Worried about Price of Gas? End U.S. Wars - Despite all the recent talk of soaring prices at the pump, political and economic pundits rarely mention the impact of war and political instability in the Middle East on the skyrocketing price of oil. There is strong evidence, however, that the heightened price of energy is a direct consequence of the destabilizing wars and geopolitical insecurity in the region. -Ismael Hossein-zadeh 5/14/08
Sharif University gains 13th place in Students International Programming Competition - Information Technology, Mechanic and Optic University of St. Petersburg gained the first place by solving eight problems and Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), Izhevsk State University of Russia, National University of Lviv and State University of Moscow, by solving seven problems, stood in second to fifth places. 5/14/08
Iranian women win medals in Asian wushu event - Two Iranian women wushu athletes attained bronze medals in the seventh Asian Wushu Championships, which is underway in Macau. 5/14/08
The Ultimate Frontier: Darius Shahinfar for Congress - Within the past several decades, we the Iranian-Americans have made great strides to see our duly earned stature recognized with respect to our cultural identify and substantive contributions in the multiethnic Promised Land: the U.S. of A. -Committee for Darius Shahinfar for Congress 5/14/08
Call for Proposals: "Teaching about the Middle East in the 21st Century" - The Middle East Studies Program at California State University, Fresno calls for proposals for pre-organized panels and individual papers for the Program's inaugural meeting, October 16-18, 2008, in Fresno, California. 5/14/08
Expanding Film Ties in The Middle East - Iranian American Director/Producer Kayvan Mashayekh noticed at The First Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi -Darius KADIVAR 5/14/08
Iranian futsal team sweeps Tajikistan - Reigning champion Iran obliterated a helpless Tajikistan futsal team 14-0 on Tuesday in the 10th AFC Futsal Championship 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. -MNA 5/14/08
Could the tail wag the dog? And should we care? - In recent weeks western media have been awashed with rumours that US or her Israeli partner will launch a genocidal attack against the Iranian nation, in the Persian Gulf and surrounding countries you can hardly spit and not hit one of the US or her coalition of willing army bases or navy carrier battle groups, not to mention the blood curdling promises of Mr. Ben-Eliezer, Israeli minister and Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. -Dr B. Bahrami, UK 5/14/08
What Do Google and Saddam Have in Common? - Google has a funny way of doing business -- one that involves muddying politics in the Middle East. In recent months, the organization has taken the unprecedented step to rename internationally recognized bodies of water. -Trita Parsi, Huffington Post 5/14/08
The Neocon Roots of Iranian-Israeli Extremism - What do Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have in common? One thing is for certain: they are both true reflections of the neoconservative rise in US foreign policy, which itself was a result of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which razed the Twin Towers in New York and parts of the Pentagon. -Jalal Alavi, UK 5/14/08
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Attorney says man innocent in Iran software case - A defense attorney conceded Tuesday that his engineer client took software from the nation's largest nuclear plant and used it while in Iran, but said he did it only so his Iranian relatives could see what he did for a living. -AP 5/14/08
Why All of Our Efforts Won't Stop an Attack on Iran - May 9. I read tonight a brief article by Philip Giraldi posted on the American Conservative website: “War with Iran Might Be Closer than You Think.” -Gary Leupp, Counterpunch 5/14/08
Iran delivers proposals on global problems to UN - Iran on Wednesday delivered to UN chief Ban Ki-moon a package of proposals aimed at solving global challenges, including the nuclear issue, state media reported. -AFP 5/14/08
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Oil hits new high on Iran fears - Oil prices have hit a record just shy of $127 a barrel after Iran said it was studying a plan to cut crude output. -BBC 5/14/08
Tree of Life: 16th Environmental Art Festival in Iran - Noushahr, North of Iran (May 2008) - During last week (April 29 –May 4, 2008) a new environmental art festival was held on the coast of Caspian Sea, in the north of Iran. More than 140 artists from different part of Iran gathered on this beautiful region to create environmental installations and sand sculptures. The festival also included a number of art performances. I was responsible to act as an art director. -Ahmad Nadalian 5/13/08
Carričre's Master Class In Tehran - Movie Critic Icon and Screen Writer Jean Claude Carričre Lectures at Iran's House of Cinema -Darius KADIVAR 5/13/08
Chicago Resolution Opposes War, Urges Diplomacy with Iran - The Chicago City Council will consider a resolution Wednesday that would put America’s third largest city on the record as opposing war and supporting diplomatic engagement with Iran. Call your alderman about this important vote. -NIAC 5/13/08
Ardeshir Mohassess: Art and Satire in Iran - May 22-August 3 2008 at Asia Society & Museum - Ardeshir Mohassess's illustrations and cartoons have been regularly published in Iranian newspapers and periodicals such as Kayhan, Ettelaat, Ayandegan, as well as international newspapers such as the New York Times. This legendary artist has been the subject of books and numerous solo and group exhibitions in Iran and abroad. 5/13/08
