Armenian News

Armenia Remembers Devastating 1988 Earthquake
By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri and Karine Simonian in Vanadzor

Armenia marked on Sunday the 20th anniversary of a catastrophic
earthquake that killed about 25,000 people and devastated much of its
two northern regions that have still not been completely rebuilt.

President Serzh Sarkisian reiterated his administration's pledge to
finish the protracted reconstruction by 2013 as he led official
commercial ceremonies in Gyumri, the country's second largest city
hit hard by the disaster. This and other ceremonies were attended by
former government officials and construction and rescue workers from
the across the former Soviet Union who had helped the small South
Caucasus republic cope with its devastating consequences.

Armenians also received messages of sympathy from the presidents of
Russia and the United States on the occasion. `On this solemn
anniversary we are reminded of the strong bonds between America and
Armenia and the resilience of the Armenian people,' President George
W. Bush said in his written address. `They rose from this tragedy and
have reclaimed a bright future of hope and opportunity.'

Sarkisian opened a new memorial to the earthquake's victims in
Gyumri's central square after attending a special church service
presided over by Catholicos Garegin II, head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. The mass, broadcast live by national television,
involved a minute of silence observed at 11:41 a.m -- the exact time
the quake struck on December 7, 1988.

Unveiling the monument, Sarkisian thanked the international community
for its large-scale assistance that began pouring into then Soviet
Armenia just hours after the calamity. "Twenty years ago, all peoples
rallied to our side, despite the Cold War, ideological differences
and different political views," Sarkisian said. "From the first days,
our people felt like the whole world was with us."

Nikolay Ryzhkov, a former Soviet prime minister who personally
coordinated the rescue and reconstruction efforts, also delivered a
speech, reading out a message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"We bow our heads before the memory of the thousands of victims of
this natural disaster,' Medvedev said. `We remember with deep respect
and gratitude today the courage of the rescuers who answered the call
for help."

That help was badly needed by as many as 500,000 people whose homes,
built in apparent violation of seismic safety standards, were
destroyed by two powerful tremors that rocked much of Armenia's
territory 20 years ago. The Ryzhkov-led Soviet government pledged to
rebuild them in two years. Dozens of construction companies from
across the Soviet Union were assigned to the earthquake zone in the
following months.

However, the massive reconstruction effort fizzled out with the
subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union. Independent Armenia's
successive governments were too cash-strapped to complete it. The
reconstruction gained fresh momentum in the early 2000s when
thousands of new houses and apartments were built in the economically
depressed area with the financial assistance of U.S.-Armenian
billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. Nonetheless, as many as 7,000 families in
the quake-hit Shirak and Lori regions still lack permanent housing,
huddling in metal and wooden shacks devoid of basic amenities.

`We still live in a shack, and there are no jobs here,' one elderly
woman told RFE/RL as she stood outside the Gyumri cathedral along
with several dozen other local residents hoping to hand letters to
Sarkisian. `They [government officials] visit nice streets here and
think that Gyumri is 100 percent rebuilt,' she complained. `Let them
go into the nearby neighborhoods, talk to people.'

`We feel neglected, humiliated,' said another woman. `My son works in
Russia and doesn't want to return home. Why? Because he hates our
shack.'

`Within a few years we will manage to overcome all consequences of
the disaster,' Sarkisian said in his speech. `When I say completely I
mean that there will be no families left homeless as a result of the
earthquake and the improving life will return to normal.' `We have
promised this and we will deliver,' he added.

Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian reaffirmed this pledge as he led
commemoration ceremonies in Lori's capital Vanadzor attended by
Georgia's last Communist-era leader, Jumber Patiashvili, and builders
and rescuers from Russia and Ukraine who had worked in the earthquake
zone in 1988-1990. `The government's three-year program envisages 71
billion drams ($230 million) worth of construction [in the earthquake
zone,]' Abrahamian said.

According to Urban Development Minister Vartan Vartanian, large-scale
construction in the area will start next year and end by 2013. `All
the preparatory work has already been done,' he told RFE/RL in
Vanadzor. `Most of the [construction] tenders have already been held,
and construction work will get underway in 2009.'

Former President Robert Kocharian similarly pledged to rebuild the
disaster zone during his ten-year tenure. Incidentally, Kocharian
also attended the Gyumri ceremonies with Sarkisian and Garegin.
Unlike the current president, he stopped to talk to local residents
and hear their grievances. Some of them complained that they are
still homeless 20 years after the tragedy.

`I am not in office anymore but will do all can, as second president,
to help [Gyumri,]' Kocharian told journalists afterward. `There is a
new president, a new government that are also determined to continue
the job.'

Sarkozy appoints new minister for economic recovery
Agence France Presse
Friday, December 5, 2008

PARIS (AFP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday appointed a new
minister for economic recovery charged with overseeing a massive
stimulus plan to help France fight the global slowdown.

