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Shahin & Sepehr

 

Sehaty Foreign Exchange

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Letters
March 20-24, 2000 / Farvardin 1-5, 1379

Today

* Women:
- Satan incarnate
*
Iran-U.S.:
- Tired of not getting along

Previous

* Iran-U.S.:
- Great disappointment

- Better Noruz
- Bunch of crap
*
The Iranian:
- Pro-American
*
Iran:
- Don't deify Khatami

- Hope Khatami is not Khomeini
* Women:
- Why wear the hejab?
*
Noruz:
- Better Noruz
- Very sad


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Friday,
March 24, 2000

* Satan incarnate

Oh please. You are either blind or unwilling to accept reality here ["Can't just fake it"]. It t is true that we don't know Mr. Kasra's wife's side of this story, if there even is one, but it does not take a psychiatrist to realize that some of these Iranian women -- mainly those that just come over from Iran, are Satan incarnates running around.

It is an undeniable fact that many of these Iranian women change DRASTICALLY once they reach American soil, DRASTICALLY. All of a sudden they have all this freedom and they don't know what to do with it. This often times leads to very unacceptable behavior on their part, and eventually leads to the marriage falling apart.

I have seen it personally TIME AND TIME AGAIN. I don't doubt for a second that what Mr. Kasra says is true ["She changed overnight"]. Because his story is nothing new. There are thousands of Iranian women just like his ex-wife out there. In my opinion, they deserve nothing more than to be sent back to Iran where they belong.

Nariman N.

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* Tired of not getting along

I am tired of our countries -- the U.S. and Iran -- not getting along. I was very pleased to hear that maybe open trade of Iranian products in the U.S. can occur ["Ball in Iran's court"].

I do not know much about Iran and it's people. Only what I hear on the news on TV . It's time for the blocked doors of both counties to open. I am interested in learning and knowing the people, culture, art, living views of the people.

I would buy Iranian products if they are good products to have in my home. I hope we can start trading and talking. It will not hurt our countries' individuality.

L. Brown

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Thursday
March 23, 2000

* Great disappointment

Letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright:

National interest or political expediency overrides any consideration for propriety and loyalty. However, higher standards are expected from a super power. For those Iranians who worked hard and served their country before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, your speech at the American-Iranian Council came as a great disappointment...

The U.S. government, driven by its own national interest and at the prodding of the British, decided to assist the Iranian opposition to Premier Mossadegh who was in clear breach of the Constitution. The role of the CIA in the uprisings of August 1953 has been greatly exaggerated. Do you really believe that it is possible with a budget of "one, or perhaps two, hundred thousand dollars" to have a national uprising and a change of government? Your assessment of the situation is an expedient rewriting of history. Many Iranians who played a part in those events find your remarks objectionable >>> FULL TEXT

Kambiz Atabai

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* Pro-American

Your newsletter seems to be biased in favor of Western (American junk) culture as per articles published herein. I believe the people of the world desrve a more balanced, well researched presentation. Still I'm thankful of your efforts to upgrade eastern media activities. I'm for preserving native cultures and get banged up by junk! In solidarity with the great Iranian people!

rogelio-rustico X

Roger Teves

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Wednesday
March 22, 2000

* Don't deify Khatami

In response to Abdy Hashemi's letter I should add that had the Shah and his supporters "eradicated" their opponents there would have been no revolution. Or at worse, there would have been a civil war.

When Dr Bakhtiar persuaded the Shah to leave Iran "temporarily" in order to find a "political" solution to the crisis he also released the 2,300 so-called political prisoners in the imperial jails (not the 100,000 claimed by Western reporters and the Iranian Confederation of Students and other opponents of the monarchy).

Nevertheless, Dr Bakhtiar had his throat cut under the noses of the French police in Paris and this was ordered by the Ministry of Intelligenece in Tehran. The remaining 158 or more assassinations were part of a plan by Rafsanjani's governmnet to "exterminate" so-called counterrevolutionaries.

