eWhat a pain in the a**! I go to the CRA web site to order my 2019 tax package from this site and all you can get is electronic versions. I want a paper version! Searches of the CRA site do not produce any results for paper versions!
Last year I tried getting them from any of the nearby local post offices and they all said they were gone within the first day or two and no more were coming!
People are already pissed about taxes - the CRA really wants to amp up Canadians hate on taxes with this move.
Any one know whose leg I have to hump to request a 2019 Paper Tax Package?

just saying
he lost like 100k+ for nothing

'''
In Canada lottery winnings are not taxed.

According to the Canada Revenue Agency’s windfall rules, if you win money from a lottery, you do not have to report the winnings nor pay tax on those funds. The CRA has not instituted a cap or limit on these winnings. However, if your winnings earn interest, the interest amounts will be subject to taxation.

'''
Context Link
Go1dfish undelete link
unreddit undelete link
Author: Arttherapist

ezralevant - October 23, 2019 at 08:44AM
RT @awudrick: Critic: You can't win elections in Canada anymore running against a carbon tax! Me: Jason Kenney and Doug Ford just did. Critic: THAT'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE REASONS
http://twitter.com/ezralevant/status/1187032039545028613

• 2021 starts off with a bang as VIX shoots up an ungodly 22%+ during intraday high. During intraday low for the market, the Dow was down as much as -700 pts (-2.3%), Nasdaq -345 pts (-2.6%), and S&P -94 (-2.5%). WSB reeled in horror as stonk somehow doesn't always go up. Beyond renewed COVID fear, market sell-off accelerated in the morning after 10 AM as the market continues to keep an eye on the GA run-off election with polls increasingly being more favorable for the DNC candidates. No doubt an extra wrench was thrown to the GA GOP Senate campaigns as POTUS continues to pressure GA officials on figuring out votes - cuz that's totes normal thing for a sitting President to do.
  
• For those WSBer who failed basic HS civics class, just one GOP win in the two run-off Senate seats will keep Biden's more progressive agenda at bay (and likely the recent tax cut intact) as the GOP and McTurtle retain control of the Senate. Conversely, Dems winning both seats will secure both legislative branch for Dems, as VP Harris be the tie breaking vote in the Senate. Will this mean an eventual bigger stimulus package? A renew market-sell off? Should ANTM, UNH, and others quiver in fear? Find out later this week as results will unlikely be clear even after polls are close on Tues night.
  
• With renewed COVID fear as the UK variant likely running rampant undetected in the US, shares of travel sector are pressured today. In airlines, AAL closed down -4% to $15.13, UAL -3.75% to $41.63, and LUV -3.37% to $45.04 (similar price action across the sector for JBLU, SAVE, etc.). Cruise stocks took a bigger beating with NCLH down -6.69% to $23.73, RCL down -5.23% to $70.72, and CCL down -5.91% to $20.38. Conversely, safe plays and essential stores such as WMT, TGT, and COST are all up today at 1.65%, 0.62%, and 0.89% despite S&P being red.
  
• Jack Ma, Alibaba's very public CEO has reportedly been missing in action in the past few months as speculation starts floating about his disappearance due to the CCP. While memes float about of Ma being tucked away in a Chinese state prison with Randy Marsh due to pissing off Pooh Bear, shares of BABA continues to be pressured despite a rebound last week as CCP's antitrust probe on both Alibaba and its subsidiary Ant Group chugs on. BABA closed the day -2.10% at $227.85, while competitors PDD closed -6.13% to $166.78, and JD closed the day -1.79% at $86.33.
  
• QS, the SPAC turned meme EV stock took a nice more than -40% dive today as shares sold off on... well, who the fuck knows why it sold off (PIPE shares became available and are no longer locked? I didn't look into the lockup period, someone let me know the dates). The EV battery maker took on a NKLA-like trajectory and rallied as high as $120 before steadily trimming its gains in the past week. For those who are adventurous in selling the IV, OTM Jan 15 puts such as 35p are going for $1.55 while 40p are going for $3.3. But honestly, do you really want to baghold QS at those pricing if assigned (cash secured)? Go with a spread, you dumb fuck. Shares closed the day down more than $34 (-40.84%) to $49.96. If you sold puts before today, you dun goofed.
  
• QS edit: thanks to trojanattorney1 below: more early investor shares were available today and millions were dumped into the market. If you're trying to catch the QS knife, be warned as there are many more dilution to go. You can check recent filing here if you're so inclined.
  
• Haven, the AMZN + BRK + JPM venture in "disrupting" health care has disbanded after a 3 year attempt. Turns out having sensible health care in America is hard as fuck. Shares of healthcare companies UNH, HUM, et al. were up during pre-market and morning hours, but faded through the day as overall macro pushed the sector down.
  
• In more "I thought this is America" news, more than 200 GOOGL employees and contractors in both the US and Canada have decided to unionized to promote a less shitty workplace and ethical business practices (once a upon a time, Google's motto was "Do No Evil."). Collectively known as the Alphabet Workers Union, the group's aim is to start small and eventually amass enough membership to actually address some of the more lofty goals: namely pay and working conditions. GOOGL closed the day down -1.51%, though more likely due to overall macro than this thus far non-material news.
  
