Letters August 2006 August 14 The burden is on Israel to make strategically intelligent moves -- not manic onesIn response to Rosa Golish's "Hezbollah is using innocent civilians as shields" and Deev's "I hate Hezbollah too, but...": "Israelis are educated in what to do during..." Ordinary Iranians pay for political gamesIn response to Iranians detained at San Francisco airport, "It is a pity": Salam to all: Hamid Salmasi, PE Letter of apology, at leastIn response to Iranians detained at San Francisco airport, "It is a pity": Dear Mr. Javid, R. M. Not surprising me at allIn response to Iranians detained at San Francisco airport, "It is a pity": Hi, I read the story, about the hospitality and treatments of the faculty and graduates of Sharif University in California. It is not surprising me at all. Iranians are bunch of well educated group here in USA, but they do not carry a well reputation in the current administration. I hope, and wish for a day that this animosity comes to the end. Please arrange your next reunion in different country like Turkey or France. I can go on and onIn response to Iranians detained at San Francisco airport, "It is a pity": Dear JahanShah: I am perfectly aware that the following to you is nothing but "Yasseen Dar'e Goosh'e Khar" but I have to do my patriotic duty. You should know by now that to protect its citizens, the US Government must take appropriate measures against all kinds of terrorists. Baahejab or Beehejab! Let's examine some simple facts and arrive at a reasonable conclusion. 1) The so-called Sharif University of Technology (SUT) was named after a terrorist (Sharif Vaghefi) after the mass suicide of 1979. In fact, this institution was built by that Khoda Beyamoorz in 1966! 2) After the extermination of competent members of the faculty and staff of this institution by the terrorist Khomeini regime, it was staffed with a bunch of commies and relatives of Akhoonds (i.e., terrorists.) 3) Through the filtering process and the quota system put in place by the terrorist regime in Iran, a large percentage of the students entering this institution are either terrorists or related to the terrorists or must satisfy a set of terrorist criteria in order to get in!? 4) The current chancellor of this SUT is a terrorist. I can go on and on. Now, had these "ham az akhor khor, ham as tubreh khor" participants of the reunion decided to use the real and honorable name of the institution (e.g., Aryamehr University of Technology Association) just may be the US authorities would have reconsidered and allowed the guests in. Remember, the FBI boys and the FBI files know everything about you and your past. I know that it's against your religion to think, JJ, But please think about it. May light of Arya shine upon your ignorant mind! Outsmarted Mike WallaceIn response to Ahmadinejad's interview on 60 minutes, "Part 1 Part 2": I saw the interview and I have to admit that I was expecting an illogical, ridiculous, and embarrassing person but I have to agree with you completely. I thought Mr. Ahmadinejad handled the interview extremely well. He outsmarted Mike Wallace in every sense of the word. He came across as an educated, reasonable and peace loving individual. And to my surprise he even looked and acted presidential. F. A. Hardly in touchIn response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": Thank you for your brave and bluntly written article. Your opinion is a sharp response to the Hezbullah supporters like that nameless coward who wrote a nonsense piece, "Arab-Israeli political correctness," on the same page as you. All those whose letters you refer to are at best living in a state of denial and at worst actively supporting the murderous mullahs. A good majority of Iranians in the US and elsewhere have lived long enough in their self imposed exile that cannot relate to the realities of life in the homeland they abandoned many ago. They think a short return visit once in a while would keep them 'in touch!' Hardly at all. They have never struggled to earn a living under the harsh conditions that a teacher and a civil servant would endure to feed their families. They have never faced the mullah's judiciary to defend their rights let alone experiencing the pain of seeing a loved one incarcerated or, worse, executed by the same people who fund, train and support the Hezbullah and Hamas. For you and all those who have truly suffered under the tyranny of the turban wearing criminals and their henchmen the choice is clear. Not so for those have enjoyed a cushy life in a comfy corner of this vast land. For then this is just another pastime -- something to make them appear as active or caring individuals. They complain from being called anti-semites, but lose no time in labelling you as Zionist! Their hypocrisy deserves utmost contempt. Olmert must be stand before UN crime tribunalIn response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": I totally disagree with the baseless facts by Ms. Golnaz Motarassed since , Hezbollah is established before 1979 , the first name was (harkate-al-mahromin) then changed to (Amal) and later to Hezbollah . It establishe by Mostafa Chamran and Imam Mousa Sadr . Hezbollah is a legitimate Shia organization that is a member of government and is the largest poliotical party in Lebanon. 2. Israeil has a record of violation of Human Rights inside ISrael , Palestine and Lebanan. ISrael in the past has so many times attacked and kidnapped civiliana and Hezboolah milita's . The only solution is 2 states for Palestinian and Israel . ANd the gurantee of Israel to Muslim and th eworld that they do not intend to make the promis land to be true and they will stay within the boarderd defined by UN and follow the UN resolution #242 before asking UN Resoltuion #1969. The ignorance of UN resoltuin proves how much Israel dibelives in Peace Saeed Sultanpour Hardly outwittingIn response to Far, the translator of Ahmadinejad's interview on 60 minutes, "Despite his looks and stature": Dear Mr. Translator, It was also Ahmadinejad who in a way forced Mike Wallace to bring the interview to an end, when Mr. Wallace mentioned that they were told by some aides that they had to watch for the time and the duration of the interview, or else... To which Ahmadinejad replied so gleefully that he had other appointments!! he needed to attend to. All in all, I did not hear anything i had not heard prior to this chat session. He basically highlighted what he had said repeatedly, only this time he used different words to express them. It hardly qualifies him as outwitting, or that he was following a certain logic, or likeable for that matter. Ahmadinejad must answerIn response to Amir Nasiri's "Help my people": I agree with you >100% . Ahmadinejad must answer these questions