Author: Tadevosian Garnik

WEAVER FURY IS CALMING
By Jason Wells

Glendale News Press
Aug 21 2008
CA

At meeting, critic rebukes councilman while past opponent only watches
from the audience.

CITY HALL — The ongoing controversy surrounding Councilman Dave
Weaver’s alleged comments about Armenian smokers in a June 26 Pasadena
Weekly article appeared Tuesday to have fizzled.

Only one speaker at the City Council meeting, Vache Mangassarian —
a staunch Weaver critic — returned to berate the councilman over the
article despite expectations in the past week that a larger contingent
of critics would take to the speaker’s podium at the meeting.

Critics, including representatives for the Armenian National
Committee-Glendale Chapter, maintained their calls for Weaver to
resign, issue a full apology or for his colleagues to censure him
based on assertions in the Pasadena Weekly article that Weaver had tied
opposition to the city’s coming anti-smoking ordinance to Glendale’s
"substantial and politically influential Armenian community."

Last week, Weaver denied making those comments and publicly condemned
the reference after prodding from Councilman Ara Najarian.

No representatives of the Armenian National Committee attended
Tuesday’s council meeting.

Chahe Keuroghelian, a former council candidate who publicly admonished
Weaver last week, sat quietly in the audience.

Najarian, who has repeatedly pressed Weaver about the article, defended
his decision last week to drop the matter in order to avoid stoking
a controversy based largely on hearsay.

"If any new information comes out, I’ll be happy to reevaluate my
position," Najarian said.

The writer of the Pasadena Weekly article, Carl Kozlowski, and his
editor, Kevin Uhrich, are scheduled to address the controversy live on
"The Larry Zarian Show" tonight, about three weeks after it exploded
at City Hall.

Weaver declined an invitation from Zarian to join the panel, citing
fears that his comments would be either misinterpreted or taken out
of context.

"It’s in the eye of the beholder in so many of these things,"
Weaver said.

Defending himself on live television after having issued a public
statement last week would only fan the flames of a politically
motivated agenda pushed by the Armenian National Committee, he said.

"It’s all political," Weaver said.

"How far can you go with this?"

But Uhrich said the live television format should erase any fears of
being misinterpreted.

Uhrich was also disappointed Weaver had declined to appear on the
show because he and Kozlowski were "kind of confused by that statement
and would like some clarification."

A column addressing the controversy was also scheduled to appear in
this morning’s issue of the Pasadena Weekly.

Elen Asatryn, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
Glendale, said Wednesday that the organization would continue to
pressure Weaver for a full apology, or for more response from his
colleagues.

"We hope that in the future they will work together to unite the
community and not divide," she said.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

THE ARMENIAN CHURCH OBSERVES THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY

"WE WILL COLLECTIVELY FIGHT FOR THE PRESERVATION OF SPIRITUAL AND MORAL
VALUES"

SAYS HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

The Catholicosate of Cilicia ceremoniously observed the Feast of Saint Mary
on August 16 during the Holy Mass officiated by His Holiness Aram I on a
special altar built for this purpose outside the St. Asdvadzadzine Monastery
in Bikfaya.

Armenian believers take unique spiritual relish in this traditional feast
held annually in the Monastery in Bikfaya, which they visit in large numbers
on this occasion.

The Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, Bishop Kegham Khatcherian performed
the Holy Mass. The believers sung the hymns led by the Seminary choir.

According to the traditions of the Armenian Church, His Holiness Aram I
performed the blessing of grapes, which symbolizes the presentation to God
of the earth’s harvest and the prayers of its people. After the service, His
Holiness delivered his sermon to the believers, among which the number of
youth was noticeable. Also attending the service were several young
Armenians who were participating in the Catholicosate’s youth conference
from various corners around the world.