Patrick Devedjian, a close Sarkozy ally and the current head of the
governing right-wing UMP party, will implement the 26-billion-euro
(33-billion-dollar) plan unveiled on Thursday.

Sarkozy said the new minister would ensure all funds unlocked under the
plan, which includes massive state investment and aid for the car
industry, are used for that purpose, and not simply folded into existing
ministry budgets.

"This plan will be implemented in full and it will be implemented
quickly," the president said.

Devedjian will be attached to the office of Prime Minister Francois
Fillon, and not to the economy ministry.

He immediately announced his resignation as UMP chief. His successor
will be appointed in late January with Sarkozy's long-time ally Brice
Hortefeux, the current immigration minister, seen as a strong contender.

A deputy in the National Assembly, Devedjian took over from Sarkozy last
year as head of the district council for the Hauts de Seine, west of
Paris -- the president's political fief.

Tehran Times, Iran
Dec 3 2008
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline inaugurated

Armenia officially completed on Monday the construction of a natural
gas pipeline from neighboring Iran which could reduce its heavy
dependence on Russian energy resources and significantly boost its
electricity exports.

It remained unclear, however, when Iranian gas could start flowing
into the country.

The pipeline's second and final Armenian section was inaugurated in
the presence of President Serzh Sarkisian and Alexei Miller, chairman
of Russia's Gazprom giant. The two men, joined by other Armenian,
Russian and Iranian officials, watched as workers welded together its
last pipes.

Miller's presence at the high-profile ceremony underscored the fact
that the pipeline will be controlled by the ArmRosGazprom (ARG)
national gas distribution company in which Gazprom holds a controlling
stake. ARG has financed and carried out work on the 197-kilometer
stretch running through the country's mountainous Syunik region.

In a speech during the ceremony, Miller welcomed the completion of the
`very important project.' He said its implementation testifies to a
`high level of political cooperation between Russia and Armenia.'

Former President Robert Kocharian was also in attendance. Kocharian
had inaugurated the pipeline's first, 41-kilometer section together
with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in March 2007.

Speaking to the journalists, Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said the
pipeline will undergo technical testing and be ready to pump Iranian
gas within weeks. But he again avoided setting any dates for the start
of Iranian gas supplies.

The new pipeline's operational capacity of approximately 2.3 billion
cubic meters of gas per annum essentially matches the annual volume of
Armenian gas imports from Russia that are carried out via
Georgia. With Russian supplies meeting Armenia's needs, the bulk of
Iranian gas is expected to be converted into electricity that will
then be exported to the Islamic Republic.

As Movsisian pointed out, the pipeline would be vital for Armenia's
energy security in case of `force majeure situations.' The minister
clearly referred to a possible disruption or termination of Russian
gas deliveries to Georgia that would almost certainly affect Armenia
as well.

The prospect of a cut-off in Russian supplies has become even more
real since the August war between Georgia and Russia. A senior
Georgian official predicted last month that the Russians will at least
cut back on those supplies this winter.

CONSTRUCTION RATES DECLINE IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Dec 8, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The global financial crisis will
have its impact on Armenian economy without fail, but today our
country is in a relatively good state, the deputy mayor of Yerevan
Karen Davtian said at the December 8 press conference. At the same
time he announced that the construction rates have declined in the
capital city, while the implementation of new construction projects
will depend on the overall situation. The urban development work, which
has already begun, will be completed in accordance with the schedule.

According to the deputy mayor, 7 big urban development programs
were implemented in Yerevan this year. These programs include
the transport node (100,150 meter long and 14 meter wide) of the
intersection of Heratsi, Koryun, Nalbandian and Charents Streets,
and the 280-meter tunnel from Abovian Street to Myasnikian Avenue,
which were put into operation.

K. Davtian announced that Myasnikian Avenue - Armenakian Street
and Sari Tagh - Khorenatsi Street transport node will be put into
operation by late 2008. Besides, according to him, in late December
two newly-constructed 10-story apartment buildings in Kanaker-Zeytun
community will be provided to residents of 4th degree accident-prone
buildings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hantiboum Digin Hranoush Hagopian-i Hed- RAG Mamoul ‏

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN

LOS ANGELES, U. S. A.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAINT SARKIS ARMENIAN CHURCH

Sunday 14 December‏

From:	Armenag Topalian (topalian@tesco.net)
Sent:	Tue 12/09/08 10:31 PM
To:	Armenag Topalian (topalian@tesco.net)

IVERNA GARDENS KENSINGTON LONDON W8 6TP

LADIES COMMITTEE FOOD BAZAAR

NEVARTE GULBENKIAN HALL

SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER 2008

STARTING AFTER CHURCH SERVICE.

