Fakhredin Blog

CIA: Operation Ajax

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:12:00 +0000

Steve! we still love you...

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Steve! Thank you for changing the world. There are few people in the history of humann beings who were capable of doing so. We are privileged to live at your time.

We still love you...

CHROME: Google Internet Browser

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:29:00 +0000

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Persian actress in the film "Body of Lies"

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:04:00 +0000

It was a few years ago that for the first time a Persian actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo, was nominated for Oscar for a supporting role in the film "House of Sand and Fog." In that film she was playing besides Sir Ben Kingsly and Jennifer Connelly.

In October, a film by Ridley Scott will come on screen with the name "Body of Lies," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. And guess what! Another Persian actress is acting beside these super stars; "Golshifteh Farahani."

This time it is even more striking! If Shohreh Aghdashloo is a Persian actress who is living in Los Angeles for many years now, and has quite some possibilities for interacting with American artists, Golshifteh is currently living inside Iran (Persia)! This is so wonderful to see her playing beside Leonardo and Russell!

Sadly, I read today in the news that the government in Iran, after realizing that she has played a Hollywood film, has forbidden her to exit the country! I hope that this is not true, and if it is, it will be solved soon. The link of the news is here

Persian democracy

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:10:00 +0000

I have selected this video from YouTube. If you find it interesting, you may also like to read my other post regarding Persian democracy, dated 23 August 2006.

World Heritage Tour: Persia

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:48:00 +0000

Pangea Software Inc. has developed a nice program for watching panorama photos on iPhone.
There is also a fantastic website belongs to UNESCO with panoramic photos of the world heritage sites, called "World Heritage Tour." What was missing was a link between these two.

I made a portfolio for the locations in Persia, and named it "World heritage tour: Persia." if you have an iPhone, you can simply download the PangeaVR program from Apple Store and watch the portfolio I made, besides many others. Alternatively, visit WHTour.org and enjoy the high quality panorama's.

Forgotten money

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:09:00 +0000

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Audio description of my blog

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:40:00 +0000

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My iPhone 3G

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:54:00 +0000

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

My iPhone 3G

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:48:00 +0000

I got an iPhone 3G!
I'm writing this first post using my iPhone, and I hope to update my blog more regularly from now on.

Blogger in Persian language

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:14:00 +0000

I read the most interesting news about Blogger today, and it made me very very happy to see that Persian language is added to the list of Blogger languages.

It's a long time since the last time I wrote a post here. I follow the news almost everyday via the BBC Persian website, and send the interesting news that I find to the email address of this weblog: fakhredinblog@gmail.com . I hope I will have a time to write about those topics here, instead of just keeping them in an archive.

Anyway, I read today in BBC-Persian that "Blogger has added Persian Language to its services." I logged-in into Blogger immediately to see it by my own eyes! It is wonderful! It is so professional that they named the language "Persian," and even nicer that they call the local name of the language "پارسی [pronounce: parsi]" and not "فارسی [pronounce: farsi]". This is great! I'm not kidding! Everybody understand the connection between "Persian" and "[parsi]" very easily, but not the connection between "Persian" and "[farsi]." That's why many people use the name "Farsi" in English language instead. If we use the local name of the language as "[parsi]" a big deal of the problem is automatically solved.

This is also true about the name of Persian Gulf. If we call the country "Persia," nobody would doubt that the name of the gulf in the south of the country is Persian Gulf. However, if we use the name "Iran" (which is the name of the country in Persian language), there are of course people who like to give Persian Gulf another name. By the way, I should not forget to write a post later that it would be very naive to think that the conflict about the name of Persian Gulf is happily ended. This is not the case at all! The effort of the Arabic countries in this regard is not reduced, but is very well increased. We will loos this game very soon if we do not confront it systematically.

I should add this about Persian language in Blogger that BBC-Persian said according to the Time Magazine that "Persian language is the 28th most common spoken language in the world, but in weblogs stands very closely to French, which is the second most used language."

Snap Shots, quick preview of the links

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:44:00 +0000

You may have noticed that I recently added a section to the right column of the page titled "Snap Shots, quick preview of the links." If this option is on, it will show a small white icon beside each link, and if you move your mouse over it, it will show you a preview of that page.

I think it is a very useful programme, but I noticed that in some computers (or in some particular browsers) it may slow down the speed or freeze the programme for a while. Therefore, I added this option in the page for the readers to turn it on and off as they wish. If your computer does not slow down by this programme, give it a try.

