#armenia 2018

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #509:

Armenia has only missed three Grand Final qualifications during their 16-year participation history.

The nation failed to qualify in 2011, 2018, and 2019.

[Source]

Armenia, Eurovision.tv.

[clickr]

2018

[zhanteimi]

Sans – Kulku

UK / Finland / Armenia, 2018, rune singing / avant-folk Zither, kantele, duduk: under UK direction, Finland and Armenia meet in this folk blending. Simple female vocals sing the runes beautifully over mysterious music that both delves and soars.

[dostoyevsky-official]

Natalia Arno was fully inside the hotel room before she noticed the smell. It was sickly sweet, like a cheap perfume at the drug store, only more nauseating. [...] The Russian activist and non-profit director had been on the road, meeting with donors and organisers looking for ways to bolster democracy back in Russia. [...] Three hours later, Arno woke up with an excruciating pain inside her mouth — a burning sensation so unbearable she could barely open it. [...] By the time she had checked in at the airport, she could no longer stand straight. Her vision was blurred; she wobbled. In her mouth, she tasted stone. On the plane, Arno began hallucinating. Ever since Vladimir Lenin set up his poison factory, known as the “Special Room”, over a century ago, poisonings have become one of the Kremlin’s preferred ways to eliminate, cripple or terrorise enemies and critics. Over the decades, it has built up unrivalled expertise in the field. [...] Most targeted poisonings are, by design, hard to detect. [...] The horrific details of Russian poisoning attacks have accumulated over decades: the hiding of a ricin pellet inside the tip of an umbrella said to have been used in 1978 to stab the Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov in the leg, killing him in less than a week. The placing of a radioactive isotope, Polonium-210, in the green tea drunk by the former Russian security services agent and Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. The smearing of one novichok variant, a deadly nerve agent, on the British double agent Sergei Skripal’s door in 2018 and another on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s underpants in a Siberian hotel room in 2020. [...] In October 2022, Elena Kostyuchenko, a Russian journalist working for the independent news outlet Meduza, became violently ill on her way back to Berlin from Munich. The same month, Irina Babloyan, a radio journalist with an independent station, got sick on the day she was meant to travel back from Tbilisi to Berlin via Armenia. Kostyuchenko and Babloyan experienced similar symptoms: sharp pain in the upper abdomen, palms that burnt or swelled, severe vertigo and fatigue. [...] Western governments may struggle to keep up with the security threat. The universe of potential toxic chemicals is limitless — and the advance of technology has multiplied the ways in which an enemy might use them. “There are agents we don’t even know exist that are out there [being used] right now . . . That makes it really hard to do analytics,” Holstege said. Most toxicology labs do not have experience in examining state-sponsored poisonings using unusual toxic agents. [...] When we spoke over the phone, Grozev was unfazed by the argument that the victims weren’t high-profile-enough targets. “Talking to insiders in the security services, there’s a clear understanding that the concept of a ‘traitor’ is much more easily assigned these days than before,” he said. “Any Russian who opposes the war or criticises Putin now is a potential victim.”

Russia’s terrifyingly effective poisoning operation

[conacoflakes]

Conan O’Brien media archive

As a rule of thumb I avoid any movie streaming services or other ways to download that aren't totally virus free, etc. so these links lead to Drive, archive.org, and YouTube or other trusted media sharing sites.

Shows + TV

Conan O'Brien Must Go (2024) | Drive

Conan visits his fans from around the globe and indulges in various countries cultures. His most recent show with only 4 episodes: Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland. All four episodes can be found at this drive link

Late Night With Conan O'Brien (1993 - 2009) | archive.org @ mountainmikeinoregon

Archived episodes of Late Night sorted by year. Not a complete collection, many episodes are missing (for example the 1993 collection jumps from episodes 1-4 to episode 35) but a great deal of them are here. Easy to access and watch.

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009-2010) | archive.org

The show he briefly inherited from Leno which would cause the infamous TV war between them. Conan would leave NBC for TBS after this. All 145 Conan episodes that aired are in here.

