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Hands Off Iran!
18-Apr-2009
Dear Friends in the States!
We have finally solved our email problem here in Iran in addition to having completed the necessities of furnishing our lovely apartment here in Maali'Abad in Shiraz! We are healthy, rested and happy and are delighted having our own place to live while enjoying our vacation here with our Iranian family. Of course, we have had a great deal of support from Ardeshir's sister, nieces and nephews, etc., who know the ins and outs of life in Iran, so we are truly grateful for all their assistance.
When we got to Iran a few days before Norooz, Ardeshir's nephew Rahmin had reserved room in a Guest House in Bandar Abbas in Khalij-e Fars (the Persian Gulf). Ellie was so excited to see the thirty and more huge container ships arriving and leaving from this historical and famous port province. The native Bandar Abbas citizens were friendly, enjoyed discourse with a "Harigi" (foreigner) and the women wear beautifull colorful dresses and patterns. We took a boat trip to a small island called Gheshm and visited the Bazaar and sites there. After three days on the Persian Gulf, (Ellie bought a kite and flew it on the beach of Bandar Abbas, and watched as some fishermen caught small crabs in a net), we drove for five hours back to Shiraz where our "empty" apartment was waiting for us to fill it with all of the comforts of home!
The view from our fourth floor living room windows looking out at the mountain range surrounding Shiraz is a joy to see, as the sun rises and sets over the mountains. Ellie has become somewhat of a weather-predictor, as when the low, dark clouds with wind roll in over the range, she excitedly points out that "baran miad" (rain is coming!). Our family jokes that we have come from the U.S. and brought lots of rain to Shiraz, which is so welcomed, after a couple of years of drought. Even the tiny little plants and shrubs on the mountain are turning into bright green decorations! Ellie will try to attach one picture, but because dial up is incredibly slow, we cannot send more at a time.
We spent a bit of extra money on purchasing a satellite dish for atop our apartment building (yes, theoretically it is illegal, but so many people have them & it was installed in the dark of the evening!) so we do get all kinds of news from English channels, as well as Arabic, Farsi, and sometimes other dialects like Turkish and Kurdish. The first thing we noticed is the difference in the coverage of the Iranian IRINN agency (Persian and English channels) as compared to the Western media: CNN and BBC. CNN International is a bit better than regular CNN, but both seem to spend a lot of time on pursuing the details of the personal life of Obama, Michelle's dresses, the kind of dog coming into the White House, etc. as well as coverage of the national disaster in Italy after the earthquake, the shootings in the Civil Immigration Center in Binghamton, NY, news about the global economic crisis, the G20 meeting, etc. and of course sports, etc. (Right now BBC is discussing the actions of the U.S. in using naval seals to "rescue" the American captain of the container ship from Somali pirates.)
Before coming to Iran, we heard John Nichols from the Nation, advise members of WESPAC and PEACE ACTION to keep our eyes on Africa, as the United States would be getting more militarily involved, and the authorization by Obama for the Navy to use its ships and force against the pirates is a sign that he correctly noted the direction of U.S. foreign policy. We should remember that it was the United States which backed and supported the Ethiopian military to carry out a counter coup against Somalia, with a huge bombing campaign against the Muslim government of Somalia, which after years of bloodshed and sectarian fighting had brought a year of calm and order to this troubled African state. Wherever the United States and the western military gets involved, we see unrest, disorder and more bloodshed; so much for the glory of western “democracy”!