Fakhredin Blog gets a new home!

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:05:00 +0000

As from today, Fakhredin Blog is moved to its new home at "www.blog.fakhredin.com." In this new address, both the English and Persian blogs are living together:

English blog: en.blog.fakhredin.com
Persian blog: fa.blog.fakhredin.com

In fact the website itself will be just one member of "www.fakhredin.com" web-family! I will introduce the other members of the web-family as soon as they arrive to their home. For now, let me introduce you to Fakhredin Photo Gallery. You can find him at www.photo.fakhredin.com. At the moment, the gallery contains some photo's from Persia (mainly from Esfahan and Shiraz). Shortly, you will be able to visit more places in Persia, and, who knows, hopefully all around the world.

Google Earth 4.2: Google Sky!

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:15:00 +0000

You know about Google Earth, don't you? It is an wonderful work from Google by which you can observe satellite images from every corner of the earth. Yesterday a new version of Google Earth is released; version 4.2. Amazing thing about this version is that you can observe not only the "Earth" but also the "Sky!" With this new option you sit behind your computer and look at the hundred millions of stars.

I installed the program on my MacBookPro just a few minutes ago, and took this photo of Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, NGC 224). I also took a look at the planets, but suddenly the computer hanged! This is very unusual for a Mac computer. Anyhow, happily it works fine now.

Happy Persian new year, the year 1386

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 00:07:00 +0000

Persia. 30 centuries of Art & Culture

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:20:00 +0000

The Hermitage in St. Petersburg has a splendid collection of Persian works of art. It includes many interesting pieces covering the whole of Persian history from antiquity to the end of the Qajar dynasty (1785-1925). From antiquity there are several sculptures, among them a fragment from the ruined city of Persepolis, and gold produced by the Scythians from the area north and west of the Persian Empire. Several gold objects were originally owned by Tsar Peter the Great. From the Islamic period come beautiful examples of Persian earthenware: tiles – renowned for their lustre decoration and once part of famous mausoleums – , vases and dishes. Weapons, made of steel and gold and inlaid with coloured stones, also demonstrate the Persians’ sublime mastery of this art. The Qajar period shows the Western influence on traditional Persian art: here the objects are chiefly diplomatic gifts and military trophies. The rich collection in St. Petersburg makes it possible to present an impressive survey of the history of Persian civilisation.

Source: Hermitage Amsterdam

Until 30 March the Hermitage Amsterdam is closed for the public. On Saturday 31 March they start a new exhibition "Persia. 30 centuries of Art & Culture".

From 31 March till 16 September 2007 the Hermitage Amsterdam is open daily from 10 am till 5 pm. (Closed on 30 April!)

The Hermitage Amsterdam is located at:
Nieuwe Herengracht 14, Amsterdam

Reactions against the film "300"

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:03:00 +0000

I read in the BBCPersian news that many Persians (Iranians) considered the film "300" offensive, and reacted against it by signing petitions and creating a Google bomb. Instead of protesting against the film, I have another suggestion: please have look at these short films about "Engineering an Empire - the Persians" in YouTube. It would give you a better image of what the Persian Empire really was.

Nevertheless, I think that the reactions of Persians (Iranians) should be re-directed from the film "300" to some more important issues. Unfortunately at the moment Persian Empire is a "Forgotten Empire" in the sense that people do not directly connect it to the current country of Persia (Iran). Not many people know that Persia is the same as Iran. We are still suffering from the wrong decision of Reza Shah who changed the international name of the country. That decision in the last 70 years created much more serious consequences than a film like "300"; the name of the language, for instance. People do not see a direct connection between Persian language and Iran as a country anymore, while connection between Persian language and Persia is obvious. Many people in the West even think that Iran is an Arabic country with Arabic as the official language. That's also why the conflict about the name of Persian Gulf is not a big deal for the Western people, and introducing Persian scientists as Arabs does not wonder them. Gradually, a country named Persia, and everything associated to it, is vanishing from the present and stays solely in the history. These facts are more troublesome than a film such as "300." In a few years, nobody will remember the film, but the negative effects of the above mentioned problems are growing every day.

