THE IRANIAN
TIMES
Wednesday, March 18, 1998
Esfand 27, 1376
No. 437
Abu Saeed
Headlines
* Majlis member tries to slap interior minister
* Israeli rabbis plan trip to Iran
* Clinton aide at Iran symposium
* Yesterday's Chahaarshanbeh soori in
Tehran
* Soccer: Iran look to improve by June
* Persian recipes that keep memories alive
* In private: Women musicians
* Job opening: American-Iranian Council
Index
| * Iran-U.S.:
Bridge building * Features: Majlis brawl * News: Rabbis plan trip * Community: Do something * Economy: Oil revenues plummet * Dollar: Unchanged * Human Rights: Majlis call * Women: Mazandaran * The press: Editor fined * Sports: Soccer improvements * Noruz: Noruz cards * Noruz recipes: Pari Malek * Darvag Theater: Noruz show * Help: Videographer needed |
* THE IRANIAN:
4shnbh soori |
THE WEB
* Noruz cards... here, there and everywhere!... IRNA has 180 Noruz cards which you can send electronically to anyone with an email address.... also you can find Noruz cards at Myiran.com site.
Any interesting web sites you would like to suggest?
Email us at Times@iranian.com
IRAN-U.S.
* U.S. and Iran have a bridge to rebuild, (Bruce Laingen / Los Angeles Times) - When I was a hostage in Iran, often venting my frustration with those who held us, one of the more friendly of them would sometimes try to reassure us by reciting a Persian proverb: "Nothing ever stays the same forever." It is approaching 20 years since Iran and the U.S. had an official relationship. While that may not rank as forever in relations between states, it is a long time. But recent signals back and forth between the two governments, however tentative, suggest that perhaps that Persian proverb may have some relevance. It should; America's interests are ill served by what prevails today'... full text
* Iran figures in U.S. Peace Corps debate, (AP) - They served in the Peace Corps three decades ago, helping fishermen in Fiji and teaching English to Iranians. Now, some of them serve in Congress and the president's Cabinet.Greeting a House committee Wednesday in Fijian and Farsi -- the languages of their host countries -- Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Health Secretary Donna Shalala urged support for President Clinton's call for 10,000 volunteers by 2000. ``Of all the programs our government supports, the Peace Corps ranks among the most effective,'' Shalala said. ``I still think of myself as a Peace Corps volunteer. My service in Iran from 1962 to 1964 was one of the most important experiences of my youth.''... full text
FEATURES
* Majlis member tries to slap interior minister, (AP) - A hard-line lawmaker tried to slap an Iranian government minister in parliament on Wednesday. Interior Minister Abdollah Nouri had been called to the floor to answer why his ministry allowed a mourning ceremony for Mehdi Bazargan, the moderate founder of Iran's only recognized opposition group, who died in 1994... full text
* Civil society vs. religious society, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
NEWS
* Israeli rabbis plan trip to Iran, (AP) - A group of Israeli rabbis said today they have reached agreement in principle with the Iranian government to travel to Iran next month to promote understanding between the two peoples. Rabbi Menachem Fruman, one of the organizers of the trip, said their goal was to begin dialogue with the Iranians on a religious basis... full text
* Iran says Iranians will promote friendship at haj, (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday Iranians going to Saudi Arabia for the annual haj pilgrimage would promote friendship among Moslems and that the ritual would contribute to better Tehran-Riyadh ties. Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, Iran's top official at the haj, said Iranian pilgrims would carry a ``message of friendship and understanding among Moslems,'' Iranian television said. The remarks were the latest in a series of conciliatory comments by Iranian leaders ahead of the haj, marked in some past years by confrontations between Saudi police and Iranian pilgrims intent on holding an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally despite a Saudi ban on political activities during the ritual... full text
* Educationl ministry plans for Iranian schools abroad, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
COMMUNITY
* Do something: Each year, the BRICK Award in the U.S. honors ten outstanding leaders under the age of 30 who use their talents to take action that measurably strengthens their local communities. Each of the ten winners is awarded a grant to support his/her community work: the national grand prize winnder receives a grant of $100,000 and the nine other winners each receive a grant of $10,000. Applications are due May 1, 1998. For more information: see Do Something's website at http://www.dosomething.org or call 212-523-1175 or email brick@dosomething.org
Thanks to Sussan Tahmasebi < stahmase@acog.org>
ECONOMY
