Free Republic

A Monument to an American's Selflessness in Iran by Davar Iran Ardalan Weekend Edition Saturday, June 7, 2008 · Imagine finding out that a nomadic tribe has named a mountain after your grandmother. My mother and I learned just that when a relative phoned to say the storied Bakhtiari tribe had so honored my grandmother, Helen Jeffreys Bakhtiar, to commemorate her public health work there in the 1950s. It's quite a legacy for a woman born in Weiser, Idaho, at the beginning of the 20th century. Located in the central Zagros Mountains of Iran, near the ancient city of Isfahan,...

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey and Iran have been carrying out coordinated strikes on Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, a top Turkish general said Thursday in the first military confirmation of Iranian-Turkish cooperation in the fight against separatists there. Gen. Ilker Basbug, Turkey's land forces commander, said the two countries have been sharing intelligence and planned more coordinated attacks in the future against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and PEJAK, the group's Iranian wing.

Zoroastrian texts such as the Avesta clearly define the status of Persian women and reveal that at a time when many women in the world were deprived of their basic rights, Persian women enjoyed social and legal freedom and were treated with great respect. Avestan texts mention both genders asking them to share responsibility and make decisions together. They are equally praised for their good deeds rather than their gender, wealth or power. “Whoever, man or woman, does what Thou, O Ahura Mazda, knowest to be the best in Life. Whoever does right for the sake of Right; Whoever in...

Your change in approach is now stunning for many Iranians. It is not that we want our country to be bombed, but the point is, why did you so suddenly and without explanation go from that extreme to the extreme of “unconditional dialogue”? Senator, since 1979 the Mullahs of Iran have killed upwards of one million Iranians, not to mention the nearly one million sacrificed to the 8-year-long Iran/Iraq war. And what the Iranian people have withstood in terms of outrageous human rights violations is shocking; public hangings, stoning, flogging, cutting off limbs, tongues and plucking out eyeballs are an...

Zoroastrian texts such as the Avesta clearly define the status of Persian women and reveal that at a time when many women in the world were deprived of their basic rights, Persian women enjoyed social and legal freedom and were treated with great respect. Avestan texts mention both genders asking them to share responsibility and make decisions together. They are equally praised for their good deeds rather than their gender, wealth or power. “Whoever, man or woman, does what Thou, O Ahura Mazda, knowest to be the best in Life. Whoever does right for the sake of Right; Whoever in...

Exhibit Shows Ancient Links Between Persia and Korea Cultural exchange between Korea and Persia goes back more than a thousand years. Some historians say through the Silk Road, Muslim traders put the name, Shilla, Korea's ancient dynasty, on the world map. To open a window into this intriguing past, the National Museum of Korea is hosting an exhibit of Persian artifacts. "Glory of Persia" showcases the history of Persia over a span of twelve centuries when it was one of the world's biggest empires. Shilla-period artifacts such as pottery and daggers show Persian influences in the form of artistic techniques...

Achaemenid inscription names uncle of Darius in Old Persian for first time Tehran Times Culture Desk TEHRAN -- The name of Farnaka, who was the uncle of Darius I, has been identified in a newly discovered Old Persian Achaemenid inscription for the first time. Written in cuneiform, the stone inscription bears the names of Darius the Great and his uncle, Farnaka, the Persian service of CHN reported on Friday. His name had previously only been found in historical texts written in other languages. Greek texts refer to him as Pharnaces and Elamite texts call him Parnaka. “Sometime ago, I discovered...

Ten more "official" executions last week bring the number to 50 or the same pace of one a day since January 1st, 2008. Perma Link http://terrornewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2008/02/iran-executions-continue-at-one-day.html Also look at the video article asking to compare 30-yeafrs of the Mullahs with about that of the Monarchy and deciding which you rather have now in Iran.

Jewelry and makeup in ancient Persia Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:12:00 By Hedieh Ghavidel, Press TV, Tehran Archaeological finds in Iran show that women and men applied makeup and arrayed themselves with ornaments approximately 10,000 years ago, a trend which began from religious convictions rather than mere beautification motivations. Archaeologists have discovered various instruments of make-up and ornamental items in the Burnt City, which date back to the third millennium BCE. The caves of the Bakhtiari region, where the first hunter-gatherers settled at the end of the ice age, have yielded not only stone tools, daggers and grindstones but also...

Iran's salt men hazardously exposed Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:38:28 The company owning the right to the salt mines in which Iran's invaluable salt men lie wishes to renew its permit to continue operations. A renewed permit issued by the mining industry will allow operations to continue for another ten years, beginning this week. The industry is obliged to give authorization, as all conditions stipulated in the previous contracts have been met by the company. If archaeological groups lose the fight to block this renewal, mining in even the most archaeologically sensitive areas will begin. It is very likely these...