My suggestion is to re-direct the efforts. Let's try to introduce the fact that "the country should be officially named Persia (not Iran) in international conversations again," and that "the language should be officially named Persian (not Farsi) in international conversations." Please note that "Persian" is a nationality not an ethnicity; it simply means "native of Persia." In order to improve the international image of the country, Persians (natives of Persia) should first stop arguing between themselves. Turks, Kurds, Lurs, Pars, Arabs, Baluchs, and all the ethnic groups who live in Persia (Iran) are Persians. The same way that we have Iraqi Kurds and Turkish Kurds, we have Persian Kurds. The same way that we have Kuwaiti Arabs and Saudi Arabs, we have Persian Arabs.

Talking about the film, to my opinion the best way to react against the barbarian image of Persians in the film is not a direct reaction. Signing petitions or making a Google bomb against it will only make the film more popular, and people will remember the film not as a fiction anymore but as an image of Persians. On the contrary, the best way to defend the image of Persian Empire is to introduce the true beautiful image of it to the audience. It's already a long time that a film about Cyrus the Great is going to be made. Where is it? Why is the project not progressing? These are more important issues to take care of, much more important than the petitions against the film "300."

Again, I suggest re-directing these efforts. Let's sign petitions in favour of the film "Cyrus". If the project is suffering from lack of budget, let's make an international effort and collect a financial support for that. Let's make exhibitions, seminars, etc. to introduce the beauty of Persia to the world. For example, instead of getting upset that why Xerxes the Great is shown as a barbarian in the film, why Avicenna is being introduced as an Arab scientist in some international symposiums, or why Rumi is sometimes being introduced as a Turk poet, Persians, themselves, should start introducing the true image about their history, culture, and heritage to the world.

The last point that I like to mention about the film "300" is that the film is receiving an attention from the audience not because it is anti-Persian. Majority of people just go to this film because it is a fiction with nicely-made special effects. I do not deny that it gives the audience a negative feeling about Persians. I only say that people do not go to the film just because of that. Therefore, if the film "Cyrus" is going to be made, it would better be made with the best cast and crew. Most people will not go to that film because they are in love with Cyrus the Great. They just like to see a nice film, and hopefully it will also give them a positive image of Persians.

Persian heritage threatened

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:55:00 +0000

The following article by Maev Kennedy, regarding Persian heritage being threatened by US strike, appeared yesterday in Guardian. I copy the text from the website here (to my understanding, it is not the compelete text of the article). It does not mean that I consider a US strike against Iran (Persia) inevitable. In fact, I do think (and I do hope) that it will never happen. Such a strike is just not logical to me. But, after all, not everything in this world follows logics, does it?

It also does not mean that I consider cultural heritage more important than people's life. No! In any disaster, such as Bam's earthquake in 2003, people's life is the most important issue. I do, however, still regret the destruction of Bam's Citadel every time I think about it. According to this article from Guardian, the site of ancient Babylon (in Iraq) is now an American military base. I regret that too! I hope that these kind of destructions will not be repeated.

Iran's (Persia's) rich architecture and rare treasures threatened by possible US strikes
· Many ancient remains are close to nuclear plants
· Archaeologists anxious to avoid repeat of Iraq chaos

Maev Kennedy
Monday March 05 2007
The Guardian

In his quiet office at the British Museum, among the portraits of long-dead explorers and copies of 3,000-year-old inscriptions, one of the greatest experts on the archaeology of the Middle East has a series of maps of Iranian nuclear installations spread out across his desk.

John Curtis's maps fill him with foreboding: because they show how many of Iran's (Persia's) nuclear plants are perilously close to ancient cultural sites.

Natanz, home to a uranium enrichment plant, is renowned for its exquisite ceramics; Isfahan (Esfahan), home to a uranium conversion plant, is also a Unesco world heritage site and was regarded in the 16th century as the most beautiful city on earth.

Other nuclear installations lie close to Shiraz, dubbed "the city of roses and nightingales", famous for the tombs of medieval poets; Persepolis, the great palace of King Darius I the Great, whose ruins are still magnificent; and the 6th century BC tomb of Cyrus the Great, the Persian ruler who was said to have been buried in a coffin of gold.

Four years ago Dr Curtis was warning that war in Iraq would be a disaster for some of the oldest and most important sites in the world. He has since seen his worst fears confirmed: the site of ancient Babylon became an American military base; thousands of objects are missing from the national museum at Baghdad; and looted artefacts have been illicitly excavated and smuggled out of the country.

Now Dr Curtis dreads seeing history repeated, this time through the escalating threat from the United States against Iran (Persia). "Any kind of military activity whatever in Iran (Persia), whether aerial bombing or land invasion, would inevitably have the gravest consequences, not only for its people but for its cultural heritage - which should be a matter of concern not just to Iranians (Persians) but to the whole world," he said.

