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Epic
Fathers against sons
In the Shahnameh, shahs are almost always in the wrong
September 15, 2000
The Iranian
Excerpt from Fathers and Sons: Stories from the Shahnameh of
Ferdowsi, Vol II, translated by Dick Davis (2000, Mage Publishers).
One day at cockcrow Tus, Giv, and a number of other knights rode out
from their king's court; taking along cheetahs and hawks, they set off
for the plain of Daghui to hunt for wild asses. After they'd brought down
a great quantity of game, enough for forty days, they saw that the land
before them was black with Turkish tents. In the distance, close to the
border between the Persian and Turkish peoples, a thicket was visible,
and Tus and Giv, followed by a few others, rode over to it. To their astonishment,
they discovered a beautiful young woman hiding there, and Tus said to her,
"How is it a girl as radiant as the moon is in this thicket?"
She answered, "Last night my father beat me; he came back drunk from
a feast and, as soon as he saw me, he drew a dagger and began shouting
that he would cut my head off, and so I fled from our home." >>>
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Also:
Excerpt from the introduction to Fathers and Sons: Stories from
the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Vol II, translated by Dick Davis (2000, Mage
Publishers).
In elaborating this concern Ferdowsi tends to present what is basically
the same situation (a king does or demands something which his champion
considers to be unethical or otherwise undesirable) and then offers different
solutions or outcomes to the problem... What remains fairly constant (and
there is only one king treated in Fathers and Sons of whom this is not
true) is that the king is virtually always in the wrong in these arguments,
and that we, the poem's audience, are more or less unequivocally invited
to be on the side of the champion rather than his monarch >>>
GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
US and Iran face to face
BBC World Service
American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is due to meet the Iranian
foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, at the United Nations - the latest sign
of improving relations between the two sides. Friday's meeting - part of
UN-sponsored talks on Afghanistan which will involve eight countries -
will be the first such encounter between the two countries since the 1979
Iranian revolution >>
FULL TEXT
Iran reformers urge U.S. to review policy
Tehran (Reuters) - Reformist members of parliament in Iran have urged
the United States to take note of democratic changes in their country and
move to normalise relations. The two countries, arch foes for more than
two decades, have shown slight signs of thawing ties since reformists made
a strong showing in Iran's February parliamentary elections.
"Today, Iran has become a model for pluralism in the Middle East,"
Elahe Koulaei, a leading reformist MP, told Reuters earlier this week.
"America cannot ignore our new role." But the United States should
take the first step, she said >>>
FULL TEXT
One of your scenes is missing
How Does Abbas Kiarostami Create The Cinematic Tension That
Has Won Him Awards All Over The World? He Leaves Things Out: Facts, Dialogue
- Even His Actors' Faces. The Iranian Master Film-maker Talks To Peter
Lennon
The Guardian (London)
September 15, 2000
Abbas Kiarostami has taken up two daunting challenges. First, the Iranian
director, increasingly acknowledged as one of the most original film-makers
working today, wants to preserve cinema's visual purity in the face of
the current pyrotechnic overload. Second, he wants to give to cinema the
advantage of the novel where the reader-spectator willingly visualises
what is not actually shown >>>
FULL TEXT
Millions lost in Iranian charity black hole
By Tom Baldwin
The Times (London)
September 15, 2000
THE Charity Commission will today announce the closure of an aid organisation
for victims of human rights abuses in Iran after a two-year investigation
showed that millions of pounds donated in Britain each year were disappearing
into a "black hole".
Around Pounds 600,000 belonging to Iran Aid will be confiscated and
given to a new charity which is being set up to provide help for refugees
from the fundamentalist Tehran regime >>>
FULL TEXT
Not so good old days
From an item on ayction at ebay:
"This 1980s unusual button is a rare find. A PATRIOTIC MICKEY MOUSE
" FLIPS THE BIRD " to IRAN. This 3" button is a MUST for
a true DISNEY BUTTON COLLECTOR. What makes it even more unique is that
a four fingered MICKEY MOUSE is giving the middle finger to Iran. Go figure!!
It reads, HEY IRAN!" >>>
SEE HERE
Thanks to Ramin
More Letters
* No surprise
Darius Kadivar writes:
It is no surprise to me that Jafar
Panahi won the Lion D'Or at the Venice film festival, given the make-up
of the jury. I have not seen the film; I am sure it is worthwhile. But
in the picture showing Samira
Makhmalbaf amongst other members of the jury, their is also Jennifer
Jason-Leigh who happens to be Reza Badii's step-daughter.
