Tiggyhonents

Not because it gives light to symbols, but because it is a symbol. In Christianity it is now mostly just a symbol. But originally it was more than just a symbol. You are tight to use the word transmutation but once it was not a symbol of transmutation, but an actual example of transmutation: the conversion of something of the earth transformed into something higher that can be accessed by, and noticed by, the gods. A burnt offering has the same effect. Some cultures still do this by releasing birds, so that they fly upwards. And in some cultures, including mine, the burning of written messages in fires, so that the message reaches the gods. And in the past - ceremonial buildings might be burnt (and constructed for the sole purpose to be burnt) to get the same effect.

Easter is actually a pagan fire festival, later incorporated (like Christmas) into Christian customs. So it is not surprising that fire, in the now tame form of candles, still plays such a prominant part. A lit candle, like any burning object, provides an intercession between the God (of whatever faith) and the supplicant. In Christianity the candle also symbolises the believer, so much so that the lit candle can be seen as a substitute for the actual believer having to be present - hence the numerous bequests and requests from deceased individuals asking for candles to be regularly lit on their behalf for all eternity. And also why a candle can be lit by one person on behalf of another. For all this a plastic candle with an electric bulb in it is certainly NOT acceptable. But since most Christians these days haven't a clue as to what they actually believe, it makes little difference to them.

Yes - all that was just like the sort of filth that oozes naturally from the skin of Germans. Do they have a word for that as well, in their words for everything language? Are they (like the Laps and their 100 words for snow) a race that has 100 different words for "lies"? You have swallowed their propaganda so completely that you even come away with statements of pure fantasy like "crimes that the Serb militia committed in Slovenia". Guess which country after Armenia lost a greater percentage of its population in WW1 than any other. It was Serbia. And guess which country lost the largest percentage of its population in WW2. Again it was Serbia. They were twice a victim of genocide at the hands of the same German race and its allies. So it is quite understandable for Serbs in the 1990s to have thought they were facing yet another "endzeitstimmung / doomsday scenario", again as a result of German scheming. And they were entirely correct, as it turned out (though the scheming came mostly from America). I suggest you refrain from using inverted commas as a way of denying attrocities that are historical facts - or will we soon see you writing about the "so called Armenian Genocide" and about the 2 million Azeris being massacred by Armenians.

Only a German, or someone who has been around Germans for too long, could come away with bullshit as outrageous as that. Where is the vomit emoticon since it seems that I'm using more angry emoticons that this board allows? Oh hell, who am I kidding - it is just being predictably Armenian to deny all genocides except the Armenian one. Though Armenians, unlike Jews, are so afraid of being ignored in the "my genocide was worse than yours" competition that they will jump on any genocide bandwagon (from Rwanda to Sudan to inventions in Kosovo) in order that their own one is mentioned in passing. However, since the genocide that took place in Krajina is near the top of the list of never-to-be-mentioned attrocities from the 1990s (along with Chechnia) there is no bandwagon there for Armenians to jump upon.

So he must have been saying something right.

Some nits: some big, mostly small. Errr ... Bayazit is NOT on the western slopes of Ararat - it much further south and is on a completely different range of hills. There is nothing on the western slopes of Ararat. The custom of having bells for religious use came to Armenia only in the 13th century - before that time they were not know in this region. Christ, they look hidious! I suppose a fatal car crash on their way back and involving that "potential philanthropist" would have been too much to hope for. Too many more anateurish "friends" like the writer of those words, and NK is certainly lost. Territorial demands have to be (and officially are) limited to the actual territory of Nagorno Karabagh and the Lachin corridor. Bombastic nonsense that tries to vastly extend the area of that claim will simply result in the loss of everything.