"The main nuclear bases would seem the most likely targets - which would directly threaten two major sites, Isfahan (Esfahan) and Natanz." The medieval splendour of those cities, at the height of the power of Islamic Persia from the 13th to the 17th centuries, was built on a cultural history which was already thousands of years old. The history of cities, of writing, of engineering and astronomy began in the ancient centres of Iran (Persia) and Iraq.

"The archaeology is so rich there is almost nowhere that you could say is devoid of interest," Dr Curtis said. "But certainly a list must be compiled of the sites which need the most consideration."

Unlike the looted and still shuttered national museum in Baghdad, in Iran (Persia) the risk is considered less for the national museum in Tehran than for hundreds of major sites with standing buildings and ruins, and thousands of known but unexcavated sites. Some of the structures are in stone, but most are in baked brick with elaborate tile decorations, a building type particularly vulnerable to blast damage.

Apart from Isfahan (Esfahan) and Natanz, other potentially vulnerable sites cover 3,000 years of the world's history: a stepped stone tomb at Pasargadae, within 50 miles of one of the nuclear sites once held the body of Cyrus the Great, the king who enormously expanded the Persian empire and conquered mighty Babylon in 539 BC. And the ruins of the great city and palace at Persepolis are among the most imposing in the Middle East, despite the fact that it was ransacked by Alexander the Great in 330BC, after the Macedonian defeated the armies of the Persian emperor Darius III. The destruction of the palace is still regarded as one of the greatest acts of vandalism in history. Alarm is growing over the potential fate of Iran's (Persia's) treasures. Professor Harriet Crawford, of the Institute of Archaeology in London, one of the archaeologists who sounded the alarm before the Iraq war, said yesterday: "An attack on Iran (Persia) would not only cause thousands more avoidable deaths, but would also risk inflicting
untold damage on its heritage, comparable with that seen in Iraq."

Precious stones

Persepolis

The magnificent palace of Darius I the Great, the centrepiece of which is the Hall of 100 Columns, above, was destroyed by Alexander the Great but the ruins, including some standing columns, are still imposing. It lies within 50 miles of the Ardakan and Fasa uranium processing plants.

Isfahan (Esfahan)

An ancient site in a fertile river valley, internationally renowned from the 16th century - "Isfahan (Esfahan) is half the world" - as the new capital of Shah Abbas I. It is adorned with magnificent mosques, palaces, the second largest square in the world (originally laid out as a polo ground), gardens, fountains and bridges, including a 33-arch bridge dating from 1602. A World Heritage Site, the historic centre is only a few miles from the Isfahan (Esfahan) uranium conversion plant.

Famous for its 13th and 14th century mosques and shrines, now mostly stripped of their spectacular lustre tiles, which are in museums across the world. Fragile baked-brick buildings; very close to the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

Tomb of Cyrus the Great

A well-preserved stone tomb on a stepped platform. According to the Greek historian Arrian, the king's body lay in a golden coffin under an inscription reading "Mortal! I am Cyrus, son of Cambyses, who founded the Persian empire, and was King of Asia. Grudge me not then my monument." It is situated at Pasargadae, close to Persepolis. The bracelet below was found there. [The text on the website ends here. Fakhredin].

The Golha radio programmes (Flowers of Persian Song and Poetry)

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:56:00 +0000

Mrs Jane Lewisohn is awarded £59,913 University of London 2006 award for this major research project for 14 months

The Golha radio programmes (Flowers of Persian Song and Poetry)

Hossein Alizadeh: Grammy Awards Nominee

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:07:00 +0000

Hossein Alizadeh, a well-known Persian composer, is nomitated for Grammy Awards 2007 for his album "The Endless Vision." This is a collaboration album of him and Djivan Gasparyan, an Armenian composer. The nomination is in category 72, Field 16 — Best Traditional World Music Album. I wish he will win! Let's wait, until February 11, and see.

Happy 2007!

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 22:30:00 +0000

I Awake in Your Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:13:00 +0000

The 30th issue of the Italian journal PRIVATE shows a collection of black and white photos from Persia, plus pieces of text (mainly modern poetry).

The photo's are atristic, no doubt about that! But it gives me a restless feeling of sadness. To my point of view, it is a good collection for those who are nostalgic about old Persia. For those who live in today, and looking for progress, this is not a good example. It is, also, definitely not made for a reader from outside Persia who likes to know the country for the first time.

