nmilaninia's blog

July 1st "Hands-Free" Cell phone requirements

nmilaninia — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:20:58 +0000

Effective July 1, 2008, individuals are prohibited from using a cell phone in a moving vehicle unless the driver is using a hands-free device.

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions from The California Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the new law. Two new laws dealing with the use of wireless telephones while driving go into effect July 1, 2008. Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions concerning these new laws.

Q: When do the new wireless telephone laws take effect?
A: The new laws take effect July 1, 2008.

Candidate Positions on Iran

nmilaninia — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:14:51 +0000

In order to assist our community in selecting the right candidate, please find below ya summary of each candidates position on Iran provided by the New York Times:

Democratic Candidates

John Edwards

Engage in low-level diplomacy; tighten economic sanctions with international cooperation; military option not off the table; has said a non-aggression pact is a possibility down the road.

More Pressure against Debra Cagan Needed

nmilaninia — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:55:33 +0000

The NY Times has recently published an article entitlted "Coalition of the Reluctant" in which they outline Debra Cagan. Of relevance to us Iranian-Americans is the following:

Ledeen’s Connects Iran with 9/11

nmilaninia — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:39:38 +0000

As per my former post, here’s greater evidence about Ledeen’s lies. Here’s an excerpt from his new book, The Iranian Time Bomb: “the relationship between Iran and al Qaeda over the
years has been so close that it is difficult today not to conclude that
Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks.”

Can the Iranian-American community advocate against this manipulative liar? Faster please.

Fox News Distortion

nmilaninia — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:06:31 +0000

If you want a better understanding of how “Fox News” actually distorts the news, specifically with reference to Iran, then you don’t need anymore evidence than this.

AIC and Shakeri

nmilaninia — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:39:12 +0000

I’m not a big fan of the American Iranian Council. I think they are a bit too much into self-promotion and don’t really reach out to the Iranian population in the US, which they claim to represent. That makes them shady in my book. But I will give them credit if the following is true. Apparently, they were influential in persuading Iran to free Ali Shakeri, one of the four Iranian-Americans who were imprisoned in Iran. Is this 100% true?

The Cost of Beauty in Tehran

nmilaninia — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:42:57 +0000

Of course this is something the Iranian community in Los Angeles actually likes about Iran:

Tanning session: $11
Botox injections: $200
Nose job: $5,000
Breast augmentation: $10,000

And for those of you who this this is only something wealthy Iranians care about, think twice:

Event: Iranian Sexual Harassment and Domestic Violence

nmilaninia — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:03:04 +0000

Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA) of Northern California
LEONA Foundation, Inc.
&
Iranian Student Alliance in America (ISAA) Present Sexual Harassment and Domestic Violence in the Iranian Diaspora

Panelists

Shahin Gerami
Director of Women Studies, San Jose State University

“I Hate All Iranians”

nmilaninia — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:05:45 +0000

You know, for years the Bush administration would make strong
efforts to distinguish the Iranian people and the Iranian government.
It would strive to demonstrate that fascists and regular Iranians and
regular Muslims are different. And yet, in doing so, it would create
names like “Islamo-fascism” which clearly remove that distinction by
tying a religion to a extreme ideology. And you wonder, therefore, why
high government officials would make such hateful remarks.

Transexuality in Iran

nmilaninia — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:07:01 +0000

For those interested, a short video on the subject authored by Yasmin Vossoughian & Kouross Esmaeli can be found here.

Cal Iranian Bloggers Meeting

nmilaninia — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:32:03 +0000

I wasn’t able to go, but the people at Iranican were and they produced a two-part video of it which you can watch here: http://www.iranican.com/

Ahmadinejad the Ignorant

nmilaninia — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:37:00 +0000

Ahmadinejad claims there's no homosexuals in Iran in his recent speech at Columbia (video):

Happy Hour for Iranian Lawyers and Law Students

nmilaninia — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:06:37 +0000

The Nothern California Chapter of the Iranian-American Bar Association will be hosting a happy hour for all Iranian lawyers and law students this Thursday ngiht. Please join us for a drink or two in San Francisco on September
27, 2007 in Bubble Lounge from 6:30 to 8:30. We are looking forward to
seeing you all there.

Grant Bahai’s Access to Higher Education

nmilaninia — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:23:47 +0000

This was actually written by a friend of mine at Human Rights Watch and bears notice. Bahai’s are a discriminated class in Iran and are often ignored by the Diaspora completely. In Iran, they have in many cases been uprooted from their homes, denied access to resources equal and on par with other Iranians, and even violently attacked strictly on the basis of their religion. As HRW reports:

Opposition Groups based outside of Iran

nmilaninia — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:49:27 +0000

I get a lot of heat for this so I’ll just state it in as many blunt and straight-forward terms as I can. First, this is based on currently opposition groups based outside of the US. There might be one which pops up which I support, but this is currently based upon those I’ve talked to and had involvement with. Second, I believe in human rights and the promotion of human rights. I believe that the Iranian government is dictatorial and tyrannical. I don’t believe it actually represents the wishes and wills of the Iranian people.

Ledeen's Lies

nmilaninia — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:31:58 +0000

Iranians Depicted as Cockroaches by US Newspaper

nmilaninia — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:47:41 +0000

In the early 1990s, prior to the Rwandan genocide, the minority Tutsi group in Rwanda were constantly called inyenzi, or cockroaches,
by those who sought to destroy them. The strategy was to dehumanize the
minority group, making it easier to inspire others to join in
destroying the minority group, thus resulting in the Rwandan genocide
in 1994. The same rhetoric has often been used by Israeli soliders

Esfandiari Released Based on Senator’s Request

nmilaninia — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:55:42 +0000

I’m not sure if this classifies as “dialogue” between the two
countries, but lost in the news concerning Haleh Esfandiari and Parnaz
Azim’s released is that it was done primarily through Iran’s Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei’s orders. According to the LA Times,
Khamenei was replying to a letter from Esfandiari’s boss, former
Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, the co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, who

A WMD Free Zone in the Middle East Won’t Help Iran

nmilaninia — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:56:13 +0000

Reading the SOAS report I think its important to emphasize one of their solutions for peace with Iran:

Iranian Satellite Station Defrauds Audience

nmilaninia — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:56:33 +0000

The following is an account by a friend of mine, Borhan, evidencing, yet again, the lack of both journalistic and quality care by most Iranian satellite stations.