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01/05/2005
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Our staff wishes everyone a jolly Christmas and a new year abundant with happiness and tranquility. 1) Armenian American Campaign Contributions Hit All-time High 2) ARS Campaigns for Tsunami Victims 3) Western Prelacy Steps up Fundraising Drive for Tsunami Victims 4) Glendale, Pasadena, and Montebello ARS Continue Circle of Giving 5) For a Life-Centered Spirituality: A dialogue with the youth 6) TABDC? 1) Armenian American Campaign Contributions Hit All-time High --ANCA study reveals well over $5 million in donations to federal candidates and committees during 2004 elections WASHINGTON, DC--Armenian American campaign contributions hit a record high this election cycle, with more than $3.9 million in documented donations and an estimated $5 million in total campaign contributions to federal level candidates and committees, according to a study released today by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). "These findings confirm what we see across the country every day: the steady growth of Armenian American involvement in the American political process--as campaign contributors, policy advocates, party activists, and informed voters," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Even more than in years past, the depth and scope of Armenian American campaign contributions this election cycle reflect our community's broad reach across the political spectrum." Among the findings in the ANCA study of higher-level (over $200) campaign donations by Armenian Americans with common Armenian surnames: Federal candidates/committees: $3,942,106 (4754 donations) Republican candidates/committees: $1,506,706 (1548 donations) George W. Bush: $347,105 (350) Republican National Committee: $429,746 (209) Nat'l Republican Congressional Committee: $139,699 (277) Nat'l Republican Senatorial Committee: $23,740 (26) Democratic candidates/committees: $1,396,833 (1585 donations) John Kerry: $336,578 (395) John Edwards: $55,350 (59) Howard Dean: $31,495 (71) Wesley Clark: $17,500 (22) Dick Gephardt: $15,500 (18) Democratic Nat'l Committee: $121,718 (84) Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: $61,402 (14) Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $40,857 (25) Among the Members of Congress who received the highest levels of campaign contributions from Armenian Americans were Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), "Schiff Amendment" author Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Genocide Resolution lead sponsor Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA). Terms of the ANCA study: The ANCA examined public records of contributions by donors with common Armenian surnames in Federal Election Commission filings for the first seven quarterly reporting periods of the 2004 election cycle. Left out of the study, for technical reasons, were two important categories: 1) Armenian American donors who do not have common Armenian last names and 2) Armenian American donors whose contributions to a particular federal candidate or committee did not aggregate to $200 during the 2004 election cycle. This latter category covers a large number of smaller-dollar donors, including many who contributed via the internet. While it is not possible to compile totals for these two categories, they can safely be estimated, based on past Armenian American giving patterns and overall US political campaign demographics, at over two million dollars. Contributions to state and local candidates or committees were not covered by this survey. 2) ARS Campaigns for Tsunami Victims GLENDALE--In response to the devastating Tsunami in Southeast Asia, the Armenian Relief Society of Western USA (ARS-WR) has called on its communities to donate generously to a special ARS Tsunami Fund. "How can we as Armenians not remember the generosity of the world community when the entire world opened their hearts and gave tremendous support following the 1988 Spitak earthquake that took the lives of thousands?" asked Angela Savoian, Chair, ARS-WR Regional Executive. "In turn, we must do our part in helping the victims of this overwhelming disaster that has left millions in parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Maldives in such dire straits." The Boston-based ARS Central Executive has already made a contribution to the American Red Cross and has appealed to its entities in 24 countries to mobilize their membership and communities to also provide assistance. ARS-WR chair Angela Savoian launched the start of the fundraising campaign for the tsunami victims, at the ARS-WR regional membership Christmas party on January 4; following her announcement, members, who had gathered from chapters across the Southland from San Diego to the San Fernando Valley, observed a moment of silence for the 160,000 victims of the tragedy. During a day-long fundraising campaign on January 15, volunteers will be stationed at ARS-WR headquarters, located at 517 W. Glenoaks, Glendale, CA 91202-2812, to accept monetary donations for the ARS Tsunami Fund; local dignitaries and the press are invited to visit the center at 3:00 p.m. Donations may also be mailed directly to the ARS-WR, to the above address. All donations are tax-deductible. 