Mr. Daragahi has written a new article based on some new information. The note has appeared on LA Times Babylon & Beyond page.
I am very grateful for his kind attention and willingness to re-visit the subject. I also am glad there now there is something about the other side of story available to those who are interested.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
To Subsidize or Not to Subsidize
The debate over subsidization is getting tense, head of government and speaker of the house, Mr. Ahmadinejad and Dr. Larijani exchanged pleasantries over it. A. wants Majlis to give him full authority and do not bother him with formalities such as budgeting the money. It is getting interesting.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
An Article on Iranian Commercial Aviation
This is an interesting piece on Tehran Bureau. Apparently the website is part of PBS Frontline. As for the article conclusions, I think comments are informative. One person who had lost a dear one in Caspian crast says that gov't was aware of the airplane's technical problems. It is hard to say what caused that accident the black box was gone and experts are silent, too silent if i may say so. Enjoy
Read the article here.
By the way Aria Airlines resumed its flights using its Fokker 50s out of its base in Bandar Abbas. The call sign is on the air.
Read the article here.
By the way Aria Airlines resumed its flights using its Fokker 50s out of its base in Bandar Abbas. The call sign is on the air.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Clayton State
Here I am, finally back in academia teaching at Clayton State University in Atlanta metro area. For a young institution Clayton State has a good infra structure and is in transtion (I am an Iranian, transition defines my life!) from a commuting college to a state university. Our new residential buildings are just lovely, newly designed and constructed they are really different from usual dorms. I also love the campus, it is gorgeous. The trees, the lake, the buildings and above all Spivey Hall make it a uniquely gorgeous campus.
Of course Clayton State still is in the shadow of its neighboring campuses: Georgia State and Kennesaw State, but its student population is growing and it becomes better known outside of Georgia. Clayton does offer many things: a recognized business program, easy access to Atlanta metro area and a peaceful environment. There is no wonder why we at Clayton State are so optimistic about the future.
Of course Clayton State still is in the shadow of its neighboring campuses: Georgia State and Kennesaw State, but its student population is growing and it becomes better known outside of Georgia. Clayton does offer many things: a recognized business program, easy access to Atlanta metro area and a peaceful environment. There is no wonder why we at Clayton State are so optimistic about the future.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
To LA Times I am ALIVE
I do not expect newspapers such as Iran Daily to bother with facts and checking their claims. However I used to think Los Angeles Times to be a professional journalistic institution. Their article on Iran Civil Aviation claims me dead, while I am alive. I have written them twice, contacted 4 different people there. I have not heard back from them except for a short email saying matter is being forwarded to their foriegn desk. Anyway this is my letter to them:
To Whom It may be concerned,
Times September 15th report on Iran civil aviation by Borzou Daragahi is simply untrue. It represents the biased approach of some Iranian officials and is not even well researched. The article claims Mr. Mehdi Dadpei (my father) was killed with his son in airplane crash in Mashhad. Since I am his only son, I can assure you I am very much alive as I am writing you these lines.
I found it appalling that Mr. Daragahi did not even bother to check his facts. A simple google search would have revealed how biased and fictitious the reports he relied on were. It also is an affront to the legacy of a well respected aviator and a great man. Mehdi Dadpay was a great pilot and leader who served his country and people to his outmost. Mr. Daragahi’s article is a miserable patchwork of official speeches and IRIB fallacious reports that were trying to white wash the grave conditions of Iranian civil aviation industry. All of the quotations in his article are already reported and printed in Iranian media. I am surprised why these officials wanted to stay anonymous, when they already have gone on record with Iranian medial saying the same things.
For Mr. Daragahi to offer my father as a scapegoat to be blamed for the present conditions of Iranian Civil Aviation is a betrayal of the simplest principles of decency and journalism. I consider it an insult and a misrepresentation of facts and reality.
Sincerely Yours,
Ali Dadpay
----I also would like to say to Mr. Daragahi that it is customary for college students to copy, he should have known better!
To Whom It may be concerned,
Times September 15th report on Iran civil aviation by Borzou Daragahi is simply untrue. It represents the biased approach of some Iranian officials and is not even well researched. The article claims Mr. Mehdi Dadpei (my father) was killed with his son in airplane crash in Mashhad. Since I am his only son, I can assure you I am very much alive as I am writing you these lines.
I found it appalling that Mr. Daragahi did not even bother to check his facts. A simple google search would have revealed how biased and fictitious the reports he relied on were. It also is an affront to the legacy of a well respected aviator and a great man. Mehdi Dadpay was a great pilot and leader who served his country and people to his outmost. Mr. Daragahi’s article is a miserable patchwork of official speeches and IRIB fallacious reports that were trying to white wash the grave conditions of Iranian civil aviation industry. All of the quotations in his article are already reported and printed in Iranian media. I am surprised why these officials wanted to stay anonymous, when they already have gone on record with Iranian medial saying the same things.
For Mr. Daragahi to offer my father as a scapegoat to be blamed for the present conditions of Iranian Civil Aviation is a betrayal of the simplest principles of decency and journalism. I consider it an insult and a misrepresentation of facts and reality.
Sincerely Yours,
Ali Dadpay
----I also would like to say to Mr. Daragahi that it is customary for college students to copy, he should have known better!
Friday, September 11, 2009
What a Summer!
What a summer was this summer of 2009! I spent its 3 months back home with my family after a long absence. It was indeed great to be back home, to be united with those loved ones whom one cares most about. And yet the Providence had something else in mind.
