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| March 26, 2002 * Not the same old act I want to drop a note and thank you for the Norooz program - it was truly great. I am so pleased to see that Iranians like me and my friends finally have a voice and you and your guests represented that voice so well. [FIVE BLOCKS FROM BERKELEY GATE] It's always been very frustrating participating in the Norooz programs because so often nothing ever measures up, and I am usually disappointed at seeing the same old act reappear as representative of my culture. Best Regards, Shiva Pakdel To top * This is not hate-mail this is not hate-mail. this is i-love-you-and-can't thank-you-enough-mail. last night [Norooz program] i was one of those chuckling audience members at the comedy night you put together in berkeley with elham jazab, peyvand khorsandi and saman in celebration of norouz in northern california. how good it is to laugh and to laugh at ourselves! thank you for bringing together a talented group of young artists who are showing the bright side of life in the diaspora. i look forward to many more of these and hope they help you too! what you have done with the iranian in these past seven years is create a community, a language, a forum, a place to laugh and be moved, and to reflect and remind us of who we are, who we aren't, and who we are becoming. for that there are not enough thank yous. happy norouz and ghorbanet, persis karim To top * Fresh air Excellent show on Saturday. I really miss the English sense of humor and Peyvand was a breath of fresh air. We should get him to come back soon. [FIVE BLOCKS FROM BERKELEY GATE] Look forward to the next event. Eide-shoma mobarak. Amir Alavi To top * Cairo is uglier I do believe each and every point that was so well described by Mr. Vassigh regarding the transformation of Tehran into an awefully ugly city. [Ugliest city around] But I don't think Tehran is the "uggliest" city arround. Last year, I had opportunity to visit Egypt for 3 weeks just after spending a similar amount of time in Iran. I can attest that, at least to my eyes, Cairo is uglier than Tehran. Cairo's polution makes Tehran's feel like fresh mountain air. Canals dug about the nile are miles and miles of open sewer. The traffic competes with Tehran. The many wonderful historic buildings of old (islamic ) Cairo, including most of the mosques, are literally in ruin, their walls a dark grey from the pollution. The old bazaar (khan al-khalili) made me ashamed of my last name. Garbage and dirt are everywhere, with no one caring, or being able to afford to care. And to walk any significant distant in Cairo is just stupid. Of course, Cairo does have its own mountains in the suburbs (the Pyramids) and a functional and clean metro. Or was it that I was just happy to escape the surface? Korosh Khalili To top * Where is your humanity? I usually don't answer lowlives like this one [Victimology], because our great poet Saadi has already done so: To kaz mehnate deegaran beeghami Nashayad ke namat nahand adami In addition, this idiot forgets what President Roosevelt said to the Arab leaders: "You keep the oil flowing and we will keep you in power." In conclusion, I like to point out to this uneducated individual about one thing. America is a country that by public policy one can not hit their children, because it is considered physical abuse. Parents can go to jail, if the child complains. On the other hand the U.S military bombs innocent childern of other countries. More than half a million tons of bombs were dropped onVietnamese people and their children. Recent U.S bombing in Afghanistan has killed more than 4000 innocent people. So, the U.S still continues to bomb children of the world and gives away instruments of war to Israel for free to kill Palestenian children. Where is your humanity, Hodges? Get a life moron. Best regards, Farzod To top * What length a racist person would go In response to the article authored by Lee Howard Hodges, I shall just say that: -"Victimology" leaves the reader with an impression that the author, Mr. Lee Howard Hodges, lacks knowledge in the subject-matters discussed, or that his obvious racist's bias impeded his intellect to present an analysis with any factual substance. On the other hand, "Victimology" clearly demonstrated to what length a racist person would go to promote his own worthiness by denigrating others who might be his betters. Indeniably, racism can turn humans into dangerously narrow-minded fools. Nadine Sultan d'Osman Han USA To top * Playing the victim is easier Lee Howard Hodge is right. [Victimology] Go to Iran and people ask you why "the British sent the ayatollahs". The man in the street blames the "roshanfekrha" (intellectuals) for the Revolution. Everyone blames everyone else for everything, recognising no personal responsibility for anything. Everyone's a victim. The whole Shia concept is based on martyrdom. The devout, pure, god fearing servant of the prophet caught fighting injustice and going down in a glorious bloodbath. The victim again. Frankly its gets a bit boring hearing Iran and the Arab world constantly wailing about events in the 1920, 1940s or whenever, blaming colonialism, Israel, the USA, and just about everyone else for present woes. Other countries suffered far worse. Vietnam was bombed to smithereens by the USA and smothered in agent orange to boot. Japan was atom bombed. Korea devastated, Germany bombed flat; the USSR lost nearly 20 million souls in Germany's failed operation Barbarosa; Europe suffered two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, then its had to endure the Iron Curtain. China went through hell and back. The list is endless. So Iran et al should count itself quite lucky. In the annals of man's cruelty to fellow man, they've got off relatively lightly. And many of them have got the advantage of vast oil wealth under their feet. And despite everything going for them, Iran and the Arab world are essentially backward, with more than its fair share of ignorance and poverty. So either Iran, and the Arabs, can go on blaming the British, the USA, the Shah, Israel and anyone else who happens to fall out of favour, or it can grow up, cut itself free of the shackles of its past, and use its remaining oil wealth to look to the future to solve its problems. And Iran can start by examining itself to see how it got to the pitiful state its in today, and what it can do about it. But then, playing the victim is easier and avoids painful issues being addressed. Cyrus To top * I do not recall approving Thank you so much for this article, "Axis of excess", it is critical I believe that positive dialogue and serious, sincere efforts at demonstrating peace in order to achieve peace is needed by all nations and peoples, and as an American, I call on our government to start taking a noble and humanist role in the world, start supporting the UN as a body of equals, and not a source of military back-up, and let's move into a century of Peace, not of war. As a citizen, and as heart-broken and discouraged as I am over the cowardly acts of those of Sept. 11, I do not recall approving or being asked to approve this advancing war and sabre rattling -- it has to stop, and now in order to