Kamangir (Archer)
An Iranian looking at Iran as a foreigner…
Did you know that Kamangir turns four tomorrow? See the classic "Hello World" dated October 17, 2008!
Remainder
Kamangir | December 12, 2005 | Category Iran
If you are in doubt about how the Islamic Republic regime treats Iranians, look at this picture. This man went to fight a war which began in part because Iranian fundamentalists started influencing Iraqi tribes. The war was continued this much because Iranian politicians were pursing the idea of reaching Jerusalem, after conquering Baghdad. They were isolated from the world to the extent that when Iraq started chemical attacks on Iran, no one in the world was listening to us. Though, Iranian politicians did not stop the war even at that point. What is the remainder? Some of those fighters learnt how to become businessmen, like one of nominees for the ministry of petroleum. Others apparently failed.Interesting Photographer
Kamangir | December 9, 2005 | Category Iran
Itzhak Ben-Arieh is a 79-year-old photographer. He is supposed to be in Israel, if he is alive because he did not answer my email. I like his works, but many of them are in the category that Iranians like to call nudity, or even pornographic. He is aware of this idea, so he warns at the first page of his website “Warning this site contains some nudity. If you do not like it please Exit Here” And the “exist here” phrase is linked to here. Nice man, isn’t it? This is the address of his website, though I have to give the same warning. Visit it with your responsibility and make sure you are alone! (see).Sample Images
Kamangir | December 9, 2005 | Category Iran
When I was doing my masters, I was really looking for sample color images. After all, my thesis was concerned with “principal component analysis-based color image processing”. I was not very much successful with it. Many of the artworks I was searching for were copyrighted and I was not even able to find large versions of them. Now, this great man has gathered a collection (see). Enjoy the images but make sure you comply with copyright if you are going to use them in a publication, specially in journals. Mistreatment of Faith
Kamangir | December 9, 2005 | Category Iran
I think the political system in Iran is a clear example for those who make good things ridiculous. Take for example, that dog entering Imam Reza’s shrine a few weeks ago. It has always been “accepted” by Iranians that there are divine things going on in Imam Reza shrine, especially, and in other holy places all over Iran, generally. If you have never visited Iran, you may be astonished to know that almost every village in Iran has its own shrine. These shrines are mainly places to get connected to God and there are stories for almost all of them. The stories mention how a very ill person was healed here or how praying for rain was accepted there. I was once visiting Iakhmorad, a cave some 100 Km from Tehran. Iakhmorad means the ice that gives what you want. There is always kind of transparent ice in Iakhmorad. What local people think help women get pregnant. And you have to be a traditional woman to know how much important it is to get pregnant. In another personal experience I was talking with a man in Aftar, a village close to Semnan. We were in a little room covered by pictures of Imam Hossein and other Islamic signs, when he told me how this room has helped him to get out of prison. Iranians are clearly religious people. And then how does the government treat this pure faith? They put people for managing these places, always clerics and people of that kind. For example, Imam Reza’s shrine is a source of money for a big institution called “holy place of Reza” (see). This “holy” institutions technically owns Khorasan, the large province in eastern Iran where the shrine is located. And I am not going to talk about the rumors about the relationships between this organization and drug trafficking. It is interesting, though, to know that the son of the holy place’s chief was charged with committing crimes concerned with illegal bushiness and just went away with it.Another example of mistreatment of good things and changing them to ugly ones by IRI is how they governed Basij. Once, there was a war going on between Iran and Iraq. I am not going to talk about the ideas that this war could never start or could easily finish sooner. But, Basij was a militia of fanatic people who actual led the war and were responsible for many achievements in it. After all, they had nothing to loose so were always ready to die for the sake of Mahdi’s happiness. Then, after the war, they used Basij so idiotic that now Basij is synonym of “those brutal silly people which are against any progress”. When I read their quotes about the time of war, I really want to cry (see). How innocent illiterate people are collected and for ambitions of few big fishes become sources of hatred. They all had little nice lives of themselves and now they are funny puppets. They do what ever they are asked by the chiefs and what do they get? For many people that is a real power, when people are afraid of them.
