The bureau of Culture and Islamic Guidance in the southern city of Kerman has banned its female staff from dressing in sharp colors such as white, yellow and red.

The disciplinary bureau has announced a series of new restrictions for women.

ISTANBUL, August 6 (Compass Direct News) – An Iranian Christian couple in their 60s died last week from injuries sustained when secret police raided a house church service hosted at their house and severely beat them, a source told Compass.

Less than a week after Abbas Amiri’s funeral, his wife died from similar injuries and stress from her husband’s death, according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN).

Police beat and arrested Amiri on July 17, along with seven other men, six women and two minors who were attending the service, the source said. Amiri died in a hospital on July 30 from injuries sustained from the beating.

Amiri’s wife, Sakineh Rahnama, died on Sunday (Aug. 3) from stress-related causes, according to FCNN.

Secret police raided the house church meeting hosted by Amiri and his wife in Malek Shahr, just outside the central Iranian city of Isfahan. They beat and arrested all those in attendance, including the two minors and the hosting couple.

Violence against Amiri reportedly intensified when the policemen discovered that he had taken a pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam required of all devout Muslims, before he had become a Christian. He was also a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, a strong source of Iranian national pride, so his conversion further infuriated police, according to FCNN.

All those arrested at the house meeting are reportedly still in custody, including Amiri’s daughter and the two minors.

Three days before his death, Amiri was moved to the Sharieti Hospital of Isfahan. Family members who saw him said his chest was severely bruised and believe that was the cause of his death, a source told Compass.

Amiri was buried the day after his death in a cemetery in his birthplace of Masjid-Soleiman, located near the Iran-Iraq border, on Thursday (July 31). Many friends and supporters attended the funeral, though security officials reportedly attempted to prevent their attendance.

Following Rahnama’s death on Sunday, secret police in Masjid-Soleiman put the Amiri family’s house under surveillance. They ordered the family not to have a memorial or funeral service for Rahnama and said they had to leave the city immediately.

Amiri’s son then yelled at the security officers, who proceeded to beat him, according to FCNN. Rahnama was buried on Monday (Aug 4).

Arrests and violence against Iranian Christians have intensified in recent weeks. Twelve Christians traveling to Armenia via Tehran were arrested on July 12 at the Kerman airport in south-central Iran. Two Christian converts have been jailed for two months in Shiraz, one of whom is diabetic and in critical condition.

In February the Iranian parliament proposed a draft penal code that demands the death penalty for leaving Islam. Under current Iranian law, “apostasy” is considered a capital offense, but punishment is left to the discretion of the judge.

The draft penal code is scheduled to be reviewed in the next parliamentary session.

Report from Compass Direct News

ISTANBUL, July 30 (Compass Direct News) – A diabetic Iranian Christian jailed for two months is in critical condition due to lack of medical treatment, even as new reports of arrests against Christians surfaced this week.

The Iranian government has ratcheted up pressure in the last two weeks on underground churches in what seems to be a concerted effort to hound Christians and discourage their meetings throughout the country, sources told Compass.

At the same time, friends of imprisoned Christians Mahmood Matin, 52, and Arash Bandari, 44, a diabetic, are eagerly waiting for a phone call from authorities this week that would secure their release even if it means paying bail. Both prisoners have become frail from more than two months in prison, but the condition of Bandari is critical.

Converts to Christianity, Matin and Bandari were arrested on May 15 on suspicion of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam.

To complicate matters, a draft bill of an “apostasy law,” which would bind judges to sentence to death Muslim converts to Christianity, makes their immediate release crucial, say experts.

After two months of solitary confinement at a secret police detention center known by its address, Sepah Street 100, located in the center of Shiraz, Matin and Bandari were placed in a cell together around July 15, sources told Compass. The absence of any medical treatment, however, has taken its toll on Bandari.

Matin, who secured a few minutes of time with his wife on July 22 in order to get toiletries, said that Bandari’s health was declining rapidly with the lack of treatment and proper care.

“He is severely ill; he’s not doing well,” confirmed a source.

Matin has lost much weight and is said to look weak, though he was not allowed to talk about his condition and treatment in the prison, where he has been held with Bandari since their arrest.

On July 22 a lawyer agreed to take up Matin’s case and ask for his release. It is not clear yet if Bandari will receive legal counsel from the same lawyer. Matin’s lawyer expressed concern about the length of time the two prisoners have been held without charges and said that the clock is ticking against them.

