October 2004
October 31...............................To
top
He's the best!!!!
My 7-year-old niece Mitchka volunteered to
speak on behalf of John Kerry at school. She wrote the
following
speech and read it to her classmates. Although
George Bush was the final winner after the kids voted (20
to 8), I am so proud of her courage to stand up for what
she believes, specially since she lives in a mostly Republican
neighborhood!
I want to vote for John Kerry because he
is nice, a good man, and he has the rights to become President.
But that's my opinion, you might think that George Bush
is a better President. But John Kerry is a very good President.
If you want to vote for him, I am very happy for you. You
have good thoughts if you are voting for him. He also does
good speeches, and he has good plans about healthines.
He also helps people who don't have money to go to the
doctor. He himself is also healthy. If he becomes President
he will help us have cleaner air and water. Vote for John
Kerry! He's the best!!!!
--
Yassaman Jalali
October 24...............................To
top
* Scholarships: Iranian-American
Bar Association
The Board and the Scholarship Committee of the Iranian-American
Bar Association (IABA) invites applications for its
annual scholarship. IABA is a non-profit organization dedicated
to protecting and furthering the interest, and promoting the advancement
of the Iranian-American Community at large and the community of
Iranian-American attorneys in particular.
This year, we will award
two scholarships of $1,000 or more to two law students. (National
Scholarship Application Form)
These
scholarships will be the first awards to recognize law students
committed
to the advancement of the Iranian-American community, and we
hope that they will become the beginning of a tradition to continue
for many years. As such, we would greatly appreciate your
assistance in disseminating information on this program to law
students
at
your school.
The eligibility requirements for these awards are as follows.
Students who are receiving full funding for education from
another organization
are not eligible. Applicants who qualify must be:
-- of Iranian heritage or committed to the advancement of
the Iranian-American community and IABA's mission;
-- enrolled in an accredited
law school in the United States;
-- in the position to accept the scholarship
in the school year for which it is being awarded;
-- a full-time student.
The Application must include:
-- National
Scholarship Application Form;
-- Resume;
-- Applicant Statement: A statement or essay written by
the applicant (no more than one single-sided 1.5 spaced typewritten
page) articulating: how the applicant believes he/she will
make a difference as an attorney on issues of concern and
interest
to the Iranian-American
community and in advancing IABA's mission, and/or
what influenced the applicant to study law, and why the applicant
would
like to be an attorney.
-- Official Law School and College Transcripts.
Please note that all applications must be post marked
by December 30, 2004 and applications must be submitted
to:
The Iranian
American Bar Association, 1025 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
Suite 1012, Washington,
D.C. 20036. If you have you any questions, please feel
free to email us at iaba@iaba.us.
Thank you for your time and attention.
-- IABA
October 23...............................To
top
* Teeth
I've been worried about my teeth for a long time now. They've
yellowed to an unbearable point -- even for me. To me, hygiene
is just a fancy word. Just this week I played tennis for an hour,
four days in a row, and I think I took a shower once, maybe twice
(if you count today). I know I slept in my stinky tennis
outfit last night. (My poor wife...)
Back to my teeth, I brush them barely once a day. There are days
I don't brush at all. Despite my careless attitude towards
such an important part of my body, my teeth are still in good shape.
Except for my wisdom teeth, three of which have been disposed of,
the rest are all in the right place and order (never needed braces).
And they are durable too. Considering
the
crappy
way I
treat
them, at
42, I've only had one cavity -- which I ignored so long I needed
a root canal to dry up the infectious goo that had crept up my
skull.
You get the picture.
Oh, and I smoke too.
So my teeth have become too yellow, some may even say orangish.
Although I've been aware of this disaster for a couple of years
now, I've put off doing anything about it because I know I can't
afford going to a dentist. My own close family members, who are
top dentists, have
already been very kind in taking
care of my teeth for free when I badly needed it. So I wouldn't
dare ask them to sand blast 40 years of neglect -- just because.
So I slipped an email to Zohreh
Khazai Ghahremani, who has been
writing some of the very best articles in iranian.com. She's a
dentist. I asked her for advice. Zohreh said I did not need to
go to a dentist at all. She recommended Crest's
White Strips Premium.
I was skeptical. But I thought I'd give it a try. I could spend
$27 for the strips and if the results turned out disappointing,
I wouldn't mind.
Well, I'll be damned. These flimsy
colorless strips really really work!
Now before I show you my teeth, I must tell you that I've used
the strips for only seven days. I have seven more to go.
I should have taken a picture before I started. But I forgot (thank
god;
they look bad enough now).
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to my
teeth.
I shall display the final product in another week, if you care
to be further grossed out.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
* I love Raymond
I have to share with you this
excerpt from "In
Search of Zarathustra" by Paul KriwaczekIt.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
* Most artistic and ornate
In my article "Tabriz
to Monaco", I made reference to
Prince Arfa's house in Borjom - Villa Férouzi. I now add
a photo
of this villa and the following quote from the book "Siberia
and Central Asia", by John W. Bookwalter, published in Springfield, Ohio,
in 1899:
"Borjom is a charming summer resort, nestled among picturesque
mountains and along the banks of the Kura River, whose rapid current
pours in swift torrents from
the mountain gorges above. Very celebrated mineral springs are located here,
the waters of which are shipped to all parts of the empire. Many splendid villas
and residences are scattered throughout this romantic region. The palace of
His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Michael is beautifully located
on the banks
of the river, some distance above the city. I was especially interested in
a most artistic and ornate dwelling occupied by the Persian minister,
who resides
here."
