The Prestige Magazine #2 2009

Contents Edititor’s Note NOWRUZ PRESIAN NEW YEAR | Dr. Ali Jafari

IRANIAN Who’s Who* Professor Ehsan Yarshater Dr. Ali KiaFar Jay Jamshasb

Archaeology of IRAN Dr. Ali Mousavi

DAMOKA LA “The Universe, yours to discover” Dr. Tofigh Heidarzadeh

Youth Corner

FARHANG FOUNDATION

Book Review The Recession Is Here! | Dr. Esmael Adibi

Economic Outlook for 2009

The Iranian-American Business & Lifestyle Magazine

March & April 2009 Vol1 | Isssue 2

Founder:

Reza Goharzad Director:

Parvin Afjeh Editor in Chief:

Golnoush Goharzad Graphic Designer:

Ali Shirdel

Youth Coordinator:

Azaadeh Goharzad Published by

Sabzpublication Prestige Jaam Va Jaan Clip Or Click

Keitaro Matsuda

What Is An Eb-5 Visa ? | Dr. Ali Farahmand CHAPMAN OFFERS NEW M.A. IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Dr. James J. Coyle, Business Travel Tips Cynthia Grant

10 TOP Spring Decorating * IRANIAN Who’s Who featured members are orderd alphabetically

CONTACT

5319 University Dr. #129 Irvine, CA 92612 Los Angeles: (310) 259 - 5335 Orange County: (949) 280 - 2305 (949) 786- 6460 (Fax & general inquiry) info@ThePrestigeMagazine.com www.ThePrestigeMagazine.com This magazine is only for the use of public knowledge. The opinions and endorsements expressed in Prestige magazine articles and ads are that of the authors and sponsors and not that of Prestige magazine or Sabzpublication. Use of the articles, pictures, and ads designed by Sabzpublication, are prohibited without written consent.

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Editor’s Note Dear Readers,

We here at Prestige magazine would like to start by wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Nowrooz filled with health, love and prosperity. I’m sure, you, like most business owners and professionals are trying to find the delicate balance of navigating your career and livelihood through these difficult economic times.

But as the Persian New Year is upon us, it carries with it a sense of hope and prosperity that is needed this year more than most. We here at Prestige Magazine hope we can help you and your business or profession connect with other Iranian professionals and consumers in order to ensure that, come what may, the Iranian community has built a safety network against this economic storm.

A good marketing strategy and an effective network can mean the difference between a prosperous profession and one stricken by bankruptcy.

However, despite this year’s economic downturn, we at Prestige Magazine always strive to recognize the many Iranian Philanthropists and charitable organizations that provide goods and services to the community that are truly priceless. We hope that despite the current economic conditions, we can always remember those that are less fortunate and help these notable organizations achieve their missions in any way we can.

If you wish to be featured in or introduce your business or organization in Prestige Magazine or would like to nominate someone for a feature, please contact our editors for more information.

Let’s begin this New Year, with New Connections, New Business and an Overwhelming Abundance of Prosperity.

As always, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Golnoush Goharzad, Esq.

Editor in Chief Attorney At Law

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Interview

NOWRUZ Iranian New Year

3747 Zarathushtrian Religious Year 1388 Solar Hegira 2009-2010 Christian or Common Era

Dr. Ali A. Jafarey

Almost all of us know that the year is approximately 365.25 days long. All of us in the Northern Hemisphere know that the seasons are regular and March means the coming of spring, June the beginning of summer, September the beginning of fall, and December means the coming of winter. The reverse is the case in the Southern Hemisphere.

Many know that spring begins with the vernal equinox on about 20 March, summer with the summer solstice on about 22 June, fall with the autumnal equinox on about 23 September, and winter with the winter solstice on about 23 December.

Some know that the “tropical,” solar, or seasonal year is of 365 days, 5 hours, 48 and 45.5 seconds. They also know that one day is added every four years to compensate for the loss of four 5 hours 48+ minutes, that each of the equinoxes and solstices have their precise time of beginning pre-calculated and published by many world observatories and other astronomical establishments, and that the astronomical and astrological worlds follow the tropical year. A few know that the minutes and seconds in the length of the year vary, from year to year, mainly because of the movements of the moon and the planets and that the present shift from 21 to 20 March is due to the fact that instead of calculating exactly 5 hours and 48+ minutes, the Common Era (Gregorian Calendar) has full 6 hours, which advances it by 12+ minutes every year. This is corrected to an extant by having a leap year every four years.

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Very few know that the official Iranian and Afghani calendars, both of Zoroastrian origin, are tropical. Only a very small number know that if the beginning of the year is considered from the precise start of vernal equinox, there shall never be any need to have a leap year at all -- the reason why the ancient Zoroastrians did not have it!

The Iranians of old had a tropical calendar for many centuries.

The downfall of the Sassanian Empire in the 7th century at the hands of Muslim Arabs disrupted the astronomical structure of the religion and the state. However, although the Iranians, who were converted to Islam, observed and are observing the Muslim lunar calendar for religious purposes, the Iranian calendar was soon restored within a century for administrative and economical reasons and that it continues to be their daily time reckoning.

It may be added that the Iranian Calendar is among all other major world Calendars – Chinese, Christian, Jewish, Indian, and Muslim – is the most precise calendar. It is the same calendar observed by all world observatories.

Nowruz in Persian means “New[-year]-day”. It is the beginning of the year for the people of Afghanistan , Azerbaijan , Iran , and Tajikistan . Other Asian republics of the former Soviet Union and Turkey too have joined the group in celebrating Nowruz. It is also celebrated as the new year by the people of the Iranian stock, particularly the Kurds, in the neighboring countries of Georgia , Iraq , Syria , and Turkey . It begins precisely with the beginning of spring on vernal equinox, on about March 20.

Tradition takes Nowruz as far back as 15,000 years--before the last ice age. King Jamshid (Yima or Yama of the Indo-Iranian lore) symbolizes the transition of the Indo-Iranians from animal hunting to animal husbandry and a more settled life in human history. Seasons played a vital part then. Everything depended on the four seasons. After a sever winter, the beginning of spring was a great occasion with mother nature rising up in a green robe of colorful flowers and the cattle delivering their young. It was the dawn of abundance. Jamshid is said to be the person who introduced Nowruz celebrations.

Avestan and later scriptures show that Zarathushtra improved, as early as 1725 BCE, the old Indo-Iranian calendar.

The prevailing calendar was lunisolar. The lunar year is of 354 days. An intercalation of one month after every thirty months kept the calendar almost in line with the seasons. Zarathushtra, the Founder of the Good Religion, himself an astronomer, founded an observatory and he reformed the calendar by introducing an eleven-day intercalary period to make it into a lunisolar year of 365 days, 5 hours and a fraction. Later the year was made solely a solar year with each month of thirty days. An intercalation of five days was, and a further addition of one day every four years, was introduced to make the year 365 days, 5 hours, and a fraction. Still later, the calendar was further corrected to be a purely solar year of 365 days 5 hr 48 min 45.5 sec. The year began precisely with the vernal equinox every time and therefore, there was no particular need of

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adding one day every four years and there was no need of a leap year. This was [and still is] the best and most correct calendar produced that far.

Some 12 centuries later, in 487 BCE, Darius the Great of the Achaemenian dynasty celebrated the Nowruz at his newly built Persepolis in Iran . A recent research shows that it was a very special occasion. On that day, the first rays of the rising sun fell on the observatory in the great hall of audience at 06-30 a.m., an event which repeats itself once every 1400-1 years. It also happened to coincide with the Babylonian and Jewish new years.

It was, therefore, a highly auspicious occasion for the ancient peoples.

The Persepolis was the place the Achaemenian king received, on Nowruz, his peoples from all over the vast empire.

The walls of the great royal palace depict the scenes of the celebrations.

We know the Parthians celebrated the occasion but we do not know the details. It should have, more or less, followed the Achaemenian pattern. During the Sassanian time, preparations began at least 25 days before Nowruz. Twelve pillars of mudbricks, each dedicated to one month of the year, were erected in the royal court. Various vegetable seeds-wheat, barley, lentils, beans, and others-were sown on top of the pillars. They grew into luxurious greens by the New Year Day. The great king held his public audience and the High Priest of the empire was the first to greet him. Government officials followed next. Each person offered a gift and received a present.

The audience lasted for five days, each day for the people of a certain profession. Then on the sixth day, called the Greater Nowruz, the king held his special audience.

He received members of the Royal family and courtiers. Also a general amnesty was declared for convicts of minor crimes.

The pillars were removed on the 16th day and the festival came to a close. The occasion was celebrated, on a lower level, by

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all peoples throughout the empire.

Since then, the peoples of the Iranian culture, whether Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha’is, or others, have celebrated Nowruz precisely at the time of vernal equinox, the first day of the first month, on about March 20.

Today, the ceremony has been simplified.

Every house gets a thorough cleaning almost a month before. Wheat, barley, lentils, and other vegetables seeds are soaked to grow on china plates and round earthen

with English words that would alliterate, rhyme, or make mouths water. The seven articles are prominently exhibited in small bowls or plates on the table. The whole table, beautifully laid, symbolizes the Message and the Messenger, light, reflection, warmth, life, love, joy, production, prosperity, and nature. It is, in fact, a very elaborate thanksgiving table for all the good beautifully bestowed by God.

Family members, all dressed in best, sit around the table and eagerly await the announcement of the exact time of vernal equinox over radio or television. The head of the family recites the Nowruz prayers, and after the time is announced, each member kisses the other and wishes a Happy Nowruz.

Elders give gifts to younger members.

Next, the rounds of visits to neighbors, relatives, and friends begin. Each visit is reciprocated. Zoroaster’s Birthday and Nowruz festival are celebrated

by Zoroastrians at social centers on about 6 Farvardin (26 March). Singing and dancing is, more or less for the first, a daily routine.

ware vessels some ten days in advance, so that the sprouts are three to four inches in height by Nowruz. A table is laid.

It has a copy of the sacred book or the Shahnameh the Iranian Epic of Kings, a mirror, candles, incense burner, bowl of water with live gold fish, the plates and vessels with green sprouts, flowers, fruits, coins, bread, sugar cone, various grains, fresh vegetables, colorfully painted boiled eggs like the “Easter eggs,” and above all, seven articles with their names beginning in Persian with the letter s or sh. The usual things with s are vinegar, sumac, garlic, samanu (consistency of germinating wheat), apple, senjed (sorb?), and herbs. Those with sh include wine, sugar, syrup, honey, candy, milk, and rice-pudding. Here in North America , these may be substituted

The festivity continues for 12 days, and on the 13th morning, the mass picnic to countryside begins. It is called sizdeh-be-dar, meaning “thirteen-in-the-outdoors.” Cities and villages turn into ghost towns with almost all the inhabitants gone to enjoy the day in woods and mountains along stream and riversides. People sing, dance, and make merry.

Girls of marriageable age tie wild grass tops into knots and make a wish that the following Nowruz may find them married and carrying their bonny babies!

