Flashpoint: New Red Wings arena, Armenian 'genocide'

DETROIT – Devin Scillian was joined by actor and author Eric Bogosian and Middle East correspondent for The Independent Robert Fisk for this week's edition of Flashpoint. The two are in Detroit to talk about the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide and why some people still won't use the work 'genocide' to describe it.

Bogosian said that remembering what happened correctly is still important 100 years later because everything in our lives is built on the people who came before us.

"If we don't honor those who died violently, if we continue to deny how they died, then we're dishonoring them," Bogosian said. "In my case, it's a personal matter. Two of my great grandfathers were killed during the genocide."

Fisk said that genocide means the deliberate, determined plan to exterminate a race of people. He said that a 'massacre' is very different.

"When you deny a genocide, basically you're killing the people all over again," Fisk said. He said the continued denial by the Turks is still causing harm.

Bogosian and Fisk talked about the aftermath of the genocide and what it's like for Armenians to try to move on from something that happened 100 years ago.

Fisk talked about the connections between the Armenian genocide and the terrorism of ISIS going on today.

Fisk said that the United States could call what happened a genocide without ruining relations with Turkey. He said that politicians are cowardly for refusing to use the word, and that Barack Obama said he would call it a genocide twice before he was elected, but then never did.

You can watch the entire first segment in the video posted at the top of this page.

In the second segment, Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press and Nolan Finley of the Detroit News joined Flashpoint to talk about the latest news from the new Detroit Red Wings arena.

They talked about the status of the arena and making sure that the promises made to the city of Detroit are upheld.

Finley talked about all the benefits that would come from building the proposed arena, which reaches far beyond just a new hockey arena for the Red Wings.

Devin also asked the guests to talk about Detroit's City Counsel and their effectiveness. Henderson said the counsel is much more functional than it used to be, but still has members that probably shouldn't be on the board.

Click on the video below to watch the second segment.

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In the final segment, Devin took a look at three pressing topics around metro Detroit and the world in Sunday's "3 and out."

Among his stories comes the latest on Dan Gilbert and the city of Detroit and a new group called "Making Governors Accountable." An expert says this move could have implications that allow Governor Rick Snyder to make a presidential bid.

You can watch the final segment in the video posted below.

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