Armenian News

‏

ARMENIA: QUAKE VICTIMS BITTER AT EMPTY PROMISES
Twenty years after disaster, many in north of country remain homeless.
By Naira Bulghadarian in Vanadzor

People made homeless by the Spitak earthquake, which devastated towns and villages

across northern Armenia exactly two decades ago, say they no longer believe government

promises to clear up the mess.

Some 25,000 people died when the 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the then-Soviet

republic on December 7, 1988, destroying 21 towns and 341 villages. Around 6,000

people are without homes in towns scarred by ruined houses and hastily built shacks.

Last year, Serzh Sargsian, then prime minister and now president, promised the

government would finally fix the damage by 2013.

But some people in the town of Vanadzor, which was one of the worst affected, did not

celebrate. Such promises have been frequent over the 20 years since their homes were

destroyed.

"In these 20 years, if they'd wanted to, all traces of the earthquake could have been taken

away. Now it's hard to believe that this will all end by 2013," said Suren Grigorian,

a 72-year-old.

His 64-year-old neighbour Suren Aghababian was even more cynical.

"Why couldn't they do this in less time? They should have spent less money on their cars,

their bodyguards and their houses, and restored the damaged area instead," he said.

The two men could easily remember the events of 1988, when the Soviet government

vowed to sort the wreckage in just two years. But the scale of the disaster, which destroyed

almost all the housing in the Lori and Shirak regions, defeated their attempts.

Redevelopment efforts got off to a promising start.

"Every day, 360 railway wagons full of building materials arrived," remembered Levon

Aslanian, now an adviser to the governor of the Lori region.

However, after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Armenian economy could no longer

support the reconstruction, especially after Azerbaijan and Turkey imposed an economic

blockade when the war started in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"It is easy now to criticise everyone and everything for the fact that two years expanded to

fill 20," said Aslanian.

He said that the authorities have done much to replace the 15,000 apartments and 7,000

houses lost in the Lori region, and the 22,500 homes destroyed in neighbouring Shirak.

According to official figures, buildings containing 26,000 apartments have been built in the

two regions. Separately, almost 18,500 certificates giving people the right to buy

accommodation have been handed out.

More houses will now be built, the government has said, with certificates being awarded

to people who, like the Saribekian family, remain homeless.

Alvard Saribekian's shack is in a temporary settlement on the site of the Vanadzor

Chemical Factory. Most of the people who lived there have now received housing, and

her family is one of the few still waiting its turn.

Saribekian lived with her five children in a two-room apartment when the earthquake hit.

After her building was rendered unsafe, residents were sent to the Russian town of Kharkov

for a while. When they returned to Armenia, their block had been demolished.

"There was nowhere to live. We were given this little shack in 1995, and we still live here,"

she said. Although her family has added two small rooms, it is still cramped for her, her

mother and her daughter who all live together. The daughter's three sons are all in the army,

otherwise they too would be there.

President Sargsian has expressed confidence that the country has the resources to house

families like hers in the next five years, and has even suggested three years could prove

sufficient. But at the current rate of building - which stands at 70 homes a year - that looks

optimistic.

In Vanadzor, 26-year-old Haykuhi Harutiunian said that building was behind schedule.

"In these conditions, they won't achieve anything by 2013," she said.

To date, the government has concentrated on helping people in towns, leaving villages largely

untouched. In the villages of the Lori region, more than 1,800 families still live in shacks and

temporary structures, while in the Shirak region the situation is even worse.

"Construction is definitely proceeding slowly, but we hope that the new government will be

able to speed up the rate," said Edic Hovsepian, an adviser to the region's governor.

Naira Bulghadarian is a correspondent from the Vanadzor newspaper Civil Initiative and the

online weekly Armenianow.


CREDIT CRUNCH THREATENS EVEN ISOLATED ARMENIA
Until recently, banking system had managed to survive relatively unscathed, mainly

because it is only slightly integrated into world markets.
By Naira Melkumian in Yerevan

Armenia's economy appeared to be safe from the world's financial crisis, being small and

isolated - though even here the shock of the credit crunch is making itself felt.

Property prices have tumbled, and construction projects have been forced to slow or close

altogether, while the supply of remittances from Armenians in Russia also threatens to dry up.

"The first wave of the crisis in the world markets, happily, did not have a major negative effect

on Armenia's financial system, but we know well that after a financial crisis, an economic crisis

starts and we must be ready," Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian told parliament, when

presenting a plan to support the economy and subsidise companies.

He also proposed establishing a commission to examine ways of creating more jobs, but

that may be too late for workers at Armenia's copper smelters.

The three smelters in Kajaran, Kapan and Agarak have all reduced output and laid off workers,

which threatens to be a catastrophe for the Syunik region where there are no other jobs.

A government delegation has already been forced to go to the region to prevent a strike.

Arpik Simonian is one of those workers struggling to know what to do if he loses his job.

"The worst case scenario is that I remain here. I will survive, as they say. I'll have to borrow

money. But I have no idea how I would pay it back," he said.