• Elon chan and his meme stock continues to kill whatever remaining short sellers are left, as TSLA reaches new ATH after Q4 delivery report. Despite the FY number being "missed" by 450 vehicles, the quarterly delivery of 180,570 vehicles handily beat Wall Street's estimate of about 174k vehicles and shares are up bigly to close up 3.42% at $729.77. How did we ever doubt those WSB degens who loaded up $3,500 strike Jan 15 calls pre-split which are now ITM!? Truly, they were ahead of the times in knowing that TSLA will shoot up an additional 76% in the next 3 months.
  
• On Chinese EV side of things, NIO delivered 7k vehicles in Dec 2020 while XPEV delivered 5,700 vehicles - both numbers are record "growth" for the two company which shows a YoY growth of 121% for NIO and 326% for XPEV. (WSB with OTM FDs know these "growth" well as their FDs goes from 100% in value but are still down all-time of at -85%). NIO closed the day up 9.75% to $53.49 and XPEV trimmed their intraday high of 10%+ to close up 2.97% at $44.10.
  
• In WSB meme stock land, things are a fairly mixed bag as GME continues to fade after reaching a recent 52-week high of $22.35. The definitely-not-going-bankrupt gaming retailer closed the day down -8.44% to $17.25. PLTR, despite being up more than 2% in pre-market, closed the day relatively flat at -0.76% to $23.37. Finally, steel gang got a respite today as MT closed the day up 4.59%, though intraday high was up as much as 8%.
  
• Looking for cheap and relatively "responsible" WSB meme stock play? You can do GME covered call and sell April 35c for about $1.6 (though selling on a green day for $2+ is probably a better idea). This will net you 100 shares of GME for less than $15.70 per share and cap your imaginary gains at $35 if the squeeze does happen. (All those GME DDs can't be wrong?) Conversely, you can go with GME April 20c/35c debit call spread for a "low price" of $2.4 per spread, or for those who prefer to sell FDs to fellow WSBer, poor man's covered call of Jan 2022 $25c and selling weeklies and/or April 35c will suffice. At the end of the day, the fact that April 35c has so much value still to it should be taken advantage if GME has a green day. For MT, June debit call spread is probably the way to go, with 25c/35c a possible spread. These are not financial advice and if you listen to a random stranger online and lose your pants on the play - then that's on you, you dumb stupid motherfucker.
  
• DJI closed down -382 pts (-1.25%), IXIC closed down -189 pts (-1.47%), SPX -55 pts (-1.48%), and RUT is down -28 pts (-1.47%). Notable numbers and ERs this week: ISM manufacturing index tomorrow at 10 AM ET, BBBY reports on Thursday before market opens while MU reports after market close. Load up on those MU 90c for 7/20 - this time it'll definitely hit!
  

(Last week's recap: none cuz I was enjoying a NYE covid yacht party. There's last Wednesday if you want to read that).

Your 15-minute Tuesday report in 3836 words.

re: Armenia will grow "industrial weed" / possible CBD $$$ / industry details

Unless you have been sleeping in a camel's ear, you probably know by now that the government plans to legalize hemp farms on an industrial scale. It is not the marijuana that makes you high. The legalization is meant to bring revenues and encourage the cultivation of lands that are currently gone unused (around half of the arable lands).
Interview with Garegin Miskaryan, an enterpreneuer and the co-founder of political party "Citizen's Decision" (QO).
Question: what is technical hemp and what's your opinion about the govt's decision to legalize it?
So far we only know that it will be legalized. The process of issuing and revoking a license is important. We need to know how the sale of seeds will be done. Overall, I welcome the decision. Approximately 250,000 hectares of land are currently unused.
Growing hemp is beneficial for the soil and is a low-maintenance plant. It can withstand cold and hail. It needs 4x less water than other plants in Armenia. It doesn't need water in altitudes above 1,500m.
It was banned after the 1961 UN convention about narcotics (thanks, boomers). But today everyone talks about it and how it was the oil industry that was behind the ban (sorry boomers, thanks Exxon). Why did they lobby for the ban? Because hemp began substituting the oil-based products. Hemp was competing against oil. A global lobbying campaign was launched against hemp.
This is unrelated to marijuana, although the two are from the same [family]. Hemp has 113 unique types, with some having psychoactive substances while others having none. The industrial hemp has none.
Question: what are some uses for hemp?
To produce things that are currently produced by oil, wood, and cotton. Fuel, bio-plastics, wood, paper, clothes, shoes. Around 50,000 types of products.
Question: there are concerns that marijuana can be secretly grown disguised as industrial hemp.
In areas where industrial hemp is grown, marijuana cannot grow because the hemp flower pollination will "convert" marijuana into hemp. Anti-narcotics teams around the world use this technique to fight against marijuana; they conduct artificial pollination of the region with the use of hemp's flower.
Question: are the investors interested in growing hemp?
We only recently learned that industrial hemp contains CBD which can have a very positive effect on the human body. Israel and the US are currently studying it. A complex tech is used to extract it. Only the technical hemp can provide this. 1 Liter costs $6,000, so you could earn 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars per hectare of land (big if true). It's not an easy task, however. It needs to be placed on the market for cosmetology or pharmacy purposes, as it's done in Israel.
To earn a big revenue, we need the technology to process it. There are hundreds of types of hemp that provide oil, strings, hard string, soft string, etc. Depending on which one is allowed under the law, it can interest investors.
China is producing its army uniforms with technical hemp and cotton at a 40/60 ratio. The string from hemp does not rot, does not make you sweaty, and is immune to moth damage.
Question: what production examples are there in the world?
Donald Trump signed a decree in 2018 to allow the production of industrial hemp across the United States (yuge if true). A big boom is being anticipated. Australia, New Zealand, and many European states allow hemp. Armenia should grow the hemp in abandoned lands instead of replacing food production with it.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/205983

