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Obayd Zakani
Cover story
The plaid sofa
If I keep lying there I can re-live all those moments and
years
By Termeh Rassi
November 8, 1999
The Iranian
I was 12, full of angst - even though I didn't know the full meaning
of the word -- seated on a horribly plaid sofa, in an apartment hotel taken
over by Iranians in Madrid. We had been there for months. As I looked outside
I recognized the profiles in two thirds of the windows. All of us with
our own stories, anxiously waiting to see where each of us would go.
We were all kids on the play ground waiting to be picked by a team -
not knowing which team we would end up with - desperate not to remain standing
in the field. The field was Spain - a haven for those of us who got there
by 1982 - one of the few European countries that didn't require a visa
from Iranians. But there was nothing you could do there, and you couldn't
leave because you couldn't get back in ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
The arts in Iran
When leaves begin to dance
The Economist , U.S. Edition
November 06, 1999
TEHRAN -- IN THE eyes of western cinema-goers, a shot of a newly-wed
standing at the foot of the bed occupied by her slumbering spouse would
rate as a tame allusion to sexual love. And a second image, of the same
woman cowering in terror before her husband (who turns out to be a nasty
bully), would hardly be considered outlandish.
Not so in theocratic Iran, however, where the ruling clerical establishment
has long prevented sexually-aware cinema from getting anywhere near the
screen. Imagine, then, the astonishment of Iranian audiences when they
saw both these images in "Two Women", a film which recently ended
a triumphant, four-month run in cinemas across the country ... FULL TEXT
The insider
 The plot, the acting, the directing, are all right
on the money. "The Insider" is the gripping story of a former
Big Tobacco executive who goes on 60 Minutes to reveal that the
cigarette makers have been lying for years about the addictive nature of
nicotine. It entertains and shows how decisions are made at the most popular
American news program. My only complaint would be that the Mike Wallace
character in the movie is a complete jerk. The man isn't that bad, is he?
... FILM
CLIP... A
REVIEW
More Letters
* Easy to be ignorant
Roya Zarnegar writes
in response to Mr.
Beeler's letter : ... If someone wants to be ignorant, it is very
easy to stereotype a whole nation. My co-workers, patients, neighbors,
and some of my best friends are American. It would terribly undermine their
intelligence if I were to stereotype them as a bunch of rednecks who have
beer bellies and burp hotdogs all day.
Last but not least, I recommend you travel around the world a little
and not limit your world eye view to the media and its representation of
other countries ... FULL
TEXT
* Shameful!
Margaret Habibi
writes: So many wonderful books have been written about Iran. Iran
is a beautiful country. Its people are gifted, civilized and charming,
kind and hospitable.
Someone has written of James Buchan's book ["A
good place to die"] : "This must be one of the most perceptive
attempts to understand the Iranian psyche ever undertaken in an English
work of fiction".
As a foreign wife of an Iranian, I lived in Iran for many years. I find
this book quite shameful!
* Info: Iranian airline industry?
Abbas Atrvash writes: I'm in the process of writing a book in Persian
about the history of the airline industry in Iran. Any publications, newspapers,
articles, books and pictures will be very helpful. I'm particularly interested
in information relating to years before 1927 and between 1935 and 1945.
Any contribution or or any tips about available sources will be greatly
appreciated. Please email: atr@idirect.com
SELL
TICKETS ONLINE AT YOUR SITE
Books of the Week
* Ruzegaran
(1999)
History of Iran up to the Pahlavi dynasty
By Abdol-Hossein Zarrinkoub
* Zanaan
haramsaraa-ye Nasserdin Shah (1998)
Pictorial history
By Khosro Motazed and Abolghasem Tafazoli
* Baagh
(1998)
Short stories
By Parviz Davaie
* Qand
va namak (1998)
Tehrani proverbs
By Jafar Shahri
See more
Iranian books for sale
THE IRANIAN
Bookstore
Video of the Week
Divorce
Iranian Style
A new documentary that goes where Western camera s have never before
gone: into an Iranian divorce court. The film is directed by award- winning
independent filmmaker Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini, an Iranian
anthropologist and writer, based in London, whose specialty is women's
rights and family law in the Mid-East.
