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Wednesday * Boy, was I wrong Okay. I think Iranian.com is trying desperately to prove something to the readers who objected to the article "Bahram". I saw the piece "Missing the Point?" which featured a truly classy (I am being sarcastic here) poem by Iraj Mirza (I don't even want to get into "Dariush", right now). I tell you what; why don't you guys start publishing nude pictures regularly with a weekly centerfold, and change the site's name to IranianPlayboy.com, and just get it over with? Certainly your material is up for it. Man oh man, you will be so sophisticated and modern then..., you wouldn't believe!!! Furthermore, you'll be "cool" too!! Isn't that what you guys are trying to be? Sophisticated, modern, and cool....? Boy, was I wrong about The Iranian. EDITOR'S REPLY: "Missing the Point?" -- Iraj Mirza's poem on chador -- was featured in iranian.com in 1998. Is there really no room for writings about sex and sexuality that's not offensive to you? Is there nothing between Playboy and the Koran? Are you okay with Michelangelo's statue of David? Or the Greek Aphrodite? What if an Iranian creates a similar staute of a nude Iranian man or woman? Would that be vulgar? Or would that be art? Are you saying that only "Bahram" and "Dariush" and "Iraj Mirza" are worthless, trashy, pornographic, junk? Where do you draw the line between the sublime and the obscene when it comes to sexualtiy? -- Jahanshah Javid * What does "Nothing" really mean? For a while now, The Iranian, along with its new look has adopted "Nothing is sacred" policy. Although it sounds good to most of us who are sick and tiered of censorships, self-imposed or otherwise, but what does "Nothing" really mean? Can one submit a letter full of hate and insult to what is dear to the most? Can one submit the most graphic (or porno graphic) picture to The Iranian? Would it be published? I would (like to) think not. Probably because the editor of this online magazine has a set of standards, both professionally and morally, that forces him, or I should say, allows him to pick and choose what he thinks appropriate for this site. The same is true for any public forum, be it in print or any other form. Based on what I have been trying to say about the standards, I don't find the Nooneh's witting appropriate for The Iranian. I read The Iranian to be in-touch we the rest of my fellow Iranians, to get informed, to offer my opinions, to be entertained, to be challenged, to disagree, to get nostalgic and to think. "Bahram" and alike does not belong. It's not a question of good or bad writing; it's not a matter of morality; it's like, for instance, having Pamela Anderson's naked picture in the business section of your daily paper. It doesn't belong. It makes it hard to suggest to a sixteen year old iranian.com is where she could learn about Iran and Iranians. It makes it hard to choose >>> FULL TEXT * Aberoo nadarin? The Iranian used to have some level of class in what it published. Now it seems like any chert-o-pert that is submitted is being accepted as long as the author is Iranian. The "Just Breathe" series are shallow, as are the shorth stories by Nooneh. It is as if these Iranians have no sense of dignity. Yezareh sangini ro hefz konin baabaa....aakheh een daastaanhaayeh birapt yanni chi? Aberoo nadarin? Pure nonsense. Roxana Samimi * Stop reading For those of us who are living in the Western Hemisphere, i.e. America, we have what the United States government calls amendments, which give its people certain amount of rights and privileges. The first wondrous amendment allows each and every person in the United States, citizen or not, to have the freedom of the press and speech. We also have the right to ignore or the right to grievance, to put it legally. If you do not like what Iranian.com publishes, by all means stop reading. I understand that you can find some the articles offensive and maybe not suitable for minors (or adults), but we cannot ban or forbid certain literature because we, or some of us, do not feel it is appropriate. On the other hand I appreciate Iranians from all over the world expressing their thoughts and feelings. Relationships for Iranians is a social issue that we, like Nooneh, have to face one way or another -- either in real life or through a fictional essay. Why not? We have the freedom, a natural law forbidden in Iran (must always remember why we fled that country in the first place) to express ourselves. Why should Nooneh's atricle or any other be banned? I feel very connected to Iranian.com and I acknowledge it as a successful internet magazine. Those who agree with me know that it is nice and comforting to connect in a unparallel universe with journalists. I did not understand what Nooneh went through exactly, but I commend her for her writing technique. She should continue to write and prosper as an author. PS. If you do not want you kids to read porn or other sexually explicit materials, have them home-schooled ;-) * Sick, explicit, Western sexual behavior I think your sexually explicit material is disgusting. I used to read your materials and had bookmarked your web site in my favorites. I also had recommended your web site to couple of friends. What a mistake. But in the past couple of weeks your explicit sexual materials have gone too far. It is a shame that instead of trying to learn the science and technology of the West we had chosen to get involved in sick, explicit, Western sexual behavior. Please take me off of your mailing list. * Rejecting traditional values This is about publishing erotic stories in your sites. Please read my arguments against publishing those stories: I used to recommend your magazine as a SANGIN Iranian magazine on the web, with an attractive design and a collection of good stuff. When I saw these erotic stories on your web site I thought why did you put out these odd and un-matched stories. I can not find a reason for that: 1- At first I thought maybe because of the artistic values of these stories? But these are AABGOOSHTI and boring stories. They are not stories written by Sadegh Hedayat or something. 