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POPSI am an Armenian today Whenever there is a sharp divide between the will of the nation and the will of the state, the skies first covered up with dark clouds, then it starts hailing, and, in the end, there is a storm. Dark clouds have been gathering ever since the episodes in Semdinli. It is obvious that as May 2007 nears, first it will start hailing, and then a storm will break out. by Cuneyt Ulsever - Turkish daily News
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POPSFarewell, My Dear Brother - Sireli Yegpayris From early morning, tearful mourners, many holding identical black-and-white signs reading "We are all Hrant Dink" and "We are all Armenians," gathered outside the Agos newspaper office where Dink was shot three times in broad daylight last Friday. Rest in peace, Hrant. We will never forget you, sireli yegpayris - my dear brother.
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POPSTurkish-Armenian writer shot dead I am so upset and so shocked that I can't write anything as a comment. Can't stop my tears while writing this. Terribly sad. Hrant Dink was one of the most important thinkers and intellectuals of Turkey. Dammit... Still can't believe this.
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POPSBeauty of Iran From the site: "Richly-textured land, rarely seen in the West Outside of politics, this is a fascinating, enchanting world, rarely shown in all its color. Since our first part we received many requests to continue with the series, and in fact, we'll continue to highlight the natural beauty of Near and Middle East countries, such as Armenia, Lebanon and Israel. In our humble opinion, people should learn to appreciate natural beauty and historic customs, without reaching for a "telescopic finder" of a rifle."
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POPSGaza power cut off: Collective punishment
This is an act of slow, deliberate genocide not to mention icollective punishment. It's like having your electricity, water supplies, food and medical supplies all slowly reduced and strangled because someone else robbed a bank. Hideous behavior. Unjust. So while the US was debating about Armenian genocide a 100 years ago we ignore the genocide right before our eyes. While this goes on, also the US threatens war on allegations and accusations that Iran intends to have a nuclear weapon in 3 or 4 or 5 years while Iran denies U.S. accusations that its uranium enrichment program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, saying it is only for civilian energy purposes. The mantra: Iran has nuclear weapon ambitons while the lies of Weapons of Mass Destruction still echo in our ears!? Asking for justice here is like sheep asking wolves for mercy. We need to elect better leaders and kick these bad leaders out of their jobs. http://www.americancitizenstogether.org
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POPSIf Bush is lying, we are lying too. Is not accepting a lie and allowing it to become truth just as bad as telling the lie? Isn't it criminal negligence when we overlook uncomfortable truths? Why are the lies Bush tells so effective, even after they are exposed? Because they are convenient, because they are what we would like to believe. I've always guided my politics by one principle: I see the Germans on the History Channel, awkwardly trying to explain why they served the Third Reich. They always say things like "How could we have known?" or "If you'd have been there, you would have too." or "We thought we were doing something good!" My goal is never to have to explain myself on the History Channel. Never to be blinded by political charisma or naive devotion to powerful institutions. I'd rather be skeptical than be an accomplice. I have no sympathy for someone who pleads ignorance.
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POPSTo be or not to be: Genocide & the Melancholy President Turkey is a lose lose situation for us. There's no way we'll pull them off of the Kurds through appeasement. Of all the times Bush stood strong, this is the time for a little bravado, where did it go? What kind of President caves in on issues like genocide? He just took away Pansy of the Week award from Gordon Brown!
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POPSTurkey's Hatred of Free Speech Until recently, Turkey banned public usage (eduaction, broadcasting etc) of Kurdish language. Kurds make up a fifth of population. There is a strong strand of nationalism which seeks to reframe the Armenian holocaust as the fault of the Armenians. Turkey is seeking membership of the european union.
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POPSBush Guilty of Holoacuast Denial When anyone questions the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews during World War II they are rightfully scorned. But now, the same people who would join in such scorning are being blackmailed by the Turkish government into denying the first holocaust of Armenians that set the stage for the Jewish Holocaust. Why is is NOT ok to question or deny the genocide taken against Europe's Jews, but perfectly acceptable to deny the Armenian holocaust in which over 1 1/2 million innocent people died? We as a country should be ashamed, as should Britain and any other country that is going along with this political blackmail by the Turks.
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POPSFury in Turkey at editor's murder A crowd of several thousand people marched towards the office of Agos, the bilingual Turkish and Armenian weekly newspaper Dink edited, on Friday night. Many carried red carnations and photographs of Dink with the inscription "My dear brother" in Turkish, Armenian and English. The mood was not sombre but angry, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul, with many demanding justice. There was also a protest by several hundred people in Ankara.
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POPSThe Chester Beatty Library : Dublin Ireland This is a stunning website, contains a wealth of material from Asian, Islamic and Western sources. This library is only about 15 mins from my place--I am putting this on my 'get yer butt down there' list asap :)
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POPS'Never again' for Armenians too A Los Angeles Times op-ed written by Jewish progressives lamenting the role of Jewish organizations (the ADL, AJC, B'nai B'rith) opposing US Congressional recognition of the Armenian genocide.
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POPSTurkey hosts US Black Muslim leader, has 3 weighty goals 3 stated goals: cooperation between US and Turkey, reinterpretation of Islam to fit modern needs, and lobbying against Armenian genocide claims in the US Congress. Sounds like a lot to accomplish in a 3-day visit, doesn't it? It will be interesting, and perhaps imperative, to follow the progress of this collaboration. The prospect of reinterpreting Islam is huge, and not likely to be well-received by many Muslims. And then there is the role of Turkey in the Iraq war...
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POPSWe are a dying breed... We are a dying breed and I believe that's something to be thankful for. If i go to the ends of the earth to serve the LORD, but to die in HIS name, it was a life well spent!!! www.vineofchrist.org
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POPSThe Economist endorsement of Barack Obama It says something: conservative Economist endorses Obama's bid, and makes a strong case for supporting him. Usually sympathetic to McCain Economist stresses that he leaned too much to the right to believe that he'll be able to get back to his own track, where he was comfortably sitting and winning support of many independent voters, against his own party machine. Article mentions strong positions of Obama on international arena (if the world were to choose it would be a landslide victory for Obama, as Economist's poll suggests). For reasons why Armenian Americans support him visit www.armenianamericansforobama.com
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POPSPriests come to blows in the Church of the Nativity CNN reports that priests from rival Christian sects have broken out in violence over who gets to clean the Church of the Nativity. Yes, two days after the celebration of the birth of the Holy Infant so tender and mild, in the church that is built over the site of His holy birth, dedicated men of God were beating each other bloody over who gets to clean out the manger. The rivalry is so intense that Palestinian troops had to form a human shield to separate the three groups of priests who traditionally clean the church: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic. What the hell. Link photo by Darko Tepert Donatus
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