Conan Without Borders (2018) | dailymotion

A series of specials that aired on Conan where he travels various countries. The precursor to the 2024 show. Filmed during the height of the Trump administration which is reflected in a lot of the jokes, topics, and other parts of the show. Various clips are also avaliable on YouTube. QnA's are also avaliable on YouTube.

Episode List:

1. Conan in Cuba - 49:18 2. Conan in Armenia - 42:48 3. Qatar - Unable to find 4. Conan Does Korea - 36:23 5. Conan in Berlin - 42:58 6. Conan Without Borders: Made in Mexico- 42:20 7. Israel - Unable to find. Judging from the clips this episode paints Israel in an extremely sympathetic light. Know that I stand with Palestine and that Israel is an Apartheid state. Learn more at decolonizepalestine.org 8. Conan Without Borders: Haiti - 42:04 9. Conan in Italy - 50:13 10. Conan in Japan - 42:03 11. Conan Without Borders: Australia - 42:03 12. Conan Without Borders: Greenland - 42:01 13. Conan Without Borders: Ghana - 43:00

Film

CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP (2011) - Part 1 / Part 2 | dailymotion

CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP is a documentary about what Conan and his crew did on tour before TBS. After Jay Leno took back his show, Conan travels to 32 different cities to do improv while attempting to severe all ties with NBC. Fun film with more intimate and candid moments of him and his crew.

CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP - Commentary by Conan, Andy Richter, Sona Movsesian & More (2011) | archive.org - YouTube

CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP is a documentary about what Conan and his crew did on tour before TBS. This version of the film has his own commentary over it.

Podcasts & Radio

The Conan and Jordan Show (Podcast) | soundcloud.com | episode 1 | episode 2

Only two episodes have been uploaded. Apparently the site that it’s hosted on (SiriusXM) doesn’t even show all the episodes available.

To be updated as more links are found

[escgentsph]

Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009 & 2018) did violin covers of 3 2024 ESC entries: "La noia" by Angelina Mango (Italy); "Rim Tim Tagi Dim" by Baby Lasagna (Croatia); and "Jako" by Ladaniva (Armenia).

Amazing, isn't it? I would love to see a full violin cover of the 3 respective 2024 ESC songs in the future, perhaps....

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🎻 ALEXANDER RYBAK 🎻 (@rybakofficial)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🎻 ALEXANDER RYBAK 🎻 (@rybakofficial)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🎻 ALEXANDER RYBAK 🎻 (@rybakofficial)

[zvaigzdelasas]

[RFE/RL is US State Media]

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian says Armenia needs an entirely new constitution rather than a constitutional reform to ensure his country's democratic "legitimacy" and viability.

Pashinian told a meeting at the Justice Ministry on January 19 that the next constitution should make Armenia "more competitive and viable in the new geopolitical conditions."[...]

In 2021, Pashinian, a liberal opposition leader who rose to lead the country on the back of a 2018 revolution that ousted the former ruling elite, formed the Council for Constitutional Reforms, which has sought to improve the parliamentary system.[...]

On January 19, the prime minister hosted Javier Colomina, the NATO secretary-general's special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

19 Jan 24

[News.AM is Armenian Private Media]

"Azerbaijan rejects them [i.e. Armenia’s proposals] because they do not intend to go to peace. If they wanted peace, it would have happened a long time ago; that's why they reject all our proposals. They won't accept our last proposal about overseeing each other's weapons because they will never allow you to oversee their weapons. They can take a simple reason that ‘we have four neighboring countries, and I can start a war with others tomorrow. Who are you to come and oversee my weapons?’ When we [i.e. Armenia] are sincere in our desires, whereas they [i.e. Azerbaijan] have ulterior motives," said Melkonyan.

"Second, we say a mirror withdrawal of troops because we want peace, but they don't want [it]. We say to them to withdraw from the frontline, and let the border demarcation and delimitation work be done; they do not agree. They are in our territories and do not want to go out. We already understood that they do not want to go to peace. No matter what condition we set, they will not agree because they intend to attack our country," stated the Armenian ruling force MP.

And because of this, according to Melkonyan, Armenia should restore the military balance, and "find new friends, new allies to be able to ensure our security."

