Letters
July 2007
Part 2 -- Part 1
July 30
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Iran stones 1 person and you call that backward?
On Afshin's "Progress in the face of savagery":
You have shown that you are emotional and reactionary. One step backwards for Iran (ie: stoning) does not mean that no one would acknowledge all the progress Iran has made either.
The very fact that the US has not attacked Iran, is because Iran has played her hand really well. Iran is attracted more foreign investment in the year 2007, than in the years prior, despite all the new sanctions and the US trying to destroy Iran through propaganda and demonization.
The very fact that Iran is now making billions of dollars in export to all the countries around it (Iraq's main importer is Iranian goods, despite being controlled and occupied by the United States).
Give me a break. Iran stones 1 person and you call that backward, yet they make a million strides forward and you say "ignore it".
Maybe you committed adultery and are afraid of getting caught? So you want to make it okay to yourself and defend the guy who cheated on his wife?
It is savagery that you consider cheating on your wife as an okay thing to do. Should we be like the US, and have the government smile when someone cheats on their wife? Make polygamy illegal, but pat someone on the back when they have 5 girlfriends at the same time?
Hypocricy my friend, hypocricy.
Dariush Abadi
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At last, someone addressing this issue
On Afshin's "Progress in the face of savagery":
Afshin,
Thank you! At last, someone addressing this issue. We don’t have fancy hotels, nice restaurants and great looking Iranian food and fruit because of the Islamic Republic. We do, however, have stoning, public hangings and a lack of freedom for the average Iranian BECAUSE of the Islamic Republic.
Amen to your voice of wisdom, brother.
Kaveh
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I will eat my hat. and on YouTube.
In response to London Independent newspaper's "Stage-managed nuclear tour reveals why Iran won't be the first to blink":
Sirs:
Referring to Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Anne Penketh of the Indepentent claims: "He is also a firm believer in the prophesied return of the Shia 'hidden imam'. According to some scholars, a nuclear holocaust may be needed to hasten the promised reappearance of the 12th imam who disappeared into a cave in 878."
I hereby challenge Anne Penketh of the Independent to verifiably name a single Iranian Shia "scholar" who has endorsed a nuclear holocaust to speed up the reappearance of the Hidden Imam.
If she does so, I promise to eat my hat - literally, publicly, and on YouTube.
If she fails to do so, I would expect the Independent to publish a formal retraction of that paragraph in the article in question.
Cyrus Safdari
New York, NY
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They have no love for us
On Iranian of the day, Amir Abbas Fakhravar with President Bush:
I know there is a lot of buzz around this guy named Fahkravar. However, he has become a tool to necon Zionists like Perle to bomb Iran to smithereens. Watch NPR
I have no love of IRI but I don't think Perle and the likes have any love for us.
SM
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Understatement of the Year
On Dariush Abadi's "Iran is going through a evolutionary process":
Dear JJ,
I wish you would run an "Understatement of the Year" competition on your site so I could nominate Dariush Abadi as this year's winner. Abadi's winning statement that appeared in this month's Letters column should put to shame even the most fervent apologists of the IRI, many of whom contribute to his site regularly. I leave you with my nominee's statement for the readers to enjoy: "Except for Zahra Kazemi and the chain murders of 9 years ago, who else has been a victim of 'savage killing' as you describe it. It is amazing you use this word on this regime."
Parkhash
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No one gets much accomplished with fohsh and chaghoo keshi
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
I just finished reading Mr. Yahya Salehi's write up about our Team Melli. It made me to translate my letter which I sent to Iranian Football Federation the same day our football team lost. Some might wish to use this letter or write a similar letter to express their dissatisfaction with the Iranian Foobtall administration. After all, no one gets much accomplished with fohsh and chaghoo keshi.
Here is the quick translation of my letter:
July 22, 2007
Iran Football Federation (IFF) No. 2/2 Third Street Seoul Ave. , Tehran 19958
Fax: 98-21-88213302 Phone: 98-21-88213308
To Whom It May Concern:
Dear Sir or Madam:
On Sunday, July 22, 2007, as a long time Iranian football supporter and fan, I watched the game between Iran and South Korea . Mr. Galenoei, as he mentioned after the game was responsible for the loss which prevented Iran from advancing to semi-final of the Asia Cup. He failed the national team as a coach.
To my knowledge, he does not have international coaching credentials. He must not coach the national team again. He insisted in using Khatibi and Enayati who performed poorly before and during the tournament.
Moreover, Mr. Daei and Mr. Rahman Rezaei have said goodbye to Team Meli. They deserve a goodbye game in their honor.
Iran deserves a good coach such as Ivic. Once a coach is selected, IFF must not interfere with the coach's decision making processes unless the results are not satisfactory and the people are unhappy with his performance. Furthermore, IFF must support and expedite the privatization of clubs and football league in Iran.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mohammad Ala
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One day we will rise
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
I don't agree with your language, but I truly share your feeling. I am also very upset and frustrated. I consider myself an opposition and a soldier of Iran and hate everything about the IRI and the Mullahs. However, they have no shortcoming in humiliating and embarassing us. Even in the field of sports they tend to have achieved to succumb us. This team by far had the best player ever Iran had, but the management and the coach a group of Hizbollahis who have no clue about pride or sport managed to get us to lose.
I don't know what else to say and my messages tend to repeat themselves, but I know for fact that one day, one day we will rise and become a proud nation with a strong and prosperous economy, combined with a constitution that allows us to freely vote and chose our leaders and prosper in every field of sports for both men and women that includes our soccer team.
God Bless Iran, Irani and all Iranian Athletes.
Amir Nasiri
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I feel a little better now
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
Thank you. Reading you was like drinking a glass of water. I feel a little better now.
Foad Khelghati
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Coaching disaster
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
Can’t agree more and I share the same feeling. I didn’t know all these guys intimately, however they way Ghalenoi coached this team was a disaster.
Soheil Samouhi
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Why not tokhmeh raastet as well?
