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Fury erupts in Iran over vast salaries paid to government officials

Public employees’ payslips surface online, sparking widespread anger as country’s economy continues to stagnate.
Revelations that senior Iranian government employees were being paid astronomical salaries have rocked the country and threatened popular support for the president, Hassan Rouhani, amid Iran’s continued economic stagnation, little improved by the lifting of international sanctions in January.

The revelations, which have sparked widespread anger, have continued to dominate front pages across the country, and even led to the resignation of the head of the state insurance regulator, Mohammad Ebrahim Amin.

The scandal first erupted two months ago when a series of payslips surfaced online, which showed a number of top executives at the state insurance company were being paid monthly wages roughly 50 times higher than the lowest government salary.

By: Zuma On 2:10 AM

Women Of The Year Awards

Farah Diba Pahlavi - Look Women Of The Year Awards 2015

The grand gala on November 17 in Vienna Event of the Year. On November 17, 2015 the inaugural LOOK! WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS will be presented for the second time in Vienna, Austria to unique women who have had a positive impact on our society. Around 700 guests are expected to attend the event at the impressive venue, Vienna City Hall. At the awards ceremony extraordinary women will be honored in different categories for their achievements as well as for their humanitarian,
charitable and social commitment: strong women who are ambassadors of inspiration and hope. The grand Gala on November 17 in Vienna’s City Hall The LOOK! WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS are more than just another honor. The awards put the spotlight on women who through their unique accomplishments in their specific field have had a positive influence on our society and thereby have become role models for others. They are true ambassadors of inspiration and hope.

By: Zuma On 12:49 PM

Last Photo

During his second exile, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi traveled from country to country seeking what he hoped would be temporary residence. First he flew to Assuan, Egypt, where he received a warm and gracious welcome from President Anwar El-Sadat. He later lived in Morocco as a guest of King Hassan II, as well as in the Bahamas, and in Cuernavaca, Mexico, near Mexico City, as a guest of José López Portillo. Richard Nixon, the former president, visited the Shah in summer 1979 in Mexico. The Shah suffered from gallstones that would require prompt surgery. He was offered treatment in Switzerland, but insisted on treatment in the United States.
On 22 October 1979, President Jimmy Carter reluctantly allowed the Shah into the United States to undergo surgical treatment at the New York–Weill Cornell Medical Hospital. While in Cornell Medical Center, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi used the name "David D. Newsom", Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs that time, as his temporary code name, without Newsom's knowledge.
The Shah was taken later by U.S. Air Force jet to Kelly Air Force Base in Texas and from there to Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base.[87] It was anticipated that his stay in the United States would be short; however, surgical complications ensued, which required six weeks of confinement in the hospital before he recovered. His prolonged stay in the United States was extremely unpopular with the revolutionary movement in Iran, which still resented the United States' overthrow of Prime Minister Mosaddegh and the years of support for the Shah's rule. The Iranian government demanded his return to Iran, but he stayed in the hospital.

By: Zuma On 2:20 PM

Sadaf Taherian

Iranian actress is branded ‘immoral’ by state media and sparks public outcry after she posts photographs of herself without a hijab on Facebook

An Iranian actress has sparked outrage in her home country after publishing pictures of herself not wearing the compulsory Islamic headdress.
Sadaf Taherian posted images on her Facebook and Instagram accounts showing her without a hijab in protest at strict Iranian laws requiring women to wear them in public.
The move has provoked a furious reaction from Iran’s ministry of culture which branded her ‘immoral’ in state media and banned her from acting.
Iranian officials have even Photoshopped the hijab back onto her pictures, according to reports.

Taherian says she has also faced abuse from the public and been forced into exile in Dubai, but insists she does not regret her decision.
Speaking to Masih Alinejad on Tablet, a television show on the Voice of America Persian language channel, she said: ‘I was nervous and worried about how people would react to my photos.
‘I did not expect this from the people of Iran, from my own culture – to hear so many insults.
‘I can only feel sorry for their reaction and I have nothing else to say. I want to live in a place and live the way that makes me happy.’
Teharian also lifted the lid on the sexual harassment she faced while working as an actress.
She said: ‘It bothered me when I was acting and the director was thinking about me in any way except acting.

‘He was only waiting for the scene to finish so he could whisper in my ear again.
‘They would put five or six contracts in front of me with only one condition: One month – to be with them.’
She now hopes to rebuild her career in Dubai.
Iranian women have been legally required to cover their hair in public since 1979.
Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has spoken in the past about the strict Islamic dress code, saying that he was against a clampdown on women wearing looser clothing in the hot summer months.

He said the ‘virtue’ of a woman who does not comply with clothing laws should not be questioned, adding that ‘many women in our society who do not respect our hijab laws are virtuous’.
But conservatives have previously held demonstrations in Tehran demanding a tightening of Islamic rules on the hijab, urging the authorities to act on those not adhering to the dress code.

By: Zuma On 12:23 PM

Persian Gulf

As the astronauts on the International Space Station passed over the deserts of central Iran recently, they were greeted by this striking pattern of parallel lines and sweeping curves. The lack of soil and vegetation in the Kavir desert (Dasht-e Kavir) allows the geological structure of the rocks to appear quite clearly. The patterns result from the gentle folding of numerous, thin layers of rock. Later erosion by wind and water cut a flat surface across the dark- and light-colored folds, not only exposing hundreds of layers but also showing the shapes of the folds. The pattern has been likened to the layers of a sliced onion.
The dark water of a lake (image center) fills a depression in a more easily eroded, S-shaped layer of rock. The irregular, light-toned patch just left of the lake is a sand sheet thin enough to allow the underlying rock layers to be detected. A small river snakes across the bottom of the image. In this desert landscape, there are no fields or roads to give a sense of scale. In fact, the width of the image is about 105 kilometers (65 miles). Astronaut photograph ISS038-E-47388 was acquired on February 14, 2014, with a Nikon D3 digital camera using a 200 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 38 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by M. Justin Wilkinson, Jacobs at NASA-JSC.

