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Sa'di
Sweden
Inferno in Gothenburg
Sweden's desire to face the issue of immigration
By Susanne Pari
Gothenburg is a city most Americans have never heard of. It's a picturesque
place on Sweden's west coast and it's known for delicious shellfish, the
largest amusement park in Scandinavia, and a giant Volvo plant. After last
October, Gothenburg is now also known for a horrifying discotheque fire
that killed more than 65 teenagers, most of them from immigrant families.
Just four days before this tragedy, I was at the Gothenburg Book Festival
promoting the Swedish edition of my novel, The Fortune Catcher,
about the Iranian Revolution. When I returned to the U.S. and heard about
the fire, I thought of my new Swedish friends -- not just those whose ancestors
were Vikings, but those who recently emigrated and whose children speak
Swedish like the natives they have become ... GO TO FEATURE
Outlook
Family Values, American and Iranian
By JOE MORGENSTERN
The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
January 22, 1999
Two movies concerned with kids and families open today; they are, to
say the least, worlds apart. In Larry Clark's "Another Day in Paradise,"
life is hell for a murderous young addict and his girlfriend until they
find surrogate parents -- and the fateful allure of criminal adventure
-- in a couple of middle-aged outlaw junkies played by James Woods and
Melanie Griffith. Vincent Kartheiser is the apprentice Clyde and Natasha
Gregson Wagner is his Bonnie, a sweet, sad waif who sniffs cocaine because
she's phobic about needles. I'm phobic too. I look away whenever movies
show people shooting up, and there's a lot to look away from in this jittery,
bloody and occasionally affecting film. Mr. Clark takes special pleasure
in showing us long, graphic close-ups of needles going into bodies, as
well as spasms of slaughter by stabbing or gunshot.
A needle also figures in the opening moments of Majid Majidi's "Children
of Heaven," a film from Iran in Farsi, with English subtitles, and
an Academy entrant for best foreign film. No need to divert your gaze,
though: The needle wielder here is a peaceful cobbler, and a long, graphic
close-up shows a child's torn sandals under repair. Mr. Majidi's children
are a third-grade boy, Ali, and his younger sister, Zahra; they live with
their parents in a single room in contemporary Tehran. The filmmaker hangs
his seemingly simple story on the loss of those sandals, and the kids'
desperate, then resourceful, then triumphant efforts to hide the loss by
sharing a pair of sneakers. ... FULL TEXT
Martian-Iranian
If Iranians were ever expelled from earth (I can't imagine why on earth?)
they would have somewhere to go. In 1979 -- Iranically -- astronomers named
a chunck of Mars after the Iranian region of Lar ... Check it out
Forwarded by Payman Arabshahi
More Letters
* Only an accident
Babak Honaryar writes: I like to make a comment about Jerome Clinton's
comment about Rostam and Sohrab...
I have read the original poem, not Mr. Clinton's book, and I got the
impression that Rostam would have nurtured and helped his own son, had
he known who he was... The tragedy is that neither the son or the father
wanted this ending, and only a very unfortunate and complicated sequence
of events led to a "patricide."
In short, I do not think Ferdowsi had an underlying message, arguing
or justifying the preservation of royalty. He was simply reciting a grand
tragedy with epical proportions ... FULL TEXT
* Lecture: Ancient Iranian languages,
Seattle
Mr. Habibollah Borjian, a scholar of ancient Iranian languages with
much expert knowledge in several related fields, including in Central Asian
Persian-speaking communities will give a lecture at the Seattle Persian
Circle on Wednesday January 27 at 4 pm.
Topic: Ancient Iranian Languages and Dialects
Persaonally, I think this is a golden opportunity for us to learn about
a facet of Iranian culture about which very few people have adequate knowledge.
So, let me take this opportunity or invite you to attend this Wednesday's
meeting of the Persian Circle in Denny 215, University of Washington.
Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak
karimi@u.washington.edu
Book of the Week
Daneshvar's Playhouse
A Collection of Stories
By Simin Daneshvar
In five intriguing stories, the formal detachment of Daneshvar's prose
reinforces her subtle revelation of repressive features in Iranian society.
. . . These seemingly simple stories disclose a rich culture in a time
of ferment and change, of women in chadors, held in contempt by the men
who control their lives. . . . This volume is a valuable addition to our
knowledge of Persian culture and the political complexities of modern Iran.
-- Publishers Weekly
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President calls on police to prevent ``chaos''
TEHRAN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Iran's President
Mohammad Khatami on Tuesday called on the country's police to curb disorder
after a bomb damaged the offices of an outspoken moderate newspaper. ``We
cannot allow social disorder. We should protect the rights of everyone who
works within the framework of laws,'' the official news agency IRNA quoted
the moderate Khatami as telling a gathering of police officials ... FULL
TEXT
Iran cuts defence spending to under $1
billion
TEHRAN, Jan 26 (AFP) - With plunging oil prices provoking a serious
economic crisis, Iran has slightly cut its defence budgetfor the next fiscal
year beginning March 21, papers here reportedTuesday. Parliament approved
government proposals for a military budget of 2,800 billion rial -- about
933 million dollars at the official3,000 rial to the dollar exchange rate
-- against 2,900 billion (966million dollars) for the current year.
Rial continues slide, down three pct-traders
TEHRAN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Iranian rial
has continued to slide against hard currencies, losing another three percent
against the dollar, traders and economists said on Tuesday. On Tehran's
illegal but active black market, dealers sold dollars for about 7,750 rials
each on Tuesday, compared to 7,500 rials per dollar on Monday. The rial
momentarily fell to as low as 7,900 to the dollar late on Monday, dealers
said ... FULL TEXT
Iran-Ireland economic commission begins
work
Tehran, Jan. 26, IRNA - the 3rd session of iran-ireland joint economic
commission began work here tuesday. iranian foreign minister kamal kharrazi
and irish foreign minister david andrews led their respective countries'
delegations to the session ... FULL TEXT
Bahrain's new envoy takes up post in Iran
TEHRAN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Bahrain's new ambassador
to Iran presented his credentials to the Iranian president on Tuesday, more
than two years after the two countries downgraded ties over an alleged pro-Iranian
plot to topple Bahrain's government. The official Iranian news agency IRNA
said President Mohammad Khatami told the new ambassador that Iran and Bahrain
shared common security concerns ``and this will help promote and strengthen
their links.'' ... FULL TEXT
Iran condemns U.S. air attacks on Iraq
TEHRAN, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Iran on Tuesday
condemned Monday's U.S. air attack on neighbouring Iraq, saying it had exacerbated
tensions in the region. The official news agency IRNA said a foreign ministry
spokesman ``condemned the recent attack by American aircraft on Iraq which
killed a number of civilians and destroyed residential districts.'' He also
expressed concern over ``the heightening of tension in the region which
is due to America's military moves in Iraq.'' ... FULL TEXT
Nima Nakisa in Greece
Tehran (Iran) - National team goalie has joined a Greek soccer
team for $1,500 per month (plus $450,000) ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Azadegan standings
Tehran (Iran) - Persepolis leads the Azadegan league with 31 points,
followed by Saipa (Tehran), Sepahan (Isfahan), Chooka (Talesh) and Abu Moslem
(Mashhad) ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
$ Rate
Updated Jan 26
The
dollar now offered at up to 730-735 tomans
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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Quote Unquote
Outlanders
Swedes are sure to be wondering if such violence (Swedish disco fire)
has racism connected to it. They think about that; about why their immigrants
huddle in towns and neighborhoods of their own, about whether it's fair
to consider these swarthy outlanders as a drain on the generous Swedish
welfare system.
Susanne Pari
"Inferno in Goteborg"
The Iranian
January 26, 1999
Photo of the Day
Explosion at "Khordad" daily
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Sima
Bina
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