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
only TOKHMEH CHAPET? WHY NOT TOKHMEH RAASTET as well? Boy you're pissed!
Jon Goldust
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Give it to them
On Yahya Salehi's "Team Melli? Tokhme chapam":
Give it to them. They deserve this.
NG
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Reminder that even in the worst of times, there are good things
On Seyed Alavi's "Signs of the Times: Emeryville Utility Boxes":
I hope I'm writing to the right person. My 15-year old son was expelled from school last semester. He came with me to work in Oakland for months. One of the very few bright spots in those months was driving through Emeryville and spotting the wonderful utility boxes. He just absolutely loved them. I think (I hope) you are the teacher that was in charge of that project. I'm writing to see if there is a collection of photos of the boxes (or posters, or something). I'd love to give him a gift of those to remind him that, even in the worst of times, there are good things.
Thank you,
Nancy J
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Excellent eye
On Farah Ravon's photo essay "Making a vacation out of it":
Thank you for sharing your exquisite pictures with us. You have an excellent eye for spotting the esoteric and are quite a skilled photographer as well. May I ask you what kind of camera and lens you use? Do you have a website? I'm going to go to Europe this October and hoping to do the same. Thanks again for sharing your love of photography and beauty that surrounds us all.
SB
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You are a W!
On Bita Ria's "Whisky and coke":
Bita,
You are a disgrace to our culture and people! You are a W!
This is the outcome of having an Islamic regime, and the kid from a daahaat coming to Tehran and then shipped to the West!
Now I see how AIDS is spreading to Iran! Bush loves you Bita! They are succeeding in destroying the Iranian youths' minds and culture! Congratulations and enjoy your low life!
Jon
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Guilt by association
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
By reading your article I just didn't understand what the theme was of the article. And that truly could be my fault. However; you made couple of arguments that I like to disagree. One is that you committed a fallacy and that is when you compared Hitler's Aryan race with the Iran's ancestry and thinking that since Hitler who was racist and committed genocide therefore any Iranian who is proud of its Aryan root is also racist that is a fallacy and is called guilt by association.
What is wrong to be a nationalist and love your country and your people? Believe me if that was a true case of our people or our leader we would not have the problem we have today in Iran. A nationalist to me is some one who loves his people, his country and everything around his country. A nationalist is someone who will respect the national interest of its people and tries to fight for the integrity and sovereignty of its nation. There is nothing wrong for been a nationalist.
There is something wrong when people who are fanatic and use nationalism, or religion in order to carry out their own self interest and agendas.
I wish Iranian were nationalist.
Amir Nasiri
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When will we stop this nonsense?
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
All I can say for now is, THANK YOU.
When will we -- and by we, I mean the whole human race -- stop this nonsense? I have to go back to work now.
Souraj
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One cannot be born Aryan, one must practice the noble qualities
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
It is unfortunate that the word "Aryan" has absorbed so much meaning in the collective psyche. It carries no specific meaning genetically, being "Aryan" has more to do with beliefs than blood. It is indeed unnecessary in the modern world to judge people based upon their ethnic heritage, however there is nothing wrong with being proud to be Iranian. What Darius originally meant by being "Aryan" designation is vague in and of itself. The earliest Vedic meanings for "Arya" have been interpreted as "stranger" in the sense of "potential guest". In later generations, it carried new meanings: Quoted from Wikipedia:
"The Sanskrit lexicon Amarakosha (c. AD 450) defines Arya as mahâkula kulînârya "being of a noble family", sabhya "having gentle or refined behavior and demeanor", sajjana "being well-born and respectable", and sâdhava "being virtuous, honourable, or righteous"."
What meaning we choose to attach to it cannot be universally standardized, however it's syllabically fluid form lends itself usefully to utterances expressing a spiritual identity, one cannot be born Aryan, one must practice the qualities of someone who is "Noble", not proud, vain or fatuous.
Personally I think being an "Aryan" was not just speaking a certain language, or having certain parents, it meant manifesting the most humanistic qualities in oneself, in a sense, anyone could be Aryan if they chose to live as one. Before organized religon or national borders, we identified ourselves as a people who practiced such qualities as tolerance, respect, human rights and freedom. Hitler was a famous plagerist who perverted and corrupted a perfectly respectful and racially universal expression of early civilizations.
Hamid Javanbakht
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Forgot to mention meaning of 'IRAN'
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
Very very true, but in using Afghanistan's national airline as an exapmle, you forgot to mention the meaning of the word 'IRAN' itself: Was it not meant to mean 'Land of the Aryans?'
Regards
Yahya Saheli
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Just a historical fact
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
I am sorry Ben , but I could not see the point or message in your article. The English refer to themselves as Anglo-Saxons, Welsh, Gaelic, the French ...etc... It is not a sign of "backwardness" as you so inappropriately call it. Iranians are struggling to live and dream about democracy. This "Aryan" subject is just a historical fact. Surely it is diluted beyond recognition.
I am still struggling to see the purpose of this article!!
Ba Ehteram
Ali
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Revisionist diatribes against Iran's NON-Islamic history
On Ben Madadi's "Hitler's legacy":
Dear Ben-Dover
I am just curious to know what local branch of MOIS you belong to? Your revisionist diatribes against Iran, her well documented NON-Islamic history, her rich culture, and your perpetual Viagra induced hard-on for the Pahlavi’s being the fathers of modern Iran can only come from one place: the MOIS HQ’s based on Shahid Az-Beekh Gavzadeh in Qom.
Babak Kalhor
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I've always dreamed of a "World Tolerance Center"
On Ali Ghaemi's "The resurgence of tolerance":
Ali Ghaemi,
Thanks for the photos and introductory text. So glad to know it's close enough to take my kids to, soon.
You see, I've always dreamed of a "World Tolerance Center" to replace the World Trade Center!
