Nostalgia

FYI/Bahraini cleric returns from self imposed exile (VIDEO)

"Constitutional Monarchy Still an Option" say's exiled Cleric upon return to Bahrain  

Bahraini cleric returns from self imposed exile (VIDEO)

behesht bood....

rohe shah shad......

iran would have been paradise now!!!

filthy brits wanted to keep siphoning off our oil for free.....what better than a bunch of murdering mullahs

it all goes back to shah's speech in 1973....when he basically told the brits and the americans to go shove it...and buy our oil at market price!

brings tears to my eyes.....what our country could have been.....way ahead of the koreans and way ahead of the israelis 

با چادر و بی چادر اینها برای فاطی تنبون نمیشه

Days of Progress vs Days of Regress

Religion should be kept in a Free environment so people can address Spiritual needs.

Monarchy has a place in maintaiing Tradition and Culture.

We never appreciated what we had, which is why we are

exactly where we are.  Living in Tyranny not progressing like we were and enjoying more ad more freedom like the days you call dictatorship... which is incorrect by definition.  As king neither had absolute power nor did he break the law or agreements with others ever. 

I agree with your assesment of moving towards power sharing in a democratic context ad having freedom of expression in place of intolerance.

(with the excepton of racist or terrorist elements).

The only problem with Monarchy is that while support for it is growing every year at present it only has around 53% support, not enough to make it back in a strong way.  At this rate it could take 10 more years before secular moarchists hold something like what they need to return in full force, like the UK, Spain, Norway, Sweden or Japan.

JJ Democratic Rule as you know is most compatible with Monarchy.

%%%^^^&&&

My bf sayz Iz G no V.

Darvaazehaayeh Tamadon!

Gates of Civilization!

I enjoyed the music enormously: Ebi, Shahram and Googoosh!

The video clip also made me nostalgic!

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Four decade old tape looks more modern than present day Iran! I do see chadoris and mullahs in the video! also footage from 1974 Asian Games?

Thank you, REA, for the 2 contrasting photos! The difference is day and night!

Great find!

Talk about 70s

This is what I've found: //tinyurl.com/6l8vu22

Compare it to the present day Iranian First Lady:

//images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-10-14-ahmadi...

Shame on the generation that ruined it.

Shame on the generation that ruined it. What a bloody shame.

...

you publish or allow to be published so much nostalgic material on your site! Regradless of the past misdeeds, Iran and Iranians achieved a relatively peaceful and a progressive society in those years! why shouldn't we be remined of that? and no, nobody wishes for yet another dictatorship!

-Redwine, doost gerami which is it? Khaneh az bon kharb bod ya nabod ? Age nabood lazem be enghelab nabod age bood ke fabaha!!!

I prefer mini joop

JJ says:

"You CANNOT bring back the past (and why would you want another kind of dictatorship back? For the right to wear a mini joop but not criticize the King?)."

There are at least three hidden merits in having the right to wear mini joop that will eventually lead to an open and democratic society:

1. mini joop makes men more curious about tiny details and at the same time makes women more aware of the same hence a general state of public awareness is created.

2. with half of the public yearning to learn more and the other half anxious to teach more (assuming an equal distribution of gender) we have a perfect mix of learners and teachers if, as is usually the case, there are less teachers (mini joop wearning women) than learner (men) , the balance is tipped in favor of the learners and there will be a massive urge to be observant and watchful which is the right stimulus for change.

3. And talking about stimulus (or should I say stimuli ;)) all the jobless men (and sometimes women!) are constantly on the streets to monitor the hemline status of the mini joop wearing crowds. This will reach fever pitch during the rush hours when the mini wearing crowd is going to or coming back from work. There will be no idle man sitting at home doing nothing.

 These were just a few essential conditions that once satisfied a nation is ready for "change". As they were in 1979.

Self-appraisal

It is nice to document moments, but I love to stay in the present moment rather than one step back.  Why don’t we appreciate and embrace what we have now, in our new country outside of Iran?  I didn’t leave Iran because of IRI.  I chose to leave because of the Iranian culture and certainly the IRI influence on it. 

I don’t like to compare present with past, but let’s be realistic.  Have you ever heard about an Iranian woman in your relatives with no degrees in Iran?  Who are the everyday doctors, University professors and human right activists in Iran?  Why didn’t they show the women in ski resorts in Iran at present if the video wanted to show fashion?   

Those moments in the past were memorable and comforting mainly because of one's age, expectations, and present of love ones at the time.   Iran has always been a Middle East country with its cultural and religious barriers.  It takes a long time for people to change, but I am counting every second to see a change in the Iranian government.  Not because I will ever go back, but because to see love ones happy when I travel with those who don't have a chance to travel there.  Because I care, and because I still have my heart beating love. 

Well There is ALWAYS a Constructive Alternative JJ Jaan ... ;0)

RESTORATION: Shapour Bakhtiar advocates Restoring the Monarchy

  Unless of Course You want to Put up with The likes of fussygorilla till the end of time:

SATIRE: The Burqa Republic of Our IRANICAN Dreams ;0)

LOL

Recommended Readings:

REZA's CALL: An Iranian Solidarnosc... by DK

RESPONDING TO REZA's CALL: An Iranian Solidarnosc in the Making ... by DK

FF from the mini skirt scenes to 3:07, if you can..

And I tell you, These ladies still dress the same. Because they are dressed based on the nature of their labour and not because of  a decree from Shah or valie faghih...

Dont you just love absolute, solid material facts in this day and age?!!

"Personal business must yield to collective interest."

I'm fussy

Oh no Fussy Joon. What I mean by we can't go back does not mean I accept the present. You accept and admire the present regime and justify every crime and stupidity displayed by the Islamic Republic.

javid

Delighted to read something you said that makes good sense. Stay on this line and don't go back to your previous lines.

...

این خیابانها،این آدمها و تمام اینها و آنها برایم آشناست و یاد آوری زمانی‌ که هنوز در مملکت خودمان بودیم و آواره نبودیم.

با انقلاب مخالف نیستم،ایران احتیاج داشت از زیر بنا دوباره ساخته شود،مردم وضعیت بعدی داشتند اما هیچ کس نمیتوانست حدس زند که آن انقلاب به دست ملایان اسلامیه و چپیهای ولد الروسیه به یغما رود و مملکت نازنین ما را به خرابی کشانند.

ناله از دلتنگی‌ است،شکوه از تنهایی و از آواره گیست.این عذاب فعلا دائمیست.این سرگردانی از بیچاره گیست.

خدا لعنتتان کند که اینجور به ما کردید.روز انتقام نزدیک است،رسیدن زمان آزادی همین چند روز است.

The Good Old Days

kaaremoon beh koja keshideh keh beh nim gharn pish begim: The Good Old Days.

The Islamic Republic has taken us back centuries in terms of human rights and state-citizen relations but I don't want to go back 50 years to make things right. That aint right :)

You CANNOT bring back the past (and why would you want another kind of dictatorship back? For the right to wear a mini joop but not criticize the King?). The ONLY choice we have is moving forward. To make something better based on our current beliefs in democratic rule and behavior.