party which, of course, paints the community they claim to be part of as irresponsible, foul-mouthed, immature, and directionless children.

Most recently I saw one of their articles with the hashtag "stoppatriotism".  Patriotism, specifically in the United States, is what has forwarded gays the right to live as they want. Patriotism is the reason we have the Bill of Rights. Patriotism is the reason these ill-informed gender-studies majors are able to spew ignorance from the catacombs of their self-imposed righteousness. Patriotism is the reason people put on a uniform to protect you.

Personally, as a Christian, I support gay rights. Christ told us to love all - it's simple to understand. However, this "magazine" does nothing to support gays. If anything it creates a worse environment for them, as their ideals and the articles they write are illogical, uneducated, and clearly based solely on emotion. You want to help the gay community? Write articles telling how gays have lives just as anyone else. Write articles telling how gays hold true and loving relationships with their partners. Write articles which use solid facts and statistics from reputable organizations. Basically, write about the subject matter you claim to be fighting for and do it with facts, not anecdotal information or numbers from defunct/debunked organizations. Stop drawing your false lines of "intersectionality" between subjects which are unrelated in the hopes of strengthening your clearly weak arguments through mob mentality.

The final note - Take the clear hypocrisy out of your pieces. As you attack patriotism you push your ideals such as feminism, extreme-left liberalism (self-described radicals), and anti-patriarchy rubbish, which are some of the most misguided and uneducated forms of patriotism. The whole organization is so far off in "It's-everyone-else's-fault-protest-anything-that-is-the-norm-trigger-warning-safe-space-white-straight-males-are-bad land" you are unable to see your own bullshit. However, the rest of us can, and we are going to call you out on all of it, as we are not your woman and gender studies professor who spoon fed you all of this insane and backwards rhetoric.