The Iranian Features
August 2-6, 1999 / Mordad 11-15, 1378
Today
* Fiction: Last contact
* Nostalgia: Homeyra
Recent
* Opinion: Changing
mindsets
* Film: A bitter
bite
* Technology: Running
out of time
* Cover
story: Sense of belonging
* Greetings: Electronic
cards
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Friday
August 6, 1999
Fiction
Last contact
Short story
By Ali Hosseini
August 6, 1999
The Iranian
Early in the morning I jump up with the ringing of the phone. I had
fallen asleep on the sofa. Hello . . . Hello. From the noises on the line
I realize it is an overseas call. I am excited, but as I open my mouth
the line goes dead and a continuous electronic tone pierces my ear. I look
at the phone for a few seconds and then hang up. It rings again and I grab
the receiver. Hello . . . hello. It's my older brother. He says somebody
has called and told them my brother has been taken from airport to a district
court and they should take food, cigarettes, and blankets to him and then
had hung up. My mother and sisters have been crying since then and the
whole family has gone to the courthouse. The authorities said nobody with
that name had been brought there ... GO
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Thursday
August 5, 1999
Opinion
Changing mindsets
Opening closed societies to democracy
By Fereydoun Hoveyda
August 5, 1999
The Iranian
A dispatch from Jordan informed us that King Abdullah II, disguised
in worn-out clothes and posing as a taxi driver, roamed the streets of
his capital in order to hear the complaints of his countrymen. This reminds
one of Harun-al-Rashid in the One Thousand and One Nights. Indeed
the celebrated 8th century caliph used to mingle incognito with the crowds.
We Iranians, too, have heard childhood tales about Shah Abbass roving
the streets of Isfahan by night. So did Nasseredin Shah Qajar. Even the
last Pahlavi king had set up a special agency for this purpose. As for
today's Iran, it would be rather difficult for the clerics to conceal their
identity, unless they shaved their beards ... GO
TO FEATURE
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Wednesday
August 4, 1999
Film
A bitter bite
A critique of Samira Makhmalbaf's "The Apple"
By Ali Akbar Mahdi
August 4, 1999
The Iranian
I credit the young Samira Makhmalbaf and her honorable intentions but
I have a problem with how she defines her film and recruits her cast. She
claims that "The Apple" is neither a documentary nor a full-fledged
drama. She melds the two formats and would like to have it both ways...
The lines between reality and fiction become so blurred in the director's
mind that she overlooks the ethical aspects of her work. Surely, there
is a long tradition of documentary films where the line between objective
reality and subjective interpretation or even outright fiction is constantly
blurred. However, the problem here is not just the mixing of fact and fiction,
but also how the director approaches her subjects ... GO
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Tuesday
August 3, 1999
Technology
Running out of time
Iran's potential Y2K problems
By Ali Parandeh
August 3, 1999
The Iranian
The Y2K bug in Iran is no different than in other countries, except
that it has an extra twist. All existing technology and equipment in Iran
have been purchased from abroad, and all are built and programmed with
a Gregorian calendar. In some cases a software has been written for converting
the dates into the solar calendar, causing additional concerns ... GO TO
FEATURE
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Monday
August 2, 1999
Cover story
Sense of belonging
A need life should allow us all to fulfill
By Sally Amir
August 2, 1999
The Iranian
You are either born into a world where you belong and remain there or
you are uprooted from that home and then it is nigh on impossible to find
a sense of belonging again. What I mean by a home is not just a country
or a town or a region. What makes a home is the people who surround you
from the day you are born, the sounds you hear, the scent of the air you
breathe, the language that is spoken around you.
You see, for me it is not a matter of politics, of what you believe
in, of being patriotic -- these are all just words and sentiments so often
used and abused. What I am talking about is a very neutral -- and I believe
universal -- feeling; a need to belong to somewhere and someone, a need
which life should allow us all to fulfill ... GO
TO FEATURE
Greetings
Electronic cards
Updated for any occasion
Choose from 18 of the best photos published in The Iranian to
send greetings to friends or loved ones.
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