30 Jan 24

[obscuriites]

Wait what's editblr? I followed bc "ooo pretty edits" and am not in any editor circles.

so basically in 2018-ish kinblr made edits to like, match w their kin canons right. at some point young danganronpa kinnies picked this up and became their own subcommunity.

this is the birth is the roots of modern editblr. these blogs took requests for kinnies and eventually people that weren’t kinnies requested (normal people wanting edits, self-shippers, etc.). so request based edit blogs of baby danganronpa* kinnies became more popular. everyone was using mildly simple programs such as canva/picsart/straight up mspaint, blah blah to make these things. normal kin drama happened here as expected.

at some point, more ambitious people came in (oh my god thats me and other people) w other programs that were more like photoshop/pea that wanted to edit but less for kinning. weird drama comes up but its for like, problematic sources or canon identity erasure blah blah.

like last year people started coming in from rentrypin (pinterest users interested in rentry graphics). this was a huge demographic shift as most people before were tumblr natives and already had like. established rules and community.

editblr now is mostly those rentrypin migrants and some older editblr veterans. i feel like this shift lead to a huge increase in drama and i see a callout every damn day like get a hobby off of tumblr. whatever. like sometimes its stuff that makes sense like ohhh grooming! pedophilia! racism! but like rentrypin users also started inventing words that no one know what they mean so every callout post is incomprehensible and we've somehow made "irlstealing" and "f/o stealing" on the same level as pedophilia

also there is zero reading comprehension and now we just have shit like casual genocide denial w armenia, minors sexualizing themselves and useless discourse.

[stanley578]

My favourite songs from the Eurovision Song Contest

2018 Albania (Eugent Bushpepa - Mall) Australia (Jessica Mauboy - We Got Love) Hungary (AWS - Viszlát Nyár) Poland (Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer - Light Me Up)

2019 Austria (PÆNDA - Limits) Azerbaijan (Chingiz - Truth) Estonia (Victor Crone - Storm) Iceland (Hatari - Hatrið Mun Sigra) Latvia (Carousel - That Night) Netherlands (Duncan Laurence - Arcade) North Macedonia (Tamara Todevska - Proud) Slovenia (zalagasper - Sebi)

2020 Belarus (VAL - Da Vidna) Germany (Ben Dolic - Violent Thing) Israel (Eden Alene - Feker Libi) Malta (Destiny - All of My Love)

2021 Bulgaria (VICTORIA - Growing Up Is Getting Old) Finland (Blind Channel - Dark Side) France (Barbara Pravi - Voila) Italy (Måneskin - ZITTI E BUONI) Lithuania (THE ROOP - Discoteque) Romania (ROXEN - Amnesia) Russia (Manizha - RUSSIAN WOMAN) San Marino (Senhit ft. Flo Rida - Adrenalina) Switzerland (Gjon's Tears - Tout L'univers)

2022 Czechia (We Are Domi - Lights Off) Greece (Amanda Tenfjord - Die Together) Montenegro (Vladana - Breathe) Portugal (MARO - Saudade, Saudade) Sweden (Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer) United Kingdom (Sam Ryder - SPACE MAN)

2023 Armenia (Brunette - Future Lover) Moldova (Pasha Parfeni - Soarele Și Luna) Serbia (Luke Black - Samo Mi Se Spava) Spain (Blanca Paloma - Eaea)

2024 Belgium (Mustii - Before The Party's Over) Croatia (Baby Lasagna - Rim Tim Tagi Dim) Cyprus (Silia Kapsis - Liar) Denmark (SABA - Sand) Georgia (Nutsa - Firefighter) Ireland (Bambie Thug - Doomsday Blue) Luxembourg (TALI - Fighter) Norway (Gåte - Ulveham) Ukraine (alyona alyona & Jerry Heil - Teresa & Maria)

[because-its-eurovision]

Finland is number one in Poland's Viral 50 💚. Slovenia is second by the way. And also Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Armenia, Moldova, France and Czechia are all trending above Sweden and fit in top15. Which I think kind of shows how middle of the road their song is (I'm not going to say it's bad, because Loreen is a good singer, but it really kind of goes is one ear and out the other without leaving a trace), and that people want something more memorable and crazy from Eurovision.