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Cover Story

Pictures: Courtesy of Columbia University / (Jim Higdon/CNS)

IRANIAN WHO’S WHO:

PROFESSOR

EHSAN YARSHATER

Ehsan Yarshater (born April 3, 1920, Hamadan, Iran) is the director of The Center for Iranian Studies and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Columbia University.

He is famous for editing the monumental Encyclopedia Iranica along with 40 other editors and 300 authors from various academic institutions throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He is also famous for editing the third volume of the Cambridge History of Iran, comprising the history of the Seleucid, the Parthians, and the Sassanians, as well as a volume entitled Persian Literature. He has won several International awards for scholarship, including a UNESCO award in 1959. The Yarshater lectureship is considered by some to be the most prestigious honor in the field of Iranology.

The following biography of PROFESSOR EHSAN YARSHATER has been taken from an account of his life and career by Professors M. Boyce of London University and G. Windfuhr of Michigan University in Acta Iranica 30, Papers in Honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater, Leiden, Holland, 1990, pp. ix-xxiii.

He was then appointed Assistant Professor of Persian in the Faculty of Theology; but was awarded in the same year a fellowship by the British Council to study educational methods in England. When in London he called on W.B. Henning, and, swiftly appreciating the depth of his learning, resolved to abandon other plans and study pre-Islamic Iranian languages and culture with him. He enrolled accordingly for one of the cours-

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es created by Henning at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, in Old and Middle Iranian; and years of exacting study followed, during which he had to add English and German to his knowledge of French, and to absorb analytic and critical methods of handling texts. In addition, he set himself, with energy and discernment, to learn all that he could of Western art and architecture, painting and music.

Henning himself was deeply interested at this time in the dialects of north-western Iran. In 1950 he had been able to make brief notes on one of them, to the south-west of Qazvin, and this, he thought, might prove to be a link in a long chain of related dialects, all in imminent danger of dying out. With Henning’s encouragement, Ehsan Yarshater determined to undertake the search for such dialects, and this developed into his scholarly lifework. With it he was to make a major contribution to Iranian linguistic studies, recording and analyzing dialect after dialect of what he came to term the Tati-Taleshi groups. His work was much appreciated by Henning himself, who over the years provided Ehsan Yarshater with “enriching advice, friendship and support.”

In 1953 Ehsan Yarshater, having obtained the degree of M.A. by examination, returned to Iran to pursue this research.

He was at once appointed lecturer in ancient Iranian languages in the Faculty of Letters at Tehran University, and assistant to Pour-Davud.

His standards were exacting; and conscious, with his own phenomenal memory, of the advantages of storing knowledge in the mind, he required his students to combine analytical work with some learning by heart, including passages from Old Persian inscriptions.

Ehsan Yarshater found time nevertheless to embark on the first of his many field trips to study dialects. Such travel

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involved, however, a considerable measure of physical hardship and hours of exacting work, during which his informants were apt to flag long before he wished to release them. In 1956 the Societé de la dialectologie iranienne was founded, with G. Redard, G. Morgenstierne and E. Benveniste as active members; and Ehsan Yarshater, as vice-president, was made responsible for supervising the recording of dialects throughout Iran.

This blend of teaching, administrative duties and strenuous research would for most scholars have made up a full working life; but during his years in England Ehsan Yarshater had been forming plans to fill gaps which he had come to perceive in the cultural life of Iran; and in 1954 he took the major step of founding the Bong›h-e Tarjoma va Nashr-e Ket›b (Institute for the Translation and Publication of Books). Its primary aim was to have foreign works of recognized worth translated into Persian by scholars of repute. In the long run it was hoped that the venture would be largely self-supporting, but Ehsan Yarshater obtained initial funding from the Crown Properties.

This was the first instance of his ability, as a practical visionary and skilful, patient diplomat, to obtain financial support for a nobly conceived plan. The series of translations was inaugurated with five books published simultaneously in 1955, and others followed in rapid succession, to be swiftly bought up by an appreciative readership. Although his own work lay in higher education, Ehsan Yarshater was deeply concerned with the intellectual development of children; and a year later he inaugurated three series of works for different age groups among the young.

In 1957 he persuaded a number of scholars, notably among them Iraj Afshar, to join him in founding the Anjoman-e Ketab (Book Society). Its purpose was to foster interest in good publications, and its main organ was the Rahnema-ye Ketab (Book Guide), which was launched by Ehsan Yarshater that same year as a quarterly journal. From its second year it became a monthly journal, and was expanded to include as well as book reviews articles on Persian language and literature, accounts of rare manuscripts and, surveys of current research in Iranian studies.

With all this activity even Ehsan Yarshater was fully stretched. Yet he managed during these years to write a number of learned and literary articles for the journals Yahma, Mehr and Sokhan, as well as for the Bulletin of the Faculty of Letters of Tehran University. One day, meeting him in the Senate Library, Habib Yaghma’i pressed him for another article for his journal; whereupon Ehsan Yarshater, characteristically unable to refuse a friend, sat down and there and then wrote a piece which he called “The respected scholar” (Daneshmand-e mohtaram) .

This, published as the leading article in Yaghma, has been twice reprinted in anthologies, and is often quoted as an admirable piece of satirical humor.

Another striking facet of Ehsan Yarshater’s character is his apparently effortless calm and self-control, maintained in the teeth of all the harassments that inevitably beset a man who initiates far-reaching plans, and who in the course of fulfilling

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them has to persuade large numbers of people, with different temperaments and interests, to cooperate and be reasonable.

With this calmness goes iron resolve.

During the academic year 1958/59 he visited Columbia University, New York, as associate professor; and Columbia showed appreciation of his teaching by extending its invitation for a second year Back in Iran during the summer of 1959 Ehsan Yarshater inspired the founding of a lending library by the Anjoman-e Ketab. This came to contain some 3000 books, mostly in the humanities and for a time small mobile collections of books were sent to some of the poorer districts of Tehran, as well as to townships round about.

When Ehsan Yarshater returned from Columbia in the summer of 1960, Pour-Davud had died, and he was appointed to succeed his former teacher as professor of Old Persian and Avestan.

In the following year Ehsan Yarshater had the happiness to marry Latifeh Alvieh. The two had become friends when he returned from his studies in England in 1953, and had come to discover much in common, notably a deep devotion to Iran and its culture, and an interest in education generally. Latifeh Alvieh was then acting as cultural advisor to the United States Information Agency in Tehran; and her voluntary work included organizing and directing summer camps for schools and university students, and the first youth conference in Iran. She was founder and president of the Shahnaz Girls’ Clubs, and a founding member of the National Council of the Women of Iran.

Meantime Columbia University was expanding its Middle East department, and with financial help from Hagop Kevorkian had established a chair in Iranian Studies, which in 1961 Ehsan Yarshater was invited to occupy. He retained the directorship of the Bongah-e Tarjoma, keeping in close touch from the United States with a secession of deputy directors; and he continued as president of the Anjoman-e Ketab, the Rahnema-ye Ketab being mainly in charge of Iraj Afshar. Each summer, after a busy university session, he found awaiting him in Tehran a quantity of matters - scholarly, administrative and financial- which demanded his attention. Yet even in these circumstances his first act was always to set in motion arrangements for a field trip to study yet another dialect which he had identified as little known or insufficiently explored.

At Columbia University he was deeply engaged in developing undergraduate and graduate courses, teaching and supervising, and taking his full part in departmental and university duties. He was also planning volumes for a projected series of translations of Persian classical works called Persian Heritage Series. UNESCO had a similar project in hand, under the title of Persian Representative Works, but it was making little progress.

In 1962 the UNESCO department concerned proposed that their undertaking should be merged with Ehsan Yarshater’s. This se-

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ries was funded largely by the Bongah-e Tarjoma, with smaller contributions by UNESCO; and its agreed aim was to make “the best of Persian literary, historical and scientific texts available in the major world languages ... not only to satisfy the needs of the students of Persian history and culture, but also to respond to the demands of the intelligent reader who seeks to broaden his intellectual and artistic horizons.”

From 1964 to 1966 he was granted extended sabbatical leave, which he spent in Iran. The royal Pahlavi Foundation was established in 1964, and the prestigious Bongah-e Tarjoma was made one of its affiliates.

As well as devoting much time to the Bongah’s affairs during these two years, Ehsan Yarshater brought out in two volumes his own Naqqashi-e novin (Modern Painting) . This he published under the pen-name Rahsepar, which he had used as art-critic over the years for the journal Sokhan (published by his friend P.N. Khanlari). His reason for seeking anonymity was that he regarded these writings as the fruit of an amateur interest only; but Naqqashi-e novin, reprinted in 1975, remains the only substantial work of recognized merit in Persian devoted to this subject.

His dominant professional interest continued to be his dialect studies, and these two sabbatical years gave him further opportunities for intensive field work. His researches, which had begun in the 1950’s with southern Tati, had been extended during the intervening years; and down to 1979 he was able to work systematically over a wide area. In recording many largely unknown or ill-explored village dialects of this area Ehsan Yarshater has shown great exactness and analytical skill, and his attention to detail in both phonology and morphology makes his work outstanding among recent contributions to Iranian dialectology. His descriptions are full of precise observations about differences in usage between speakers of different ages, and even between inhabitants of different quarters of the same village; and where documents exist he has studied the changes between earlier and modern speech. He observes moreover the ways of life and social interactions which tend to bring about linguistic interference such as by Turkic with Iranian, or by one form of Iranian with another. No description of an Iranian dialect offers a more delicate analysis of intricate relationships.

On a larger scale his work has been nothing less than the rediscovery of the descendants of ancient Median, long thought wholly to have disappeared. He named his book on southern Tati “Median Dialect Studies I”, and convincingly justified this title by his masterly summary of what is known of the languages of Azarbaijan in the Middle Ages and pre-modern times. This study included in fact Greater Media with Media Atropatene; and in it he showed that it had been wrong to suppose that the Iranian dialects spoken within Azarbaijan were immigrant ones from other regions . Instead he was able to establish that the dialects which he had studied reflect a linguistic continuum from Azarbaijan southward to where the Taleshi dialects join the northernmost Tati ones, with the southernmost Tati ones then

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linking up in their turn with those of the central dialects. He also discovered the importance within this continuum of the Iranian dialects spoken by local Jewish communities, which he studied extensively in Tehran, Hamadan, Isfahan, Kashan, Golpayegan and other towns, together with the “secret” Perso-Aramaic language which some of them used. His conclusion was that “the Jewish dialects and sub-dialects are the indicators of Median dialects long forced out from urban centers by Persian. In other words, whereas Persian is the intruder in Western and Central Persia (that is, the Median territory) the Jewish dialects are native.”

This important and prolonged research continued to be interwoven by Ehsan Yarshater with his work at Columbia University, to which he returned in the late summer of 1966. Soon afterwards he established a Center for Iranian Studies there, of which he continues to be the director.

Meantime in Iran the Bongah-e Tarjoma, still under his direction, continued to be vigorously active. It adopted, under Yarshater’s general editorship, the common method of critical editions in the West, best exemplified in Iran by M. Qazvivi, with the manuscripts clearly defined and the significant variants recorded in the footnotes.”

