This is a gallery intended to show views of other side of Iran, different with what you may have seen in the media.

Thanks to Ali Majdfar for collecting these beautiful pictures.

Today was the last day of Jack, Iteris Inc. CEO, after 30 years of successful service. I know jack since 2 years ago. We talked in a few occasions and from the first talk I liked him. Heseemed to be an intelligent person with an optimistic mind; and he is.

I approched him to say fairwell today after a ceremoney held in the Skylight Cafe. He rememebred me and said that from my face he can say that I am a good guy. well, that I hope! Then I asked him what the secret was to his success? and he gave me a very valueble advice:

"to be optimistic all the time. Look at the future, forget about the past and let bygones be bygones.Try to hold together the group and think about the company before thinking about yourself and do what's best for the company first."

and this, I'll keep in mind. Goodbye Jack and good luck

For many Iranians the cinematic movie '300' may come as a shocking
revelation. But to those of us who came up through America's school
system, the 'Battle of Thermopylae,' which is what the movie '300' is
based on, is as familiar as George Washington's fabled "cherry tree"
incident.

The Battle of Thermopylae was of course written by the classical Greek
author, Herodotus, who lived in the Persian city of Halicarnassus. His
book, 'The Histories' became part of Western folklore only recently. It
wasn't until about 1850 that America embraced Herodotus as the leading
authority on Persian history.

Before 1850, however, the West had a very favorable impression of the
Persian Empire. That's because the West's main source for Persian
history was the Bible and the 'Cyropaedia,' written by another Greek
author named Xenophon.

But the Cyropaedia glorified the monarchy of Cyrus The Great, and in the
wake of two bloody revolutions fought by America and France to liberate
themselves from their own monarchies, a major campaign began, around the
mid 19th century, to promote democracy throughout the rest of Europe,
and Herodotus was the perfect propaganda tool.

Herodotus was a democratic groupie and was quickly ushered in as the
"Father Of History." Around 1850, his 'Battle Of Thermopylae' came to
symbolize the West's struggle for democracy against the powerful forces
of Persia's monarchy.

The story is easy to buy into: 300 brave Spartans saved Western
democracy from 2.7 million evil Persians. But aside from the fanciful
numbers which need decimal-point adjustments, this whimsical tale has
far graver consequences than a mere bias account of history.

The 'Battle Of Thermopylae' has been the single most powerful wedge,
which has divided East and West for over 2 millennia. In a time when
East and West should be reconciling their differences, along comes the
movie '300' to drive that wedge even deeper.

What is most disturbing about this movie is not that it lacks historical
accuracy. It is not that Xerxes, the Grandson of Cyrus The Great and
loving husband of Esther, is shown as an oversized drag queen. Its not
even the outdated racist cliché of casting the Persians as Africans and
the Spartans as white, blue-eyed Chippendale dancers, when in reality
the roles may well have been reversed.

What is so distressing about this movie is the realization of the
tremendous power Hollywood wields in determining a people's identity.
It is the same nightmare Native Americans endured during the whole
'cowboy-movie' genre.

But for those who are quick to dismiss '300' as a fleeting fantasy flick
aimed at the insignificant, 17 to 24 year-old male video-gamer, think
again. First there was Alexander, now '300,' next could well be the
'Battle Of Marathon,' another one of Herodotus's glowing accounts of
ancient Persia.

Herodotus is accepted blindly by virtually all Western demographics.
Even the New York Times is not immune. Here is how it described the
Persians in its April 20, 2004 issue on the Battle Of Marathon:

"the defeat of a ruthless state (Persia) that had enslaved much of the
known world from the Balkans to the Himalayas."

"the ancient Greeks defeated the Asian invaders (Persia) and saved
Europe in what scholars call one of the first great victories of freedom
over tyranny"
- William J. Broad,
(NY Times)

What stretches the limits of hypocrisy is that there isn't a single
shred of archeological evidence that the Persians ever owned slaves.
Yet we know that slavery was an integral cornerstone of Greek society.
Aristotle's manifesto even sanctions it. Persia, which was once a haven
for runaway slaves from Egypt, Greece, and later Rome, is today branded
as a slave-hungry empire by cultures which were built on slavery!