It is kind of interesting that after watching both semis and the grand finale, I was able to kind of accurately predict who would be a qualifier, but the finale voting was one big mystery to me 😅. Why didn't Slovenia, Austria and Czechia get more points? Why was Germany lower than Poland? What is even happening in the heads of the juries?

But Finland is definitely going to be remembered. And I think Swedish commentators know that, and it really bothers them it's your country that captivated people hearts, and they turn offensive out of some wounded pride.

This new made me really happy ❤ Not only that Cha Cha Cha is number one, but in general that Eurovision is so relevant nowadays that it is able to make the competing songs (other than the winner and the country’s own entry) go viral. Tattoo was ofc viral in many, many countries even before the contest which is really not surprising seeing how it embraces the pop hit pattern and is ridiculously catchy, but seeing non-English songs even higher really warms my heart.

There are always going to be surprising results, but the running order and competition in the same genre do have an effect. Obviously I do not have the answers, and this is speculation only.

Slovenia qualified and 78 points is not a bad result at all, considering they also got points from 14 different countries. The withdrawing of North Macedonia and Montenegro likely had an impact on their total score. Before the grand final Slovenia was 23rd in the odds which is in line with their result of 21st place. In my view Slovenia was since the beginning always more of a fan favourite than a real contender. I once read a take saying that only diaspora and fans vote in Eurovision, which is supported by the fact that Joker Out got their highest points in the final from Croatia, Serbia and Finland (got to support Käärijä’s boyfriend 🥰)

Austria was hurt by the running order in the grand final perhaps more than anyone. It has been shown that the running order doesn’t affect the juries as much as the televoters, perhaps because the juries are required to watch the whole show from the beginning to the end while the regular viewers might miss the first few songs. Juries did raise Austria to the 8th place which is once again a great result in my opinion, for a country that usually doesn’t enjoy that much of neighbour support. In general despite the country it is really hard to place higher than around 15th place when opening the grand final – Belgium came 10th in 2016 but was only 16th in the televote. Other reasons for Austria's low televote score might have been the quality difference between first and second semi final, and the voters all gathering to support Finland when it became clear they were the only ones who could challenge Sweden.

Czechia got their second ever top 10 result, second best result ever and best result since Mikolas Josef’s 6th place in 2018, so I wouldn’t be disappointed at all. Perhaps they suffered having to perform between Finland and Australia, which is something I expected could happen.

Germany is one of the Central European countries that cannot trust their neighbours to support them, as we have unfortunately seen many times. In general, succeeding with a rock/metal entry in Eurovision is very difficult and rare, although there are a couple of exception which I probably don’t even have to mention. In March I got this ask and made a prediction based on how well rock/heavy entries similar to Blood and Glitter usually have succeeded in Eurovision (21st-24th place), so I’m not that shocked by their result. Sad of course, but not surprised. (I expected UK be last, but I guess they got some support points for being the host). My guess is Germany also once again suffered from being a direct qualifier (not having the same bond with viewers as semi-finalists do) and competing against Australia and especially Finland, who have similar-ish target audience.

As for Poland I need to remind that they have a huge diaspora – their highest points came from Ukraine, Ireland, Lithuania and United Kingdom. Most people who knew and cared about the infamous NF result were Polish viewers themselves and Eurovision fans, and neither of those groups can give negative votes. To Blanka’s credit we must admit that the performance improved massively since the NF and Solo as a light and campy female pop didn’t really have any genre competition, and it isn’t as divisive as metal or heavy rock is.

Juries are asked to focus their vote on 4 main sets of criteria: Vocal capacity of the artist(s) Performance on stage Composition and originality of the song Overall impression of the act

Regardless of how angry I am of the ridiculously high jury points to Sweden this year – and almost every year, really – I think they were pretty consistent with their ranking this year. We can argue about Cha Cha Cha being more original than Tattoo, but we can’t argue about Käärijä being weaker singer than Loreen or Marco. Juries always put more emphasis on the vocal capacity and singing skills than televote does. That is also why what the fans call “boring ballads” tend to be higher than campy uptempos and ethnic bops, because the latter rarely require expectional vocal techniques. My hot take is that juries are necessary to evaluate objectively the actual technical skills of the performers and prevent us from having to sit through another year like 2008 with Leto Svet, Baila El Chiki Chiki, Dustin the Turkey and Wolves of the Sea kind of atrocities.