I watched the World Trade Center fall on 9/11. There were two very dramatic & starkly different images I took in that day, in addition to the ghastly sight of the WTC:
1) a Muslim family, my neighbors, whom I stood near on a Brooklyn rooftop. As they cradled their babies & held their kids' hands, I was struck by a look on their faces that said "how do we explain this horrible thing to our little ones?" (30 years of friendship with Iranians but nothing ever humanized Muslims for me so much!)
2) a huge billboard we all could see from that rooftop, shouting out the title of the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster movie, "Collateral Damage".
Perhaps, when my best old hometown Missouri buddy visits New York City in a couple of weeks (a pro-war Republican, with his cartoonish anti-Muslim schtick), I'll take him there for a visit.
Best wishes,
DD
Manhattan
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Forward to right wingers
On Ali Ghaemi's "The resurgence of tolerance":
Ali,
You should email these photos to at least the following right wingers:
1. Rush Limbaugh
2. Glenn Beck
3. Mike Regean
4. Dick Cheney
and more if you know.
Thanks for your pics. They are wonderful.
Al
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Separate religion from religious tyrants
On Ali Ghaemi's "The resurgence of tolerance":
Ali,
The only problem is, they forgot to mention that the Persians (Iranians) were the primary reason for this Islamic renaissance. The Arabic language was primarily a spoken language with not much of a grammar, and the Persians are the one who adopted it and developed the most sophisticated grammar, and wrote the Koran in Arabic for the first time.
Indeed the first Koran was written in Aramite. As Islam was benefited by Persian, the Persians were benefited from it by being freed of the caste system, therefore most Persian scientists indeed were not part of the elite.
Israelis and their supporters try to demonize Islam and they have been very successful, but you have to remember that this fight against Islam is expected since as George Bush said: "we are in a crusade...."
One has to separate religion from religious tyrants who rule Islamic lands.
Jon
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What is the point of posting "personal and family" pictures?
On Siamack Salari's "Time of their lives":
This is not addressed to "JUST" you specifically and no offense to anyone!
I myself, am a father of 2 wonderful young men, but!........
What is the point of posting "personal and family" pictures on this site?
A series of pictures about a place, far or near........" AND"!!! a picture or two about so and so is one thing, but......come on!!
If someone is curious about whether or not some people here, are interested about what your "Khaaleh" or "Dokhtar amoo" is doing in (KAMPALACOOCHI)????? !!! (( PLEASE )), think again!
Share please, but.......!!....................You know!
Majid Soltani
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Ahmadinejad came to my mind... lol
On Shahriar Zangeneh's "Must-see TV":
the funny thing is when i was reading your description of this sub-human, the face and figure of Ahmadinejad came to my mind... lol
Ramin
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Words took me back home after 24 years
On Yuki-Jennifer Kurumi's "Seeing the real Iran":
That was one of the best articles ever I have read on Iranian.com. It was very poetic, passionate and well written.
Although I have not been to Iran for almost 24 years, due to my hatred for the government, your writing made me feel that I am back home again and brought back alot of good child memories I had from home. I felt very good. It felt I travelled back home for a short period and came back here again.
Thank you
Amir Nasiri
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 Shiraz grape... from France?
On Yuki-Jennifer Kurumi's "Seeing the real Iran":
Dear Yuki-Jen,
I was in Australia a few years ago (2003) as a tourist. One of the places I visited was Oakridge Yarra Valley Winery.
The reason I wanted to visit this winery was that they produced Shiraz wine and in fact I had bought bottles of Shiraz from this winery in the US. They had a tour of winery and wine tasting. So me along with fellow tourists went there.
Of course while going there in a tour bus, I was boasting to anyone who was listening that the origin of Shiraz wine was/is Shiraz, Iran. I was kind of proud of myself.
After wine tasting, most every body bought a slide rule which described different wines and among other things the wine country of origin. To my complete surprise and shame but fellow tourists delight France was listed as the country of origin for Shiraz wine (see attached file).
I asked the young girls behind the counter about ugly lie and distortion of historical facts but they knew as much as it was written on the slide rule.
When I came back home, I did not buy Shiraz wine for years until recently, I once in a while buy a bottle or two of Shiraz and say "F... Oakridge Winery".
Foad
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Fantastic imagery and hope
On Baharak Sedigh's "Arrival":
Dear Baharak,
I liked your poem arrival very much. The images in it are fantastic and at the same time you give hope to us Iranians who are lost in history and hopeless.
Barekallah.
Rahim Asgard M.D.
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He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, hold back opinion
On Sepehr Haddad's "Five star":
I spoke to my father who is a retired army colonel and asked about General Minbashian. These are some of the things he said about the General:
* Up until he was a “sarlashgar”, 2 star General, he used to still do parachute jumps with his troops.
* He played the violin well and was a warm person to be around.
* He cared very much for his staff and troops. As a matter of fact, the rumor among the senior officer corps was that the reason General Minbashian was retired was that he was trying to get a “goorohban”, a corporal, to Europe for medical care. The army refused because of a lack of funds. He took it to the medical corps high counsel headed by General Ayadi. The high counsel also refused this request. He took it directly to the Shah, who said that since the high counsel has refused due to a lack of funds, he cannot help either.
I assume the fact that General Ayadi was also extremely influential with the Shah also had something to do with his stance on this matter. Normally, from what I understand, the Shah had a soft spot for these things. The General’s response was, how come the government can spend lavishly for Princess Ashraf when she goes overseas! That was the big thing with General Minbashian. He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, hold back when he had an opinion on something. This is when the Shah immediately retired him.
I hope some of this helps shed light on this issue. I have seen a lot of positive responses, but also some negative. It is easy to criticize now sitting here in the US, but you also have to understand the times and circumstances these people lived in.
Kaveh N.
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Not every soldier can be a hero!
On Sepehr Haddad's "Five star":
After reading Mr. Haddad's tribute to General Minbashian and some comments responding to him, I strongly felt to share my views on what I understand about "hero" as he titled Gen.Minbashian one and so did many other "Dastmall beh dasts"!