Drafted at: October 13th, 2006.

Middle East: American version

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 13:35:00 +0000

Ralph Peters, a retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel, published an article in the August issue of the US Armed Forces Journal. The article named "Blood borders; How a better Middle East would look." In that article, Mr Peters suggested a new map for the Middle East. His basic argument is that the borders that Winston Churchill decided for that region, after the World War I, are "unjust" and "generate more trouble than can be consumed locally." He suggested that the borders should be re-drawn based on the language, religious, and ethnicity of the people living in that region.

The US State Department has rejected suggestions that Washington is planning to redraft the boundaries of the greater Middle East along ethnic and religious lines. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the article by Mr Peters was the work of an individual and did not reflect the views of the US government. Nevertheless, Mr Peters published this idea in his recent book, "Never Quit the Fight." It is also used as a background for another article published in the Dutch newspaper "Touw" on Saturday 30 September 2006.

I think what we should learn from the history is that more borders does not bring peace to people. What brings peace is to learn how to respect each other. Look at the European Union! The borders are fading away, because they are not of any use anymore! If borders could bring solution to people's differences, Churchill's borders would do that. He had definitely his own reasons to draw those lines, and if he was alive, he could defend himself against Mr Peters.

It is very right that people have different social identities (language, religion, etc.), and they all have the right to keep it. A while ago there was a demonstration of Turkish language people in London, asking that Turkish language should be also taught in schools in north-west region of Persia. This is, of course, a very just request, but they were shouting "Down with Persian fascism!" "Down with Persian racism!" What we should learn is that if we want others to respect our social identity, we should also respect theirs. Even if one party do not appreciate this, we should not defend ourselves by disrespecting the other party.

Our goal should be to bring up the message of "dialogue between civilization" and "dialogue between religions." That would be a long term solutions. Otherwise, if we insist on the differences and try to solve it with drawing new lines between people, in 50 or 100 years from now some new troubles will come up, and, for sure, somebody will write an article that "Ralph Peters' borders were unjust and generated more trouble than can be consumed locally!"

"300" is almost ready, "Cyrus" not yet!

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:52:00 +0000

The film "300", based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, is a retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite.

There is, however, still no sign of the film "Cyrus," which is going to retell the beauty of the Persian Empire and the order of Human Right at that time, about which I wrote in a previous post in Persian (Cyrus the Great). I hope this film comes out soon. Great actors and actresses are going to play there, such as Sean Connery, Ben Kingsley, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Edward Norton, Laurence Fishburne, Live Tyler, Robert Downey jnr, ...

BBC Radio 4: Uncovering Iran [Persia]

noreply@blogger.com (FakhredinBlog) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:12:00 +0000

Since mid September, BBC Radio 4 started a season of programmes aimed at challenging some of the perceptions still held about Persia. It is interesting to have a look at the homepage of this programme. It covers many topics from ancient to contemporary history, social matters, food programme, etcetera. The webpage also contains some interesting links. You may like to read the article "Uncovering Iran's [Persia's] ancient past" related to this radio programme.

One of the discussed issues about contemporary history is about a letter from the Persian government to the US government in 2003. The programme "Mixed Messages and Secret Diplomacy" broadcasted this morning (Monday 25 Sep 2006). You can read a summary of that radio program in this article: "Missed chances?" Here is a part of it:

The US and Iran [Persia] almost never speak to each other ... [but a] potential opening came in May 2003 [at the time of Khatami's presidency].

America's swift march to Baghdad the previous month had led to fears in Tehran that it would be next. So Tehran made a dramatic - but surprisingly little known - approach to the Americans.
...
[In that offer, they] appeared willing to put everything on the table - including being completely open about its nuclear programme, helping to stabilise Iraq, ending its support for Palestinian militant groups and help in disarming Hezbollah. What did Iran [Persia] want [in return]? Top of the list was a halt in US hostile behaviour and a statement that "Iran [Persia] did not belong to 'the axis of evil'". The letter was the product of an internal debate inside Tehran and had the support of leaders at the highest level.
...
But in Washington, the letter was ignored. Larry Wilkerson, who was then chief of staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, thinks that was a big mistake. "In my mind it was one of those things you throw up in the air and say I can't believe we did this." He says the hardliners who stood against dialogue had a memorable refrain. ... "Why talk ... when you could simply dictate terms from a position of strength?"

Soon after that, the government in Persia changed. This was indeed "one of those things you throw up in the air and say I can't believe we did this!"