I love the last chapter 🥺 Käärijä is the people’s princess 💗 I think @suspiciouslandlady put it best in this post. Sweden cannot take that all the attention and love is not directed at them. They cannot take that we are celebrated instead of them. They cannot take that their "former Eastern part of the kingdom" is acknowledged at its own right and not just as the lesser neighbour country. We are so used to being forgotten between Sweden and Russia, the weird Nordic that has their own strange language none of the others understand, always the oppressed, the underdog in contests and sports. We might have lost once again, but this time the world is on our side and the spotlight is on Finland. And that is hard for our neighbours to swallow.

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #490:

Armenia has only missed going to the Grand Final three times during their 17 year participation history.

The nation only missed out going in 2011, 2018, and 2019.

[Source]

Armenia, Eurovision.tv.

[clickr]

Армения, сентябрь

[totallyhussein-blog]

Educate and take action against genocide

During a special session held on 17 April 2024, the National Assembly of Armenia unanimously voted on a draft resolution to designate August 3rd every year as a day to commemorate and honour the victims of the Yazidi genocide.

This atrocity was committed by the terrorist organisation known as Islamic State (ISIS) in Sinjar in 2014, resulting in widespread suffering and loss of life.

The bill was introduced by Rustam Bakoyan, a representative from the Civil Contract Party and the Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs. It garnered approval with a majority of 88 votes during the initial reading.

As the Kurdistan Regional Government explained, furthermore, Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, stated that preventing genocide and crimes against humanity is one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy.

In 2018, Armenia’s parliament unanimously passed a resolution recognising the 2014 mass killings of Yazidis in Iraq by ISIS as genocide. The resolution called on the international community to track down and prosecute those directly responsible for the killings.

The Yazidis are the largest religious and ethnic minority in Armenia and are recognised as a special ethnic component. According to statistics, the population of Yazidis in Armenia ranges from 35,000 to 50,000.

[anastpaul]

First Saturday, St Scholastica Novena – The THIRD DAY, Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus, Nuestra Señora / The Virgin of Suyapa, Honduras (c1747) St Blaise and the Saints for 3 February

First Saturday and Our Lady’s Saturday St Scholastica Novena – The THIRD DAY:CLICK LINK BELOWSt Scholastica Novena St Blaise (Died c316) Martyr Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia, Physician, Miracle-worker.St Blaise is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/25/thought-for-the-day-25-july-the-memorial-of-st-christopher-died-c-251-one-of-the-fourteen-holy-helpers/All about St…

[mariacallous]

As world leaders gathered in New York this week for the annual United Nations assembly, a quiet war broke out in the Caucasus.

Azerbaijan started what it called an “anti-terror operation” to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated enclave inside the borders of Azerbaijan. After 24 hours of the Azeri offensive, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh gave in, signing onto a cease-fire deal and agreeing to “reintegration” with Azerbaijan.

This short war is certain to lead to an exodus of Karabakh Armenians from their homeland and may end up being the precursor of a new war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It is also one of the dangerous “knock-on effects” of the war in Ukraine, as Fiona Hill, my colleague and one of America’s preeminent Russia experts, often warns us about.

The Caucasus also shows the limits of Western power at Europe’s edges. The Biden administration and European policymakers have been working around the clock over the past week to avert this scenario and prevent Azerbaijan from embarking on an offensive that could lead to humanitarian catastrophe.

But the West seems increasingly helpless when it comes to Russia’s backyard.

The complicated map of self-governing enclaves and exclaves in the Caucasus is a legacy from the Soviet system that helped Moscow better divide and rule the empire’s backyard. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Armenians and Azeris fought over territory, resulting in Armenian victory and territorial gains in the 1990s.