which Iranian people elected him to do. I don't think Iranian nation elected him to solve Palestinian- Israeli conflict or join a bunch of losers in Europe to deny the Holocaust. Regime change via U.N.?In response to Hasan Behgar's, "Toofaan bar faraaze Iran": Thank you for your detailed analysis. But some points were not said clearly in your article. However, a UN mandated intervention in Iran can be implicitly understood in you discussion. Please be courageous and let people know about your purposes on this issue. What a mean questionIn response to Quiz question, "Iranian men :o)": All the bald guys "for certain" -- what a mean question, Jahanshah. You just want to point out that Persian men are frequently bald!! BN Israeli "self-defense" makes no senseDear Editor, I've learnt with indignation from the Israeli military attacks on Lebanon, with as direct cause the imprisonment of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah. Since neither is the case, the Israeli allegation of self-defense makes no sense. Regarding the bombings on civilian areas in Beirut, several villages in South-Libanon and the destruction of 15 villages, Israel has committed war-crimes, since according to International Law, military attacks on civilian areas are prohibited The Israeli argument concerning the possible presence of Hizbollah is unacceptable, since in that case, all possible measures must be taken to minimize the risk for civilians, which excludes indiscriminate bombings The humanitarian toll has been sofar 1000 deadly Lebanese victims, mostly civilians A million Lebanese have fled. A great deal of the Lebanese are lacking electricity and watersupplies, because of the bombings of the infrastructure Hezbollah, however, also has committed war-crimes, by their rocket-attacks on Israeli cities, which have costed more than 50 Israeli's deadly civilian-victims. Since neither Israel, nor Hezbollah, have shown an elementary respect for the rights of civilians, as well as to prevent a further escalation of the conflict, a direct call for a cease-fire is necessary, as well the establishment of an international Peaceforce, of countries, neutral to the conflict Astrid Essed Just watch and listen to this guy George GallowayIn response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": Golnaz khanoom, How can you defend such policies?In response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": It is sad when one reads commentaries such as Golnaz's piece on support for Hizbollah which tries to flair Iranian patriotism against the terrible crimes happening in Lebanon. As an Iranian who has equal number of Jewish friends in Iran and USA, I am deeply disturbed by your logic. Regardless of religous background, one has to see the level of atrocities that are happening in Lebanon. This country has been turned to ruins and rubbles and most of the casualties have been women and children. How can you defend such policies when the other party to conflict is trying to defend themselves? Even the generals in Isreali Army have expressed that they had planned this conflict for over a 3 years. Who has the Air Force, Army and Navy? who is the one getting a supply (overnight I should add) of percision bombs? who has caused the most casualty and taken more hostages?... regardless... you have to look at this conflict fairly and justly. As a Iranian (first and foremost), I support their right of self defense. Israel has shown no concern for human life and has been planning to attack Iran for years through manipulation of facts, falsification of data and other terror means (suport and training for MEK) and Baluchi terrorists. Iran has the right to support Hizbollah to defend itself. There is not a day that goes by that the Israeli's and their surrogates (USA) accuse Iran of building Nukes and other distorted information. It is the nature of the Isareli regime to destablize the middle East so that they can expand and maintain their occupation. Freedom, without boundaries, often worse than tyrannyIn response to publishing Hossein Hajiagha's cartoon, "When Iranian women move to Canada" Hello dear Jahanshah, I'm not writing this to be published, but just as a personal chat, about something regarding Iranian.com, which time and again pops up into my mind. And now I thought maybe I should write about it. I saw something really horrible published on the website. It's about somebody thinking about women, Iranian women, who go to the West, Canada in this case. This person, drawing this thing, is probably not someone with any relationship with any woman, who is obsessed with women's freedoms, therefore demonising their freedoms. Maybe he's got serious problems. I wonder what the hell he's doing in Canada! Why isn't he going to Iran where women do not have so many rights and maybe there he could get a wife, get a life, and be happier. Many people cannot take it to see others be happy while they have some personal issues. These are people who rule Iran, like the guy who's drawn these horrible things. So his place is not in a free country. Anyway, I was trying to make a point here, but this is not the reason why I'm writing now. I think Iranian.com, as a community, has a great role (thanks to you and probably many other fellows who do the administering and the writing) in pushing the Iranians toward more open-mindedness, toward progress, and eventually away from ignorance. This community is doing a noble social job in making the Iranians and many others aware of many issues. This is really something great, something to be proud of, and something worth the endeavour. And I personally like writing for Iranian.com for both my personal pleasure and also for feeling the duty to do the very small bit I can for the betterment of the Iranian community. But some drawings, articles and probably other materials that time to time appear on this website undo some of the good I was just trying to convey above. Freedom, freedom of expression, and all sorts of other freedoms, are what we are trying to protect and spread. But this does not mean we should forget about other peoples' rights and do whatever we feel like doing. We have the duty of respecting other' rights in order to deserve to live in a free society. Freedom, without boundaries of respecting others' freedoms as well, is often worse than tyranny. It is called anarchy. I hope I make my point understandable. Material like this pollute this website and probably often lower the quality of both the audience and also the articles. Some people who will see material like this on the website will not return to the website and some others will not want to join in and contribute with quality material. And this is bad for the community, and bad for our goal of doing something to Please don't get