Armenia has joined in the largely symbolic celebration of the birth of the world’s seven billionth person expected by the United Nations on Monday.

A generous anonymous donation from a community activist will enable and ensure broad participation in the ANC Grassroots on Thanksgiving Weekend, November 25-27, announced the Armenian National Committee-Western Region Board of Directors.

Turkish police have arrested Ragip Zarakolu, a well-known human rights activist and director of the Belge Publishing House, and chair of the Publishers Association “Freedom to Publish” Committee of Turkey.

What I want you to know is that one tiny crack beneath our feet took us both to the ground.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region announced that filmmaker Eric Nazarian will serve as a panelist in “Lights, Camera, Activate,” which will cover the ways in which film, music and the arts can be used to promote grassroots activism.

In what I can only characterize as the twisted modern-day version of “Gikor”, our honorable President, Serg Sarkissian, has repeatedly asked the diaspora to come and invest in the homeland and have an input in making Armenia a prosperous nation.

Long time community activist and public servant Hacop Baghdassarian will receive the Legacy Award at the 2011 Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region Annual Banquet for his decades of service to the American American community and dedication to the Armenian Cause.

How broken is Washington? Thanks to the enormous bureaucracy, congressional paralysis, systemic corruption with lobbyists spending billions of dollars every year and disintegrating media–we are left to our own resources at best.

Nearly 650 Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter members, longtime supporters and several distinguished civic and community leaders, friends and guests joined the Homenetmen “Ararat” Executive Board, representatives of various community organizations, gathered on the pristine evening of Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 at the famous Glendale Civic Center, about which, Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman graciously commented that “though I have been to the Glendale Civic Center for many events over the years, I have never seen it as beautiful and as elegant as this before.”

That’s what a friend said when I contacted her after hearing she’d been to the “Occupy LA” encampment at LA’s City Hall. Hearing her speak was very moving. It was all the more heartening that we as Armenians were a bit of a presence.

On this small island in the middle of the Pacific, you’re bound to eventually run into someone you know or run out of land if you just keep going. You’re bound to speak pidgin and start saying ‘howzit’ and ‘bra’ and see the cast and crew of “Hawaii Five-O” in action. Or you may be forced to stare right into the dark eyes of the Armenian Genocide.

As I think about this closing line of Lory Bedikian’s poem, “The Book of Lamenting,” –bearing the same title as her first book of poems, winner of the 2010 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, and due to be released on October 30, 2011 by Anhinga Press – I think about the many ways in which her collection of poetry is a voghb, or lament for life, family, and country.

During the period from September 18 to 24 I was anxiously looking at every page of the LA Times to see any article about the 20-th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Unfortunately there was NOT A .SINGLE WORD ABOUT ARMENIA.

A year has passed since the community lost one of its more compassionate and generous members, Dr. Jacob Orphali, who died unexpectedly on October 14, 2010. Dr. Orphali will always be remembered for his warmth, humor, but most important, for his generosity and compassion toward his family, friends, patients and his unwavering commitment to elevate Armenian community institutions