But over the past decade, the power balance in the region has been reversed. Azerbaijan has risen as Armenia grew more isolated. Azeris have become an indispensable energy source for Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine and have built strong military ties with Israel and Turkey. Meanwhile, Armenia’s relations with its traditional benefactor, Russia, have deteriorated since the democratic revolution in 2018 that shook the pro-Russian oligarchy and brought Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s current leader, to power.

In 2020, the two neighbors fought a 44-day war that resulted in Azerbaijan reclaiming the land that it had lost in the 1990s. Now Baku is determined to assert its control over the last remaining bit of its territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, and dismantle the self-governing administration there.

Baku’s talk of “reintegration” doesn’t give comfort to Armenians or guarantee cultural and political rights for them. Azerbaijan can hardly be called a democracy, and over the decades, atrocities committed by both sides have created significant bad blood between Azeris and Armenians. The worry is that tensions around Karabakh will eventually result in a broader war between Armenia and Azerbaijan — which wants to open a land corridor to the Azeri enclave of Nakhchivan and eventually neighboring Turkey via Armenian territory (called the Zangezur Corridor by Azeris and Turks).

The question is, what can the United States do about it?

The short answer: not much, other than relying on diplomacy to push for a peace deal to prevent a new war between the two neighbors.

What restricts U.S. policy options is the fact that Russia is all over this map.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have historically looked to Moscow for arbitration. However, the geopolitics of the day favor oil-rich Azerbaijan, which has developed a strong military alliance with Turkey, under the slogan “one nation, two states,” and is essential for European energy — as EU member states try to wean themselves off of Russian fossil fuel exports.

Meanwhile, Armenia is estranged from Russia but has not built any meaningful institutional links with the West.

The West is a poisoned chalice for Armenians — a necessary savior but also a dangerous friend. Last week, the United States and Armenia held a joint military exercise — which did little to dissuade Azerbaijan. Ukraine is a cynical example of what Russia is willing to do to former Soviet states seeking security partnerships with the West. Russia, albeit weakened, is still bent on controlling its periphery. It won’t tolerate an Armenia that seeks U.S. support.

Russia also doesn’t want to see a pro-Western democracy in Armenia.

Since the 2020 war, Armenian public opinion has turned against Russia and there is no love lost between Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian peacekeepers were positioned in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 but they sat idly by this week. Moscow’s propaganda machine has been targeting Pashinyan for the last few years — and it’s clear that the Russians would not mind regime change in Yerevan resulting in a friendlier government. This would make Armenia another Georgia.

All of this complicates the U.S. role in ending the conflict in this important part of the world. The Biden administration doesn’t want to see the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh forced to flee, but it also doesn’t want to fully alienate Azerbaijan, which is strategically located between Turkey and Iran. It cannot make promises to Armenia that it cannot keep.

The best — and the only — solution is diplomacy: forcing Azeris and Armenians to come back to the negotiating table. The Biden administration should involve the United Nations and work with Europe to provide a framework to secure the livelihood and rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. If the Armenians of the enclave gradually flee to Armenia, Western support and humanitarian aid will be critical.

More importantly, the United States and Europe should prevent a new war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. That requires a heavy lift to get the two sides to return to peace negotiations and delineate their borders. (The two signed a cease-fire in 2020 but never a comprehensive peace deal.)

Turkey, counterintuitive as it sounds, might be helpful in such a deal — and the United States should test that. Ankara has long wanted to see the restoration of regional trade routes and claims it is ready to normalize relations with Armenia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long fancied himself as an international mediator and, if he sees a global role here, he might be constructive in convincing Azeris. A Turkish offer to open its long-sealed border with Armenia would also lessen the blow for the government in Yerevan.

All of these are less-than-ideal options in a space where Western power has its limits. The rules-based order is breaking down and Russia’s war on Ukraine has further undermined the remaining international mechanisms to deal with aggression.

An ugly world has just gotten uglier, and countries are looking for opportunities to settle scores.

The United States or Europe cannot fully reverse this trend, but it can — and should — act to preserve bits and pieces of stability and democracy in Russia’s backyard.

