Letters
October 2-6, 2000 / Mehr 11-15, 1379
Today
* US elections:
- Clinton-Gore's demonization of Iranians
* TV:
- NITV no promoter of culture
* dAyi Hamid:
- Falling off my chair
Previous
* US elections:
- Pragmatic, but not patriotic
* History:
- Cyrus and the hejab
* Abadan:
- No matter where they are...
* Fiction:
- Airing, sharing and caring
* Googoosh:
- Discography
- New songs sad, but real
* The Iranian:
- Love, Beauty, and Hope
* Feelings:
- Healthy and wealthy
* Music:
- No Iranian concert -- for a while
* Politics:
- Clinton will receive much credit
- Depressing comments
* Racism:
- Being Black
email us
Friday,
October 6, 2000
* Clinton-Gore's demonization of Iranians
I totally disagree with your position of separating the current (Clinton-Gore)
administration's demonization and denigration of Iran and its nationals
(past or present) from the upcoming election ["Go
Gore"]...
Shouldn't this administration answer for these past years and not take
for granted the Iranian community's support for reelection? Iranians living
in this country should stand up and ask why our relatives, athletes, thinkers,
artists, etc., who come to visit are treated like criminals. The fingerprinting
of an 80-year-old woman visiting grandchildren, or a director winning international
awards for his work, cannot be a positive action to any rational person.
This constant humiliation did not happen prior to the Clinton-Gore administration
>>>
FULL TEXT
Masoud Neshat
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* NITV no promoter of culture
I would like to ask National Iranian TV CEO Zia Atabay, what exactly
is he talking about when he says he's promoting Iranian culture, with his
broadcasting [News].
Showing old films and videos to fill time and generally having a hollow
program does not constitute a worthy cause.
I fully agree that his program should not be stopped from airing, but
don't buy the claim that there was some social/cultural cause associated
with his TV station.
Bardia Saeedi
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* Falling off my chair
Just wanted to let you know that your articles are great ["dAyi Hamid"]. I don't
agree with everything you say, but admire your honesty. Most of your articles
are smart and witty, and some are funny. If you were not meaning to be
funny, I am sorry to let you know that some made me laugh. Sometimes,
I sit at my desk and laugh so hard I fall off my chair.
Maryam Moussavi
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Thursday
October 5, 2000
* Pragmatic, but not patriotic
Articles like this ["Go
Gore"], as well-thought out as they may be, neglect a critical
perspective. Regardless of how much we assimilate, there will continue
to be a negative reaction to Iranians as our nations' relations remain
this negative.
Even as a 21-year-old student, I have felt discriminated against numerous
times simply based on the impression many ignorant individuals have toward
Iran and the Middle East. We are Iranian and we cannot, nor should we,
desire to change that. To assimilate is reasonable, but to ignore our brothers
and sisters in Iran is unacceptable >>>
FULL TEXT
Danesh Mazloomdoost
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* Googoosh discography
I'm happy to discover that people other than myself are interested in
the copyright issue ["What
goes around... "]. Long ago, before anyone knew about Googoosh's
comeback, I was searching into her musical career and finding little information...
In order to make a little sense of Googoosh's musical carreer, I'v created
a "Googoosh
Original Vinyl Discography" . My intention is to find people that
will contribute to the Googoosh discography (with scans of 45's and information)
so that the information missing from all these horrible CD's released by
the Tehrangelesian record companies becomes available to everyone >>> FULL
TEXT
Dario Margeli
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* Cyrus and the hejab
I would like to comment on the excerpt from Ms. Sandra Mackey's book
"The Iranians" ["Cyrus
the (not so) great]"]... The veil or the "roosarri"
was probably common among Persian women, but they were also common among
Greek women.
The reasons mentioned by Ms. Mackey are debatable. I believe that other
factors could be linked to the presence of the veil in the Middle East
which unfortunately the excesses of religious and male autocracy have probably
turned away from their initial purpose: and that is the climate. The extremely
hot climate as well as the dust and wind in many areas of the middle east
may also be a reason why women wore the veil. But if Mrs. Mackey was to
visit Russian peasants today, she would be surprised to see them wearing
the "roosari" while conducting their trucks in the fields >>>
FULL TEXT
Darius Kadivar
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Wednesday
October 4, 2000
* Googoosh's new songs sad, but real
I beg to differ with Mr. Bagheri's judgment about Googoosh's new songs
and Babak Aminis compositions ["Houston,
we have a diva!"].
I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with most of the
talent traveling with Googoosh both before and after the concert in New
York. The day after the concert, over lunch and a good deal of humor, punctuated
by discussions about life in Iran, religion, music and politics; I learnt
a great deal about Babak Amini, his background, influences and his compositions.
Having heard of the five new songs at the concert, courtesy of Napster,
that same evening, I was able to form an opinion. The new Googoosh material
can only be judged against the backdrop of post-revolutionary Iran, the
lives of Googoosh, the people, their experiences and the life of present-day
Iranian youth >>>
FULL TEXT
Faryar Mansuri
New York
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* Airing, sharing and caring
Oooo! Tears in the middle of the day. A very fine story indeed ["A big beautiful
lamb"]. Interesting to think that just by being there, you are
making good writing happen -- just a certain degree of airing and sharing
and caring about it, and the yeast spreads and suddenly all these loaves
are rising, popping in and out of the oven, and writers are being read
and everyone gets to feast. Be proud. (Not to mention the lamb squiggle,
one of the best... :-)
Zara Houshmand
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* No matter where they are...