me wrong! Whoever owns a website has all the rights to do whatever he/she likes with it, publish whatever he/she likes on it. That's of course up to you. However it's a matter of principle for me to say what I believe is important and right. There are so many publications out there that are liberal, and truly believe in the freedom of expression and strongly espouse for it. But they do not publish all sorts of things that may be offensive, or socially or personally, distasteful. I hope you don't take this as something that is none of my business, but as a friendly opinion, which I hope will have some effect. BM REPLY: Hi BM, When women come from closed societies (like Iran) to open societies (like Canada), one of the positive changes is personal freedoms, including the right to have sex with any adult, of any orientation, you wish. So it is a fact that these women become more sexually active. And GOOD for them. I have no problem with it. But Hajiagha doesn't like it one bit. He (and many many many Iranian men; Hajiagha is not some isolated lunatic) think the same. And he and anyone else has every right to object to what they don't like in whatever form they like. And I have every intention to let him and anyone else complain about anything they want... Cheers, Jahanshah Javid HOMOPHOBICIn response to publishing Hossein Hajiagha's cartoons: Dear Iranian .com, Do you know one of your Cartoon writer is HOMOPHOBIC? Do you encourage him? I would like to know what you think. Also why dose he hate Canada so much? Ali from Vancouver Israel is much more of a "terrorist"In response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": In response to your letter, I have to say this: Go ahead, support the bastards! You take your side and I take mine. In fact, Israel is much more of a "terrorist" by the kind of damage they have done to hospitals, ambulances, bridges, and other structures in Lebanon that have made it extremely hard for civilians to get any treatment or UN aid from the outside. Of course, Israel uses the rhetoric "collateral damage". I suppose Bin Laden was also trying to blow up the towers only and the 3,000 people killed were collateral damage. Well, the count in Lebanon is 1,000 so far. You shock me with your ignoranceIn response to Morteza Loghmani's "Arabs vs. Israelis": Salaam va dorood, Morteza, Your list of "10 Facts" (more "10 Lies and Distortions") shocked me and I hope many of Iranian.com viewers. It was blatantly racist and bigoted, and an apology should be demanded from you from all the Arab youth you have demonized. As Sa'adi quoted from the Prophet Muhammad, "bani adam azayeh yek deegarand..." (The children of Adam are from one limb...). You should sympathize with the frustration of their youth rather than sit back here comfortably and bash their grievances and situations. For example, you said that while Israeli youth aspire to be inventors and entrepreneurs, the Hezbollah youth aspire to be martyrs only? What lies! I could twist that logic and say "All Israelis aspire to be IDF soldiers while Lebanese youth dream of being free from having a neighbor that has invaded and killed over 200,000 of their civilians (look up Ariel Sharon and the Massacre of Sabra and Shatila)" Arab youth, from Egypt to Iraq wish to be free from the hands of the imperialists and their puppet leaders. These parents of these youth used to be pan-Arabists, pan-Nasserists, even secularists through institutions such as the Ba'ath party. They tried to rid their land of foreign hands who seek only a staple crop economy (oil, cotton, etc.) and make progress for themselves. Those movements all failed (thanks to the US who kept associating those groups with communism and having them eradicated by force) and only the Islamic parties were able to remain strong and intact (because of 1,400 year old institutions behind them that could not be easily destroyed by the US or the British). My question to you Morteza, do you know how Hezbollah was formed? Is not Hezbollah an offshoot of AMAL? AMAL (which means hope in Arabic) was originally created by an Iranian professor of nuclear engineering (Dr. Chamran) from UC Berkeley, who went into Lebanon to create UNIVERSITIES for the poor under-represented Shi'as of the south of Lebanon. One such university he created was the Jabel-Amel in the South of Lebanon. He created institutions to create hospitals, schools and universities that could eventually create research facilities and empower the SHIA YOUTH of south Lebanon. What happened in 1983? When Israel invaded Lebanon, the Shi'a of South Lebanon became targets of massacres even though they had nothing to do with the PLO targets of the Israelis. After the PLO was eradicated, the Israelis felt arrogant enough to continue their occupation of Lebanon. The universities created by AMAL were transformed into military training centers to train the Shi'as into helping Lebanon help rid the Israeli occupation. They had to put their DREAMS on hold because Israel loves to break international law. And I don't know where you get your news, but their is definite outrage in the Arab world when Shi'as or Sunnis get slaughtered in Iraq or Sudan. While the "WESTERN" media isn't showing these on a constant basis, agencies such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are showing these images every day with angry commentators that constantly condemn this carnage. It saddens me that you would put down these Arab youth by implying they are ignorant, when you are the one ignorant of history. These Arab youth DO seek higher education, but how can they when Israel continue to occupy their land (Look up Shebaa Farms) and constantly threatens them on a daily basis (even before this attack that started a month ago). I hope you do more research and at least apologize to the Iranian.com audience for making these racist remarks. By the way, also look up how many American-Israelis flew back to Israel when the conflict started to re-join the IDF and help them in "killing" the Lebanese. If one seeks martyrdom to liberate his land, the other side is committing murder to flex it's military power in the region. SO DON'T MESS WITH IRAN!In response to Israel-Hezbollah war: I don't have "howseleh" to write too much; so here is a short analysis of a great political mind -- right there with Machiavelli, Churchill, Metternich, and the rest of the gang: Forgotten what Hezbollah has done?In response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": Well said Golnaz! Damet garm. I donâ't know if I should laugh, cry or feel sorry about bunch of dumb ass Iranian who live in exile because of the Hezbollahâ's action, and now they are routing for these savage sub humans, because their anti Semitic haltered apparently supersedes their hatred for