Free Republic

SNIPPET: "The FBI says that an actor threatened to kill flight passengers on a flight from Chicago Tuesday night. The plan was headed to Orange County and Arash "Ash" Durrani, 26, is going to appear in federal court Friday. Sources say that Ash Durrani was being unruly by pacing the aisles, demanding alcohol, harassing female passengers and threatening to kill people. According to the affidavit, the deranged model and actor yelled, "I'm from Afghanistan and I will murder all of you." This San Antonio Celebrity Examiner is just in shock. Did he say Afghanistan? Durrani was born in Alexandria, Virginia."

We were in the fourth or fifth grade in the primary school in Iran at the time. It was the Persian literature class. Not a subject that I particularly looked forward to as a child, however that day when the teacher started reading out the poem on the Iranian mythical hero, Arash, by Siavash Kasraii, suddenly I was mesmerized. Contrary to my usual quest for mischief and laughter, this time I was all-ears. A painting of a heroic type figure stretching his bow and arrow to the full, accompanied the text of the poem. Iran had been at war with...