Turks, Azerbaijans and friends of Azerbaijan commemorate Armenian Khojaly genocide victims in Fort Lauderdale - by RM

The Florida Turkish Center in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday evening, March 1, 2014 commemorated the cruel Armenian genocide of innocent Azerbaijan civilians at Khojaly..

Following an introduction by Mrs Tohfa Eminova,  President of the Florida Azerbaijan Association, Mr Samir Bejanov, Political Officer of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan  in Washington DC, provided the audience with a comprehensive report illustrated with slides and a video presentation of the actual sequence of events surrounding the Khojaly genocide. 

Mrs. Tohfa Eminova - (photo MB)

On February 25-26, 1992, Armenian occupation forces together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.

Some 613 people were killed, 487 people were injured. Some 1275 residents were taken hostages. Most of them did not return from captivity. Their fate still remains unknown.

The Khojaly genocide is considered a crime not only against Azerbaijani people, but also against humanity, since it is fully consistent with the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on December 9, 1948.

According to this Convention, any crime against people based on their ethnicity is called genocide. And in Khojaly people were killed just because they were Azerbaijanis.

Mr. Samir Bejanov (photo MB)

Following the establishment of the Soviet rule in Armenia in late 1920, the Armenians were presented with a real opportunity to fulfill their age-old dream of creating an Armenian State on the territories of other nations. 

During the 70-years of Soviet rule, the Armenians succeeded in expanding their territory at the expense of Azerbaijan and using every possible means to expel the Azerbaijanis from their lands. 

Also during this period, the policy to expel the Azerbaijanis from their lands was implemented systematically and methodically. 

In 1920 the Armenians declared Zangezur and a number of other Azerbaijani lands to be part of the territory of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1923 they managed to secure the status of an autonomous province for the mountainous part of Karabakh within Azerbaijan. Consequently this created an artificial entity within the territory of Azerbaijan, while the Azerbaijani population living in the territory of Armenia at that time were not given similar rights. 

The current stage of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan may be regarded as having formally begun on 20 February 1988, when the Soviet of the People’s Deputies of the Nagorny Karabakh Autonomous Province adopted a decision to petition the Supreme Soviets of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR for the transfer of the province from the former to the latter.

 Florida Turkish American Association members (photo MB)

Before the adoption of this decision, basically at the end of 1987, the Azerbaijanis became subject of attacks in Khankendi (during the Soviet/Russian  period ) and this
resulted in a flood of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons.

On 22 February 1988 near the settlement of Askeran on the Khankendi-Aghdam highway, the Armenians opened fire on a peaceful demonstration by the Azerbaijanis protesting against the above-mentioned decision of the Soviet People’s Deputies of the Nagorny Karabakh Autonomous Province. As a consequence two Azerbaijani youths lost their lives, becoming the first victims of the conflict.

In 1991 central law-enforcement agencies of the then USSR apprehended dozens of the Armenian armed groups that operated outside Nagorny Karabakh. As a result, the Chaykend village of the Khanlar district of Azerbaijan was turned by the Armenian armed groups into a criminal hub from which they bombed and shelled surrounding villages and roads, terrorizing the local Azerbaijani population. From 1989 to 1991, in Chaykend and adjacent areas 54 people fell victim to the Armenian armed groups. In 1992 Azerbaijan regained its control over the Goranboy district.

At the end of 1991 and the beginning of 1992 the conflict turned into a military phase. Taking advantage of the political instability as a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and internal squabbles in Azerbaijan, Armenia initiated by giving external military assistance to combat operations in Nagorny Karabakh.

In February 1992, an unprecedented massacre was committed against the Azerbaijani population in the town of Khojaly. This bloody tragedy, which became known as the Khojaly genocide, involved the extermination or capture of thousands of Azerbaijanis as their town was razed to the ground.

During that fatal night of 25 to 26 February 1992 the Armenian armed forces, with the help of the infantry guards regiment No. 366 from the former USSR implemented the seizure of Khojaly - a small town situated in the small Nagorny Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a population  of 23,757, and cruelly decimated them. 

The large number of question from the audience during the question and answer period, following Mr. Bejanov's presentation, showed how much much the talk had impressed the audience. 