What makes Herodotus's propaganda so difficult to refute is that its
peppered with facts. But in reality, its a desperate diatribe. Perhaps
his biggest ploy is his attempt to equate democracy with freedom. These
two words are used virtually interchangeably throughout his book. And
the West has swallowed it hook-line-and-sinker.

But America's founding fathers new better. They were not swayed by
Herodotus. They implemented many safeguards to protect freedom from the
pitfalls that mired Athenian democracy. Even Winston Churchill said,
"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others
which have been tried."

Democracy may well be the best form of government. But what makes
America great is not so much democracy as it is its Bill Of Rights. And
this is exactly what made Persia Great. Democracy can often lead to
tyranny by the majority as was the case in democratic Athens, where
women, slaves and foreigners did not have the right to vote.

In monarchic Persia, however, women enjoyed a level of gender equality
unmatched even to this day, and slavery was not practiced. The fact is,
Persia's monarchy was more free than Athens' democracy, all because of
Persia's Bill Of Rights.

No one exemplifies Persia's freedom better than Herodotus himself. He
describes Athens as the bastion of freedom, yet he chose to live in
Persia. Xenophon, on the other hand, who actually lived in Athens,
reminisces enviably about the monarchy of Cyrus The Great?

Herodotus claims Persia had enslaved most of the known world, yet we
know Herodotus was not a slave. He traveled freely throughout the
empire, openly criticizing it.

Why did Herodotus not live in Greece? Because Persia - the empire he is
so quick to demonize - afforded him the very freedom to publish his
scathing report of it. People want to live where their god-given rights
are protected, regardless of whether its democratic or monarchic.

These god-given rights were first drafted into law by the founder of the
Persian empire, Cyrus The Great. In fact, ancient Persia may well have
served as the blue print for America's Bill Of Rights. Both Thomas
Jefferson and James Madison, the architects of America's Constitution,
were great admirers and owned several copies of Xenophon's Cyropaedia.

Today, no other country resembles ancient Persia as closely as does the
United States. If any country should sympathize with, rather than
celebrate, Persia's quagmire in Greece it is the United States. Few
events in history mirror America's war on terror as closely as Persia's
war on Greece.

The Greeks had been carrying out terrorist attacks on Persian holdings
for years. They had attacked Persian cities, set fire to Persian
temples, disrupted key trade routes, and pirated merchant ships crossing
the Bosphorus. They incited rebellions inside Persian provinces, but
perhaps most abhorrent to the Persians was the ease by which the Greeks
broke their treaties and betrayed Persia's trust.

Rather than resort to violence, however, Persia tried to keep the Greeks
in check by financially supporting Greek politicians who were
"pro-Persian," much the same way America fights its proxy wars. But
what finally triggered Persia's wrath was an act rarely mentioned in the
West, though well documented, even by Herodotus (7:11).

Persia's 9/11:

In 498 BCE, Athens carried out a terrorist attack on Sardis, a major
Persian city, which made 9/11 seem like child's play. Aristagoras, an
Athenian, set fire to the "outlying parts" of Sardis trapping most of
its population "in a ring of fire." (Herodotus 5:101)

More innocent civilians died at the hands of Aristagoras than Osama bin
Laden could ever hope to kill. And just as most of the world supported
America's retaliation against Al Qaeda, so did it rally in support of
Persia's attack on Athens.

The Spartans were not even targets of Persia's attack, until they
violated a universal protocol by killing a Persian messenger who
Herodotus claims was asking for Sparta's submission but in reality was
probably sent by Persia's king, Xerxes to convey the same message George
Bush sent to the entire world after 9/11: "you're either with us, or
against us."