* Oil, power struggle dim Iran economic outlook-EIU, (Reuters) - Weak oil prices have dimmed economic prospects in Iran, where domestic power struggles could be an obstacle to government efforts at economic reform, the London-based the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Wednesday. ``Iran's economic prospects have been dampened by a sustained weakening in oil prices,'' the EIU said in a statement. World oil markets were adrift at nine-year lows on Tuesday, pressured by producers' failure to curb swelling supply. ``However, the EIU holds to its forecast that Iran will be able to make its debt-service payments according to the ambitious schedule set out by the rescheduling negotiations of 1994-95,'' the statement said... full text
* Economy knocked by oil price slump, (Reuters) - A slump in world oil prices is putting an increasing squeeze on Iran's economy, forcing officials to seriously consider revising the coming year's budget for the second time. ``To say the price is worrying is an under-estimate,'' said one oil official in Tehran... full text
* Eni: Italian oil chief defiant on sanctions, (Financial Times) - The spirit of Enrico Mattei, the founder of Eni who was assassinated 35 years ago, is still in evidence in the semi-privatised Italian oil and gas company's smart offices. In the executive bar in Eni's skyscrapers outside Milan, learned magazines of the Mattei Foundation are piled next to trays brimming with pre-seasonal Easter eggs. A large photograph of Mr Mattei welcomes visitors outside the office of Franco Bernabé, the 49-year-old chief executive who has restructured and transformed Eni into one of the world's most profitable big oil companies in the last five years. Eni will report today preliminary 1997 financial figures showing another healthy rise in net profits. In his day, Mr Mattei unsettled the oil industry and the large integrated international companies, which he dubbed the "Seven Sisters", by trying to break their cartel and negotiating contracts with Russia, Iran and Libya.
* Mostazafan Foundation's financial services division keeps its books secret, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Tax increase on cigarrettes, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
DOLLAR RATE
Unchanged
* To send money to Iran, the rate is 503-510 tomans per dollar, depending on how much you wish to send.
* To send money out of Iran, the rate is 514 tomans per dollar.
Source: Sehaty Foreign Exchange, call in U.S.: 602-595-0777 or 500-288-8881. Preferntial rates for readers of The Iranian Times. Mention this code: BAJ 07
NORUZ
* Noruz traditions, in detail, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Noruz in Bay Area: The Persian Center in northern California invites families and friends of all generations to gather around our Haft-Sin table and begin our countdown to Persian New Year at 11:54:31 a.m.The celebration will last from 11-3 p.m. at the Cubberly Community Center 4000 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA. For information please call 408-260-2838 or send an email to Persian@CCnet.com.
* All you need to know about Noruz: Persian Outpost has a special page on Noruz. It has a link to detailed information on Noruz traditions. Good read... Click here
* Noruz in Seattle: The association of Iranians in Washington state will host a celebration of Noruz, the Persian new year at the Seattle University's Campion Tower ballroom on March 22 at 6:00 PM. An unlimited buffet of delicious Persian foods and desserts will be served. Amoo Noruz will come and bring gifts for children. A fabulous Haft Seen will be on display. Also, there will be dancing, Persian music and a dance performance as well. This is a very successful annual event and tickets go fast! Tickets are on sale at most Persian stores and restaurants. Bijan Elahi <BElahi@InControl.com>
NORUZ RECIPES
Persian recipes that keep memories alive
By Pari Malek
Washington Post
March 18, 1998
On Friday, when Iranian Americans celebrate the Persian New Year, they will also mark 20 years of migration by Iranians to the United States -- more than 250,000 -- following the Iranian Revolution. Many of us expatriates have found it important to carry on our traditions away from our homeland. In my case the traditions include a culinary diary I have kept since the 1950s, which now contains more than 400 recipes... full text
Thanks to Karim Ardalan <karim@misinc.net>
FILM
* Iranian films in Washington DC: A festival of some recent Iranian films is planned in Washington, DC, during March/April 1998. The films are shown at the 300-seat Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery. Tickets are free and can be obtained (up to two per person) on a first-come-first-served basis one hour prior to the program. Films being shown: March 8/13: Leila (Dariush Mehrjui), March 20/22: Det Means Girl (Abolfazl Jalili), March 27/29: Gabbeh (Mohsen Makhmalbaf), April 3: Beyond Fire (Kianoush Ayyari), April 5: A True Story (Jalili), April 17: The Abadanis (Kiarostami), April 26: Taste of Cherries (Kiarostami).
* "Gabbeh", "A Taste of Cherry" in Michigan: Wed. March 11th, Gabbeh, 7:00pm; Mon. April 6th, A taste of cherry, 7:00pm; at the Michigan Theater: 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI.