Meanwhile, in 1972, Ehsan Yarshater presented to the National Endowment for the Humanities, an American federal agency, through Columbia University, a proposal for an “Encyclopedia Iranica” in the English language. This he conceived as a research tool, to meet the needs of scholars and students in Iranian studies and related fields by providing accurate and upto-date presentations on “topics of archaeological, geographic, ethnographic, historical, artistic, literary, religious, linguistic, philosophical, scientific and folkloric interest,” over a stretch of time extending from prehistory to the present; and he suggested that it should aim at setting Iranian culture in a broad context, and showing reciprocal influences exerted on one another by Iran and its neighbors.

The plan was a noble one, and its scope so huge that probably no individual scholar could have won a hearing for it other than Ehsan Yarshater, who already had so many massive achievements to his credit, and who was known not only for initiating but also for carrying through large undertakings. He was also a persuasive advocate; and not only did the National Endowment for the Humanities provide some funding but generous support was offered by the Iranian Plan Organization.

Two years earlier Ehsan Yarshater and his wife had decided to use their private means to endow a foundation that would ensure that work on the Encyclopedia and other major projects which he had initiated could continue after him. By 1979 the legal work had been completed, trustees were appointed, and the foundation was about to be registered with the Ministry of Justice when revolution broke out in Iran. The work of the Bongah-e Tarjoma, which was affiliated with the Pahlavi Foundation, was brought to an immediate halt.

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Subsequently the new government took over the Bongah, and tacitly acknowledged the admirable work which it had been doing over the previous quarter of a century by continuing to operate it under its own name.

In the very year of the revolution Ehsan Yarshater had convened a meeting in England of the panel of consulting editors of the Encyclopedia Irancia; and he found himself facing this meeting with funding for the project suddenly and drastically reduced, while he felt himself still with obligations to staff, printers and publishers, as well as to the large number of scholars who had been drawn into the undertaking, some of whom had already written contributions for it.

Nevertheless, almost anyone else would have given up at this point, yielding to the force of large and unforeseen events.

But for Ehsan Yarshater great odds seem only a challenge to still greater endeavor, when the cause is a worthy one; and he resolved to continue in the hope that he could raise new funding somehow.

From then on the complex and arduous work of compiling and producing the Encyclopedia has been carried on at the Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University chiefly with the continued support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The undertaking has benefited from unremitting labours of a succession of assistant editors, notably among them M. Kasheff, who began working on the “Encyclopedia of Iran and Islam”, transferring without break to the Encyclopedia Iranica; and latterly P.O. Skjaervø; but the driving force and inspiration continues to be Ehsan Yarshater, who oversees its every aspect.

For this, long experience has uniquely qualified him, both on the practical and scholarly sides; and his extraordinary width of knowledge is invaluable for the choice of rubrics and invitation of contributors. There are few Persian writers and men of learning of the twentieth century whom he has not known, few Iranists whose work he has not read and remembered, perhaps no aspect of Iranian history and culture to which he has not devoted some attention. The usefulness of the Encyclopedia is generally recognized; and it is proving not only an indispensable source of knowledge, but is itself a stimulus to research and fresh thinking on the part of scholars who are invited to contribute, and who respond to the opportunities which it provides. The heavy burdens which it lays on its chief editor have unfortunately kept his own contributions relatively few; but they have ranged characteristically widely, with a number of entries on Iranian dialects, a vivid and sympathetic account of the village of Abyana, and a meticulously documented article on Afrasiyab. He has made moreover striking contributions from his own unique knowledge to articles by others, for example to that on the great modern Persian singer Banan.

Since the early 1970s he had been preparing, as general editor and contributor, the third volume of the Cambridge History of Iran, devoted to the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods.

This massive work, in two parts, was planned to compass “ev-

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ery aspect of Iranian civilization from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. to the advent of Islam in the seventh century A.D.

Just a little later yet another massive undertaking, which had been initiated by Ehsan Yarshater in 1971, began to bear fruit. This was an annotated English translation of Tabari’s “History of Prophets and Kings” (Tarikh al-rusul wal moluk).

Ehsan Yarshater had suggested this as a desirable enterprise to UNESCO, for consideration by its Arabic Commission; but since that commission favored other tasks, he himself undertook it, with UNESCO’s approval, under the auspices of the Bongah.

Only a few contracts had been signed with scholars when the Bongah was closed down, and funding had again to be sought elsewhere. It came to be provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities; and publication of the History, to be in 40 volumes, began in 1985. Seventeen volumes have by now appeared, with ten in the press.

The work of the Iranian Center proceeded vigorously meanwhile, and was diversified. Subsequently in 1987, Ehsan Yarshater established an Iranian Seminar, whose meetings are regularly attended by Iranists from New York’s universities and those of neighbouring states, and often, by invitation or the chance of travel by others from farther afield.

All this vast amount of achievement could be accomplished only by long toil; and often after a hard day¹s work Ehsan Yarshater return in the late evening to his office at the Iran Center (which is interconnected with his apartment ), to put in more hours of concentrated work at his desk there. He has been fortunate to have in his wife a lady who not only understands but supports such dedication, matching it indeed with hard work and idealism of her own.

Events in Iran in the past decade have brought deep personal sorrows to the Yarshaters, as to many other Iranian families. These they have borne with characteristic courage and dignity. Nor is life for them ever wholly toil. There is music, poetry and the visual arts to be enjoyed; and friends and colleagues treasure memories of their delightful hospitality, with wide-ranging talk, rich reminiscences, wit and laughter.

He has always been a lover of sport and the open air; and in his student days he went on long mountain walks with friends in the Alborz, and later skied there. For a long time it was mainly his dialect studies which took him from his desk; but latterly a threat of ill-health from unremitting work has forced him out of doors again for recreation. He has already made profound contributions to Persian scholarship and letters, and Iran and Iranian studies owe him immense debts. May he live to increase that indebtedness, and to enjoy the satisfaction of large tasks fulfilled and new knowledge continually gained.

M. Boyce G. Windfuhr Pictures: Courtesy of Columbia University / (Jim Higdon/CNS)

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IRANIAN WHO’S WHO:

Dr. Ali Kiafar

Prominent Urban Planner, Educator & Cultural Activist Dr. Ali Kiafar, PhD, REFP, is one of the most prominent Iranian-American professionals in California. He has held highest level positions in his profession in both public and private sectors.

He is widely known and respected in the American and Iranian communities for his educational background, professional experience, teaching, and involvement in literary and cultural circles. Dr. Ali Kiafar has published articles in prestigious professional and academic journals, books, trade magazines and newsletters; been featured on the cover of a major professional publication; has numerous times been interviewed and quoted by widely circulated American media, such as Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, KABC, KCBS and KNXT Radio, as well as the Persian language media. He has been invited to and given lectures at a wide range of universities, conferences, and seminars both in the US

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and overseas. He has organized local and national conferences and workshops on a list of topics ranging from technical and professional subjects to research and analysis of issues in Iran. He has received several awards and scholarships for academic and professional excellence from prominent institutions such as University of Southern California and American Institute of Architects. In his busy life’s spare time, Dr. Kiafar has written film reviews, literary articles, and has translated poems and essays from English to Persian and vice versa. In addition to having been a member of several international, national and state academic, research and professional organizations, he has been a long standing member of the literary circle Saturday Nights Group in Los Angeles. He is a strong, constant supporter of artistic, musical and cultural events, especially those which link the life in the new-found land to the old home-land.

Practice of the Profession Ali Kiafar has 35 years of experience in professional practice and university teaching in the areas of architecture,

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planning, urban development, and program management. His professional experience includes more than 17 years in top executive positions for California school districts, the last of which was the unique position of Chief Facilities and Development Superintendent at Burbank Unified School District. He has been the first, and the only, Iranian American who has achieved the superintendent rank in a major educational institution in California. Among his roles in this position were the responsibility for the development, implementation and management of all aspects of the District’s modernization, reconstruction and expansion program, utilizing $240 million funding from local, state and federal grants and funds that he was instrumental in obtaining through his aggressive pursuit and negotiations skills.

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Currently, Dr. Kiafar is vice president of URS Corporation, an international corporation involved in a wide range of design, engineering and construction services. Engineering News-Record (ENR), the foremost independent engineering journal, has ranked URS as the nation’s top firm in Combined Design and Construction Management Professional Services for the past seven consecutive years. URS employs more than 55,000 professionals worldwide and has a staff of 1,000 professionals in the Los Angeles area alone. Dr. Kiafar is responsible for URS’ educational facilities planning and program management business line and for managing planning, design and construction services for a variety of educational facilities programs. Included in his specific roles have been serving as Program Executive for the $830 million capital improve-

ment program at San Bernardino City Unified School District, Principal-inCharge for the Whittier Union High School District’s $250 million Earthquake Recovery and Modernization Program, Principal-in-Charge for the Lo from private and public entities, including Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, State Department of Housing & Community Development, State of California Office of Public School Construction, State Allocation Board, Community Development Block Grant, City of Burbank, City of Thousand Oaks, City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Burbank Redevelopment Agency, Bob Hope Airport Authority, NBC, Warner Bros. Studios, and several major, national housing development companies, among others.

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One project that Dr. Kiafar talks about fondly is the reconstruction, expansion and modernization of Burbank High School, a $61 million plus project where he engaged services of Iranian born professionals in practically every aspect of the design and construction process. He brought together Iranian-American architects, engineers, project managers, construction managers, inspectors and other professionals to make this design award-winning project a unique experience. Dr. Kiafar himself received the Best Community Development award from the American Institute of Architects for the Burbank High project in 2004.

Transfer of Knowledge In addition to the professional practice, Dr. Kiafar has been active in the academic environment. His teaching endeavors started in 1980 at the University of Southern California where he taught courses in physical and spatial design, planning and urban design. He has continued his teaching passion at the University of California – Riverside where he educates university students and career profes-

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sionals in various aspects of educational facilities planning. Dr. Kiafar’s students always indicate how much they appreciate his in-depth knowledge of the subject maters he teaches, combined with the specific examples he brings in from his extensive practical experience.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the most advanced tools for design, engineering and construction of projects. It supplements and improves the coordination between all trades and design disciplines. Dr. Ali Kiafar is very knowledgeable in BIM. He leads his company’s efforts in Southern California in understanding, learning, and implementing the concept. Also, Dr. Kiafar has been a leader in sustainable, environmental friendly practices throughout design and construction stages. Specifically, he has strongly advocated the most comprehensive use of sustainable design for educational facilities. He has been involved, from its inception, with Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), the institutional authority in energy conservation and sustainable

design practices in the educational environment. He has served on the CHPS State-wide Committee for Implementation of CHPS Criteria.

While serving as the Chief Facilities and Development Superintendent at Burbank USD, he advocated and was able to gain the District’s support for incorporation of the CHPS criteria in all new construction and modernization projects.

Educational and Professional Chronology Ali Kiafar obtained his master’s degree in architecture and city planning from National University of Iran in 1977. His thesis, which received the highest possible score and the “excellent” designation from the university faculty, won the best research and final thesis award from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the same year. Having graduated as the head of his class, he was awarded a scholarship by the National University to study in a doctorate program abroad. He entered the master of planning program at USC in 1978 and earned his PhD in Urban and Region-

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al Planning from the same university in 1986.