Parliament votes to approve a Cassations Court president

Judge Lilith Tadevosyan was nominated by her fellow judges from the Supreme Court. She went through a grilling Q&A to answer questions about her past before the secret-ballot vote. She was approved with a near-unanimous 102-1 vote.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042794.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042815.html , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042880.html , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206226

court allows Kocharyan to manage confiscated property

But he cannot sell them. He and the co-defendants are going through the March 1st trial. Additionally, he is facing large-scale bribery charges. His known assets were frozen in 2018.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042844.html

big opposition rally on February 20th

The opposition recently rejected Pashinyan's offer to hold new elections ASAP. Instead, the opposition wants their candidate to become the Prime Minister, for now.
In response, the ruling party said "Aight, then. If you don't want it then we don't want it, either. There won't be snap elections."
In response, the former regime said "the cowardly government is afraid of Kocharyan winning elections". They will hold a big rally on February 20th. The demand is the same: Pashinyan's resignation.
Various NGOs still want to see snap elections and criticized both the government and the opposition parties.
Ruling QP MP Alen Simonyan offered the former regime to publicly agree to snap elections and to withdraw Vazgen Manukyan's candidacy (he wants to become PM without elections, via a Parliament vote). "The opposition has low ratings. That's why they rejected the offer for snap elections," said Simonyan.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042836.html , https://factor.am/336537.html , https://youtu.be/9tfx_1HFWCc , https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206223

bill to raise army contractor age limit and reduce emigration

LHK drafted a bill to raise the age limit to allow citizens up to the age of 63 to serve in the army as contractors. The idea is that when the contractor reaches the current low age limit, they often cannot find another job so they have to emigrate. With the new rules, the authors hope to preserve the experienced soldiers and to reduce emigration.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042821.html

re: soldiers' families receive university tuition subsidy

Education Ministry paid ֏305M to subsidize a smester's tuition for 1303 students who are family members of war participants.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042869.html

5 more POWs return home

A jet brought 5 more Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan, announced the Deputy PM Avinyan. It was a result of mediation by Russia.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042898.html
BHK MP Zohrabyan says the families of several missing soldiers made a trip all the way to Iran after believing fake news which claimed that Armenian soldiers had crossed the border and were located in Iran.
https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/290141/

rumors and rebuttals: Lyovik Aronyan's supercomputer fetish

The media wrote that Armenian chess champion Levon Aronyan plans to move to the United States and live there with his American(?) wife, and he will no longer represent Armenia.
Former-regime allied Telegram outlet Mediaport, which mostly circulates misinformation, found a way to spin this story against Pashinyan, too. It claimed that Aronyan is leaving because Pashinyan broke his promise of buying a supercomputer for his chess matches.
The rumor was denied by Aronyan's girlfriend. "Wow, even without a supercomputer Aronyan continues to score victories in Opera Euro Rapid tournament. Do you even hear yourselves? What computer? It's unfortunate that some people beray the devotees of their nation based on misinformation," she wrote.
The supercomputer rumor was likely built around a server story; there is one owned by the chess federation, which Aronyan had access to until 2020.
As for the earlier reports of Aronyan's possible departure to the US, Aronyan has not commented yet. Her mother criticized media outlets for calling him a traitor base on the rumors that he wants to move to the US. "The media never mentions his victories and the charity work. Only the negative stuff," she said.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206122 , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042845.html

Levon Aronyan advances to quarter finals

Opera Euro Rapid tournament. He has 8.5 out of 15 points. Currently 4th place.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042772.html

rumors & rebuttals: Yerevan mayor has resigned for the 1,000th time

I wasn't kidding when I wrote earlier that Yerevan mayor Marutyan has been "resigned" by the media once a month. Today a BHK city councilman asked Marutyan to comment on the latest media rumors about his alleged resignation.
"I don't plan to resign. I don't plan to become an ambassador to Czechia. Before Czechia, I was supposed to be the US ambassador. I was almost ready to become the ambassador to Japan," responded the drag queen Mayor sarcastically.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042892.html

rumors & rebuttals: Nikol took $211M in bribes to sell Artsakh / non-existent "migrant remittancies"

After criticizing Pashinyan for not giving away Artsakh on the 3rd day of the war, the former regime changed the rhetoric and now accuses him of giving away the lands in exchange for a bribe.
The latest claim is that $211M was transferred from Azerbaijan to Armenia in 2018 (Pashinyan time), but only $7M in 2017 (Serj time). This was used to show that "Pashinyan sold the lands." A fact-checker contacted the Central Bank to learn details about those numbers.
The Central Bank said: there were no bank transfers between Armenian and Azeri subjects. The World Bank routinely publishes financial transfer numbers that aren't based on hard facts, but rather assumptions made by analysts, who come up with such numbers by taking into account the number of migrants and financial details relating to them.
According to that report, there are 87,000 migrants who went from Azerbaijan to Armenia, and 146,000 migrants who went from Armenia to Azerbaijan. They are the relocated people and not the people who make direct transfers. It is being assumed by World Bank analysts that all these migrants transfer money to their home country. In our case, this is a wrong assumption, because the "migrants" in Armenia and Azerbaijan are IDPs.
https://fip.am/14721