This is the same Reza Badii who directed many TV shows including the
"Six Million Dollar Man" with Lee Majors, "The Incredible
Hulk" and "The Magician" with Bill Bixby. I wonder whether
The Iranian Times could get hold of Reza Badii for an interview
on his career. It would indeed be very interesting to hear from him.
* Those folks at the airport
William Phillipson
writes: And to think that I thought those folks at the airport with
their 3-ring binders of 8 x 10 glossies were really trying to help the
oppressed ["Millions
lost in Iranian charity black hole"]. Man, was I naive.
* Gay Googoosh
H.D. writes: Letter to Googoosh.Com: I am writing on behalf of
the large Iranian gay and lesbian group in Los Angeles. Your concerts have
been great and seeing you was long overdue. We hope that you are happy
and in peace and that we will continue hearing from you from now on.
We know that everyone wants a personal glimpse of you, but we thought
to ask you to consider coming to a party in your honor whenever you are
in Los Angeles. We promise you that you will have a good time. We also
promise you we will not bother you with any questions nor will we expect
you to perform. We just want to have the honor and pleaseure of your presence.
We have a gay Iranian man in our group whom we have nick-named "Googoosh",
since he always impersonates you with your old songs/dancing and style.
His impersonations of you were the closest we could get to seeing you again.
Well, our fantasy came true. Finally seeing you again, in concert in
Los Angeles. If you want to get in touch with our group, please call ...
Best wishes and love from all of us.
* Right thing
Sattar writes: I applaud
your kind and generous gesture in trasnferring
the ownership of Googoosh.Com. I think you did the right thing and
I think Googoosh-e aziz will do the right thing as well by allowing you
to carry on the good work on Googoosh.Com.
Literature: Women writers of Iranian
diaspora: Deadline extended
A new collection of writing aims to bring together the chorus of voices
by and about women of the Iranian Diaspora. We are seeking submissions
of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction essays for a new collection of writing
by and about Iranian women in the Diaspora. Works that particularly challenge
the notion of a homogeneous Iranian female and that reflect a feminist
perspective are encouraged. This new collection of writings authored by
women attempts to give voice to the unique visions, concerns, and struggles
that have been central for Iranian women in the Diaspora >>>
DETAILS HERE
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Poem
Translation of today's poem by Zara
Houshmand:
Any thief of a kiss can have your lips free;
When it's my turn you set a high price.
Any crime you forgive without real cause;
But mine?--you cry for the harshest of laws.
* Also see more Rumi
translations
Rumi book
Rumi:
The Life Teachings and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi
By Frankin D. Lewis
Copyright © Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
May not be duplicated or distributed in any form
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news
Iran closes notorious Tohid prison after
protests
TEHRAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Iran's notorious Tohid prison, run
by the intelligence ministry, has been closed down, newspapers on Thursday
quoted a reformist parliamentarian as saying. ``The intelligence minister
ordered the closure of the (prison)...and nobody was held there when our
delegation visited,'' the daily Aftab-e Yazd quoted Ali Akbar Mousavi-Khoeini
as saying. Other newspapers carried similar reports >>> FULL TEXT
Detained dissident in Iran suffering from
diabetes
Sept. 13, Teheran (dpa) - Hassan Yussefi-Ashkevari, a detained
dissident in Iran , is suffering from diabetes and should be released from
jail for medical reasons, the students news agency ISNA reported Wednesday.
In a letter to the judiciary, the dissident's wife, Mohtaram Yussefi-Ashkevari,
said her husband has had several attacks in prison during the night which
temporarily even led to partial paralysis. She warned of dire consequences
if he remained in prison without medical care, ISNA said >>> FULL
TEXT
Schoolgirls win reprieve from head scarves,
black coats
TEHRAN,
Sept 15 (AFP) - Iranian girls will be allowed to take off their obligatory
head scarves at school and wear coats in colors besides black for the first
time in 19 years when classes start in late September. Girls aged between
9 and 11 will be released from the obligation to wear the traditional and
mostly black head scarf, or maqna-e, which covers their entire heads and
shoulders, leaving just their faces uncovered >>> FULL TEXT
Teheran plans separate playing grounds
in parks for girls
Sept 13, Teheran (dpa) - Teheran plans to separate the playing
grounds for girls in parks, the daily Iran reported Wednesday. The decision
was taken by the Teheran City Council, the daily said >>> FULL
TEXT
Iran to chair group of 133 developing countries
UNITED
NATIONS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Iran was elected by acclamation on Friday to
the chairmanship of the influential Third World coalition called the Group
of 77, which now numbers 133 developing countries. The election took place
at the annual meeting of the group's foreign ministers, now in New York
for the U.N. General Assembly >>> FULL TEXT
Cleric says courts must not delay in provincial
unrest
TEHRAN,