“They have to get out as soon as possible, or else the case will be heavier, and it will be more difficult to get them out,” a friend of the family told Compass. Experts on Iran explained that it is crucial for the prisoners to be released before they appear in court. Lower level police often arrest Christians to extort money from them and release them with no charges. But if a case goes to court, charges are pressed against the Christians, who are then at the mercy of religious judges.

“Once the case is decided and the court has made a decision, it would be hard for them to get out,” said a source. The apostasy bill under discussion, if passed, would mean certain death if Bandari and Matin were charged with apostasy.

Christians in Iran are fasting and praying in hopes that the two men will be freed soon.

“We don’t know, in the first place, why they have been kept so long, we don’t know what the charges are,” said one friend of the family.

The friend called for the churches to pray that any false accusations be lifted, “and for protection, because we don’t know exactly what’s happening inside. We don’t know how they’re being treated.”

Most other imprisoned Christians in Iran have been released with bail. Bandari and Matin are two of three Christians known to be still held in prison.

The third, Mohsen Radfar, was arrested while traveling to Tehran on July 12. His whereabouts and condition are unknown. Radfar, from the province of Kerman in central Iran, is a well-known film director in the region and has worked as a theater and cinema critic.

News Wave of Arrests

The same day Radfar was arrested, police got word that 12 Christians would be traveling to Armenia via Tehran and arrested them at the Kerman airport in south-central Iran as they were trying to leave.

Although the 12 Christians were freed the same night, sources reported that their houses were searched and that police confiscated all Christian materials.

In the past 10 days, Iran’s Christians have reported a wave of arrests in four cities. Christians attending house churches in Bandar Abbas on the southern coast, in Isfahan 334 kilometers (207 miles) south of Tehran, and in Sanandaj and Kermanshah on the Iraqi border were arrested. Sources told Compass that Christians in these cities were held anywhere from one day to a week by the government.

“So that means maybe the government has started a mission again against Christian activity,” said a source. “They’ve started a new strategy probably. Because it is not just an accident that all this is happening in different cities at the same time; they had worked on it before, and they planned to move against house churches.”

On Saturday (July 26), secret police raided a service in Isfahan. Among 16 Christians arrested were six women and two children under the age of 18. They are being held in an undisclosed location, reported Farsi Christian News Network.

During the raid, police beat the elderly couple hosting the meeting so severely that they were taken to the Sharieti Hospital with injuries.

Report from Compass Direct News

It's a great day to be a Californian isn't it???

:-)

Parade starts at 10am at Palm & Olive and ends by the Tower Theatre.

Festival runs from 11am to 3pm behind Million Elephant and Golden.

SEE YOU THERE BITCHES!!!  :-)

Here's the calendar for the weekend:

Friday, June 6th, 6pm, Samba (Palm & Herndon).  Have you grown tired of the on-line games?  Are you interested in seeing old friends and making new?  Looking to meet other professional gay men for casual conversation? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions you should consider coming to a Men's Mixer. This is a great opportunity to socialize, network, meet new people and catch up with old friends outside of the typical gay bar. 

Friday, June 6th, 9pm to 2am, Pre-Pride celebration at Thaiphoon in the Tower.  Join DJ Daniel for a hot Friday night of appetizer specials and hot house and techno all night long.  Drink specials and a cool patio to chill and maybe have a drink or two, three.

Saturday, June 7th, 10am to 3pm.  Fresno Pride 2008 kicks off at 10am with the parade down Olive St. in the Tower District.  The festival portion of Pride begins at 11am and usually runs until 3pm.  Come out and show your support and your PRIDE for your local GLBT+ community.  Don't forget to the stop by the Queer Fresno booth at the festival and buy your official Q t-shirt!

Saturday, June 7th, 3pm to 6pm.  Bobby Salazar's will be hosting an after Pride party complete with DJ and drink specials.  Keep the party going and have a famous margarita at Bobby Salazar's in the Tower after the festival gets done at 3pm.

Saturday, June 7th, 3pm to 2am.  Deja Vu is open all day for their annual Pride BBQ and all day celebration.  Drink specials, free food, while supplies last.  No cover and somewhere cool to chill after the Parade and Festival.

Sunday, June 8th, 2pm to 4pm, Reel Pride Night Out!  Reel Pride celebrates Pride 2008 with two all-time movie favorites.  Desert Hearts at 2pm and Relax at 7pm.  Box Office opens for cash-only sales two hours before each performance.  Admission is $10 per person and $5 for Reel Pride members.

Sunday, June 8th, 6pm, Deja Vu BBQ.  Enjoy no cover, drink specials on some wells and drafts, and Deja's signature free BBQ.  End your Pride weekend right by taking in some free food at Fresno's hottest dance club!