According to the information we hear on CNN/BBC, the Obama Administration is talking about talking to Iran, but it appears the government is continuing to repeat the same old rhetoric about Iran’s “nuclear threat”, etc. Some officials say one thing, while NY Times, etc. write something else, so maybe the policy is in the making, depending on the U.S. condition in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and let’s not forget the Zionist partner in Israel, which we see daily transgresses against the Palestinians, Syrians, etc. Iran’s continued support of the resistance movements of the people of Palestine, and their genuine representatives (not the puppet spokespersons) in various organizations as Hamas, and Hezbollah in Syria, is what truly upsets Washington and the West, and is why Israel is barking even more ferociously about Iran. Hopefully, many of you have read the reports on the efforts of Iran to call out Israel on its continued threats to attack Iranian nuclear facilities:
-------------------------------------
“UNITED NATIONS, April 14 (Reuters) - Iran demanded on Tuesday that the U.N. Security Council respond firmly to what it described as Israel's "unlawful and insolent threats" to launch an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iran's U.N. ambassador, in a letter to Mexican U.N. Ambassador Claude Heller, said Israel was violating the U.N. charter and urged the international body to respond clearly and resolutely. Mexico holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council.
"These outrageous threats of resorting to criminal and terrorist acts against a sovereign country and a member of the United Nations not only display the aggressive and warmongering nature of the Zionist regime, but also constitute blatant violations of international law," Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee wrote.
The letter came two days after Peres told Israel's Kol Hai radio that Israel would respond with force if U.S. offers of dialogue failed to persuade Ahmadinejad to halt Tehran's uranium enrichment program.”
-------------------------------------
And of course we see the treacherous role that Egypt is playing as an agent of the West, more than as a representative of the Arab masses. There are many groups beginning to challenge Egypt’s policy, and unemployment and unhappiness among the working masses is growing there, even as the government of Egypt bad-mouths Hamas, Hezbollah and any resistance movement against the ruling oligarchs here. This will inevitably lead to more protests in the ‘Arab Streets’. So, the struggle continues, doesn’t it?
Some of you may have been reading about the case of Roxana Saberi, a 31-year old ‘journalist’ who has been living and writing in Iran for the past 6 years, working for NPR and BBC and has been charged in an Iranian Court with spying for the U.S. We have no more information on this case as of now than you have from reports in the western medias, so if we get any more info, we’ll be sure to inform you.
A last personal note: yesterday, we took a hike up the mountain that we look out at from our living room and bedroom windows every day. Ellie was very curious to learn “who” lives way up there. We had to cross two busy highways after walking up a paved road that became unpaved and we found a husband and wife with several homing pigeons in a house with a fantastic view of the city of Shiraz. They have five children and bought the land and house so that their children will have their inheritance when the parents die. The man read AIFC’s political button: U.S. Hands Off Iran! Stop the Sanctions, which Ellie wears on her monteau. He was of course glad that Ellie is an American who defends Iran against any US aggression. He was quite humble and said to Ardeshir in Farsi: “I am not a highly educated man, nor am I involved in politics, but I can tell you that the U.S. lies about Iran having a nuclear weapon, and they have nuclear weapons and are a threat to other countries, NOT Iran.” He then said, “Please tell your government (Washington) that if the U.S. should try to harm Iran, we’ll punish them.” He invited us into his home for tea, but we felt we had already bothered him enough, so we politely declined and headed back down the mountain and across the two highways! We both got a bit sunburned on our faces, with just that short hike. And it is only Bahar or Spring in Shiraz!
Please keep the struggle up on the homefront, and we’ll be returning the end of May.
Regards to all, Ardeshir and Ellie
P.S. When we got our laptop working with the dial-up internet, we went to show one of our Persian family AIFC’s website, and found a message in Farsi, that it was not available. Concerned, we telephoned our nephew in Esfahan who created the site and assists us. He explained that the U.S. recently increased the extent of Sanctions against Iran, targeting any websites originating or closely connected to Iran, and the web company was forced to relocate all of their servers to Dubai, and therefore the transfer required the temporary downing of many websites, ours being just one. So far, the English has been completely restored, but as of yesterday, the Farsi page was still down. Once again, I’ll leave you all with this thought: Obama’s rhetoric of “change” will have to go a long way forward in action before anybody in Iran will put credence in his words!