 In Remembrance of Cyrus the Great by Amil Imani The Islamic Republic of Iran seems to be fearful.   It happened on January 26, 2008, at the UCLA Freud PlayHouse in Los Angeles, California. It brought the world's most renowned scholars and top performing artists together to remember the life of Cyrus the Great, the founding father of Persia and the mighty Persian Empire - perhaps the most exemplary, magnificent and just king the worldPerhaps the most exemplary, magnificent and just king the world has ever known.has ever known.   The event put together visual arts, the ambiance of...

The History of medicine in ancient Persia Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:18:00 By Hedieh Ghavidel, Press TV, Tehran The history of medicine in Iran is as old and as rich as its civilization. In the Avesta, science and medicine rise above class, ethnicity, nationality, race, gender and religion. Some of the earliest practices of ancient Iranian medicine have been documented in the Avesta and other Zoroastrian religious texts. During the Achaemenid era (559-330 BCE), the 21 books of Avesta encompassing 815 chapters were an encyclopedia of science consisting of medicine, astronomy, law, social science, philosophy, general knowledge, logic and biology....

They come so frequently, it's hard to get worked up, but there's a dead giveaway this time. The teaser for the piece reads, "At the risk of sounding like an apologist for the Islamic Republic..." The author is Hooman Majd, who accuses the Pentagon of manufacturing the incident with Iran in the Gulf this week. The Pentagon's version of the encounter in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning, involving U.S. Navy warships and Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats is, at the very least highly suspicious. On Tuesday, the Navy released video footage and an audiotape to back its claims...

40 Iranian Jews Make Exodus from Iran, Arrive in Israel to Escape Dangers December 25, 2007 TEL AVIV, Israel — Greeted by joyous relatives and a crowd of Israeli TV reporters, about 40 Iranian Jews landed in Israel Tuesday, leaving behind their lives in an increasingly bellicose Islamic regime for new homes in the Jewish state. The new immigrants took a covert route, facilitated by the Israeli government and backed with funding from American evangelical Christians who see their efforts as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Relatives screamed in delight and threw candy at the newcomers as they emerged into...

Overnight Islamic Republic have Wiped out 3000-Years of Iranian History 30 October 2007 Pol-Borideh after its destruction by the Islamic Republic Ministry of Road & Transportation" LONDON, (CAIS) -- The destruction of one of the biggest historical sites in the Chahar-Mahal Bakhtiari province by the Islamic Republic Ministry of Road and Transportation was reported by the Persian service of ISNA on Monday, October 22. "Overnight %60 of the architectural and archeological remains of Pol-Borideh in Chahar-Mahal Bakhtiari province is being destroyed to construct a road. The ancient site was registered on the National Heritage List", said Aliasghar Noruzi, an archeologist...

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHRESG) entered the 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) Oct. 7, after nearly four months of operations in the Persian Gulf. The strike group proved their capability and versatility by completing multiple operations and participating in training with Coalition forces during their time in the Gulf. “Throughout our deployment, the Sailors and Marines of the BHRESG have shown great flexibility and distinguished themselves with great tactical sense and unwavering focus to the task at hand,” said Capt. Bradley D. Martin, BHRESG and Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 7 commander. “The crews of...

God Bless the Shah of Iran and the 2,500 years of Persian Monarchy. I hope my friends find peace in this video of our historical friendship. The Shah was always supported: he fought the true war on 'terror' against fundamentalists, communists, radicals, but the US turned it's back. Shah with kennedyBUCK Carter!

TEHRAN (Reuters) - For the men who practice it, it's about not just fitness but a connection with God. Zurkhaneh, an ancient Persian sporting ritual whose name means "House of Strength," is a historic breeding ground for wrestlers in Iran, and now enjoying something of a comeback. It looks to a Western eye like an exotic mixture of body-building and aerobics. But for the men whirling like dervishes to frenetic drumbeats, juggling heavy wooden clubs and doing push-ups in the pit of a "House of Strength" in northern Tehran, the ritual is about much more. "It is a holy thing,"...

Last month in explaining the cataleptic state of mainstream Islam over the past three centuries, I wrote on the internecine conflicts that bloodied the Muslim world in the 1500s. I have discovered since that many readers were unfamiliar with the subject, and because the forces loosed then are still forging the destiny of the Middle East — far more than the current U.S. intervention in Iraq — I'll do the subject in greater depth. For starters, a quote from William H. McNeill's "The Rise of the West," which won a National Book Award in 1961: "The two and seventy sects...

Hinduism pertains to Hindus but the word Hindu itself is actually a Persian word coined by Cyrus the great in the 6th century B.C. to describe people who lived beyond the river Indus which was the eastern boundary of the ancient Persian empire. The Persians had a phonetic problem with the letter ‘S’ hence, Sindhu became Hindu just as Rigveda’s Soma came from Zend Avesta’s Hoama. Such fascinating phonetic affinities! Even the word Shudra in Hinduism’s caste-system came from the Persian word Hatoksha. Originally, there were only three castes but the camp followers collected by Persians on their travels were...