FOCUS
Photo essay: Iranian rights activists from around the world gather in San Jose, California
by
talieshah >>>
COMMON CAUSE
Restrained but powerfully articulated anger at Iran Human Rights seminar
Everyone at the recent Iran Human Rights Seminar in San Jose got a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). During the presentations there was much discussion of religion, and it is possible to review the event by comparing the UDHR to a much older declaration in the Bible. There are ten commandments in the laws of Moses, and three times as many in the UDHR. The first four laws that came down from the mountain aren't at all about how humans should treat each other; rather they establish the authority of the lawgiver: 1. I'm God, 2. Don't worship anything else, 3. Respect my name, 4. Every seventh day is "God day."
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HERITAGE
Legal dance on Persepolis artifacts continues
by Arash Hadjialiloo
For the past few months, the legal proceedings surrounding the sale of Persian artifacts on loan to American museums and universities had remained mostly dormant. That is, until, revelations occurred on three separate fronts of the issue. In the case of the Northern Illinois case Rubin et al. v IRI, two very separate developments have occurred. On March 29, new plaintiffs emerged seeking the clay tablets from Persepolis which are already targeted by the victims of a 1997 Jerusalem attack, Rubin et al. these additional plaintiffs want to lay claim to the artifacts so as to sell them and receive payment for a $2.7 billion decision in their favor
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STAMP
Poland commemorates her refugees in Iran
The Polish Postal Service has commemorated the role Isfahan played during World War 2 in caring for Polish orphans. The new stamp, "Isfahan - the City of Polish Children", went on sale earlier this month. It depicts a pupil at School No. 15 near Isfahan (Stanislaw Stojakowski), standing in front of a Persian carpet woven at the city's Carpet School in 1944. In 1942, Isfahan housed thousands of Polish orphans released from the Soviet work camps of Siberia and Kazakhstan
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RIGHTS
Photo essay: Shirin Ebadi speaks to Iranian Americans
by
talieshah >>>
IRAN
by Assad Homayoun
The Islamic Republic would actually welcome either of two misguided U.S. strategies — negotiations or war. Both strategies will strengthen their repressive control over Iran and will allow them to extend their strategic hegemony over much of the Middle East, into parts of Central Asia and the Indian Ocean region. The Islamic Republic has a long record of using negotiations as a tactic of buying time to further its illicit policies. Besides, official negotiation means officially recognizing the legitimacy of the other side — which is something the clerical regime has longed for. Official negotiations will also be interpreted as the U.S. government’s concession to the clerical regime. Do the prime supporters of global terrorism deserve rewarding?
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WRITERS
Iranian-American writers join forces
Over 60 Iranian American writers and members of the community have gathered to launch the Association of Iranian American Writers (AIAW) at a conference hosted by Professors Nasrin Rahimieh (UC Irvine) and Persis Karim (San Jose State University). Held at the University of California at Irvine and sponsored by the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, the event featured panels on topics ranging from fiction in the post-9/11 world to writing contemporary poetry to innovations in self-representation. With more Iranian Americans writing and publishing in English than ever before, the conference was an opportunity for dialogue about issues that are central to the development of what has become a formidable literary force in the US
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AMERICAN
Honoring American nurse for her public health services in Charmahal Bakhtiari
by
Laleh Bakhtiar >>>
THANK YOU
Monument to an American's services in Iran
Imagine finding out that a nomadic tribe has named a mountain after your grandmother. My mother and I learned just that when a relative phoned to say the storied Bakhtiari tribe had so honored my grandmother, Helen Jeffreys Bakhtiar, to commemorate her public health work there in the 1950s. It's quite a legacy for a woman born in Weiser, Idaho, at the beginning of the 20th century. Located in the central Zagros Mountains of Iran, near the ancient city of Isfahan, the area around Kohe Helen or Helen's Mountain, is home to a wide variety of species
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TRAVELER
So here I sit at the bar in the Delta lounge sipping my second glass of wine, filled to the brim
I was in New York for a reason. I had to meet with a lawyer and I had to speak at a conference. The Market Research Association Conference. Usually I don’t dig the conference circuit. But this year I will have spoken at 4 events. More than I have done in the last 4 years combined. The subject of my talk was an expose of international ethnographic research. Spilling the beans on all of the cock ups, mess ups and screwy clients I had experienced over the years. A side note: I had called V to say I look ‘hot’ walking up 46th Street to the conference Hotel (the Marriott). She had asked if I looked hot and sweaty. I think she is so familiar with my look she has lost all sense of how good looking I have now become.
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MAN
الکساندر هیچ جنگجوی بزرگی نیست. او حتا جنگجوی کوچکی هم نیست، نه خونخوار است و نه کشورگشا
الکساندر نه ربطی به اسکندر مقدونیه دارد و نه شبیه ریچارد برتون است. او هیچ ارتباطی به "اسکندرنامه" هم ندارد. الکساندر خوشگل نیست ولی جوان است و برومند و خیلی خوش مشرب و خوش تعریف. الکساندر همیشه در حال گفتگو با کسی است و همیشه موضوعی مناسب برای گفتگو پیدا می کند. من و الکساندر با هم فقط سلام و علیک داریم و هیچ چیز از هم نمی دانیم. ما حتا اسم یکدیگر را هم نمی دانیم. اولین باری که با هم سر کار حرف می زنیم و اسمم را می پرسد به شکل حیرت آوری متوجه می شوم که بلد است نامم را تلفظ کند؛ و "ه" را از توی اسمم حذف نکند. تعجبم را بیان می کنم: "فرانسوی ها بلد نیستند اسمم را تلفظ کنند، تو چطوری توانستی؟"
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PARIS
Photo essay: Farah Pahlavi at Yves Saint Laurent funeral
by
Darius Kadivar >>>
ENTERTAINMENT
Photo essay: Snapshots from Noor Film Festival in Los Angeles
by
Jahanshah Javid >>>
BLOOD
Behnoush Babzani dedicates her life to educating people of the significance of donating marrow
I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and my doctors told me that my only chance of survival is if I have a bone marrow transplant. The doctors were telling me that the only way that I could live is if somebody else would give me some of their bone marrow!... I made a promise to myself that when I am better and able to live a normal life, I will dedicate my life to educating people of the significance of donating marrow and how truly important such a gift is to patients in need. The only reason that I am alive today is because my brother was able to overcome his intense fear of hospitals and needles and donate the marrow that now keeps me living.
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IRANIAN OF THE DAY
Microsoft award for 16-year-old Milad Mafi
by
shoosh >>>