Sunday, June 8th, 7pm to 9pm, Reel Pride Night Out!  Reel Pride celebrates Pride 2008 with two all-time movie favorites.  Desert Hearts at 2pm and Relax at 7pm.  Box Office opens for cash-only sales two hours before each performance.  Admission is $10 per person and $5 for Reel Pride members.

Does this year's quest for mayor of Fresno reveal a Tale of Two Cities?  Are we a city divided?  Does Shaw Avenue delineate the Haves and the Have Nots or is that just a local perception?  Is this something we should acknowledge or should we be concerned?  I even see this divide in the gay community.  Queer Fresno has drawn criticism this year for so blatantly and purposely marketing and promoting events in the Tower District.  All of our Meet & Greets have been in the Tower and Pink Wedensday has become a Tower District staple as well.  Often times I hear straight people simply and matter of factly say, "Oh, Wednesday is gay night at Bobby's."

What has caused this North-South divide?  Should we be concerned as a city or as a community?  Is it a natural evolution in the growth and maturation of a city or is it about money, salary, or status?  Is it about commercial growth and devlopment?  Is it perception, or reality, or a little bit of both?  I'm not really sure.   What do you some of you think?  Whatever the answer may be, this one thing I know for sure:  The Queen of the North and King of the South just might have a great election battle on their hands!  :-)

+++++

“The Supreme Court’s decision to trample on the will of people is harmful to not only America and California but also to society as a whole. It is yet another example of the California court system gone crazy.”

+++++

This is the type of small-minded, hick-town mentality that has kept Fresno and the Central Valley in the Dark Ages for far too long.  Good riddance to Bubba and his worthless leadership on human rights and gay issues as Mayor.  Here's the link if you want to see it yourself:

http://www.fresno.gov/News/PressReleases/2008/GayMarriage.htm

Special thanks goes to Bobby Salazar's for donating the champagne for our gay marriage celebratory toast at 7:30pm!  Thanks Bobby!!!

www.bobbysalazar.com

Die Mehrheit der Teppiche aus Täbris besitzen in ihrer Mitte ein Ornament und geviertelte Eckornamente, die wirken als bedecken sie ein Feld von ineinander verankten Weinreben. Manchmal werden auch reitende Jäger, einzelne Tiere oder Tierkämpfe dargestellt. Das vielleicht bekannteste Werk aus Tabris sind die Ardabil Teppiche, die sich heutzutage in der Sammlungen des Victoria and Albert Museum in London und des Los Angeles County Museum befinden. Im Raum Täbriz befindet sich Heriz, dessen Teppiche gröber sind, und statt abgerundeter floraler Motive geometrisch Motive (nur horizontale, diagonale und vertikale Motivzeichnung) besitzen. Struktur: türkischer Knoten, geschichtet.

Teppiche aus dem Raum Hamadan haben meist geometrisch florale Motive, nur mittelfein geknüpft und entsprechend billiger.

Im Kurdengebiet liegen die Knüpfzentren Senneh und Bidjar. Antike Bidjarteppiche waren dick (geschichtet, sehr dicker Wollschuss), hart und fast unverwüstlich. Der typische Senneh ist relativ fein geknüpft und hat durch die Schichtung und den stark gezwirnten Florfaden eine 'körnige' Rückseite. Kaschan ist bekannt für die Produktion von Seidenteppichen. Berühmt sind die drei Meisterwerke, die Jäger und Beute darstellen und in der Sammlung des Vienna Museum of Applied Arts, dem Museum of Fine Arts, Boston und dem Stockholm Museum enthalten sind. Die Kaschanteppiche sind äußerst empfindlich, was sich auch im Preis dieser Werke ausdrückt.

Teppiche aus Herat oder ähnlich gestaltete aus Lahore oder Agra sind in westlichen Kollektionen am häufigsten vertreten. Ein rotes Feld mit Weinranken und Anthemionen, die dunkelblau oder dunkelgrün umrahmt sind, charakterisiert diese Art von Teppichen.

Die sieben Klassen der Teppiche aus Kerman haben eine einzigartige Struktur. Sie zeigen typischerweise Gartenmotive. Die persischen Gärten gehören zu dem Fundament persischer Kultur. Ein berühmtes Beispiel ist im Victoria and Albert Museum zu sehen.

تو این ستون بغلی هست !

