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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 73, No. 45; Nov. 10, 2007

Commentary and Analysis:

1. Fire, Flood and Foolishness
By Garen Yegparian

2. New Tricks, An Old Question: Turkish Manipulation of the Genocide
Resolution
By Gregory Arabian

3. On Choosing the Careers We Do
By Tom Vartabedian

4. Letters to the Editor

***

1. Fire, Flood and Foolishness
By Garen Yegparian

Two years ago, the U.S. was shamed before the whole world by its incompetent
handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Bush "clan" (in the sense used
to describe Armenia’s quasi-criminal networks) nepotism, not to mention
well-disguised racism, were the root. People died needlessly. Now, opulence
is on the way, via a transfer of real estate to moneyed interests,
supplanting the gritty lives led by the poor who gave New Orleans its
flavor.

Two weeks ago, fires started in Southern California. A similar number of
people were impacted. Perhaps disaster response was a little better, but no
thanks to the feds. Fortunately, counties in northern California were not
hit by fire and sent much equipment and manpower to assist in the
firefighting.

But the ferocity of the fires complicated things. And, it is likely that
this ferocity was fed by our own presumptuousness. Not only have we arguably
generated the conditions for these intense conflagrations through our
ongoing fire suppression efforts, but we’ve also built more houses ever
deeper in fire territory. This is foolishness.

Instead of building denser housing in already developed areas, we rape
virgin land to put up ugly housing developments with huge infrastructure
maintenance needs while older areas’ infrastructure is poorly maintained.
It’s a double whammy. This is foolishness.

Now couple this with the FEMA folks being so sensitive about the drubbing
they took over their Katrina failings while simultaneously being so well
trained in the spin-machine manufactured by scammers such as Karl Rove that
they out on a phony press conference to tout their fire response! This is
foolishness.

To top it all off, places like San Diego are so right-wing,
governmentophobia mentality-dominated that they have underinvested in
firefighting infrastructure just to avoid raising taxes. It showed. This is
foolishness.

So why does this need to appear in an Armenian newspaper? Many of us are
buying homes in these newer, dispersed areas, putting ourselves in needless
harm’s way. This scattering also makes community life more difficult. Hence
the tide of the battle against assimilation shifts subtly against us. This
is foolishness.

Let’s be smart, buy close to our communities, and even more to the point,
near our institutions-Armenian centers, schools and churches.
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————

2. New Tricks, An Old Question: Turkish Manipulation of the Genocide
Resolution
By Gregory Arabian

Maturity and experience provide perspective regarding the frustration
experienced by Armenians from the Turkish political manipulation of our
Congress and President in handling the Armenian Genocide Resolution, House
and Senate Bill 106. I previously wrote, and correctly predicted the result.
Based upon the political history of our Congress and our presidents from
Nixon to Clinton to Bush, whether Democrat or Republican, the result has
been the same: The resolution was again taken off the agenda, was not
allowed on the House for a vote, and is now "postponed" for a more
auspicious time. Slam Dunk for the Turks.

The latest attack on the resolution came from an old, often-used but rather
worn out phrase description of Turkey as a "loyal ally." What rubbish. Ask
the 4th Infantry Division about our "loyal ally" who prevented us from using
Incirlik to support our troops in Northern Iraq. Search your own news
stories for the real reason that Turkey chose not to become involved-money,
and nothing else. News stories at the time clearly described that Turkey
required a much higher level of "financial aid" (I call it a bribe) before
its parliament could OK the use of our base at Incirlik. We correctly chose
not to pay that bribe, and Turkey refused us the use of Incirlik. Some
"loyal ally." Search the conditions under which our "loyal ally" has allowed
us to use Incirlik in any manner; one of the most important conditions
involves money-every takeoff, every landing, every significant use, day by
day, is assessed and paid in U.S. dollars. I could go on, but it makes me
sick to have governmental officials pontificate about our "loyal ally."

Recently, Walter Kirk was quoted saying the oft-repeated arguments against
passing the resolution, including its relevancy to U.S. foreign policy. Why
bother with this question that "does not concern us," he says? Why bother
with an issue that is totally foreign to the U.S. and that interferes with
our own domestic programs and agenda? Why indeed? It is very important that
this question be addressed as often as it is posed, and the answer is this:
The genocide took place during World War I, when Turkey was not a loyal
ally, but an enemy. History itself bears witness that Turkey was a dedicated
Axis Power, a "loyal ally" of the Central Powers, including Germany,
fighting against the Western powers. Idiots or Turkophiles like Kirk want
the world to forget the relevance of the genocide itself. Further, not only
was Turkey our enemy in 1915 forward, but it was a defeated enemy. Its
defeat was due, in part, to the resistance of the Armenian forces against
the Central Powers. Armenians declared their loyalty to the Western Powers
and prevented them from reaching the rich oil fields of Baku to provide much
needed petrol resources for the Axis Wermacht. The failure of the Central
Powers in this regard caused their collapse and contributed to the victory
we celebrate today as Armistice Day, or Veterans Day. The Armenian genocide
occurred in the midst of this Armenian contribution to the Western Powers’
victory. The payback was the collapse of the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, the
insult of the replacing Treaty of Lausanne, and the breakup of Wilsonian
Armenia, followed by the slide of the Armenian people into the abyss of a
depopulated Western Armenia and the Russification of Eastern Armenia. So
answer me, Mr. Kirk and your Turkophiles: Who was the United States’ "loyal
ally" in those days-Turkey or Armenia? Indeed, tell me: What indeed does the
U.S., as a Western Power, owe Armenia? Perhaps your history book might give
you a clue.
——————————————– ——————————–
———

3. On Choosing the Careers We Do
By Tom Vartabedian

Careers are a lot like handiwork. Some people chisel them. Others craft
them. A few I know manipulate them.

