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Baba Taher
Internet
Cyber clash
Conversations with Iranians in cyberspace on the clash of civilizations
By Dokhi Fassihian
Almost twenty years later, the world is witnessing a thaw in the Islamic
Republic's propaganda machine, not because the regime has lost interest
in maintaining the status quo, but rather, because the legitimacy of the
Islamic Republic, its value system and its practical success, have failed
to attract Iran's newest generation-the 75% of the population which consists
of the country's youth, aged 25 and under. This is an alarming demographic
statistic for any government and even more so for the Iranian leadership,
which for all effective purposes wants to remain in power and must appease
this large constituency to do so. It is precisely this generation of Iranians,
which will determine the political future of Iran. The success to which
their demands are met and they, themselves, are integrated into the system
will decide the political future of this regime and of the country as a
whole.
I was encouraged to learn that a group of university students in Iran
today have access to the Internet and often join the various chat rooms
associated with the Internet. I actively sought to become acquainted with
some of these students and bought computer software that is used in Iran
to chat with people abroad. In a chat room simply called "Iran,"
I met eight students who were connecting directly from Iran. My initial
interest was to get to know them, gain their trust, and become more familiar
with their ideas ... GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
Tehran's first cybercafe: where East meets Web
TEHRAN, Dec 9 (AFP) - It may be the only cybercafe that requires women
to wear a veil, but at Tehran's aptly named "Way of the Future",
the Islamic revolution is coming head to head -- or at least head to monitor
-- with the brave new world of the Internet.
"It's alright to serve coffee or tea here but no gin and tonic,"
jokes Kulak Amanpour, who got the idea to open Iran's first Internet cafe
from his years on the decidedly more relaxed French Riviera.
Amanpour and friends opened the Way of the Future in November, and while
recognising the importance of the youth market -- the cafe, with its bright
modern interior, is located close to Tehran University -- they also try
to avoid unwelcome visits from the authorities ... FULL TEXT
Poor baby
Pinochet faces extradition bid
British Home Secretary Jack Straw agrees to allow General Pinochet's
extradition case to go ahead. Here's a complete report from the BBC...
CLICK HERE
More Letters
* I wish I could go
Tom Kenney writes: Thanks very much for sharing those beautiful pictures
from Kerman! I now wish I could afford (both time and money) to
visit Iran. I have always heard interresting things about the mountains
there.
If you'd like to look, I have some pictures from my home state of California (USA) on my web page.
* Film: Divorce Iranian Style, In New
York
FILM FORUM - NEW YORK CITY
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9 - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 2 WEEKS
DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE
Directed by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini
ENGLAND, 1998
80 MINS.
IN FARSI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
One woman tells the judge her husband is crazy: in 30 years he has refused
to let her answer the phone. (In Iran "craziness" is one of the
few acceptable grounds for divorce when proceedings are brought by a woman;
for men, divorce is granted upon request.) A 16-year-old, married at age
14 to a man 2 1/2 times her age, explains that she desperately wants a
divorce to go back to school. Another pleads for custody of her 4-year-old
daughter, having already lost custody of the older child. "You're
poisoning my tea," mutters the judge to a woman who insists he find
her misplaced file within the hour (he had suggested she return in a week).
Inside an Iranian divorce court, a stream of veiled women (some only teenager
others elderly) make use of reason, wit, charm, and chicanery to get what
they want above all else: a divorce. Daily: 2, 3:40, 5:20, 7, 8:40, 10:20
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
Another missing Iranian writer dead under
suspicious circumstances
New York, December 9, 1998 (Human Rights Watch) - Human Rights
Watch urged the Iranian government to investigate the recent death of an
Iranian writer under suspicious circumstances. The body of Iranian poet,
writer, and free expression advocate Mohammad Makhtari was found today in
a Tehran city morgue, Human Rights Watch said. Marks on his head and neck
made it appear that he had been murdered, possibly by strangulation, although
no autopsy has yet been carried out ... FULL TEXT
German court rejects appeal over Iran verdict
KARLSRUHE, Germany, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Germany's
highest criminal court rejected on Wednesday an appeal against a 1997 verdict
which concluded that Iranian intelligence had ordered the assassination
of Kurdish dissidents in Berlin. The ruling by the Federal Court of Justice
means the verdicts in the trial, which prompted a diplomatic rift between
the European Union and Iran for several months, are legally binding ...
FULL TEXT
Parliament puts off petrol price debate
TEHRAN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Iran's parliament
on Wednesday postponed debating a bill to limit a government-proposed increase
in the price of petrol. The bill requires the government to restrict petrol
price rises to about 20 percent in the next Iranian year starting in March.
The government, facing huge costs for fuel subsidies, has proposed keeping
petrol prices at 200 rials (6.7 U.S. cents) a litre for the first 45 litres
bought each month and charging consumers 750 rials a litre for additional
quantities ... FULL TEXT
Russia hails nuclear deal with Iran
MOSCOW (AP) -- Dismissing U.S. concerns, Russia's
top nuclear official said Wednesday that Moscow would go ahead with a project
to build a nuclear reactor in Iran, but won't hand over weapons technology.
Russia signed an $800 million deal with Iran in 1995 to help build a 1,000-megawatt
light-water reactor at the country's Bushehr power plant. Last month, Iranian
officials asked Moscow to conduct a feasibility study for building another
three reactors at the same site ... FULL TEXT
U.S. may cut Russia aid over Iran missile-Albright
BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright warned Russia on Wednesday it could lose millions
of dollars in American aid if it did not curb its assistance to Iran's missile
programme, a U.S. official said. She made the threat at a meeting with new
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov at which the two also discussed the
agenda for high-level talks in Moscow this week on Russia's faltering economic
reform programme, the senior official told Reuters ... FULL TEXT
Iranian firms in oil price slump
DUBAI, December 9, 1998 (BBC) - With a barrel
of oil fetching less than half of what it did at its peak last year, Iran's
economy has been devastated. But the knock-on effects of the economic crisis
caused by historically low oil prices have reached out across the Gulf to
hurt Dubai's Iranian business community. According to the spokesman for
the Iranian Business Council in Dubai, Mohammed Massinaei, turnover amongst
Iranian companies here has slumped to just half what it was a year ago ...
FULL TEXT
$ Rate
The
dollar now offered at up to 705-710 tomans
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
Business
news
The Web
Iran
Radio Payam
One of several radio station in Iran that are broadcast
live on the Net. In RealAudio format.
Beyond Iran
Wacky
Uses
Author Joey Green definitely has the inside scoop on little-known
uses for everyday household products.
More
web sites
Quote Unquote
The frog
Dar hozi keh maahi neest, qoorbaagheh sepahsaalaar ast.
(The frog rules in a pond with no fish.)
From Simin Habibian's "1001 Persian-English Proverbs)
Photo of the Day
Gold medal in taekwando
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photos
Music
Musician of the Week
Marziyeh
Biyaa biyaa benshin... and listen.
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