He would, he says, prefer to go and get work in Russia but that may not be possible, in the

light of the crisis there.

"If the Russian financial crisis continues to deepen, then the Armenian economy will

experience an insufficient supply of direct investment and remittances, which come to the

country primarily from Russia," said Andrankik Tevanian, the head of the Politekonomia

think tank.

He said 90 per cent of Armenians in Russia are working in the construction sector, which

is seriously affected by the crisis. Half of them may fail to find work in Russia next year.

Since Russia is the source of 75 per cent of the remittances coming into the

country, experts predict a reduction in the amount of money available to families

and a corresponding reduction in citizens' purchasing power, which in turn

threatens producers.

However, remittances are currently still increasing, with a record 203 million US

dollars coming into the country in September. The central bank does not predict

remittances to fall before the end of the year.

These same experts believe the government may struggle to maintain its budget plans for

2009, since they were drafted before the crisis struck. Expert Andranika Tevanian, for

example, said the 3.3 billion dollar budget relied on increased tax receipts, which threatens

to worsen the tax burden on small and medium businesses.

"In connection with the crisis, all countries in the world are taking steps to ease the tax burden

on business. In Armenia, on the other hand, the government is taking steps to worsen

business's condition," he said.

The expansive budget may, experts fear, also stoke inflation, which is already running above

the government target. The International Monetary Fund predicts full-year inflation of 9.4 per

cent, which is significantly higher than the budget target of four per cent.

"I don't even know what to think, everyone's talking only about a crisis. They have promised to

increase the pensions, but what's the use if the prices go up as well," Lyudmila Nikolayevna,

a pensioner, said.

The banking system has managed to survive relatively unscathed so far, mainly because it is

only slightly integrated into world markets. But all the same commercial banks have drastically

reduced lending, and now charge a higher interest rate on loans that they do give out.

Just a few months ago, a bank would agree to a mortgage of 15 or 20 years, but now a ten-year

loan is more likely. This has had a knock-on effect on the housing market, and caused prices to

fall.

According to David Sukiasian, executive director of Armeconombank, foreign banks are

charging Armenian customers a rate three full percentage points higher than they were,

forcing his bank to raise its own rates. Deposit rates have in turn increased from nine

to 11 per cent, as banks seek to attract money.

Bankers expect credit rates to rise by one or two percentage points over the next six months,

which means credit will undoubtedly be harder to come by and the economy will suffer.

"We currently are not seeing serious consequences of the global crisis in Armenia. The main

reason for this is that in Armenia the financial system is still not very big. On the one hand, this

is not very good for the growth of the economy. But on the other, it is even an advantage, because

Armenia is out of the path of possible shocks," said Ninke Omes, the permanent representative

of the IMF in Yerevan.

However, the crisis has already impacted on the building sector in the capital, where property

prices have fallen by 15 to 20 per cent, and some construction projects have been frozen for

lack of funds

"The crisis situation on the international markets requires investors and agents, who regard the

property market as profitable and secure, to be careful. This is the main reason for the reduction

in the number of deals on the local property market recently," said Artur Javadian, head of the

central bank.

Experts currently predict the falls in the property market to continue until at least the

middle of next year, which will have a bad effect on the economy as a whole, since

construction and services together make up 61.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Naira Melkumian is a freelance journalist in Yerevan. Nelli Mirzakhanian, a journalist from the

Sosi Studio in the city of Kapan, also contributed to this article.

Mediators Renew Calls For Karabakh Peace
By Emil Danielyan and Anush Martirosian

The United States, Russia and France urged Armenia and Azerbaijan on
Thursday to build on reported progress in recent talks between their
president and reach a framework agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh in the
`coming months.'

High-ranking diplomats from the three nations jointly spearheading the
drawn-out peace process reaffirmed the basic principles of a Karabakh
settlement that were formally submitted to the conflicting parties in
Madrid last year.

`We call on the parties to work with the Co-Chairs [of the OSCE Minsk
Group] to finalize the Basic Principles in coming months, and then begin
drafting a comprehensive peace settlement as outlined by those agreed
principles,' Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Bernard
Kouchner of France and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried
said in a joint declaration.

The declaration was issued after the three men met with the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers on the sidelines of an OSCE ministerial
meeting in Helsinki. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
told RFE/RL that the meeting lasted for about 15 minutes but gave no
further details.

Nalbandian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, held much
lengthier talks in the Finnish capital on Wednesday in the presence of
other American, French and Russian diplomats co-chairing the Minsk
Group. A statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said they agreed to
maintain the `positive atmosphere' created by the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents at their November 2 talks outside Moscow. In a
joint statement with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Serzh Sarkisian
and Ilham Aliev pledged to `intensify' the peace process.