[gaymer-hag-stan]

So, I have a list of Eurovision songs from 2004 onwards ranking which entries did the best based on average score.

This year's Loreen, Käärijä, Noa Kirel and Marco Mengoni all made the list

1. Norway - 2009 - Alexander Rybak - Fairytale - 78.6%

2. Sweden - 2015 - Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes - 77.9%

3. Portugal - 2017 - Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois - 77%

4. Sweden - 2012 - Loreen - Euphoria - 75.6%

5. Ukraine - 2022 - Kalush Orchestra - Stefania - 67.4%

6. Austria - 2014 - Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix - 67.1%

7. Ukraine - 2004 - Ruslana - Wild Dances - 66.6%

8. Sweden – 2023 – Loreen – Tattoo – 66.5%

9. Finland - 2006 - Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah - 65.7%

10. Russia - 2015 - Polina Gagarina - A Million Voices - 64.7%

11. Serbia and Montenegro - 2004 - Željko Joksimović and Ad-Hoc Orchestra - Lane Moje - 62.6%

12. Bulgaria - 2017 - Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess - 62.5%

13. Italy - 2015 - Il Volo - Grande amore - 62.3%

14. Denmark - 2013 - Emmelie de Forest - Only Teradrops - 61.6%

15. Finland – 2023 – Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha – 60%

16. Greece - 2004 - Sakis Rouvas - Shake It - 60%

17. Italy - 2021 - Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni - 57.4%

18. Russia - 2006 - Dima Bilan - Never Let You Go - 55.8%

19. Netherlands - 2014 - The Common Linnets - Calm After the Storm - 55%

20. France - 2021 - Barbara Pravi - Voilà - 54.7%

21. Serbia - 2007 - Marija Šerifović - Molitva - 54.4%

22. Ukraine - 2016 - Jamala - 1944 - 54.2%

23. Russia - 2008 - Dima Bilan - Believe - 53.9%

24. Germany - 2010 - Lena - Satellite - 53.9%

25. Russia - 2012 - Buranovskiye Babushki - Party for Everybody - 52.6%

26. Israel - 2018 - Netta - Toy - 52.4%

27. Australia - 2016 - Dami Im - Sound of Silence - 51.9%

28. Netherlands - 2019 - Duncan Laurence - Arcade - 51.8%

29. Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2006 - Hari Mata Hari - Lejla - 51.5%