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| Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
sit back and get comfortable Mehrnaz
by anonymous fish on Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:57 PM PDTbecause you asked for it. it's going to take some time because i didn't copy and paste all of them. just the more vile and disgusting comments, particularly by jaleho... about jews and about americans and about me in particular. please spend a little time if you would and define zionism and semitism... satisfactorily to YOURSELF... not based on what you've read on iranian.com.
let me tell you a little something about respect. i've never ever used words like "dumb iranians" or "filthy dirty iranians" NEVER EVER. and i can just as quickly assure you that i have zero respect for someone who uses those same distinctions about americans and jews and about me. fair is fair... right? right?
this may be your only email TO me but it certainly isn't your only email ABOUT me. i'd much prefer you address yourself to me directly. i don't care for sly innuendoes. THAT is the epitome of disrespect.
please take captain off this particular list. we have a unique relationship and discussion going on that extends respect to both parties. Jaleho scares the shit out of me with her blatent racism. but wait... hear it for yourself and then tell me i'm being "unjust".
you say....To be opposed to Israel or critical of it is not the same thing as being against Jews.
by the same token, someone who is critical of the IRI or particular iranians is certainly not anti-iranian or against iran. please bear THAT in mind as well when i present my little dissertation for your review.
actually, i must thank you for this opportunity. :-)
in the meantime, please prepare YOUR proof of where i've gone after you repeatedly with abuse and insult. i'll buy advertising space on iranian.com if i've ever done nothing more than disagree without insult and, if any, far less abusive language than is used to me!!!!
this should bring volunteers...:-0. but i'm going to be accused of insult and abusive, i damn expect to see proof of it.
i can't wait!!!!!
Yes Anonymous Fish!
by MEHRNAZ SHAHABI on Wed Apr 22, 2009 05:48 PM PDTFind a word, just one instance of Jaleho, myself, Ostaad, Captain or other people you have been insulting to have said anything against Jews? You don't seem to understand the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. To be opposed to Israel or critical of it is not the same thing as being against Jews. Many very thoughtful and compassionate Jews are anti-Zionist. And you say you are being "picked on". You are wrong. You go from thread to thread and abuse people without even understanding the issues and the emotions involved. You have done that to me repeatedly, no matter what I have discussed, and I have never responded to you because you have been just aggressive without even at least trying to read the comments properly, trying to understand what they mean, reading around the issues so that you CAN understand. I am telling you this kindly and I hope you take it in that spirit. This is my only email to you, unless you learn to show some respect. And I am sorry to be blunt, try and educate yourself a bit if you want to be taken seriously.
jaleho
by anonymous fish on Wed Apr 22, 2009 12:33 PM PDTthat's contradictory at best because YOU never miss a chance to insult me... :-) it's funny (and sad) that with all the other comments from IRANIANS who disagree with this article, you and certain other fair minded iranians decide to pick on me! :-))
i don't know what your problem is. i've never said or indicated anywhere i hate muslims or palestineans. can you say the same about jews?
delldaar, pray tell
by Jaleho on Wed Apr 22, 2009 09:48 AM PDTHow are those "thousands" that you seem to know are being tortured? Did Fox clarify that for you? Just curious.
Was it "water-boarding," "snow-boarding" or other kinda "fun" sports, or were they just raped to death like the lovely priest Father Gagan?
BS doesn't have a counter or tax, go on as you wish.
While you resting healthy and happily ...
by delldaar on Wed Apr 22, 2009 09:36 AM PDTin your apartment in Shiraz, thousand innocent Iranian are being tourchered and killed by your beloved facist IRI regime.
gol-dust, what do you mean by this?
by MEHRNAZ SHAHABI on Wed Apr 22, 2009 02:09 AM PDT"Who is Ellie and what is his background? Sounds hebrew!
by gol-dust on Sun Apr 19, 2009 05:06 PM PDT
Yes? I hope not".
Please could you clarify?