scorch the seeds of violence once and for all. Sincerely, Lucy Estephanos and Family Atlanta, GA To top * Mindless drivel I check these pages from time to time, and have come to expect a certain amount of drivel along with the more pithy and substantive letters and articles. For the most part, the readers also seem to be divided into at least two camps, those who are more interested in superficial popular banter and those who are more interested in depth and serious discourse. Now I don't mean to judge the quality of the writing, just that some are interested in fluff, and some in serious matters, for better or for worse. Gojeh Ezaafeh's "United States of Iranica!" seems to saddle the fence between these two realms, because it pretends to be serious discourse, but still, it does not attempt to be serious. Gojeh (real name?) seems to be saying that everything American is good, and everything about the current society in Iran is bad. Of it is much easier to engage in these kinds of gross generalizations than to spend the time and the intellectual capital to analyze critically. I don't mean to write a detailed and exhaustive of the piece here. Truth be told I could not bring myself to read word for word. I will just content myself to make a few points and leave the rest to the readers, if they have the patience and frankly, some extra time on their time. Gojeh thinks Iranians don't care about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Wrong. Many Iranians; hell most intelligent and even remotely educated people in the world are sickened by this ongoing conflict. Moreover, people in the Middle East must be especially concerned, and somewhat scared of what may become of this historic problem. So Gojeh jan, it is ok for you to be mindless and be more concerned about Gucci handbags, but don't assume that it is ok to be mindless, or that Iranians in general are mindless about such matters as the Palestinian conflict. Gojeh also doesn't know where all this religiosity came from. He points to the poems and miniatures depicting "saghi" dispensing wine and sex, and seems to think that faith suddenly sprung up in Iran. I am no great student of Iranian history, but from the little I do know, it seems that religion always did play a fairly major role in Iran. Iran is the birth place of the mystical branch of Islam, the Sufis. Iranian thinkers have long been concerned about man's relationship with the almighty. I grew up in a fairly secular family, but many members of my family always held deep religious beliefs. Perhaps one of the most objectionable and out right stupid ideas contained in the Iranica piece was the suggestion that the flag should be dispensed with, and that instead, we should adopt a replica of the old red white and blue. In my hear of hears, I am hoping that this suggestion (or the whole article??) is tongue in cheek. Get rid of the flag because it is old and boring?? What are you talking about? Our flag means something. It is not just a fashion statement. It is not like a Gucci logo that you replace as part of a new merchandising campaign. With all of the smart and well-educated old timers out there I don't dare begin to explain to you the meaning of the flag to you Gojen jan, but you should really give this some thought before you publicly embarrass yourself again as you have done here. I will end with a quick note about the comparison between the Pahlavis and the Kennedys. I guess if you really think about it, the comparison is not that off: The Kennedy clan has a lot of blood on their hands (A Teddy Kennedy and chap pa caddice (spelling?), escalation of the Vietnam war, Bay of Pigs, etc.), the Pahlavis have a lot of blood on their hands (1953 coup, savak, etc.) The Pahlavis are known for moral turpitude and corruption (Ashraf getting caught with drugs in Switzerland, tales of drugs and prostitution at the royal palace, torture of innocent people), and the Kennedys have a history of moral turpitude (Jack Kennedy screwing around in the white house under his wife's nose, their cousin raping some girl at the Kennedy compound, Teddy Kennedy's well-earned reputation for being a heavy boozer). The Kennedy clan members have had horrible deaths (two brothers shot, a third died in war, the son had a plane crash), and the Pahlavis have so far had pretty horrible deaths (Mohammad Reza died homeless after a long battle with cancer, his father rotted at some distant island in exile). So the comparisons hold, but it is silly to think we really need some figure head. Like some great father figure to guide us to the promised land. Tell me, what are "shah koochooloo's qualifications for office? Whatever you think about the regime in IRan, Iranians have become accustomed to voting, to elections, to knowing about what is going on in the world. They don't need some dude from the US to go back as a figure head simply because his father had the privilege of plundering the country and muzzle a whole generation of Iranians. And then there is the little problem of the Pahlavi's history of alligning themselves with the worst powers much to the disadvantage of the country. This began perhaps with Reza Shah's affinity for Nazi Germany, which got him depose and brought us his son. The son, of course, was beholden to the United States just as the US was emerging as the world's number one super power. So the Pahlavis have an all around bad track record, and I am being charitable. Babak Naficy To top * I prefer to be on this side I hope you're sarcastic [United States of Iranica!]. I just got back from a trip with a British group to St. Petersburg and the one swearing least against America trying to impose its arrogance and values on the rest of us, was me, the Iranian, not the Russians nor Brits. The Atlantic Ocean has been getting deeper. For better or for worse. As for me, prefer to be on this side of it, where we all speak a language that rises from the depths of history and world wisdom. Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmaian To top * You are out of your mind With few more iranian like you,who would want any more outside enemies? [United States of Iranica!] You are out of your mind, you are a sell out, ur ideas are anything but iranian.WE would not want to trade bad for worse.To begain with ,Pahlavisgoverment are responsible for ayottalah coming to power,pahlavi keeped people in such a dark and unejucated stage of life,reading books were against law and you would serve jail terms......I feel so sad to see young people like u would want american marin saving them, and giving them freedom and democracy.if there is someything i can aggree with you,is there are more oranian hi techs and educated here more than ever,that is ur only valid point.......the rest of ur ideas are as good as Kmart stock option. Iranian caveman in canada To top * Most exquisite Mehdi Jami's pictures from the Festival in Samarkand are most exquisite [Mesle naane Samarqandi]. It is very good to have features on Central Asia since it informs Iranians on the part of their rich ancient culture which is so often forgotten. If you cannot visit Iran these days, why don't you try Tajikistan and the beautiful cities of Samarkand and Bokhara, now in Uzbakistan? Zari To top * Not defending