BBC & LeMonde Documentary Fiction on last days of Shah of Iran

http://www.lemonde.fr/kiosque/support_bbc.htm

A relatively interesting documentary co-produced by the BBC and French Le Monde newspapers depicting the last year of the Shah of Iran in power mixes actors and real life characters through documentary archives. The acting is horrible and the actors do not at all look like the Shah, Farah or Khomeiny and looks many times very fakely reconstructed. But that is often the case with documentaries that are not intended to a wide audience. It nevertheless has some interesting and very private insights of the Royal couple in its last year probably based on testimonies of the close entourage of the Royal Couple. Some of the actors are Iranian. Ironically le Monde and the BBC were at the time of the Revolution considered as being quite anti-Shah and pro-Khomeiny where as this documentary seems to on the contrary underline some political mis conceptions of the West on the Shah's reign even if it does not necessarily defend his regime.

Other than that the documentary is poorly directed and the actors portraying Khomeiny, The Shah or Farah seem to be extremly amateurish.

Minoo Javan Musician and Film Production Veteran of Caravans

Minoo Javan’s voice has found a special place in the hearts of Persians from the far corners of her native land to the great concert halls of Europe and America because of her rare ability to portray her love for Persian culture and her devotion to its people, poets and artists. Her voice and recordings are heard regularly on the BBC and other broadcasters around the globe.

Her early musical career began when she rose to prominence by appearing as the featured performer in more than 300 concerts and becoming a regular feature on radio, where she performed Persian Folk songs, among other repertoire. After coming to America, she studied Music at the University Of Southern California’s School of Music, where she was awarded one of its prestigious opera scholarships. Her most recent release is Timeless Persian Treasure. Other recent releases of her recordings include Les McCann Presents The Vocal Stylings Of Minoo Javan All That Jazz but . . . in Persian (YARE DIRIN), Echoes Of Love and Persian Folk Songs.

She was also part of the film Crew on the Famous 1978 film Caravans Starring

Anthony Quinn, Michael Sarazzin, Behrouz Vossoughi and Jenifer ONEILL

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077296/

136-Year-Old Iranian Woman in Hospital

Boroujerd, Lorestan prov, June 2, IRNA-A 136-year-old woman from Boroujerd is now in hospital after a brain stroke.

Kafieh Torkashvand
Kafieh Torkashvand, who was born on June 9, 1870, is residing in Jafarabad Village, near Boroujerd. She has two children, including a son named Abbas and a daughter named Monireh, 11 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and one great great grandchildren.

Iran's Girl of the Year will be elected, vows official

Payvand.com

TEHRAN, June 18 (Mehr News Agency) – Iran's Girl of the Year will be elected this year with the cooperation of executive officials and experts, the Fars News Agency quoted Monireh Nobakht, head of Women's Social-Cultural Council, as saying here on Saturday.

Iranian girls at school (file photo by ISNA, 2005)

Moral purity, piety, and hijab (Islamic dress code) are given the first priorities, said the official adding dutifulness and devotion to family are the second-rate criteria.

Education and perseverance are also put into consideration, she added.

To this end, questionnaires are randomly distributed among people

Seven Iranian-Americans Receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor

Seven Iranian-Americans have received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor including Mr. Ali Ebrahimi, Mr. Morteza Hosseini, Mr. Jamie Masada, Dr. Fariborz Maseeh, Mr. Hamid Moghadam, Mr. Farhad Pezeshkan, and Dr. Hosein Shokouh-Amiri in a ceremony in the Great Hall on Ellis Island on Saturday, May 13, 2006. This year's other honorees include Secretary Thomas Ridge, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Deepak Chopra, Governor Tim Pawlenty and Rita Cosby of MSNBC.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are awarded annually by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) in recognition of distinguished Americans of various ethnic backgrounds for their extraordinary contributions to American society. Prior Iranian American recipients include Mr. Michael S. Ansari, Mr. Hushang Ansary, Dr. Homayoun Firouztash, Mr. Nasser J. Kazeminy and Mr. Akbar Lari.

Established in 1986 by NECO, the Ellis Island Medals of Honor pay tribute to the heritage of those groups that compromise America's unique cultural mosaic and extraordinary individual achievement. With over 5 million members, NECO serves as an umbrella group for over 250 organizations that celebrate, educate and nurture ethnic pride, heritage, culture, tradition and commerce. Four Presidents, several members of the U.S. Congress and Nobel Prize winners as well as Dr. Henry Kissinger and Muhammad Ali are among the remarkable group of individuals to have previously received the award. The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are sanctioned by the U.S. Congress and recipients' names are listed in the Congressional Record.

Mr. Mori Hosseini is the Chairman of ICI Homes, amongst the top 100 home builders in the country. Over the years, he has been passionately giving back to many organizations in his community including the ICI Sports Complex at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the hospitality center at Daytona Beach Community College among other activities.

Mr. Hamid Moghadam is Chairman and CEO of AMB Property Corporation, amongst the top Real Estate Investment Trusts in the country. Among numerous other community-related activities, he has established the Moghadam Family Endowment for Iranian Studies at Stanford University as well as the International Relief Micro-Lending Program in Bam, Iran.

Mr. Farhad Pezeshkan is the Chairman and CEO of Kraft Construction ranked by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in 2003. Among many other activities, he currently serves as the Chairman of the Collier County Economic Development Council and sits on the board of Naples Community Hospital Foundation. He is also Co-Chair for the Naples Community Hospital Capitol Campaign raising over $35million.

Dr. Fariborz Maseeh is a worldwide recognized expert in the field of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). He is the founder and managing principal of Picoco LLC, an investment management firm and the Founder and the President of the Massiah Foundation for venture philanthropy. Massiah Foundation makes investments for public benefit where there are unmet needs and has made numerous investments in education, health care, spirituality, arts and culture including the Iranian Studies program at University of California Irvine and the Fariborz Maseeh Engineering School at Portland State University in Oregon.

Mr. Ali Ebrahimi is the Chairman and CEO of Ersa Grae one of the largest real estate development companies in Southern Florida. Mr. Ebrahimi has been a major contributor to the renovation and revitalization of downtown Sarasota.

Mr. Jamie Masada is one of America's top comedy impresarios and a founder of the Laugh Factory. According to Business Week "entertainment producers and managers routinely prowl his club to find the next Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock all of whom got their start on Masada's stage."

Dr. Hosein Shokouh-Amiri is a transplant surgeon with the Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute and professor of surgery and medical director of pediatric liver transplantation at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Shokouh-Amiri has has made great advances in the practice of kidney, kidney-pancreas, and liver transplantation.