-- Farhad Diba
October 15...............................To
top
* Homecoming
As I sit across from an officer of one of the most distinguished
intelligence agencies in the world, he asks me the single question
I am not prepared to answer at a job interview:
"Who are you?"
Who am I? Interesting question. I'm a product of a rift in time and destiny.
I can speak a number of European languages fluently, not because I want to
but because I spent my life drifting across the globe.
I can accurately quote Shakespeare, Kant, and Sadegh Hedayat, when the occasion
calls for it. I can recite Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as comfortably
as I can recite Ferdowsi. I can read and write in a number of languages.
I am as comfortable at La Tour D'Argent in Paris as I am at Sharaf'ol'Eslamy
in Tehran's Bazaar.
I know my way around St Peter's Basilica in Rome as well as I know my
way about Meydooneh Toopkhooneh in central Tehran.
I'm as comfortable hunting deer in Arnold's California as I am having Ghelyeh
Mahi at a stand by the water in Oman. I can seem at home at a peach orchard
in Georgia, or picking pomegranate at an orchard in Saveh.
I can swap insults with any Algerian pimp in Bois-de-Boulogne, as comfortably
as discussing Sino-American Corporations with a foreign diplomat at an embassy
gathering.
I'm not sure exactly who I am, but I am certain of what I am: I am human
silly-putty, able to mold myself into the mask of the moment.
Yet behind the mask there is something constant, immovable, old as the dust
on the ruins of Perspolis: the rage thundering inside.
Rage at Mother Iran for preparing me better than any school, better than
any camp, better than any agency, for betrayal as an occupation.
Rage at a society where the most educated physicist will go to "Emamzadeh
Saleh" and pray to the rotten relics of a man that may have never been,
to better insure that he is accepted to the PhD Program at MIT.
Rage at a society whose offspring in the millions are scattered across the
globe, each having sworn an oath of allegiance to another country to get
a different
colored passport, and yet scarce a handful of the millions are willing to
really stand by the words they swore to get that passport.
You see, no agency could teach me how to lead a double life better than the
society that taught me to mix beer and Quran, music and Azaan.
So here I am wearing the mask of the moment, and behind the mask there is
a steely determination to betray the very society that created a monster
like
me.
I'm coming home Mother Iran, I'm coming home to your arms, to embrace
you, and stick the dagger I have carried in my heart, into your back, and
lovingly hold you as you draw your last gasps; and sooth the shock in your
gaze with
the serenity in mine.
Mother, I'm coming home...
-- Anonymous
top
October 6...............................To
top
Public Health Announcement
Stomach cancer and Iranian population
Recently, a member of Iranica Institute's
Program Development Committee was diagnosed with stomach cancer.
In his quest to find an answer to the origin of his illness,
he has concluded to much of his surprise that most Iranians, and for that
matter many people from Asia, Africa and South America, who were born and raised
in their homelands prior to migrating to the United States have a bacteria in
their stomach which in later years may cause ulcer that could possibly lead to
stomach cancer.
There are many reasons for this, among which are using contaminated
or poorly treated water, or consumption of certain foods. For example, many Japanese
who eat raw fish known as sushi also have shown to have this bacteria. The
Japanese government has made it mandatory for all Japanese citizens to routinely
check for this bacteria in their body and seek medical attention.
This bacteria generally stays dormant for many years but may
become active after the age of forty or so in both men and women.
The name of this bacteria is H-Pylori.
A simple blood, urine, or breathalyzer test will detect the existence of this
bacteria. The treatment is very simple. A cocktail of antibiotics taken over
a period of 10 days will cure the illness.
As a public health announcement, the Iranian Institute urges
you to take up this matter with your doctor during your routine
or annual check up.
For more information, please log on to the following web sites:
//digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hpylori/
//digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pepticulcers_ez/index.htm
Stay healthy!
-- A.K. Jabbari
top
October 6...............................To
top
* The faces of silence
A couple of nights ago I met bright, young, energetic Iranians
who are among the pioneers of the Persian weblog movement.
They have stopped posting notes on their sites because of
the recent crackdown on prominent Internet writers and their relatives
in Iran. They didn't want to endanger the lives of their arrested
colleagues.
When I heard the words being spoken by the afflicted bloggers
across the table, my heart sank.
I had read
about the recent crackdown on Internet writers as well as
the trash
in Kayhan [also see "Slapping
back" and "Let
the world know"], but to see the actual victims talking
about it -- it's heartbreaking. You look at them and you feel how
our youth are wasting away.
Our brightest are being forced into silence with the ugliest
intimidation tactics and constant extortion. And this is just the
beginning.
While growing numbers of Iranians discover the Internet
and start publishing everything under the turban, the state
has refocused its censorship efforts from the traditional (and
already
gagged) print media, to the Internet.
Free voices will continue
to flow out of Iran by sheer determination
of a
courageous few. But the recent arrests will push many Internet
self-publishers towards self-censorship or anonymity.
There's even talk that the
IRI will soon require all bloggers and independent web sites
to obtain a permit. Those who refuse will face possible punishment
and access to their site will be blocked.
Besides seeking the support of free speech groups, we should
be looking for technology that would minimize the IRI's
ability
to
limit access
to the Internet. Anonymizers have proven to be less than effective.
-- Jahanshah Javid
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