Lavrov, Kouchner and Fried likewise emphasized the `positive momentum'
which they said was established by the two presidents. `The Moscow
Declaration signed that same day opened a new and promising phase in our
shared endeavor to expand peace in the South Caucasus,' they said.

The Helsinki statement called on the conflicting parties to bolster the
ceasefire regime along the Line of Contact east of Karabakh and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier by pulling back snipers from their
frontline positions. `We reiterate our firm view that there is no
military solution to the conflict and call on the parties to recommit to
a peaceful resolution,' it said.

The declaration said nothing about the next meeting of Aliev and
Sarkisian which the mediators say could prove decisive for the signing
of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord. Matthew Bryza, Washington's
chief Karabakh negotiator, said last month the holding of yet another
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit hinges on the outcome of the Helsinki
talks.

Speaking to an RFE/RL correspondent in Helsinki on Thursday, Bryza
expressed hope that Aliev and Sarkisian will meet again `in a couple of
weeks' and insisted that the peace process is `moving forward.' `We need
to see the basic principles finalized, and we believe they can be soon,'
he said. `And we also want to see serious confidence-building measures
and finally make sure everybody realizes there is only a peaceful
settlement to this conflict. You cannot solve this conflict through a
military way."

In Yerevan, meanwhile, a former military leader of Karabakh, Samvel
Babayan, predicted that the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute will remain
unresolved in the next five years. He also criticized the Armenian
government's Karabakh policy.

`Even though our foe hasn't accepted any compromise variants, we are
saying that are ready to compromise,' Babayan told journalists. `Nobody
knows what are giving up and why.'

The once influential general also accused Yerevan of helping to
effectively drive the Karabakh Armenians out of the negotiating process.
`Yerevan should not have become a negotiating party,' he said.
`Stepanakert should have.'

Arkady Ter-Tadevosian, another retired army general who played a major
part in the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan, was also skeptical about
chances of Karabakh peace. He claimed that oil-rich Azerbaijan is making
`intensive preparations for hostilities.'

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FATHER FRANK’S RANTS - Love of God

Rant Number 330 5 December 2008

Love of God

‘He who truly loves God should not endeavour that God should love him in return.’ A searing statement by Spinoza, much admired by Goethe. A sublime form of self-denial, the poet thought. Goethe didn’t have a clue, Bertrand Russell countered. Not spiritual disinterest but logical necessity. ‘If a man should so endeavour, he would desire that God, whom he loves, should not be God…which is absurd’ Spinoza ratiocinates. Clear as mud? No, again, just logic. God has no passions or pleasures or pains. Now, love is certainly a passion, so how could God feel that?

Spinoza, Goethe, Russell…how could the poor priest even dream to contend with such giants? Yet, he’ll dare. It is so simple. The key that unlocks this mystery is the famous pantheistic tag: Deus sive Natura. God or Nature. For Spinoza, interchangeable terms. Two names for the same thing. Substitute, pray, ‘nature’ for ‘God’. You can love nature or the cosmos all right, I imagine. But could you really strive to have nature – the universe - love you back? And what could it mean? Even tree-huggers might find that a tad difficult, I suspect.

There may be other reasons why the Jewish thinker (whom I much admire) disapproved of the idea of a loving God. The Judeo-Spanish writer Abravanel, ‘Leone Ebreo’, may be one. In a dialogue, Abravanel had pictured the mystic’s union with God in erotically charged language. A line with plenty of biblical support. In the Book of Hosea God is a husband lover pursuing Israel, his faithless but beloved wife. The Book of Proverbs has Wisdom, a female figure, singing of her fellowship with God from ‘the beginning’. The Song of Songs of course is erotic through and through. Christian mystics like St Bernard of Clairvaux had a whale of a time allegorising it all as the Church’s love for her divine bridegroom, Christ.

In his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, as it happens, Spinoza deconstructed the Old Testament. Ditching miracles and the supernatural, along with the food laws and rituals of the Mosaic law. Nor did he care a jot for those nasty, Nile-swimming creatures, allegories. (Forgive puny priestly joke…) In that, he was a forerunner of ‘modernity’. But that is not all. Cherchez la femme, that might be it. According to a recent female biographer, Spinoza’s dislike of a loving God is a personal thing. He was a misogynist. An unmarried, shy man, devoted to his young male friends, the philosopher would have loathed the special ‘female power’ that makes men prey to lust, inclines them to superstition and sways them with passions and irrational feelings. (The epithet ‘womanly’ in his writings is not a complimentary one.) Hence Spinoza concluded that women are incapable of reason and excluded them from elections, government and, presumably, from exercising any influence or authority over men. Huh! I wonder what Hillary Clinton would make of that.

In truth, Spinoza’s definition of love always intrigued me. Does it reveal his hang-ups? Amor est titillatio, he wrote. Love is titillation. Ahem…there is something in that but…how much? That is the question.