Ali began teaching at USC in 1980. In the same year he was hired as Architectural Manager at Economic Resources Corporation (ERC). In 1994 he was promoted to the position of Director of Planning, Design and Development and then became Vice President for Planning and Development at ERC. Dr. Kiafar joined Conejo Valley Unified School District, in Thousand Oaks, California, in 1988 as Director of Planning and Facilities. In 1994 he was recruited by Burbank Unified School District as Assistant Superintendent of Planning, Development and Facilities and then was promoted to the position of Chief Facilities and Development Superintendent in 2000.

Following a spectrum of accomplishments in his public sector tenure, Dr. Kiafar decided to expand his professional services to a wider range of educational institutions. So, in 2005 he joined URS Corporation where, as vice president in charge of educational facilities programs, he has served on several major programs in Southern California.

As one of his many professional recognitions, Dr. Kiafar was featured in a 5- page cover story in Building Operating Management in January 2005. Throughout his distinguished career, he has been a member of several academic, research and professional organizations such as Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH), California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), Council of Educational Facilities Planners International, American Collegiate Schools of Planning, American Planning Association, Society of Iranian Architects and Planners (SIAP), Center for Iranian Research and Analysis (CIRA), Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA). He is a Registered Educational Facilities Planner.

Ali Kiafar is married and has two sons: Omeed (22 years old) and Ideen (18 years old). His wife, Jinous, is Senior Environmental Planner and Branch Chief in the Office of Environmental Planning at California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).

Ali A. Kiafar, Ph.D., REFP Vice President, URS Corporation 915 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #800 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Phone: 213-996-2501 Fax: 213-996-254

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Photo: Amir Moshfegh

Architect

IRANIAN WHO’S WHO: JAY JAMSHASB Prominent Architect & Philanthropist

in his field of profession in both public and private sectors.

He is widely known and respected in the American and Iranian communities for his philanthropic and involvement in cultural activities.

Jay Jamshasb is : • one of major sponsors of Mehregan Orange county cultural Festival .

• Member of Strategic Business Group of Orange county (SBG) • Advisory Board member of Iranian Community Center (ICC ) • Member of Stop Gap- 100 Persian Man Against Domestic Violence He is Licensed by: California Architects Board Nevada Architects Board California Contractors Board Proffesional Organizations:

• National council of Architectural Registration

Board (NCARB)

• American Institute of Architects ( AIA )

• American Planning Association (APA ) Certification: National Council of Architectural Registration Board.

Accomplishments: President of JCS, Inc., a design and project management firm - (1989-1998) Partner, WJCS Architects, a design and project management firm - (1998-2001) Vice Chair of Planning Commission, City of Rancho Santa Margarita, California - (2000-2003) Personal Design Philosophy: I believe that nature is inherently a peaceful environment and in order to create cohesiveness between man and nature it becomes the responsibility of architects to merge the aspiration of the design with orders of the nature. I believe that the spaces we live in, whether a kitchen, a living room, an office space, an ICU wing in a hospital, or a park; must be spiritual experiences. Architects must draw the required energy from nature and integrate them with the design in forms of geometric shapes, orientation of buildings, creation of open spaces, and display of natural light.

JAY JAMSHASB was born in Talesh, Northern Region of Iran in1957. when he finished high school, in 1976 came to United State and studied Architecture in Louisiana State University of Baton Rouge .

Jay graduated in 1983 and worked in States of LA,TX,NV & CA Jay Jamshasb, is one of the most prominent Iranian-American professionals in California. He is highly well known

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It is not the complexity of the buildings that makes them a good design which often brings forth contradiction within, but the simple elegance that sets apart a good design from a deprived one. Spaces should be functional and simply elegant while elegantly simple. I am a strong proponent of the old adage “Come to my garden and let my roses see you”, suggesting that spaces should be inviting and a delight to live in.

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EXPERIENCE Over 21 years of experience in project management, construction management, master planning and architecture for healthcare, telecommunication, commercial and institutional projects, varying in size with responsibilities for over a cumulative value of $1,250,000,000.00 in construction costs.

Projects have been constructed in the states of Louisiana, Texas and California.

Managed construction of the Southwestern Bell Corporation Internet Data Center in Irvine, California. A 150,000

s. f. facility complemented by 10 Caterpillar generators, 10 York chillers and over 1000,000 Sf. of raised floor area, served with copper and fiber optic cables. The task required 24 hours a day, seven days a week construction and was successfully completed in six months with a price tag of $65,000,000.00 in 2002.

Involvement in master planning and project management for construction of the City Public Service building in San Antonio, Texas. The task required 24 hours a day, seven days a week construction and active coordination with the tenants during the construction. The project was completed in 18 months and met the budget at $21,000,000.00 in 1989.

Some of Jay Jamshasb’s management and leadership qualities are as followings:

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• Leadership in execution and implementation of activities for multiple projects.

• Executive level knowledge of all design and construction activities from land acquisition through post occupancy, including cost estimating, construction, and code analysis.

• Contract development & negotiation with consultants, vendors and contractors. Review/evaluation and authorization of change orders and other payments.

• Formulation of staffing requirements, capital and operating budget, and scheduling forecast.

• Strategic and tactical planning for construction, and

guidance for completion of tasks within required perimeters.

• Identifying value engineering opportunities, & promoting cost effective construction solutions.

• Establishing positive relationship with different government agencies.

• Execution of project progress reports including budget, schedule and activity forecasting.

Firm History JCS GROUP was formed in 1991 with the fundamental principle of providing quality products, on schedule and within budget. JCS GROUP offers over 17 years of invaluable and varied experiences to our clientele. Past experience of the founder, Jay Jamshasb, includes planning, design, and construction management for additions, renovations and new construction of healthcare, institutional, commercial, manufacturing, civic

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and residential projects. In late 2007 Mr. Nick Azartash joined JCS GROUP to lead the operation of the construction division of the firm. Since then we have successfully completed numbers of healthcare projects in Southern California.

We have established an excellent repu-

followings: Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA – We recently completed phase one construction of a four story emergency department vertical tower, and continuing on construction of other parts of the facility.

White Memorial Medical Center in Los

tington Beach, CA – We master-planned and re-organized over 1,000,00 s.f. of their plastic manufacturing company, and administered the construction using state of the art tools for energy efficiency and building technology.

Firm’s Business Philosophy The firm’s overall philosophy is based

tation with the Office of the Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) and numerous other government agencies. We have earned this reputation based on trust and understanding of the codes and regulations.

It is this kind of reputation that enables our clients to be our most productive and prized form of advertising.

Angeles, CA – We implemented the design of a 7 story hospital tower and assisted in construction management of the tower. Subsequently we have remodeled many parts of the buildings on the campus.

on the premise that it is possible to completely satisfy the client’s need for efficiency and service without compromising design quality. In order to meet this commitment, JCS GROUP has always endeavored to give the utmost attention to project details and as a result, most of our client relationships are multi-project and long standing.

We use the latest state of the art computer systems and software including the latest building information modeling, scheduling and spreadsheet programs to assist our team in its’ quest for excellence and efficiency.

We take pride in our partnership with our clients and consultants. We believe that working with clients as partner will produce a better product, because together we work out a common agreement of action, cooperation, innovation and solution within the framework of a strong partnership. The value of this is clear and no less is possible.

Clients Our expanding client base includes the

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Memorial Hospital of Gardena, CA – Upgraded the infrastructure of the Hospital by providing design and construction to the Facility.

Marina Del Rey Hospital (Centinela Hospital in Marina Del Rey, CA) – We are providing Master-planning ser vices to the campus, and upgrading the structure of the buildings to meet the new requirements of State of California codes and regulations.

East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital, Los Angeles, CA – We have upgraded the structure of the facility to meet the new codes requirements, and we are assisting them in master-planning of their facility.

Pomona Valley Hospital – Upgrade and renovation of hospital infrastructure to meet the current code requirements.

Cambro Manufacturing Company, Hun-

Experience Today, the field of architecture and construction is changing as rapidly as the industries at large. Aggressive and innovative project delivery approaches are needed for each new facility challenge. Big picture thinking is a constant requirement, as is creative use of new technologies and the ability to expand architects services beyond traditional expectations. At JCS GROUP, we are always pushing to move ahead of the trends, and tip the scales of professional services toward excellence, high achievement and client satisfaction.

Services JCS Group Inc. accomplishes its business strategy through four distinct

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organizational initiatives: • Architectural and engineering services division supporting healthcare technologies and re-construction initiatives.

• General contractor services division supporting healthcare facility additions.

• Construction Management services division organized to deliver to the healthcare industry a fully integrated construction management service in support of various healthcare facility re-construction and rehabilitation needs under OSHPD regulations.

• Design/Build division organized to provide total architectural and construction management services for ground up comprehensive facility design and construction.

The firm offers a full range of professional services as indicated below: ARCHITECTURE Architectural Design | Space Planning | Design Feasibility Facility Programming | Needs Assessment Focus & User Group Sessions | Remodeling and Restoration Specifications | Cost Analysis | Agency Interface PLANNING Needs Assessment | Site Analysis | Master Planning Programming | Sessions | Feasibility Studies Existing Facility Assessment | Project Budget Analysis Cost Analysis | CONSTRUCTION SERVICES Design Assist | Agency Processing | Project Management Construction Management | GMP Contract Cost Plus Contract | Lump Sum Fee Contract Design Built Solutions • Project Approach Our approach to each project is based on the philosophy of “Plan the Work and Work the Plan” and is distinguished by project partnering, Knowledge of Project Goals and Objectives, Agencies Coordination, knowledge of codes, regulations and ADA requirements, and prescription of green material and renewable energy

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standards specifications for each project.

Project Delivery System Construction Team Charrettes, Scheduling, cost management, technical and quality control are the key elements in JCS GROUP project delivery methodology.

Firm Data Legal Name: JCS GROUP Inc. Primary Contact: Jay Jamshasb

California Architect License # C-28844 Nevada Architects Board # 5386 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards # 59549 California General Building Contractors License #901292

Nick Azartash California General Engineering Contractors License #A-553434 California General Building Contractors License # B-553434

22772 Centre Drive, Suite 280 Lake Forest, California 92630 Telephone: 949.900.6900 Fax: 949.900.6969 Website: www.jcsga.com E-mail: info@jcsga.com

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Archaeology

he platform of Persepolis from the southeast | photo: Ali Mousavi

The American Contribution to the Archaeology of IRAN: Ali Mousavi Ph.D.

Persia or Iran as we call it today has been visited, explored, and studied by European travelers and adventurers since the 15th century. Those explorations resulted in the publication of a large number of travel accounts, often illustrated with engravings and drawings of the country’s monuments, people, and landscapes, and stimulated the field of Iranian studies in the West.