The first wave of the massacre hit our military in 1979 as it was executed by Ebrahim Yazdi and Akhound Khalkhali. The infamous list of 634 high rank military staff and commanders was prepared and given by Sullivan and Gen. Guest (American agents) and within weeks most of them were executed. You can name generals such as Rahimi, Neshat, Nader Jahanbani, Shahnam, Rabii, Naji, Khosrodad, Badreie,etc. And then comes the Shahrokhi's operation which is known as Nojeh coup. Again, another series of executions were rounded by Khalkhali. Air force generals Aayat Mohagheghi and Mahdiyoun were among those killed in fire squad.
To me all those who stood on their oath and belief were hero. They knew what's awaiting them but never took a chance to ask for pardon. And I'm sure they all loved their country.
Then there was 8 years of war. Hundreds of thousands of military personals regardless their rank or uniform suffered death, life time injuries, amputation, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, chemical intoxication, and loss of beloved comrades. I've served in army with many of these gentle, walking monuments of heroism. And I've seen them after years of fighting in western front, back in their central bases (while holding a position in army), had to work behind the wheels in streets of Mashad to support their family. with lingering pain of dignity and old time shrapnel in their bodies. Not being paid for three months? And I'm talking about a high rank officer, a Major (sargord)!! going through this. How many people know these? And how many care! (Sadly, no one even mentions those years)
You know these are my all time hero.
You know Mr. Haddad, it's commonly believed that there were more than 130,000 bright people who lost their lives in Islamic Regime's prisons as political prisoners. They were as young as 15 and old as 72. Majority of them were brutally tortured before facing fire squad. Of course the situation hasn't been changed or stopped.
All those I mentioned above are our hero. Mr. Minbashian was indeed a recognized soldier but his contribution to our country WASN'T! And he cannot be named a hero, but I'm glad that he enjoyed his life in Paris for a very long period of time!
I mean he supposedly did his job well and got promoted. But I can't recall in any page of Iranian Military history that we've ever had a FIVE star general.(unless you promoted him yourself) It's never been in our ranking system.
One last thing: Not every soldier can be a hero!
Mohsen A Shams
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Iranians should be left alone to choose for themselves
On Daniel M Pourkesali's "Joe Lieberman and an acquiescent Congress":
If the US is sadly going to risk another adventure in the Middle East then they'll have to do it on their own, because there is no way that the British and Europeans will follow them on this one. Despite the dinosaurs currently holding power in Tehran most people in Europe see no justification in an attack on Iran.
We may not like the regime and would love to see the back of the Islamic Revolution, many discerning thinkers regard the Iranian people rather as potential allies against fanatical Islamists of the Taliban and Al Qaida ilk. Even the present regime is preferable to them. Of course the situation would change however if Iran were to announce that it had developed atomic weapons. But this time the US will not lead us on a wild goose chase looking for WMDs.
Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs are ruining the country themselves and I feel sorry for the Iranians who have to put up with policies which belong to the Middle Ages rather than to a modern threshold state. I think that the Iranian people will one day have to choose, if they are to regain their former glory, between democracy and backward theocracy. The essential point is that they should be left alone to choose for themselves.
Dr David Thompson
Germany
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You make Turkey such a happy country
On Fariba Amini's "East meets West at their best":
I just finished reading and looking at your pictures of Istanbul published in iranian.com.
Okay. Many Iranians have been to Turkey or know about Turkey. You make it such a happy country without mentioning about their notorious army and prisons and their mistreatment of Kurds. I assume you forgot to say anything about Armenian genocide.
The last few paragraphs of your write up are depressing to read about Iran. It seems fashionable to criticize and wish things to happen easily.
We need to work together to bring about positive changes to Iran, we cannot expect the changes to happen by themselves or by others for us.
Mohammad Ala
Board Member
iran-heritage.org
persiangulfonline.org
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Do not expect Uncle Sam or the Brits do the job for you
On Fariba Amini's "East meets West at their best":
I agree with Dr. Ala. Many com[patriots expect things to happen magically. This has been the norm for the past 200 years since the Qajar dynasty and going on through the Pahlavi era. People's revolution of 1979 happened because of too much atrocities by the foreigners with much help by our own people. That's the main reason the US-Israel-UK are angry at all of us because we have put a dent on their influence in the heart of the black gold (oil) region.
When Dr. Mossadegh throw out the Brits in 1953, he was the the first Middle Easterner to nationalize the oil. Other Arabs followed his doctrin and wanted to do the same. The three countries I mentioned are doing their best to put a stop on such repeated nationalism movement that has sparked Iran with no apparent return to the good old days when they trio stole everything Iran had and gave us the peanuts.
If you want more than peanuts, you need to raise yoursleaves and start working for your own country and do not expect Uncle Sam or the Brits do the job for you at your expenses.
Javad Fakharzadeh
Board Member
iran-heritage.org
persiangulfonline.org
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Rumi trilogy?
Dear Reader,
This might be a random question, but I'm excitedly interested in the title of three books, perhaps in a trilogy, written by Rumi. Were they first written in Persian? What might the titles of these three books be?
thank-you in advance for your considerations...
Brian
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Persian conspiracy
On Payvand Khorsandi's interview on BebinTV:
It is a good thing dinner had been consumed already when I decided to watch Payvand Khorsandi's interview on BebinTV because it would have killed my appetite altogether! I am at a loss for words! Payvand Khorsandi is a total idiot who knows nothing about Iranian/ Persian history. This is somewhat understandable and one should not expect him to be any different. Heck, he cannot even speak his native tongue or refuses to do so. Couple of things, in particular, stood out during this interview that were annoying to say the least:
1) His total disregard for conspiracy theory, attributing it instead to Iranians having some kind of distorted mind. Someone ought to tell this jackass that talking about conspiracy theory(ies) is not just ingrained in our culture. It is derived from what has been imposed on us Iranians throughout our history. Then he has the audacity to say "All Iranian culture can be summed up in one word: Oil". Well, I got news for you asshole....Oil and conspiracy theory go hand in hand and it is no longer just a theory but reality. Trying to explain this phenomenon/ direct correlation between oil and having conspiratorial thoughts to someone like Payvand Khorsandi with very limited intellectual capacity is a difficult task and beyond the scope of this response. Perhaps one day, when I have the displeasure of meeting him, I will try.