Sept 15 (AFP) - Iran's judiciary should act quickly on last month's provincial
unrest to avoid a repeat of long delays in other politically sensitive cases,
a leading conservative cleric said Friday. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, speaking
at weekly prayers at Tehran university, made the comments a day after a
conservative-led inquiry blamed last month's unrest in the western city
of Khoramabad on leading pro-reform figures >>> FULL TEXT
Britain closes Iran charity after complaints
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's charities watchdog announced Friday
it had closed down an Iranian charity called Iran Aid after investigating
allegations that it was linked to an armed group which opposes the Iranian
government. ``After two years' investigation Iran Aid has failed to give
us verifiable evidence that money donated by the British public was actually
spent on charitable work in Iran,'' Director of Operations at the Charity
Commission, Simon Gillespie said
UK's Cook presses Iran on Jewish prisoners
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Robin
Cook raised the fate of 10 Iranian Jews jailed for alleged spying for Israel
with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi on Friday, British officials
said. ``On the Shiraz detainees, the foreign secretary pressed for an early
and successful outcome to their appeal,'' an official said, adding that
Kharrazi had ``registered'' the message >>> FULL TEXT
Iran says Shell to study gas-to-liquids
project
DUBAI,
Sept 14 (Reuters) - A unit of the Royal Dutch/Shell will study the development
of a gas-to-liquids facility fed by natural gas from Iran's offshore South
Pars field under an understanding signed with two Iranian state energy firms,
one of the Iranian companies said. "National Petrochemical Company
(NPC), National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Shell International Gas Limited
(Shell) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on September 11, 2000 to study
the development of a Gas to Liquids (GTL) facility fed by natural gas from
the giant South Pars gas field," the NPC said in a statement, received
by Reuters late on Wednesday >>> FULL TEXT
U.S. looks into possible Conoco sanctions
breach
HOUSTON,
Sept 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is looking into whether
Conoco Inc.(NYSE:COCa - news) might have breached U.S. sanctions by analysing
seismic data from a giant oil discovery in Iran, a U.S. State Department
spokesman said on Thursday. ``The issue of whether this is a sanctions violation
is a decision that is made by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign
Assets Control. They are looking at it,'' State Department spokesman Bill
Wanlund said >>> FULL TEXT
Three awards for Meshkini
Tehran (Hamshahri) -- Marziyeh Meshkini's "Roozi keh zan shodam"
(The day I became a women) won three awards during its screening at the
Venice film festival >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Iranian cinema: The issues
Tehran (Hamshahri) -- On the 100th anniversary of Iranian cinema,
filmmakers talk about the issues. "The most succcessful films of the
past 30 years have been the ones made with the simplest means," but
this must change, says Khosro Sinai >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
War films
Tehran (Hamshahri) -- Names of 20 films chosen for the competition
category in the war films festival >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT
Iran U-17 in finals
VIETNAM, September 15 (Iran Sports Press) -- The Iranian U17 National
Football Team clinched a spot in the final of the 9th Asian Youth Championships
after defeating hosts Vietnam 4-0 in a semi final match. Iran's inclusion
in the top three teams of Asia also gives it automatic qualification to
the upcoming World Youth Championships >>> FULL TEXT
Esteghlal's defeat
ABU DHABI, September 14 (Iran Sports Press) -- With video: Esteghlal
suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of Al-Wahdeh in a lackluster performance
on Thursday evening in Abu Dhabi. Esteghlal went into this game content
with a draw against the UAE side. However, Al-Wahdeh proved a tougher side
then Esteghlal had predicted and managed to pose serious problems for Esteghlal's
unorganized and fragile defense >>> FULL TEXT
Daei scores for Hertha Berlin
BERLIN, September 14 (Iran Sports Press) -- Hertha Berlin thought
that their match against the Moldovian side Chisinau in the UEFA would be
an easy task but they found out early that it was not going to be an easy
one. Chisinau took an early lead when midfielder Sergiu Epureanu scored
the first goal of the match in the 12th minute. His goal from close range
came after a hasty start on behalf of the Hertha defense only twelve minute
from the start of the half >>> FULL TEXT
BBC
RSF's concern about missing journalist
Reporters Sons Frontieres says, it is worried
about the faith of journalist Piruz Davani who has been missing for last
two years. Sima Bahrami talks to missing journalist's sister, Mohtaram Davani
>>> LISTEN
HERE
BBC Persian
Service
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Quote Unquote
Innocence
Seyavash said, "Do not grieve, my lord,
The heavens willed all this, and rest assured
The fire will have no strength to injure me;
My innocence ensures my victory."
-- Fathers
and Sons: Stories from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Vol II
Mage Publishers
September 15, 12000
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