The practice of archaeology is as old as ancient monuments, but the modern

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notion of archaeology goes back to the early years of the 19th century. Archaeology in Iran, much the same as in other countries, made its debuts through the quest for antiquities and curiosity about the past. But it should not be forgotten that such “non-scientific” explorations paved the way for systematic investigations and provided the basis for a gradual development in scientific excavation methods and strategy. The first recorded excavation of an Iranian site goes back to the early years of the 19th century at the time when a number of British diplomats and travelers such as Gore Ouselely, Robert Gordon, and James Morier, visited Persepolis and carried out excavations and removed sculptured fragments which are now at the British Museum or elsewhere in the world.

The first excavation authorized by the Iranian government was carried out by a Scotsman, named Loftus, between 1849 and 1851 at Susa in southwestern Iran.

This short excavation did not produce

many moveable and valuable objects, but resulted in the first actual plan of the site, and the identification of Susa as the ancient capital of Achaemenian kings. From the middle of that century onwards, archaeological activities were intensified, and Nassereddin Shah (r.

1848-1896), the Qajar king, was, in fact, a patron of explorations and recording of ancient monuments.

During the second half of the 19th century the conceptual framework of archaeology was considerably influenced by two major developments: The deciphering in 1857 of the cuneiform script by Henry Rawlinson, and the triumph of evolutionary biology through the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859, that soon became influential in social sciences, addressing the origin and antiquity of man and, by extension, the transformation of society and culture.

Also contributing were excavations in the Near East such as the discovery of

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the Sumerian civilization in 1877. Some early accomplishments in field archaeology included the development of the method of controlled stratigraphy which was set forth in 1857 by the Germans at Olympia in Asia Minor, and then at Babylon (from 1899 onwards). Toward the end of the century, the application

by Sir Flinders Petrie of Sequence Dating in his work in Egypt influenced Near Eastern archaeology greatly in the methodology of comparative typology.

The first three decades of the 20th century was a time of important socio-political changes which considerably affected the future of archaeology in Iran. The first significant event was the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, which engendered and promoted new ideas and notably a conscious about Iran’s cultural heritage and economic resources, along with a stimulation of nationalistic feelings in defense of the historical heritage of the country. The most crucial factor shaping the future of archaeology in Iran was without doubt the declining state of the Qajar government directly followed in 1925 by the rise of a new ruling dynasty, the Pahlavi dynasty, which could not necessarily be expected to respect all the concessions given by the Qajars; one of these concessions was the French Monopoly on Archaeological Excavations in Iran, which was finally abolished in 1927.

In 1919, James Henry Breasted founded the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago with Rockefeller’s financial support.

Breasted himself a renowned Egyptologist was the driving force behind all the Oriental Institute expeditions to the Near East and Iran in the early decades of the 20th century. The Oriental Institute obtained the first excavation permit under the Antiquities Law of Iran (promulgated in November 1930) for the site of Persepolis, which marked the beginning of American involvement in the archaeological exploration of Iran.

The work of American archaeologists in Iran has had a longlasting impact on the trend of archaeological studies both in the United States and Iran. Three major American institutions sponsored and carried out archaeological fieldwork and studies in Iran: The University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Pennsylvania and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago carried out the first large-scale excavations of important Iranian sites such as Persepolis, Rey and Hissar in the 1930s; the medieval site of Nishapur was investigated by a team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1935 and 1939. These pioneering works brought to the United States the first exemplars of methodically excavated Iranian art, and enriched not only museum collections, but also promoted the creation of teaching positions and chairs in Iranian studies, art history and archaeology in American institutions. Later, from 1957 onward, the excavation of the proto-historic site of Hasanlu sponsored by the University Museum in Philadelphia brought to light outstanding archaeological discoveries such the Hasanlu gold bowl, and resulted in the training of a large number of archaeologists who were in charge of key academic positions in North American institutions until a recent time.

Another aspect of American contribution to the advancement of archaeology in Iran was educational. In 1940, the first group of

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students of archaeology graduated from the Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Letters at Tehran University. Some of these graduates later studied at prestigious universities abroad.

The United States were also significant in that the first Iranian archaeologist trained abroad was in an American university, and this archaeologist was to become a major figure in the history of archaeology in Iran, that is Ezzatollah Negahban, who studied in Chicago, and went back to Iran in 1956. Two years later, he founded the Archaeological Institute of the University of Tehran.

He is better known for his rescue excavation at Marlik, when he saved a large part of the royal cemetery with his exceptional courage and determination. Two of his famous students also graduated later from the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania.

To resume, it should be said that the impact of the American contribution to the development of archaeology in Iran is considerable in terms of advancement in archaeological techniques and training. Besides, three principal fields have been studied either

by American or joint American-Iranian teams during the 1960s and 1970s, which are: 1. The study of the early farming phase and food production in southwestern Iran.

2. The study of the early states in Iran and the formation of kingdoms and empires.

3. The question of the appearance of Iranian speaking people on the Iranian Plateau.

Gold bowl of Hasanlu, Iran (photo: National Museum of Iran)

Ali Mousavi was born in Tehran. He studied in Lyon, France, and took his M.A. in Ancient History and Archaeology from the University of Lyon. He obtained his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

His interests range from the archaeology of second millennium B.C. in Iran to Achaemenid architecture and archaeology.

Ali Mousavi has published widely on the archaeology of Iran and its history. He has carried out excavations in Iran, Turkey and France. Ali Mousavi is currently Assistant Curator of the Ancient Iranian and Near Eastern Art in the Los Angeles County Museum.

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Art

DAMOKA LA resources for Persian and Oriental rug enthusiasts.

Such an elegant collection is the culmination of the hard work, vision, and expertise of Mr. Alex Helmi. An intense passion for hand-woven rugs runs deep in the Helmi family.

For people strolling down the sidewalks of West Wood, Damoka, is more than just a rug store. One can always see people of different nationalities standing in front of the window and admiring the colorful facinating Persion rugs. Damoka’s rug gallery, houses one of the largest and most exquisite collections of Persian and Oriental hand-woven rugs in Los Angeles. Damoka’s two story showrooms are trusted and much admired

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Mr. Helmi, is not only a businessman, he is an active member of the Iranian community as an advocate of Persian culture by celebrating and promoting Iranian traditions. Mr. Helmi has, with the help and cooperation of other Iranian business owners, brought the Nowruz celebration to Westwood, an event that celebrates Persian new year with music, dance and other festivities. This year the event will be held on March 22nd .

The business philosophy and community service of Mr. Helmi calls for forming long-term relationships with satisfied and loyal customers. Through flawless service and unparalleled expertise, Damoka has developed an enviable network of customers.

Damoka Rug Gallery carries the finest antique, semi-antique, and contemporary hand-woven rugs from Iran. The gallery maintains a broad collection of wool and silk hand-woven rugs. Customers can order a custom-made handwoven rug from select countries, to meet their exact requirements. In rare cases in which customers cannot easily find the exact match to what they want, Damoka gallery will find a matching rug through extensive network of business associates.

Damoka Rug gallery provides a wide range of services for hand-woven Persian and Oriental rug customers. Apart from maintaining a breathtaking range of antique and contemporary handwoven rugs, Damoka offers in-house repairs, restoration, cleaning, appraisal, and trade services.

Damoka Services for Your Oriental Carpet Needs: • Direct importer of highest quality handmade rugs from all trusted producers.

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• Specialization in contemporary and antique rugs • Expert repairs and restoration services • The most comprehensive website at www.Damokala. com • The ultimate source for successful interior designers

and decorative Persian, Indian Agra, Turkish Oushak, Chinese Peking, Caucasian, antique European Abusson and Savonnerie carpets and tapestries.

We also have an extensive collection of the highest quality new oriental carpets.

Mr Helmi says : “We at Damoka, are proud of our international prominence for half a century throughout the Middle East, the Orient, Europe and the United States. Our collection is impressive. We specialize in the most exclusive antique

We buy antique oriental carpets as well as trade, appraise, professionally repair and clean all new and antique oriental carpets.”

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Damoka Los Angeles, INC. 1424 Westwood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90024 Tel: (310) 475 - 7900 (800) 232 - RUGS Fax : (310) 475 - 4465 E-mail : info@damokala.com Web: www.damolala.com

Happy Nowruz

Persian New Year

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The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009)

“The Universe, yours to discover” Tofigh Heidarzadeh Phd.

object like the earth; he found that the Milky Way was composed of millions of stars; he observed that four moons were revolving around Jupiter; he discovered a ring around Saturn; he discovered that Venus displays phases like the Moon, and he observed dark spots (sunspots) on the surface of the Sun.

400 years ago, in the starry nights of autumn and winter of 1609, Galileo Galilei was opening a new chapter in mankind’s understanding of the universe: by using a telescope in observing celestial bodies he showed the glory and magnificence of the cosmos through his epoch-making discoveries.

He discovered that the Moon, with its mountains and basins, was an

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Galileo not only introduced a new way to study the universe, but also provided the best evidence to believe that the Earth was not at the center of the universe. Galileo was not the inventor of the telescope but he improved it and employed it greatly to observe the heavenly bodies. It is not surprising to divide the history of observational astronomy to “before” and “after” Galileo.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first telescopic observations the International Year of

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Astronomy 2009 (IYA 2009) has been introduced by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) with the motto of: The Universe, yours to discover!

IYA 2009 will be a year to promote astronomy, to demonstrate the influence of astronomy on our society and culture, to have an emphasis on the education of astronomy, and to involve the public – especially the young – in astronomical activities. To fulfil these goals, thousands of individuals from over 130 countries, through the world’s largest astronomy network, will hold a multitude of events at national, regional, and global levels.

The grand Opening Ceremony of IYA 2009 will be held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, on the 15th and 16th of January 2009. In addition to UNESCO, dozens of national and international organizations and institutes, such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), European Science Foundation (ESF), and American Astronomical Society (AAS) will be involved in the IYA 2009 projects.

The planning phase of this massive endeavour took place in the years 2006 and 2007. The following year, 2008, was the preparation phase of the project. During 2009 hundreds of national and international activities will be implemented to reach the objectives of the project, and 2010 will be the time to follow-up the on going programs and evaluate the executed plans.

the every day life of billions of people. Through various projects, millions of people will be encouraged to experience telescopic observations.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has defined the following eight objectives for IYA 2009: 1) Increase scientific awareness; 2) Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences; 3) Empower astronomical communities in developing countries; 4) Support and improve formal and informal science education; 5) Provide a modern image of science and scientists; 6) Facilitate new networks and strengthen existing ones; 7) Improve the gender-balanced representation of scientists at all levels and promote greater involvement by underrepresented minorities in scientific and engineering careers; and 8) Facilitate the preservation and protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage of dark skies in places such as urban oases, national parks and astronomical sites.

During 2009, the media all over the world will make astronomical news and achievements more noticeable in

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documents: “the aim of the project is to provide neutral, informative and accessible information to female professional and amateur astronomers, students, and those who are interested in the gender equality problem in science.”

UNESCO and IAU will also promote research and educational cooperation on UNESCO’s thematic initiative called Astronomy and World Heritage. The objective of this program is to study the astronomyrelated inheritance all around the globe and to recognize their cultural and scientific values.