Anyway, if Spinoza was a woman hater, he’d be at odds with the secular modernity he helped to fashion. Ditto if he was also anti-Semitic. During an academic debate on ‘The state of Israel, ethics and politics’ last night a speaker claimed as much. That surprised and annoyed me. ‘Do you really want to put that great mind into the same league as Jew-baiters like Julius Streicher and Sir Oswald Mosley?’ I asked. I got no joy. Spinoza’s criticism of Judaism as a religion of dead rituals and ceremonies was taken up by German philosophy in an anti-Semitic vein, the fellow replied. With time, I could have retorted that a theological critique is a theological critique. An exercise of the intellect. Human reason. Why should Spinoza, himself a Jew, be barred from it? In this timid philosopher’s case, it took guts to do it. The Amsterdam synagogue offered him money to recant, but he turned it down. Then an assassin sought his life. Eventually the Jewish authorities cursed him with all the curses in the Book and banned him forever from his people. Thereafter Spinoza earned a living as a lens-grinder, while writing philosophy in his spare time. No mean fellow, eh?

Spinoza preferred Christ to Moses, but in a qualified manner. Christ is not divine. God is Nature, remember, and how could Nature become a man? So the Incarnation is an absurd doctrine, a contradiction in terms, like saying that ‘a circle has taken on the nature of a square.’ Nor could the Gospel miracles count as evidence for Christ’s divine origins, as miracles as violations of natural laws are logically impossible. God consists of the laws of nature so how could God violate himself? Christ for Spinoza was the mouthpiece of God, insofar as he taught principles that are ‘universal and true’, such as the exercise of justice and charity towards neighbours. Or perhaps, if he really had misogynist tendencies, he secretly appreciated Jesus as an unmarried man, as opposed to the polygamous Israelites, who knows?

God’s transcendence is sometimes put up as an argument against prayer. God is ‘up there’, so far away, out of reach, how could possibly human petitions reach him? Strangely, Spinoza’s God is the exact opposite. Thoroughly immanent. Indwelling. His God – Nature – permanently pervades the universe – it is the universe. Good news? God is not far away, then. Alas, prayer gets even less of a purchase. Trying praying to the cosmos. Or to yourself. Maybe a thoroughgoing egoist would buy it. Not many will, though. Rightly so. Prayer and navel-gazing ain’t the same thing.

Spinoza loved his peculiar God but God did not reciprocate him. Within the philosopher’s system, he could not. To refute it, you only have to refute the system. In fact, any evangelical Christian from Holy Trinity Brompton could prove Spinoza wrong. ‘God love me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so’, wrote theologian Karl Barth. A knock-down proof. Not that it would convince our Benedict. It is life, not logic and, as Goethe put in ‘All grey is theory but green is life’s golden tree’.

Revd Frank Julian Gelli

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Set CNN Straight‏ - ANCA

December 4, 2008 SET CNN STRAIGHT Gripping Documentary by Christiane Amanpour Covers the History of Mass Slaughter; Neglects Armenian Genocide Take Action Now. . . A powerful new CNN documentary, "Scream Bloody Murder," anchored by Christiane Amanpour, premiered on tonight (9:00 p.m. ET/PT). The program offered a compelling look at genocide throughout history, with a special focus on those who witnessed and warned the world about these atrocities. Sadly, however, in a disservice to it millions of viewers, CNN neglected to include the Armenian Genocide as the first such event, despite the fact that it was this atrocity that first prompted international lawyer Raphael Lemkin to coin the word "genocide," and to work toward the eventual adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Read the Asbarez Armenian Daily Newspaper editorial on this documentary. Action: 1) Post your question on CNN iReport Ask Christiane Amanpour a question about this serious shortcoming in her documentary through CNN iReport, an interactive feature that allows you to post video and text viewable by the millions of visitors to CNN's website. Your posting will also be searchable on Google News. View an effective CNN iReport posting commenting on "Scream Bloody Murder". 2) Write directly to CNN's editors Send a free ANCA WebFax to CNN's leadership pointing out this shortcoming and asking them to address this gap in their reporting in future coverage of genocide-related issues.

Armenian News

Commentary: Turks Create False Impressions to Block Obama's Promises
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Turkish officials are in a mad rush. Informed by Washington insiders that
President-elect Barack Obama intends to carry out his promises to Armenians, the
Turkish government is anxious to conclude an agreement with Armenia in order
to block the incoming administration and/or Congress from taking a stand onthe
Armenian Genocide.

For years, Ankara repeatedly rejected Yerevan's offers to normalize relations
without preconditions. Hoping that Armenia would buckle under intense
economic pressure, Turks placed strict demands for lifting the blockade and
establishing diplomatic relations. Armenia had to refrain from efforts for genocide
recognition, accept Turkey's territorial integrity, and relinquish Artsakh
(Karabagh) to Azerbaijan.