2) Mr. Khorsandi has a dislike for the word "Persian"! I wonder why. This word, after all, is part of our heritage, regardless of how many ethnic groups there are in Iran. If it wasn't for that other jackass, Reza shah Pahlavi (Mirpanj), we would still be referred to as Persians. It is, in my opinion, a beautiful name and illustration of our glorious past that must be kept alive and talked about. If Payvand Khorsandi opts to delete it from his vocabulary it is his problem.
Kamran Ramyar
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She is actually in agreement with me
In response to Kamran Ramyar's "Persian conspiracy":
A second viewing should surprise the writer that she is actually in agreement with me regarding the notion of conspiracy theories. Do listen for god's sake.
Peyvand Khorsandi
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Smells like IRIB staging things
On video "Police chief grilled":
I was actually going to send you that video but I felt it was a bit suspicious on behalf of the IRIB to air something like that. It turns out that last night they've aired an inteview of the same guy (Farzad Hassani) with a bunch of rapists who have said that "the manteau of the girl we raped was too short, that's why we raped her"... Smells like IRIB staging things all over again to pull the wool over their audience's eyes.
PN
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Still touching
On Majid Naficy's "Ah, Los Angeles":
Mercy, Majid jaan.
Of course I had read this poem before, but it was still touching, reading it again.
Jahangir Sedaghat
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I never made it back
On Paul Schroeder's "Khuzestan 1958-1960":
Dear Sir,
I enjoyed both your postings of your family's time in Abadan.
I was born and raised in my beloved city Abadan (born in 1953). I was there in the same town when you were living there.
My father was a pharmacist and had his own business in Zand Street (Aftab Pharmacy).
I used to attend school in Braim (Roya High School). I left Abadan in 1971 after my graduation and went back to visit my family several times while studying in the United States. I never made it back to Abadan after it was destroyed in the war with Iraq.
Thank you for beautiful pictures.
Faegheh Shirazi
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Internet could be magical!
On Paul Schroeder's "Khuzestan 1958-1960":
mr. schroeder,
thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures of iran. i always wanted to see abadan, bushehr and masjid solaiman. internet could be magical!
best regards,
mina vijeh
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Weak, unimpressive conclusions
On Nima Tamaddon's "3D Iranians":
I read your article with interest and found the content interesting and unbiased.
My main exception to your analogy is that to me except for some extreme cases the pattern of problems in Iranian society is similar to the pattern of behavior in American social fabric but unfortunately Iranians abroad seem to be rather locked on the oppression in Iran and close their eyes when it the same sort of atrocities are happening in American society.
It is inetersting that you distiguish between the young and the government of Iran in the way they behave toward US. Though it is true the young may find the facade of US society more appealing and exciting yet they may not be aware of the dark sides of the same culture which has tarnished many layers of the social fabric.
So I do acknowledge your knowledge and interpretaion of Iranian society but your conclusions to me seem weak and unimpressive. You must look at the broader picture try to link the weaknesses on all the countries and then Iran may not I mean may not seem as bad as you try to portray.
Hamed Haeri
Montreal, Canada
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Petition against "Insult-letters"
On Faramarz Fateh's "You get the picture":
Dear Mr. Fateh,
In the last few days I kept having this annoying thought that I have forgotten to do something, but I couldn't remember... until I read your short article about that "individual" [Issa Hajizadeh "Sad rahmat beh gaav!"] ...
Thank you! Thank you so much for speaking (so well) on behalf of so many people!
I love writing and I feel a big respect for words and ideas behind them. And I always respect anyone who knows how to write -- well -- even if I don't agree with his/her ideas. By reading only a few lines of that insult-letter, I just felt trapped... it was almost like clicking by bad luck on any of Hajiagha cartoon links!
There was nothing sacred about this letter... not this one!
Shouldn't we start a Petition asking the signature of all people who don't want any "Insult-letters on Iranian.com" to be justified as "My freedom of speech"?
If nothing is really sacred on Iranian.com, I guess my personal definition of "sacred" or "nothing" should be different from our dear Jahanshah's!
Thanks again,
Azarin
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I am not hopeless about our kids in Iran anymore
On video showing teenagers break dancing in Qom:
It is so so cool, I enjoyed it . Did this seriously happen in Qom if this is true I am not hopeless about our kids in Iran anymore. Good job.
Ayeneh
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Will tell advertisers to pull their ads
On Hossein Hajiagha's cartoons:
Ok Javid. It is obvious from you insistence in putting forth your cousin's "catroons" that you neither understand the concept of "freedom of expression" nor have any respect for your reader opinions and preferences. A copy of all of your cousin hajiagha's "cartoons" have been gathered in one email and will be sent to all of your site's sponsers and advertisers. They will be asked if this is the kind of site they want to support and if they are in agreement with its content. I am sure there will be some people who will be offended and will pull out of your site. Once you lose some money over this maybe you'll get it into your thick fat head that it is not OK to insult a group of people because you feel like it. Instead of worrying about hajiagha's rights of expression get off your fat ass and do some running you dumb blimp.
Xiao Oolong
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Enough of bad mouthing every Iranian woman
On Hossein Hajiagha's cartoons:
I do not know whether or not this letter will be published, BUT....
I think enough is enough, women bashing under the name of "CARTOON"?
I don't want to name any name but everyone knows who I am talking about, every woman outside IRAN is a whore? Every woman in Canada is a "Faaheshe"? Every wife, mother, sister... FEMALE is "rosva"? just because this so called cartoonist in 11 years and...counting cannot get any attention from our wives or sisters or....?