The message was delivered by His Holiness Aram I. The main theme of the
message was the crucial importance of spiritual and moral values. In his
introductory remarks His Holiness pointed out the meaning and importance of
moral and spiritual values that must govern our individual and community
life. He said: "These values give substance and identity to our life. These
values ensure the quality of our life. They come to us from the Bible and
our church fathers. As Christians, we must respond positively to these
values with the profound sense of faithfulness and responsibility".

After these general remarks, with a more specific approach, His Holiness
first focused his attention on family by stressing the unique role of family
in Christian life. "Family is the backbone of a society and the heart of
Christian community. It is in the family that a child is grown up and formed
with Christian values and teachings. In a world in which the family is
exposed to the kind of trends which this integrate the family life and
jeopardize its Christian values, we must pay a particular attention to
family life, safe guarding its integrity and morality".

The second point of emphasis of His Holiness was the actual state of
Christian education on Armenian schools. Catholicos Aram I "reminded the
crucial importance of Christian education. For us, Christians, there is only
one education: Christian education. Our approaches, methodologies and
perspectives may be change in the course of time and in different contexts,
but the essence of Christian education based on Biblical teaching and values
must remain the same. Our schools must integrate Christian education, beyond
being a learning process as a formation process, in there curriculum and
activities". His Holiness also reminded the faithful that a few weeks ago a
conference was held with his initiative specifically on reorganizing
Christian education in the Armenian schools.

His Holiness gave a special attention in his message to the youth. He said
that a pan-Diaspora Armenian Youth conference is taking place at the
Catholicosate. He expressed his joy about the active and serious
participation of young people from different parts of the world. His
Holiness said "This is the time that we start listening what the youth are
saying. We must engage in dialogue with them. A meaningful interaction with
the youth is crucial for the progress and wellbeing of our church and
communities. Youth should not remain on the periphery of our life. They must
become active participants in all aspects of our church and community life.
This is the message that I gave to youth".

The Pontiff raised his prayers to St. Mary for her mediation with her
God-given Son to grant peace, love, unity, harmony and progress to the
Armenian nation.

Until late in the evening, believers stayed in the Monastery, renewing and
strengthening their faith on this occasion. They returned home with the
modest spirits of pilgrims and the kind feeling of benevolence. A number of
pilgrims had attended the Vespers Service the night before and spent the
night in the Monastery in preparation for the next day.

Holy Mass was also held in the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral on
Sunday marking the Feast of St. Mary. Archbishop Gomidas Ohanian officiated
the Mass and performed the blessing of the grapes.

The following day, Monday August 18, was Remembrance Day for the dead. Holy
Mass was also held on this occasion in the Asdvadzadzine Chapel in Bikfayya,
where the nation’s dead were remembered alongside the benefactors of the
Chapel Mr. and Mrs. Yervant and Alice Demirdjian. Prayers were recited and
incense was burnt in their memory.

At noon, the Cilician Brotherhood members, the members of the women’s
committee of Antelias and Seminary student joined His Holiness in the
Seminary’s lunch hall over the now traditional table of love.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos303.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

HEAD OF ‘MIKA LIMITED’ HOLDING: THE TALKS ON SALE OF THE ARMENIAN PLANT ‘MIKA-CEMENT’ TO THE RUSSIAN RATM HOLDING NOT FINISHED YET

arminfo
2008-08-19 15:07:00

ArmInfo. The talks on sale of the Armenian plant "Mika-cement" to the
Russian RATM Holding has not been finished yet, owner of the plant,
the head of "Mika Limited" Holding Mekhael Bagdasarov told ArmInfo
correspondent.

He also added that the talks were delayed because of worsening of
the situation in the region. ‘If earlier Russian investors were
more confident, at present some doubt has been noticed from their
side. They want to correct conditions of the bargain a little’, –
Bagdasarov said and added that according to the draft contract the
investor has to invest in the plant about $25 mln and increase the
volumes of cement production up to 1 mln tonnes over a year. "Final
results of the talks will be clear at the beginning of September",
– Bagdasarov said.