allegations Dear Ms. Lalefar, [Just not fair] I read with great interest your piece on the injustice or inequality in victim compensation cases involving US and Iranian citizens. I should point out that in none of the cases brought in the US courts has Iran appeared to defend the allegations, nor has it instituted an action in the World Court to have such judgments against it set aside as a matter of international law. Furthermore, and perhaps more troubling, is the fact that nobody put a gun to the head of the Iranian government to accept the compensation that the US offered in the settlement of the Airbus incident. In that case, as I have argued on this site [Getting down to business], the shame is not on the US but on the Iranian government for undervaluing the loss of Iranian life. In many ways a civilization is measured by what it means to itself and what it does to its kind; never mind what the US does to treat Iranians, what do Iranians to do to each other that requires greater examination. Best regards, Guive Mirfendereski To top * Good and bad Thank you for "Just not fair". I would like to say that for the first time I have read something from your site that I really enjoyed (I mean political one). Please for god sake do not publish the articles this idiot Peyvand Khorsandi writes [Bushiranians], because it is full of crap and you can smell hate and lagan from his writing. After reading his article, I have been sick for few days. Pirous Iran and all Iranian people to whatever they believe and support , but not to vatan foroshaa Regards, Mohammad To top * Distinguishing al-Qaida from Palestinians I just read you reply to the article "Largely a myth". I think one must be very narrow minded to question and deny all the values and struggles of other humans (like Palestinians), because of his own bad experiences. and put them all in the same basket. We all know that Iran has suffered alot in the past 23 years, that people have been killed, tortured in the name of religion, but aren't we intelligent enough to seperate events from each other and not call "useless" the 8 years of war that our brave people fought against saddam's iraq (enemy that was supported and supplyed with chemical weapons and other means of mass destruction by your so loved United state). Can't we distinguish an organisation like al-Qaida (by the way fed by U.S) from the young Palestinians who have seen their land taken, their home destroyed, their friends and relatives killed, their dignity stolen...etc by the savage Israeli butchers like Sharon for the past 50 years.Yes there is a difference between al-qaida who is fighting against its own buisness partners for the dominance of oil (pls read "la verite interdite") and a young palestinian who out of extreme desperation is willing to blow up himself and the age of 19. i'm sorry that you are blind, i'm sorry that all you see is a bunch teenage Israelis who are now afraid to go to their pizza parlors. I'm sorry that you think that Iranians are so impatiently waiting for the Americans to come back in their lives to beg them to create another shaboon bi-mokh you will save them from another god forbbiden independence. thank you for taking the time to read this ALI To top * Blind to a few good things Having followed Mr. Ahandoostís "Nokteh" for the past several months, I have come to the conclusion that his contributions are totally one-sided and biased. Not that I have any sympathies for the government in Iran, but for a point (Nokteh) to be convincing and effective, it is required, of the writer, to be objective and fair. It is quite allright for Mr. Ahandoost to despise the regime in Iran and have strong convictions about it that blind his sight also to the few good things happening in Iran. But then I have to know if the same goes for The Iranian since it seems that he has a permanent column for himself. I would be happy to know your position on this. Kind regards, Mazdak Maleki To top * Stop this horrible clash If you have been reading the Tehran Times in the last few days, you are aware that a spokeswoman for Lyndon LaRouche gave a presentation in Iran on who was really behind 9/11. [Rafsanjani and LaRouche!] Also, last Friday, Hashemi Rafsanjani, in his prayers, mentioned LaRouche as having the proper analysis of the events of 9/11. LaRouche is warning of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, which is being orchestrated by the REAL authors of the terrorist attacks. He names the faction of Kissinger, Huntington and Brzezinski. I would like to get some literature to you to circulate to your networks, so we can stop this horrible clash from coming into being. Thank you, Pat Noble To top * Wonderful piece of writing My Friend, Thank you for a wonderful piece of writing [BURNTOAST]. It is inspired. Pieces like this require so much effort and, in the end, one must have the courage to publish them whether anyone "gets it" or not. Again, a beautiful piece. How did I find it? An accident, looking for other somethings on the web. Have you any published writings? I would gladly buy your books. All the Best, Dennis Poledna To top * Brilliant and incredible talented Helllo Saman, I think that you are brilliant and incredible talented. You are an appreciated comic and I feel that your intelligence is amazing displayed in your work. I just wanted to express gratitude towards your art and encourage you to keep going because there is so much to be said and you are the perfect person to keep saying it to the world. Good luck to you in all of your endeavors. Respectfully, Solmaz Ziad To top * Bitter confusion in amateurish work Dear Saman, I had the chance to go through some of your work in today's THE IRANIAN. Although you don't seem to be much bothered about Iranian culture, but I wish to give you my greetings for the Iranian New Year. As you may know by now, your cultural identity has been in constant invasion sometime by "Gharb Zade ha" and now over twenty odd years "Shargh Zade ha" who have pissed over whatever was left from it. This bitter confusion is sadly evident from your amateurish work, which I can call it neither a Cartoon, nor a caricature. It seems to be a product of an unhealthy mind who is struggling to make a point about someting which does not know very much about it. My brotherly advice to you is you need to have a basic knowldege about a subject that you wish to write or draw. Try to look at the works of some of wellknown cartoonists and caricaturists. This may help you to understand what is all about. Best of luck for you and your other coleagues. Javad from London To top * What is "Guive"? I just read your piece "Of kings and cylinders" and the follow up to it regarding communications with "Bahram". Frankly, I could make any sense of what you were trying to say: Talk of gibberish, I think I found a great example of it in your article. Anyway, I do have a question for you, and I hope you will make me indebted to you by answering it. Before I get to the question, an introduction is necessary. From your writings, it is obvious that you are: 1. Someone related to Mr. Mirfenderesky, the foreign minister (if I am not mistaken) in the last cabinet of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, under the premiership