Hezbollah!!!! Apparently these idiots have forgotten what Hezbollah has done to Iran for the past twenty seven years: millions of death from war and executions, millions in exile, amputations, stoning, destruction of Iranian historical art affect and culture , giving away money from Oil sale to Syria, Hamas, PLO, Hezbollah and the rest of these scum organizations while more than 50% of population lives in poverty! They simply have forgotten that Hezbollah of Lebanon is an extension of Hezbollah of Iran. They have forgotten how these Hezbolahiâ's from Lebanon time after time participate in destroying any uprising in Iran (18 Tir was a great example) Hezbollah has one more card to play before it totally fades away in the ashes history and that unfortunately involves in taking Iran to war with U.S and NATO with the end result of total destruction and disintegration of Iran. You are right, there is no hope for these mental insane people. so please by all means be Anti-Israel and support those bastards. NO surprise since you are JewishIn response to Golnaz Motarassed's "Go ahead, support the bastards": Golnaz, No power wants a powerful IranIn response to Homayoun Abghari's "Cheraa eshghaal": All Iranians that have lived long enough in the US they realize that most Americans in the Red States and the rural parts of the Blue States have an intriguing lifestyle. They usually listen to the Fox News, love hunting, go to church every Sunday, and can't locate any other country on the map except Mexico and Canada. These people are ready to Nuke rest of the world in order to have a comfortable sleep though the night and keep the fishing schedule in order for the next day. If you let them destroy your country they happily come and rebuild it for you as they did in Germany and Japan. The key is that you have to be completely submissive to their will. Since these people make the vast fabric of the US, they influence a large part of American foreign policy and undermine intellectual movements inside of the country in times of crisis and terror. The good thing is when they come up in the American political landscape, things tend to get significantly simple even in their foreign policy compare to British's or German's. They feel they are powerful and don't bother to pretend or hide any thing. This way they save a lot of time for everybody. If you believe that Hizbolla is the extended arm of the IRI so is Israel for the US. The only difference is that US's arm is much longer than what of IRI. For Americans Israel is an additional advantage but for IRI, Hizbolla is a necessary tool to survive. It is like the choice of having a sports car or clean drinking water. In addition, Lebanese are respected internationally for their fight to save their country. Iranians in general respect freedom fighters despite of their religion. Not only Lebanon but Syria, Bosnia, Cuba, Armenia, Kashmir, Sudan, Yemen, and many others being supported by the Iranian money and I don't see why except that Iranians love their country and love whoever loves his/hers while being oppressed. I believe no regional and international power including China and Russia wants a powerful Iran. That's because our beloved country doesn't have a good track recode when it comes to power. The most recent history was made when Shah made his 2500th anniversary speech. I see even Mossadegh and Khomeini as the continuation of that trend, two sides of one coin. All the signs and indicators in recent speeches from Javier Solana and other moderate western politicians show that the west has to change its behavior towards Iran and accepts her as a regional power. If that happens Iran most likely accepts Israel's right to exist along a continuing support for a sovereign Lebanon and an independent Palestine. So this game is mostly about power and its consequent security guarantees in the region. On the other hand the west has not yet accepted the role of a powerful Iran. We all know how vital Iranian assistance was to the west to destroy Taliban regime and Iran's significant role for the containment of Al-Qaeda's operations worldwide. Remember that most of Al-Qaeda's chief operators are still in Iranian and Syrian prisons. However the response to Iranian courtesy was rather harsh. This and the watery western nuclear package to Iran strongly suggest that west is not yet to come to accept Iran as a Middle East super power and to smooth the way to have a much modern Iran. However recent development in Lebanon tells another story that Iran is waking up and rejuvenating herself despite all the horrendous and continuous pressure against her will to reform and modernize her majestic beauty. I wish you were not defensing BatebiIn response to Sayeh Hassan's "Democracy behind bars": Agha Seyed Hassan, It is obvious from your article's attack on the most progressive and human defenders in Lebanon (Hezbollah) that you are a Zionist agent or their supporter. I wish you were not writing in defense of Mr Batebi who is in jail since you are destroying his credibility also (by association). Photo essay helped me get closerIn response to Jahanshah Javid's photo essay on Akbar Ganji, "Progress at last": Dear Jahanshah, I wanted to thank you for your wonderful website. Specially, I wanted to thank you for your photo essays. They are wonderful. I check your website more than any other. It is always interesting, and unbiased, which is something really rare in our system. I just finished seeing and reading the photoessay on Ganji in Berkley, and that is when I decided to send you this email. I could not come to see Ganji in any of his talks, because I live in Western Canada, and I hear about their location to late to get there. Your essay helped me get closer... Anyway, thanks a lot. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you be as successful as ever in your wonderful work. SK Kiss Arab ass -- for moneyIn response to Arab-Israeli political correctness rules: JJ why aren't you being upfront with Iranian people and declare that you kiss Arab ass, not by choice, you get paid for it. Who is Dariush Abedy at your organization. Frothing-at-the-mouth racistIn response to Amil Imani's "Useful idiot": With this article, I'm afraid Mr Imani has set himself up to be called a "useless idiot". Unfortunately, since he sounds like a frothing-at-the-mouth racist, it is pointless to waste one's time trying to engage him. IdiotologyIn response to Amil Imani's "Useful idiot": Islam still has a far cleaner recordIn response to Amil Imani's "Useful idiot": Although I do agree with some of the points that you made in your letter about the misconducts of Islamic societies, but I am afraid I should inform you that you are only looking at one side of the problem and concentrating only on small part of a much