Iranian of the Day

Thanks for a greater understanding

From 1979 to mid 90's is actually not that long,especially if your living with hope for your country.Depends on the person,my hope seems to last a lifetime,I even put numbers on it thinking 'ok it will 5 years to get over that' and so forth.. 

Translation

With all due respect Monda

I believe you meant to saY: don't bite the hand that feeds you:)

@@ @Mighty Genuine Angel!

No one's pretending - I for one have gained much by being here. Not only relating to diaspora life but people including Iranians, in General. Hey if it wasn't for JJ and IC, I would not have met you (well virtually that is).

No place is perfect of course. Here too, I have come across people who go about thrashing others with no problem. But if even they submit/ JJ publishes noteworthy content, I'd read them and bless them for teaching me a thing or many. Building tolerance for different perspectives is a requirement for survival, don't you think?

Also Angelina, there's a saying in our culture which you may have read or heard and that is: jaayi ke namak mikhori, namakdan nashkan. Where you're fed salt (most basic ingredient of life), do not break the salt-shaker. 

your mmm, always - no matter how yucky and pffty you can be :o)  

REPULSIVE!!!

And that's not just the photo - 

I haven't listened to the "interview" yet to get a convulsive fit and multiple hernia...btw why are so many pretending to "like " this sort of thing?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeHpWkTAY0I

"Ceci n'est pas a very dirty post"

JJ for President!

If there is a heaven, you've certainly done your share to reserve a nice spot for yourself there.

If there isn't a heaven, then you will most likely be condemned to an eternity of silent darkness in that void of space between atoms.

So thanks either way.

Well done JJ

An excellent and candid interview. I have to thank you for your liberal views and hard work that has made the IC what it is today.

..........

وقتی «ایرانیان دات کام» در حال تغییر از فرم قبلی ش به این حالت جدید بود من یکی که تا پنج شیش هفته ای مثل شاگرد کلاس اوّلی ها که دنبال کلاسشون میگشتن بودم! گیج و ویج! و از «رجیستر کردن» امتناع میکردم! نه که به اون فرم قبلی عادت کرده بودیم؟ شوکه شده بودم! یادمه که وقتی «لاگ این» میکردم این سایت جدید ظاهر میشد و من فکر میکردم «یعنی چه؟ دو تا سایت ایرانیان دات کام»؟

حتّی یک ایمیل برای جهانشاه نوشتم و گفتم « بابا جان ولش کن! این وب سایت داره کارش رو میکنه! مگه مرض داری انگولکش میکنی»!

مطمئنّم که هر تغییری در جهت بهتر شدن این سایت انجام میگیره فقط امیدوارم خیلی شوکه نشیم!

پانوشت: جهانشاه واسه برنامهء «رادیو تلویزیون جِی جِی» گوینده و برنامه ساز و شو مَن و عکّاس و فیلمبردار نمیخوای؟

JJ, It looks like changes are on the way for IC

Jahanshah, congratulations. It looks like some changes are on the way for IC. It will be exciting to witness how these changes will unfold.

IC

Iranians in general need more atmospheres like this website, to exchange ideas and to practice tolerance and democracy. I wish this website was accessible in Iran and could have (more) contributors from inside Iran; where the substances for IC should come from (more). 

All the best JJJ. 

Dorood

JJ Jaan

Dorood bar to

Fantastic....

Thanks dear jahanshah, for making it possible for us, to express and exchange our thoughts in this forum.

How about having a IC gala, to celebrate what has been achieved and  also as a fundraising event for IC.

Best Iranian Website!

I first visited Iranian.com in 1997. I came across it while doing an internet search.

You speak Persian better than DK.

I find it amazing that there was such a large number of Iranian Marxists and Islamic Marxists who helped the revolution succeed but then ended up outside of Iran. I guess they just wanted to see how their real-life experiment turns out! Some of them even refer to the revolution as the stolen revolution. In some cases they had to escape since as the saying goes "the revolution eats its own children".

I think you are above those who just "cut and run". You are brave enough to admit your mistake and that is quite rare amongst Iranians. We can only learn from you.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Keep up the good work!