AM-RU-AZ officials meet to discuss regional trade unblocking

As agreed upon on January 11th, a Working Group was created between AM-RU-AZ. Today they met to discuss practical ways to resume transportation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042787.html

foreign citizens need permission before entering Artsakh

Artsakh implemented new security measures. All foreigners need to contact the Artsakh Foreign Ministry before the arrival. The list of applicants will be shared with Russian peacekeepers at the gates. The peacekeepers do not make approve/deny decisions; they are only informed about the list of authorized people.
Upon the authorization, the applicants will be notified so they can contact the Artsakh consulate in Yerevan to receive their entry permit.
This process usually takes 3-4 days but sometimes longer. Some foreigners have already used the new system to enter. Two of them faced issues because the peacekeepers weren't properly informed that they were on the authorized list. "The system is new, sorry."
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206160 , https://hetq.am/hy/article/127141

DNA analysis and search operations

Healthcare Minister: we purchased and began using the second DNA device to identify bodies on January 11th. It expedited the process by 2.5x, with 30 daily DNA sequencing. It's being done 24/7. We hope the process will complete soon. There are complicated cases when multiple tests are needed.
https://youtu.be/H1gEF1ng7as?t=913

Azeri Lieutenant Colonel and 4 others explode on a landmine in Talish

An incident happened in the occupied Talish/Mataghis region. Lt.Col Qyamil Duniev and another 4 soldiers sustained heavy wounds.
https://factor.am/336648.html

Azeri soldiers hold a protest and complain about being ignored

A group of Azeri soldiers, who received injuries during the war, held a protest about the "government ignoring them and refusing to provide benefits." Social media shares videos about daily protests in the country. "Those who fought in front lines are ignored, while those who stayed in the rear are rewarded."
Azeri media also writes about the high number of missing soldiers and that their families are kept in the dark.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042864.html

Azeri opposition decries oppression after Aliyev begins collecting "fees" for occupied territories / Product price increase / Aliyev's sister makes an appearance

Some Azeri officials, with corruption ties since the 1990s, only recently found themselves at the crosshairs of the authorities. Some of their mansions will be confiscated and placed for auction. The opposition believes Aliyev is collecting money to renovate the newly captured territories.
Unsurprisingly, some of the targeted officials are connected with Ramiz Mehdiyev, who is Aliyev's chief rival and was targeted well before the war.
Azeri media reports that the former Labor Minister Muslimov was told to pay up $1 billion for years, which would be directed not to state coffers but the so-called "black treasury", and only after it became apparent that he couldn't pay the bribe, he was arrested on January.
https://www.civilnet.am/news/2021/02/08/Ալիևը-«ազատագրված-տարածքների»-համար-փող-է-հայթայթում/418730
Aliyev had earlier criticized oligarchs and the rich for "trying to squeeze into Shushi with their businesses." Activity on the Azeri social media indicates that the authorities are having difficulty with finding the funds necessary for the renovation. People report that they were forced to donate funds to various Reconstruction Foundations.
Aliyev's sister Sevil made a rare "appearance" to make a few comments about a new documentary about his father Heydar Aliyev. The documentary talks about Heydar's "weaknesses", and names current president Ilham Aliyev as one of Heydar's weaknesses because of Ilham's past scandalous and extravagant lifestyle.
The documentary says "Heydar gave Karabakh but saved Azerbaijan, while Ilham took Karabakh but gave Azerbaijan."
The sister Sevil is unhappy that the personality cult is shifting from Heydar to Ilham. Under her social media post, people began commenting "force your brother to resign and people will install a monument dedicated to you."
https://www.lragir.am/2021/02/08/619428/
A regional Azeri opposition leader from the National Front party criticized the Azeri regime. "They promised that we will have a new Azerbaijan after the second Karabakh war. They fully kept their word by raising prices for gasoline, water, medicine, food, and practically everything. Funds for repaying foreign debt rose by 21.6%. All the debt will be paid by the Azeri public."
Aliyev plans to spend $1B to renovate the occupied territories. (what happened to the $5B that he offered to Serj and Nikol?)
https://factor.am/336642.html
Tags: #NewAzerbaijan

Dutch MPs urge the govt to recognize the Armenian Genocide

A group of Netherlands MPs, representing various parties, signed under a resolution to call for the official recognition of the Genocide. They emphasized its importance amid the report by Genocide Watch which found a threat of genocide in Artsakh during the war.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042803.html

oy, you got a loicense for that, m8?

Yerevan municipality received unprecedented 27,000 petitions relating to illegally-built structures. The staff is overloaded, sorry for the delay while processing, said Mayor Marutyan.
The authorities are currently drafting a bill to repeal the existing law that allows the legalization of illegal buildings. At the same time, the MPs want to make the legal registration process faster and cheaper. For decades, people have found bribery easier than filing construction paperwork.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042814.html

Yerevan will rebuild 12 and build 3 new kindergartens

The city received a €5M grant from the EU in Jun-2018 to help with kindergartens. As part of the programs, the city will rebuild 12 and built 3 seismic-proof kindergartens. Another 11 were finished in 2020.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042817.html

COVID stats

2269 tested. 123 infected. 293 healed. 3 deaths. 4221 active.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042790.html