A SERJ OF CONTROVERSY
Shaun Love

The Skinny
serj-of-controversy
Aug 19 2008
UK

Since System of a Down went on an ‘extended hiatus’ in August 2006,
frontman Serj Tankian went completely solo with last year’s Elect the
Dead. Shaun Love patched in a transatlantic call ahead of Tankian’s
trip to the UK next month to discuss single life, airborne genitalia
and the consequences of being an overtly political musician Having
almost entirely written, performed and produced Elect the Dead, has the
experience of going solo improved or changed you much as a musician?

"Absolutely, as a songwriter it presented a lot of interesting
challenges and as a musician I got to exercise my chops on guitar,
piano, string arrangements, bass, programming drums, producing
and putting it out on my own label. It was like an all round arts
project that came together for me, like a composer’s way of making
a rock record."

Your touring band’s called the Flying Cunts of Chaos, what’s that
about?

"Well, I was originally thinking of naming the record that, but
I thought it might not make it into any retail stores. So when it
was time to come up with a name for the band I thought ‘Serj and
the Flying Cunts of Chaos’ just for fun, to be honest. We had two
or three different names, I ran them by the guys in the band and,
overwhelmingly, everyone liked the ‘Cunts’, so…"

You make it sound like such a reasonable suggestion. You’re well
renowned for your activism. can you tell me about your Elect the
Dead campaign?

"We set up a website (electthedead.com) to get signatures on electoral
reform points that I came up with. I’m working with Axis of Justice
and building coalitions between different democratic organisations like
RegisterToVote.org, MoveOn.org, DeclareYourself.com and Progressive.org
to get signatures. It’s building by the thousands all the time. Once
we have a decent number of signatories we want to take it to certain
members of congress and see if we can make it into a resolution or
a number of resolutions."

Video – Serj Tankian – Sky Is Over

What did you make of Bjork’s recent controversy where she was condemned
by the Chinese government and knocked off the Serbian Exit music
festival’s bill for associating her song Declare Independence with
Tibet and Kosovo during her concerts in China and Japan?

"Awesome. To be condemned by any government is awesome."

What do you say to her claim that she wasn’t making a political
statement so much as expressing the need for freedom as a human
emotion?

"Most artists make their points from an intuitive emotional point of
view rather than a political logical point of view, and that’s what
we should be doing. I have much respect for that."

I only bring it up because politics have played such a key part in
your music. Have you found yourself in any similar controversies?

"I had an article called ‘Understanding Oil’ appear on our website
on September 12th, 2001. I got death threats; radio station program
directors were dropping our single, Chop Suey, at the time; all over
the airwaves in the US people were telling me to get the fuck out of
the country if I don’t like America. All sorts of fun stuff. A lot of
reactionism prevailed in the US at the time, and people weren’t ready
to listen to logical explanations of the after-effects of our oil
policy in the last 100 years in the Middle East. So yeah, I’ve had my
share. But hers is nicer, I like that better. I’d rather be condemned
by a whole government for having emotions. I want to join her!"

NKR FAM message

armradio.am
16.08.2008 17:11

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of NKR made an announcement about the
tragic events in the South Ossetia and sympathized with the relatives
of the innocent victims. `People of Karabakh understand the tragedy of
people who felt the horror of the last events as NKR felt itself ethnic
decanting, the pain and bitterness of war. We are convicting strictly
usage of any military action for solving the counteractions’, was
written in the message of NKR FAM.

The National Citizens’ Initiative
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 27.16.00, 27.00.03
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: [email protected]
Website:

August 14, 2008

Escalation of the Politico-Military Tension in Georgia Could Result in
Unforeseeable Consequences for the Caucasus, and the Near and Middle East

Yerevan–Today, the National Citizens’ Initiative (NCI) convened a
roundtable devoted to the recent developments in Georgia. The meeting
brought together MPs, political scientists, human rights advocates, NGO
officials, and media representatives.