A case of split infinitives - On 22 April 2008, Hillary Clinton, candidate for the Democratic Party nomination in the upcoming US presidential elections, threatened "to totally obliterate" the Iranian people, fully demonstrating the bankruptcy of her campaign, writes Hamid Dabashi 5/13/08
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PARSA University: Involving Your Family in Philanthropy - Philanthropy is an important and increasingly popular way for families to come together around shared values, develop a strong sense of social responsibility while also supporting a community and providing tax benefits. -PARSA 5/13/08
Beating the Drums of a Broader Middle East War - The Levant could be the starting point of a major international conflict with global ramifications and which could quickly spin out of control. Such a conflict could even involve the use of Israeli or American nuclear weapons against Iran and Syria. -Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, Global Research 5/13/08
'Rapping' Iranian Men - Not allowed to sing in Iran about the harsh treatment of women in society, the Iranian rap group Tapesh 2012 (Pulse 2012) is doing just that -- from its base in Germany. The group's latest song, "Ma Mard Nistim" ("We Are Not Men"), focuses on the Iranian feminist movement and its struggle to overcome violence against women. -RFE 5/12/08
IRAN MAN! - Tony Stark's Blockbuster Heart Pumps Fresh Iranian Blood into Hollywood's Dream Factory -Darius KADIVAR 5/12/08
IRAN: Can P5+1 Offer Break the Nuclear Stalemate? - The P5+1 -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment programme and enter negotiations. -Trita Parsi, IPS 5/12/08
Award-winning Iranian journalist hospitalised in jail: report - "Emadeddin Baghi has once again been taken to Evin prison infirmary," the reformist newspaper Kargozaran said, without giving details about the condition of the anti-death penalty and prisoners' rights campaigner. -AFP 5/12/08
Bam 6.6 film screened at MIT - This is the introductory speech by Brian H. Appleton at MIT on the occasion of the screening of Jahangir Golestan-Parast's Bam 6.6 jointly sponsored by MIT Persian Student's Association and Harvard Iranian Student Association 5/12/08
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Un-"threat"-ing Iran: An Interview With Stephen Kinzer - Author Stephen Kinzer discusses the motivations behind the targeting of Iran, the emotional impulses that fuel American interventions around the world, and the strategy that may finally deliver the US from its "regime change" habit. -truthout 5/12/08
Are Iran, Syria Playing Any Roles In Lebanon Fighting? - RFE/RL correspondent Andrew F. Tully put these issues before Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Cordesman is a leading Middle East authority who has served as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. State and Defense departments. 5/12/08
Shahri Estakhry: The Mother of San Diego's Persian Community - For fifty-five years, Shahri Estakhry has found her life's passion in volunteer work and humanitarian causes. How this Shiraz-born tour de force of a woman has become known as the "Mother of Our Community" in San Diego, California, is an inspiring story of how one person with an extraordinarily big heart and determined spirit can make a lasting difference in the lives of many. -PARSA 5/11/08
U.S. peace activists in Iran - Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, one of the first ten women rabbis in the history of Judaism, on Saturday visited the headquarters of Tehran Times newspaper and Mehr News Agency, heading a delegation of 21 peace activists. 5/11/08
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US confession: Weapons were not made in Iran after all - In a sharp reversal of its longstanding accusations against Iran arming militants in Iraq , the US military has made an unprecedented albeit quiet confession: the weapons they had recently found in Iraq were not made in Iran at all. -CASMII 5/11/08
Iran qualifies for beach soccer world cup - Iran's beach soccer team qualified for the 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup after beating China here on Saturday. -MNA 5/11/08
"Colliding with Nature's Best-kept Secrets" - If a fraction of Professor Nima Arkani-Hamed's novel theories are turned out to be confirmed by the forthcoming experimental work at the soon to be completed Large Hardon Collider in Switzerland this August, it would revolutionize our thinking paradigm about our very own essence, let alone the universe! The Nobel prize then is simply a miniscule token of recognition bestowed upon this quiet GIANT in his tender 30's! -David Rahni 5/10/08
Human Shield Movement to Iran receives 10,000th pledge - The Human Shield Movement to Iran today claimed its 10,000th pledge volunteer and warned President Bush that any attempt at military intervention against Iran would be met by a massive mobilization of human shields. 5/10/08
Photos: Praying for Rain in Qazvin, Iran - The people of Qazvin gathered on May 9 to pray for rain. Iran is among the countries grappling with an unusually dry year. 5/10/08
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Iran's Hadadi wins gold in Super Grand Prix - Iranian discus thrower Ehsan Hadadi clinched the gold medal on Friday at the 11th Qatar Athletics Super Grand Prix at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium. -MNA 5/10/08