Thank you Mr Omani - and Jaleho
by MEHRNAZ SHAHABI on Wed Apr 22, 2009 01:54 AM PDTWell said Jaleho! Sometimes people are wrong and venomous but they make a point that is worth clarifying if not for them, at least as part of a collective discussion. In the case of this woman, she is downright stupid, arrogant and so profoundly ignorant, it is neither worth nor possible engaging with her. She just drivels and there is nothing there to reply to!
Great article Ardeshir,re. Anonymous Fish
by Jaleho on Tue Apr 21, 2009 05:49 PM PDTJust ignore that ignorant pest. She doesn't seem to get the fact that Iranians here are not rudely shutting her ugly mouth out of sympathy to her Iranian husband; many seem to know him personally. As dumb as a log in that respect!
She comes here for negative attention. But recently ALL Iranians who are sick and tired of her ignorant megalomaniac rants, are just ignoring her instead of giving her the pleasure of throwing insults at her, which she pathetically seeks!
Anonymous fish = Anonymous shlomo
by Anonymous1 (not verified) on Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:05 AM PDTget off of that israeli boat and for once accept the fact that you people are not the center of attention. You and your cohorts are simply anti-non-jewish. By the way, those Palestinians and Arabs that you hate, that you displaced, that you basically strive to ruin ... those are also semites! So, again, its clear that by ignoring that and continuing to spit out 'anti-semite' this and that ... you and your shlomos continue to think that you are the special people. You ain't.
ardeshir
by anonymous fish on Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:58 AM PDTa lovely article in terms of the descriptions of iran. thanks for that. but it quickly declined into another typical US-bashing piece of crap.
you and your mountain friend know for a fact that the IRI is not developing nukes? bullshit.
geniune representatives such as hamas and hezbollah? don't bother trying to brainwash the US... we know better.
the IRI has been every bit as "verocious" about anti-americanism as israel is about iran. again, the US has no desire to go to war against the iranian people. but damned if the US is going to take any offensive action from the IRI against the US or israel lying down.
ps. i don't think there were any israeli's in the 9/11 attacks.
gol-dust. i repeat. you are sick. you might look within yourself to try to feel yourself from the evil and hate that fills your soul. your hatred of anything or anyone jewish belays the false and hypocritcal protestations of israeli's aggressions against palestineans. you and your cohorts are simply anti-semitic.
True love
by Alborzi (not verified) on Mon Apr 20, 2009 06:04 AM PDTYou are experiencing true love. The Iranian people are very generous and they will give you all they got, this is their culture. I hope Elie is Hebrew and she can pass this love to others. You are among the best on earth, feel sorry for those who cannot experience this love. These scrooges will threaten Iran, but its just a dog barking, feel safe. There is no body born to harm the brave nation of Iran.
Ellie & Ardeshir thanks for your article
by BK (not verified) on Mon Apr 20, 2009 01:28 AM PDTSounds like you guys are finding Iran under the Islamic Republic a veritable paradise.
And I'm sure, this is probably the case for most Iranians and those who complain about the life under the regime there should be dismissed as nothing but a bunch of sell out Zionists, Shahis, West's stool pigeons etc who must surely want to see Iran bombed into oblvion by the US, Israel etc, because no other kind of person would ever comaplin about the Islamic Republic's rule there, would they?.
Yes indeed, Iran is in great hands so, instead of her, let's worry about Africa and the bad 'ol USA's interference with the armed Somalis who want to be left alone to get on with their piracy and hostage taking business, which they should be fully entitled to, as should the Mullahs in Iran to continue to rule as however they damn well please.
Look forward to more of your experiences from the "Paradise".
Yes, Anonymous8, you nailed it my friend!!!
by Q on Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:31 AM PDTI remember the angry Canadian Zionist, the parrot and the hypocrite sophist yoddeling in unison about people like Ardeshir "should move to Iran". Now they need another excuse to work in their character assassinations.
Cowards never change... that's why I love to mess with 'em...
Luck y you
by shirazie (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 09:16 PM PDTI take my hat off to you for moving to Shiraz.. Only 5 hours to Bander Abbas?!! things have changed.
we should give Obama another year.. May be he can restore relationships..