Please correct me if I am wrong, but to my understanding a "cartoon" should be anything but this!
Enough of bad mouthing every Iranian woman because a "PERVERT" cannot get some, and I can clearly see WHY!
Today (Mon. JULY 23rd), this " Haji" who is also very "AGHAA" is accusing another Iranian female, currently in jail in Iran, another "HARZEH", also he is asking for a visa to go back to IRAN, because apparently he is fed up with getting "none"in Canada!
SIR!! (God ! even calling you this, makes me puke)!!, Your problem is obvious, no matter where you live, there are just these titles for you, ready? here we go: (Monharef, Oghde'e, Razl, Bee-effat,Vatan froosh, Kaseef, Valad-e-zzena , Pooch and to end it, HEECH, NOTHING, and waste of Internet space, electricity, effort and use of key board!)
Mr. Javid!
Even though you titled this site as " NOTHING IS SACRED", I think as a Husband, Father, Son Brother,...
You should take a second look at some cartoons before they are published in your site.
I know this is a free country and I know that I have the option of click,or not to click on some links,but...
I don't think that you do agree with Hajiagha's cartoons about Iranian women or do you??
I think a great number of decent Iranians have huge respect for your jurnalism and find this site like a "Iranian friendly" source, PLEASE, do not take it away from us? " PLEASE"!!
Thank you very very much for all the great things you do for US, to have a place that reminds us " HOME"!
I wish there was a poll in this site as regard to your "LOW LEVEL" cartoons!
Cartoons should be able to send at least one of these messages,if not more!
Be funny, address a social issue,be smart,be artistic,be humorous.....etc...
But your so called "CARTOONS"!! are anything but.
They show what a dirty and pervert mind is behind them!
Enjoy your low life in Canada and just wait....One of these days you might get some action from another low life person just like yourself.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Majid Soltani
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You are sicker than him
On Hossein Hajiagha's cartoons:
Mr Jahanshah,
I have tried so hard no to attack you for publishing Hajiagha's cartoons. But this time I could not after what he wrote about Dr. Haleh Esfandiari.
In my opinion, you are sicker than him for publishing all his junk. Shame on you....
Arghaven Matin
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He has to insult Iranian women to make himself feel better
On Hossein Hajiagha's cartoons:
This guy is hurting so much that the beautiful Iranian women don't give him any attention because of his ugly face and mentality. He has to insult them to make himself feel better. Hey idiot go see a professional and treat yourself, you sick mother
fucker!
Reza Roohnia
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Pakistan has earthquakes, too. They have nuclear power plants. Why not Iran?
On Reza Fiyouzat's "No nukes for Iran!":
Salaam.
I read your article in Iranian.com today. It seems that you do not understand your own logic. Similar people to those who overlook the building codes, also see it in their financial benefits to refine the oil outside rather than inside the country where markups are known and limited.
I assume you are in the U.S. sitting in the comfort of your home or office and wishing good things to happen in Iran. Earthquake also happens in Pakistan and other countries where they have nuclear power plants. We need to learn the safety measures in all aspects of our lives including power plants.
Iranians are among the few nationalities who think they can sit outside of their country and use slogans such yours to solves our problems.
Iran will improve and get better by those who devote their time and financial resources to bring about positive changes.
Mohammad Ala
Board Member
iran-heritage.org
persiangulfonline.org
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Someone had to expose this woman’s logic
On G. Rahmanian's "War and Peace!":
Dear Mr. Rahmanian,
I would like to thank you and commend you for the wonderfully eloquent and extensive piece you recently posted on Iranian.com regarding Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich’s articles.
Someone had to expose this woman’s logic. Thank you again. You do not know how happy it made me to see you dissect her false, hypocritical, and treacherous claims.
Sometimes I am so shocked and appalled by the things she writes that beyond assuming she is mentally ill, I even think she might be on our side!
Conspiracy theory: she writes retarded articles that reveal the backward hypocritical policies of the regime and its apologists better than anything else!! Who knows... then again maybe I’m giving her too much credit and maybe it is possible for there to be people who are so stupid, delusional, oghdei, or evil?!?!
Bijan Ganji
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Western powers want Iran back
On G. Rahmanian's "War and Peace!":
I am not necessarily a supporter of Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich [see: High on hate?], but you must be a subscriber to Ahmad Chelabis, club. I also oppose the present Iranian government, but not to the extend to want it bombed to stone age as some want. May be Ms Sepahpour should not have used the name Iranian so loosely and qualified it by saying the Iranian who want so much to get their "stolen" wealth back that they don't care if 10,0000 die towards that aim.
So here is a sample of my response to some of your issue. Remember I for one, despite the fact, that I despise the present Iranian government, would not want to go back to the days of old of pre-1979, unless you think the Pahlavis were not dictators. But maybe the reason that we keep getting dictators is not because of some misfortune but because of our tradition.
You wrote: "When was Iran colonized and for how long? Could she please educate us as to which country colonized Iran?"
Iran has been colonized for as far as 1920. It is still colonized by proxy, from afar, by the so called western powers. They want it back.
You wrote on treason by MEK: "US would call it treasonous if a group of Americans dispense national security data to a foreign government... there would have been no reason for secrecy for a period of eighteen years until they were exposed by the MEK,..."
Other countries keep the data secret, USA, UK, EU, and even Israel, or didn't you know they have it?
You wrote: "Other than wanting to incite a war, why else would the president of a "vulnerable and defenseless" country be employing undiplomatic and warmongering rhetoric? As a person aspiring to, some day, work for a think tank, Sepahpour should know the answer to this very simple question."
Are you talking about Bush here?
You wrote: "Has she forgotten that Reza Pahlavi was born into the history of a dynasty which ruled Iran for fifty-four years(1925-179) and was the heir to the throne? Most certainly, she has not, however, she believes in the instant, though, short-lived, damage of such aspersions."