3) Western Prelacy Steps up Fundraising Drive for Tsunami Victims Faithful urged to give generously during upcoming holiday services LA CRESCENTA--The Armenian Prelacy's fundraising efforts for the victims devastated by last week's Tsunami in Southeast Asia will continue throughout all Prelacy parish churches in the Western United States. Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian launched the fundraising drive last week with a special prayer during services, and collection drive, both last Sunday and on Christmas Eve. The drive at churches will continue during Christmas Day services on January 6, through Sunday, January 9. 4) Glendale, Pasadena, and Montebello ARS Continue Circle of Giving GLENDALE--Armenian Relief Society (ARS) members say the ARS takes with one hand, but gives out with both. The ARS of Western US accomplished that this holiday season as it received and generously donated gifts to the needy, once again, bringing joy to children during the Christmas season. "The Social Services offices and our entire membership and staff work so hard to benefit and serve our people locally and abroad," said Angela Savoian, Chair of the ARS Regional Executive Board. She added, "We are humbled by the generosity of our donors who allow us to fulfill our commitments." During the week of December 20, the ARS Social Services Center in Montebello handed out baskets to needy clients from surrounding communities. Then, on January 4, the ARS Social Services Center in Glendale gave gifts to needy children from surrounding cities of Glendale, Burbank, and Pasadena. In a festive atmosphere at the ARS Glendale headquarters, nearly a hundred children sang and recited poetry for Santa, as he handed gifts to them one by one. Among the donators were Vahan and Anoush Chamlian Armenian School in Glendale; HyeRiders, a motorcycle club; Alpha Epsilon Omega, an Armenian fraternity; the Arcadia Police Department; and the Armenian Social Work Caucus of Cal State Los Angeles School of Social Work. The Commerce Casino, a giving and regular donor to ARS projects, donated one thousand dollars to provide Christmas gifts to the needy. The gifts also included sweaters donated through the efforts of Congressman Adam Schiff's (D-CA 29th District) district office. Cong. Schiff arranged for the donation of sweaters from Pasadena resident Sam C. Y. Ip, President and CEO of TOP-In Fashion, to the ARS and eight other non-profit organizations. On December 14, ARS Regional Executive member and Pasadena resident, Maral Nashalian-Arsenian met Cong. Schiff and his staff at the warehouse, where the donated clothing was being distributed to the agencies. Nashalian remarked, "We wholeheartedly thank Congressman Schiff for his continued support and for facilitating the donation of the very much needed 630 sweaters for distribution to needy families here and abroad." Pasadena was once again the place to be for a toy ride and coin drive for the ARS organized by the HyeRiders. The donors were motorcycle riders, Armenian and non-Armenian, who came to the Pasadena Armenian Center on December 18, with toys and donations in hand. ARS Executive Accountant-Controller, Jassik Jarahian, provided support to AREV, a young women's group who organized the coin drive, while ARS Regional Executives were on hand to provide information about on-going ARS programs within the Western Region and in Armenia. The Alpha Epsilon Omega, a fraternity whose top priority is academic achievement, delivered gifts to the ARS headquarters in Glendale during the last week of December for distribution here and abroad. The ARS helps the needy year round. When ARS members arrive in a remote village in Armenia or Artsakh bearing gifts, an ordinary summer day turns into a holiday for the villagers, especially for the children. The ARS Regional Executive expresses sincere gratitude to all who have provided financial and moral support throughout the year for any one of the ARS projects or funds. The circle of giving continues "from your heart, to our heart, to the hearts of those we serve." 