Fred, diction this.
by Ostaad on Sun Apr 19, 2009 06:50 PM PDTBased on what you say about him, I'm sure if Nasrallah invites you to his next wedding you're going to turn him down. But by ignoring the fact that Hezbollah has not set foot in Israel to occupy it while Sharon's jackbooted IDF invaded Lebanon and kept Southern Lebanon under occupation until Hezbollah, with Iran's generous and effective help, kicked the SOB's out your are proving you have big cavities in the miniscule amount of gray matter between your ears. The fact the Zionist invaders call the kids from South Lebanon who liberated their homeland "teghoghists" (like my diction?) and the fact their supporters in the US have bribed the US government to call them terrorists and people of your ilk keep referring to them as that, do not diminish their rightful place among patriots and resistance fighters. As for Hama, I'm not a fan of Hamas.
Who is Ellie and what is his background? Sounds hebrew!
by gol-dust on Sun Apr 19, 2009 05:06 PM PDTYes? I hope not.
ma ba shoma hasteem! thanks for your post, Ardeshir and Elli
by Anonymous8 (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 01:54 PM PDTi am laughing by the responses...
it was the same zionist peddlers who always said "why don't you move to iran?" to anybody who dared to say Israel is a bloodthirsty killer.
now that you have called their bluff, they find other things to complain about.
thank you for showing them they are full of crap.
RE: Redwine
by Fatollah (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 01:47 PM PDTdid you say that or are you quoting? In any case, I laughed outloud! >:-)
Dear Ellie and Ardeshir,
by Bavafa on Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:44 AM PDTWhat a nice and sincere posting, I truly enjoyed reading it and wish you a wonderful trip.
Mehrdad
P.S. I share your sentiments about Hamas and Hezbollah. I will look forward to one day when justice has been brought up to the terrorist Zionist as it was brought to the Nazis.
Kakoo, you are right on the money..
by Morning Joe (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:27 AM PDTBecause you feel a sense of belonging to Iran and Iranians. It's in the way you write about Iran. You feel as you are them and they are you. You don't differentiate between Shirazi, Tehrani, Arab or Fars. You don't need the latest analysis of FOX, CNN, BBC,...etc to tell you how to feel about Iran, Persia, Shiraz, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas.
While watching the mountain from your apartment you become one with the mountain and with the proud fishermen of Bandar while on their beach. This is the reason why you declare loud and clear: "Hands Off Iran!" Damet Garm for that.
Thanks for the laugh. These
by sickofmouthpieces (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:33 AM PDTThanks for the laugh. These kind of letters could be dangerous since it makes the Americans believe that the entire population of Iranian are militant religious zealots hell bent on destroying the West.
I hate to break it to you, the West already thinks that way and we don't need moron like you and Elli to further confirm that sentiment.
Another Great Example
by Artificial Intelligence on Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:27 AM PDTOf the retarded far left ideology that is willingly partnering with the murderous akhoonds.
...
by Red Wine on Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:09 AM PDTبعضي ها سعي ميكنند راه راست را به سوي خود كج كنند.
wish you a happy sojourne
by Kurush (not verified) on Sun Apr 19, 2009 09:14 AM PDTObama is not going to alter the long-standing US policy in any way. He is simply a new mask worn by the ruling WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants). Their ugly menacing, redneck, cowboy Bush mask did not work, they are now experimenting with an unorthodox Obama mask. The question has more to do with what they want to accomplish. The American plutocracy sees the ME as its gateway to world hegemony. The ME has 80% of the world oil/Gas. Traditionally, the corrupt ruling classes in the ME, as in Egypt & Saudi Arabia (Iran not too long ago), have been pretty pliant servants & lackeys and the populaton, due to lack of any real alternative (thanks to the British rule for the first half of the 20th century) speaks only English as a second language and thus easy to manipulate by BBC & VOA & CNN broadcasts for psy-op propaganda, etc. If Iran can be coerced or co-opted, then the gravy train will roll. The illegal US/NATO bases in Afghanistan and Iraq will become permanent & will proliferate, the conquest of Moslem lands a fait accompli, the southern flank of Russia will be encircled & sealed for a future war. Furthermore, with complete domination of the staratgic world oil resources, there might be a Western population migration, a la Israel, mostly, at first, in the form of military /contractor personnels, to the vast expanse of Central Asia. Then both Russia's & China's hinterland will be within easy range of US/Nato bases in AFghanistan/Central Asia. Finally, with long-range designs intended to yet again install a puppet government in Iran, the West can dictate to its main adversaries, China and Russia, or simply knock them out outright in a military coup de grace nuclear attck.