THE IRANIAN
Video Store
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More
news
Press court begins hearings against veteran
reformist editor
TEHRAN,
Nov 8 (AFP) - Veteran reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin,
who has repeatedly thumbed his nose at court bans on his titles, went on
trial before Tehran's press court Monday on charges of offending Islam.
Shamsolvaezin was called to answer charges of "insulting Islamic sanctities,
as well as forging news items," state television said ... FULL TEXT
Adineh's life-time ban reduced to five
years
Tehran, (Hamshahri) - The ban for life issued by the press court
against the respected independent magazine Adineh last winter, has been
reduced to five years upon appeal. However, the new decision will also be
appealed, editor Gholam-Hossein Zakeri said... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Leading member of Iran's banned communist
party dies in Tehran
TEHRAN,
Nov 7 (AFP) - The former secretary general of Iran's banned communist Tudeh
party, Nuredine Kianuri, died Friday at the age of 87 in Tehran following
a heart attack, sources close to him told AFP Sunday ... FULL TEXT
Khatami calls for "culture of criticism"
in Iran
TEHRAN,
Nov 8 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami defended his policy of
opening up society, as the conservative courts continued their clampdown
on the moderate press with a high-profile case against a veteran newspaper
editor, Monday's press reported. The "culture of criticism in society"
must be expanded and strengthened, the English-language Iran News quoted
him as saying during a visit to the culture ministry ... FULL TEXT
Iran link emerges in 1983 Beirut Marine
bomb attack
NEW
YORK, Nov 8 (AFP) - US intelligence officials have linked the government
of Iran to long-unsolved bombing attacks against US military forces in Beirut
and Saudi Arabia, Newsweek magazine reported Monday ... FULL TEXT
Tehran-Washington talks "meaningless":
Iranian FM
TEHRAN,
Nov 8 (AFP) - Iran's foreign minister said Monday that talks between Tehran
and Washington were "meaningless" as long as the United States
maintained its hostile stance towards Iran, the official IRNA news agency
reported. "From Iran's point of view, as long the hostile policies
of the US still prevail, talks are meaningless," Kamal Kharazi told
IRNA ... FULL TEXT
Iran plans to start exporting gas as well
as oil
TEHRAN,
Nov 8 (AFP) - Iran plans to start capitalising on its vast reserves of natural
gas, the largest in the world outside Russia, building pipelines to Turkey
and even India. The known reserves total some 24,000 billion cubic meters
(840,000 billion cubic feet), and exporting them will go far to ease the
problems of the Iranian economy, which is over-dependent on oil ... FULL
TEXT
Origins of Persian
Tehran (Hamshahri) - What we do know about the origins of the Persian
language? Dr. Taqi Vahidian Kamyar, a professor at Mashhad's Ferdowsi University,
tells us what he knows ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Cartoonist wins award
Tehran (Hamshahri) - Bahram Azimi wins second place at an international
cartoon festival in Belgium ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Perseplois in quarterfinals
Tehran (Asr-e Azadegan) - Persepolis only managed a scoreless draw
against Lebanon's Al-Ansar but that was enough to put them in the quarterfinals
of the western division in the Asian cup-winners championships ... FULL
TEXT IN PERSIAN
Getting the national soccer teams ready
Tehran (Asr-e Azadegan) - Jalal Talebi, an assistant headcoach
of the national team, talks about the readiness of the national teams in
various age groups. He believes the younger players should be given more
opportunities to prove themselves ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
BBC
Persian Service
For the latest news,
interviews and features on Iranian current affairs ... LISTEN HERE
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Updated November 8
Buying: 855-870 tomans per dollar
Selling: 874 tomans per dollar
Source: Sehhaty Exchange (U.S.)
CALL TOLL FREE: 877-SEHHATY (877-734-4289)
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Business
news
The Web
Iran
1,000
songs
A fellow named Payam has linked "a thousand" Persian
songs online in RealAudio. Although nearly all of them are from CyberIran.com
Beyond Iran
Fifty
Years Inside the People's Republic
Here's a terrific accompaniment to a real-world exhibition
put together by New York City's Asia Society. The online collection of photographs
provides an artful glimpse at a country that is home to a quarter of humanity.
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
Why go back?
Why would I want to go back to the street where the house I grew up in
is no longer there? ... Why go back and drive home the point that I don't
belong - when I belong so beautifully in my heart?
-- Termeh Rassi
"The
plaid sofa"
The Iranian
November 8, 1999
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