* "Taste of Cherry" U.S. screen schedules from the official Zeitgeist Film site... click here...Thanks to Payman Arabshahi <payman@fermi.jpl.nasa.gov>
* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details
HELP
Videographer needed in Bay Area
Videographer and photographer needed for Shahrzad Dance Academy's Noruz dance concert on March 28, 1998. Must have experience in creative arts (not just commercial work), and good equipment (or access to it). If interested contact Shahrzad Dance Academy at shahrzad@pacbell.net or call at (510)724-2425 ASAP! Thank you.
DARVAG THEATER
Darvag's Noruz fundraiser in Berkeley
Saturday March 21, 1998 at 7pm at The UC Berkeley International House. Corner of Piedmont and Bancroft Way, Berkeley. Reservation/Information: (510) 466-5299. Traditional dinner catered by The Vault Restaurant (7:15-9 pm). Menu includes Sabzi-polo & Mahi (YEAH!!!!), Vegeterian dish, salad, tea & desert Traditional (upbeat!) music by Barbod Traditional dance by Shahrzad Dance Academy, including a rare dance performance by the memebers of Darvag theatre group!!!!! Dance until midnight to the sound of Bay Area's most popular DJ, H.K.!!!! Tickets: $30 adults, pre-show purchase $15 children (5-12) $35 purchased at the door. Children and families are welcome!
HUMAN RIGHTS
* 160 Majlis deputies call for investigation into torture allegations, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Iraq Kurd group says Iran tortured member to death, (Reuters) - An Iraqi Kurdish group said Iran had tortured to death one of its members after arresting him and 19 others for allegedly spying against the Islamic state. ``Twenty Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials living in Iran have been arrested,'' a KDP statement said on Monday. ``The detainees are being mistreated and tortured...as a result one of the detained was murdered while in custody.'' ... full text
* Islamic Human Rights group says Judiciary should be open to questions, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
WOMEN
* In Mazandaran fewer women in rural areas married compared to urban women, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Steps to the moon: I would like to inform you of a website, steps to the moon, that was created in November 1997. It is an example of how the web can be used as a creative medium. Steps to the moon documents the on-going effort by two iranian women, one in isolation in iran and the other in exile, to re-build their connection over the internet and through many years and thousands of miles of forced separation. parallel to this, the sitemaker turns her gaze inside to document her own thoughts as they surface in the process of her work on this project. Combining the personal, the political and the poetic, Steps to the moon is about two women, three collaborators and four presences in a single document. Mina Haque <metalibra@hotmail.com>
THE PRESS
* Iran editor fined for women photos , (AP) - Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky have caused problems for another man -- this time, an Iranian magazine editor. The Resalat daily reported Wednesday that editor Reza Ghanilu was fined $330 by a Tehran court for ``obscenity'' for publishing full-page photos of Flowers, Jones and Lewinsky -- all unveiled. His weekly magazine ``Fakur,'' -- or ``Thinker'' -- ran the photographs last month ... full text
THE IRANIAN
Eenam az chahaarshanbeh soori-ye ma
Mahdiyeh Javid reports on yesterday's festivities -- and misadventures - in her neighborhood in Tehran (in Persian)... Go to feature
NOSTALGIA
SPORTS
* Iran look to improve by June, (Reuters) - World Cup finalists Iran are happy with their first match in France in 22 years despite going down 1-0 to first division En Avant Guingamp. ``Since our arrival in France we had only had training (sessions) but a match is the best form of practice,'' Iran's Croatian coach Tomislav Ivic said ... full text
* Iran beat 1-0 in first World Cup warm-up, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Only Azizi, Daie and Baqeri are guaranteed a place in national team, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Hamshahri's Sports section, Wednesday... index in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
"Dream Team" IRAN -- World Cup tickets now available!
Sportestan Publishing
(USA)
ish@sportestan.com
Tel: 650-473-9792
SATIRE
30,000-toman ($60) "eidi"?!
* Complaint about the Noruz bonus to civil servants. But who listens?... click here
Got something to make us smile?
Send it to Times@iranian.com
POETRY
Contest
Omar Khayyam Poetry Society invites you to enter our poetry contest. Prizes: First place $100, Second $75, Third $50. Winners will be announced and printed in THE IRANIAN in June 1998.
Subject: Longing places, memories, love
Format: Poems must be in English and emailed to <matteof@msn.com>. Include your name, address and phone number.