Welcoming the audience with opening remarks, NCI coordinator Hovsep
Khurshudian underscored that the Armenian body politic was extremely
concerned with respect to the recent events in Georgia and noted that these
developments had a direct impact on Armenian interests. "The military
operations already have resulted in the influx of thousands of refugees to
Armenia and in the disruption of the regular activity of transit and
transportation routes entering the country," he said. "What is more,
thousands of our compatriots who live in Georgia also have suffered by this
situation."

The day’s first speaker, chairman Stepan Grigorian of the "Globalization and
Regional Cooperation" NGO and political scientist, argued that the
marionette-like nature of the South Ossetian authorities was the real cause
behind the resurgence of the conflict. And this situation, according to the
speaker, allowed for the foreign powers–in this case, Russia–to pull
official Tskhinvali into perilous processes. In Grigorian’s view, by
deploying a large number of military units into Georgian territory Russia
violated all the commitments it had assumed as part of its peacekeeping
mandate and, consequently, it no longer can remain as a mediating side. "And
therefore the conflict transcended onto an all-encompassing phase, and, in
addition, Russia was prepared for an informational warfare in advance and
now it conducts that warfare most effectively," Grigorian maintained.

In his turn, political scientist and Heritage MP Stepan Safarian maintained
that the true reason behind the escalation of the tension was the Georgian
side’s operation toward "reestablishment of the constitutional order in
South Caucasus" and its inaccurate calculation. This calculation, according
to the speaker, was based on the hypothesis that the Russian side would
remain passive just like in 2004 when, in violation of the ceasefire, the
Georgian troops had entered the Kodori Gorge, which is a part of Abkhazia.
And on the other hand, according to Safarian, these developments will
accelerate Georgia’s accession into NATO. "Georgia made an attempt to make
the West, and specifically NATO-member countries, get involved in resolving
the matter of its territorial integrity. But in actual fact, Georgia will
have to enter NATO without Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Safarian concluded.

The remainder of the session was dedicated to an exchange of views and
recommendations among the public figures and policy specialists in
attendance. Noteworthy were interventions by Heritage MP Armen Martirosian;
coordinator Mane Hakobian of "The People are Masters of the Country" civic
union; chairwoman Karine Danielian of the "Sustainable Human Development"
NGO; and several others.

For further information, please call (37410) 27-16-00 or 27-00-03; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; email [email protected]; or visit

WATER COMMITTEE: RAISING DISCHARGED VOLUME NOT TO LEAD TO REDUCTION IN WATER LEVEL IN SEVAN LAKE OF ARMENIA

ARKA
Aug 14, 2008

YEREVAN, August 14. /ARKA/. The planned increase in discharge of water
from Sevan Lake up to 360mln cubic meters will not bring to reduction
in the water level in the lake, said the Head of Finance and Economy
Department of Armenia’s State Water Committee Mher Mkrtumyan.

The current water level is 1,899.20 meters in Sevan, which is by 40
centimeters more than on January 1 2008 and by 25 centimeters higher
than the level recorded in the same period of last year (1,898.95cm),
Mkrtumyan said at the discussion on rehabilitation of Sevan Lake
ecosystem. The discussion was held by the Armenian Center for National
and International Studies.

Mkrtumyan stressed the importance of public discussions on raising the
discharge of water from Sevan Lake and involvement of ecologists in
the discussions. The matter is also to be discussed by the Armenian
Parliament on August 19. Discharge is to be increased only for
irrigation purposes, Mkrtumyan said.

Under the current law, release volume is set at 240mln cubic meters,
but this has never been the case: the release volume reached 150mnl
cubic meters at most, Mkrtumyan said. The government decided to
increase the discharge due to early start of irrigation season and
extremely hot spring. Increasing the drawoff is also connected with
insufficient water resources of Aparan and Azat reservoirs.