5) For a Life-Centered Spirituality: A dialogue with the youth We lived the last days of 2004 confronting an unprecedented disaster caused by nature. This tragedy comes to add to the burden human beings and, particularly, youth are facing as a result of man-made tragedies, like wars, violence, poverty, unemployment, and a sense of meaninglessness and uncertainty. These are times when people question, pray, and yearn for spirituality. Indeed, spirituality is a frequently and widely used word today, a word employed in different contexts and with different connotations. In Christian life, spirituality means being with God. Being with God? Is this not the very meaning and purpose of Christian life? Is this not the way a Christian should live his or her life? God became man in Jesus of Nazareth in order to be with us. The evangelist describes Jesus Christ as Emmanuel, which means God with us. In fact, in Christ, God became a man with us, like us, and for us in order to restore His fallen image in human beings. Through the incarnation, by becoming man, God recovered the authentic humanity in the human beings. In Christ, God became the true life of the world. Christian spirituality invites us to acknowledge Christ in word and deed as the center of our life. Christian spirituality challenges us to follow Jesus Christ as the only way of our life. Christian spirituality is life-centered. It is rooted in Christ. The Christ-event is the recreation of life. Hence, whoever is in Christ, he or she is endowed with a new quality of life, with the "abundant life," the "eternal life" (John 1: 16). What are the significant features of a life-centered spirituality? 1. It values life as God's gift. The existence of life on this planet is not a sheer accident. For centuries, the human mind has failed to understand the origin of life. The Bible clearly affirms that God is the creator of life in all its forms and expressions. 2. It perceives life as God centered. Being the gift of God, life must be lived as a God-centered reality. A human-centered life is the rejection of God; and a life without God is a source of evil. 3. It considers the values and principles revealed through Christ as the purpose of human life. The human being is called to live his life for the promotion of love, justice, peace, unity, reconciliation, and other values of the Kingdom of God. 4. It upholds life as a sacred reality. The sacredness of life pertains to its very nature since life comes from God and is owned by God. Therefore, any attempt aimed at corrupting the sacredness of life and undermining its integrity and dignity is a sin against God. As Christians, life-centered spirituality must guide our life in a world full of life-destroying forces. In this context I want to draw your attention to the following: a) Globalization, in all its aspects, manifestations, and implications has become integral to our daily life. Our individual and community life are strongly impacted by the values and forces of globalization. This means that we must discern those values that enhance life, and challenge those forces of globalization that destroy identity, morality, and community. b) Violence, in different forms and ways, has become omnipresent in our societies. It touches all aspects and areas of our life. Violence is the negation of God's gift of life. The Christian way is active nonviolence. Life-centered spirituality rejects any way of life or form of action that generates violence. c) Pluralism has become an important feature of modern societies. People of different religions, races, and cultures are living together. I consider this living together both as a gift of God and a task. In this small globe we are bound to live together, and therefore, must learn to respect our differences and accept and trust each other. We must live as one community, preserving at the same time our own religious, cultural, and human values and traditions. Life-centered spirituality challenges the Christian to turn to God whoever, whatever, or wherever he or she is. The world in which we live is full of life destroying forces. Some of these forces are due to ecological disorder, and others to moral and spiritual disorder, namely to human sin. Millions of people lose their life each year because of AIDS pandemic; millions of children die because of poverty; millions of people are killed each year due to natural disasters. We are all shocked watching on our TV screens the horrible images of people, men and women, children and elderly, dying in Africa because of genocide, AIDS and mal-nutrition; or in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Bangkok because of the Tsunami disaster. The human beings, who are endowed by God's gift of life, are destroying everyday and everywhere, the life itself in its human and ecological manifestations. Life, as a supreme gift of God, must be respected, preserved, and enhanced. This is basic in our Christian faith. It is my expectation that our youth will sustain and enrich their lives by the spirituality that is rooted in the Bible, and experienced and witnessed for centuries