I hope Iranians, who have a brilliant background in astronomy, be active in this great scientific and cultural endeavor. A glance at our history shows that once the largest observatories in the world established in our beautiful cities of Isfahan, Maraghe, and Samarqand. We have good reasons to promote IYA 2009, and we have much to say during IYA 2009!

Dr Tofigh Heidarzadeh is a historian of science, teaching at the University of California, Riverside.

His field of research is the history of astronomy. He is also studying the history of science in Iran.

The aim of one of these projects, called the Galileoscope, is to provide inexpensive telescopes, and give 10,000,000 people their first experience of observing celestial bodies through a telescope! This can be done if 100,000 amateur astronomers share their observations with 100 people during a year. Also, people will be encouraged to visit science centers, planetariums, observatories, and museums. Astronomers and scientists will be more in-touch with the public, and new networks and partnerships will be formed between individuals and groups interested in astronomy.

Scientific issues cannot be isolated from the society and its problems. During IYA 2009, Human Rights and particularly gender equality will be supported.

Promoting gender equality and campaign for women’s right are United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

One of the interesting programs of IYA 2009 is called “ SHE IS AN ASTRONOMER”. Based on IAU’s

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Youth Corner

Commanding Our Attention; Shahab Sharifian By: Azaadeh Goharzad

notable achievements, his book A Cell’s Opportunity. The book follows a cell named George who strives to earn a spot on the National Cell soccer team.

Through George’s story Shahab explains the process of mitosis in a simple way that both children and young adults can understand. A Cells Opportunity juxtaposes George’s fictional story with scientific vocabulary and diagrams in order to make the process of Mitosis not only interesting to readers but educational.

Among a generation of Iranians that is rising to success in America, one particular Iranian-American commands our attention. California native, seventeen year-old Shahab Sharifian stands out not only as an outstanding high school student but as an author.

Shahab defines multifaceted. He excels in his favorite sport: soccer, as well as in his high school debate team and Model UN team. Shahab’s love of science aids him in helping his community such as the research he did regarding using inexpensive household items to clean up oil spills, for which he was awarded by the US Navy.

His devotion to helping others in combination with his passion for science resulted in one of Shahab’s most

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The book begins with George’s coach instructing George to create a backup cell in order to make the soccer team. From that point on George’s story teaches the complex process of Mitosis and includes cell processes such as prophase, metaphase, and cytokinesis.

The idea to write a book explaining Mitosis in a simple way came to Shahab in the seventh grade when

he witnessed his classmates struggling to understand simple cell structures.

“Mitosis is not as difficult to understand as it initially seems” says Shahab, “Learning its processes in baby steps makes it much easier to understand”.

Shahab is an inspiration to the Iranian youth to contribute to the community through the use of one’s talent and interests.

As a young Iranian one can look onto this young author with admiration.

Shahab is a prime example of a young man who can balance sports, school, and extracurricular interests and still maintain an immense pride in his own Iranian culture.

If you are interested in reading Shahab’s book, A Cells Opportunity may be purchased on the Amazon website, BookSurge.com and other wholesale and retail channels worldwide.

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Mission Farhang Foundation is a nonreligious, non-political and not-forprofit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate the art and culture of Iranian-Americans in its widest extent.

The foundation supports academic activities in Southern California by funding university programs, publications and conferences. The foundation also supports cultural programs such as celebration of Nowruz and Mehregan, theater, dance performances, films screenings and poetry reading in Southern California. Farhang Foundation, in cooperation with various cultural and academic institutions plans major programs and exhibitions about Iran and its culture. For more info visit: www.farhang.org Board of Trustees Ali C. Razi, Chairman Mark Amin Ahmad Gramian Darioush Khaledi Farshad Mahjoor Aria Mehrabi Farhad Mohit Hooshang Pak Shidan Taslimi President Touraj Daryaee Chief Financial Officer Hassan Izad Secretary Nahid Pirnazar Public Relations Officer Reza Goharzad Academic Committee Amin Banani, UCLA Richard N. Frye, Harvard University Ali Gheissari, University of San Diego

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Nasrin Rahimieh, UC Irvine Matthew W. Stolper, University of Chicago Hossein Ziai, UCLA Past Events Farhang Foundation in the past year has brought forth some very exciting artistic and educational programs in Southern California. In September 2008 the foundation sponsored Shirin Gahdirian and Sadegh Tirafkan’s works at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Shadi Ghadirian’s work focuses on the image of women in Iran and the clash between traditional and modern values in the society. Sadegh Tirafkan’s visual piece which was installed in the ancient gallery dealt with one’s encounter with Persepolis through a rhythmic vision of sight and sound.

The Foundation also sponsored a program at the Hollywood Bowl entitled /The Sights and Sounds of Mystic Persia/.

Keyhan Kalhor and Yo,Yo Ma were the stars at the concert where sufis

and mystics from the Iranian world appeared on stage to put together a mismerising performance to celebrate Rumi and his vision.

In November the President of the European branch of Iranian Studies, Professor Carlo G. Cereti (University of Rome) delivered three fascinating lectures on Iran’s ancient history.

King Narseh and his long Pahlavi inscription was the topic of the lectures which will be published next year.

In December Dr. Ali Mousavi gave a lecture on the American experience in Iran, specifically the archaeologists who have worked to bring to light the ancient heritage of Iran.

In February a conference was held at the University of California, Irvine, entitled /Exploring Iran: Emerging Scholarship in Iranian Studies/ which brought together professors and Ph.d. students from the surrounding universities as well as the University of Chicago and Harvard. Topics of presentations included aspects of modern Persian novel, anthropological study of Iran, ancient Iranian archaeology and literature.

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NOWRUZ Celeberation at LACMA

Farhang Foundation, a recently established non-profit organization focused on celebrating Iranian art and culture in Southern California, today announced a Nowruz (Persian New Year) Celebration that will be open to the public and free of charge at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on March 14 and 15, 2009.

“We are grateful to LACMA for acknowledging the importance of Iranian culture in Southern California by providing us the opportunity to hold a Nowruz Celebration event on their beautiful grounds,” said Touraj Daryaee, President of Farhang Foundation. “We are hopeful that Angelenos of all ethnic backgrounds will join us in celebrating the arrival of spring while getting a taste of Iranian culture and hospitality at Nowruz, the most joyous

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Iranian celebration.”

The two-day Farhang Foundation Nowruz Celebration is free to the public and will feature Iranian cultural exhibits, including a traditional “Haftseen” table, a children’s program with story-telling from the

greatest Iranian epic poem “The Shahnameh,” Persian calligraphy demonstrations, and guided tours of the Iranian art sections of the museum.

Additionally, there will be a classical Iranian dance performance by

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Iranian languages from London University.

The Djanbazian Dance Company, a talk on the significance and symbolism of the Nowruz tradition by Professor Amin Banani, and a musical performance by the Namad Ensemble.“Iran has a rich and diverse cultural heritage and Iranian-Americans represent one of the largest and most successful minority groups in Southern California,” said Dr. Linda Kameroff Head of the Art of the Middle East Department. “At LACMA we have long recognized these facts with our extensive collection of Iranian Art and artifacts, and so, it is

our pleasure to host Farhang Foundation’s Nowruz Celebration in support of their mission of promoting Iranian art, culture and tradition for the benefit our community.”

Throughout both days of the Nowruz celebration, LACMA will provide free tours of their Art of the Middle East galleries with a special emphasis on their acclaimed Iranian arts and artifacts collection.

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Professor Ehsan Yarshater

is the recipient of the first Farhang Heritage Award which will be presented to him at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has been outstanding scholar and promoter of Iran and Iranian Studies in the past six decades.

Professor Yarshater was born in 1920 in Hamadan. His early eduction was in Persian literature at the Teacher’s College, Tehran University and took his D. Litt. in 1947 on Persian poetry. He then studied in England with W.B. Henning studying ancient Iranian languages and culture.

In 1953 he received an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and returned to the University of Tehran to teach.

In 1960 he received his Ph.D. in

While teaching, he also founded the Bongah-e Tarjomeh va Nashr-e Ketab in 1954 where major foreign works were translated into Persian. He also founded the Rahnema-ye Ketab with Iraj Afshar which became the premier literary journal at the time. In 1961 Columbia University appointed Professor Yarshater as Professor of Iranian Studies which he kept until his retirement.

Meanwhile he also begun the Persian Heritage Series, a major project in bringing to light aspects of Persian culture and history. In 1972 he began his life-long project of the Encyclopaedia Iranica and has continued since with this monumental documentation of Iranian civilization.

Farhang Foundation

P.O. Box 491571 Los Angeles, CA 90049 Website: www.farhang.org Email: info@farhang.org

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[The International Astronomy Year 2009]

Book

A History of Physical Theories of Comets, From Aristotle to Whipple Author: Tofigh Heidarzadeh Springer, 2008

this idea that comets were an atmospheric phenomena, created by the hot and dry vapors emanating from the earth. Later, astrologers – people who try to predict human affairs from celestial phenomena – associated comets with generally bad omens: a comet was a sign for the death of a ruler, a prince, or a religious authority.

In Shakespeare’s words: “When beggars die there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

Among the objects we can see in the sky, comets have been one of the most interesting in history! They display a brilliant head with a long hazy tail, which sometimes may extend more than 90 degrees in the sky. To compare just remember that the diameter of the full moon is only about ½ degree.

Comets act sporadically, they appear in different parts of the sky, with different lengths and levels of brightness. Sometimes, for years a brilliant comet may not appear, and sometimes people may witness a few comets in a year. Since they are not as regular as celestial bodies, for a long time in their history, scientists were thinking that comets were not celestial. Aristotle in the 4th century BC developed

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physical sciences in defining the properties of comets.

Reviews

Until very recently, comets have been consistently misunderstood and often considered as flaming apparitions thrown at a sinful Earth from the right hand of an avenging God. Today they are considered as icy remnants of the solar system formation process - but still capable of striking Earth. Dr. Heidarzadeh has provided a comprehensive, scholarly and yet interesting Studies in the 16th, 17th and the history as to how comets have been 18th centuries revealed that comets perceived from ancient times through were celestial objects which revolve the mid twentieth century. It is highly around our own Sun on elongated recommended for scientists and layman orbits. However, their nature was still alike.” unknown. While Isaac Newton in the Donald K. Yeomans, Senior Research late 17th century imagined comets to Scientist at the California Institute of be objects like the earth with a very Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory high density, a century later, PierreSimon Laplace calculated their size Heidarzadeh’s book offers a compreand density to be considerably less. hensive, scholarly survey of physical Yet, Our understanding of their physi- theories of comets from antiquity to cal structure and composition was not the present day. He offers considerable clear until the mid 20th century, when new detail on Newton’s theories and it was found that comets are “dirty their reception, a topic that has received snow balls”: small objects – a few surprisingly little attention. And he miles in diameter – composed of fro- also covers the crucial period in which zen material, volatile gasses, and tiny Laplace and his contemporaries reduced residuals of the early Solar System. comets from the size of planets to near A History of Physical Theories of Comets, From Aristotle to Whipple is a comprehensive book investigating major theories of comets from the 4th century BC to the 20th century.

