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Baba Taher
Loss
The magician
He made up grand stories and I believed every one of them
By Shahrzad Irani
It has been twenty years since I last saw my Pesar Daayee. When we were
kids, I used to follow him everywhere. He used to make up grand stories
and I believed every one of them. Every summer, we used to go to Tehran
to visit our relatives. I loved visiting my uncle's house. At nights, they
would put several beds side by side in the balcony so all of us kids could
sleep under the stars.
My cousin and I used to sneak away from the dinner party, lie down on
the laahaaf and hold hands, watching the stars. He would, very scientifically,
describe each star and say their names. It was like a magic show and he
was the magician. He would look intensely at the sky and suddenly yell:
"There it is! The RED Star" and proceed with a story as to how
the star got its name.... GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
Iranians, Bioweapons in Mind, Lure Needy Ex-Soviet
Scientists
By JUDITH MILLER with WILLIAM J. BROAD
December 8, 1998
The New York Times
MOSCOW -- Iran is scouring the former Soviet Union to hire scientists
who once worked in laboratories tied to Moscow's vast germ warfare program
and has succeeded in recruiting some of them to take jobs in Teheran, according
to Russian scientists and American officials.
Iranian officials who report directly to the leadership of the Islamic
state have approached dozens of scientists who once made germ weapons,
offering as much as $5,000 a month to people who earn far less than that
a year in the increasingly chaotic Russian economy.
Russian scientists say that most of these entreaties have been rebuffed.
But they acknowledge that at least five of their colleagues have gone to
work in Iran in recent years. Others have accepted contracts that allow
them to continue living in Russia while conducting research for Tehran,
the scientists said ... FULL TEXT
Understatement
From the web site of Mansour,
a Pop singer (whoever wrote this probably deserved more money for such
great imagination):
Mansour began his career out of a need to express himself and bridge
the gap which was credited by the exodus of Persians from Iran in the late
1970's. He seeked refuge for his ideals under the canopy of the stage and
in August of 1994, due to his timeless work and effort, he released his
first album Fer Ferehaye BeeBaad...
To say Mansour has secured his place in the annals of Persian music
is truly an understatement. Perhaps it should be said that the only thing
that remainsto be seen is where Mansour will end up in the history books,
because like his voice, for him the sky is the limit and he can like a bird,
sour toward the heavens of his ideals. ... GO TO MANSOUR'S SITE
Forwarded by Pedram Missaghi, webmaster "Iran Media" -- pmissagh@ucsd.edu
More Letters
* Purposely lost
C.D. writes: On the "Where
on Earth" stuff, could you ask that people who do know where someone
is just tell that person that they are being searched out and give them
the name and phone/email of the seeker?
There are people, especially women, who are purposely lost, escaping
abuse. Whether you take my suggestion or not, I hope you take it seriously.
In the wrong hands, this wonderful and needed resource can be just too
easy.
* Women: International conference
The Tenth International Conference of the Iranian Women's Studies Foundation
"The Iranian Woman at the Threshold of the Year 2000" will be
held at the University of Montreal on July 2-5,1999 in Montreal, Canada.
Foundation: IWSF, PO Box 380882, Cambridge, MA 02238-0882, USA, Tel:
617-492-9001, Fax: 617-492-0111, Email: IranianWSF@aol.com
Local Committee: IWSF, PO Box 354 Station "H", Montreal (QC),
H3G 2L1, CANADA, Tel: 514-735-7776, Fax: 514-934-9912, Email: Machouf@magellan.umontreal.ca
Book of the Week
I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz
Edited by Henry S. Mindlin
Though he lived seven hundred years ago, Hafiz is still the most popular
poet of Persia, and one of the greatest love poets who ever lived. This
little book is perhaps the best introduction to his life and work. The
poems of Hafiz overflow with a profound appreciation of the beauty and
richness of life when seen through the eyes of love. -- The publisher,
Sufism Reoriented
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news
Khatami attacks conservatives
TEHRAN (Hamshahri) - Khatami responds to questions
from students at Tehran University; attacks conservatives and insists on
people's freedoms and right to determine their future... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Organisation concerned about fate of missing
journalist
The International Secretariat of World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention regarding the following situation
in Iran. Brief description of the situation: The International Secretariat
has been informed by several sources that on 3 December 1998, Mr. Mohamad
Mokhtari, a famous Iranian writer, allegedly disappeared in Tehran... FULL
TEXT
Another writer disappears
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian writer left
his home last week and has not been heard from since, adding to a recent
spate of mysterious disappearances, a Tehran newspaper reported Monday.
Mohammed Mokhtari, a poet and member of the Association of Iranian writers,
left to go shopping Thursday in the residential suburb in northern Tehran,
the Zan newspaper said. It said Mokhtari's family searched hospitals, morgues
and police stations but could not find him... FULL TEXT
Iran torn between reform, revolution on
eve of anniversaries
TEHRAN,
Dec 8 (AFP) - Austere portraits of Ayatollah Khomeini watch over Tehran
streets as a reminder that his legacy lives on, but schoolgirls cover their
notebooks with pictures of "Titanic" heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio.
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran
is a country of seeming contradictions and one torn between loyalty to the
ideals of the revolution and a profound desire for reform ... FULL TEXT
MUST READ: Karbaschi on politics
TEHRAN (Hamshahri) - Detailed interview with (Former?)
Tehran Mayor Gholam-hossein Karbaschi on moderation, tolerance and peaceful
opposition in politics ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
... Part (1)... Part (2)
176 AIDS deaths in Iran
TEHRAN, Dec 8 (AFP) -Iran's anti-AIDS campaign chief said
Tuesday that 176 people had died of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
in the country by the end of October 1998. Nasser Yeganeh, who heads the
government campaign to fight the syndrome, was quoted by the official news
agency IRNA as putting the total number of HIV-positive people at 1,443,
of whom 206 had developped full-blown AIDS.
Iran tumble to shock defeat
BANGKOK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Oman stunned Iran
4-2 on Tuesday in their opening second round group match at the Asian Games
with a victory that left their normally voluble Brazilian coach Valdeir
Viera groping for words. ``I don't know how I feel,'' said the coach Iran
sacked last year after only three games in charge. ``If we played Iran
10 times, I don't think we would win more than one or two.'' ... FULL TEXT
$ Rate
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Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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Quote Unquote
Fascism
If it's wrong to interpret religion on the basis of liberalism, so is
the interpretation of religion on the basis of fascism.
President Khatami
Meeting with students
Hamshahri
December 8, 1998
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Bike buddies
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Marziyeh
Biyaa biyaa benshin... and listen.
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