of Mr. Bakhtiar (what is your exact relationship to him: are you the minister's daughter or son; I cannot tell from your name?) 2. Very learned in English language, so much so that I would do no battle with you regarding, and in, English language; and 3. Not very learned and informed in the history of Iran (and for that matter, even the U.K. [which by-the-way, is one of few countries in the world that does not have constitution] or U.S.,) but you like to pretend that you are. With this introduction, here are my questions: -- What is the name "Guive"? -- How do you pronounce it? -- What is its origin -- What does it mean, if anything -- How did it get to be someone's first name when the last name is "Mirfenderesky?" -- Is that a stage name? I hope you will forgive me for being so "brave" to ask these questions; when I read your piece in The Iranian, and noticed that you, in one part of your writings, were making kind of "fun" of a certain name (Xerxes Darius) it occurred to me to bring to your attention, as you would say, the very erudite nature of the readers of The Iranian, who may remember the famous saying "people who live in glass houses should not through stones." Thank you for your attention. M. Hassan Farzin P.S. I apologize for not addressing you with a Mr. or Ms., as I could not tell your gender from your name. To top * Profoundly not true I read youre article the "Window of opportunity", and the idea that all americans hate Iranians is a complete falsehood.That statement says all Americans think alike and that is also not true. As far as the disticntion between the rich and the poor, Iranian Americans are no better off than any other American;they have the same privilages and rights as any other American because they are American. As for stereotyping, some of it is true ,unfortunatly, which is due to lack of interest on the part of some people in the U.S. In response to charges of Americans stereotyping people of middle eastern descent, some of that is true unfortunatly but is due primarily to anger over the hostage taking in 1980 and the recent event of september 11 2001 which is understandable since the hijackers were of arab descent. But that, by no means is to say that Americans think all. Arabs and Muslims are terrorist. The rage many Americans felt over what happened in New York is not what ethnic culture did this, the deep anger comes from seeing people in the middle east (and this did come from the middle east)is the sight of people dancing in the streets, laughing, giggling and partying over the murder of over 3000 people, and then on top of that, was to hear some in Iran say "it's American policy come home to roost" which is extremely offensive and profoundly not true. The United States did not blow up an Iranian building symbolic to its culture and kill 3000 innocent people, nor am I saying that Iran did the bombing because that is also not true. In closing I would like to respond by saying that I took middle eastern history in college and Iranian history in particular.It has a very rich and historic culture, and is a very ancient civilization.When the Shaw came to power there was a disparity between the rich and the poor, with the rich holding most of the power. It was a very corrupt and oppresive regime that was overthrown because Iranians wanted to be free of his government. What replaced it though was something even more oppresive.The leadership that replaced it (I apologize that I cannot spell khomeini correctly) was run by a cleric who was something of an extremist and who nearly ruined Iran by doing some of the same things the Taliban did and who also sponsored state terrorism. (See reply below) Scott f Jewell To top * $50 for finding it Dear Mr. Jewel, Greetings! Your comments about one of my old articles, "Window of opportunity", which was published in the iranian.com was forwarded to me by its editor. Allow me to thank you for your comments. As a person who has consistently avoided making sweeping generalizations about any race, religion, or nationality, I am astounded to read your first statement claiming that in the article, I give the idea that ALL AMERICANS HATE IRANIANS! If you can find such a blatant statement in any of my work, I will send you a check for $50 for just finding it!! First of all, I never use "all" is any situation. Second, I simply reported the results of a survey taken by some students. Third, my point was to illustrate the negative impact of mass media (particularly TV and Hollywood movies) on the attitudes and perceptions of American viewers. Fourth, the atrocious terrorists attack on September 11 was indeed a disastrous event in the history of this great nation and, indeed, a failure in humanity. Furthermore, it was a huge letdown for me--a person who has talked and written about mass media's misrepresentations of the Middle Eastern peoples and cultures. I have always attempted--to the extent possible--to make the mass media and producers aware of their social and global responsibilities. The points that I have always stressed are that mass media images impact human interactions, that negative actions produce negative reactions, that positive messages produce positive results, that stereotypical representation of any cultural group is unwarranted, that marginalization of any cultural group causes problems, that injustice breeds injustice, that.... Fifth, I am a purveyor of peace, cooperation, mutual respect, understanding, and so on. I, like most people in the world, want a better (safer and more peaceful) world for my children and yours. Sixth, my record speaks for itself, hence I do not need to defend myself. In fact, you are the very FIRST individual who has totally misinterpreted my article! One can always take any passage out of any context and read into it what he/she wants. With warmest regards, Yahya Kamalipour To top * Among chimps Today I was reading "One Iranian woman" by Setareh Sabety, , and listening to her nice voice which made me a bit nostalgic as one of her hamshahris. Let me thank her for the contributions she has made to this site, enlightening us with both her charm and wit. Here are my comments regarding her definition of Feminism. Setareh, if Feminism is all about what you have defined in your article, then it is quite a boring movement. I don't think your definition projects any light on its true nature. Otherwise, it is a naked insult against your gender, assuming that for almost six-million years they did not care and give a damn about egalitarian concerns and rights. First let me state the Feminist position a bit stronger and then attack it: Feminism has actually been a cultural assault on human nature. Or in other words, Feminism is an attempt by women to team up, get stronger and put down men and their institutions that are, intenetionally or not, biased against wommen. Our behavior is a dependent variable while nested in a function that is related with two quit independent set of players; Selfish Genes and Selfish Memes. Feminism is a lost cause...why... because, genetically speaking in the course of our evolution we Human Animal, due to a set of environmental factors and constraints, end up behaving much like Chimps not Bonobos. Among chimps one can easily observe such