That's what you get for listening to public radio! What next - will they tell you the world is actually flat and the moon is made of cheese. Firstly there is massive unemployment all over Europe - tens of millions. Secondly there will be millions more unemployed once the current economically unsustainable retirement age is raised. Thirdly, of course the type of workers that Europe needs more than any other are millions of peasants and part-time labourers whose only expertise is at sheep shagging. But, also of course, anyone who objects to Turkey's membership is doing it because they are racists (according to Blair and co. anyway). No other reasons are possible. They are racists. That's it. Full stop. No further discussion is possible. Volumes of data might be produced to show how Europe as it is now will be destroyed by Turkey's membership - but all that data should obviously be ignored because we all know that the data would have been produced by racists. And since all those who would say "no" must be racists, that is actually a reason to say "yes", and even speed up the process towards that "yes". And nobody can have a vote on the issue, because all those who would vote "no" would of course be racists - and racists can't be allowed to enter politics. And there can't be any presentation of the issues in the media, or any open discussions, because we can't allow platforms for racists and outlets for racist propaganda. Orwell's 1984 was 20 years too early.

That's another must-have armoticon to add to the wishlist: "boasting about something, when actually you should be ashamed of it".

Maybe the whole EU concept is just a big conspiracy by flag manufacturers. Think about it, now every little one-horse town hall has to have a flag of every EU country in its store, just in case a big-wig from such-and-such a country drops by for a civic reception. And maybe all the recent election trouble in the Ukraine was organized by dye-manufacturers who had a lot of surplus orange dye to dispose of. (And if so, President Kocharyan had better hope that they don't have a big surplus of apricot-colored dye!)

Who is "playing the Muslim card". The only people who are "playing the Muslim card" are those scumbag politicians like Blair who want Turkey in the EU, and who try to silence all opponents by virtually accusing them of racism. I can think of plenty of reasons for refusing Turkish membership - and Islam isn't even close to being on the list.

Which of those new armo-ticons should I use to reply?

See ... with the appropriate new emoticons ("armo-ticons" ) all that could have been said with just eight clicks of the mouse!

Let's think. As a bare minimum we will need one for back-stabbing, one for hypocrisy, one for betrayal, one for corruption, one for bullying, one for ignoring all the facts and continuing to believe the same old bullshit, one for gross xenophobia, one for flag waving jingoism, one for "it's the end of the world!", and one for "what are you complaining about, there's no problem here, you are just a troublemaker financed by foreigners!". There will be a few more needed, but you can use your natural instincts to work out the rest.

The door in the rock through which Mher will ride out on Jelaly.

Arpa - why on earth do you think that this Azeri propaganda is a good thing? It is just repeating their standard propaganda that has been around for the last 80 years, and which says that in 1918 the heroic Turkish army freed the patriotic Azeri people of Baku from their bloodthirsty Armenian oppressors. Is this really the dismal level of understanding of things in Stepanakert?

Hmmm .... will they be 100 slitty eyes? But, to put it in proportion, it still justs makes one "eye" for every 10 million Chinese.

Because, I presume, they don't actually see it as them committing a homosexual act. And anyway, most people who commit crimes look on themselves and their actions through very rose-tinted spectacles and can justify to themselves almost anything. Did anyone see the episode of "The Shield" where the Hispanic head of their department gets raped by some (typically macho) male Hispanic gang members, and, after bottling it up for weeks, eventually tells his wife what happened, and she is so disgusted that he should have "allowed" himself to get raped that she can no longer bear to even be in the same room as him. I'm not sure that the writers were making a specific comment about Spanish-American attitudes to sexuality or not.

Well, in certain countries and societies (including male only prison society), and perhaps including Armenia, women are either virgins or exist only for making babies and cooking and cleaning. I'd argue that the concept of romance between a man and a woman is mainly a European concept, as is also the idea of someone being "gay". So if it is only sex that men from those other societies want, then sex with another man is as good and as socially acceptable as if it were with a prostitute, (and its probably cheaper!). Wouldn't surprise me if most male - male rape in Europe that is commited by non-homosexuals is commited by Arabs or Africans or Asians.