August 15,
2003
Archives
* Close encounter with Mars
Never again in our lifetimes will the Red Planet be so spectacular!
This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter
that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets
in recorded
history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.
Due to the ways Jupiters gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its
orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come
this close
to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000
years.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to
within
34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest
object in the
night sky. It will attain magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11
arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification, Mars will
look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will
rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3
a.m.But by the end of August when the two planets are closest,
Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the
sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing
something that no human has seen in recorded history.
So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars
grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.
Share this! No one alive today will ever see this again.
Sent by M Ruhany
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* Azadi on rooftops
I received this Persian email in early July: 
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* Official liar
Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein
Elham, "In Iran no one is in prison because of their views."
Sent by M
Ruhany, July 15, 2003
To top * Kaaraagaah baazee in Tehran 
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* Not bad for one day
After many years I did not' know what to do for living in Canada
as professional artist, I was applying for college and then left
college, or was working as dishwasher, handy man, cleaner, assembly
line and more... I was asking myself why not cartoons drawing on
street from people, and here I am and all I made for to day $180
Canadian and $4 American. not to bad for one day, I am Happy to
made enough money for one day and go out with Girl, what she asking
for? also people was Happy when I was drawing from them on street,
I call my self faster cartoonist in Canada when I was drawing from
people for my advertisement on street, perhaps yes, I darawing
fast, too much fast, $5 for each drawing, are you remember this
world, in farsi Honar bartar az ghohar amad padied.go head and
find your way what is in your talent?
Hossein Hajiagha,
Ottawa, Canada
August 3, 2003
>>> Hajiagha's cartoons
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* Where is that thingie
called God?
I've been out of Iran since 1974 and ever since 1980 they keep
saying Mullah
is going! Pahlavi celebrated 2500 years of Kingdom in early 70's
as I was a
kid in Abadan, how would it be possible Mullah would let go of
power after 25
years?? Who am I, Irani or American?? Americans will never see
us as an
American regardless of that piece of paper called Citizenship,
and Mullahs do not
want us and let us get in without problems, what am I?
I was a 17 years old kid out of High School out of Iran and went
to school
many years to get a Ph.D. in Communications, In 1990 I think
as the Iran, Aragh
[Iraq] war started, 4 of us the best in the business lived in
Boston and drove to
Washington DC about 7 hours drive went to Pakestani embassy and
asked Mullahs to
let us go back home with our lap top computers and we are able
to break
Araghies communication system to the war plane and cause confusions
and make them
have doubt about their equipment to make it harder for them and
Mullahs
gracefully kicked us out of embassy that they did not need treaters!
Drove
back to Boston in January Ice and snow were hit with out of
control truck,
one of us
died on spot, one in wheel chair and one broken back neck and
hip, and finally I
was the lucky on walked out with a Brain Injury and 2 years
in Hospitals and
rehabilitation places with wiped out memory, now disable waiting
to see Iran
which I do not think I live long enough to see it!! I wish I could
be optimistic like most of Iranies but I am not. No one will
want to loose power and Mullahs will keep killing and killing
our poor people,
where is that thingie called God?? Is there such a thing??
Truly
yours,
Sia Homeless
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* Two thumbs up (your butt)
Beyond water and light in Iraq
By Steve Gilliard
Our problems in Iraq go far deeper than security,
water and light. Here's an example from today's Maureen Dowd
column [in The New York Times, August 8, 2003?].
Mr. Wolfowitz has been tacitly campaigning for the jobs. He told
Charlie
Rose about his vice-regal trip to Iraq, where he said at last grateful
Iraqis were thronging. "As we would drive by, little kids
would run up to
the road and give us a thumbs up sign," he said. (At least
he thought it was
the thumb.)
"Thumbs up" as a positive gesture quickly gained popularity
in the U.S.A.,
especially as a visual signal in noisy environments. Pilots unable
to shout "All's well!" or "Ready!" over
the noise of their engines used it
frequently. With a slight backwards tilt, this gesture is used
for
hitchhiking.
However, in most of the Middle East and parts of Africa
(notably Nigeria), this symbol can be obscene. It Japan, the
thumb is
considered the fifth digit; a raised thumb will order five of
something! This is only a sign of what we clearly do not understand
in Iraq.
Wolfowitz
thought he was being greeted warmly when, in fact, little kids
were giving
him the Iraqi flipoff.
Sent by Shadi B
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* I'm busy buddy
'We had great tragedy all our life,' son says - Shortly after
Stephan Hachemi learned that his mother [Zahra Ziba Kazemi] had
died [in detentionn in Tehran], the son of the former Shah
of Iran called him at his spare, shared,
two-bedroom
apartment in Verdun, Quebec, to offer sympathy. "But I didn't
want to talk to him: I told him 'I'm busy buddy, I can't talk to
you right now'."