If you look close enough, it’s one of life’s mysterious wonders.

Why do we choose the careers we do?

Growing up, like every All-American boy of my generation, I wanted to be
just like Ted Williams, a baseball player of character. Later, the thoughts
of becoming another Einstein crossed my mind.

I opted for a career in chemistry after high school and wound up as an
accounting major at Boston University before shifting to journalism.

Had I followed my father’s advice, I could have taken over his restaurant
and been a rich man today. But I chose newspapers and reaped the rewards of
self-satisfaction and personal gratitude.

An Armenian priest I interviewed recently on the 40th anniversary of his
ordination offered this surprising comment. When I asked him what he would
have been had it not been a life of theology, he smiled and said, "a
mechanic."

"I used to repair engines in a factory before God called me," he revealed.
"And I was 40 years old with a wife and two children. They gave me their
blessing."

Another priest I know was a jeweler and a musician in his former life before
turning to the priesthood. I have several record albums with his name and
find it unusual that he made such an extreme turn.

He wound up pastoring a number of parishes and his vibrant singing voice was
transposed to the Divine Liturgy at our church.

Just in my own family, my brother was an aeronautical mechanic before
turning into a commercial videographer. My father majored in printing after
high school before a long and tiring profession as a restaurateur. My mother
ran a confectionary store with her sister before joining my dad.

After working a stint inside a super market, a cousin became an exporter and
traveled the world. A friend of mine left the insurance business to join the
retail world with another associate.

He claims the interaction he formed with people was invaluable in his newest
endeavor. "All things are relative in a profession," he told me. "The
ability to get along with your public is paramount."

I always thought that my Uncle Jake was cut out to be a good police
officer-and he was for a short while. But he couldn’t take the constant
abuse and switched roles.

I found him one day driving an ice truck along the streets of Somerville,
happy as a lark. He liked being his own boss and didn’t give one hoot about
salary. I saw him one day making a citizen’s arrest and felt the old cop in
him was still there.

I recall two instances in which students graduated from law school and were
called to different family obligations. One went into the hardware business
and the other took over his dad’s tavern.

Both became public servants in the highest caliber by virtue of their
community service. They applied their education into the arena of life and
that was not a bad alternative.

I took a poll once at the university and discovered, much to my surprise,
that more than 50 percent of the graduates wind up changing their majors or
enter unrelated fields.

A good friend in high school went to college on a baseball scholarship, was
destined to become an engineer, and settled upon a career as a mortician.

I often wonder how people can stand a mundane job where they claim to be
miserable but work for the salary. A job should be stimulating with a
healthy dose of pride and pleasure.

I encounter individuals who tell me how miserable they are at work, how they
hate the environment, their management teams and the commute.

But they won’t change, even if they could. I realize a decent job is hard to
obtain these days and people do what they can to support a family.

Many college grads drift off into other fields for reasons of desperation. I
read where a teaching professor got laid off, was told he was overqualified
for other jobs, and wound up bussing tables at a restaurant.

Then, there was this job advertised in an evening newspaper: "Wanted.
Executive director between the ages of 24-40. To sit at a desk from 9 to 5
and watch other people work. Must be willing to play golf every other
afternoon and alternate with gourmet lunches. Salary, over $500 to start."

The notice turned out to be an April Fool’s joke. Some clown wanted to see
in print what kind of response it would get from applicants.
————————————– ————————————–
——-

4. Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I was surprised to read your insert on "Education Facts and Figures" about
Armenian schools throughout the East Coast (Weekly, Nov. 5) and find no
mention of the Erebuni Saturday School located in Belmont, Mass.

Erebuni was founded in 1989 and is the only Armenian school in the East Coat
that teaches the Eastern dialect of Armenian to students grades K to 12. The
school conducts its classes in the Plymouth Congregational Church in Belmont
on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The school also teaches Armenian history and currently has 50 students from
kindergarten to the 9th grade. The entire school faculty is made up of
volunteers.

For more information about Erebuni, please contact school principal Armineh
Bagdasarian at (781) 273-5239.

Robert Kalantari
Bedford, Mass.

***

Dear Editor,

Simon Beugekian’s review (Weekly, Nov. 3) of Serj Tankian’s solo album is
spot-on. I was hoping that with his solo debut Serj would stray from
politics and instead tell us what else is on his mind, other than America’s
flawed foreign policy or the Armenian genocide. But this was not to be, and
I knew it the moment I heard the singles "The Unthinking Majority" and
"Empty Walls." I know where Serj leans politically, just as I knew where
System of a Down leaned politically before they released the mostly mediocre
"Hypnotize/Mezmerize" double album.

While I agree that this album is for the most part innovative and original,
it is also didactic and condescending. Overall, "Elect the Dead" is an
interesting disappointment.

Jack Kalayjian
Los Angeles, Calif.

***

Dear Editor,

I am Dr. Harold H. "Buzz" Baxter (Bagdasarian), the author of Dining At
Noah’s Table. I was surprised, pleased and flattered to read your review of
my recent Armenian cookbook (Weekly, Oct. 13).

I wrote the book in dedication to my mother and to promote the art of
Armenian cookery to young Americanized Armenians. Although I too have
forgotten much of my heritage, I do remember my mother’s cooking and she
taught me well. I am now an "old man" (pushing 80) and am just now finding
time to research my roots.

As a matter of fact, my father was born in Providence, R.I., and lived a
short time in Worcester, Mass., before traveling with his parents to live in
California and to farm and grow grapes and make raisins.

I want to thank you again for the much-appreciated review. I’m sure I will
not make the NY Times best-seller list, but most of the people that have
purchased my book have stated that they enjoyed the history and tidbits as
well as the recipes.

Buzz Baxter