Insiders Are in Doubt
Kamangir | December 9, 2005 | Category Iran
It is interesting to see how Iranian sources faced the news about the C-130 plane which crashed into a building in Tehran. What I see in the webpages of many “insider” agencies is all doubt and news about how the facts are changed (see see see see see see see). Note that all these sources are originating from sources inside the political system. What outsiders say are more strange, and I believe sometimes more imaginary (see see).
p.s. I am not still getting the point. How many people were board that plane? (see)
Interesting, isn’t it? Israel, Again
Kamangir | December 8, 2005 | Category Iran
Ahmadinejad is seriously pursuing his intentions to fragment Iran from west (see see see). Accept it or not, Israel is an existing state. I do not think Israel was established peacefully or honestly, as Canada was not so either. Though, the “fact” is that Israel exists and has the power to go forward. Another “fact” is that Iran’s regime is proving that it is planning to do something clearly strange. Just imagine, president of X says “Y should be wiped off the earth”. Also, there are serious reports about X’s intentions to produce nuclear warfare. What is the result? I think it is the time to understand the difference about things that exist and things that we think should exist. Love it or hate it, we are living in a real world.
p.s. There is another explanation for saying these words at this time. Some Iranians, including me, think that he is sending a message to Iran, not to the west or Israel. The message is “don’t mess with me, or I will put you in serious trouble!” This idea states that Ahmadinejad has nothing to loose if the world declares war to Iran, but many other do have things to loose. This explanation is acceptable now after the news about Ahmadinejad’s problems with the parliament. Hence, this new round of means that there were a new round of trouble inside Iran, either started or planed to start soon.
God vs. Commandos
Kamangir | December 8, 2005 | Category Iran
Surrounded by commandos, Ahmadinejad had a meeting with God .
Ganji
Kamangir | December 7, 2005 | Category Iran
Ganji’s wife explains how he and his family are psychologically tutored even with visiting sessions (see). She states how they call them to see him and then cancel it and then rearrange it. Also, she talks about how they do not let them any privacy.
Ganji is spending his 94-th day being in a cell alone (I am not sure what they call this in English). He is behind the bars for his books and articles about political murders in Iran and has suffered a long interval of starvation and physical abuse. I shame to be an Iranian when he suffers too much.
Before and After Tragedy
Kamangir | December 7, 2005 | Category Iran
After: In august 1988, more than 15 years ago, during an airshow, three jets collided in the air and caught fire. One of them crashed into the spectators seats and killed 67 people (see). The accident happened in Ramstein air base, Germany. After the crash, there was a total ban of airshows in Germany for three years. After that period, airshows were legalized only if they comply with conditios controlling distance and direction of airplanes flying, while all maneuvers have to be subject to approval by authorities (see). I am desperately looking for new regulations made in Iran after this tragedy.
Before: Hey! Stop complaining that you can not buy new airplanes and spare parts from US. When Ahmadinejad talks about “wiping Israel off the earth”, he has to accept the consequences. When you are supporting terrorism, those idiot guys in White House have enough reasons to ban you.
Numbers
Kamangir | December 7, 2005 | Category Iran
One of the heads of the Iranian army states that the C-130 airplane which crashed into a building in Tehran was able to carry 94 people and was not overloaded (see). Another expert says about its capacity being 93 people (see). Though, news are talking about 110 passengers (see). The judiciary says there were 106 people killed in this event, including those in the ground (see). What are the real numbers? Shargh says that the assigned pilot has denied to fly because of technical problems of the airplane (see).
International Federation of Journalists says the day of the crash was the worst day ever for journalists (see).
Mullas in the Space
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
At least we are funny! Look at that “Made in Russia” sign. It is from here. Nicole vs. Julia
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
Azadeh and I were watching “The Interpreter” (and I am not going to talk about the weak logic of that movie here) (see). According to our last talks, we were seeking for the exact moment when, as I name it, Nicole Kidman was to show her special skill. I am referring to another movie featuring her which starts with “The” too. Namely, “The Others” (see). There is a shot in “The Others” where Grace finds her husband again and just out of fun starts getting naked. Though, to make it a bit more interesting, she does so behind a closet. Unfortunately, there is a mirror somewhere, through which we watch her half-naked body. I loved the whole movie, but that shot made me off. I have not understood the relevance of that shot to the whole movie, yet. And now, I was looking for Nicole to get naked, irrelevantly, though. And, finally there was a scene where she started putting off her cloths but returned and stopped doing that. I have not read the text, but I think that shot is put there for some very reason.And now, I am proud to say that Julia Roberts beats Nicole (see). She is more expensive that her. Thanks Julia!