Healthcare Minister: COVID vaccine selection process / double-infections / stats

Question: How was AstraZeneca selected as the primary choice for the initial phase of vaccination of the high-risk population?**
Healthcare Minister Anahit Avanesyan: a new committee was formed, tasked with examining the effectiveness, price, and availability timing of each vaccine. The committee found AstraZeneca as a good candidate.
Question: after the war, there was talk that Armenia will be pressured to buy the Russian Sputnik-V.
Minister: Armenia is free to purchase whichever vaccine it wishes but we are in discussions with all our partners. We think multiple options will be available.
Question: are we expecting another big wave?
Minister: it's hard to predict. Oct-Nov saw a big wave due to war. Thankfully, people saw how quickly the virus was spreading and chose to follow safety measures again. Today it's controllable. We have a testing requirement for foreign arrivals and combined with having control over the internal spread, we can reduce the spread by following mask/sanitizedistance rules.
Question: what % of the population had so far caught COVID?
Minister: 168,000 have tested positive. There is a methodology that shows up to twice as many people could become infected and heal without knowing. We are far away from relaxing and returning to a pre-COVID lifestyle.
Question: any double-infections?
Minister: there are some who caught it in June and were infected again recently. It still needs research to understand how the virus affects the body after double-infection, and how common double-infection can be.
Full: https://www.civilnet.am/news/2021/02/08/Հայաստանն-ազատ-է-ձեռք-բերելու-լավագույն-պատվաստանյութը․-զրույց-առողջապահության-նախարարի-հետ/418698

stats: agriculture & fishing industries

Gross output by agriculture and fishing industry +1.5% YoY, reaching ֏850M ($1.738B).
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042775.html

stats: fuel prices YoY

Gasoline -9.5%. Diesel -20.2%.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042776.html

Investment Support Center

Pashinyan and the Economy Ministry discussed ways to recover the economy after the pandemic and to restore the 2019-level economic boost. The "Investment Support Center" is currently in talks with 60 investors about $1.5B worth of projects. Part of it done.
Pashinyan spoke about the need to build water dams because water will become an issue in the region in the coming years.
They discussed the improvements of standards, the atmosphere for business, and the ongoing GSP trade initiative with EU/USA/Canada/Switzerland that provides customs privileges.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042861.html

re: legal reforms to allow purchase & international shipping of drugs via the post office

The law was laxed 6 months ago to allow the international purchase and import of medication to Armenia. No written permission is necessary. To this date, 1500 residents received parcels with drugs.
It used to be prohibited. You had to carry the items on you while visiting Armenia. "The change was done at the right time when there was pandemic, the roads were closed. People can import items that they cannot find in Armenia."
You can import 5 types of medication 3 times a year. Anything more requires permission from Healthcare Ministry. The parcels go through an x-ray by the customs so don't do anything stupid.
https://youtu.be/WQz_5U5h6wQ , https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042798.html

land shipping fees reduce 3x between Armenia and Russia

Armenia and Russia had signed an agreement on Sep/24/2020 to reform the post office transfers. As a result, fees dropped by 3x to-from Moscow area.
1.5x reduction between Armenian and Russian Provinces.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042838.html

update: new bridge will be built between Armenia and Georgia

While increasing the repairs done on the roads that connect to Georgia two years ago, the government had announced that a new bridge Sadakhlo-Bagratashen would be built. Now we have more details.
There will be two bridges 1 meter apart. Combined, they will have a 25m width. There will be five 32-meter segments. They'll have a water removal network and lighting.
The existing bridge will be renovated and used as a backup in the event of traffic. The construction begins in a few months.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206128

High Tech Minister Arshakyan about high-tech industry, jobs, salaries:

Despite the pandemic, the industry turnover grew +20.6% and reached ֏198B (excluding telecom). Employment grew +22%, reaching 18.7K jobs.
There are 1,228 active high-tech companies. 192 companies qualified for the exclusive special benefits that serve as incentives.
Armenian startups are considered those firms that have a research center in Armenia and created their idea in Armenia. Last year they attracted $50M in investments.
14% more taxes were collected from the industry, surpassing ֏41B. The average salary grew from ֏544K to ֏580K. The youth who plans to study in university should consider this route.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042806.html

High Tech Minister about a new retraining program for war participants:

We'll soon launch a pilot program The Path to Soldier's Success to provide career retraining for veterans. It'll help disabled soldiers to get jobs in high tech. Free classes for 18 various paths.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042834.html

High tech Minister about the new Engineering City in Yerevan:

7 companies have already applied to have an office in the City. The City allows the companies to share modern labs and work towards electronics, military industry, and other high tech production.
Politeknik University established an "electronic systems and measuring devices" office in City last year. They will prepare experts with a new education program.
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/206208 , https://youtu.be/AQUHF1GlEuA?t=82

High Tech Minister about manufacturing 5 lung ventilators in Armenia:

They are ready, passed the test, and will undergo clinical trials soon. I think this is the first time we're producing such complex healthcare devices in Armenia.
They were built by an Armenian company that received licensing from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. There were 330 applicants from 42 countries. The Armenian company was among the 28 winners.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042816.html

High Tech Minister about Armenian drones with artificial intelligence target detection and artillery made in Armenia:

We don't have "Bayraktars" because it takes hundreds of millions of dollars and decades of research to build one. We have to be honest about it, otherwise, we're waiting for a miracle. Armenia needs institutional changes today.
We funded dozens of drone projects within the framework of research and development of Armenian striker and surveillance drones. Some are being finalized. We are reaching the point of being able to produce them.
The state is currently testing Armenian striker drones. Once finalized, they will undergo a military test, before entering serial production. They use artificial intelligence to select targets.
 