Iran produces 5m sq.m of hand-woven carpets annually - Annually five million square meters of hand-woven carpets are produced in Iran, Director of Iran's National Carpet Center Morteza Faraji said here on Saturday. 5/10/08
PARSA Community Foundation Announces 2008 Norooz Grantees! - A core element of PARSA CF's mission is to strengthen entrepreneurial individuals and nonprofits that serve the Persian community. To that end, PARSA CF recently completed its grant review process with $105,000 in grants going to nine powerful ideas. 5/9/08
Chicago City Council Considers Resolution Opposing War on Iran - Leading Experts to Testify Against Military Action as Tensions Rise: With the prospect of a U.S. military strike on Iran looming, America's third largest city will decide next week whether to take a stand on this volatile international situation. -No War On Iran Coalition, Chicago 5/9/08
You never know what's going to happen next! - When I arrived, he said that he had pain in his chest and could not lie down. I called my doctor (and my guardian angel) Dr Shahnaz Atabak and explained the symptoms. Immediately she said that I must take him to an emergency unit, he most probably has had a heart attack. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran 5/8/08
Bam 6.6 sweeps the awards at Noor Film Festival 2008 - Payvand.com - The 2nd Annual Noor Film Festival was held from April 6 to April 13, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. This year's theme was on Women with emphasis on documentary films from Iranian filmmakers around the world. 5/8/08
Six Iranian-Americans Receive Ellis Island Medal of Honor - On May 10, 2008 six Iranian Americans will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for outstanding achievement in their personal and professional lives coupled with preservation of their culture and heritage and noteworthy citizenship to the United States. -PAAIA 5/7/08
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Natural Dyes Return To Oriental Carpets But Without The Famous Insect Reds - When Iranian photographer Javid Tafazoli was walking through a weaving village in the mountains of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiyari province, far to the west of Isfahan, he saw an arresting sight. It was a cascade of recently dyed red wool hanging from a tree. -Charles Recknagelis 5/7/08
Report: US convenes on Iran war scenario - High-ranking US officials have reportedly held a special meeting to study options for a military strike against the Islamic Republic. The secret meeting was reportedly held on Tuesday either at the White House or at the US Department of Defense. 5/7/08
Satrapi Joins Jury of Cannes 2008 - Director of Jury Prize 2007 animated film Persepolis joins Sean Penn's Jury list -Darius KADIVAR 5/7/08
"Visualizing the Sacred: Islam on Film" at UCLA Film & Television Archive - Since September 11, 2001, images of Islam in the mainstream American media have been virtually monolithic in their focus on terrorism and radicalism. At the same time, the on-going Danish cartoon controversy has sparked heated debate about the intersections of free speech and religious tradition, representation and tolerance. 5/7/08
Join Fictionville Studio in the production of FINDING HOME, a documentary about the girls of the Omid-e Mehr Center - The fringes of Iranian society can be a lonely place, especially if you are a teenage girl with few resources to fall back on. Finding Home follows four girls striving to pull themselves out of the margins by attending a one-of-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran. Forget about the Iran that youíve seen before. With a virtually invisible camera, the girls of Finding Home take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran with their brave and defiant stories 5/6/08
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"OBLITERATE" IRAN? A REAL THREAT OR SIMPLY MEANINGLESS JARGON? - Not only does showing animosity and anger against Iran not carry any adverse consequences, it actually helps show the so-called national security concerns and qualifications of the candidate among the bovine public. -Kam Zarrabi 5/6/08
IAAB's Successful Student Summit Builds Connections and Strengthens Communities - Iranian Alliances Across Borders is pleased to announce the success of its first Iranian-American Student Summit. From April 4th-6th, 2008, thirteen Iranian American student organization leaders from ten universities and colleges around the nation convened at Wellesley College for a weekend of exchange, brainstorming and friendship. 5/5/08
Imported anarchy in Iraq - Recently, officials in Washington D.C., London, and Paris have claimed that, for ordinary Iraqis, the security situation has been improved by the surge in U.S. troops. However, the Iraqi people continue to suffer, with thousands dead, millions injured, and millions more displaced. What led to this anarchic situation and how can it be contained? -Arshin Adib-Moghaddam 5/5/08
Democracy Possible for Iran, Says Dissident Iranian Journalist - It is possible for democracy to take root in Iran, but it will not grow in the same way as democracy did in America, says Arash Sigarchi, an Iranian journalist who has been imprisoned for his outspokenness. 5/5/08
Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran - Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope." -Andrew Cockburn, CounterPunch 5/4/08
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Iranian-Canadian Samantha Tajik crowned Miss Universe Canada 2008 - Iranian-Canadian Samantha Tajik was crowned the 57th annual Miss Universe Canada on Monday April 28 in downtown Toronto. Tajik will represent Canada at the July 14 Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam. 5/3/08
