The Iranian Times

Tuesday October 3, 2000 / Mehr 12, 1379, No. 1077


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Sehaty Foreign Exchange

Iranian books

Fiction

A big beautiful lamb
Memoires of a sacrifice

By Mehrnaz Mahallati
October 3, 2000
The Iranian

The tall man walked firm and determined... I was staring at his foot steps as people gave him way like Moses parting the Red Sea. It led straight to the fig tree. In a fraction of a second the whole picture started forming before my eyes. Now I remember. He was the butcher in my grandpa's neighborhood. I had seen him before when I went to his shop with my grandma. "Oh, god. Please don't let it be," I thought. I looked back. Both my cousins had caught on to the event as well. My mouth was dry and I could not say a word. It felt like my heart is going to break out of my chest. It was beating so fast, I could hardly breath. Nasrin was looking down and Pari looked lifeless >>> GO TO FEATURE

Democracy

By Mohandes
October 3, 2000
The Iranian
>>> GO TO FEATURE


Outlook

Parliament rejects minister nominated by President Khatami

BBC Persian Service

Iran's reformist dominated parliament has refused a vote of confidence to the new Post, Telegraph and Telephone minister nominated by President Khatami. Sima Bahrami asks Ali Zafarzadeh, a member of parliament from Mashad why they went against President Khatami's candidate >>> LISTEN HERE

Oil windfall shifts Iran's economy into growth mode

By Peg Mackey

LONDON, Sep 30 (Reuters) - Robust oil prices are swelling Iran's coffers by unexpected billions -- putting the key oil producer well on the road to economic recovery, Iran's Central Bank Governor said on Friday.

``Higher oil prices will really help us speed up investment, reduce unemployment and accelerate our economic growth,'' Governor Mohsen Nourbakhsh told Reuters in an interview. The Central Bank chief expects strong oil prices to generate about $7-$8 billion of extra income for Iran this year. That's on top of budgeted oil export earnings of $11.5 billion >>> FULL TEXT

Threat to Parsi rite as vultures die

By Luke Harding in New Delhi
The Observer
October 1, 2000

From the outside, the Tower of Silence at the top of Bombay's prestigious Malabar Hill appears unremarkable. The only hint of what goes on inside are the vultures that perch on top of the whitewashed outer walls. Inside the secret complex, surrounding a Roman-style amphitheatre, banyan and casarina trees flourish in the tropical sun. And there are, of course, the dead - two or three corpses most days, exposed to the elements and left for vultures to pick clean.

But this ancient, ecologically impeccable method of disposing of the dead, practised by India's Parsi community for hundreds of years, is under threat >>> FULL TEXT

In reponse to thousands of emails asking "who the HELL is this dAyi Hamid?" here's all you need to know >>> SEE HERE



More Letters

* Healthy and wealthy

Simin Habibian writes: 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 >>> FULL TEXT

* Being Black

Kalil writes: 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) >>> FULL TEXT

* Love, Beauty, and Hope

Mitra Gholam writes: 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...

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 >>> FULL TEXT


Music: Mohammad Reza Lotfi performing in Chicago

University of Chicago Persian Cultural Society & Center for Middle Eastern Studies Proudly Present: Live in Concert Mohammad Reza Lotfi Master of Classical Persian Music, performing the poetry of Rumi and other Persian poets. Date & Time: Saturday October 14 Doors open at 7:30 pm Concert begins promptly at 8:15 pm Mandel Hall, 5706 S. University Ave, Chicago Tickets go on sale at Reynolds Club Box Office Monday, September 25. For tickets, call 773-702-7300; (M-F) 10 am-6 pm; (Sat) 11 am-4 pm. For more information, call Jahan Moslehi at 773-752-8391 or email j-moslehi@uchicago.edu


Books

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,

Rome's Enemies
Parthians and Sassanid Persians
By Peter Wilcox

.

Raazvari dar aaeen-e Zartosht
By Shiva Kaviani

THE IRANIAN
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    Poem

    Translation of today's poem by Zara Houshmand:

    I'm so close to you that I'm far apart,

    So completely merged that I'm separate,

    So vastly exposed that I'm concealed,

    So whole and sound that I'll never be healed.