It would be preposterous to read anything else in the perfidious schemes of the West. That is how they have behaved perenially since the Romans. Genocide is not a problem, they (Anglo-Saxons/Spaniards) have already done that with the indgenous people of the Americas even when the West had much more inferior weapons than today.
I can therfore see the reluctance of the hardliners in Tehran. They know a thing or two about the Western modus operandi. As regards to treaties, the Westerners know it is only a piece of paper, and can be torn at the opportune time. Welcome to the the real world of the Machiavellian West.
Well said Fred
by hooshie on Sun Apr 19, 2009 07:05 AM PDTArdi and Ellie
Keep discovering Shiraz but please be respectful to the memory of Cyrus the Great and Darius and don't drag their heritage into the cesspool of the Islamic republic's politics.
An outing tip: take a walk in the Shiraz University's campus and try to canvass support for Hamas and Hezbollah among the brave and protesting students of this university (that is, if you dare).
Have a nice day!
Grow up Ardeshir
by cyclicforward on Sun Apr 19, 2009 06:41 AM PDTI don't know as how long you have been in Iran but from the content of your post there are two possibility about the state of your mind. You are either a naive person that believes everything at face value and/or looking for a government job in IRI. You need to grow up and look into things more deeply.
Have you ever told IRI to
by Farhad Kashani on Sun Apr 19, 2009 05:21 AM PDTHave you ever told IRI to "hands off Iran"? Who else besdies IRI has killed and imprisoned and tortured and humiliated Iranians for 30 years now? When IRI takes it dirty hands off Iran, we don't have to worry about anyone attacking us.
Like Fred said, this is Islamic Republic (and I always hate to say Republic but it's a disgrace to the meaning of Republic!) propaganda. No one is advocating for war on Iran, but when you see a piece like this, you know its not about "peace", its about promoting for the IRI regime.
Your talents lie elsewhere
by Fred on Sun Apr 19, 2009 09:13 AM PDTYou say: “Iran’s continued support of the resistance movements of the people of Palestine, and their genuine representatives (not the puppet spokespersons) in various organizations as Hamas, and Hezbollah in Syria, is what truly upsets Washington and the West, and is why Israel is barking even more ferociously about Iran. “
Didn’t your “Ellie” tell you about Hamas and Hezbollah being terrorist organizations? Didn’t your weather predicting sage tell you about how besides dispatching suicide bombers to murder the innocent civilians, Hamas kills fellow Palestinians from Fatah? Or why the always accommodating Egypt is now upset about Hezbollah?
She must have said something about the injustice of Iranians going without so the fat cats of Hamas and Nasrullah’s gang can afford extra wives.
If you have any doubt and your obviously helpful family can arrange it, visit Adelabad prison for the lowdown on facts of life under the Islamist republic.
Have a nice extended vacation, do some shopping in bazaar Vakil, visit Hafez & Sa’di often and leave the Islamist republic propaganda to the Islamists. Your talents must lie elsewhere.
Ps. did you know you have an identically named couple as you two in the U.S.? Their similar lefty appreciation of the Islamist republic, diction & world view as yours is uncanny!
//www.workers.org/2007/world/iran-0809/