Another reason is the insufficient flow of Hrazdan River (112mln cubic
meters this year as compared with the usual flow of over 160mln cubic
meters), Mkrtumyan said.

As a result, according to Mkrtumyan, water deficit during the 2008
irrigation season will make up 15% or 70mln cubic meters.

Mkrtumyan stressed that currently 213mln cubic meters have already
been taken from Sevan with no reduction of water level in the lake
recorded.

EMIL NOLDE, TOUT EN COULEURS EXPLOSIVES

Libératio
vendredi 15 aoÃ"t 2008
France

Peinture. Aux Sables-d’Olonne, avant une rétrospective parisienne,
sont exposées 80 aquarelles du peintre allemand.

HENRI-FRANCOIS DEBAILLEUX

Emil Nolde au musée de l’abbaye Sainte-Croix, rue de Verdun, les
Sables-d’Olonne (85). Jusqu’au 7 septembre. Rens. : 02 51 32 01
16. A signaler aussi l’exposition de Katharina Ziemke, intitulée
Haut-Karabakh (même lieu, mêmes dates).

0 réaction Cette exposition d’Emil Nolde (1867-1956) intitulée les
Â"Images non peintesÂ" (Â"Ungemalte BilderÂ") n’est pas une grosse
exposition. Elle ne réunit que 80 aquarelles. Ce qui ne veut pas
dire pour autant qu’elle est anecdotique, bien au contraire. Mais
elle n’entend pas rivaliser avec la rétrospective consacrée a
l’artiste, qui sera présentée aux galeries nationales du Grand
Palais de septembre a janvier prochain et qui ira ensuite au musée
Fabre de Montpellier au printemps 2009.

Benoît Decron, le directeur du musée de l’abbaye Sainte-Croix
aux Sables-d’Olonne s’en explique : Â"Nous n’avions pas le budget
pour faire une exposition plus importante. Et nous nous sommes mis
d’accord avec la Réunion des musées nationaux, qui organise la
rétrospective, pour qu’il n’y ait pas d’ambiguïté ni de confusion.Â"
D e fait, premier point important, les aquarelles ici rassemblées,
qui sont en outre présentées pour la première fois en France, ne
seront pas exposées a Paris, ni a Montpellier. Elles proviennent
toutes de la Fondation Ida-et-Emil-Nolde sise a Seebull dans le
Schleswig-Holstein (nord de l’Allemagne) et sont ici montrées en
̩change du pr̻t dՁ"uvres de Gaston Chaissac appartenant au mus̩e
de l’abbaye Sainte-Croix.

Reclus. Deuxième point, ces aquarelles sont le résultat d’une
histoire particulière. A partir de 1937, les nazis vont confisquer
ou d̩truire bon nombre dՁ"uvres de Nolde, ou les exposer dans
l’exposition de l’art dégénérÃ&#xA 9;, Â"Entartete KunstÂ", et lui
interdisent de peindre. Mais l’artiste, reclus dans sa maison-atelier
de Seebull, réussit a travailler en cachette. Et se met donc a faire
des aquarelles qui sont plus discrètes et faciles a dissimuler en
cas de contrôle.

Entre 1938 et 1945, il va en peindre 1 300 qu’il comptait pour une
part reproduire ultérieurement en peinture et en plus grand format. De
fait, de 1945 a 1951, Nolde réalisera 65 toiles.