bigger picture. As dangerous as a "useful idiot" might be, it is no match for an "Idiot in Denial". An idiot in denial is one who is always looking for escape goats, never takes his/her share of responsibility and look for a simple solution to very complex social problems. This type of person refuses to look at the whole picture and is always ready to be taken for a ride by other people's propaganda and never bothers to think for himself. Of course there are problems with Islam and its followers today but this is not limited only to Islam. One Just needs to look at the problems in Middle East today to see that most of the killings and inhuman behaviours are being committed by the followers of Christianity and Judaism. From Iraq to Palestine and from Lebanon to Afghanistan, they are the ones who mostly bomb and kill children and commit most rapes and crimes against humanity. Now if you do not believe me just have a look at the reports provided by the Red Cross, Amnesty International and UN, and for god sake remember to change your TV channel from FOX News To me it seems so naïve for a person to see the world as either black or white. That we either should accept all the misconduct of Islamic societies and their governments and all the injustice and crimes that takes place under the name of Islam as true definition Islam or throw all Muslims into the sea and reject their right to exist or choice of religion altogether >>> Full text Throwing in a reference to 'Native Americans'In response to Leila Sadeghi's "The shouting blind are frauds": Leila, You asked the following of me: "Why is it that everyone who responds calls me names? You call me a fraud, another calls me an anti-semite. Here is my answer. I hope you read it carefully and give it considered and rational thought. When you express an opinion in a public forum... and an internet site like Iranian.com is a form of public forum... you need to realize that it is best to clearly communicate your arguments grounded in things you know, have studied, or have adequately researched. A public forum is much different than a gathering of friends and acquaintances at a soiree in your home. At home, or among personal friends and acquaintances, emotional arguments may be perfectly acceptable. But without reasoned and informed grounding, in a public forum, you will alienate, and rather quickly so, people whom are better informed or studied on an issue. As an individual reader of Iranian.com, and on a personal level, I would never advance an argument in a public forum on a topic of which I had only superficial knowledge. If I felt I were sufficiently grounded in a topic, then I would make my argument for my perspective. Similarly, I would also not make my argument with analogous comparisons unless I was equally grounded in those analogous areas as well. I read this site to learn more of the Middle East and about Iranian influence on the region specifically. I am studying and researching so I have a better grasp of this region and all of the impact it is having, good and bad, on my life. Because of your correspondence I will open up further and explain that I read and research the site to some extent because I am also personally concerned that violent, militant Islam is in a period of ascendant revival, but to truly know for myself if it represents the grave, destructive danger my emotions believe it to be, I feel I need to study and research to make an informed and reasoned decision rather than react based solely on emotion. When, or if, I feel I have a sufficiently grounded understanding then, perhaps, I might contribute a paper to the site.....but not unless or until >>> Full text Brings back so many happy memoriesIn response to 1965 radio comedy play, "Shabaji Khanom": Listening to Shabaji Khanom brings back so many happy memories of growing up in Iran. Thanks to Milad Sfandiary. As I was telling Shabaji Khanom stories to my family here I realized there were parts missing. I wonder if anyone knows which year that program stopped airing? Or why? And whatever happened o Zarandi? I wish I could just google or Wikipedia him but I have a feeling that wouldn't work. August 9 What about Muslims killing Muslims?In response to Deev's "I hate Hezbollah too, but...": Dear Deev, Here is the problem with your ratios of Jews vs. Arabs/Muslims killed in the current lebanon Israel conflict. Lets take your ratios a little further: Muslims have been killing Muslims in the Middle East this century and you never quite get the response you get on this site or any news media when Jews kill Muslims. Great examples are: 1) 16,000 Iraqi civilians have died in Shia/Suni ethnic cleansing war this year alone 2) 800,000 Iranians and Iraqis died in the Iraq Iran war 3) Syria Killed 20,000+ Muslims in the town of Hama in 1 week in the 1980's 4) Jordan Killed about 10,000+ plus Palestinians during Black September in the 1970's 5) About 400,000 Iraqis at the hands of the Saddam regime 6) All the Iranians (Muslims) who died at the hands of the Shah 7) All the Iranians (Muslims) who died and are currenlty getting killed in the name of the Islamic Revolution 8) All the poor Afghanis (Muslims) who died in the civil war with the Taliban (Muslims) I'm sure there are many more instances of Muslim killing Muslims that I can't think of right now but let's take these numbers above and its well over 1.5 million muslims killed by Muslims. The number of Arabs killed in all the wars by Israel since 1948 does not even add up to 100,000 (and this is probably overstating it (not that it is a good thing for even one person to die at the hands of the Israelis). Killing and war by any group is wrong and I truly wish there were no wars or conflicts in the wold. However, the point is that people on this website and the media difrentiate between Jews killing Muslims and between Muslims killing Muslims; even though the kill ratio between the two is not even 15-1. Why is it such a big deal when it is Jews who are killing Muslims (regardless of the ratio and the reasoning) but no one says or complains in the same outrage when Muslims are massacaring muslims at much higher numbers? Think about it. Who funds Israel and who profits from Israel?In response to Farshad's reply to Leila Sadeghi's posting, Who's the terrorist?:
