Med

This seems interesting. I better get this one.

Well done on their behalf. It couldn't have been more brilliant! At least someone is doing something right. Erdogan has lots of gems like these.

Hi Lunaclover or Stormig to put it correctly. Why create another account in order to answer someone. Isn't that a little bit cowardly? Why would anyone's first post be about something like this? Strange indeed.

Charisma or call it manipulation must have some part in it. Even the vilest dictator probably had to use his charm offensive at some stage of his "career". How else can we explain the meteoric rise of Adolf Hitler? True, the desperate situation of Germany also had a role to play. But the it is up to the person in question to grasp any given opportunity and quickly seize it while others don't even realise it. There are always more spectators than actors metaphorically speaking. Most of us prefer to remain as passive observers rather than act on things. Speaking of power those who boast of their power and indulge in their own self-flattery are the first ones who will lose it. Fear is a main characteristic of maintaining power. If you have it you are probably very well aware that you might easily lose it. If you aren't self-conscious and lose your perspective then there is no point in keeping it. The smart person is the one who keeps his strengths and weaknesses to himself and doesn't reveal his intentions. Or if he is even smarter and doesn't have an all too big ego, stays out of the limelight and pulls the strings from there.

Don't forget, David Ben Gurion was an honorary member of the Teskilat-i Mahsusa ("Special Organisation") as were other Jewish activists along with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawharalal Nehru and most of the important members of the Indian Congress Party. Of course their role was a purely symbolic one. It was meant to generate positive publicity and lobbying effort on behalf of the Ottoman Empire. Also to use anti-British sentiments by recruiting such prominent people for their own interest.

NATO?? What have they got to do with it? Nato isn't the one defending them.

Do you really believe that hogwash? Who else has the right to occupy Arab lands? America?? I don't think that the Arabs ever supplanted the "original" inhabitants if you can call them that. Most of them were Arabs or some other semitic peoples anyway. Since when are Christians a nation? Your Christian "friends" sold you out at every opportunity. Do you seriously expect them to save your skin?

That there are more Turkified Armenians than Hamshen Armenians is a safe bet. While the latter number around 300,000-400,000, there are about 30,000 Hamshen Armenians in their region and 20,000 elsewhere.

It's hard to believe but that woman is the daughter of a Turkish diplomat. On top of that she is a very accomplished author. She makes very incisive observations and her books deal about human interactions and overlapping identities. I'm quite taken by them.

Armen, I don't think that without popular support you can actually commit genocide. Sad but true. Those masses are in most cases more than willing accessories in genocide and massacres. Usually they are driven by hate, fear or by sheer opportunism. You don't have to actually take part in a crime to become an accessory to it. Turning your back and total apathy are worse in my opinion. I have a pessimistic outlook on things as you can see from my post yesterday. style_images/master/snapback.png

I think the Reverend is more courageous, because Mutafyan and the rest are lackeys or at the mercy of the government.

Tellmewhy, I don't know what your problem is but you take things too seriously. It is as if you are afraid of cohabitation. Trust me that won't happen.

That doesn't make sense. The Dutch can only convince themselves with these arguments. But it might make sense depending on your viewpoint and sense of responsibility for others. In a park here in Zürich the authorities give out free heroin and sterilised needles to stop the spread of disease. They put conditions however for the addicts to visit a rehab clinic. Looking the other way and letting people "experiment" is not an option. Information by itself won't do anything. It goes hand in hand with reprobation. Then there are those who advocate the spread of heroin-like substances such as china white and meperedine to kill first-time users at an instant in order for a lesson. They are slightly exaggerating.

Mutaf the Archbishop was also the one who unashamedly expressed his glee when the previous Catholicos Karekin I died of cancer. When Agos newspaper wrote about this he had them threatened. Mutaf is also in favour of discarding age-old traditions such as celibacy and holding services in Turkish. If that isn't enough Mutaf also has blood on his hands. When he was a sociology student in the US the car he drove was involved in an accident killing his passenger.

This is the case of the pot calling the kettle black.