Khatami was aware of these atrocities and knew about them. He reminds me less of Ghorbachev and more of Khruschev who tried to save his cronies from blame by turning on the Stalinists a clever deflection. So let us not kid ourselves.

However, Khatami has ushered a significant change and I support anybody who helps our countrymen. But let us not deify him until we see complete freedoms. Will he allows women to unveil themselves in public as they did in the 1920s? That would be a day to celebrate.

Cyrus Kadivar

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* Hope Khatami is not Khomeini

In response to Abdy Hashemi who wrote: "[President Khatami] respects oppositions; always reciting 'long live my opponents' .....Now Khatami, as a true follower of Khomeini, is leading the same people to their final destination - DEMOCRACY!"

Do you see any irony in the above sentences? I do not know if some people recall the past or they forget the past the moment they change from former hostage takers and executioners to modern day reformers, but let it be clear, that you can not be tolarant of your opponent and at the same time be a "true follower" of Khomeini!!!

Ayatollah Khomeini is the same person who executed 100,000 people, who ruined a nation, and whose reign led to the departure of over two million Iranians. Under his reign, which was the darkest hours of our nation, most people did not dare to speak. His reign of terror was so massive that even today many Iranians fear to express their ideas.

There wasn't a day where someone somewhere would get arrested or executed or tortured under his reign for often unfounded accusations and for the simple reason of not believing in his way!

We lost a generation to him and we fell hundreds of years behind as a result of him. I hope to God that whoever Mr Khatami is and will be, his legacy would not resemble that of Mr. Khomeini.

R. Khalili

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Tuesday
March 21, 2000

    Pressure cooker
    * Two and two

By Banafsheh Zand

The sad fact is that in 21 years neither Iranians nor Americans have learned ANYTHING. The cavalier American still figures it can bamboozle anyone and the Napoleon-complexed Iranian still begrudgingly placates. If Americans don't stop hustling the world, and Iranians don't realize that they shouldn't be selling themselves short, we'll be back at square one in no time >>> FULL TEXT

Banafsheh Zand

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* Bunch of crap

Excellent observations by Mr. Mirfendereski ["Not so bright"]. Reading on, I recall an incident with the USS Vincennes and an Iran Air carrier not more than a few years ago. You'll recall how much press coverage that little SNAFU (situation normal all f**ked up) got in the US.

Further, about five or six years ago there was a rather small incident in China (Tiananmen Square protests)! You guys remember that, don't you? It had all the human rights agencies screaming bloody murder. However, China gets rewarded with the Most Favored Nation status which essentially means (no tariffs) its goods will compete with local goods. >>> FULL TEXT

Ali S.

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* Why wear the hejab?

Reading your feature on "Why women don't learn Karate" brought back my experience with similar questions as my daughter was growing up...

Nastaran is 13 now and her questioning of the world and its politics has changed. Also she was born in Iran and lived there for nine years which will make it all different from other Iranian children born outside of Iran. When she was very young and was living in Iran it was a question of wanting to wear the hejab as a sign of being an adult. >>> FULL TEXT

Yasaman Mottaghipour

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Monday
March 20, 2000

* Better Noruz

Just wanted to thank you (and all the donators) for the photos and info about our past on your page. They really gave me a better Noruz than what I had in my lonely life - presently; THANX!!!

Noruz-e shomaa ham mobaarak,

N.S.

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* Very sad

Your story of Haft Seen ["Noruz in spirit"] was very sad and questionable:

1- When a young girl is determind to make a Haft Seen and fails, it must be because there are obstackles and it is your duty to figure it out and remove those obstacles. It is a serious matter to me.

2- Why are you smoking? It is depressing when your daughter is looking for a "Seen" and comes up with cigarettes.

3- She might miss something that stops the action. Where is your spirit? To me Haft Seen is not important but the understanding of the people and their awareness of the reasons for that particular action is important.

Spring is in the air so they say but you also have to see and feel it . It this year something is wrong, it can be corrected as soon as you are aware of it. When the spirit and feelings come back, one can feel Noruz anytime even in the middle of winter.

Sudabeh

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