The radio defense mechanisms used today won't be useful against drones in the future. Drone control systems develop faster than systems that take them down. A time will come when radio-warfare won't take down the drones. We will need other tools, such as high-power electrical wave or laser-optic, or direct fire.
I can reveal some secrets today. Armenian striker drones are using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify target objects. With this, you don't need to be constantly in contact with your drone, because your connection to it can be jammed. The drone can fly and locate the target on its own.
 
Our surveillance drones, which have parameters that aren't any worse than similar ones, can be produced in Armenia now. They were used by the army during the war.
Our radar technology is being produced in Armenia for air defense. It was successfully utilized during the war and used for defending a strategic object. This field has a high priority for us. We will continue to finance the radio, optics, and laser fields.
 
Two dozen Armenian products will be presented during IDEX arms expo in Abu Dhabi to find new markets and promote exports. Then we'll host ArmHighTech defense international expo in the enlarged format in Hamalir building. Over 60 international companies will participate. Then ExpoElektronika expo will be held in Moscow.
 
The local artillery equipment and ammo production can fully satisfy our needs. This is true for artillery, grenade launchers, hand grenades, etc. Serious investments were made here. We already have a production process and a possibility to expand it in 2021. We haven't had such opportunities at least in the past 20 years.
Military industry funding increased by 2.5x since 2017:
2017: ֏1.6B
2018: ֏2.4B
2019: ֏3.8B
2020: ֏3.3B + ֏3.4B during war
2021: ֏4.6B
More: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1042830.html , https://factor.am/336554.html , https://factor.am/336573.html , unloads https://youtu.be/7tv1l6lIIQg , https://factor.am/336633.html , https://factor.am/336654.html
Tags: #MilitaryIndustry #ArmenianDrones #military

donations to Artsakh & recovering soldiers

www.1000plus.am (recovering soldiers & their families)
www.HimnaDram.org (for Artsakh & Armenia)
www.ArmeniaFund.org (U.S. tax-deductible)

archive of older news

http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

disclaimer

All the accused are considered innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "sound" or "appear" guilty.

I hate being a woman in a stem program. We always get talked over, ignored, or the butt of the joke. I’m 21 and everyone is rather around my age or older and seem to think it’s the funniest thing when I get acrylics or wear lashes to class. We are all literally majoring in math for Christ’s sake, is this really where you wanna have a superiority complex? Even other woman do it! I can’t really get mad at them bc their internalized misogyny is clearly running deep, but it’s especially hurtful when they are the ones who perpetuate such a toxic environment.
However, I’m counting today as a big win. I usually get pretty good grades, but was dreading this moment. I have a particularly taxing course with today being the day we get the results from our final exam worth 45% back. I don’t think I’ve ever studied harder. For the past month, I’ve watched and observed the amount of guys who would message the group chat asking for help on a question and ignore me when I said I had the solution, BECAUSE GUESS WHO GOT 100%?! I know I work hard in school and don’t need approval but damn, I couldn’t help but feel the need to share. I would like to personally thank Elle Woods, she really was the blueprint.
Edit: just fixed a word lol but thank you for the kind words and awards holy shit! And this is in Canada for anyone asking 😆

My name is Jared A. Brock. Having just turned 35, I sat down to reflect on everything I’ve learned so far and made a list of the things I wish I learned far sooner. None of these are rules or commands for you to follow, just personal reflections from a decade of journaling. I hope they save you a lot of time, energy, and struggle:

1. “Save the best for last” is terrible advice.

A French monk taught me this one. Every morning, I put on the newest pair of socks in my drawer. Why wear the rattiest pair? When I sit down to eat, I eat the tastiest bits first. Why let them get cold? After every shower, I put on my favorite clean t-shirt. I have a great bottle of 10-year-old Laphroaig scotch in my cupboard, but I probably won’t drink it for months because I received two bottles of reactor-aged Lost Spirits single malt for Christmas.
Why? Because life is hard enough and we aren’t promised tomorrow. This doesn’t mean we should throw caution to the wind and “live in the moment” at all times, but it does mean we should try to find the golden middle and glean a little bit of pleasure from every day we’re blessed to live. “Save the best for last” is poverty-mentality thinking. It expects worse in the future. Enjoy the best right now — in your marriage, parenting, work, travel, faith, friendship, contribution. Keep all the chips on the table. Be ready at all times to leave without regret.

2. Tools use us.

A hammer literally cannot hit a nail without using a human. A saw cannot cut through a board without using a human. A phone cannot deliver ads without using a human.

3. Avoid false dichotomies.

When given two great options, choose both. When given two horrible options, choose neither.

4. Failure is overcome by one word.

“Next.”

5. Ambition is ruinous for your happiness.

Most goal-setters (myself included) live much of life in anticipation of tomorrow, and when that day arrives, they’re either disappointed by their failures or underwhelmed by their successes.
Instead: trust the process. Whiskey, pasta, bread, beer, and cereal all require just two ingredients — wheat and water — but the outcome is completely different based on the process. Identity precedes action. Determine what you want to be, then find the process that will get you there every single time.

6. Forget what the market wants.

Listen to your gut. Your body knows the difference between good and great. Someone said you should never record a song or code an app or write an article unless it makes you laugh, cry, or orgasm. If an idea doesn’t move you, it won’t move an audience, no matter how “commercial” you think it is.