Reza Pahlavi "dynasty" was an illegitimate organization brought to being, fostered and used as a club by the colonizer that you believe did not exist. I don't believe any Monarchy to be legitimate, for the matter.
You wrote: "Sepahpour makes believe to have risen in defense of the "motherland" and she does not have the slightest idea about its geography. Bushehr is a city (There is a province by the same name as well.) on the southwestern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. So, if Bushehr is hit it is the Khuzestanis, the Bushehris, the Hormozganis and the Arabs around the Gulf"
Thanks to both of you for mentioning other places in Iran. I was beginning to think there is one city, Tehran only. Thank God I was beginning to doubt my birth place, where I was told is in Iran, some place other that the other Iran, Tehran.
Mark Morshedi
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I am still shocked that you fly old flags of a dictator the people rose up and overthrew
On Darius Kadivar's "Why Islamic Republic's flag?":
Darius,
I feel sorry for you that you cannot even bare seeing the flag of modern Iran. Get back out of your 2,500 years of backwardness, and accept the Islamic Republic is here to stay.
I am still shocked that you fly old flags of a dictator the people rose up and overthrew. It is treason that you still fly that old flag. Treason to all the people who stood up against the tyrant Shah, and all the millions of people who fought against Saddam in the imposed war of 1980 - 1988.
The flag of the Islamic Republic represents the millions of martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war that fought for their country while you ran away like a chicken to the US, probably with stolen money.
How can you live with yourself?
Dariush Abadi
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Unnecessary noise
On Fatemeh Farajmandi's "The faces of Montbéliard":
Drop the captions -- they add unnecessary noise which takes away from the beauty of your photos.
Faati Mizbani
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Muslim swimsuit
I am interested, in getting the muslim swimsuit. How is that possible? What is the procedure like? Or is there anywhere i can get in Singapore?
Hairiat
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Holy mother of Jesus!
On Parham Nik-Eteghad's "Hit machine":
too, too long of an interveiw. i did not read even one paragraph of it.
holy mother of jesus! it's too tiring!
Issa Hajjizadeh
las vegas
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Why complain about the West... in the West?
On Tinoush Moulaei's "Special treatment":
Why shouldn’t they get special treatment? Does Hezbollah and Hamas give special treatment to the innocents they kill with Iranian supplied weapons? If they didn’t deserve special treatment why are you here? Why are you not in Tehran complaining about the West instead of being in the West complaining about the West?
For one, I’m tired of foreigners escaping oppression from some 3rd world backwater, coming here to enjoy our rights (non-sheria law) and complaining about us. Think about it. Could I do that in your country by getting “stoned”?
Terry
Atlanta
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What a jerk
On Ben Bagheri's "The flight home":
WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHO THE HECK “BEN BAGHERI” IS THAT YOU HAVE POSTED HIS TRAVEL PICTURES ON YOUR SITE. YOU RUN OUT OF MATERIAL TO PUBLISH OR WHAT?
THIS GUY, WHOEVER HE IS, IF HE HAD COMMON SENSE WOULD KEEP HIS REAL IRANIAN FIRST NAME NOT SOME NAME LIKE “BEN”. HE MAY BE IS TRYING TO IMPRESS HIS SPOUCE’S FAMILY. WHAT A JERK. IF YOU ARE ASHEMED OF YOUR NAME, THEN YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO GO BACK WHERE YOU GOT YOUR NAME. HE MUST BE ONE OF THOSE "IRANANGELESI".
WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL HIM “HE IS A JERK”. WHO THE HICK CARES HE WATCHES DVD. ALMOST ALL IRANIANS HAVE MUTIPLE LAPTOPS. THEY DO NOT BRAG ABOUT IT. THIS GUY MUST HAVE BOUGHT HIS LAPTOP FROM “SALVATION ARMY” WHICH SOME OF US DONATED A FEW WEEKS AGO.
IF POSTING PICTURES OF ANY JERK IS YOUR POLICY, THEN YOUR SITE IS DOOMED.
Ahmad Talemy
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One should not talk about religions that are not their own
On Bruce Bahmani's "How religion was reformed in the West":
Just stop saying, will you?
One should not talk about religions that are not their own, churches are built by sinners/ religion guides people thru this life.
There is a big differences between the institutions and the beliefs the believers hold dear.
Rosa Canales
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Is somebody going to reform Islam, too?
On Bruce Bahmani's "How religion was reformed in the West":
And I just say, is somebody going to reform Islam to make it more up to date, more flexible and less Medieval? If the Christian faith hadn't suffered those reforms thru the ages, today that religion would be observed as strict, as fanatical, and as blind as in some Muslim countries, and it would have been the number one cause to slow the economical, scientific and personal development in the West.
AlbertoC
Orlando, USA
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Repetitive nature of history
On Bruce Bahmani's "How religion was reformed in the West":
I'm just saying... What have we learned from these important historical facts? I'm just saying that as a society our preferred defense has become to be wrapped up in the process of our existential "Here and Now", through dealing with what may be perceived as more eminent (i.e. lack of health-care coverage, fighting debt, the fear of not being able to afford driving to work, inflation in general, etc)... to the point that we have no energy left to remind ourselves of the repetitive nature of history.
I'm just saying that as a society we are constantly in a "fight or flight" mode, that our problem-solving brains are functioning under their potentials, that we may feel stuck at the survival level... unless we are conscious of the repetitive nature of history and our individual roles in the much needed reform.
Monda Tajbakhsh-Sbolci
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Alternative point of view
On Morteza Loghmani's "Origin of flight":
In light of the title for this photo essay, I thought it would be worthwhile to at least see an alternative point of view:
* //www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/pearse1.html
*
//chrisbrady.itgo.com/pearse/smithsonian.htm
Tinoush
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Imbalanced justice system and inadequate education
On Kaveh Nouraee's "Parental control":
Good evening:
Kaveh, I could not agree with you more, excellent writing. I do share your opinion about who is responsible, first and foremost parents. Sadly folks from the third world countries have to protect their little jewels even if they hack the neighbor's cat to death at age 8 (early signs of trouble). Of course there has been early signs, if the freaking English tutor at Virginia Tech could notice, where the heck were the parents.