The main objectives of the book are to demonstrate the foundations of physical theories of comets, and also the interaction between observational and mathematical astronomy, and the

the size we believe they are today. This is a remarkable trove of information to find in a single book, and it will be invaluable to anyone interested in the history of the physical sciences and especially the history of astronomy and cosmology.

Peter Barker, Professor of History of Science, University of Oklahoma

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Economy

The Recession Is Here!

When Is The Recovery?

By: Dr. Esmael Adibi

Orange, CA – The A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University released today the results of its 31st annual economic forecast for the U.S., California and Orange County. The forecast was presented to more than 1,200 Orange County business leaders at a conference held at the Orange County Performing Artscenter, Costa Mesa. Following are highlights of the forecasts.

2009 U.S. Forecast: • The Anderson Center’s forecast issued in December 2007 was among the first calling for the onset of a national recession. On December 1, 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research, official recession watchers, declared that the current recession began in December of 2007.

• Largely as a result of projected declines in consumption, our 2009 forecast points to continued declines in quarterly real GDP growth. For all of 2009, we are forecasting declines of 2.1 percent in real consumption and 1.4 percent in real GDP. 36 PRESTIGE

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• Several factors explain our forecast of a sizable downturn in consumer spending: • On average, $32 of every $100 increase in consumer spending from 2000 to 2008 was fueled by higher consumer debt. Consumer debt increased by $130 billion in 2007 and is on track to increase $100 billion in 2008.

But deleveraging points to a drop in consumer credit in 2009, which will cut directly into consumer spending.

• Wealth losses, mainly from lower home and stock prices, are now in excess of $10 trillion. We estimate this negative wealth effect will reduce consumer spending by at least $100 billion in 2009.

• Sharp job losses and rising unemployment near doubledigit levels point to declining disposable income, which will also serve to drag down consumer spending next year.

• In analyzing the recoveries that followed the last six recessions (since 1969-70), above-average gains in consumer spending accounted for 70 percent of the increase in real GDP in the first quarter of the recovery.

This time around, prospects for a pickup in consumer spending, as noted above, are bleak. And any recovery in investment spending will be constrained by high office vacancy rates and the structural problems in the housing industry.

• While we are forecasting a continuation of declining housing starts, we believe residential construction activity is nearing a trough.

An excess inventory of vacant rental units and singlefamily homes now exists to meet demand through 2009.

So there is little prospect that residential production levels will increase next year. By year-end, however, vacancy rates should return to their historical norms, establishing a base for higher production of housing in 2010.

• As early as December 2003 we foresaw declining home prices, and by December 2004 we warned of the dangers of subprime mortgages and other forms of creative

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entered a recession at the beginning of ’08.

• At the regional level, eight of the largest metropolitan areas of the state are showing job losses in October of ’08 compared to last year’s levels. Orange County, with 2.3 percent decline in job growth and almost 35,000 job losses, is the weakest regional economy of the state.

mortgage financing. The difficulty of capturing its exact timing points to how psychology, at times, trumps economics, but a bursting of the bubble was inevitable. That happened in 2007, when the median sales price of existing single-family homes dropped 3.1 percent. We currently place the 2008 decline at 7.9 percent, and we are forecasting a further decline of 0.6 percent for 2009.

• We believe short-term interest rates, such as the fed funds and prime rates, will decline another 50 basis points. Long-term rates, such as the AAA corporate bond and 30-year mortgage rates, are forecasted to remain near present levels throughout 2009.

• Interest rates, however, are not particularly important for purposes of assessing the prospects for recovery. More critical will be whether financial institutions start lending again, and we don’t believe lending markets will recover until late 2009, at the earliest.

2009 California and Orange County Forecast: • California payroll employment, the most comprehensive measure of economic activity, peaked in December of ’07. Since then, there has been a loss of 105,000 payroll jobs. This confirms our earlier forecast that California

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• It is clear that rapid growth of construction and mortgage industries that served as the major engine of job growth in Orange County over the 2003-06 period turned into the biggest drag on the economy over the 2007-08 period. The weakness in these two sectors has now spilled over into other sectors of the local economy.

• The worst days of construction activity are still ahead of us. Total value of permit valuation for residential & nonresidential units declined sharply in 2007 and current estimates suggest a further decline of 29.4 percent in Orange County and a drop of 23.1 percent in California in 2008. A sharp drop in permit valuation over 2007-08 period will negatively impact construction spending and employment in this sector in ’09.

• With the collapse of construction spending, weakness in real GDP growth and only modest growth in real exports, the outlook for job growth seems bleak. On an annual basis, California is forecasted to lose 76,000 jobs in 2009—a decline of 0.5 percent. Orange County total payroll jobs is projected to decrease by 0.6 percent or a decline of 9,000 jobs.

• Payroll job losses are the major factor explaining weak personal income growth. This along with a higher unemployment rate, decreasing home prices and the recent stock market correction will continue to negatively impact consumers’ confidence and spending.

After declining in 2008, total taxable sales will continue to decrease by 0.6 percent in Orange County and 1.1 percent in California in 2009.

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price of a single-family housing unit, to decrease by 7.0 percent in 2009, substantially lower than the double-digit depreciation of 21.6 percent in 2008.

• Declining home prices is improving housing affordability in Orange County and California. A potential homebuyer with a median family income needed to allocate 34.0 percent of income to purchase a median single-family home in Orange County in the third quarter of ’08.

• On a quarterly basis, however, the rate of home price depreciation should gradually improve through 2009. By the fourth quarter of ’09, the year-over-year price decline should be only around 3.0 percent. Our forecast, therefore, suggests that median home prices in the county will be near bottom by the end of next year.

About the Anderson Center for Economic Research The A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research (ACER) was established in 1979 to provide data, facilities and support in order to encourage the faculty and students at Chapman University to engage in economic and business research of high quality, and to disseminate the results of this research to the community.

• Improvement in housing affordability is inducing demand by first-time homebuyers, particularly in lower-priced housing units. Existing home sales showed a sharp rebound in the third quarter of 2008. The pickup in sales is welcome news and is helping to reduce inventory of unsold homes.

• Housing affordability and inventory of resale and new housing units are two of the variables used in our model to forecast home prices. Job formation and the unemployment rate are the other two variables in our model and have the highest coefficient (elasticity).

Hence, projected job losses in the first three quarters of 2009 will more than offset the improvement in the housing affordability and negatively impact overall housing demand.

• On balance, our forecast calls for Orange County home prices, measured by the median selling

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ESMAEL ADIBI Esmael Adibi, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research and Anderson Chair of Economic Analysis at Chapman University, received his doctorate degree in Economics from Claremont Graduate University.

His research interests include macroeconomics, financial markets, and regional economics. Dr. Adibi has co-authored two textbooks, Econometric Analysis - An Applications Approach, and The Practice of Econometrics with EViews. His articles have been published in newspapers including The Los Angeles Times, and the Orange County Register, as well as professional journals such as International Advances in Economic Research, the Journal of Private Enterprise, and the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics.

Dr. Adibi is past president of the Association for University Business and Economic Research. He is a member

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of the NABE Outlook Survey Panel and Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast Panel. He serves on the board of directors of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, and is a member of California Controller’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Annual Schedule of Conferences and Press Releases JANUARY • Economic Forecast Conferences for Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire • California Purchasing Managers Survey

FEBRUARY

• California Leading Employment Indicator

MARCH

• California Consumer Sentiment Survey

APRIL

• California Purchasing Managers Survey

MAY

• California Leading Employment Indicator

JUNE

• Economic Forecast Update Conference for the U.S., California, Orange and Los Angeles counties, and the Inland Empire • California Consumer Sentiment Survey

JULY

• California Purchasing Managers Survey

AUGUST

• California Leading Employment Indicator

SEPTEMBER

• California Consumer Sentiment Survey

OCTOBER

• California Purchasing Managers Survey

NOVEMBER

• California Leading Employment Indicator

DECEMBER

• Economic Forecast Conference for the U.S., California and Orange County • California Consumer Sentiment Survey

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Economy

Economic Outlook for 2009 When Will This Recession End?

The U.S. Economy Recent Events

9/7 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put into conservatorship 9/15 Lehman files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy 9/15 Merrill Lynch taken over by Bank of America 9/16 The Fed bails out AIG 9/22 Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley become bank holding companies 9/26 Washington Mutual taken over by JP Morgan Chase 10/3 Congress passes the Bailout Package 10/3 Wachovia announces a merger plan with Wells Fargo 10/8 Joint rate cuts by central banks; a 50 b.p. cut by the Fed 10/14 The Government announces a plan to take stakes in the 9 largest banks 10/29 Another 50 b.p. rate reduction by the Fed 12/1 NBER: The current recession started in December 2007 12/16 The Fed’s policy rate is cut to as low as 0%

How the Financial Turmoil Hurts the Economy Housing Market

The turbulence in the financial market made mortgage fi-

Keitaro Matsuda Director of Economic Research Union Bank, N.A. Keitaro Matsuda is Director of Economic Research for Union Bank, N.A., a commercial bank headquartered in San Francisco, California. He is the only bank economist based in the state.

Mr. Matsuda monitors economic trends and developments for Union Bank management and customers, primarily focusing on the economies of California and the Pacific Northwest. He also tracks economic trends in Asia and the Pacific.

Mr. Matsuda has more than 20 years of experience in the United States with Union Bank and its parent company, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Limited (BTMU).

He is a member of the Economic Advisory Committee for the American Bankers Association.

Mr. Matsuda received his MBA from Stanford University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Tokyo. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Union Bank, N.A., is the 25th largest bank in the United States, based on assets. The bank has 336 branch offices in California, Washington, and Oregon; two international offices; and facilities in six other states.

The bank’s holding company is UnionBanCal Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BTMU and a part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., one of the world’s leading financial companies with assets of $1.4 trillion as of September 30, 2008.

The company’s Web site address is www.unionbank. com.

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nancing difficult to obtain and more expensive, increasing foreclosures and depressing home prices

Stock Market

The household balance sheet has taken a hit from a dramatic fall in stock prices

Employment

Financial-service jobs are at risk from consolidation Job losses are spreading from housing-related sectors (construction and finance) to other industries

Credit Availability

Corporations and consumers are finding it harder to finance their spending and investment

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The California Econom

The U.S. Government to the Rescue!

The Fed has cut the policy rate to as low as 0% The Fed is pumping in liquidity To more institutions Against more types of collateral At lower interest rates For longer terms Facilitated the Bear Stearns and AIG rescues The Federal Government stimulus packages $115 billion in “rebates� to individuals The Obama administration will introduce a follow-up package The financial industry bailout package The conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac $700 billion capital infusion into major banks

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Presented at

the Strategic Business Group meeting Santa Ana, California on February 18, 2009

by Keitaro Matsuda Director of Economic Research Union Bank, N.A.

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Law

What Is An Eb-5 Visa ?