horrible behaviors like Infanticides, Violence against weak-females-babies-elders, Harem, Rape, Murdering and Territorial Aggression of Us versus Them...! Now, one of the strategy female Chimps took upon their own dealing with aggressive males to defuse their attempt killing their babies, infanticide for example, is to copulate with all the males in their particular group---although not in a sense we would imagine as a prolong fancy love making for their copulation is merely last about 25-30 seconds but male Chimps have a very high quality sperms compare to us men that quick sexual contact is all needed to impregnate their mate. This sort of sexual promiscuous behavior among Chimps makes perfect sense and actually works because every male look at female's babies in their group as if he is the real father; Del-Khoshi Ro Bebin...! To observe Feminism in its true action you got to study the lives of Bonobos. They are always make love with each others, FtoM, MtoM, FtoF, MtoF and in variety of formats. Now, if you look at Bonobos they are quit look like Chimps very difficult for untrained observers to distinguish between the two of these species. And predictably female Bonobos has smaller body size compare to males'. But quit interestingly whenever they are the target of aggression by their male counterparts they would stick together like a bunch of sisters and attack the male aggressor. If a male bonobo tried to harass a female, all females would band together to chase him off. Because females appeared more successful in dominating males when they were together than on their own, their close association and frequent genital rubbing may represent an alliance. The fact that they manage to do so not only in captivity is evident from zoologist Takeshi Furuichi's summary of the relation between the sexes at Wamba, where bonobos are enticed out of the forest with sugarcane. "Males usually appeared at the feeding site first, but they surrendered preferred positions when the females appeared. It seemed that males appeared first not because they were dominant, but because they had to feed before the arrival of females," Furuichi reported at Strasbourg.(PEACEMAKING AMONG PRIMATES. F.B.M. de Waal. Harvard University Press) Females may bond so as to outcompete members of the individually stronger sex. There is this strong sister-hood bounding among them and as such in Bonobos societies you do not see Rape, Infanticide, Violence, Us versus Them group aggressiveness and other similar violent features like these as it is pervasive in other species of monkeys. They lead a very peaceful life compare to Chimps and of course us. Genetically speaking females of human animal in reality, Phenotype, deal with men based on case by case strategy and quit individually rather than in groups and socially with a hegemonic mindset. Feminism as a pure Memeplex construct is in battle head to head with our Genetic software. It is a lost cause because it implicitly aimed at changing Human Nature in order to achieve its goals; now, here is my Q. for all Feminists out there...! Do you prefer Bonobos' way of life or Chimps'---as far as your Genome concern?! Please, do not get me wrong for I'm not only for Women's Right but also animal rights as well but any movement that take upon itself to accomplish anything about Rights of Women, a truly daunting task, must first consult to see the very nature of our human construct too otherwise, Cultural Fundamentalism like a trap is waiting hunts down who ignore the leash of genes and it force on our life formats. Feminism is a bad religion; look how miserably Islamic Shari'eh tried but failed to fix, control or even modify some of our adapted behaviors from Gossiping to Sex. I'd like to finish this piece by once again reminding all of us to study deeply our human nature first before going out of our way prescribing what we ought to do enhancing our lives only for better. We need bold Visions for change and Human Nature is our eyes; let's use it. Saeed To top * Stop men from seeing them as inferior instead Parvin Khanom, [Be proud of your hejab!] I do not think that putting Hejab means anything. After all, one of the fastest growing business in your Islamic country of Iran is prostitution. I think they all have to use hejab there. What should be important is your sincerity, compassion and feeling for others. The problem is that people like you infringe on the rights of others who do not want to cover up, but have hearts and souls that are a lot cleaner than yours. By the way, if your God wanted you covered then it would have put hejab on you before you came out of you mother's tummy. I suggest that rather than covering woman to stop men from seeing them as inferior (or sexual objects) , a more perfect God would have created a man who could see only the spiritual side of a women even when she is totally naked. Unfortunately, the concept of your Gods is created by men. The same men who have created deceptive picture of women in garden of Eden. The one who gave Adam (the man) the apple and caused his fall. It is really a sad story. Do not be ashamed of being a woman. Good Luck Bijan To top * Not many have your courage Simply beautiful!! [Be proud of your hejab!] Not many have your courage and foresight. Be pround! A man To top * All wasted What an adequate impeccable rosary of words ! [Be proud of your hejab!] What a perfect flawless commendable phrasing ! What an easy flowing narration ! All wasted on praise of an usurped alien way of living ( HEJAB ) on us, PERSIANS ? H. Hakimi, Norway To top * Khanoom jaan, WRITE ON!! dear Sarvenaz, i am an avid reader of your work on iranian.com. i have also submitted a few of my works to the publication, and i am writing to express my gratitude towards your daring approach to erotic literature. i have read some of the angry mindless letters written by both your male and femal audience. the people who attack your work are the prime examples of why we have so much to accomplish as a culture. your work is an expression, a fantasy, and a look into the world of a sexual being, one who enjoys exploration of all boundries this is no different than any other type of fiction writer, and i cant stand to view the ignorance that some of your audience displays with angry letters accusing you of being a slut. give me a break. those people have to click on 2 icons indicating that they are SURE they want to enter your world. i find it nervy of them to criticise the sexuality of your work, when they knew damn well that it was going to be an explicit story. it seems like "ham kharo meekhan ham khormah" they read the entire work, enter your fantasy, then withdraw to display angry closed minded remarks. i know that you are a woman who follows her own intuition and that you are intrisically motivated, so im sure you arent bothered by teh remarks of others, but i would like to encourage to keep creating. the world of up and coming iranian authors (especially women like myself) needs you and your work desperately. you are ground breakingly innovative and the fact that you work with such grace with topics of sensuality and exploration breaks barriers for all authors within our culture. khanoom jaan, WRITE ON!! SZ To top * Can't figure out what