Also, excellent point on what all of us suffered during the hostage crisis, I was a freshman in college and got my fair share of threats and reducible from neighbors, classmates and even professors. Oh yes, fun memories.
Setareh does have some points too, but the blame for this is with the parents or lack there of. Sadly, some ambulance chasing lawyers are lining up to sue the university, state, President Bush, God,....or whoever the hell they think has deep pockets. All the folks lining up interviewing with CNN, Fox, MSNBC,....all stating they suspected all along that something was wrong. Very interesting, but nobody did anything.
It is the imbalanced justice system and inadequate education system plus the threats of lawsuits that prevent the universities from tossing assholes like Mr. Cho into the street, or even put him in jail for writing those nasty papers in his Creative Writing English class. Same justice system that allows child molester like that animal in Florida to have 25 previous convictions and still allowed him to roam the street and raped and killed the poor little 6 year old. If I was the parents of that little girl, I would consider suing the judges (and the juries if they were) that allowed release of such animal.
I agree with Kaveh that cities with tough gun laws like Washington D.C. have higher crime rates and cities where concealed weapons are allowed do show a drop in crime rate. That makes sense because Mr. or Ms. Criminal has to be careful of who they mess with because they may get your own head blown off.
Sadly, there will be more instances like this unless the parents pay more attention to their kids and the justice system start dealing with criminals and potential criminals more seriously. I think the 26,000 students and the few thousand faculty and staff members at Virginia Tech deserved it even if it meant Mr. Cho not graduating. Too late now for the poor 32 dead and 15 injured.
Thank you.
Afshin
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Alireza Ghaderian?
We are still hoping to locate Alireza Ghaderian. Once a student at Oak Grove Coburn. He lived with our family and our children considered him to be a brother. We would love to be in touch. We have moved. We had heard his father was once a mayor of Esfahan and then opened a small kitchen cabinet company. His father passed away and Alireza ran the company. We are hoping he is well. Please contact me if anyone knows where he is. Thank you.
Susan Morris
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Shekarchi?
Salam,
Man be donbale dooste ghadimi khodam migardam. man dar sweden - stockholm zendegi mikonam. donbale aghaje Ettefagh ke esme hamsareshon Naiier Shekarchi ast migardam. Age in agha dar in site kar mikonan lotfan e mail adress man ra be ishan bedahid.
Khejli moteshakeram.
NILLY Farhangi
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Something that just can't go away in an evening
On Touraj Dayaee's "Go tell the Spartans":
So if it wasn't a million Persians that the "7000" men went up against then how many was it? It sounds like it still would have been a staggering amount of people to defy, as well as a "God-King". I am suprised you didn't use that one to flame our President as well. Good job on the explanation of how the human spirit, not American spirit, is unwilling to bow before one who believes he is a god. I tell you that I never will, regardless of my stacked abs, or whitish complexion.
One wonders if the Persian king truly told the Spartan that they would not be remembered? Whether it be completely accurate or not, they now are well remembered, and even if they are expressed in a way that makes them the "good" guys in comparison to the "hideous" Persians, some people are now doing more research to remember the past, and perhaps to learn about the failures of god-kings. Ancient history is exactly what it is, ancient. But what we can get out of it is that hundreds are dying in a war of today against freedom, and their methods are brutal and horrific. In this current day war, people are losing their lives to the cowardice of terrorist methods of killing. Like bombs thrown, or by well-placed traps on unsuspecting "innocents".
Do not make this movie make those "beautiful" and "idealistic" methods of debate seem so far away. They are happening and people are dying, still, at the hands of terror, and I am sure that their own histories of that will show differently. As far as history is concerned, no we will never learn, but then again what has it all shown you, oh mighty master of wisdom, will you live one day longer than you are supposed to, have you reached the pinnacle of human health and security, or are you just an old windbag looking for calculated attacks at our own American government. Bravo, another beautiful attack on something that just can't go away in an evening.
We might have screwed up by even coming near that ridiculous side of the world, but like in Afghanistan, we can not just pull out or someone will come in to take control, and that is why we had to return to Afghan, and why we would still have to return to Iraq, if we pulled out 6 months ago. Civilized people, no? Watch the movie Osama, and remind me why we had to go back to Afghanistan. Does it seem that Iraq could have went the same, had we jumped out earlier? Will it happen regardless of when we leave? You don't seem too focus much on the king of the Persians in the movie, or his true intent, but power is a huge manipulator of the human soul, and there are a lot of power-hungry people everywhere, not excluding the Middle East.
After a brief study of the times around the movie "300" I no longer wish to try to relive such horrors even in my imagination. Those time were horrific as were the leaders that ruled them. You may be one who wishes to relish the past, as for myself, I am sickened by it. Perhaps the messages are clear in 300, and perhaps they are not, but the next 100 years in Spartan history is no picnic either. We certainly have come along way since those days, and if you can not see that, then you are blinded by a hate I can not explain.
William Settle - Paladinian
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Kabuli's deep interest in Mansour
HI dears,
i do paying most respectable greetings from afghanistan my name is shams from afghanistan i much interest of Mansour Iranian Songer i like to have his cell phone # and private email address if you cooporate and kind us that would be your kindness with i mean as brotherhood/sisterhood i searched at website i just found this email addr. for my help advice at website i do mail to and i do again tell u i need the informations for i hope have this infor. so i am deeply interest of his songs and his knowledege i am impressed of him so so he is on at end i wanna ur email ;
SHAMSUDDIN NIKOKAR
Kabul City, Afghanistan
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>>> More July 2007: Part 1 -- Part 2
>>> All past letters
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Shiraz grape... from France?