By: Zuma On 3:01 AM

Farah Pahlavi and Grandchildren

Your four children, your daughter-in-law and two grandchildren live in the United States but you prefer to live in Europe, especially France.
Shahbanou Farah: I don't like the term "wandering spirit." Yes, in the past when my husband was alive, for a time we did [go through a difficult time]. At the beginning of our life in exile, we went from one country to the other against our will. Some accepted us and some turned us away for political or economic reasons.
As an exile, I prefer to travel. Being an exile and living in one country would be more difficult to tolerate. The only place I would want to live permanently is Iran.

Nevertheless I must say that I like Europe, especially France because I feel that I have closer cultural ties to her. Also, the love extended to me here brings me joy. In Paris I feel the love and compassion of passersby in the streets and alleys. There is a certain kindness and friendliness in their smiles, as well as sympathy and encouragement.
Reporter: Let's assume that your return to Iran is only a fantasy. Tell me, Madame, what is your greatest wish?
Shahbanou Farah: Returning to Iran is not a fantasy. I am certain that the day will come. But my greatest wish is for Iran to become a free, liberal and progressive country. Iran deserves to regain its place among the free nations of the world.

Reporter: It seems you are taking part in cultural and international affairs more frequently. Does this mean you want to put aside conservatism to some degree?
Shahbanou Farah: The ceremonial aspects of these events do not interest me much. I have always shown interest in art. I love music, ballet, the theater and painting. My soul needs the artistic aspects of life. These things allow me to overlook daily problems, insults, quibbles and closed-minded attitudes.

Artistic events allow me to get closer to the artists whom I have always praised. They are very kind to me and I have a lot of respect for them.

Reporter: When you take part in these cultural events do you feel you are representing your people?
Shahbanou Farah: With my presence, in fact, I wish to remind others of the true Iran. I want to be a symbol of our proud history, traditions, culture and artistic values -- things which have been destroyed by the current ruling regime.

Reporter: Every once in a while there are rumors about the royal family's wealth. Some estimate it at 80 billion francs ($16 billion), a part of which was lost in an imprudent investment. What is your response to these rumors?
Shahbanou Farah: Unfortunately, no matter what I say, these rumors will continue. Nevertheless, I must deny all these rumors about our wealth as well as what you said about losing some of it [in a failed investment].

These rumors are political propaganda spread by the current Iranian regime. I am very disappointed that some become mouthpieces for such rumors.

By: Zuma On 2:16 PM

IQ test Persian Way

This free IQ test contains 20 questions of multiple choices, it shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to finish, make sure you’re relaxed before starting. You will be see your score after clicking on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page, however, it’s important to remember that this IQ test or any other similar tests cannot test your real intelligence, so if you get a very low score don’t panic, it might be that you’re just not familiar with these types of questions, also before clicking “submit” make sure all the answers are check. Now we will start will an example and provide its answer.
Early on a drab afternoon in January, a dozen third graders from the working-class suburb of Chicago Heights, Ill., burst into the Mac Lab on the ground floor of Washington-McKinley School in a blur of blue pants, blue vests and white shirts. Minutes later, they were hunkered down in front of the Apple computers lining the room’s perimeter, hoping to do what was, until recently, considered impossible: increase their intelligence through training.

“Can somebody raise their hand,” asked Kate Wulfson, the instructor, “and explain to me how you get points?”
On each of the children’s monitors, there was a cartoon image of a haunted house, with bats and a crescent moon in a midnight blue sky. Every few seconds, a black cat appeared in one of the house’s five windows, then vanished. The exercise was divided into levels. On Level 1, the children earned a point by remembering which window the cat was just in. Easy. But the game is progressive: the cats keep coming, and the kids have to keep watching and remembering.
And here’s where it gets confusing,” Wulfson continued. “If you get to Level 2, you have to remember where the cat was two windows ago. The time before last. For Level 3, you have to remember where it was three times ago. Level 4 is four times ago. That’s hard. You have to keep track. O.K., ready? Once we start, anyone who talks loses a star.”

So began 10 minutes of a remarkably demanding concentration game. At Level 2, even adults find the task somewhat taxing. Almost no one gets past Level 3 without training. But most people who stick with the game do get better with practice. This isn’t surprising: practice improves performance on almost every task humans engage in, whether it’s learning to read or playing horseshoes.
What is surprising is what else it improved. In a 2008 study, Susanne Jaeggi and Martin Buschkuehl, now of the University of Maryland, found that young adults who practiced a stripped-down, less cartoonish version of the game also showed improvement in a fundamental cognitive ability known as “fluid” intelligence: the capacity to solve novel problems, to learn, to reason, to see connections and to get to the bottom of things. The implication was that playing the game literally makes people smarter.
Psychologists have long regarded intelligence as coming in two flavors: crystallized intelligence, the treasure trove of stored-up information and how-to knowledge (the sort of thing tested on “Jeopardy!” or put to use when you ride a bicycle); and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence grows as you age; fluid intelligence has long been known to peak in early adulthood, around college age, and then to decline gradually. And unlike physical conditioning, which can transform 98-pound weaklings into hunks, fluid intelligence has always been considered impervious to training.

By: Zuma On 9:07 AM

Fury erupts in Iran over vast salaries paid to government officials

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