Iranian Physicians Touring The United States To Promote Diplomacy - Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) have launched an Iranian Physicians Tour in US to communicate medical expertise and promote diplomacy with Iran. 5/2/08
Iran is not the enemy - The "axis of evil" has no relevance for me when I think of Iran, a country I've found to have a human, loving, hospitable face throughout 40 years of encounters. I lived in Iran between 1968 and 1978, and started returning again, this time with peace delegations, in 2005. It is one of the great joys of my life to see the layers of misunderstanding and fear gradually fall away from those who visit Iran today for the first time. -Ellen Francis, FOR 5/2/08
Sr. Ellen Francis, OSH plans to co-lead a Peace Delegation to Iran in August 2008 - The purpose of this delegation, sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, is to seek alternatives to the current political standoff between the United States and Iranian governments and to affirm friendship and solidarity between the people of the United States and the people of Iran. This will be the eighth Iran Peace Delegation to be sponsored by FOR. 5/1/08
Meet Keiko! - A year after we had met, Keiko died – suddenly – of lung cancer. “I didn’t know Keiko smoked!” I said to the teary-eyed friend who brought the news of her death. “She didn’t,” he said rather hurriedly, and added after a silence, “she was born in Hiroshima.” Neither of us said much after that. -A poem by Fatemeh Keshavarz 5/1/08
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MOON RIVER: Breakfast Talk with British-Iranian Model Sophia (Sepideh) Nooshin - Born in London of Persian heritage, Sophia's unique look distinguishes her from other models. Often compared to the gamine beauty Audrey Hepburn, Sophia started performing from a very early age when her mother took her to her first ballet class at the age of three. She went on to train at the prestigious Ballet Rambert School and graduated from the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education with a bachelor degree in Dance. -Darius KADIVAR 5/1/08
Gordafarid, Iran's First Woman Storyteller - Fatemeh Habibi Zad is Iran's first female storyteller. She is known by her professional name Gord Afarid, which is the name of a heroine in the Shahnameh. 5/1/08
Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans Launches Nationwide - The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), a national grassroots membership organization dedicated to building an inclusive and representative voice in the public and political arena for up to a million Iranian Americans launches on Monday, April 28. 4/30/08
Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi Wins a Peabody Award! - A Peabody went to Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi, from American Public Media. This edition of the long-running series explored resurgent interest in the 13th century Persian poet: 4/29/08
Iran Men's Sitting Volleyball Team takes gold - Iranian Men's Sitting Volleyball Team won the World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD) Intercontinental Cup after beating Russia in Ismailia, Egypt, on Tuesday. -MNA 4/29/08
ON "Why We Should Listen to Scott Ritter": Norooz among the Iraqi Refugees in Damascus - I was in Syria during Norooz and received a furious call from my mother "Didn't you think we would worry about you, it is Norooz and you have not called us and you are not in your hotel!" she screamed over the phone. Indeed, I had failed to call my mother; having lost myself in South Damascus, among the refugees of Sayyed Zeinab. -Roksana Bahramitash 4/28/08
PROFILE: Parviz Homai, Parviz Art Fashion-NYC - Persians made their greatest contributions of art and culture through long and complex historical experiences that spread through many countries, and now its intricacy has reached the USA. 4/23/08
Persian, Pasionaria and Princess: In Memory of Mariam Firuz (1913-2008) - A month ago this day, on March 12th, a Persian Pasionaria, referred to also as 'Red Princess', died in Tehran at age 94, testifying to the tenacity of the foremost female Communist and feminist activist of Iran. Born a princess, Mariam Firuz never wavered in the pursuit of her aim to bring modernity and the emancipation of women to Iran. Yet, apart from a sympathetic obituary with some factual flaws, by Baroness Afshar in the Guardian (March 31st) and a few articles on Persian websites, the saga and the death of this remarkable woman has gone largely unreported. -Fatema Soudavar (Farmanfarmaian) 4/14/08
Film: Iran/America, A World Between - The film, directed by Nezam Manouchehri, premiered last summer on LinkTV and has been very well received by wide audiences across the country. Iranians living abroad find it to be a nostalgic and positive look at our culture, without being overly political, while Americans unfamiliar with Iran are consistently surprised by the warm sentiments by everyday Iranians about the people and culture of the United States. 4/9/08
Creating a US-Iran Bridge - Grassroots movements in Iran all say that they don't need outside help. Since the United States has allocated $75 million to an 'Iran Democracy Fund', the life of grassroots movements has become more difficult. Any direct – or indirect – help to the democratic movement in Iran coming from this fund is seen as an attempt of external regime change, says Leila Zand. 4/5/08