you like to achieve Hello Sarvenaz, I have read the letters at Iranian.com. I have a mixed feeling about them as I enjoy them as much as I get disgusted! No, I am not a young kid who gets excited by reading a few lines of sexual material. I just can't figure out what you like to achieve by writing these stuff or are you trying to make any points at all?! Let me know. Thanks RA To top * I'd like to know more about the corruption Hi Sarvenaz, I read your other articles and was shocked by things that I found to exist in Tehran, such as vafoor room and Ecstacy with Allah on it and others. I was wondering if you could write an article specifically about the culture in Tehran. Of course, it does exist in other cities such as Mashad or Shiraz. I had been to wild parties in Mashad where people would go to and drink and then at the end would go out of town to smoke weed or Opium but nothing like having a special room for it. I'd like to know more about the fashion, corruption, and the life among the youth. How do they get vodka -- which i think I know where it comes from, the money and other things. I don't think many people in Iran live in a Third World country. Thanks, Reza To top * Too ball busting Oooooooooh that was too ball busting. [Sexual compatibility] I mean all the poor guy wanted to know was if he would like her in bed! It was I think a fairly simple question. Doubt is not absent from even the greatest love affairs. And wondering if you will or she will like you in bed is very natural. Also he may be anxious about his own ability to please her. Plus, ''seduce'' is not such a bad word. I mean you can love someone and want to seduce them you know. Not a really criminal thing to want. Also most men are not as easy about the term "love" so they use ''fond''. Often it is a question of semantics really. Or they simply do not know. That too is not criminal either. I think he has a chance with this girl and see no reason why he should move on. I would recommend to him trying non-penetrative sex. That way she would not feel as bad and he would see if the chemistry is there. And they would both have more fun and know each other better. Nothing brings people closer than shared orgasms. Sorry that I gave you my reaction bluntly like this. I do like your work and consider you a sister if not a daughter, in a common cause but I really think too much political correctness sounds like shiite censorship and takes away from the necessary intimacy of this kind of exchange. Any way darling abjeez consider this shop talk with kobra khanom, who is no doubt a bit more reesh sefid than you. and please do not hesitate to write back. keep up the good work. be omide movafagheyate shomaa, Kobra Khanom To top * Lack of physical intimacy common problem Dear Abjeez, Let me start by commending you for doing a wonderful job tackling the readers' questions. I have a comment regarding your last advice entitled "Sexual compatibility". In your response you alluded to the fact that physical intimacy is related to emotional intimacy i.e love. Although I agree with this statement and also agree with your overall response, I feel that you should have elaborated a bit more on the issue of sexual compatibility in Persian Marriages since this was the specific question from the writer. Lack of Physical Intimacy in Iranian marriages is a common problem. In fact many Iranians will tell you that for marriage physical intimacy and even the person's looks shouldn't be as important as honesty and love etc between the two people This is particularly difficult in Iranian marriages since unlike westerners who are open about their sexuality before marriage, this is next to commiting a sin in the Iranian culture. Back to your response. Again, although I believe that having a loving relationship helps in 'the bedrrom', I know of many Iranians whom, although they are in love with their wives, They just don't find them sexually appealing in the bedroom which may lead them to having affairs. Can you elaborate on this issue a bit further. Many thanks. Babak Peyvandi To top * What u wrote was unbelievable Dear Abjeez, I just want to let u guys know that i read your response to that guy [Sexual compatibility] and i think u guys are just amazing!!!! What u wrote for him was unbelievable and u guys are the best!!!! Eideton mobarak!!! Love, Atieh To top * Saale 2002 shod va hanooz... Dear Abjeez, vaagean barikallaa baa javaabi ke beien doost aziz daadid. [Sexual compatibility] ey baabaa...saale 2002 shod va hanooz maa neshastim injaa sare inke aaghaa masslashhon ine ke daaran zani migiran ke virgin hast sohbat mikonim... man ke deege harfi be zaboonam nemyaad... khodaa khodesh be hamye maa ye rahmi bokone.... elaahi aamin Arezoo To top * For Afghan women Thanks for all you do and for your excellent work, no doubt you are great and I wish you more success. I just wanted to remind you that the poem "I remember you" is from an Afghan poet by the name of "Zieba Shorish-Shamley" and it is dedicated to Afghan women. Here is the title: "A POEM DEDICATED TO MY SUFFERING AFGHAN SISTERS." I think it is unfair to take even this little thing away from them. After all they are even more miserable than our women. I know the similarities are striking but the truth is what I mentioned above. Thought to let you know and the rest is up to you. Shirin Tabib To top * Is that how they want them to see us? Dear Anyone Who Cares, I have watched the program "Region in Conflict" hosted by Ashleigh Banfield. [Ashleigh in wonderland] She was braodcasting live from Tehran, Iran. The first night, it pained me to see reminders of the past, the hostages, the people shouting, the flags burning. I thought it was all over. Five months ago, I proudly would wear my Iranian soccer jersey everywhere and I would hang our flag outside our window on the days that Ali Daei and the rest played qualifying matches. Five months have passed and yesterday marked the anniversary of the Revolution. A revolution I was not there to see, which replaced a leader I never knew either. I am from that generation of Iranians who know nothing but the present and the future. There is no point in reverting back into the past, so it brought tears to my eyes to watch Iran's Freedom Square today. The Americans watched as the flags burned once more, as the people raised their fists and shouted at an enemy half the world away. Ms. Banfield reprted than nearly a hundred thousand Iranians were gathered there. Where were the other 69, 900,000??? Why didn't she show them? The students who fight with honor and reason? The young couples meeting in pizza parlors? The internet cafes brimming with customers? The parties? The protests? The soccer stadiums? Why instead did she have to show the American people Khomeini's grave? Is that how they want them to see us? Well, not to discredit the importance of relgion in our society, but there is also a code that reporters must live by which says that are obligated to present both sides to every tale. Have a nice life everyone... Assal To top * Where are all the nice Iranian After reading your article [Shayan] which i must say took some time, I can't say that i have changed the way i feel about iranians. Its sad that so many had to leave there country