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Wednesday
May 2, 2001

* Lennon & music

Your photo essay on the Musicman reminded me of a John Lennon interview in 1974 with Tom Snyder on NBC, where John was asked about why he became a musician.

Here is what he said: RealAudio

Your 50 picture essay was dead on!

Faryar Mansuri

* Cultural schizophrenia

I have to agree with Laleh Khalili ["Cosmic loneliness"] that we can't be sure how successful this guy ["Musicman"] has been at freewheeling with women, and I'm glad she attests to the fact that he wants us to think he is a successful womanizer. (By the way, my dictionary defines the term somewhat differently: "someone who pursues multiple casual relationships with women". Cf //m-w.com!)

But we can't even be sure if this guy knows how to play guitar; can we? (He doesn't seem to be able to spell "darigh" correctly, though! Right?)

I suggested "womanizer" as a fitting title because that was the first word that occurred to me after seeing the pictures photographed by Mr. Javid. I don't believe Mr. Musicman is worth talking about just because Mr. Javid has somehow found it interesting to take pictures of the life of another apparently confused immigrant of Iranian descent. Maybe he thinks taking pictures and putting them together (or rather, after one another) has some aesthetic value or something; a new form of art! (heyf-e oon film-haa!)

Finally, I don't know about cosmic loneliness. Whose loneliness? Ours? Just because we thought there's something to all those pictures? This seems to me to be more about "Cultural Schizophrenia" of some immigrants!

Ataollah Togha

* Get a life

I just read the letter ["Cosmic loneliness"] from Laleh Khalili about the Musicman. I can not believe you actually went thru all the photos. I saw about 10 of them and got bored. You people need to get a life; the musicman needs one badly because I think he wants to tell us from his photos that he has a life. And Laleh needs to get one if she spends her spare time going thru his photos.

There is one positive thing in all of this, and that's how interested Iranians are in each other. I guess this is encouraging.

Amir

* Brother?

Does the Musicman has a brother? Is it this guy? He's got to be a relative.

Sheema Kalbasi

* Cool or an idiot?

Nice photos ["Musicman"]. I know this guys and I think he is cool. But is he really a musician or just an idiot who is lost and doesn't know what he is doing?

Niki.Shabrokh

* Thanks to Uncle Sam

This was funny and so true ["Bimaari-ye hasr"]. I have attended gatherings where a few of the 'infected' lot have been in attendance and I have secretly imagined these people standing in the welfare line!

Ironically some of these 'rich' people also somehow manage to collect government assistance, thanks to the engineer and architect sons and daughters who know 'the ropes' and think they can put one over on Uncle Sam!

This is yet another point for showing off. "Yea, my hubby is a millionaire , and I have the latest and greatest, but good old Hassani - bless his cotton socks - managed to get me on Medicare and a chunky monthly check courtesy of U S of A!"

Thanks for making me laugh.

Nasim Hadj-Bagheri

* Don't need gays

I always love to read The Iranian, but why do you put something which is not proper in your web site, like the question to Kobra Khanom about being gay?

I am sick and tired of all these gay people and gay rights. I just think they are all sick. I am only 22- years old, and I don't think I am "omool" or old-fashioned. Iranians are very modern but please, we don't need any gays in our society.

Golyjoon

* Imposing gay life

This message for the 26-year-old Iranian gay man who is complaining about being in the closet. You are sick as it is. You are what you are and your private life is your private life. Why are you imposing yourself on others?

Tavakoli

* Ignorants brought mollas, not Reza Shah

In response to Peerooz's second letter, "Aftermath of dictatorship", I am not missing any point here. Some 57 years of Pahlavi rule did not bring on the molla government, ignorant people like Peerooz did and now they are trying to blame others.

Peerooz says, "The only hope is to break this cycle by self-education whether it takes 50,100 or 200 years". Well, I don't understand why he doesn't try to educate himself. In his previous letter he said that Ataturk never killed and stole. I wrote back and said that as well as killing and stealing he drank and womanised. I never said that drinking and womanising are punishable crimes, and I am the one who likes Ataturk and Reza Shah anyway. He is trying to twist my word to cover his own ignorance.

But the main point that a lot of people are missing is this: Democracy and rule of law are very good. And every nation should try and educate itself. But the main question is what should a backward and uneducated nation do? I have got bad news for you. People who see Khomeini's face in the moon are uneducated. People who beat their head and chest at every Ashura are uneducated. Men who don't shake hands with women are uneducated. Chadori women are uneducated. Mollas are uneducated. Smart asses who don't know anything about history are uneducated >>> FULL TEXT

Babak Babakan

* Democracy without revolution

Most excellent point ["Ignorants brought mollas"]. Yes, the Pahlavis were not by any means perfect. But we were making progress under them. Just look, in the 1920's-1970's, most countries were under dictatorship. In fact, Mohammed Reza Shah was the most benevolent of all of them.

My girlfriend is Korean and I have visited South Korea. President Park who ruled Korea as a military dictator was much more intolerent than the late Shah. After Korea underwent a revolutionizing modernization, she gradually became a democracy. Koreans never had the violent revolutions like the ones that Mr. Peerooz and others were involved.

The abuse of Park cronies were many times worse than the Pahlavi courtiers. But when Korea became a democracy, there was no bloodshed. President Kim Dae Jung even pardoned his former tormantors who had been sentenced to death.

Those who criticize Shah for saying he created Islamic Republic are pure ignorants. The Shah didn't tell people to look in the moon and see Khomeini's face. Iran was not the only country under modernizing dictatorship. Most of the world through 1980's was under dictatorship. They all became democratic and none of them experienced the bloodshed, the destruction and the uncivility that Iranian revolutionaries subjected our country to >>> FULL TEXT

H. M. Jalili

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