CanWest
News Service 7/29/03
Sent by SM
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* Award to Ismail Khoi Each year, a number of writers who
are subject to political persecution are given awards from the
Hellman/Hammett grant program.
A
full list and more information about the program is available here.
This year, the only writer from the Middle East is: Ismail Khoi (Iran), poet
and essayist, was one of the first university lecturers suspended
when
the government of Iran instituted a cleansing and
rebuilding of Iranian universities after the 1979 revolution.
When his
colleague Saeed Soltanpoor was executed, Mr. Khoi realized that his own
life was at risk. He spent two years in hiding and then fled to England.
Over the past decade he has chronicled life in exile and courageously
spoken out for freedom of speech and in defense of Salman Rushdie,
Saidi-Sirjani, and Taslima Nasrin. The Iranian government has banned his
books and prohibits even mention of his name in the countrys mass media.
Human Rights Watch administers the Hellman/Hammett grant program
for writers all around the world who have been victims of political
persecution and are in financial need. The grants are financed by the
estate of the playwrite Lillian Hellman in funds set up in her name and
that of her long-time companion, the novelist Dashiell Hammett.
The two
American writers were interrogated in the 1950s about their political
beliefs and affiliations; Hellman by the House Un-American Activities
Committee and Hammett by Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, whose
communist paranoia helped fuel nearly a decade of anti-communist "witch
hunts." Hellman suffered professionally and had trouble getting work for
a
number of years. Hammett, spent time in jail.
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* One of the last to see Kaveh Golestan
This is from the blog of Stuart
Hughes, the BBC journalist whose leg was blown off by a landmine
in Iraq
in the same incident that killed Kaveh Golestan. -- Shirin
Sadeghi Monday, July
28, 2003:
An emotional afternoon. Visited Hengameh Golestan,
the widow of Kaveh and their only son, Mehrak. She's pictured left here,
alongside Kaveh's mother, at his funeral in Iran.
I'd been longing to meet Hengameh ever since the accident, mindful
that I was one of the last people to see her husband alive. The
love they had for each other during 31 years of marriage shone
through and made his death seem all the more senseless. You'll forgive me, I hope, if I keep the details of our meeting
private. It brought home to me that my loss, however bad, is as
nothing compared to the loss she and her family are enduring.
Mehrak told me that a website
in memory of his father has just
been launched. It's an excellent
introduction to his outstanding work. An number of annual prizes
for photojournalism will also be awarded in his honour. Details
here.
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* Khosrowdad's world records
On April 29, 1975, in my hometown of Ahvaz, four Rotorcraft World
Records
were set by an Iranian officer that some 28 years later have yet
to be
broken. The records were set by the Brigadier General Manuchehr
Khosrowdad,
the Commander of the Imperial Iranian Army Aviation (Havanirouz).
The Aviation and Space World Records are compiled
by the Federation Aeronautique
Internationale (FAI); the records were for the Rotorcraft, Sub-Class
E-1e
(Helicopters: take off weight 3000 to 4500 kg.), Group 2: Turbine,
in
General category; Gen. Khosrowdad was flying a military version
of the Bell
214A helicopter and set the following records:
1- Altitude reached
without payload: 9071 meters;
2- Time to climb to the altitude of 3000 meter: 1 min 58 seconds;
3- Time to climb to the altitude of 6000 meter: 5 min 14 seconds;
4- Time to climb to the altitude of 9000 meter: 15 min 5 seconds.
Although
the holder of these records was executed in February of 1979, his
unchallenged legacy in aviation carries on.
Following is the URL for
the records: (1) (2) (3)
Sincerely,
Saeid Shafizadeh
Louisville, Kentucky
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* Another Makhmalbaf
A film by a 14-year-old Iranian director is up for one of the
main awards at this year's Venice Film Festival.
Hana Makhmalbaf comes from Iran's most successful film family.
Both her father and older sister are acclaimed directors.
Her first full-length film, Joy of Madness, will compete for
the 100,000 euro (£71,000) prize for best debut >>> Full
text
S.M's comment to this news: "hameeno kam daashteem:-)"
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* It is important to laugh Dear Jahanshah, hope all is well.
A little thing to make you laugh... -- Hossein S
It is important
to find a woman who works hard at home, cooks, cleans
and has a job.
It is important to find a woman who can make you laugh.
It is important to find a woman you can trust and doesn't
lie to you.
It is important to find a woman who is good in bed and likes
to be with you.
But most of all, it is VERY important that these four women do
not know each other...
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* The Sounds
For Father's Day, my daughter got me a CD from a new band called
The Sounds. Here's my favorite track, "Hit me" >>> Listen
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