    * Also see more Rumi translations

    Rumi book

Rumi: The Life Teachings and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi
By Frankin D. Lewis



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More news

Jahangard fails to get Majlis' vote of confidence

Tehran, Oct 3, IRNA -- Nasrollah Jahangard, the candidate proposed by President Mohammad Khatami to head the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephones (PTT), failed on Tuesday to receive the confidence vote from Majlis >>> FULL TEXT

Mohajerani to quit after conservative pressure

TEHRAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An Iranian reformist minister, long under siege by hardline conservatives who consider him too liberal, has handed in his resignation to President Mohammad Khatami, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday. But Khatami has told Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ataollah Mohajerani he must re-draft and moderate his 50-page resignation before it can be accepted, said the source, who declined to be named >>> FULL TEXT

Iraq seeks Iranian air space

The Iraqi transport minister is visiting Teheran to seek permission to use Iranian air space for regular flights to and from Moscow. Relations between Iran and Iraq, badly strained since their eight-year war in the 1980s, have recently shown signs of a thaw >>> FULL TEXT

Iran to fight satellite programmes with private TV network

October 2, 2000, Teheran (dpa) - Iran plans to fight foreign satellite programmes with the establishment of a private television network, the daily Tehran Times reported Monday. Head of state-run broadcasting, Ali Larijani, has written a letter to the senate-like Guardian Council asking the conservative body about the possibility of setting up a private television network, the daily said >>> FULL TEXT

Iran in debt deal with UK

October 3, 2000. (Financial Times) -- The Export Credit Guarantee Department is to provide cover to help exporters compete for contracts in Iran following an agreement to write off about £20m of Iranian debt. Richard Caborn, the first trade minister to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, said in Tehran on Monday: "The agreement says effectively that Iran is open for business." >>> FULL TEXT

Huge power plant projects for German firms in Iran

October 2, 2000, Teheran (dpa) - Huge power plant projects are on the verge of finalisation between Iran and German firms, visiting German Economics Minister Werner Mueller said in Teheran on Monday. ``Nothing is settled yet, but I have the feeling that especially regarding huge power plant projects we are on the verge of finalising some accords,'' Mueller said after a meeting with Energy Minister Bitaraf >>> FULL TEXT

New Islamic conference tackles age-old tourist problems: money and fun

ISFAHAN, Iran, Oct 3 (AFP) - Ministers and top officials from some two dozen Muslim nations on Tuesday opened the first-ever international conference aimed at promoting tourism in the Islamic world. Iran is hosting the gathering in the ancient city of Isfahan, one of its touristic showpieces, as Muslim nations bid for a larger share of the international travel industry whose annual revenues are estimated at around 440 billion dollars >>> FULL TEXT

Forty short stories in one volume

Tehran (Hayat-e No) -- Forty short stories from the past 80 years have been brought togther in one volume by Hassan Zolfaghari >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT

"Taming of the Shrew" in Tehran

Tehran (Aftab-e Yazd) -- Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" will be staged in Tehran. Haydeh Haeri will be directing >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT

Darvish or Van Damme?

Tehran (Aftab-e Yazd) -- Imam Sadeq University refused to screen Ahmadreza Darvish's "Motevaled-e Ordibehesht" (Born in Ordibehesht), claiming it has "no social value". It showed a Jean Claude Van Damme flick instead >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT

First volleyball player abroad

Tehran (Iran daily) -- Behnam Mahmoudi is the first Iranian playing volleyball for a foreign club >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT

Dabeer's Gold set new record for Iran in Olympics

Iran Sports Press -- Alireza's Gold medal win on Sunday did not only save Iranian Wrestling from an otherwise disasterous showing at the Sydney Olympics, but the Gold medal also set a new record for Iran in the Olympics >>> FULL TEXT

Best, under the circumstances

Tehran (Iran daily) -- National soccer team coaches have made the best selection under the circumstances, says former national headcoach Mansour Pour-Heydari >>> FULL PERSIAN TEXT


BBC

Ayatollah Khamenei asks Friday prayer leaders to be impartial

In a gathering of Friday prayer leaders, Ayatollah Khamenei asked them to be impartial and unbiased in their sermons at friday prayers. Sima Bahrami asks Ahmad Salamatian, Political Analyst, the implications and reasons behind these comments >>> LISTEN HERE

BBC Persian Service


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Updated September 28

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Selling: 823 to 828 tomans per dollar

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The Web

Iran

Radio France: Persian

The Persian news service of Radio France International is now online. Click on "Farsi" on the left column.

Beyond Iran

The Kodak Girl Collection

Professional photographer Martha Cooper began collecting photographs and images of women with cameras in 1977. Her online exhibit features dozens of magazine ads, catalog covers, and film wallets featuring the mythic Kodak Girl.

More web sites


Quote Unquote

The lamb

The butcher's knife slashed my lamb's throat. Blood sprang up and hit the fig leaves. It happened in less than a second, so why did it seem like an eternity? It was too late now! My sheep was struggling and trying to hang on the last breath of sweet life. His feet were tied together with the same rope that was around his neck. But now it was all stained with blood. Another hard slash of the knife and the head was now barely hanging. His tongue stuck out and his lips twitched. I spotted the large yellow teeth behind my tears. The butcher had no expression on his face.

-- Mehrnaz Mahallati
"A big beautiful lamb"
The Iranian
October 3, 2000


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