Dog’s Back
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
Doggy barks again (see). Now, they are asserting that the dog really was alone when he/she entered the shrine. Whose shrine? (see)Øضرت ثامن الائمة النجبا سلطان سرير ارتضا الامام الرئو٠ابالØسن علي بن موسي الرضا عليه الا٠التØية والثنا
Majestic eighth nobel Imam, king of the land of content, kind Imam, father of Hassan, Moses, the contented, to him thousands of peace.
Just imagine his poor mother asking him to not to do something.
Congratulations and Condolences
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
A military aircraft crashes into a densely populated area in Tehran, close to Mehrabad airport, killing over 100 people. Then, the head of military gives both congratulations and condolences over this tragedy (see see). As Iranians, we have got used to this funny behavior, but lets just think about it again. They say being killed for duty means becoming a martyr and hence is a good thing. Also, they show you clues, from those thick books of Hadis which contain guidelines about everything, even which kind of onion to buy, that a man killed when he is working for his family is a martyr. Ok, I understand it. But there is one question here. Think global. In the long war between Iran and Iraq, there were lots of army people in both sides. Many of them were paid to be in front. So, are Iraqis killed in front also martyrs? At least I remember Iranian TV talking about “hundreds of cheap Iraqis killed in action”. The word they were using meant being killed for nothing, or any word you may use for getting rid of a nasty creature. What?
Bowing Down
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
The president is leaving Iran for Saudia Arabia. I am not quite aware of traditions of army at these events, but it seems that the President and his executive deputy are bowing down to a flag. As far as I see it is not Iran’s national flag, but rather Iran’s army flag. So, what does it mean? Also, it is interesting to see that the executive deputy is not feeling so comfortable.
What is this glass of water doing here? Is it for the Iranian tradition of splitting water after someone leaving? See also this:
Ghalibaf!
Kamangir | December 6, 2005 | Category Iran
Hip Hip Hooray for Ghalibaf! Tehran mayor is among the first to come in the scene as a C-130 crashes into a building in Tehran. Whatever his motivation is, this is a good sign. Politicians start to realize that power comes from people.
Pinokios
Kamangir | December 5, 2005 | Category Iran
Do you remember the truth-manipulating machines in the 1984 novel by George Orwell? Islamic Republic regime tends to use the same tools, though, they do not have the brains for it. I think they are more like Pinokio and his funny lies.
One of the members of the Khobregan council, the supreme council that is designed to control the supreme leader, says “Ahmadinajed did not talk about the goblet of light” (see). I watched the film taken from that event, again and again (see). There are two certain points:
-
Ahmadinajed did talk about the “goblet of light”.
-
The camera is rolling on a tripod, or something like that. It is definitely not a mobile phone or something hidden somewhere as he proposes (see).
There are two options:
-
A member of Khobregan is lying. He has to either prove his words or apologize.
-
My eyes are out of calibration. I do not know what to do.
Advocating
Kamangir | December 2, 2005 | Category Iran
Just wanted to advocate for the LCD-enhancement tool released by Microsoft (see).
Sex
Kamangir | December 1, 2005 | Category Iran
In this post I am going to talk about my experience about sex in Canada. So, please leave it here if you are not interested in reading nude ideas. I will not hesitate using explicit words.
What does it mean, sex? What do we mean when we talk about “sex”, “sexual”, “sexy”. Is “a sexy girl” a girl you, as a boy, tend to have sex with at the first moment you can? What happens when you live in a country in which all those “hot” parts of women are just visible out there in the streets. Do you think you are going to have sexual dreams all night, every night? Is sex before marriage moral? What does it mean “one-night stand”? How would you feel if you see a box of condoms in the health center desk. Close to the place where two “hot” young women are doing their everyday job, including smiling at you? Why people do not pick up one of those condoms and make it up with one of those sexy girls just there? What happens if in “American Father” cartoon, the boy, which is told by a bad guy to not to be his mothers son, proposes her sister to kiss him in the mouth. Will it result in a ten-times increase of incest? In “Family Guy” poor father realizes that his dog has always loved his wife. So what?