The election turned a page in history that proved to be the end of an old chapter and the beginning of a new one. And indeed this was an end, the Tehran of my childhood was long gone. Even in Mehrshahr that lovely suburb 40 km out of Tehran old villas were replaced by buildings and apartment complexes. The new generation only a few years younger than your correspondent, is more arrogant, confident, fearless and in the same time more pragmatic and realistic. To see them walking hands in hands in street of Tehran crowding the streets, the cafes, the malls and every else was to see a new wave getting ready to hit the shore.
And yet for me the end of old era was magnified by a personal loss. On July 23rd I lost my father in an air crash in Mashhad. He went like he wanted; flying, taking care of his crew and passengers. I should write more about him soon, the shock still is there, the loss still is too fresh. I miss him, we all do.
So here is one update after few months, i doubt if ever in history of our time we had such an eventful summer. The world is not the same any more.
The election turned a page in history that proved to be the end of an old chapter and the beginning of a new one. And indeed this was an end, the Tehran of my childhood was long gone. Even in Mehrshahr that lovely suburb 40 km out of Tehran old villas were replaced by buildings and apartment complexes. The new generation only a few years younger than your correspondent, is more arrogant, confident, fearless and in the same time more pragmatic and realistic. To see them walking hands in hands in street of Tehran crowding the streets, the cafes, the malls and every else was to see a new wave getting ready to hit the shore.
And yet for me the end of old era was magnified by a personal loss. On July 23rd I lost my father in an air crash in Mashhad. He went like he wanted; flying, taking care of his crew and passengers. I should write more about him soon, the shock still is there, the loss still is too fresh. I miss him, we all do.
So here is one update after few months, i doubt if ever in history of our time we had such an eventful summer. The world is not the same any more.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Election Day in Tehran
Today temperature in Tehran rise to 90 F (32'C), warmer than all days before, and yet people were and are standing long lines in shade and under blazing sun. It is an odd image of Tehran: quiet streets, deserted shopping centers and yet crowded mosques, high schools, schools and colleges. It is election day. An unprecedented number of voters are casting their vote today.
I went to stations in Vanak and Yousef Abad, both in North of Center and North parts of Tehran, where fixed income middle class families mingle with high income households. The stations were and are packed with lines coming out of the building and going around the corner. The individuals waiting in them are from all walks of life, there are Chador wearing women, young ladies wearing the latest fashion and make up, there are old people walking with cane and there are young students with their notes and textbooks in their hands, it is a long wait. One voted told me he and his sister waited for 2 hours and half to cast their votes. There is an air of a united people present that makes one feel romantic.
I voted in Al-Zahra University station in Vanak Village, it took me 45 minutes waiting time. Most people around me were voting for Mr. Mousavi. They were chatting politics while their kids and children were playing in compound. Many were waiting in shade, since the sunshine was rather strong. Some were worried, since there was no representative of Mr. Mousavi campaign present there, the only representative present was from Mr. Ahmadinejad's campaign. This upset many, a young lady in a black chador was calling a friend to say that she would rather go to Bahaerstan, a location south of central Tehran in Old Tehran to cast her vote. But many chose to stay, the representative's presence is significant in counting the vote.
I gave my birthcertificate to the officer at the desk, wrote down the name of the candidate with his code from the ministry of interior information sheet and cast my vote. Leaving the station I noticed more people are arriving to vote. I just noticed there was no separate line for men and women, we all voted together.
The outcome is not certain yet, but it is certain that last week marches and debates have increased the participation to a new level. On Facebook, most of my friends are voting and they are on their way to vote. Some people are complaining that why more than a few are voting for Mousavi and not for Karroubi, although they approve of him. Those who did so, argue that winning in the first round is way more important than going to an uncertain second round. Although with number present today, one wonders if this is going to be a landslide. That is not unlikely.
I went to stations in Vanak and Yousef Abad, both in North of Center and North parts of Tehran, where fixed income middle class families mingle with high income households. The stations were and are packed with lines coming out of the building and going around the corner. The individuals waiting in them are from all walks of life, there are Chador wearing women, young ladies wearing the latest fashion and make up, there are old people walking with cane and there are young students with their notes and textbooks in their hands, it is a long wait. One voted told me he and his sister waited for 2 hours and half to cast their votes. There is an air of a united people present that makes one feel romantic.
I voted in Al-Zahra University station in Vanak Village, it took me 45 minutes waiting time. Most people around me were voting for Mr. Mousavi. They were chatting politics while their kids and children were playing in compound. Many were waiting in shade, since the sunshine was rather strong. Some were worried, since there was no representative of Mr. Mousavi campaign present there, the only representative present was from Mr. Ahmadinejad's campaign. This upset many, a young lady in a black chador was calling a friend to say that she would rather go to Bahaerstan, a location south of central Tehran in Old Tehran to cast her vote. But many chose to stay, the representative's presence is significant in counting the vote.
I gave my birthcertificate to the officer at the desk, wrote down the name of the candidate with his code from the ministry of interior information sheet and cast my vote. Leaving the station I noticed more people are arriving to vote. I just noticed there was no separate line for men and women, we all voted together.
The outcome is not certain yet, but it is certain that last week marches and debates have increased the participation to a new level. On Facebook, most of my friends are voting and they are on their way to vote. Some people are complaining that why more than a few are voting for Mousavi and not for Karroubi, although they approve of him. Those who did so, argue that winning in the first round is way more important than going to an uncertain second round. Although with number present today, one wonders if this is going to be a landslide. That is not unlikely.
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