A few months ago, the two sides appeared to have reached an arrangement
whereby Pres. Serzh Sargsyan would agree to Turkey's request to form a joint study
group on the Armenian Genocide, as part of a larger inter-governmental
commission that would deal with a host of bilateral issues, on condition that Turkey
would first establish diplomatic relations and opens its border with Armenia.
Soon after, Pres. Abdullah Gul made an unprecedented trip to Yerevan at the
Armenian President's invitation to watch a soccer match between the national
teams of the two countries. Both leaders received high praise and encouragement
from the international community for their "football diplomacy."

Relations between the two countries seemed to be on the mend, until Turkey's
leaders, misjudging Pres. Sargsyan's eagerness to have the Turkish border
opened, demanded additional and unacceptable concessions from Armenia. Theyasked
that Armenians initially withdraw from a small area on the periphery of
Artsakh and announce the formation of the study group on the genocide priorto the
convening of the wider inter-governmental commission.

In making these demands, the Turkish leaders were trying to accomplish two
contradictory objectives. On the one hand, they were pressuring Armenia into
making as many concessions as possible. On the other hand, they desperatelywant
to reach a quick agreement with Yerevan before Pres. Obama enters the White
House next month.

When Armenia rejected Turks' excessive demands, Turkish authorities decided
to switch tactics and attempt a more effective approach: Create the impression
in Washington that Armenians and Turks are making good progress in resolving
their differences, even though in reality they are not!

To implement this new policy, Ankara persisted in placing a positive spin on
all official contacts with Armenia. For example, Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian's trip to Istanbul on November 24, to chair the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) conference, was repeatedly mischaracterized by the Turkish side
as a visit to discuss with Foreign Minister Ali Babajan the improvement of
relations with Armenia.

Also, Turkish officials and media have been repeating ad nauseam that
Armenia's President would be visiting Turkey shortly, thus giving the false
impression that the two sides are about to resolve their differences. In reality, Pres.
Sargsyan is not expected to go to Istanbul until October 2009, when the
Armenian and Turkish national soccer teams meet again.

Yet another falsehood spread by the Turkish media, for the sole purpose of
manipulating American and international public opinion, is that Armenia has
accepted to participate in a joint study group on the Armenian Genocide, even
after Pres. Sargsyan's announcement that such a commission was "absolutely
unnecessary." Armenia's President expressed his concern that such a study would
actually "mislead" the international community.

In another diversionary tactic, Turkish authorities announced last week that
they are considering the accreditation to Armenia of their current Ambassador
to Georgia, who would continue to be stationed in Tbilisi. This is a clever
attempt to claim that Turkey has taken a major step in establishing diplomatic
relations with Armenia! Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines announced last week that it
is planning to start charter flights to Armenia -- another attempt at
creating a false impression of the ostensibly improving Armenian-Turkish relations.
In support of their government's propaganda, Turkish newspapers have been
publishing interviews with Armenians and Turks who are engaged in a varietyof
joint cultural and business activities and predicting that Armenia would have a
thriving economy once the border with Turkey is opened. The Turkish press does
not interview, however, Armenians who demand justice for the crimes committed
by the Ottoman Turkish government during the Genocide.

It is regrettable that certain Armenian individuals, driven by their narrow
self-interest, have made statements to the Turkish media that help reinforce
the false impression that Armenians and Turks are getting along perfectly well,
and outsiders like the United States should not take any initiatives that
would ruin this budding friendship!
The fact of the matter is that Armenians worldwide will continue to view
Turkey with deep misgivings as long as the Turkish government pursues its morally
bankrupt policy of making demands rather than amends.

[can you believe the following story? who did the invitation?

has the return visit taken place?]

GUL'S ARMENIA VISIT BRINGS TURKEY SPORT PEACE PRIZE
Anadolu Agency
Dec 2 2008
Turkey

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Gul and
his Armenian counterpart Sargsian shook hands prior to a World Cup
qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on September 6.

The "Peace and Sport" organization, based in Monaco, has awarded
Turkey with the 2008 Peace and Sport Image of the Year prize.

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Abdullah Gul
and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian shook hands prior to a
World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on
September 6.

Turkey will receive its prize on Thursday, December 4 from Prince
Albert II of Monaco. The President of the Turkish Football Federation
(TFF) Mahmut Ozgener will receive the prize on behalf of President
Abdullah Gul.

Iran-Armenia Gas Pipeline Inaugurated

By Emil Danielyan

Armenia officially completed on Monday the construction of a natural gas
pipeline from neighboring Iran which could reduce its heavy dependence
on Russian energy resources and significantly boost its electricity
exports. It remained unclear, however, when Iranian gas could start
flowing into the country.

The pipeline's second and final Armenian section was inaugurated in the
presence of President Serzh Sarkisian and Alexei Miller, chairman of
Russia's Gazprom giant. The two men, joined by other Armenian, Russian
and Iranian officials, watched as workers welded together its last
pipes.