Well Farshad, I am Jewish, not anti-Semitic. I have a conscience, a dangerous thing these days around hate and war lovers like you. Do you not realize that Israel emulates the actions of Hitler? What about the surrounding countries? They don't have the right to defend themselves against one of the most powerful militaries in the world with Hitleresque leadership, constantly trying to annex more land by ruthlessly taking it away from the people that have lived there for so long. Why can't Israel be for mixing? It's for money sweet heart! Land and resource money for the Israeli elite only. I'm sorry you buy into their ploy. Just wait until "they", I mean big business interests / the military industrial complex, come for you, demonize you, destroy you, and kill you. Without war, there is no profit for the people at the top. You can thank our oh so darling US government, which is now synonymous with the military (Bechtel, Halliburton, etc) and big oil. Who funds Israel and who profits from Israel? The US!!! That's why the media here spins the story so people like you Farshad actually believe that Israel is not a rogue state. This is the country that drops nukes (even depleted uranium in Iraq --> a nuclear waste product which causes cancer) on other countries and is "concerned" that Iran, a country that has not and would be stupid to attack another country in modern times. Do you not see that it is for money? Ahmadinejad spews air with no plan to actually "wipe Israel off the map" while the US and Israel quietly ploy to REALLY destroy Iran, for money. Ahmadinejad is a politician with no tact who is pissed off at the world community, frustrated that no one else has the guts to say what is really going on. The UN is at the US's beck and call. If you believe that the US has the right to create the one world order it is currently in the midst of carving, using Israel as the way into full domination of the Middle East, then you are the real anti-Semite. Do you think the average Israeli profits from this? Do you think I like how Arabic countries treat women? You know, I don't like it one bit. But you know what is worse? WAR, and that's all the US wants. What are you for? Perpetual war, or slow and sustainable progress within SOVEREIGN nations? Bless us all, The shouting blind are fraudsIn response to Leila Sadeghi's "Who's the terrorist?": There is a big differenceIn response to Faramarz Fateh's "Why do we hate Jews so much?!": Your question itself displays your ignorance. Most Iranians do not hate jews, they despise they GOVERNMENT of israel. There is a big difference. I am aware that Ethiopian jews cannot go as high in religious rankings as white jews, YES. I am aware that israel was the last country to maintain direct business and other relations with the old South Africa. I am aware that israel houses more white collar criminals than any other country. I am aware that israel regards jewish or israeli white collar criminals, such as Pearson, the traitor of the US, as innocent and many times as heros. I am aware that neocons are mostly jewish and pro-israeli with many direct and indirect Likud connections. I am aware of just how many awards the designer and planner of the iraq war, Paul Wolfowitz, has received from the govt of israel and the Likud party. I am aware that Feith and Perle both used to work as consultants to Likud. I am aware that Libby and Lieberman have dual citizenships ... yes, Lieberman is a neocon. I am aware that israel gave the US FALSE info about Saddam's WMDs. I am aware that innocent American soldiers are dying for israel. I am aware that israel tried to gain access to confidential documents from Pentagon, through Frankling and AIPAC. I am aware that israel gave China military intelligence about the US. I am aware that my frickin US tax money goes to israel to fund all of this crap. I am aware of the FACT that the israeli government is a THEOCRACY and very similar to the mullah-based Iran. I am aware that they are all a bunch of hypocrites! There are so many more things that I and many other fellow Iranians are aware of, but there's just not enough time and space for all of it. Without taarofIn response to the New York Times article, "The Fine Art of Hiding What You Mean to Say": Dear Sir, I found your article regarding the Persian practice of 'Taarof' misleading and frankly insulting. As an Iranian-American who never managed to master the art of Taarof, I have no affection for it in general. However, your article, while citing a number of Iranians was misleading. Many cultures are not as direct in their interactions as Americans are. As a matter of fact, part of our (American) reputation of being rude is due to the excessive frankness of our interactions (diplomatically speaking, this current adminstration is an unfortunately shining example). The Japanese are famous for never saying 'no' during negotiations, no matter how much they disagree. Surely, you cannot claim that they don't value truth and honesty as much as Americans do. While Europeans don't have Taarof, they are also much more diplomatic in exchanges. When I moved here from Iran, I was accused of being deceptive because I didn't look people in the eye when I spoke; when I return to Iran and do so according to my new habits, people are taken aback by my forwardness/aggressiveness and lack of modesty. Taarof, whatever the roots or reasons, are usually niceties in a society where every exchange follows a certain pace and expectation. One would be rude to eat something in a group and not offer it to others, no matter how reluctant to share; that is Taarof. I may not care how my neighbor's parents and in-laws are doing when I walk run into her in Iran, but would never fail to ask their about their health and spirits. One always finds a compliment (usually well-known ones) for the person you are in dialog with; if raised 'right' they have an appropriate compliment for you in response. This is not insincerity, rather the level of exchange in that culture. I am not denying there are Iranians who lie, unfortunately, but they are not unique to Iran. Liars are found universally in all cultures and countries. Americans lie just as freely without the use of nicities. I just don't think that 'Taarof' is proof of the Persian culture's indifference to the truth. Hope you're well.. Judaism and Islam more closely follow their original traditionsIn response to Doug Soderstrom's "Losing faith": Greetings Mr. Soderstrom, Very much enjoyed your article in iranian.com "Losing Faith". I completely agree with where you are coming from and understand the points you make as they do make logical sense (just God, unjust punishment for unbelievers), but may I please respectfully observe that the points you make are not fundementalist Christian but rather tend to be more modern "evangelical" or "born-again" doctrine. As you have studied I'm sure, modern Christianity does not follow the Bible teaching clearly and the meanings of words have changed. Terms such as "hell" (hades the grave with eternal death, not eternal suffering) or Christ's birth (never given in the Bible) have been changed over the last 2000 years in what the scholars observe as the Christian "tradition" changes. Judaism and Islam more closely follow their original