to beg at the feet of countries such as Turkey and England and the usa but somehow i feel its the Karma for thousands of years or corruption. I believe truly that we are a nation who has losts its ability to trust and love. I am Iranian and dispite the downfalls that come with bearing that title I am proud of what I am. I feel let down by Iranians too, these feelings of mine stem from years of abuse and torment from my extended Iranian family and friends and basically every Iranian I've ever met. I truly believe I am different, I try my hardest to Love and respect everything and everyone. I work hard and persevere towards becoming a better person, but I don't meet Iranian with the same attitude. I guess the point of my email is I wanted to talk to someone about the way I feel. I was born in London -- born of two wonderful, beautiful parents who are unlike any Iranian i have evr met. Where are all the nice Iranians? Why has our nations lost all its faith...who can understnad these questions? Lets stop preaching to other nations about our ailments and look at the broader picture, running away proves our defeat... Parisa Zadeh To top * Political events are of no help A true description of the sufferings and desperation experienced by people who have been discriminated on the basis of religion, race, and political view. [Shayan] Unfortunately it is a sad occurrence in this century. I can watch the degree of desperation by refugees attempting to leave Middle East with the hope of a better and safer life in Australia. Same degree of hatred inflicted by this society at large is occurring in Australia, and unfortunately the current political events are of no help. History is being repeated almost 20 years later. Dr P Bakhtiarian To top * This year I am far away, alone I have been reading various articles for quite some time though. [Heechkas tanhaa neest] I am thrity five years old and I have lived in exile for over twenty years now. Last year this time I was with some of my family members in a big bright house celebrating Norouz. This year I am far away, alone in a dark semi basement apartment. I have spent many Norouzes by myself and some with my family and other great people. There is no such thing as getting used to being alone. I don't know if I should thank you for your article for thinking of people like me or those who are in worse situations, or simply just hate your it for reminding me that I am on my own this New year. I'll choose the former and wish you a New Year filled with joy, love and success. Best Wishes, Norouzetaan Pyrouz Fariborz To top * ... Az tanha balaa khizad salaam be to ke tanhaa ye tanhaaee. sheare delneshiny sorudey [Heechkas tanhaa neest], valy , delaa khoo kon be tanhaaee ke az tanhaa balaa khizad.... saale no mobaarak.... Emad To top * Chelcheleye bahaari Sadaf khaanoom, Noruz shomaa ham mobaarak [Heechkas tanhaa neest]. neweshteh-e ghashang-e shomaa messl-e chelchel-haa-ye bahaari be otaagh-e man ham sar keshidand. mamnon. baa aarezoo-e tandorosti va saali por baar. Nasser To top * Roohe eyd tabreek shomaa raa dar Iranian khaandam, [Heechkas tanhaa neest]. roohe eyd darash zende bood. hamvateneh baa zoughi hasteed, moteghaabelan baraayeh shomaa dar in ayaameh nouroozi aarehzoyeh, salaamati va shaadi daram. Nouroozetan Pirooz. Haxamanesh To top * Always thought pure Aryan Blooded Persian I just wanted to thank Laleh for her priceless article [Forgiving Salm and Tur]. Laleh khanoom You have opened my eyes on things I grew up with and never paid attention to. I always thought of myself as a pure Aryan Blooded Persian even if my father is from Azerbaidjan and my mom from Abadan. I grew up in Canada and have always been in search of great books on the real Iranian history. If your can suggest any unbios books or articles, it would help me understand what we are so I can teach my canadian born son what he is. Nokareh shoma Vahid To top * With or without the Oscars Just viewed the Oscar ceremony results and was deeply disapointed by the result for best foreign film given to "No Man's Land". Amélie nominated in 4 categories deserved at least an Oscar for it is a rare Gem. It is not the first time in the history of the Oscars that a film does not get an Oscar and yet enjoys critical and financial success. Amélie with or without the Oscars will be viewed as a Classic and will enter film History. Darius KADIVAR To top * Interesting and funny! My name is mona. i was serching for greeting suddenly i went through you'r site its really cool! yeah you're right thats true when i first read you'r message in the first page i really liked it and i found it interesting and funny! [Harf-e beepardeh] so i printed it and read it in front of my other friend they all srarted to laugh 2! i think i better thank you and the other people who make this sort of sites. thanks again and bye bye Mona To top * Laleh and Ladan I recently came across a story on one of the oldest conjoined twins who happen to be Iranian. Laleh and Ladan have made an appeal to the international community to be separated are trying to see if we can talk to a medical team who may have the expertise to seperate them. If anyone knows any contacts for them please send it to me. Thanks, Mahyar Etminan To top * Problem (typing in Farsi) I thought you might be able to help me on a computer problem (typing in Farsi)I have. I have bought a computer with Windows 2000 and Word XP. I have set the windows regional to Farsi. However, there is a problem with one of the keys, i.e, ( "D" on English keyboard which corresponds to the letter "yeh" in Farsi. In Farsi, when we type a word, the letters (with some exceptions) get attached together unless they come at the end of a word. With windows 2000 and Word XP, when I type a word with the letter "yeh" (letter "D" on the English keyboard), it does not get attached to the next letter. This is not right in Farsi as you know. How can I be able to use Windows 2000/Word xp for doing documents/work in Farsi. How can we fix this problem? Please help. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Habib To top * Poetry newsletter Many of you are poets, some have website that deal with poetry, and other may have been mistakes. However, if you like poetry then you should check out my newsletter. It is sent out on the first on the fifteenth of every month. It has around 400 subcribers in 15 countries around the world. Free and formal verse all welcome. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. If you'd like to see the latest issue please email me back and also do so to sign up. Thank you for your time. Bobby Whetzel To top * Iranian Jewish recipe I am looking for an Iranian Jewish recipe for Charoses. This is a traditional passover dish made with apples and walnuts, but I am told that the Iranian version (perhaps with prunes and other fruit) is much better. Do you have any idea where I could find such a recipe before next week??? Thank you. Amy Becker To top * Community School I saw your website and a lot of old memories from my Community School days came back. Those were the days. But there were a lot of names which were missing. Do you have a lising of all at CHS? Sonny Shirazi To top * Searching for my father for the last 13 years Hi to whoever reads this, I dont know what good this will do but I can only hope and pray that this will reach someone who will know some information that can help me in my long quest.... My name is Samson and I have been searching for my father for the last 13 years of my life... he and my mother never really got along together and she complety cut off all contact with him when I was 8 years old.. Now i am at the age of 21 and I am planning to fly to Seattle Washington on april 17 to look for the father that I believe is there.. see the first and only time I ever met him was when I was 8 and I flew to seattle to visit him.... and now I have put all my hope into this trip because I despreatly want him to be in my life or at least close the door on me wondering where he is or if he ever thinks about me.... My mom never talks about him but my aunts tell me that he loved me very much and when I was born he flew here to hawaii (where I am from) more then 3 times to see me... You might be asking yourself why am I sending this to your website.. the reason is that my father is 100% iranian... his name is Saber "sam" Azizi.... the only thing that I do know about him after all my research is that for a short period he owned a company called "Fast Courier & Assoc" in seattle but now there is another corporation with that name.. the one and only last thing I remeber is that my dad was active in the iranian community in seattle washington... so I ask you if you can help me please e mail me... I would love to finally meet my grandparents that still live in Iran... you dont know how hard it is to live your life and only hear bad things about the country where your father was from and not have him as an example of the good things that do come from there... I understand if I do not get a responce back to this e mail but I thought it wouldnt hurt to try... so I thank you for all your time and patience.... whatever information you give me would be greatly appreciated... Aloha Aamson Winchester To top * My grandfathe worked for the king of Persia Hello my name is Shahnaz Edelji Tehrani and I am a 14-year-old English girl. I was facinated to find many websites with my name and I thought you'd also like to know that I think my grandfather, sadly dead now, worked for the king of Persia (IRAN). If you know anything about my family could you please email me back at ozzy88uk@yahoo.co.uk Thank you very much Shahnaz Edelji To top * Meshkatian's music moves me Dear Friend , I am a African American and i love Persian misic. Ostad Parviz Meshkatian's music moves me to the depts of my soul. I would like to contact him by telephone or e-mail. Can you please help me find a contact (agent or manager) who would forward my e-mail or give me a phone number to call in Iran or eslewhere. Happy Naw-Ruz , Peace Larry To top * Work harder on ur music section hi my name is sara and i am 14 years old.i am always listening to the great songs u have in ur sight but they are always the same.for example:leila forouhar and many others have new albulms with new songs. please try working harder on ur music section. also u can add more singers like pyruz or helen. thank you so much for cooporation. eide hamegi mobarah bad. sincerely Sara Tabatabai To top * Why Haft Seen? I would like to know why our haft seen must include seven objects, what their significance is and and why these seven objects must all start with the letter S. I would be very grateful to you if you could inform me about these customs traditional to my culture. Thanks Chista To top * We believe in India As you know, the Hindu-Muslim trouble in India and particularly Gujarat has become very grave. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the militant, medievalist, fundamentalist and most dangerously, violent, organisation has been engaged in nothing less than a pogrom. Already, as many in Gujarat have been killed as in the time immediately following the razing of the mosque in Ayodhya. The reports coming out of Gujarat continue to be most grim. In an effort to spread the idea that Indians abroad are horror-struck by what is going on, some of us have penned a short manifesto. This is already making the rounds and will eventually get back to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership - the ruling party - in New Delhi. Here's the text: We Believe In India The Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Gujarat and elsewhere, but particularly in Gujarat, has negated the idea of India. It has been attempting to do so ever since the first Rath Yatra twelve years ago to promote the idea of India as a Hindu-only nation. This is unpardonable. The VHP is today the single most grievous threat to the social fabric of our country. Our plea is that they cannot and must not be allowed to continue the pogrom of Muslims by these or any other means. Our idea of nationhood as defined by our Constitution stands. Our idea of an Indian nation that has been defined by our legions of freedom fighters stands. Our idea of an Indian nation put into words and poetry and song and film by our patriots, from Muhammad Iqbal to Abdul Kalam Azad to Ismat Chughtai to Asghar Ali Engineer, stands as we have always known it, as we have always felt proud by. We reject completely the perverse, destructive, idea of an India that is non-secular, the sort of India that the VHP is trying to foist upon us. We reject altogether the idea of an India that is narrowly defined by adherence to one or another religion, faith or belief. For we believe in the universality of humankind, and we condemn in the strongest terms the grossly violent divisiveness that the VHP is fomenting, in Gujarat and elsewhere in our country. We condemn in the strongest terms possible the desecration of our idea of nationhood. We state that what has taken place in Gujarat in February and March 2002 defiles our country, does us grave dishonour as Indians. We find it deeply distressing - as part of the overseas Indian community - to read about and hear of these divisions that are sought to be made in our national character. We regard India as indivisible. We say that to attempt to do so by means of religion, caste, creed and class is to be anti-national, anti-Indian and treasonable. We bear witness to having seen the Hindu dharma being hijacked to whip up rage, hatred, violence and destruction. We reject this as being un-Indian, and completely unworthy of being Hindu. As Indians, we may have simply wanted to hang our heads in shame at seeing the wanton destruction that is being wrought in our country. But we would rather hold our heads up and say that even now, even against this, we shall overcome. Hum honge kaamayaab. (That last is the transliterated Hindi for "we shall overcome", a freedom struggle song of India) Many thanks and regards, Rahul Goswami To top * Quickest way from Berlin to Tabriz I am a German scriptwriter who is writing a story that takes place in 1940. Could you please be so kind to tell me what would have been the quickest way for somebody to come from Berlin in Germany to Tabriz (train, airplane?) and how much time would this journey take? Thank you very much for your help in advance! Yours sincerely, Katja Staschewski To top |
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