Dameton garm for this site. It reminded me of Abadan
and all the good people of that city; all the Abadanis I have seen since
the war. No matter what they do, or where they are, one thing is for sure:
they all miss their city, and their freinds. People see themselves in these
pictures and we can find some of our lost freinds.
Mehran Jahromi
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Tuesday
October 3, 2000
* Healthy and wealthy
I enjoy reading most of dAyi Hamid's articles. When I read his recent
one, "Elm
behtar ast yaa servat," I felt compelled to comment on it... Iranians
are very reserved people. In the past, maybe more in the villages or small
towns, parents, especially fathers, would kiss their kids only while they
were asleep. It was not common for people to talk about their feelings
and dreams. You were considered a good kid if your head was down while
walking or talking to your parents or teachers. Married couples barely
talked about their feelings. It is said that this is why Iranian girls
have beautiful eyes, because they transfer all the feelings in their heart
to their eyes. Of course, time has changed and so has the ways to raise
the children and communicate feelings.
In those days, for the school writing assignment, elm was always
said to be better than servat... Those days are over now, and as
I grew older, I came to the conclusion that there is no doubt that one
needs education or "elm." But there are a few more things that
I now think are also very important in life. These have become my motto,
which I like to put on a sticker one day,"Happiness is being healthy
and wealthy." Later on someone asked me to add "... and in love!"
and I thought, why not? But on the other hand, I believe if you are healthy
in mind and body, you will find love too >>>
FULL TEXT
Simin Habibian
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* Being Black
I enjoyed the cartoon about saving the White hand and ignoring the Black
hands ["Discrimination"].
I am a Black man who is a Muslim born in America. Everyone knows that
Blacks were the first Muslims in America. They (Americans) beat us, chopped
our limbs, hung us, raped our women and did not allow us to read. If you
read, you lost an eye. They would not let us pray to Allah (SWT).
Now some of them are trying to study Islam. But Anglosaxons can never
be Muslims because they will never say we are equal to them. I have seen
it myself in the mosque. The only reason they are studying Islam is to
keep them from being killed in prison. Or they want to rebel against the
Baptist belt or their parents
Americans have made things right for everyone that they mistreated except
the American Black people, the people who built this country. And also
won their wars, and won the most medals.
Please do not let this fall on deaf ears. Being Black in America today
is worse that 30 or 40 years ago.
Kalil
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* Love, Beauty, and Hope
It is with a sense of great pride that I thank you on behalf of millions
of Persians around the world for your continued efforts to provide our
fellow compatriots with significant information and updates, on the well
being of our dearly beloved Googoosh.
I was about three years old when my family left Iran, so it has always
been difficult to feel like I am a complete Iranian. God has surely blessed
you and your staff with wonderous talent, skill, and determination to bring
our community together (regardless of the turmoil that may occur in our
motherland).
The first time I chanced upon your site, I was in awe of the amount
of dedication my fellow Iranians had placed in creating a site that would
become an emblem of all Iranians seeking a unified front. A site filled
with Love, Beauty, and Hope.
As I embarked to see Googoosh at the MCI center in Washington, deep
in my heart, I knew I owed that beautiful moment to the hard work and dedication
of people like yourself. I am truly proud to be Iranian.
Mitra Gholam
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Monday
October 2, 2000
* No Iranian concert -- for a while
My wife and I went to Ebi's concert in London last night - billed as
"aasheghaaneh-tareen konsert-e saal". It was supposed to start
at 8, after the doors opened at 7. It was not until 9.15 that Ebi and his
band came on.
The venue was not right. A seated concert hall would have been better,
but it was in one of London's bigger discoteques. We had managed to position
ourselves upstairs in the balcony area overlooking the dance floor and
stage.
Within 10 minutes there was fighting at the front of the crowd by the
stage. The floor was jam packed (sineh-be-sineh). Ebi was saying "be
jadetoon ghasam, ye nim metr berin aghab, aakheh man ghorboonetoon beram
..." >>>
FULL TEXT
Farhad Nikkhah
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* Clinton will receive much credit
Thank you for your insight ["Clinton's
legacy?"]. If you look back on the previous U.S presidents you
shall notice that many of them had extra marital affairs. In fact FDR,
Eisenhower and JFK were openly carrying on with their lovers.
However, the legacy of all former U.S presidents are about what they
accomplished during their terms in office. I strongly believe that Clinton
will be remembered as a shrewd politician and a pragmatic manager. I further
believe that he will receive much of the credit for his relentless efforts
towards the upcoming peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Kambiz Ameli
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* Depressing comments
Reading Mr. Kadivar's reminiscing his trip ["Requiem
in Cairo"] and observing the 20th anniversary of the death of
Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi was very heartwarming and enjoyable...
While Mr. Kadivar's article was enjoyable and impartial I was so disgusted
and yet depressed to read some of the responses from the distinguished
visitors to this wonderful site. I was astonished to see how after twenty
years Mr. Bardia Saeedi, Neda and Babak Arminian can find it so easy to
"throw up" at Mr. Kadivar's trip to Cairo. Immediately after
reading their letters, I began to think about all that has bothered me
through the past 21 years both in Iran and in the U.S. >>>
FULL TEXT
H. Jalili
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