An Interview With Dr. Ali Farahmand

In the last few years, growing enterprises and savvy investors have mutually benefited from the Eb-5 or Immigrant-Investor Visa program offered by the United States Federal government. The program gives foreign investors a chance at legal residency in exchange for their investment, which serves to increase jobs and build new commercial enterprises.

The program has been especially popular amongst Asian and Middle Eastern investors. We spoke to Ali Farahmand, attorney at law, to learn more about the Eb-5 program. Ali Farahmand, attorney at AMF-Law, who practices in the areas of immigration, injuries and business, heads a fully trained team of legal professionals dedicated to helping clients with their complex immigration problems, including successfully securing clients with Eb-5 visas. We asked Mr. Farahmand the following questions in order to introduce our readers to his expertise in the matter of the Eb-5 visa: • What is an Eb-5 visa? o An Eb-5 Visa is a Visa for Immigrant Investors created by the Im-

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migration Act of 1990 which allows foreign nationals to obtain a green card through investing money in the United States.

• How many people per year can obtain an Eb-5 visa? o The United States’ government allows for 10,000 Eb-5 visas annually.

Of the total allowed, 5,000 visas are set aside for those investors applying under a program involving a designated “regional center”. A Regional Center is an agency or organization approved by the CIS, which seeks to increase economic growth in a specific geographical area through exports, productions, job production, and investment. o To obtain one of the 5,000 visas set aside for investment in a regional center, the alien investor must show that a qualified investment in a commercial enterprise within the regional center is creating at least 10 or more jobs.

• Who is Eligible for an Eb-5 visa? o Investors Creating a New Commercial Enterprise by: • Buying an existing business and recreating it into a new commercial enterprise • Creating a new business • Maintaining all existing jobs in a troubled business that has lost 20% of its net worth over the past 1 to 2 years • Expanding an already existing commercial enterprise by 140% of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth o Investors investing money into a Commercial Enterprise • Alien investors investing $1,000,000 into a commercial enterprise or $500,000 in a targeted employment area (area experiencing at least 150% of the national unemployment rate) o Investors whose involvement in a Commercial Enterprise Benefits the

United States’ Economy and • Creates at least 10 full time jobs or • Maintains all existing jobs for 2 years in a troubled business, that has existed for at least 2 years, and that has lost 20% of its net worth over the past 1 to 2 years • How can I obtain an Eb-5 visa? o Fulfill the investment requirements above including the requisite investment amount and the required number of jobs created o Show evidence that the investment money was derived from lawful funds o Show that the investor is actively involved in the commercial enterprise • What about my family? o An Eb-5 visa applies to the investor alone, or his spouse and unmarried children.

Ali M. Farahmand practices immigration, business and injury law in the Southern California Area within San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles Counties. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Immigration Law Section at Los Angeles County Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He has practiced immigration law, Injury Law and Business Law for over ten years within the Southern California area.

Ali M. Farahmand received his Jurist Doctor from Notre Dame Law School, located at Notre Dame, Indiana, and received his Bachelor degree from the University of Colorado at Denver, located at Denver, Colorado.

Ali Farahmand speaks Farsi and English.

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Education

CHAPMAN OFFERS NEW M.A. IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

An Interview With Dr. James J. Coyle,

Program Director, Master of Arts in International Studies Director, Center for Global Education Chapman University

Orange County’s premier, private institution of higher learning—Chapman University--is accepting applications for a new Master’s program: the MA in International Studies (MAIS).

This is a truly unique program with a multidisciplinary focus. Students will take courses in political science, history, law, economics, sociology and linguistics designed to prepare graduates for international careers in government or non-profit fields.

The first class of MAIS students will begin their studies in Fall 2009 and graduate in May 2011. MAIS program director Dr. James Coyle said he is preparing the students for federal careers in the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, or the intelligence agencies. Students who don’t want to work for the federal government would also be prepared for careers with international organizations, or non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International.

Students will take a core group of classes giving them research skills, and expose them to topics such as globalization, peace/conflict and human rights, sustainable development, etc.

Coyle said students would then either specialize in International Political Economics and Sustainable Development, or in the region of Latin America.

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Dr. Coyle, why is it important for someone to obtain the MAIS degree?

Success in the 21st Century requires an ability to live and work internationally. The MAIS degree gives our students the knowledge they need to thrive in this new world.

Is knowledge enough? Don’t they need experience?

Indeed, they do. That’s why all MAIS students will perform an international internship in the summer between their first and second year.

Where would these internships take place?

We encourage the students to locate their own internship placements, to maximize the fit between the individual student’s needs and the internship experience.

In the event a student cannot identify an internship, we have the ability to place students in internships in Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and Central America.

Our readership is primarily Iranian-Americans. Your degree specializes in Latin America.

Why would our readers be interested?

Regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, Southern California adjoins Latin America. They are our neighbors, and our most immediate international market. We are a natural gateway for careers in the Latin

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American region. Besides, students don’t have to study about Latin America.

They can specialize in international political economics and sustainable development. The knowledge and skills they will obtain are valuable anywhere in the world.

Would you consider a specialization for the Middle East?

Absolutely. We plan to add the Middle East as an area of specialization since both myself and our academic director, Dr. Nubar Hovsepian, are Middle Eastern specialists. Unfortunately, that will require hiring additional staff, and that means waiting until we have a donor.

What is your Middle Eastern background?

I speak Persian and Turkish, have lived and worked in many Middle Eastern countries dur-

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ing my 24 years as a foreign service officer, and am the co-author of “Politics of the Middle East: Culture and Conflict” (Prentiss Hall, 2nd edition 2007). In addition, I have taught Middle East politics at both Pepperdine University and at the University of San Diego.

How much does the MAIS program cost?

Students in the initial year will pay $48,000 for a 48 credit, two year program. They also will have to pay the cost of their international internship.

Some financial aid will also be available.

How does a candidate apply for the program?

They contact me at coyle@chapman.edu. I will send them a brochure that explains the program and the application process.

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Travel

Business Travel Tips; Reduce Stress & Enjoy Yourself By: Cynthia Grant

Traveling for Business is Less Stressful When You Take Time to Prepare and Organize.

Here are a few tips for your business travel that will make that time away from home just a bit more enjoyable. Let’s start with packing for business travel. Start with the purchase of a good carry one bag. Any seasoned business traveler will tell you carry on is the only way to travel. It will keep you out of baggage claim and you will never have to worry about lost luggage. Buy a couple of good quality pieces constructed of polyurethane-treated fabric that have nylon zippers.

The polyurethane will keep the moisture out and the nylon zippers are far less likely to snag. Consider keeping a duplicate of as much as possible when it comes to those things that you use on a daily basis such as your toiletries. This way you won’t have to worry about unpacking them when you return home. They can just stay in your business travel bags.

You may also think about going to your local drugstore to purchase trial sizes of your toiletries. Try to pack your bag with space saving in mind. Cut down on the number of business suits for example by packing alternate shirts and ties that will go with the same suit. Women can change the look of a suit with different blouses, scarves, sweaters or jewelry. Pack socks and underwear inside your shoes. Not only does this save space but it will also help keep the shape of your shoes.

Pack your belts around the edge of your suitcase. When considering the items to pack think of those things that are necessities and those items that may make your business travel just a little more comfortable.

Here is a business travel tip when choosing your mode of transportation. When choosing transportation for business

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travel the distance that you will be traveling should be considered. Although air travel is the first choice when it comes to long journeys for a shorter trip that is only a couple of hundred miles away a train or automobile may be the better choice. Take into account the time you would spend traveling to and from the airport. Also, don’t forget to consider the amount of time taken at the airport to check in, board, disembark and then find transportation to your final destination etc.

If you do choose to fly consider alternative airports just outside your departure and destination city. Typically these airports may have fewer flights but also will have less chance for overbooking and delays.

Always try to stay in hotels that cater to business travel. Most of these hotels will have high- speed internet access and will offer access to business machines. For unbiased reviews from other business travelers just like you we recommend that you research hotel reviews at TravelPost.com.

One of the more important business travel tips is to check your cellular service prior to leaving for another city. Check with your cell phone service provider. You may find that they don’t provide service where your business travel takes you and therefore you will need to find an alternate carrier for this trip. Can you imagine not finding out until you’re there!

Hope that you will find these business travel tips helpful and may all of your business travel bring further success!

About The Author Cynthia Grant is an independent travel and leisure author working on assignment for TravelPost.com - The Premier Source for Unbiased Hotel Reviews and Ratings. This article can be reprinted freely as long as all links remain active.

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ThePrestigeMagazine.com

March & April 2009

PRESTIGE 49

Interior Design

10 TOP

Spring Decorating IDEAS & TIPS

Spring is finally on its way which is a big relief to people in parts of the country who may have had some rough winter weather this year. It’s time to celebrate the new time of year, the coming of a new season and the beautiful weather in store for us. One way you can celebrate this great weather is by decorating your home for spring.

This is a time for spring cleaning, as you know so it’s a great time to revamp your home, especially the main rooms that visitors see when they come to your home. Decorating your home for spring does not have to be difficult or expensive and can be achieved with some nice cleaning and reorganizing.

Here are 10 hot spring décor ideas and tips for your home that won’t cost you a bundle: 1.

Clean out that clutter! This is a great time to clean out the clutter that has been collecting over the past few months. Open up the drapes, get some sunshine in your room and clean out all that extra stuff that’s lying around.

2.

Clean up your front! Take this time to clean out the front doorstep and make it more inviting for people. Sweep the stoop, dust out the mats, clean the windows, etc.

3.

Bring on the green! Now is time to get rid of those old dusty silk plants and flowers and bring out some fresh flowers, greenery and lively plants. Spring is a great time for brightening up the home.

4.

Clean out the fireplace! If you have a fireplace that you’ve been using all winter, now is a great time to clean it out. Even if you still need to use it on a few chilly nights, it’s still a great idea to clean out all those old ashes and soot now.

5.

Redo your rugs! If you have rugs throughout your home, this may be a great chance to switch them out for spring or summer rugs. If you don’t have any to switch out, try moving them to different rooms throughout your home for a fresher look and also be sure to clean them properly and remove any dust build up.

50 PRESTIGE

March & April 2009

6.

Let in the light! This is a great time to begin opening your shades and window coverings, cleaning your windows, using sheer curtains and finding other ways of letting that great spring sunshine into your home.

7.

Check your accessories! Look around your home at your wall décor and other accessories. This is a great time to revamp the décor look in your home by changing some simple accessories to more spring-like designs, colors and patterns.

8.

Clean your fans! If you have ceiling fans in your home, take time to clean and dust them properly, including lights and fixtures, and change the direction in which your fans are blowing.

9.

Create a window box! Another great craft/décor idea is to create a lovely springtime window box for display.

It’s fun to do and it looks great.

10.

Spring scents! Remember that a clean-smelling home is all the more inviting. Instead of wasting money on sprays and other products designed to make your home smell better, create your own spring scents. Try a simmering pot of cloves and cinnamon or dried flower leaves to give your entire home a great scent.

These ideas are a great way for you to bring a little springtime into your home! You can see more spring décor items for your home over at Unique Décor Online. Stay tuned to our blog for more home decorating, spring and holiday ideas and tips.

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