There is an Iranian answer: “Sex? What do you mean?” There are also Iranian facts. Sexual problems are responsible for more than half of divorces in Iran (see). Many of these so-called “sexual problems” are just misunderstandings (I know personally couples with such problems). A very rude question, how many of us know sexual spots of human body? Also, how many of us have searched the internet for it, and have received the answer from mysterious sources which may or may not carry the truth. So, isn’t it important to know her/his body to satisfy her/him? See this article including a full analysis of the problem (see). There are lots of more articles in this area (see See).
There is a better answer: they train children at schools. There are special places in U of M where you can consult about the guy you wish to stay with for just one night. It is no Taboo. If you ask them why they are talking about sex to this extent, they will answer you “are you ashamed of it?” or “so, isn’t there all those books containing hundreds of recipes out there? What’s the difference?”
Really, what is the difference? Although, rather than sex, you can not ask your Iranian mother if you are having problems passing your water!
My Chinesse Friend
Kamangir | December 1, 2005 | Category Iran
I’ve got a chinesse friend. He is a Ph.D. student and has come here last August. He is a nice short-sighted boy which is ready to laugh. He asked me about Azadeh and told me that he has got a girlfriend back in China. Then I asked him the funny question “is it OK in China to have a girlfriend”? His answer was more like the image in the right. I tried to make it easier so I replied, “you know, Iran and China are so similar blah blah blah”. At the end I knew two important pieces of news,-
Even in China, people think about economy. So, being communist does not mean that people should live in hundreds of limitations and in desperate situations.
-
My friend was surprised about the way I was talking about Ahmadinejad. He asked me “so, you do not support your gvernment?” Even chinesse people love their government.
My nice laughing friend left my desk, but not my mind. You know, I was recently watching Ahmadinejad’s sit-down comedy about the goblet of fire.
support government
Red Beard
Kamangir | December 1, 2005 | Category Iran
Read this article to have some information about how Tehran stock market is working (see). Just to let you know, it is from the official site for Tehran stock market. Briefly, the article includes an interview with a controversial guy which is playing around in the stock market, collecting money. He has been behind bars for what he does and he is still doing it. A funny point: his last name is Ahmadi, so similar to Ahmadinejad. He is carrying the nickname “red beard”, so much sounds like pirates’ names.Canada
Kamangir | December 1, 2005 | Category Iran
Baztab talks about “Canada’s new trick against Iranian briliant youth” (see).
I have reached to this conclusion that Canad is not actually a country with the Iranian assumption about a “country”. In my opinion, Canada is more like a community or a living-place. In this way, it is not so clear what means to say “I am canadian”. Technically, it would mean like “I have been in Canada for some years” or at the best point “my ancestors came to Canada some decades ago”. I have a graduate course in which nobody is “Canadian”, four Iranians, four or five from eastern asians and that’s all. In this framework, Canada is a place to gather and live in peace. And I mean it when I say “live in peace”. Now, why should this community of people which is actually collecting sharp minds using universities and a nice attitude, may decide to harm coming people? This is like this: You are a sharp guy and you are living in a country governed by Ahmadinejad. Then they give you permission to come to Canada and they support you in exchange with the work you do. At the moment that you recieve your Candian citizenship, you feel how much you owe to this “country”. Hence, you start to work around the clock to make a living and raise decent children. Isn’t it great? They need you and by just not bothering you, as Ahmedinejad’s flock do regularly, they buy your love. Please give me the answer, why should Canada reject a working calm youth to enter Canada and work there? In my personal experience, when I went to Canadian embassy in Tehran and told them that I am applying for a student VISA, I saw see that they treated me as a real important guy. At least compared to all those people around the embassy that were trying to come to Canada with other excuses. Canada is the place to live in peace and I don’t think Baztab guys can digest it. I would appreciate if I can contact any of these “Iranian students” who has written this letter (see).
Salam (Hi) - سلام
Welcome to Kamangir. This is the personal blog of Arash Abadpour (Abad Pour), an Iranian student in Canada (more)
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