Deadline: May 10, 1998
Entry fee: $5 for up to three poems. You may send cash or check payable to R. Macroberts. Send to 1045 Walnut Grove, Rochester Hills, MI 48306, USA.
JOB
Job opening: American-Iranian Council
Position: American-Iranian Council, Inc., a non-profit research and educational think tank, is seeking a dynamic full-time Executive Director. AIC is a 501 (C) 3 New Jersey Corporation with offices in Princeton, New Jersey. It seeks to promote, through free exchange of ideas, sustained dialogue and a comprehensive understanding between the peoples and governments of the United States and Iran, with the goal of promoting cooperation and enhancing relations between the two nations. The affairs of AIC are managed by a Board of Directors who receive counsel from an Advisory Board.... for more information... click here
LETTERS
Men of science
In your polling on "The Iranian of the Year" the candidates suggested did not include many Iranian men of science and technology. I consider it a good idea if your electronic journal would run features on Iranians like Dr. Ali Javan (the inventor of gas laser) or Dr. Lotfizadeh (the inventor of Fuzzy Logic) who have greatly contributed to the advacement of science and technology. Mike ? <x87bevins@wmich.edu>
LOST & FOUND
Kambiz Kamalzadeh
I was hoping to contact an old friend friend of mine, Kambiz Kamalzadeh, who went back to Iran in 1981. We kept up a correspondance for a while but I was moving around the country a lot and we lost contact. Kamalzadeh lived in Karaj (near Tehran). This information is from 1982 and I know that a lot has happened in Iran during this time. I would be grateful if you could offer me some lead on this. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Naldo <Naldo@btinternet.com>
BOOKSTORE
Book of the week
Zanaan Saraayandeh-ye Mo'aaser -- Biography and review of the poetry of 15 women poets in 871 pagesby Parvin Shakiba. See feature in THE IRANIAN. Click here
THE IRANIAN Bookstore
EVENTS
* Symposium on Iran, in Houston: The James III Baker Institute of Rice University, Houston, Texas, is organizing a symposium on Iran, April 2, 1998. The speakers include Congressman Lee Hamilton, Hooshang Amirahmadi of Rutgers University, and Bruce Ridel, Special Advisor to President Clinton.
* From Nezami to Puccini: The Foundation for Iranian Studies (FIS) Announcement of the 1998 Noruz lecture by a distinguished scholar of Iranian studies: The FIS 1998 distinguished lecturer is Professor Peter Chelkowski, Hagop Kevorkian center, New York University. The topic is "Seraching for Turandokht: From Nezami to Puccini." Time and Place: Monday, March 23, 1998, 7pm - 8:30pm Ballroom, Marvin Center The George Washington University 800 21st Street, N.W., Washington, DC. All welcome, attendance is free. G. R. Afkhami <gafkhami@pipeline.com>
* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details
PHOTO OF THE DAY
In private: Women musicians
* Women musicians, probably at a private party, in early 20th century... full image
Got any interesting photos?
Send them to Times@iranian.com
MUSIC
Lily Afshar
Guitarist Lily Afshar, hailed by the Washington Post as "remarkable, impecable," is head of the guitar program at the University of Memphis. Chosen to play for Segovia in his 1986 master classes at the University of Southern California, Afshar also won top prize in the 1988 Guitar Foundation of America competition, grand prize in the 1986 Aspen Music Festival, and first prize in both the 1984 MTNA and the 1983 ASTA competitions.
The clips that will be featured here this week are from her CD, "24 Caprichos de Goya." Composed in 1961 and published in 1970, the 24 Caprichos de Goya is one of the most original and monumental works for solo guitar. The pieces are inspired by Los Caprichos (1799), a series of 80 satirical prints in etching and acquatint by Francisco Goya, one of the great figures in Spanish painting.
In today's selection, "Linda maestro!", the rapid perpetual motion depicts the take off and flight of the master and student on their broom.
* Go to Lily Afshar's web site
(Get RealAudio)
Greatest pop CDs ON SALE!
QUOTE UNQUOTE
Little satan
Today, Israel is perceived as the little Satan controlled by the big Satan (U.S.). Perhaps by calling attention to our shared belief in a single God, to our shared emphasis on living life according to religious law, the rabbis may be able change the Iranian's public perception of Israel.
Rabbi Menachem Fruman
"Israeli
ribbis plan trip to Iran"
Associated Press
March 18, 1998
All
about us | Cover stories
| Letters | Opinion
| Features
By the way | History
| Iranica | Travelers
| Photo album
Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form.
|
|
|