Congratulations, JJ

I have been a follower since 1998.  I remember the first time i stumbled onto IC, I was at a client in Vacaville Ca (Jelly Belly Candy Company), and have been a reader for many years, and finally a contributor in the last 10 years, on and off.  You have done a fabulous job, and my hat is off to you.  Although i am not one to forgive anyone who has helped this Rapist regime, my cousin Goli Ameri and his sister in law included.  Your cousin and my very good friend Davar (Iran) Ardalan are in the same boat.  I think most of these people, you and Iran in particular are sorry about your past actions,  associations and beliefs.  My hat is off to you and Iran because you have gone above and beyond every one else who participated in the devolution and have done what you could to increase a positive view of the iranians among Americans and Europeans.  You with IC and she with her work and her book.  In the end, again my sincerest congratulations to you and keep up the good work.  I know i will do what i can to ensure your site's longevity.

JJ I looked up your account

And found out that you have not only paid your debt for your youthful "mistakes," you have paid them with compounded interest. What some people don't seem to realize is that human beings change. Some change for the better and some for the worse. So, we change. And, in my book, you changed for the better and as far as this one person is concerned you really need not apologize to anyone.

It is easy to be sanctimonious and it is a cheap shot. Who is it among us who has been perfect from word go? Not me. And I have never ever met a perfect person in all my years.

Again, you have my respect for changing course and devoting much of your life to excellent service with very little tangible rewards.

Keep up the good work and good luck, my valued hammihan.

Bahram G

appreciation from a non-iranian

My interest in things Iranian goes back more than twenty years (no, I'm not married to an Iranian but yes, many Iranian friends), very much appreciating this portal into the diversity of minds making up the Iranian community, checking almost dayly for several years now.

A Home in Exile

Iranian.com is my home in exile, and no matter where I am and what I am doing, I will always come back to where I belong.

Although I am not a big fan of "change" and often kick and scream when I face it, I look forward to the Iranian style "facebook" as promised...

On a completely different note, it seems to me ...

On a completely different note, it seems to me that you have managed to warp the passage of time through your  avatars! Just a few months ago, your avatar depicted a young man in his twenty, and now thanks to Radio Farada’s photographer we have seen the real you – a mature man with a classy spectacle!
I don’t care much about the possible murky financial arrangement that  you may or may not reach with Radio Farda and its dubious sponsors as long as Freds and Sargords of this site are able to express their views freely without censorship.

Congratulations!

JJ,

I first found IC about a year ago after stumbling across some of Laleh Khalili's old posts and have been with you ever since. It's wonderful to see you get the recognition that you deserve for nursing your idea into what IC has become today.

Sometimes, when the site is plagued with the petty attacks and self-righteousness that crop up from time to time, I wonder if running it isn't a thankless task for you. So it warms my heart (and hopefully does yours too) to see the impact you've made on people's lives.

Was also nice to hear your speaking voice. Dare I say - a touch of the farangi has crept in? Need to keep those 'r's rolling ;)  Rrrrrrr!

Thank you so much for IC - and congratulations.

TB 

خسته نباشی!

JJ,

Thanks for a great job, day in, and day out; also, your talented staff.

I have made up my mind.

When I grow up, I want to be just like you!

In the mean time, and in the spirit of this thread, I dedicate the following song to you.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy0jtRYOspw&feature...

JJ

I agree with you that initially, millions of people felt the same as you did (myself somewhat included).  The question was that while many saw the real face of the regime early on, why did you stay with it for so long?  

But I think that you answered that question as well by saying that you were wrong and are now trying to make things right in any way you can. That's a good enough answer for me.  People are allowed to make mistakes, especially those who admit their mistakes, move on and try to do the right thing.  Thanks.   

Thanks

Mahvash Aziz: Your kindness is very much appreciated. It means a lot, coming from a scholar like you.

*

Red Wine: Dooste aziz khejaalatemoon midi baa een hameh mohabbat. khodeh shomaa rooznamenegaar barjestee hastin va motma'enam kaastihaye kaaramo midoonin. beh har haal hozoor shoma dar inja barkate bozorgist va baaese khoshhaali.

*

Mardom Mazloom & Mehrban: Thank you for your compliments. Most of all thank you for being here and participating in this little community of ours.

Why?

OnlyIran, thanks for your comment and question. Very good question. Wish I knew what exactly happened to me (and millions of others) who fell for the revolution, Khomeini and the Islamic Republic. Going to high school in the U.S. does not make one appreciate freedom and democracy. Just as going to high school in China does not make one a communist. And we know high school in Iran are not producing Muslim radicals loyal to the Islamic Republic on a national scale.