7. Give yourself a shove.

The best way to eat more candy, drink more vodka, and smoke more cigarettes is to leave them in the middle of the kitchen counter.
You get it. Willpower is useless. Instead, line up a series of little nudges to automatically get you through your day. If you want to work out, leave your shorts by the door or your cleats in your fridge. My blue diode glasses rest on top of my laptop so I have to protect my eyes before logging online. I can’t not see my vitamins when I brush my teeth, or chia seeds when I reach for the Brita. There’s a book beside my bed, toilet, desk, and car’s gear shifter.
Line up enough nudges and you can shove yourself in the right direction.

8. Grandma didn’t use toilet paper.

She used pages from the Sears catalog. Splinter-free wasn’t available until 1935. The Romans used sponges. The Greeks used clay. Francois Rabelais recommended using “the neck of a goose.” Arabians used their left hand.
Never assume our extremely unique cultural moment is “normal.”

9. Ninety-nine isn’t enough.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius. The difference between 99 and 100 is the difference between zero and one. Not-boiling, boiling.
Corollary: 101 doesn’t make it any more boiling.

10. Old people know better.

Honoring our elders is one of the most underrated practices in our newness-obsessed society. Sure, there are a ton of old crazy far-right conspiracy theorists, but there are also good people who have survived four wars, six recessions, and twelve presidents and are somehow still smiling. Get to know them.
Also: meet your old-person self. I try to invent a new word every week — one of them is preflection. To ponder the present through the eyes of your future self. Take an hour in silence to listen to your eighty-year-old self. They might know something you don’t.

11. Fire all your employees.

The employer-employee relationship creates an unhealthy power dynamic between humans that simply didn’t exist when we worked cooperatively to feed our clan or village. I love my work life so much more now that I only work with independent entrepreneurs who are my equals. For me, it’s either a one-man show (my writing business), an equal partnership (my film company), or a co-operative endeavor. Life’s too short to be a boss or be bossed around.

12. Accept that you are a voracious locust of doom.

Nail a roll of paper to the wall and write down everything you consume for a year — food, toilet paper, electricity, car fuel, movies, music, social media content, other people’s time, everything. See what I mean?
Saint Augustine said that the human heart can only fully be satisfied by one thing aside from God himself: everything. All the sex, all the money, all the power, all the possessions, all the glory. All of it. Nothing short of everything could ever fully satiate the human heart. We are wired for more.
Understanding this truth is the first step toward real contentment.

13. Awkward is awesome.

My best friend says that The Office gave society a beautiful gift: the ability to embrace cringe. When you meet someone new and it’s slightly weird, pretend you’re Michael Scott. Just glory and bask in the discomfort.
You can awkward-proof your life by being bold: Ask for discounts. Ask for refunds. Ask for phone numbers. Ask for pay raises. Ask inappropriate questions at inappropriate times. Lather yourself in awkward and pretty soon nothing sticks.

14. Happiness isn’t the purpose of life.

Hitler really was following his bliss by offing millions of Jews. I’m sure Jeffrey Dahmer genuinely enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Bernie Madoff seemed content to bilk charities for decades.
Happiness isn’t the purpose of life. It’s not even in the top ten. Happiness is a seasonal fruit, not a foundational root. Find firm and fertile ground.

15. There is no ugly.

My grandpa re-proposed to my grandma on their fiftieth wedding anniversary and called her the most beautiful woman he’s ever known. Old wrinkly grandma? Yes. Because we choose our definition of beauty through our thoughts, disciplines, habits, and patterns, be they conscious or otherwise.

16. We are what we consume.

The statistical average American is a walking bodybag of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, porn, pills, and digital stimulus. Imagine how different life would be if our only inputs were nature, sleep, sunlight, organic food, and embodied human interaction?
Guard your inputs carefully.

17. We’re going to die quite soon.

Make sure you live first. Practicing memento mori will help.

18. Fame is poison.

One in four Gen Zers thinks they’ll be famous by age 25. One in 3.9999999 Gen Zers are going to have a miserably disappointing life.
Why do people desire the attention of strangers? Because we all need to love and be loved, to know and be known, but are too afraid to risk personal heartbreak to seek it out. Attention is not affection. Influence is not intimacy.

19. Boomers are to blame for half our troubles.

The Me Generation took a free ride at the planet’s expense and are hellbent on taking the rest of it with them. They’re statistically low on empathy — blame the lead, asbestos, and hairspray if you must — but at least acknowledge the reality that life is hard for everyone, and no one has it easier.

20. Children are dope.

Kids are the blood transfusion in our sick system. We need to stop manipulating, brainwashing, colonizing, and propagandizing them, and learn from them instead.

21. It doesn’t have to hurt.

Joy is a choice.

22. Watch comedy before calls and meetings.

Five minutes of gut-busting laughter will prime you for even the most tedious conference call. Your co-workers and customers all have tough lives like everybody else, so brighten their day by pre-brightening your own.

23. No ragrets.

Tattoo it on your neck. Most people play it far too safe. Instead: optimize your life for the least number of regrets and the most amount of selfless contribution.