Miller's presence at the high-profile ceremony underscored the fact that
the pipeline will be controlled by the ArmRosGazprom (ARG) national gas
distribution company in which Gazprom holds a controlling stake. ARG has
financed and carried out work on the 197-kilometer stretch running
through the country's mountainous Syunik region.

In a speech during the ceremony, Miller welcomed the completion of the
`very important project.' He said its implementation testifies to a
`high level of political cooperation between Russia and Armenia.'

Former President Robert Kocharian was also in attendance. Kocharian had
inaugurated the pipeline's first, 41-kilometer section together with
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in March 2007.

Speaking to journalists, Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said the
pipeline will undergo technical testing and be ready to pump Iranian gas
within weeks. But he again avoided setting any dates for the start of
Iranian gas supplies.

The new pipeline's operational capacity of approximately 2.3 billion
cubic meters of gas per annum essentially matches the annual volume of
Armenian gas imports from Russia that are carried out via Georgia. With
Russian supplies meeting Armenia's needs, the bulk of Iranian gas is
expected to be converted into electricity that will then be exported to
the Islamic Republic.

As Movsisian pointed out, the pipeline would be vital for Armenia's
energy security in case of `force majeure situations.' The minister
clearly referred to a possible disruption or termination of Russian gas
deliveries to Georgia that would almost certainly affect Armenia as
well.

The prospect of a cut-off in Russian supplies has become even more real
since the August war between Georgia and Russia. A senior Georgian
official predicted last month that the Russians will at least cut back
on those supplies this winter.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO PROFIT FROM BETTER

ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS - TURKISH FM
Interfax
Dec 2 2008
Russia

BAKU. Dec 1 (Interfax) - The normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations will help improve Azeri-Armenian relations and to speed up
the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan said on Monday.

"The improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations will have a positive
influence on the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Babacan told
a briefing after talks with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov,
commenting on a possibility to open the Armenian- Turkish border.

The Turkish FM noted that there are problems in the region, which
need to be resolved through dialog. He also stressed the importance of
implementing the Turkey-sponsored Caucasus Stability and Cooperation
Platform.

"There are problems in the region, and efforts are being made to
resolve them. The countries of the region should sit at one table. We
should seek the normalization of relations through dialog, so that
these problems are not left to other generations. There is diplomatic
activity now, and results are needed," Babacan said.

Yerevan Loses More European Court Cases
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Three more citizens of Armenia controversially imprisoned during and
after the disputed 2003 presidential election won on Tuesday lawsuits
against their government filed to the European Court of Human Rights.

The court declared the arrests illegal and ordered the Armenian
government to pay each of the plaintiffs 4,500 euros ($5,700) in
`non-pecuniary' damages. They will also get an additional 3,000 euros
worth of compensation each for legal expenses incurred during the
lengthy litigation.

Two of them, Lavrenti Kirakosian and Arman Mkhitarian, reside in
Karakert, a village in the southern Armavir region. They both
participated in March 2003 rallies staged in Yerevan by Stepan
Demirchian, the main opposition presidential candidate. They were
subsequently arrested and sentenced to ten days in prison for allegedly
disobeying police orders and using `foul language' against
law-enforcement officers.

The third plaintiff, Miasnik Tadevosian, is a resident of another
Armavir village, Mrgashat. A retired senior police officer, he led the
regional chapter of the opposition National Unity Party.
Tadevosian was arrested and given a ten-day sentence on the same charge
after attending similar anti-government rallies staged by Demirchian and
other opposition leaders in March-April 2004.

The three men were imprisoned under the Soviet-era Code of
Administrative Offenses. The Armenian authorities used the code for
briefly jailing hundreds of participants of unsanctioned opposition
rallies. The so-called `administrative arrests' were strongly condemned
by local and international human rights organizations. The authorities
abolished the practice in 2005 under strong pressure from the Council of
Europe.

In separate rulings, the Strasbourg-based court ruled that the prison
sentences given to the three men violated several provisions of the
European Convention on Human Rights ratified by Armenia. It said none of
them had a fair trial and `adequate time and facilities for the
preparation of his defense.'

The opposition supporters' defense lawyer, Tigran Ter-Yesayan, welcomed
the rulings. `The European Court simply certified that the rights of
these individuals were violated during and after the presidential
elections,' he told RFE/RL. `But whether the authorities will draw
appropriate conclusions from these verdicts and refrain from such
actions in the future is an open question.'

The authorities could face similar lawsuits from more than 100 other
opposition members and supporters who were arrested in the wake of the
last presidential election held on February 19. At least 70 of them
remain in jail on charges stemming from the March 1 clashes in Yerevan.
The Council of Europe and other international bodies say at least some
of these detainees were jailed for exercising their political rights.

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