by the church. The world of today offers many kinds of "spiritualities" with attractive names. Our youth are called to neglect the kind of false "spiritualities" that cause moral decay, endanger identity, and destroy community. Our youth must reject the kinds of "spiritualities" that abuse religious principles and promote violence and death. The Armenian Church, with its rich spiritual heritage and moral teachings, can offer a life-centered spirituality to our youth as they prepare themselves to become the future leaders of our church and people. On the eve of the New Year and Christmas, I wanted to share these few reflections with our youth. This is not a formal message but the beginning of a frank dialogue with our youth because it is of crucial importance for the future of our church and nation. Therefore, I would like to continue this dialogue by addressing, from time to time, issues, challenges and concerns pertaining to the present day societies in general, and the Armenian Church and community, in particular. Prayerfully, Aram I Catholicos of Cilicia 6) TABDC? By Garen Yegparian You're wondering, "What's tabdik?" Well, I refuse to get vulgar, but it would have been appropriate, 'cause it's an outfit that could be described as TARC-lite. The Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council's says it was organized in 1997 and posts protocols signed by both parties. It has addresses/contact information in the EU and the US, (recently incorporated as Turkish-Armenian Business Council) in addition to Armenia and Turkey. Reading the documents posted on their website, it becomes clear that those involved are of the type who can't see beyond their commercial noses. Everything is about trade. They are our own microcosm of the pell-mell globalizers wreaking havoc with people's lives world-wide. The whole thing reeks of the "world is our commercial toy" mentality emanating from DC. One of their big concerns is opening the Armenia-Turkey border, one of those seems-like-a-great-idea-until-you-think proposals. This would decimate what little productive capacity Armenia has been able to develop under a flood of inexpensive Turkish goods. But hey, it's commerce, therefore it must be good! They even claim to advocate passage of the Baku-Jeyhan pipeline through Armenia. TABDC's activity report reads like a stereotypical money-grubbing, to-hell-with-the-consequences merchant's wet dream. So? Why is this such a big deal? How this any different from our Armenian importers and grocers supporting the Turkish economy? Cultural exchanges seem to dominate the visual portions of this outfit's website. Sure, you might think, if we appreciate one another on that level, other aspects of Armeno-Turkish relations will be easier. Their photo gallery posts shots, in the following order, of founders themselves, a Richard Hagopian and Lalezar concert (reported in Armenian papers at the time), the Ankara String Quartet in Yerevan, the Komitas Quartet in Ankara, the Regional Economic Working Group, and TABDC-EU. Note this last one. The Diaspora is also mentioned as a participant. But TABDC's presence in the EU and US under that guise is very telling. Couple that with the remark "politics is stifling...possibilities." Then add the fact of the website's being marked all over with "Copyright 2003." Finally, the New Year's congratulatory e-mail sent to "TABDC Mail Group Members," a list that somehow included the Burbank ANC, is what triggered this article. Why, after being in existence for six-seven years, does this website get created? Why the e-mail? Why the sudden burst of activity? Could something be going on? If I were a suspicious type, I might think it was because of Turkey's activity on the European stage and the progress it's making there. Clearly they want to subdue, subsume, any discussion of the Genocide. What better way than to claim to promote trade and amity between two "historic enemies?" Show pictures of a bunch of smiling Turks and Turmens (you know, those folk who carry an "ian" on their surname but are frequently indistinguishable from the highest functionaries of the Turkish government). Still don't buy it? TABDC supports "the efforts of TARC." How about Edward Boghosian's presence on this website? This unsavory editor's (The Armenian Reporter) interview with Abdullah Gul (Turkey's Foreign Minister) is one of the items listed in TABDC's list of relevant news items. In that interview, he describes how he got the interviewthrough the good offices of his "friend," NY dwelling Kaan Soyak, who, now hold your breath, is the Turkish half of the TABDC's founding duo. The other is one Arsen Ghazarian. Intriguing? Suspicious? I think so. Let's add this to the slime list of US Department of State instigated outfits. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress