Nov 27
BC asked:


If I wanted to travel to a south american country, does anyone know which country or region of a country speaks the purest and easiest to understand spanish, my spanish isn’t very good.

Joe
Nov 26
David asked:


Special thanks to my American friend who helped me proofread my writing.It’s taken me almost a year to find some pieces of this information.
I believe that if you spend 5-10 minutes reading this essay, you will be better informed than if you listen to a lifetime’s worth of Major Media news. Please don’t assume that I’m a very old person. I’m just 18, and a university student studying English who just cannot sit back and let the lies fly unchallenged.
This article has two parts:
1. Cultural and general info
2. Political info.
If you wanna know the rest of of the story, read it from top to bottom.
Note: I’ve explained all the things that you ALWAYS talk about, so read it all plz! (Anytime you like!) Specially the political part! Any answers before reading the whole thing will prove to be wrong.
****
Hi. I’m an Iranian who has spent his life in Iran.When I chat with people from other countries, I am shocked to see how totally wrong their ideas are about Iran. I wrote this article in an attempt to help correct those ideas.
The first thing America, and the West in general, accuses our government of is that we don’t allow personal freedoms. Actually, Iranians disobey laws they don’t like as much as anyone. But come on, there are only a few restrictions.It’s so cool over here. People here do whatever they wish to! Many strict rules in other countries don’t even exist in Iran. Also, you should understand that what may seem so normal to you, may be a nightmare for us and vise versa. That’s why you don’t understand a few of Iran’s laws because some of them are based on our culture. You look at our country from “your own point of view”! In Iran every single house has a sattelite dish. Sattelite television has a serious influence on our people, and Iranians wear very fashionable clothing. Maybe it is a kind of imitation, but we still have our own unique Iranian style (I’m talking about public places, in our privacy there’s no difference). A visitor might wonder if this is a country or a fantasy pageant of beauty queens! Almost half of women wear their hair out, and make-up and fashionable clothing are everywhere. Iran is one of the super-consumers of cosmetics. You would be surprised to see the difference between what you imagine and what Iran really is!
In my view, everything is great, if you ignore unemployment, inflation and air pollution. But I guess these are common problems around the world today, aren’t they? Also, you can’t compare Iran today with the Iran you remember. The Shah and the Iatollah Khomini are both some 30 years in the past!Nearly 65-70% of Iran’s population is a new generation without the biases of the past (The youth), and we’ve transformed everything.

Some people think women don’t have any rights in Iran. But in my view, women are overrunning the place. But that’s not a bad thing. They’re very respectful, and they’ve been the winners in so many cases: They get into the best universities because they’re very smart. And they get the best jobs because they can do so many of them better than men. (That’s why men can hardly find any good jobs because most jobs are already occupied by women!) They’ve got Islamic rights, and that has in some cases made it difficult for men to marry them, because husbands are supposed to buy them expensive things and treat them very well, otherwise women have the right to ask a great amount of money (called Mehr) according to the law, which most husbands cannot afford, so they (men) will be imprisoned.The only thing that women are not allowed to do in Iran is getting into public football stadiums and that’s because such places are full of cheeky guys. They do anything from taking part in rallies to singing pop songs.Anything! I’ve put a sample here. I feel foolish for sitting here explaining ordinary things to you.

Another funny thing: Your footage about stoning the women who have committed adultery. Have you ever asked yourselves how many years ago that footage related to? Are they balck and white or colourful? But in one case (related to many years ago) something terrible had happened which was just beyond the borders of adultery.We think being punished for corruption is good, as it deters people from doing that and the society will be far healthier than the countries in which commiting such things is considered to be normal! Iranians expect their gov’t not to be soft on criminals.And for your information, most of those footages are from Afghanistan which was ruled by freaks (Taliban). What exactly makes you think women are treated differently?The way they were/are treated in Saudi Arabi? I’m sorry I didn’t know “over a billion Moslems” lived there!When you think of such things, try to think of the racism in your country too. There’s no perfect country!
I find it difficult to make you understand that Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are ——— SEPERATE COUNTRIES! ——— Even within Iran, 60% of us are Persian and 30% are Turkish! I find it even more difficult to make you understand that Iran is a normal country like any other in the world. The point is, there’s nothing mysterious about us! The Media are very good at creating really scary stuff: “IRAN BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS!!!” “IRAN UNDERCOVER!!!” Some of that garbage would be enough to scare ME away! But in truth, Iranians are far more open-minded than you have been led to believe.
There are lots of Iranians today who are geniuses and scientists, and are all under age 25. You don’t hear about their discoveries and inventions on TV. For instance a 17 year old boy has invented 72 amazing inventions and there are many kids like that. Every year a special scientific compition (Kharazmi) is held here and students assemble to show off hundreds of inventions. Iranian students and sportsmen win gold and silver medals in different competitions in the world all the time, in robotics, biology, maths, physics, sports, anything! Why don’t the Media talk about them? Please don’t summarize our nation and culture with the single word “nuclear”. Although we’re proud of this achievement because we believe that having nuclear energy means that a country is developed.Did you know that the countries having the highest number of scientists in the world are in this order? 1-India 2-Korea 3-Iran

A few months ago Iran uncovered the most effective anti-H.I.V medicine and it was signing treaties with other countries to export it. I searched for news of that on the internet, but there was no single sign of it. What did I find instead? “President Bush CLAIMS that bomb parts are imported from Iran into Iraq!” (The same old story!) The Media are unjust. They put CLAIMS on the headlines, but they never talk about facts!
Some interesting facts:
Iran is a pioneer in medicine and genetics, and Iranian surgeons have found lots of new methods for treating spinal defects, and many diseases (mainly the treatment for different types of cancer) and the best brain and heart surgeons are Iranian. The head of the Mars Mission in NASA is Iranian. One of the best designers of sports cars working in Germany is Iranian. Some of the best 3D animators are Iranian. Iran is one of the best countries in counter-engineering. Holds the second place in building dams and in loads of other things! It’s one of the top countries in bio-technology and nano-technology. The 4th highest tower in the world (Milad tower) is in Tehran (visit it at this link from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milad.jpg ). 51 of the top 100 universities in the Mid-East are in Iran, and they’re among the top universities of the world as well. The champion weight-lifter, a woman, and a song by one of the pop singers who/which won the nobel peace prize are Iranians. Lots of Iranians win nobel prizes specially in the field of medicine. Iranian girls are famous for being terrific. We have Persian rugs and Persian literature, many Persian poets, artists and scientists that are world famous. Iranian culture is now westernized and only a little of the ancient culture has survived. According to statistics Tehran is the cheapest capital city in the world (one Dollar =about 950 Tomans! For example you can buy windows vista for 1 Dollar here instead of 700 Dollars!!! or 3 supper pizzas for 10 Dollars!!!wow!) There are many other things. How many pages would you need to describe a country? Iran has nearly all the industries and technologies found in ‘developed’ countries. Oh, and we have four seasons! (Some people think it never snows here! We get a lot of snow and there are skating rinks! lol) The list is endless.(I still feel foolish for talkng about ordinary things!)

News: “Iranian scientists managed to make human teeth grow after you’ve lost them using basic cells” I’m gonna introduce Iran’s international news website to you (Press TV) which was established recently. It’s fully in English. You’ll find what they’re hiding from you! In the “Sic / Tech” section you’ll always see Iran’s discoveries. The address is: http://www.presstv.ir/news.aspx… Press TV news: Iranian scientists have registered more than 4800 inventions during the last Iranian calendar year of 1385 (April 21 2006-April 20, 2007). 4800 inventions in just one year!

Some charactristics of Iranians would be:
Negative: We are proud, greedy, hard-working (for ourselves), not punctual, impatient, and lazy at doing our duty well, crazy about luxuries and thus extravagant! Highly competitive!
Positive: intelligent, ambitious, a bit idealistic, well-dressed, formal, well-educated, warm and friendly, hospitable.

Some people think Iran is a desert! Well, it is, if you consider California, New Mexico, Utah, Arkansas, and Alabama a desert. We share the same latitude. Iran is a modern country with breathtakingly beautiful nature and lots of historic places to visit. Please take a look at the following links to see if Iran looks like what you think or not! This is a photo of Tehran (Awesome, Isn’t it?): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Tehran-2-1600.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran

If you like you can visit these too, hundreds of pretty photos from the cities, nature and historic places: (It’s like a free tour!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hills_south_west_of_Sanandaj_near_the_village_of_Kilaneh.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=all
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=2
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com:80/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=4
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran

Some people think music is forbidden in Iran. Did you know that Iranian music was chosen as the best pop in France in 2005? It could even defeat Euro-pop! All Iranian songs are current pop / DJ music. I send Iranian music to my American and Canadian chat friends and they all say they’re some of the best songs they’ve ever heard. What makes Iranian music killer, is a lot of Trance drums, catchy tune, uprising melody and incredible lyrics!

Here’s a sample of the latest hits from two official Iranian music websites.You can just right click on the links below and choose “Save Target As” to download them.I guess you’ll fall for it! The translation of the songs is here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArJe6s_u1UbLFRAAiKDGBZLsy6IX?qid=20070514105433AAysEsQ

1.(You know this: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Neorin%20-%20To%20Ino%20Miduni.mp3
2.(Hold my hand: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/09_%20Dastamo%20Begir.mp3
3.(The wetness of your eyes: 2006) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Ehsan%20Gheibi%20-%20Khisie%20Cheshmat.mp3
4.(I just want you: 2003) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Mansour/Crazy/Delam%20Faghat%20Toro%20Mikhaad(www.Bia2Music.com).MP3
5.(The rain: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2005%20Baroon%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
6.(The window: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/03_%20Panjereh.mp3
7.(Keep me in your memory: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/07_%20Yaade%20Man%20Baash.mp3
8.(Farangis “A female name” 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2001%20Farangis%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
9.(The distance: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/03_%20Faseleh.mp3
10.(Sunrise: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/04_%20Tolou.mp3
11.(Stop world:2006) http://www.sarzaminmusic.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Reza%20Sadeghi%20-%20Vaysa%20Donya/01_%20Vaysa%20Donya.mp3
12.(You can’t: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/06_%20Nemitooni.mp3
13.(The wind’s kiss: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/01_%20Boosaye%20Baad.mp3
14.(Reveal your visage: 2004) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mohammad%20Esfahani/04_%20Talab.mp3
15.(What would have happened if : 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Navid%20&%20Omid%20-%20Faryad/01_%20Chi%20Mishod.mp3

And so on and on!

It’s now 2007 and most people still think we are uneducated people living in deserts, riding camels and carrying around guns! See how the media are fooling people?
Let’s clarify some political issues as well: Some of the Americans I chatted with said in the U.S it’s said that president Ahmadinejad hates the U.S and Israel and wants to nuke them!! The Media are good at putting lying comments out there. It’s easy to show a video or an image of our president or leader on the TV screen or on the internet and say he says this, he says that…..I really don’t get the point why our politicians defame themselves by talking about things that have got nothing to do with us. For example does verbal defence of Palestinians cause them to have a better life? The thing is that they occasionally make some statements that the media would misuse it against Iran. For example they pick up some specific phrases of a long speech (without refering to the main points and reasons for that speech) and put so many bad comments on that. No sane person would take such nonsense at face value.

First of all, Iranians don’t **** anyone. If our government complains about some injustice going on in the world, it’s not bad, is it? (Although what we want from them is to shut up and not get us into trouble by talking about things that are none of our concern) We **** neither Jews nor Americans. I love Americans, otherwise why would I talk to them?! How would our guys dream of America, want to be like them as much as possible, and **** them at the same time?! I’ve got to say that for Iran, Israel is not equal with Jews! Israel is a gov’t. Jews are faithful people! A few of them live here in our neighbourhood and they live just like the rest of Iranians. No difference. And two of Iran’s parliment members are Jews. Who says we want to force others to convert to Islam? Have you ever found a Muslim knocking at your door asking you to do so? It’s so funny the way you imagine things and make yourselves believe in your own immaginations!
Christians and Jews are both God-believers and respectful to us. I wonder why the media like putting words in our mouth and raising hatred. In Iran, religion is one of the least important factors. Where you come from and what your religion is are not important to us at all. On the contrary, meeting different people would be very interesting for us!

I wonder who Iran is really a threat to. Is it logical to say someone’s guilty because we THINK / PREDICT that he’s going to do something wrong? And they repeat the same “nuclear weapons” tosh over and over and brainwash people! News headlines: “We won’t allow Iran to gain nuclear weapons”!!! Correction! It’s “nuclear energy”. Besides, how many “nuclear weapons” do they have themselves? Hundreds of thousands? Has Iran ever attacked any countries? No. Has it developed any nukes? No! That’s what nuclear agency says. Only Iran’s opponents are pulling Iran’s leg and what they say is of no credit. It’s just based on political conflicts. What we’re doing is legal. What they ask us to do (ignoring our international rights) is illegal. Iran is a peaceful country. Why? It’s the regional super-power and if she wanted, she could easily invade the countries in our neibourhood just like what Saddam did to our country, but as you see Iran has peaceful relations with all of them. It can set an example to some countries that just follow their interests (oil!). Interesting! the countries accusing Iran of different things have been, and are still accused of the same things!!! How logical!

Some people say he said: Israel should be wiped off the map! But have they told you the rest of his speech and that why he’s said this at all? You know that it’s a passive sentence. He’s never said that IRAN wants to wipe Israel off the map! He wasn’t talking about destroying Israel. He was talking about relocating Israel, so that they could live seperate from Palestinians and they could both live in peace. They’ve only told you this phrase not the whole thing and it’s mistranslated intentionally. Iran has always defended itself, but it’s not an offensive country.

Some say he’s said: “The Holocaust is a myth!” Again, this is a single phrase taken from a long speech and there are totally logical reasons for saying so. If 6,000,000 Jews were killed, that’s terrible, but 300,000 Shiite Moslems killed by Saddam aren’t important at all? Over 650,000 Iraqi people are killed and that’s not important?! When Fox News simply says that America and Israel are capable of destroying and killing Iran’s population of 69,000,000 within two weeks, it’s OK and no one says they’re threatening other countries to nuke them (I saw this with my own eyes on the Fox News website) Millions of people killed in Afghanistan, Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the Vietnam war are not considered human beings at all! Now I think you’d get the point why he’s IRONICALLY said it’s a myth. Moreover, don’t you believe in freedom of speech/mind? I’d judge people by their ACTIONS rather than by what they say / their religion / race / culture and the colour of their skin!

Obviously, some countries are using Iran as a scapegoat to put the blame (for their own faults) on. And what country is better than Iran to be a scapegoat? The whole world believes that Iran isn’t a peaceful country. I know Americans don’t like this either, but what can they do? They’re not responsible for controlling what the Media says. This part is just for Americans who would still argue over unimportant things: Those of you who say why Iran says “Death to America”:
1. ‘America’ to us means the U.S govt, not the people. How do you expect Iranians to mean “American people” when our media admires Americans for marching and holding up “no war” placards?!
2. The new generation don’t say such things and if some of them occasionally march in the streets that’s because some of the stupid guys enjoy making noise and they mainly go out there to meet their girlfriends/boyfriends! Strange. Isn’t it?
3. Such mottos are not just said in Iran and as you know whatever you hear is a response to the U.S govt’s terrible actions which has made life for many people hell (You wouldn’t deny that attacking countries is a mistake. right?)
5. The U.S gov’t helped Saddam attack Iran and I hope you know which country gave Iraq biological weapons which killed lots of Iranians.
6. America hit an Iranian airplane over the Persian Gulf and killed 200 passengers for no reason.
7. America places sanctions on Iran, promotes a false image of Iran and Iranians, scares tourists away, and harms our economy, development and credit. To what purpose?

When you call Ahmadinejad a nutcase for what he’s said, what do you call Bush for his actions? I mean it’s a good idea to consider what Bush is doing to the world with his wrong decisions and lies. Bush is powerful and influencial, but Ahmadinejad is nothing.
To those who are upset with American hostages taken for 444 days:
1. Firstly, It’s related to so many years ago and it’s almost a part of history, and don’t forget that when there’s a revolution, there’d be chaos and people may do things that they should not, moreover they’re all alive and healthy. Aren’t they?
2.The U.S has arrested Iranian diplomats in Iraq and had tortured the one who was freed. Poor British sailors were detained by the English gov’t just for saying that they were treated well in Iran and that Iranians were logical people (They said these when they were on England’s soil!) They were PREVENTED from releasing their memoirs by England! Now you decide who has the right to be upset with whom. How do you believe in their lies about politics when they hide both the most and the least important things from you considering the fact that politics is the world of lies in its nature?!!! Considering all this, you’d probably be able to GUESS what percentage of what they tell you about the Mid-East, Islam, Moslems and other things is true!!! lol

Isn’t it better for both countries to forget past conflicts and to have peaceful relations? Our two gov’ts are like 10 year old children playing a stupid, harsh, rhetorical game. They don’t care about hurting people’s feelings. They just try to make our two peoples enemies to achieve their own goals. We, as the people of these countries, MUST NOT allow these conflics into our hearts. You know something? All govt’s are hateful. I just said the above things because it sounds unfair when some Americans talk about the taking of the 444 hostages while I keep silence. I hope you agree on this one! Now, what do you think? I can’t wait to see both nations in peace. It’d be marvelous! They’ve started to have diplomatic talks! (Naughty children!) That’s great!
Thanks for your time

Ernesto

Nov 23
phrank p asked:


If I took enough trains, could I travel from the United States to Brazil? Do any even cross the Panama Canal? Are there any countries in South America without decent railroads?

Bonnie
Nov 23
Is This Real World Or Exercise? asked:


Virginia Deane Abernethy, Ph.D., anthropologist, author, Population Politics
Ed Asner, actor, activist
Marshall Auerback, international portfolio strategist for David W. Tice & Associates, Inc.
Catherine Austin Fitts, Asst. Secretary of Housing in the first Bush administration
Keidi Obi Awadu, aka The Conscious Rasta, talk show host, LIBRadio
Michael Badnarik, Libertarian candidate for President
Byron Belitsos, publisher, Origin Press, author Planetary Democracy
Philip J. Berg, Esquire, former deputy attorney general, Pennsylvania
Medea Benjamin, activist, author, co-founder, Global Exchange and Code Pink
Dennis Bernstein, investigative reporter, radio host of KPFA’s Flashpoints
Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda, author, political comedian
Brad Blanton, Ph.D., psychotherapist, author, Radical Honesty
Saniel Bonder, spiritual teacher and author, Great Relief
Dr. Robert Bowman, USAF Lt. Col. (Rtd.), founder, Institute for Space and Security Studies
John Buchanan, author, candidate for the Republican Party Presidential nomination, 2004
Gray Brechin, Ph.D., author, environmental historian, professor, UC Berkeley
Fred Burks, presidential interpreter for Bush, Clinton, Cheney, and Gore
Norma Carr-Rufino, Ph.D., author, professor of management, San Francisco State University
Angana Chatterji, Ph.D., scholar-activist and professor of anthropology
Paul Cienfuegos, co-founder, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County
David Cobb, attorney, national presidential candidate, US Green Party
John Cobb, Ph.D., theologian, co-author, For the Common Good
Ernest Callenbach, founder/editor, Film Quarterly, author, Ecotopia
Kevin Danaher, Ph.D., author, speaker, co-founder, Global Exchange
Stephen Dinan, author, Radical Spirit
Ronnie Dugger, journalist/author, co-founder, Alliance for Democracy
Daniel Ellsberg, author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
Jodie Evans, co-founder, Code Pink
Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University
Michael Franti, musician, filmmaker, human rights worker
Janeane Garofalo, actress, comedienne, talk show host, Air America Radio
Jim Garrison, Ph.D., president, State of the World Forum, author, America as Empire
Bruce Gagnon, Chair, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Ric Giardina, author, consultant, speaker, former Director of Trademarks and Brands for Intel
John Gray, Ph.D., #1 bestselling author, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Stan Goff, 25-year Army Special Ops veteran, author, Full Spectrum Disorder
Melvin Goodman, senior fellow, Center for International Policy, author, former Senior Analyst, CIA, professor, National War College
Morton Goulder, Deputy Secretary for Intelligence and Warning under Nixon, Ford, and Carter
David Ray Griffin, Ph.D., theologian, author, New Pearl Harbor
Doris “Granny D” Haddock, campaign finance crusader, NH Democratic candidate for Senate
Thom Hartmann, radio host; author, Unequal Protection
Richie Havens, singer, songwriter, performer, artist
Paul Hawken, bestselling author, environmentalist, entrepreneur, founder of Smith & Hawken
Randy Hayes, founder, Rainforest Action Network, US National Director, Direction Conservation
Richard Heinberg, author, The Party’s Over, core faculty, New College of California
Van Jones, executive director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Rob Kall, editor, OpEdNews.com, president, Futurehealth, Inc.
Georgia Kelly, executive director, Praxis Peace Institute
Sean Kelly, Ph.D., author, professor of philosophy and religion, CA Institute of Integral Studies
John Joseph Kennedy, Democratic Write-in Presidential Candidate for 2004
Mimi Kennedy, actress, Dharma and Greg, progressive activist
Faiz Khan, M.D., Triage Emergency Physician on 9/11, Assistant Imam
David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World
Frances Moore Lapp?, author, Diet for a Small Planet; founder, Small Planet Institute
Scott M. Legere, 25 year radio broadcaster as Scott Ledger, Tampa FL
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, TIKKUN Magazine, author, Healing Israel/Palestine
Michael Levine, bestselling author of Deep Cover, journalist, 25-year veteran of the DEA
Joanna Macy, Ph.D., eco-philosopher, author
Enver Masud, founder, The Wisdom Fund, author, The Truth About Islam
John McCarthy, former Special Forces Captain, president, Veterans Equal Rights Protection Advocacy
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
Cynthia McKinney, five-term Congresswoman from Georgia
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author, professor, co-founder, Green Earth Foundation
Mark Crispin Miller, media critic, author, professor, New York University
Joseph W. Montaperto, New York City Fire Department
Leuren Moret, geoscientist, radiation specialist, environmental commissioner
Ralph Nader, Independent candidate for President
Craig Neal, author, co-founder, The Heartland Institute, former publisher, Utne Reader
Jeff Norman, executive director, Tour of Duty
Jenna Orkin, Esquire, World Trade Center Environmental Organization
Kelly Patricia O’Meara, investigative journalist, public relations
Michael Parenti, Ph.D., author, Superpatriotism and The Terrorism Trap
Edward L. Peck, former US Ambassador and Chief of Mission to Iraq, former Deputy Director to the White House Task Force on Terrorism
Peter Phillips, Ph.D., professor, Sonoma State University, director, Project Censored
Henri Poole, Internet pioneer, board member, Free Software Foundation
Robert Rabbin, author, speaker, creator of TruthForPresident.org
Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., sociologist, author, The Cultural Creatives
John Renesch, business futurist, author, Getting to the Better Future
John Rensenbrink, professor emeritus, Bowdoin College, co-founder, US Green Party
John Robbins, author, founder, EarthSave International
William Rodriguez, 9/11 rescue effort hero, founder, Hispanic Victims Group
Neal Rogin, Emmy-award winning writer, performer, social observer
Allen Roland, Ph.D., psychotherapist, published author and peace activist
Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of feminist theology, Graduate Theological Union
Michael Ruppert, publisher/editor, From The Wilderness, author, Crossing the Rubicon
Chris Sanders, founder, Sanders Research Associates
Karl W. B. Schwarz, President, CEO, Patmos Nanotechnologies, LLC
Peter Dale Scott, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, author, Drugs, Oil, and War
Firefighter Kevin Shea, FDNY Hazmat Operations
Michelle Shocked, singer/songwriter, activist
Indira Singh, risk management and computer systems consultant
J. Michael Springmann, attorney, former Foreign Service Officer, US Department of State
Douglas Sturm, Ph.D., university professor emeritus, Bucknell University
Marjorie Hewit Suchocki, Ph.D., theologian, author
Chuck Turner, Boston City Council
James W. Walter Jr., venture investor, philanthropist, founder of Walden Three
Dan Whaley, E-commerce pioneer, founder of GetThere.com, acquired for $750M
Burns H. Weston, J.S.D., Professor of Law Emeritus, Director, Center for Human Rights, U-Iowa
Howard Zinn, professor, historian, author, A People’s History of the United States
Family Members

Joanne Barbara, wife of FDNY Asst. Chief of Dept. Gerard Barbara
Gayle Barker, sister of William A. Karnes, WTC
Michele Bergsohn, wife of Alvin Bergsohn, Cantor Fitzgerald
Derrill Bodley, father of Deora Bodley, passenger on Flight 93
Kathryn C. Bowden, sister of Thomas H. Bowden, Jr. WTC1, 104th floor
Janet Calia, wife of Dominick Calia, Cantor Fitzgerald, WTC1
Maggie Cashman, wife of William Joseph Cashman, United Flight 93
Lynne Castrianno Galante, sister of Leonard Castrianno, 1WTC, 105th floor
Elza Chapa-McGowan, daughter of Rosemary Chapa, Pentagon
Bruce De Cell, father-in-law of Mark Petrocelli North Tower, 92nd floor
Ralph D’Esposito, father of Michael D’Esposito, WTC, 96th floor
Loisanne Diehl, Surviving Spouse, Michael D. Diehl, WTC2, 90th floor
Adina D. Eisenberg, sister of Eric Eisenberg, WTC
Jonathan M. Fisher, son of Dr. Gerald Paul “Geep” Fisher, Pentagon
Michael J. Fox, brother of Jeffrey L. Fox, Tower 2, 89th floor
Laurel A. Gay, sister of Peter A. Gay, AA Flight 11
Irene Golinsky, wife of Col. Ronald F. Golinski USA RET, Pentagon
Lori, Jerry, and Beatrice Guadagno, sister and parents of Richard Guadagno, Flight 93
Kristen Hall, daughter of fallen firefighter Thomas Kuveikis 9/11
Kurt D. Horning, father of Matthew D. Horning, WTC Tower One, 95th floor
Jennifer W. Hunt, wife of William C. Hunt, Euro Brokers
John Keating, son of Barbara Keating, passenger on AA Flight 11
L. Russell Keene II, father of Russ Keene III, WTC2, 89th floor, KBW
Peter Kousoulis, sister died in WTC
Paul & Barbara Kirwin, parents of Glenn Davis Kirwin, Cantor Fitzgerald 105th floor
Barbara Krukowski-Rastelli, mother of William E. Krukowski, NYC firefighter
Laura and Ira Lassman, parents of Nicholas C. Lassman, died in WTC, Tower One
Johnny Lee, husband of Lorraine Greene
Alicia LeGuillow, mother of Nestor A. Cintron III
Francine Levine, sister of Adam K. Ruhalter, who died on 9/11
Bob McIlvaine, father of Robert McIlvaine, WTC, Merrill Lynch
Mary McWilliams, mother of FF Martin E. McWilliams- Engine 22
Daryl J. Meehan, brother of Colleen Ann Barkow, WTC 1, 105th floor
Elvira P. Murphy, wife of Patrick Murphy, WTC 1
Natalee Pecorelli, sister of Thomas Pecorelli of Flight 11
James L Perry, M.D and Patricia J. Perry, parents of John W. Perry, Esq., NYPD Officer 9/11
David Potorti, brother of James Potorti, North Tower, WTC, Marsh & McLennan
Terry Kay Rockefeller, sister of Laura Rockefeller, North Tower, WTC
Grissel Rodriguez-Valentin, wife of Benito Valentin, WTC1, 94th floor
Alissa Rosenberg-Torres, widow of Luis Eduardo Torres, post-9/11 mother, writer
Elaine Saber, mother of Scott Saber
Julie Scarpitta, mother of Michelle Scarpitta, WTC Building 2, 84th floor
Paula Shapiro, mother of Eric Eisenberg, WTC2
Elizabeth Turner, wife of Simon Turner, lost on 11th September 2001
Adele Welty, mother of Firefighter Timothy Welty, FDNY, Squad 288
Joan W. Winton, mother of David Winton, WTC, South Tower, 89th floor
David Yancey, husband of Vicki Yancey, American Airlines Flight 77
Nissa Youngren, daughter of Robert G. LeBlanc, flight 175
Late Signatories (starting toward 200…)

Rita M. Haley, President, National Organization for Women, New York Chapter
Immortal Technique, Harlem-based hip-hop artist with Viper Records, Revolutionary I&II
Bob Kirkconnell, served in the U.S. Air Force 27 years, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant
Dennis Kyne, former Army air medic, 18th Airborne Corps during Gulf War I, musician, author, “Support the Truth”
Paul Landis, author, “Stop Bush Now!”
Eric H. May, former Army military intelligence officer and media essayist
Charles Shaw, Editor, Newtopia Magazine, National Peace Action Coordinator, National Green Party
Peter Erlinder, professor, William Mitchell College of Law, past-President National Lawyers Guild
Daniel Robert Rezac, 2004 Vice-Presidential Write-In Candidate, former Aviator & Armor Officer, Army National Guard, B.S.B.A.
Joel Horwitz, lost beloved cousin in WTC 1
Jessica Murrow, lost husband Stephen Adams, Beverage Manager, Windows on the World, WTC 1
Ellen Mariani, lost husband Neil on Flight 175
Jean Hunt, disabled survivor of Pentagon attack
Ralph & Brigitte Sabbag, lost son Jason in WTC 2
FEEL FREE TO RESEARCH ANY NAME ON THE LIST I JUST POSTED!!!

Lois

Nov 23
David asked:


Special thanks to my American friend who helped me proofread my writing.It’s taken me almost a year to find some pieces of this information.
I believe that if you spend 5-10 minutes reading this essay, you will be better informed than if you listen to a lifetime’s worth of Major Media news. Please don’t assume that I’m a very old person. I’m just 18, and a university student studying English who just cannot sit back and let the lies fly unchallenged.
This article has two parts:
1. Cultural and general info
2. Political info.
If you wanna know the rest of of the story, read it from top to bottom.
Note:.I’ve explained all the things that you ALWAYS talk about, so read it all plz! Specially the political part! Any answers before reading the whole thing will prove to be wrong.
****
Hi. I’m an Iranian who has spent his life in Iran.When I chat with people from other countries, I am shocked to see how totally wrong their ideas are about Iran. I wrote this article in an attempt to help correct those ideas.
The first thing America, and the West in general, accuses our government of is that we don’t allow personal freedoms. Actually, Iranians disobey laws they don’t like as much as anyone. Many strict rules in other countries don’t even exist in Iran. Also, you should understand that what may seem so normal to you, may be a nightmare for us and vise versa. That’s why you don’t understand a few of Iran’s laws.In Iran every single house has a sattelite dish. Sattelite television has a serious influence on our people, and Iranians wear very fashionable clothing. Maybe it is a kind of imitation, but we still have our own unique Iranian style. A visitor might wonder if this is a country or a fantasy pageant of beauty queens! Almost half of women wear their hair out, and make-up and fashionable clothing are everywhere. Iran is one of the super-consumers of cosmetics. You would be surprised to see the difference between what you imagine and what Iran really is!
In my view, everything is great, if you ignore unemployment, inflation and air pollution. But I guess these are common problems around the world today, aren’t they? Also, you can’t compare Iran today with the Iran you remember. The Shah and the Iatollah Khomini are both some 30 years in the past!Nearly 65-70% of Iran’s population is a new generation without the biases of the past (The youth), and we’ve transformed everything.

Some people think women don’t have any rights in Iran. But in my view, women are overrunning the place. But that’s not a bad thing. They’re very respectful, and they’ve been the winners in so many cases: They get into the best universities because they’re very smart. And they get the best jobs because they can do so many of them better than men. (That’s why men can hardly find any good jobs because most jobs are already occupied by women!) They’ve got Islamic rights, and that has in some cases made it difficult for men to marry them, because husbands are supposed to buy them expensive things and treat them very well, otherwise women have the right to ask a great amount of money (called Mehr) according to the law, which most husbands cannot afford, so they (men) will be imprisoned.The only thing that women are not allowed to do in Iran is getting into public football stadiums and that’s because such places are full of cheeky guys. They do anything from taking part in rallies to singing pop songs.Anything! I’ve put a sample here. I feel foolish for sitting here explaining ordinary things to you.

Another funny thing: Your footage about stoning the women who have committed adultery. Have you ever asked yourselves how many years ago that footage related to? Are they balck and white or colourful? But in one case (related to many years ago) something terrible had happened which was just beyond the borders of adultery.We think being punished for corruption is good, as it deters people from doing that and the society will be far healthier than the countries in which commiting such things is considered to be normal! Iranians expect their gov’t not to be soft on criminals.And for your information, most of those footages are from Afghanistan which was ruled by freaks (Taliban). When you think of such things, try to think of the racism in your country too. There’s no perfect country!
I find it difficult to make you understand that Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are ——— SEPERATE COUNTRIES! ——— Even within Iran, 60% of us are Persian and 30% are Turkish! I find it even more difficult to make you understand that Iran is a normal country like any other in the world. The point is, there’s nothing mysterious about us! The Media are very good at creating really scary stuff: “IRAN BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS!!!” “IRAN UNDERCOVER!!!” Some of that garbage would be enough to scare ME away! But in truth, Iranians are far more open-minded than you have been led to believe.
There are lots of Iranians today who are geniuses and scientists, and are all under age 25. You don’t hear about their discoveries and inventions on TV. For instance a 17 year old boy has invented 72 amazing inventions and there are many KIDS like that. Iranian students and sportsmen win gold and silver medals in different competitions in the world all the time, in robotics, biology, maths, physics, sports, anything! Why don’t the Media talk about them? Please don’t summarize our nation and culture with the single word “nuclear”. Although we’re proud of this achievement because we believe that having nuclear energy means that a country is developed.Did you know that the countries having the highest number of scientists in the world are in this order? 1-India 2-Korea 3-Iran

A few months ago Iran uncovered the most effective anti-H.I.V medicine and it was signing treaties with other countries to export it. I searched for news of that on the internet, but there was no single sign of it. What did I find instead? “President Bush CLAIMS that bomb parts are imported from Iran into Iraq!” (The same old story!) The Media are unjust. They put CLAIMS on the headlines, but they never talk about facts!
Some interesting facts:
Iran is a pioneer in medicine and genetics, and Iranian surgeons have found lots of new methods for treating spinal defects, and many diseases (mainly the treatment for different types of cancer) and the best brain and heart surgeons are Iranian. The head of the Mars Mission in NASA is Iranian. One of the best designers of sports cars working in Germany is Iranian. Some of the best 3D animators are Iranian. Iran is one of the best countries in counter-engineering. Holds the second place in building dams and in loads of other things! It’s one of the top countries in bio-technology and nano-technology. The 4th highest tower in the world (Milad tower) is in Tehran (visit it at this link from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milad.jpg ). 51 of the top 100 universities in the Mid-East are in Iran, and they’re among the top universities of the world as well. The champion weight-lifter, a woman, and a song by one of the pop singers who/which won the nobel peace prize are Iranians. Lots of Iranians win nobel prizes specially in the field of medicine. Iranian girls are famous for being terrific. We have Persian rugs and Persian literature, many Persian poets and scientists that are very famous. Iranian culture is now westernized and only a little of the ancient culture has survived. According to statistics Tehran is the cheapest capital city in the world (for foriegners of course, not for us! Our rate is different: one Dollar =about 950 Tomans!) There are many other things. How many pages would you need to describe a country? Iran is an independant country unlike its neighbours. It has nearly all the industries and technologies found in ‘developed’ countries. The list is endless.

News: “Iranian scientists managed to make human teeth grow after you’ve lost them using basic cells” I’m gonna introduce Iran’s international news website to you (Press TV) which was established recently. It’s fully in English. You’ll find what they’re hiding from you! In the “Sic / Tech” section you’ll always see Iran’s discoveries. The address is: http://www.presstv.ir/news.aspx… Press TV news: Iranian scientists have registered more than 4800 inventions during the last Iranian calendar year of 1385 (April 21 2006-April 20, 2007). 4800 inventions in just one year!

Some charactristics of Iranians would be: intelligent, ambitious, a bit idealistic, well-dressed, formal, well-educated, warm and friendly, hospitable, and not so religious, (the majority of the young generation, that is, which leaves us unfortunately vulnerable to pseudoIslamic lies). We are also proud, greedy, hard-working (for ourselves), not punctual, impatient, and lazy at doing our duty well.

Some people think Iran is a desert! Well, it is, if you consider California, New Mexico, Utah, Arkansas, and Alabama a desert. We share the same latitude. Iran is a modern country with breathtakingly beautiful nature and lots of historic places to visit. Please take a look at the following links to see if Iran looks like what you think or not! This is a photo of Tehran (Awesome, Isn’t it?): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Tehran-2-1600.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran

If you like you can visit these too, hundreds of pretty photos from the cities, nature and historic places: (It’s like a free tour!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hills_south_west_of_Sanandaj_near_the_village_of_Kilaneh.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=all
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=2
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com:80/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=4
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran

Some people think music is forbidden in Iran. Did you know that Iranian music was chosen as the best pop in France in 2005? I guess not. All Iranian songs are current pop / DJ music. I send them to my American and Canadian chat friends and they all say they’re some of the best songs they’ve ever heard. What makes Iranian music killer, is a lot of Trance drums, incredible melody and lyrics!

Here’s a sample of the latest hits from two official Iranian music websites. (So catchy, Right?)You can just right click on the links below and choose “Save Target As” to download them. The translation of the songs is here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArJe6s_u1UbLFRAAiKDGBZLsy6IX?qid=20070514105433AAysEsQ

1.(You know this: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Neorin%20-%20To%20Ino%20Miduni.mp3
2.(Hold my hand: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/09_%20Dastamo%20Begir.mp3
3.(The wetness of your eyes: 2006) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Ehsan%20Gheibi%20-%20Khisie%20Cheshmat.mp3
4.(I just want you: 2003) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Mansour/Crazy/Delam%20Faghat%20Toro%20Mikhaad(www.Bia2Music.com).MP3
5.(The rain: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2005%20Baroon%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
6.(The window: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/03_%20Panjereh.mp3
7.(Keep me in your memory: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/07_%20Yaade%20Man%20Baash.mp3
8.(Farangis “A female name” 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2001%20Farangis%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
9.(The distance: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/03_%20Faseleh.mp3
10.(Sunrise: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/04_%20Tolou.mp3
11.(Stop world:2006) http://www.sarzaminmusic.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Reza%20Sadeghi%20-%20Vaysa%20Donya/01_%20Vaysa%20Donya.mp3
12.(You can’t: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/06_%20Nemitooni.mp3
13.(The wind’s kiss: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/01_%20Boosaye%20Baad.mp3
14.(Reveal your visage: 2004) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mohammad%20Esfahani/04_%20Talab.mp3
15.(What would have happened if : 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Navid%20&%20Omid%20-%20Faryad/01_%20Chi%20Mishod.mp3

And so on and on!

It’s now 2007 and most people still think we are uneducated people living in deserts, riding camels and carrying around guns! See how the media are fooling people?
Let’s clarify some political issues as well: Some of the Americans I chatted with said in the U.S it’s said that president Ahmadinejad hates the U.S and Israel and wants to nuke them!! The Media are good at putting lying comments out there. It’s easy to show a video or an image of our president or leader on the TV screen or on the internet and say he says this, he says that…..I really don’t get the point why our politicians defame themselves by talking about things that have got nothing to do with us. For example does verbal defence of Palestinians cause them to have a better life? The thing is that they occasionally make some statements that the media would misuse it against Iran. For example they pick up some specific phrases of a long speech (without refering to the main points and reasons for that speech) and put so many bad comments on that. No sane person would take such nonsense at face value.

First of all, Iranians don’t **** anyone. If our government complains about some injustice going on in the world, it’s not bad, is it? (Although what we want from them is to shut up and not get us into trouble by talking about things that are none of our concern) We **** neither Jews nor Americans. I love Americans, otherwise why would I talk to them?! How would our guys dream of America, want to be like them as much as possible, and **** them at the same time?! I’ve got to say that for Iran, Israel is not equal with Jews! Israel is a gov’t. Jews are faithful people! A few of them live here in our neighbourhood and they live just like the rest of Iranians. No difference. And two of Iran’s parliment members are Jews. Who says we want to force others to convert to Islam? Have you ever found a Muslim knocking at your door asking you to do so? It’s so funny the way you imagine things and make yourselves believe in your own immaginations!
Christians and Jews are both God-believers and respectful to us. I wonder why the media like putting words in our mouth and raising hatred. In Iran, religion is one of the least important factors. Where you come from and what your religion is are not important to us at all. On the contrary, meeting different people would be very interesting for us!

I wonder who Iran is really a threat to. Is it logical to say someone’s guilty because we THINK / PREDICT that he’s going to do something wrong? And they repeat the same “nuclear weapons” tosh over and over and brainwash people! News headlines: “We won’t allow Iran to gain nuclear weapons”!!! Correction! It’s “nuclear energy”. Besides, how many “nuclear weapons” do they have themselves? Hundreds of thousands? Has Iran ever attacked any countries? No. Has it developed any nukes? No! That’s what nuclear agency says. Only Iran’s opponents are pulling Iran’s leg and what they say is of no credit. It’s just based on political conflicts. What we’re doing is legal. What they ask us to do (ignoring our international rights) is illegal. Iran is a peaceful country. Why? It’s the regional super-power and if she wanted, she could easily invade the countries in our neibourhood just like what Saddam did to our country, but as you see Iran has peaceful relations with all of them. It can set an example to some countries that just follow their interests (oil!). Interesting! the countries accusing Iran of different things have been, and are still accused of the same things!!! How logical!

Some people say he said: Israel should be wiped off the map! But have they told you the rest of his speech and that why he’s said this at all? You know that it’s a passive sentence. He’s never said that IRAN wants to wipe Israel off the map! He wasn’t talking about destroying Israel. He was talking about relocating Israel, so that they could live seperate from Palestinians and they could both live in peace. They’ve only told you this phrase not the whole thing and it’s mistranslated intentionally. Iran has always defended itself, but it’s not an offensive country.

Some say he’s said: “The Holocaust is a myth!” Again, this is a single phrase taken from a long speech and there are totally logical reasons for saying so. If 6,000,000 Jews were killed, that’s terrible, but 300,000 Shiite Moslems killed by Saddam aren’t important at all? Over 650,000 Iraqi people are killed and that’s not important?! When Fox News simply says that America and Israel are capable of destroying and killing Iran’s population of 69,000,000 within two weeks, it’s OK and no one says they’re threatening other countries to nuke them (I saw this with my own eyes on the Fox News website) Millions of people killed in Afghanistan, Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the Vietnam war are not considered human beings at all! Now I think you’d get the point why he’s IRONICALLY said it’s a myth. Moreover, don’t you believe in freedom of speech/mind? I’d judge people by their ACTIONS rather than by what they say / their religion / race / culture and the colour of their skin!

Obviously, some countries are using Iran as a scapegoat to put the blame (for their own faults) on. And what country is better than Iran to be a scapegoat? The whole world believes that Iran isn’t a peaceful country. I know Americans don’t like this either, but what can they do? They’re not responsible for controlling what the Media says. This part is just for Americans who would still argue over unimportant things: Those of you who say why Iran says “Death to America”:
1. ‘America’ to us means the U.S govt, not the people. How do you expect Iranians to mean “American people” when our media admires Americans for marching and holding up “no war” placards?!
2. The new generation don’t say such things and if some of them occasionally march in the streets that’s because some of the stupid guys enjoy making noise and they mainly go out there to meet their girlfriends/boyfriends! Strange. Isn’t it?
3. Such mottos are not just said in Iran and as you know whatever you hear is a response to the U.S govt’s terrible actions which has made life for many people hell (You wouldn’t deny that attacking countries is a mistake. right?)
5. The U.S gov’t helped Saddam attack Iran and I hope you know which country gave Iraq biological weapons which killed lots of Iranians.
6. America hit an Iranian airplane over the Persian Gulf and killed 200 passengers for no reason.
7. America places sanctions on Iran, promotes a false image of Iran and Iranians, scares tourists away, and harms our economy, development and credit. To what purpose?

When you call Ahmadinejad a nutcase for what he’s said, what do you call Bush for his actions? I mean it’s a good idea to consider what Bush is doing to the world with his wrong decisoins and lies. Bush is powerful and influencial, but Ahmadinejad is nothing.
To those who are upset with American hostages taken for 444 days:
1. Firstly, It’s related to so many years ago and it’s almost a part of history, and don’t forget that when there’s a revolution, there’d be chaos and people may do things that they should not, moreover they’re all alive and healthy. Aren’t they?
2.The U.S has arrested Iranian diplomats in Iraq and had tortured the one who was freed. Poor British sailors were detained by the English gov’t just for saying that they were treated well in Iran and that Iranians were logical people (They said these when they were on England’s soil!) They were PREVENTED from releasing their memoirs by England! Now you decide who has the right to be upset with whom. How do you believe in their lies about politics when they hide both the most and the least important things from you considering the fact that politics is the world of lies in its nature?!!! Considering all this, you’d probably be able to GUESS what percentage of what they tell you about the Mid-East, Islam, Moslems and other things is true!!! lol

Isn’t it better for both countries to forget past conflicts and to have peaceful relations? Our two gov’ts are like 10 year old children playing a stupid, harsh, rhetorical game. They don’t care about hurting people’s feelings. They just try to make our two peoples enemies to achieve their own goals. We, as the people of these countries, MUST NOT allow these conflics into our hearts. You know something? All govt’s are hateful. I just said the above things because it sounds unfair when some Americans talk about the taking of the 444 hostages while I keep silence. I hope you agree on this one! Now, what do you think? I can’t wait to see both nations in peace. It’d be marvelous! They’ve started to have diplomatic talks! (Naughty children!) That’s great!
Thanks for your time
wow! Henry! what do you mean by I’m not in Iran?! I’m sorry I’m not telling jokes!
Oh I’ve misunderstood you! But we choose our president.Don’t we?Isn’t that democrocy?Although I belive that there should be laws that enables people to put a prez aside whenever they want if he’s incapable.Can you do so? If so, why is that Bush has been in office for 7-8 years? I don’t think of it as real democrocy.It’s more like a lable.

Joan

Nov 20
R.I.P.James Brown?
icon1 pcgumban | icon2 Celebrities | icon4 11 20th, 2009| icon38 Comments »
â?¥Mz. Flyeâ?¥ asked:


ATLANTA -
James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured “Godfather of Soul,” whose revolutionary rhythms, rough voice and flashing footwork influenced generations of musicians from rock to rap, died early Christmas morning. He was 73.
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Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died of conjunctive heart failure around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music.

He initially seemed fine at the hospital and even told people that he planned to be on stage in New York on New Year’s Eve, Copsidas said.

Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. From
Mick Jagger to
Michael Jackson,
David Bowie to Public Enemy, Brown’s rapid-footed dancing, hard-charging beats and heartfelt yet often unintelligible vocals changed the musical landscape. He was to rhythm and dance music what
Bob Dylan was to lyrics.

“He was an innovator, he was an emancipator, he was an originator. Rap music, all that stuff came from James Brown,” entertainer Little Richard, a longtime friend of Brown’s, told MSNBC.

“James Brown changed music,” said Rev.
Al Sharpton, who toured with him in the 1970s and imitates his hairstyle to this day.

“He made soul music a world music,” Sharpton said. “What James Brown was to music in terms of soul and hip-hop, rap, all of that, is what Bach was to classical music. This is a guy who literally changed the music industry. He put everybody on a different beat, a different style of music. He pioneered it.”

Brown’s classic singles include “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag,” “(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) *** Machine,” “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud,” a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

“I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black,” Brown told The Associated Press in 2003. “The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society.”

He won a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as
Grammys in 1965 for “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (best R&B recording) and for “Living In America” in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with
Elvis Presley,
Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

Brown, who lived in Beech Island, S.C., near the Georgia line, triumphed despite a turbulent personal life and charges of abusing drugs and alcohol. After a widely publicized, drug-fueled confrontation with police in 1988 that ended in an interstate car chase, Brown spent more than two years in prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, “Please, Please, Please” in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” and often tried to prove it to his fans, said Jay Ross, his lawyer of 15 years.

Brown’s stage act was as memorable, and as imitated, as his records, with his twirls and spins and flowing cape, his repeated faints to the floor at the end as band members tried in vain to get him to leave the stage.

His “Live at The Apollo” in 1962 is widely considered one of the greatest concert records ever. And he often talked of the 1964 concert in which organizers made the mistake of having the Rolling Stones, not him, close the bill. He would remember a terrified Mick Jagger waiting offstage, chain smoking, as Brown pulled off his matchless show.

“To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one’s coming even close,” rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told the AP.

Brown routinely lost two or three pounds each time he performed and kept his furious concert schedule in his later years even as he fought prostate cancer, Ross said.

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince. And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture.

“Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I’m saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me,” Brown told The AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, S.C., in 1933, Brown was abandoned as a 4 year old to the care of relatives and friends. He grew up on the streets of Augusta, Ga., in an “ill-repute area,” as he once called it, where he learned how to hustle to survive.

“I wanted to be somebody,” Brown said.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 3 1/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars. While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later “Please, Please, Please” was in the R&B Top Ten.

Pete Allman, a radio personality in Las Vegas who had been friends with Brown for 15 years, credited Brown with jump-starting his career and motivating him personally and professionally.

“He was a very positive person. There was no question he was the hardest working man in show business,” Allman said. “I remember Mr. Brown as someone who always motivated me, got me reading the Bible.”

While most of Brown’s life was glitz and glitter — he was the manic preacher in 1980’s “The Blues Brothers” — he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.

In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom. Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.

Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991. In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.

Soon after his release, Brown was on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable television viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said.

More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr.

Two years later, Brown spent a week in a private Columbia hospital, recovering from what his agent said was dependency on painkillers. Brown’s attorney, Albert “Buddy” Dallas, said the singer was exhausted from six years of road shows.

Brown was performing to the end, and giving back to his community.

Three days before his death, he joined volunteers at his annual toy giveaway in Augusta, and he planned to perform on New Year’s Eve at B.B. King Blues Club in New York.

“He was dramatic to the end — dying on Christmas Day,” said the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, a friend of Brown’s since 1955. “Almost a dramatic, poetic moment. He’ll be all over the news all over the world today. He would have it no other way.”

Odessa

Nov 19
Los Cardones asked:


TRavelling from central america to South africa..via madrid as layover

Craig
Nov 18
Avocet asked:


I am from Chile, south america and I have heard that Emirates recruit people from overseas, and I am thinking in appy to Emirates, anyway the more choices, the better.
Please, serious answers.

Mathew
Nov 14
lockstocklondon asked:


Hi

Im planning to travel to South America in Jan for 3 months but would appreciate some guidance. I’m pretty sure I want to do either Argentina, Brazil and Peru or just Argentina and Brazil. Is 3 months enough to do all 3? or should I stick to just two. Also I want to be in Brazil for carnival. My budget is around £3000 for the 3 months (not including outgoing flight).

Any advice is gratefully received

Adam

Eusebio

Nov 5
sky_ange1 asked:


Recently i applied for a visa extension which didnt follow through because it was returned to me twice due to application errors.Right now its too late to reapply all over againf or the 3rd time and i have to leave for my following journey to south america.my question is,am i allowed to re-enter US with an expired J-1 visa to catch an onward flight to following destination(not my home country).will i have problems in the airport?

Sol

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