24. There are better ways to vote.

I’ve manned several local voting stations, and I’ve also hob-nobbed with politicians in Canada, America, and the UK. The reality is that they don’t work for us. They work for their corporate sponsors and private interests.
Democracy isn’t dead. It just hasn’t happened yet, with all attempts to date being stillborn or aborted. Democracy = one voice one vote. Athens wasn’t a democracy — women, slaves, and tenants had zero say. America isn’t a democracy either — no representative system is, because it’s far too easy for private interests to buy politicians. The charade of voting is illusory. All elections are sham elections.
So what to do? Vote with your money and time and attention. One sham vote every four years versus tens of thousands of dollar-votes each year? It’s a no-brainer. My wife and I haven’t stepped foot in a Walmart in more than a decade because thousands of its suppliers are based in China, the billionaire heirs are anti-democratic tax-avoiders, and they treat their employees like indentured servants. Vote for pro-democracy third-party candidates if you must — just understand the game, and vote in the ways that actually matter.

25. Everything easy has already been done.

So run a little further.
And if it hasn’t been done, it won’t be as easy as it appears. The question to ask is: what’s been standing in the way this whole time? Achievement is all about knocking down obstacles. Just make sure what’s on the other side is rightly worth the effort.

26. Broccoli still tastes terrible.

But you’re not a child anymore. Adults do hard things.

27. Fixed-order scheduling > fixed-hour scheduling.

Discipline is great, but it’s also subject to the law of diminishing returns. Life is just too dynamic to schedule with military precision. Free yourself from the tyranny of “only people who wake up at 5 AM are successful.”
All hours are not created equal. It depends on your sleep drive and chronotype. Know yourself. Unapologetically get more sleep, then do your best work at your best time in your best state.

28. “Freedom” isn’t freedom.

America wasn’t founded on freedom. America was founded on violent autonomy.
The ancient Greeks had an entirely different definition of freedom: it was the ability to choose the right regardless of circumstance.

“We talk about freedom all the time, but we’ve stopped talking about freedom a long time ago. Now we’re talking about autonomy. Freedom is different than autonomy. Freedom has boundaries. Truth is one of those boundaries. And morality is one of those boundaries. Autonomy is the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want in whatever way you want. The problem is this: If I’m autonomous and another person is autonomous, and I have preferences and those matter more than the truth, and that person has preferences and their preferences matter more than the truth, when two autonomous preference-seeking beings come together and their preferences don’t match, who is going to win? If truth is on the bottom shelf, truth won’t decide. What will decide will be power. And isn’t it ironic that in our quest for “freedom”, someone gets enslaved?” — Abdu Murray

29. The Marines were right: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As teenagers, my friend Tyler and I were in a hurry to get somewhere quickly so we drove 120+ miles per hour for forty-five straight minutes before nearly crashing when the speed burned a footlong gash through the tire. By the time we replaced it with a spare, we were late to our destination by more than an hour.
But nevermind driving. Pump the life-brakes sometimes, or at least, let off the gas. You might get there faster, with less wear-and-tear on the engine.

30. The quest for wealth is destroying life.

We’ve commodified land, water, shelter, clothing, art, time, and nearly everything else. Very little remains, and it’s amassing into fewer hands.
We need a shared global vision. My invented word for it is benevitae: the sustainable flourishing of all creation. Our collective goal should be socioenviroeconomic sustainability. Where to start? We’d do well to let biology determine ecological sustainability and real democracy to determine economic fairness. Our current trajectory is worse than the Space Shuttle Challenger.

31. Most “leaders” aren’t leaders.

Celebrities, politicians, and book-hocking business gurus all call themselves leaders. They’re not.
Real leadership is influence that serves. True leaders are selfless and servant-hearted. They put the best interests of others ahead of their own. Politics and media, by comparison, attracts sociopaths like flies to firelight. Never give power to those who seek it. Nearly everyone worth following is dead.

32. Divide-and-conquer is a business model.

Near the end of high school, dozen friends and I binge-watched multiple seasons of LOST in our friend Mike’s basement. It was one of the most hilarious, riotous, enjoyable experiences we had as a group.
And it was the last show we ever watched together.
People used to go to restaurants in large numbers, to the movies by the dozen, climbing over each other for one of the limited video game controllers, packing out our churches, cheering on our sports teams by the busload. We were almost never alone, and we were far happier. Now we order in, watch Netflix, stream Minecraft, catch the highlights, watch porn, and go to bed. It’s killing us.
Resist the urge to be alone. It’s too easy, and it’s the exact opposite of what we really need. The #1 thing that’s correlated to human happiness is human togetherness.

33. Self-improvement won’t save us.

The great lie of individualist-consumerist culture is that we can improve our way to personal perfection and communal utopia. But it’s incrementalism at best.
It’s just chasing infinity.

34. We know nothing +/-.

On the scale of all that is known, and all that is knowable, our individual understanding is essentially mathematically zero. The entirety of human knowledge is a rounding error.
This is the beginning of humility.

35. The sun is not on fire

I was at an observatory in the Davis Mountains in Texas, and it was the first time I’d paid attention to astronomy since grade school. For three decades, I’d wrongly assumed the sun was a giant ball of flames.
But there’s no fire in space because there’s no oxygen in space. (It just looks like fire because of how our eyes perceive light through the atmosphere and prism.) As I stared at the real-time image of the sun on the observatory wall, I nearly wept. The sun actually looks like a giant, boiling, grey brain.
And then it hit me: I have so many assumptions to set aside and so much left to learn. So pay attention. Don’t worship the “question everything” mantra, but instead spend your life seeking truth, and wisdom, and understanding.
You know what you need to do to get where you want to be.