30. Azerbaijan - 2013 - Farid Mammadov - Hold Me - 51.3%

31. Greece - 2005 - Helena Paparizou - My Number One - 50.4%

32. Sweden - 2014 - Sanna Nielsen - Undo - 50.4%

33. Russia - 2016 - Sergey Lazarev - You Are the Only One - 49.8%

34. United Kingdom - 2022 - Sam Ryder - Space Man - 49.7%

35. Italy - 2019 - Mahmood - Soldi - 49.1%

36. Spain - 2022 - Chanel - SloMo - 49%

37. Azerbaijan - 2011 - Ell and Nikki - Running Scared - 48.4%

38. Ukraine - 2007 - Verka Serduchka - Dancing Lasha Tumbai - 47.7%

39. Switzerland - 2021 - Gjon's Tears - Tout l'univers - 47.3%

40. Ukraine - 2013 - Zlata Ognevich - Gravity - 46.9%

41. Sweden - 2022 - Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer - 46.7%

42. Turkey - 2004 - Athena - For Real - 46.4%

43. Belgium - 2015 - Loïc Nottet - Rhythm Inside - 46.3%

44. Ukraine - 2008 - Ani Lorak - Shady Lady - 45.6%

45. Iceland - 2009 - Yohanna - Is It True? - 44.3%

46. Serbia - 2012 - Željko Joksimović - Nije ljubav stvar - 43.4%

47. Cyprus - 2018 - Eleni Foureira - Fuego - 43.2%

48. Greece - 2008 - Kalomira - Secret Combination - 43.2%

49. Malta - 2005 - Chiara - Angel - 42.1%

50. Russia - 2007 - Serebro - Song #1 - 42%

51. Azerbaijan - 2009 - AySel and Arash - Always - 42%

52. Norway - 2013 - Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love - 41.8%

53. Australia - 2015 - Guy Sebastian - Tonight Again - 41.8%

54. Italy - 2011 - Raphael Gualazzi - Madness of Love - 41.4%

55. Iceland - 2021 - Daði og Gagnamagnið - 10 Years - 41.4%

56. Israel – 2023 – Noa Kirel – Unicorn – 41.3%

57. Sweden - 2011 - Eric Saade - Popular - 40.5%

58. Cyprus - 2004 - Lisa Andreas - Stronger Every Minute - 40.4%

59. Sweden - 2004 - Lena Philipsson - It Hurts - 40.4%

60. Armenia - 2014 - Aram Mp3 - Not Alone - 40.3%

61. Italy – 2023 – Marco Mengoni – Due vite – 39.9%

62. Ukraine - 2021 - Go_A - Shum - 39.9%

63. Latvia - 2015 - Aminata - Love Injected - 39.7%

64. Armenia - 2008 - Sirusho - Qélé, Qélé - 39.4%

65. Romania - 2006 - Mihai Trăistariu - Tornerò - 38.7%

66. Russia - 2019 - Sergey Lazarev - Scream - 38.5%

67. Sweden - 2006 - Carola - Invincible - 38.2%

68. Russia - 2013 - Dina Garipova - What If - 38.1%

69. Moldova - 2017 - SunStroke Project - Hey Mamma - 38%

70. Switzerland - 2019 - Luca Hänni - She Got Me - 37.9%

71. Turkey - 2010 - Manga - We Could Be the Same - 37.2%

72. Belgium - 2017 - Blanche - City Lights - 36.8%

73. Lithuania - 2006 - LT United - We Are the Winners - 36.4%

74. Norway - 2008 - Maria - Hold On Be Strong - 36.1%

75. Turkey - 2009 - Hadise - Düm Tek Tek - 35.9%

76. Romania - 2010 - Paula Seling and Ovi - Playing with Fire - 35.5%

77. United Kingdom - 2009 - Jade Ewen - It's My Time - 35.1%

78. Sweden - 2017 - Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On - 34.9%

79. Ukraine - 2011 - Mika Newton - Angel - 34.8%

80. Sweden - 2019 - John Lundvik - Too Late for Love - 34.7%

81. Romania - 2005 - Luminița Anghel and Sistem - Let Me Try - 34.6%

82. Norway - 2019 - Keiino - Spirit in the Sky - 34.4%

83. Austria - 2018 - Cesár Sampson - Nobody but You - 33.9%

84. Italy - 2017 - Francesco Gabbanni - Occidentali's Karma - 33.9%

85. Germany - 2018 - Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone - 33.7%

86. Israel - 2005 - Shiri Maimon - HaSheket SheNish'ar - 33.7%

87. Latvia - 2005 - Walters and Khaza - The War Is Not Over - 33.5%

88. Serbia - 2022 - Konstrakta - In corpore sano - 33.3%

89. Greece - 2013 - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis - Alcohol Is Free - 33.3%

90. Turkey - 2007 - Kenan Doğulu - Shake It Up Şekerim - 33.1%

91. Hungary - 2014 - András Kállay-Saunders - Running - 33.1%

92. Finland - 2021 - Blind Channel - Dark Side - 33%

93. Denmark - 2010 - Chanée and N'evergreen - In a Moment like This - 32.6%

94. Ukraine - 2006 - Tina Karol - Show Me Your Love - 32.6%

95. Moldova - 2005 - Zdob și Zdub - Boonika bate toba - 32.4%

96. Bulgaria - 2007 - Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov - Water - 31.7%

97. Azerbaijan - 2010 - Safura - Drip Drop - 31.7%

98. Serbia - 2008 - Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugić - Oro - 31.7%

99. North Macedonia - 2019 - Tamara Todevska - Proud - 31.7%

100. Azerbaijan - 2019 - Chingiz - Truth - 31.4%

Full YouTube playlist

Semi Full Spotify Playlist because some songs are just not on Spotify 😭😔😞