2- Maybe you are succumbed to the idea of openness. Let me emphasize that there is no such thing as a neural position. Openness does not mean that you are neutral. each of us have a standing on different issues and we tolerate different opinions on different issues to different degrees. Being neutral is not scientific or logical , it is an illusion. All of us have preferences consciously or unconsciously. Publishing erotic stories is rejecting some traditional values. You can not be value-free. but you can be unaware of your values. Let's be conscious and selective about our values >>> FULL TEXT * Bahram great, Dariush crap I am under the impression that there may be a point in publishing Nooneh's second story ["Dariush"]. However, no matter how much I think I can't come up with any other than competing with Playboy magazine story section (if the section is still around!). It is sad to see a start as great as "Bahram" ends in a futile nothing-but-sexual crap like "Dariush". * Thank you I just want to thank you guys for the new erotica section ;-) I was very happy to see the second story by Nooneh (Bahram's author). I love her stories and appriciate her writtings. Thank you again for your great website :-) * Penguin women First, thank you very much for paying attention to cultural points and news of our dear country, IRAN. But there is a point that I regret too much, and unfortunately it was the first issue of your magazine that I ever saw, showing some women with chador near the sea. I must say that it is quite offensive to show our women in such a situation, and showing them like penguins. Please change this page with some beautiful thing from our country. If you want to protest about something find a better way to express it. None of my friends find it beautiful in any case. I hope you will succeed in your way. * Funniest I have read This piece is the funniest I have read in a long time ["Bahram's cousin"]. I am still laughing while typing. Thanks to the author and the publisher. The laughter is also right at the face of the original piece which was called Bahram, I think. The sarcastic tone of this one is fantastic. Thanks again. * Government vs. people Regarding the recent opinions by Bahram Rajaee ["Look in the mirror"], I think that the difference that we need to make is the difference between the Iranian people and the Iranian government. The Iranian people are a peace-loving people who after a rough 20th century, would like to move on to join the international arena as an equal counterpart of other countries. The Iranian government, however, is still being run by a bunch of thugs who should be brought up on charges in an international tribunal. Regarding Israel's previous actions, just like any other country, it has made is share of mistakes in the past. However, considering that it is surrounded by neighbors that are looking to destroy it at the earliest opportunity, it has behaved a lot better than most other countries, in similar circumstances, would have. * Bright female olaagh Just wanted to send you a note of commendation and appreciation for writing up the article in the Iranian entitled "Cover your donkey". The article truly brought a smile to my face, and sitting in the university Library right now, I chuckled to myself, noticing a few heads turning to see what brought on this sudden burst of laughter. I appreciate individuals such as yourself who see the humour in the things they read and take the time to analyse and express their point of view, and share it with others. Thanks for making me laugh! I recall a humorous TRUE story about the boy and the donkey as I was reading your article, which I thought I'd share with you. In fact, just a few days ago, a friend who was a first-hand witness to this remarkable event, told me how in one of the remote villages in Iran, this "dehati" boy, perhaps out of desperation, or even wanting to compete with the male donkey (hehehe), had forced his manhood into the female donkey. But, shock horror! The female donkey had locked on the boy's Dinga-ling, and the poor boy was stuck and couldn't get out of her. Apparently, the whole town was watching this bizarre drama, some wailing in disgrace, others cussing at him and some laughing hysterically like there was no tomorrow! lol. Unbelievable, that's all I can say. But, you know I am impressed, really impressed with the female donkey (khar), who was bright enough to teach the boy a lesson. Wouldn't expect it from a humble olaagh, would you? lol * Awaited Savior will save your skin The drama "Time to re-appear" by university students is really in a bad taste. The Imam of the Time is made into a joke. If you have commented on Imam Khomeini it would have been tolerable. But, be aware that the Imam of the Time is Hujjat of Allah on earth. Because of Imam-e-Zaman you are breathing. This is the reaction of haraam intake that you people are promoting such thing. You can not ever succeed in making the earth better. Only his re-appearance (zohoor) will solve the problems of humanity. The Awaited Savior will come and save your skin. Allahuma ajjil le waliyekal hujjat ibnil hasan * Bahaullah schizophrenic I read this email about Bahais. and it was full of nonsense ["The promised one"]. Hey, if you accept Islam and Mohammad and the Koran, then you must know that it is clearly mentioned in the Koran that Mohammad is the LAST prophet sent by God and there won't be anyone after him. And the Bible announced the coming of Mohammad, not Bahaullah. Bahaullah was not a prophet, he was just a schizophrenic with his delusions and hallucinations and some naive people believed him and follow him. I have seen people like him in psychiatric hospitals who claim to be prophets and talk to God. But we know that they just suffered from hallucinations. Perhaps if these people were born a thousand years ago they also would be called prophets now and had followers.
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