Wednesday, October 23, 2002

It seems that in my old age I have become more and more critical and less and less tolerable towards foreign elements that stuff their ideas down my countries throat. The following is a press release that seems to stomp on all my toes at once:

Harvard University
John F. Kennedy School of Government
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact: Doug Gavel, KSG Communications,
617) 495-8290
October 4, 2002

For Immediate Release

Kennedy School of Government Announces Manoukian Public Service Program for Armenia

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Joseph S. Nye, dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, announced today the creation of a program to educate new leaders for the free and prosperous development of Armenia and the good of her citizens and countrymen around the world. The Manoukian Public Service Program for Armenia is supported by a gift from the Manoukian Foundation in London and will provide funds for three areas of collaboration:

* A degree program titled "Manoukian Public Service Fellowship;"
* An executive program titled "Manoukian Executive Education for Armenia;"
* A partnership between the Manoukian Foundation and the Kennedy School.

Ara�s comment: I just have a real problem with Harvard�s Kennedy School of Government educating our leaders to think the way they feel would create free and prosperous development for Armenia. What if the educators were wrong in their teachings and things got worse as a result? Would their families who live in the US be directly effected? Probably not.

"As Armenia emerges from the Soviet era and works to build a democratic and free market infrastructure, the training and support networks of those who will lead the new society will be tremendously important," said Nye. "We are grateful to the generosity and vision of Mr. Vatche Manoukian and Dr. Armen Sarkissian whose passionate commitment to education and to their homeland has led to this important new program. It will bring to the Kennedy School talented young people who will lead Armenia in the future, and current leaders who can reap immediate benefits for Armenia through their participation in our Executive Education Programs."

Ara�s comment: Is Nye hoping his program will train the new leaders of Armenia? Will Kocharian be one of his students?

The Manoukian Public Service Fellowship has been designed to help build leadership capacity for promising civil servants, government leaders, and/or nonprofit and NGO practitioners to help build a free and democratic society through advanced training and study at the Kennedy School. The fellowship will provide full tuition and cover fees, living expenses, and travel for a student to participate in either the one-year mid-career Master in Public Administration (MPA) program or the two-year Master in Public Policy (MPP) or Master of Public Administration/International Development (MPA/ID) programs. It will be available to current civil servants, government officials, nonprofit practitioners, or non-governmental organization leaders in Armenia, individuals of Armenian descent, or Armenian citizens of the world who early in their careers show promise for such leadership.

The Manoukian Executive Education for Armenia program will provide executive training to current Armenian officials charged with the daunting task of leading Armenia in the new era. In addition to funding participation by Armenians in regularly scheduled executive programs such as Leaders in Development; Managing Political and Economic Reform; The Practice of Trade: Economics, Negotiations and Rules; Global Financial Systems; and Infrastructure in a Market Economy, the Manoukian Foundation will also sponsor a special program in Cambridge, designed in consultation with the Manoukian Foundation and the EURASIA Centre at the University of Cambridge. Curriculum for this session will include both substantive and skill building topics. "Armenia's place in the world, as well as domestic concerns, will be of highest relevance to the design of the curriculum," stated Peter Zimmerman, senior associate dean for Executive Education.

Ara�s comment: So far I have not read one Armenian name (other than the people paying for the program) as far as the people leading this program that is planning on training our present and future leaders. It would be really interesting to know who the educators are and what they know about Armenian human nature and culture?

"The Kennedy School of Government's mission is to train world leaders and to contribute to the solution of global public policy challenges. We are honored to have begun this partnership and look forward to working together to employ educational resources and international bridge building to help the Armenian people into a new era of independence, freedom and prosperity," observed Nye.

Ara�s comment: This last sentence should read something like: �The Kennedy School of Government�s mission is to influence world leaders and create an atmosphere so the US government can control global public policy changes to best serve its interests. We are honored to have created this �partnership� and look forward to an opportunity in making the Armenian people around the world think that by working with us, they are working towards a new era of independence, freedom and prosperity,� said the spider to the fly.

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"If a nation is seeking the power it needs outside of itself, then it is consciously preparing for its own defeat and collapse." - Garegin Nzhdeh

"Armenia is on a collision course to self-destruction." - Mama Manoogian

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