In 1979 and many years after, our intellectuals, our brightest minds, were not fighting for democracy. They were either into political Islam, or marxism. So to expect me, a 17 year old, to have a sense of what democracy, freedom and human rights really mean, seems unreasonable.

At the same time, I don't want to justify my bad choices. I don't want to deny my responsibility as a citizen and journalist at the time. I did wrong. All I can do now is to repay my debt.

A Question

I listened to the interview.  While I really appreciate the fact that you provide a forum for Iranians from all walks of life to share their thoughts, I do have a question for you.  In the interview you correctly point out that Iranians in the West have experienced what it feels like to live in a free society, and that they want the same for Iran.  You also say that you lived and graduated high school here in the U.S., presumably knowing the value of free speech, thought, etc.

But then you went back to Iran after the revolution.  Fair enough.  That's actually nothing to be singled out for, as many Iranians had the same feelings and were hopeful that the revolution will bring freedom, justice, etc.

The question is though, what took you so long to realize the nature of the IRI and to distance yourself from it?  For most of us, the the true face of the IRI became quite clear in the early-mid 1980's, or even in the late 1980's, with mass executions, arrests, etc. But you apparently stayed with the regime as a member of its propaganda apparatus until the mid-90's.  Given your background, and the fact that you had lived in the U.S. for so long before you went back to Iran, why did you wait so long to disassociate yourself from this monstrous regime? Had you not heard about their atrocities, mass executions, etc.?  If you had, how could you then justify your relationship with the regime?

JJ Jaan

A very nice and candid interview.   Thank you for all your work in order for us to stay connected.  Looking forward to the changes coming on IC.  All the best to you.

:=)

سالهای سال است که در ایرانیان دات کام پرسه میزنم،از خیلی‌ قاره‌ها وارد این سایت شدم،حتی آفریقا ! اینجا خانه من است،من خانه خود را دوست دارم،در جای که آرامش دارم،آنجا را دوست دارم،من ایرانیان دات کام را دوست دارم.

آقای جاوید از شما به خاطر مهربانی و لطفی‌ که دارید کمال تشکر را داریم،شما بسیار برای ما زحمت می‌کشید،باید قدر شما را بیشتر بدانیم.

به شما خیلی‌ احترام میگذارم،دست شما را از دور میفشارم و افتخار می‌کنم که عضوی از سایت وزین شما هستم.

همیشه سالم باشید و موفق.

شراب قرمز..

پاریس.

Bring it back

Bring back the letter section. I remember sitting at the edge of my chair each time new letters were posted.

Jahanshah Javid got my attention to many things Irani and Setareh Sabety got me hooked on this site.

A mid-wife?  Oh yes - how apt. The greatest metaphor for the transition from conception of thoughts and feelings, through the channel of courage and hope only to give  brith to the child in text.

You've been my midwife too Jahanshah and I could not have asked for a better one.

jj the best midwife!

Jahanshah jan you got me started and infact midwived a lot of people who would not have become 'writers' if it were not for you and iranian.com
I remember my first piece on Googoosh's first concert came out of me recounting it to you on the phone and you telling me, "write it down, benevis digeh!" I told you I am not a good writer and you replied: if you can talk like this you can write! That was liberating advice that made me find my voice that I had lost since I got a c- in a poetry writing class in college!
Oh god and the old 'letter section' got me going too. That letter section got us all to think and debate about Iran like we did in those early years after the revolution in the BU cafeteria! It was a crash course in democratic discourse.

Jahanshah jan,

Thank you for your constant efforts to promote a better future for Iranians.

Staunch Admirer

Dear Jahanshah,

I am proud of myself because from the very beginning of your work and creation of iranian.com, I have been one of your staunch admirer, user of and contributor to your site. iranian.com is still my favorite site where I feel at home; get info, interact with my fellow compatriots and learn more everytime that I visit it.

Please keep up your great work.

Mahvash Shahegh

Wow, 240,000 unique visitors a month?

soooo, the article that I posted about the rise of anal sex could be viewed by all those people?!! Cool!!!

 //iranian.com/main/news/2010/10/06/experimentation-orgasms-and-rise-anal-sex