Given the present invasion of Russian troops into the Crimea area of Ukraine, the Fort Lauderdale Turkish Center presentation also provided  an actual insight as to Russian historical political strategies concerning their former territories. and spheres of influence    

The informative event at the Florida Turkish Center in Fort Lauderdale was concluded with Azerbaijan food and refreshments.

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European Space Agency: Space inventions free for ESA and Canadian Member Corporations

Space companies and organizations from ESA Member States and Canada are invited to submit their interest in using ESA’s inventions.

As a research organisation, ESA encourages, protects and licenses innovations or inventions resulting from its own activities in order to fulfil its mission of cooperation among Member States in space research and technologies and their applications, and supports the worldwide competitiveness of European industry. 

ESA patents up to 20 inventions a year and has a portfolio of about 450 patent applications and patents, which cover subjects such as radio-frequency payloads and systems, structures and pyrotechnics, electromagnetic technologies and techniques, material and processes, robotics, optics, electrical power and propulsion. 

ESA makes its inventions available free of charge via its Technology Transfer Programme Office on a non-exclusive basis to space industry within its 20 Member States. For use by companies outside of ESA’s 

Member States or for non-space applications, a different licensing model is in place, allowing the Agency to request royalties. 

Licensing templates can be downloaded via the link below as well as more information about ESA’s Intellectual Property policy. 

The goal of this call for interest is to make ESA’s portfolio and licensing conditions more openly visible to European space industry and to encourage its use and licensing. The deadline for the call is 5 March 2014. Further information click here 

Read more: Space inventions for free / Highlights / TTP2 / Technology / Our Activities / ESA

Ukraine: With Military Moves Seen in Ukraine, Obama Warns Russia - by D. M. Herzenhorn, M. Lander and A. Smale

Ukraine’s fragile new government accused Russia of trying to provoke a military conflict by invading the Crimea region on Friday, while in Washington President Obama issued a stern warning to the Kremlin about respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty, in an effort to preclude a full-scale military escalation.

American officials did not directly confirm a series of public statements by senior Ukrainian officials, including the acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, that Russian troops were being deployed to Crimea, where Russia has a major naval base, in violation of the two countries’ agreements there.

Mr. Obama, however, cited “reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine,” and he said, “Any violation of Ukrainian sovereignty would be deeply destabilizing.”

“There will be costs,” Mr. Obama said in a hastily arranged statement from the White House.

The pointed warning came after a day in which military analysts struggled to understand a series of unusual events in Crimea, including a mobilization of armored personnel carriers with Russian markings on the roads of the region’s capital, Simferopol, and a deployment of well-armed masked gunmen at Crimea’s two main airports. 

Note EU-Digest: This situation should be a clear indication to all the member states of the European Union that they should be making haste in coming to an agreement on a European Energy Pact in order to strengthen the arsenal of potential economic sanctions they could muster against Russia in case they are needed.

Read more: With Military Moves Seen in Ukraine, Obama Warns Russia - NYTimes.com

Alternative Energy: US data show wind energy works and is cost-effective -- by Robert H. Owen Jr.

Occasionally a misinformed reader asserts wind turbines produce insignificant electrical output. That's simply untrue.

MGE reports the energy produced by its wind turbines annually. According to reports, its Rosiere Wind Farm in Kewaunee County produced 19,513,000 kilowatt hours in 2011 and 20,279,000 in 2012, the former at an operating cost of 2.11 cents per kilowatt hour.

MGE reported that its Top-of-Iowa Wind Farm produced 80,592,300 kilowatt  hours in 2011 and 74,147,900 in 2012, the former at an operating cost of 1.48 cents per kilowatt  hour.

MGE also reports the energy it buys from two Iowa and one Wisconsin wind farms owned by others. It reported total wind energy purchases of 275,932,000 kilowatt hours in 2011 and 290,540,000 in 2012 at a net cost of about 6 cents per kilowatt hour.

By contrast, MGE's inefficient Blount Street Plant, which burns natural gas, produced only 47,689,100 kilowatt hours at an operating cost of about 14 cents per kilowatt hour in 2012.

Modern wind turbines are being widely adopted in other states in the Midwest because they are productive and cost-effective.

Read more: Data show wind energy works and is cost-effective -- Robert H. Owen Jr. : Ws

Finland: Alternative Energy: Google Buys More Swedish Wind Power For Its Finnish Data Center - by Jason Verge

will buy the entire electricity output of four new wind farms to support its data center operations in Hamina, Finland, the company said this week. The new power purchase from Eolus Vind AB in Sweden follows an earlier wind power deal in which Google purchased the entire 10-year electricity output of the new wind farm at Maevaara, in Övertorneå and Pajala municipality in northern Sweden.

“We’re always looking for ways to increase the amount of renewable energy we use,” said Francois Sterin, Director Global Infrastructure at Google. “Long term power purchase agreements enable wind farm developers to add new generation capacity to the grid – which is good for the environment – but they also make great financial sense for companies like Google.”

Eolus will commence construction of the four new wind farms in Alered, Mungseröd, Skalleberg and Ramsnäs, Sweden.  The 29-turbine project, with a total combined capacity of 59 megawatts, already has all its planning approvals and permits. The wind farms will become fully operational in early 2015.

“Our agreement with Google is a further endorsement of the potential of wind power in the Nordic countries,” said Hans-Christian Schulze, deputy CEO of Eolus. “We’re looking forward to building our new wind farms over the year and helping Google stay ahead of its commitment to carbon neutrality.”

All of this Swedish wind power will power Google’s Hamina, Finland facility. This cross-border arrangement is possible thanks to Europe’s increasingly integrated energy market.  Scandinavia’s Nord Pool market allows Google to buy renewable energy with Guarantee of Origin certification in Sweden, and consume an equivalent amount of power elsewhere in Europe.

The move helps the environment, but also protects Google from future increases in power prices through long term purchasing. The company is investing in new renewable energy projects that will deliver a return for its money. Over $1 billion has been committed to such projects in the U.S., Germany, and South Africa.

Read more: Google Buys More Swedish Wind Power For Its Finnish Data Center | Data Center Knowledge

Ukraine pleads for U.S., U.K. help after Russian 'invasion' - by Mark Mackinon

The new Ukrainian government says it has been invaded by Russia, and has appealed for the United States and United Kingdom to protect it, as they guaranteed under a 1994 agreement.

The move came after pro-Russian gunmen seized both main airports on the Crimean Peninsula early Friday, a day after other militiamen took control of the regional parliament building. With gunmen in the building and the Russian flag flying from the roof, deputies appointed a new government and passed a motion Thursday calling for a referendum on the future as part of Ukraine.

The armed takeovers sharply escalate what had already been an extremely volatile situation in Crimea, a Russian-speaking region that has rejected the overthrow of the Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovych and the rise to power of pro-Western forces in Kiev.

Swiss accuse Yanukovych of “aggravated money laundering.” 

Also on Friday, Swiss police raided the premises of a Geneva firm owned by Mr. Yanukovych and his son Oleksander in an investigation into “aggravated money laundering.”

In Kiev, Ukraine’s parliament adopted a resolution on Friday demanding that Russia halt steps it says are aimed against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called for a UN Security Council meeting on the crisis.

The parliament also called for guarantees of the memorandum signed by Ukraine, Britain, Russia and the United States in Budapest in 1994. That agreement guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty and current borders in exchange for surrendering the nuclear weapons that were left after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It wasn’t clear whether the gunmen who seized the airports were Russian soldiers or pro-Russian militiamen. They wore no insignia, but carried automatic weapons and Russian flags into the airport.

Read more: Ukraine pleads for U.S., U.K. help after Russian 'invasion' - The Globe and Mail

Healthcare: Netherlands Scores Poorly (25) Listing Efficient Global Health Care Systems

A study by Bloomberg shows: Among advanced economies, the U.S. spends the most on health care on a relative cost basis with the worst outcome.

The Netherlands considered to have a good healthcare system also scores poorly (25) when it comes to cost and efficiency.

Read more: Most Efficient Health Care: Countries - Bloomberg Best (and Worst)