Elfes. Enfin, dernier point, toutes ces Å"uvres, ici accrochées quatre
par quatre, sont de grande qualité. On y retrouve les habituels sujets
de prédilection de Nolde (nature et paysages de sa terre natale),
mais aussi beaucoup de portraits (la famille, des couples, des groupes
de femmes), des scènes bibliques et des thèmes de la mythologie
nordique avec elfes et géants. Le tout avec une belle manière, dans
certaines aquarelles, de faire dialoguer l’abstraction et la figuration
qui souvent ne tient qu’a un fil ou a un oiseau. A une petite barque
près certaines seraient même totalement abstraites. Ce qui frappe
le plus : une explosion parfaitement maîtrisée des couleurs, en
taches, en bandes, en mouvements. Â"Ce sont de véritables brÃ"lots de
couleurs, hallucinatoires, violemment opposées ou contrastées. On
dirait que l’auteur est quelqu’un qui tombe du quinzième étage
et qui dans le temps de sa chute se souvient de toute sa vieÂ",
souligne Decron. Comme une catharsis et une bonne introduction a la
future rétrospective parisienne.

–Boundary_(ID_JuEpWt3BIlQsXl/L/4j8xw )–

RUSSIAN ASSAULT RAISES MARKET RISKS
By Dan Dorfman, [email protected]

New York Sun
United States
August 15, 2008

For the moment, at least, Wall Street is greeting the Russian invasion
of Georgia and the Kremlin’s broken promises of a cease-fire and
a withdrawal of its troops from the former Soviet state as just
ho-hum. Oil prices, in particular, have been falling despite the
invasion, with light, sweet crude down $0.99 yesterday, to close at
$115 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A former Merrill Lynch strategist, Bill Rhodes, argues that Wall
Street’s dismissal of the burgeoning conflict in Georgia is a
mistake. "The situation is a matter of considerable concern and bears
close watching because it raises an obvious question: How far is
Russia ready to go?" he says. "Is there yet another Russian assault
to come, such as in Azerbaijan, Ukraine, or Armenia? Or maybe the
Baltic states?"

While Wall Street, which is still reeling from the shock of a serious
liquidity squeeze, views the invasion as a nonevent, Mr. Rhodes,
who heads up the Boston-based institutional adviser Rhodes Analytics,
says that "the market would react sharply if there’s another Russian
military action." Another invasion, he says, "wouldn’t also be looked
upon as a nonevent."

At press time, Russian troops within Georgia were still occupying
the city of Gori, the birthplace of Josef Stalin.

One of Georgia’s big economic enticements is the world’s second
biggest pipeline, a key transit point for oil to Europe and America
from the Caspian region. The pipeline, which delivers an estimated
800,000 barrels a day, or about 1% of the world’s supply, starts in
Azerbaijan and extends to Turkey, where the oil is loaded on boats
for transportation across the Mediterranean.

An energy consultant at West Coast liquidity tracker TrimTabs
Investment Research, Bob Berke, says an explosive situation could
develop. Russia could easily destroy the pipeline if it wanted to,
and "if it did," he says, "it would be an act of war against Europe
and America, all hell would break loose, and it would likely drive
up the price of oil to about $170 a barrel."

A London-based money manager, Raymond Stahler, views Russia’s refusal
to honor its promises of both a truce and a cease-fire in Georgia as a
clear message that it intends to reassert itself as a more prominent
and forceful player on the world stage, which he believes is apt to
create more international tensions. "Since no one at this time will
stand up to them, at least militarily, I think we’re likely to see
increasing Russian use of military force and additional support of the
West’s enemies, including sponsors of terrorism," he says. "In short,
it’s a rebirth of the Cold War."

Mr. Stahler, who is a principal of Stahler Dearborn Ltd., also thinks
Georgia’s problems with Russia may be far from over, especially
since Prime Minister Putin has made it clear he firmly opposes the
pro-Western Georgian government and its desire to join the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization.

This conflict, in addition to Mr. Putin’s personal disagreements
with some prominent Russian business leaders and widespread internal
corruption at the local government level, raises questions about the
stability and goals of Russia’s leadership and putting money to work
in the Russian stock market.

Money manager John Connor, who about a decade ago created the Third
Millennium Russia Fund, which in the past five years has posted an
impressive 33% annual growth rate, takes a far less ominous view
of the invasion. "It’s more of a geopolitical game, essentially a
warning to both America and NATO," he says. "Georgia started something,
and Russia started something bigger."