این سند اینجا هم هست : http://karmania.ir.googlepages.com/sanadfarayandsamaneforosh.doc

http://www.neginminaei.com/Researches12.html

Although Kerman has a large number of green open spaces(108 parks with nearly  5/850363 square meter) and urban public spaces, the first thing you may hear about Kerman is that there is not enough entertainment spaces and its like a dead city. As in Iran the green open spaces are called “Parks” and they function as entertainment spaces for people, it seems they are not enough interesting for people, especially in Kerman.Studying the people’s behavior and the chosen spaces during 5 months I used Bauhaus system for research for the first time in Iran with direct and indirect observations, having some interviews with local people and neighbors of these spaces, and asking people to write their opinions and their comments about the spaces, we came to gather a general view and  to have a better understanding of what they want and what they need.I divided these open spaces in three groups; the first group includes of Ancient spaces or historical buildings with a great identity, very interesting and in some cases unique in Our architecture and Urbanism in national scale but in a way leftbehind by responsible organizations and are going to disappear whether by destroying or ruining. The second group contains green open spaces or City Parks with in a large number and the third group has some mega buildings in city scale but are going to shrink, empty for years without any function that makes the image of the city unpleasant.We studied 27 case studies in city of Kerman with nearly 50 University students under course of Urban Space Analysis. To choose the  case studies, we only focus on those with more important factors like uniqueness, expansion, large investments without usage and so on.In this paper I will use charts, tables, photos, and movies about our observation and try to present the problems and also the common solutions that students designed for these spaces to regenerate them. I will compare it with some solutions that were used for regeneration projects in London in three case study of Docklands, and the City. And finally present some ideas for making the open urban spaces of Kerman more attractive for people.   http://www.udiccc.org/home.aspx?item=text&id=10

The most beautiful rugs have beautiful color; color is critical. Persian Rugs that were woven before 1880, whether they be village, urban workshop, or nomadic rugs would have been dyed with colors derived mostly from indigenous plants and insects (with the exception of indigo, which was imported). From these natural dyes come the most extraordinary shades of blue, green, yellow, red, orange, coral, and aubergine; in some rugs you can find three to four shades of the same color, resulting in a rug with sixteen or more colors in total! Antique rugs also have beautiful shading within a particular color; this variation is called “abrash” and is not seen as a defect, but rather as an idiosyncrasy of the natural dying process which lends beauty and character to the rug.

ORIENTAL RUGS

Today’s budding oriental rug collector has a difficult task. Faced with a dwindling supply of top examples and rising prices, the new collector’s need for good education and guidance is greater than ever. Luckily, with the many scholarly books written in the last thirty years, an excellent bi-monthly publication from London (Hali magazine, which contains top-notch articles and illustrations pertaining to the scholarship of rugs and textiles, as well as good reporting on current events in the rug world), and a group of well-educated dealers and established collectors who are more than willing to share their knowledge, there is hope for the new buyer. What once had been a field cloaked in mystery and intentional withholding of knowledge by some, is now much less intimidating.

AREA RUGS

Area Rugs can add warmth, ambience, style and comfort to any room in your house. They can be exquisitely handmade, wool or high-end synthetic. They come in various shapes including round, oval, and square or as a runner. You have many style and colors to choose from including Persian rugs, Oriental, and art deco. If you are into lots of color and cool styles, your best bet may be a contemporary design. If you are looking for a specific style or color to match that challenging room, customer braided rugs may be what you need. No matter what you need or are looking for, there is a huge selection of area rugs to choose from and you can have fun decorating every room in your home.

This is a very good article, Iranian Zoroastrianism, written by a knowledgeable individual who discusses the differences in views and practices of Iranian-Zoroastrians vs. Parsis/Parsees (beginning with those Persians, who "initially" migrated to India circa 10th century CE following the Arab-Islam invasion of Iran in the 7th century CE).Yazd and Kerman (where the ancient city of “Bam” is located - built circa 500 BC), are two key Provinces in Iran with the largest concentration of Zoroastrians (Zartosties). However, Zoroastrians live all over Iran and the fire-temples, even to date, exist in many other Iranian Provinces.

This article is not intended to be divisive; but it is written with a view to outline the roots of Zoroastrianism and give voice to the Iranian-Zoroastrians, where Zoroastrianism was in fact born - it also aims to demonstrate that Zoroastrianism, by the virtue of its core philosophy & the wisdom of its teacher, is a dynamic faith.

I’d like to add that the “Parsi” community in India have been and are very influential. Many times, they have lobbied the IR regime in Iran and have successfully prevented the Mullahs from destroying quite a few historical & ancient Zoroastrian sites and fire-temples.

My thanks to Mazdak Samii for the above photo.