traditions and teachings (we are God's chosen people and it's our promised land for Jews) (One God only with no idolatry for Moslems) etc., but Christianity strays the most from their"fundamentals" from when the Church started (growing pains after becoming Roman state religion and all that). If you go back to the original doctrine and the Christian teachings of say the 1st to 5th century, before the Catholic (Universal) Church changed traditions, teachings and doctrines so greatly, it makes more sense; as least in as much as Islam and Judaism in there fundamental teachings currently do. Just an opinion given the facts. Again, Thank You very much for your article and giving us your perspective!! Keep the faithIn response to Doug Soderstrom's "Losing faith": Dear Professor, At the very beginning of your piece, you mention, "system of thought". If we look at these two words, basically, we may understand where the problem is and may be able to solve yours and many other's problem. There is a tremendous difference between "faith" and "religion". Faith is in one's heart, another word a "thought", where as "religion" becomes rules and laws and dictation of one's faith and belief. If system of thought just stayed as "thought", we would be fine. Faith and our thoughts of loving one God or another, believing in a Mohammad or Moses or Jesus is in our brain, center of our brain to be exact. Once this "thought" or "faith" travels some ten centimeters to our tongue, we get in trouble. I don't know what is wrong with keeping our faith and love for a God or whatever in our mind and keep the freaking tongue out of it. Lose your religion and kick the damn soap box you're standing on, but keep the faith. We cannot live without faith in anyone or something, but we can sure do without religion. By you I don't mean "you" personally, of course. ExcellentIn response to Henry Precht's "The new Middle East and the old": Wow!!! What an excellent piece of article. Thank you. My jaw droppedIn response to Hossein Haji Agha's cartoons, "When Iranian women move to Canada" and "A poem: Women in the West": I have been an avid reader of the articles that are regularly published on Iranian.com and I truly appreciate your efforts to bring a variety of interesting reads to everyone's desktop every morning. But honestly I don't find Hajiagha's cartoons place on this website. I understand that you believe that nothing is sacred and everything has a chance to get published and every article and cartoon has its audience. But my jaw dropped when I saw these: this one and this one. I find his point of view toward Iranian women condescending, backward, cheap and extremely in poor taste and unbelievably insulting. You have a daughter of your own, I doubt Mahdieh khanoom finds his cartoon remotely interesting let alone funny. Sara Yazdi Maybe we should think twiceIn response to Hossein Haji Agha's cartoons, "When Iranian women move to Canada" and "A poem: Women in the West": This is my response to the cartoonist (Hajiagaa) with the nasty cartoon of Iranian women's private part, who live in Canada. I know it is a free press and all that, but why are you allowing such things to get published in your site. You know, we really count highly of you, maybe we should think twice: Shame on you, really shame on you that call your self Iranian cartoonist. Sara J Lies after liesIn response to Rosa Golish's "Hezbollah is using innocent civilians as shields": The United Nations and many peace keeping investigators have gone to Lebanon and have questioned and even witnessed with their own eyes that places that Israel is leveling with its bombs and missiles are not places Hezbollah is using to attack Israel. Are you telling me that South of Beirut that has had the most losses of life is the place Hezbollah is using to attack Israel? That is funny, because thats not where the katyusha rocket's are being launched from. South of Beirut is too far from the north of Israel for any attack. So my question is, how do you claim that they are hiding behind civilians, when the majority of civilian deaths are happening from bombardments of areas in Lebanon that attacks are NOT originating from. Israel is demolishing the infrastructure of Lebanon. Maybe you can justify the roads, but how can you explain them blowing up a dairy warehouse? If you can justify blowing up Hezbollah caches, how can you justify them blowing up Army barracks housing people you wish to replace Hezbollah one day? The end answer is, you are a liar or you have been brainwashed by FoxNews into believing the Israeli line that they are hiding behind civilian shields. The reality on the ground is totally different. WAKE UP! We have to STOP this hypocrisy!In response to Rosa Golish's "Hezbollah is using innocent civilians as shields": Rosa, maybe you should go back and read what foul language you used in your original response. Maybe you should go back and read Deev's letter and realize that there was no foul language used. Maybe you should realize that you were not referred to as a "hateful bitch." But I will label you - you sound like a perfect hypocrite and insecure person. I laughed so hardIn response to Zohreh Ghahremani's "The last word": While reading "The Last Word" article by Zohreh Khazai Ghahremani, I laughed so hard I could hardly breathe at times. Very funny. Have a fruitful summerIn response to the Quiz question, "Summer delights": Your editor-at-large is objecting to the wrong answers from a quiz winner on summer fruits (Aug, 2006). The question was not about naming as many fruits as you know in Persian! But rather, "What kinds of fruit would you expect to see in the market in Iran this time of year?" Of course, the winner can keep celebrating, but the editor wants you to stand corrected! The key phrase is "This time of the year!" To mean in the middle of summer. I don't think anar, moze or rotab are summer fruits, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say the market may have them. The same goes for all the citrus. But how can anyone expect to see "Toot", which is strictly a short-seasoned spring fruit, in the heat of summer? And if we are mixing seasons, why not add zalzalak and toot-farangi to the mishmash. Also, even though we put cucumbers among fruits, it is still a vegetable and not a fruit! I just heard that grapefruit, kiwi, beh, khormaloo, Azgil, and many other fruits were so offended by being left out that they have canceled their subscription to The Iranian! May you have a fruitful summer and, aren't you glad I'm not a judge on the quiz?! Evolved zebras lose their stripesIn response to Seyed Mousavi's cartoons, "A zebra will never lose stripes": I like to remind him that a zebra loses stripes in the course of Evolution. But back to our case, in a previous