Mr. Connor expects the Russian-Georgian crisis to be resolved within
a few weeks, owing to international pressure, with Russia returning
the territory to Georgia. He also expects Mr. Putin, whom he describes
as "a pretty smart guy, but who is cranky and shoots from the hip,"
to retire in a year or two and let President Medvedev, his former
chief of staff, run the show.

This year, Mr. Connor’s fund, which has assets of $120 million, is on
the losing side, as the Russian market — stung by a reflection of
the meltdown of stock markets around the globe, falling oil prices,
and the Georgian crisis — has fallen about 23%. The fund itself is
down about 20%, after having been up 8% at the end of June.

Mr. Connor acknowledges that investing in Russia isn’t for widows
and orphans, but "you’re getting a great return for high risk and
for putting up with a lot," he says. He points in particular to
such positives as lofty 8% economic growth, a strong currency, lots
of undervalued stocks, big dividends (many in the 6% to 9% range),
and an average low price-to-earnings market multiple of eight.

Some of his top picks include Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank,
telecommunications giants VimpelCom and Mobile TeleSystems, and
fertilizer producer UralKali.

The bottom line: Is Mr. Putin, as some speculate, trying to re-create
the Soviet Union? If so, as one trader put it, "they should change
the name of the James Bond film to ‘From Russia Without Love.’"

FINDING ‘PEACE’ IN IRAN
By Mark D. Tooley

FrontPage magazine.com
August 14, 2008
CA

The long-time Religious Left and pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation
(FOF) is dispatching a battery of clergy/activist delegations to Iran
to forestall the suspected impending U.S. war against the mullahs’
nuclear program.

Horrified by America’s bellicosity, the earnest peace pilgrims are
struggling to forge friendship with the Iranian "people."

One FOF visit was in May, one is currently ongoing through mid-August,
another will be in November, and still another early next year. There
have been six other FOF pilgrimages to Teheran since 2006. So far,
the Iranian people are receiving the earnest FOFsters with warmth and
appreciation. The Iranians are supposedly learning from FOF that not
all Americans are hateful, militaristic and eager for war against Iran.

"We are convinced that there should be a group working to oppose a
war or attack or invasion of Iran," explained United Church of Christ
(UCC) minister Patricia de Jong of Berkeley, California. "We would
love for the UCC to take leadership in building this movement." After
returning from the FOF’s May trip to Iran, she explained to the UCC’s
news service: "As Christians, we just cannot allow ourselves to be
part of any attack or invasion by our government." She and another
UCC clergy who went to Iran are preparing a resolution for their
denomination’s convention next year opposing any U.S. action against
Iran’s nuclear activities. No doubt the resolution will go through
the UCC jamboree like greased lightning.

The Iranians are a "loving and welcoming and kind people," the
FOF delegation from May is reporting back after an extensive
investigation. "The thing that was most striking for me," de Jong
breathlessly shared, "is that the governments of our two countries are
not necessarily where the people of our two countries are. The Iranian
people we met were eager to know us, eager to open their lives to us,
eager to find out who we are and eager to be friends."

Another FOFster on the May Iran trip was the Rev. de Jong’s husband,
author and fellow clergy Sam Keen, who wrote Faces of the Enemy,
which naturally was turned into an "award-winning" public television
series. "Before the beginning of the Iraq War, U.S. churches fell
down on the job," Keen fretted to the UCC news service. "This time,
if we don’t get ahead of this issue of waging war, if we allow war
to happen without severe, severe protests, we in the church will lose
all kinds of moral authority."

Missouri peace activist Lily Tinker Fortel was still another FOF
delegation member who gushed about Iran’s hospitality. The savvy
Iranians whom FOF met in May readily understood the difference
between Americans and its sinister government, showing " wisdom
and understanding, [and] an absence of blame for the horrendous
things Iran has gone through since the US was engaged in a covert
CIA operation to overthrow their democratically elected government
under the leadership of President Mosaddeq in 1953."

For the Religious Left, all of the Iranian regime’s monstrosities,
including the tens of thousands of its opponents whom it has murdered,
are inconsequential compared to America’s supposedly sinister
role in Mosaddeq’s overthrow 55 years ago. In the Religious Left
pseudo-cosmology, the United States replaces human sinfulness as the
ultimate explanation for all earthly turmoil.

In this vein, Fortel implored: "We must work to recognize that the
current conflict between our governments should not trump our human
ability to care for each other and to see past the stereotypes and
generalizations that we are too often presented with in the lead-up
to war." She met "hundreds of Iranians" during her FOF trip, and they
all demonstrated "love" and "understanding," despite the "current
political climate between our two governments."

Fortel was amazed by the color and life of Iranian street life,
including the "the stylish tunics on young women, the way they
wore their scarves; we were amazed at the fashion of young men;
we saw our first gas station and the cars lined up waiting to fill
up with their weekly ration of fuel." She didn’t explain why an oil
exporting country was rationing gasoline, which might have despoiled
the wonderment of her narrative. Fortel preferred to discuss the
"delicious kabobs" at Tehran’s Hotel Howeyzeh.

The FOFsters met with the Armenian Church’s Archbishop in Teheran. He
reported that since Iran’s 1979 Islamist revolution, "migration
has become an unfortunate phenomenon." Why are Armenian Christians
leaving Iran? Fortel, in her blog, did not elaborate, and probably
FOF has little interest in that topic. FOF was more interested in
the Archbishop’s criticism of Israel and the United States. "Iraq has
become another Vietnam for the United States," Fortel reported him as
saying. "The Bush administration is playing a tragic role, bringing
war and hatred." No doubt, all the eagerly listening FOFsters nodded
vigorously. "Tea was served," Fortel concluded of the meeting with
the Archbishop. "Then, delicious pastries."

There was some acknowledgment among the FOFsters that Iranians are not
entirely at liberty to speak their minds to visiting foreigners. "These
people have suffered hugely from government policies and the Iran-Iraq
war," admitted Mennonite peace activist Susan Mark Landis. "We know
people’s cell phones are tapped and their Internet usage watched,
that arrests are arbitrary and the prison horrendous, that talking
too much is costly."

FOF’s May trip to Iran was led by Jewish Rabbi Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb,
who reported that Iran’s Jewish community "appears to be doing well,
worships freely, and sponsors six day schools with a population of
five hundred children attending." But she admitted there is among
"many people a desire for more freedom and it has been difficult to
wear hijab, and at the same time, I am finding Iran a very vibrant
and sophisticated society composed of people who want to be seen as
human beings able to determine their own future."

Before leaving for Iran, Rabbi Gottlieb condemned Senator Hillary
Clinton for suggesting decisive action against Iranian nukes. "I am
deeply concerned that Senator Clinton, a national political figure,
discussed the prospect of military action against Iran and even
stated, ‘we would be able to totally obliterate them’," Gottlieb
complained. "This is a time for finding common ground between our
two nations, not threats. When our elected leaders choose belligerent
rhetoric over dialogue, it is up to us as everyday Americans to serve
as civilian diplomats."

FOF claims a "distinguished history of successful ‘behind the
scenes’ friendship and solidarity delegations to regions in political
conflict." Such successes included multiple trips to the old Soviet
Union, to Vietnam during the 1960s; to Central America in the 1980s
and "Palestine/Israel" more recently. Currently FOF is also sending
regular delegations to Colombia, "the most militarized nation in
Latin America."

Over its 90 year history, FOF has strenuously upheld a consistent
record of naivety and mindless anti-Americanism, finding favor
with an endless and unsavory gallery of tyrants and warlords, FOF’s
pacifism notwithstanding. Iran’s mullahs, and countless other rogues,
can be grateful.