article, "Imam Ganji", I proposed a discussion that Mr. Ganji represents a clique of Islamists in Iran attempting to save their bankrupt Islamic political system from an eventual radical change. Therefore, Ganji's sideshows can be staged when an unpopular regime publically loses all its legitimacy. Of course, Ganji’s colour remains black or in other word, Islamic; he is Mr. Moussavi's zebra that will never lose stripes. But all people are not that zebra, they can consciously ignore the stripes they have; they can even hasten the process of Evolution to lose their stripes. As I previously mentioned, a success of any person, group, organisation with the word "Islam" attached to it can only be emerged when there is no democratic and secular alternative. Only in this case, people like Ganji can skilfully exploit the lack of any adaptive alternative. But according to my article, if we are going to accept a Gnji's success, then we should answer the following questions: - Can we consciously ignore the nature’s process by letting people like Ganji roll back the wheel of history? - Are we compelled to accept Ganji’s Islamic alternative as our only doomed destiny? I never reply postive to such questions, nor understand the pesimistic passivity of Mr. Moussavi reminding us that Iranians can not join the proceess of Evolution. Ganji should face the truthIn response to Jahanshah Rashidian's "Imam Ganji": Imam Gangi was one the best articles I have read in such a long time. Untill Mr. Gangi publicly appologizes to the familiy of people that suffered from his actions(only god knows how many people Gangi tortured, executed, violated and so on...) and ask them for forgiveness not forgetness! and untill he publicly accepts that one day he should face a truth commision (Just like South Africa) no one except handfull of phony liberal idiots in places like San Fransico, Berkeley and London will belive in him and follow his hunger strike. Courageous critiqueIn response to Jahanshah Rashidian's "Imam Ganji": Dear Mr Rashidian, Khod ShekanIn response to Afshin Nikdast's critique of Siamack Baniameri, "No sense of humanity at all": As I remember my grandfather telling me "Khod Shekan, Ayeene Shekastan Khatast". Why shouldn't we see the bright sides?In response to Afshin's "Khod Shekan": Dear Afshin, However, I do love my country, my people and my language and what ever happens in that country will have a very deep impact on me. I know the potentials of my country, I know the potentials of my people and I know what West is tending to do - or shall I say have done? - to my country. I adore my football team although I don't watch football a lot, I praise my people although I don't see a lot of them and I AM AN IRANIAN although I might be writing in English to you. OK, I know the spade is black. It is not unfair to call it black either. However, why should we call a spade black and disgrace the poor thing for what it is while it can be the best card you have? Why shouldn't we see the bright sides and always look for the dark sides? What forced me to send my comment to iranian.com was that in his latest writing he is trying to belittle and tease Akbar Ganji and his idea of bringing democracy to Iran. Baniameri does not want to believe that Mr. Ganji was imprisoned and it was for sake of Liberty, Freedom and Better life not just for himself, but for his people, the people of his country, people who he adores. What he wants is all Iranians to come together, work together, fight together and unite to bring democracy to Iran. As a matter of fact, he is giving his speeches outside of Iran at the moment. His audiences are 'Iranian expats' at the moment and apparently they are the people who wants the democracy in Iran just to be more comfy when visiting their families, so not to wear 'roosary' or being able to drink freely when back home. People in Iran on the other hand, do not give a damn about their clothes and how to dress if their principals can be right just to let them live more secure. Iranians are not secure in Iran and that is socially, economically and politically. That is what people in Iran want and Baniameri's idea about sleeping football team with some whores whom he appears to know well, is far from what they were through with regards to stress and insecurity. I have to ask you to read back what ever Baniameri has written so far and show me a single positive sentence or idea that he had expressed so far, then I'll take my words back. I don't say WE are the best nation, we have our flaws, faults and wrong sides, but isn't it the same every where? Have you ever seen an American saying what Baniameri is saying the way he is saying it about their nation? No doubt that they have more flaws than anybody else in this world, but have you ever heard them saying it? 'NO', that is your answer and you surely will again totally disagree with me in this matter, but the truth is always bitter and that's what it is. I have to audit Baniameri's writings one by one to show you how pessimist he is about his nationality. He is not calling a Spade black, he is trying to ignore the spade's existence and apparently he is the one Breaking That Mirror. The mirror that every single day, shows him he is still originated from Iran and perhaps from a very religious family according to his surename. Yours, Direspecting womenIn response to dAyi Hamid's, "Loving an Iranian girl": I have never read so much rubbish. Our country already has enough problems, mainly caused my retarded, ugly males such as yourself. There is no need to disrespect Iranian women and put it on a search engine, where everyone in the world can view it. The only decent people in Iran are the females, and since you have such a low opinion of your own mother, your thoughts are worth as much as the vile upbringing you have had. Nothing is sacred -- sometimesDear editor, Lost touch with an old friendI hope some one can help me! I have lost touch with a dear friend of mine; his name is Ebrahim Walli (Ebby). I hope I have got the spelling right of his name. He was originally from Shiraz. We lost touch about 14 years ago after the birth of my son I sent him some photos and haven’t heard anything since. We met in Doha, Qatar in the 1980’s, Ebrahim was working then in a shop called Kathy stores and I worked across the road from him In Modern Home (Bait Al Hadith). Ebby was so kind to me and I was very fond of him he was like a kid brother. He lived at that time with his brother in law Majid and his sister I don’t remember her name. I would really love to get back in touch with him and find out how his life has turned out. If anyone knows his whereabouts and a contact I would be grateful forever.
>>> More letters in AUGUST 2006 Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3 |