Archive - Jan 2008 - Article

For men only

"You mean you would be willing to allow your husband to take on a second or even a third wife while married to you, with the law supporting him in doing so?" I ask. "What’s the problem with that?" She responds abruptly and forcefully. "I am the second wife to my husband." All the women surrounding us on the Tehran metro car are now staring at me. There is something in their gaze, waiting for me to put this woman in her place with a strong and reproachful response. But the woman does not allow me to respond, she continues: "I fell in love with my husband. I am still in love with him. If it weren’t for the law, I would not be allowed to be with him. Even if it is for one day a week, it is legal. This law gives us greater freedom of choice, why should I oppose it?">>>

عكس فوري عشقبازي

همه چیز از باسن بزرگ من شروع شد!
و طعنه باد به در
و عکس سینه بند صورتی
که افتاده بود در آبگون نگاه تو.
تختِ آشفته
ملافه واژگون
و عشقبازی نا تمام باران و برگ.
>>>

Massacre of Colours

The red was accused of passion
The pink was told it lacked any sense of ration
The yellow had no self-respect and was cautioned
The purple, the poor, shameless purple was condemned to lashes
The colours screamed, pondered their claims
Asked for mercy, and bargained for a plea >>>

Memories

...>>>

Origins of Azeri Turks

Maybe some of the readers can bring more information about this issue, but I think (I don't remember it very well any more) we had a theory in our Iranian school textbooks during the Pahlavi regime saying that the inhabitants of Azerbaijan (the Iranian side) are Aryans (the racial word for describing Iranians, or that was the intended, or perceived, purpose of the usage) who have been "linguistically" Turkified, to use the exact term. I doubt they still have this in today's IRI textbooks (maybe they do), but I have been quite amazed to find it in many places on the Internet, also on Wikipedia, about issues relating to Iranians, where Iranian editors have been very actively pursuing, and trying to prove, this theory>>>

Hazardous speech

Despite being so useful, internet has created a breed of beasts who can hide behind the wall of anonymity and do whatever they want. Look at those people who bombard you with embarrassing emails trying to sell you something that supposedly help to enlarge certain part of your body! Look at some of these shrewd salesmen who try to spread the fear of unknown in an attempt to rip you off, or those who try to steal your vital financial information to commit financial crimes under your name. Don’t you wish there was an effective way to get rid of these people?>>>

قدیمی ترین رسانه ی گروهی

چهل سال از فاجعه ای که " خودکشی قهرمان" خوانده شد گذشت, هنوز اما " قهرمان" زنده است و پیرامون زندگی و مرگ اش سخن گفته می شود. بسیارند آنان که " خود کشی قهرمان " را باور ندارند و قهرمان را قربانی ستمگری ی استبداد می دانند , و انگشت اتهام شان همچنان به سوی دیکتاتور نشانه رفته است. برخی اما اختلاف های خانوادگی و طبقاتی , و بحران های عصبی و روانی ناشی از آن ها را علت خودکشی " جهان پهلوان "می پندارند. هر دو سو چهل سال است برای اثبات ادعای خود , بر انبوه شواهد و دلایل خود اضافه می کنند.>>>

سعادت اجتماعی

تنها وسائل گرفتار نشدن در نکبت حکومت های ايدئولوژيک تبعيض گزار ـ و، به ناچار، سرکوبگر ـ، از يکسو جستن «راه حل هائی غير ايدئولوژيک» برای بحران های اجتماعی است و، از سوی ديگر، کوشيدن برای اينکه در مسير اجرائی کردن اينگونه «راه حل های غير ايدئولوژيک» ـ ايدئولوژی های موجود (هر چقدر هم عدالتخواه و انسانی) به حاکميت راه پيدا نکرده و به مرحلهء دوم تحقق خود نرسند. اين دو راه موازی، درواقع، دو روی يک سکه اند که «سعادت اجتماعی» نام دارد.>>>

Reversal of fortunes

Five hundred years ago, global warming helped create an economic down turn in West and Central Asia and facilitated the European economic rise. Today, might we have a case of reverse fortunes, allowing West and Central Asia to get back to where it was before? Andre Gunder Frank and many other economic historians have told us about “ReOrient”ing to China, and that while the Chinese economy has suffered 500 years of recession, it is only natural for it to make a come back and start dominating the world again. But can the same be said for the Near East?>>>

Brightest star

I mourn his loss. There are some people who believe an actor's death should not be front-page news when there are soldiers and civilians who are dying in faraway lands for greater causes. I don't know a single soldier or a single dead civilian. I do know a lot about war. I've read about it. I've written twenty page papers on the roots and causes of international conflict, the reasons for genocide and ethnic violence, the clash of civilizations. Reading and writing about something isn't as real as mourning the loss of something you know>>>

Effortless energy

The truth is I was a bit nervous at first. After all, it is not often that I have the chance to meet a total stranger whose voice has become a part of my every day routine. Odd as it may seem, this one dimensional nature of fame is an inevitable reality for all successful artists including the one I was about to interview. Adapting to increased recognition and celebrity is an adjustment that Arash Sobhani will most likely have to make in the upcoming years because both he and his band Kiosk have gained significant popularity and recognition recently across the US, Europe and Iran and show no signs of slowing down>>>

عمو ناصر!

من همه ماجرای عشقی تو و شهلا را به خوبی می دانم. ناصر! یادت می آید خانه ی شهلا در خیابان ظفر؟ همان جایی که پستان های داغ و هیکل خوش فرم شهلا را به دهان می گرفتی؟ همان جایی که شهلا بساط تریاک کشی ترا آماده می کرد؟ راستی در همه جای خانه با شهلا عشق بازی کردی و به قول خودت چه سکسی هم داشت. آخر می دانی اگر شهلا سکسش خوب بود به خاطر این بود که با تمام وجودش ترا دوست داشت گرچه می دانست همسری داری و شاید به قول خودش هوویی! شما دو نفر سالها با هم دوست بودید. نمی دانم شاید هم زن شرعی ات شده بود نمی دانم! >>>

I'd give anything to be Bush

How many millions are spent each day on Iraq

How many billions are spent each month

Who is the president kidding when he says

we can't afford to expand health care for children >>>

Apology accepted

Shabeh Jomeh, a social-networking organization of Persian/Iranian-American professionals and Meenoo Chahbazi, one of its members, represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs and the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, announced today that they have reached a settlement agreement with a Georgetown nightclub, Blue Gin, resolving allegations that the owner and operator of the Club discriminated against Persian/Iranian-Americans>>>

The Green Circle

The reason of survival of our culture is behind the idea that ordinary people of Iran naturally understand and welcome the concept of function. As I have mentioned before and by the presence of many evidences, there are two factors flowing in every Iranian’s blood streams, humbleness and purpose; and as long as we don’t lose these two pillars of our survivals we should be hopeful to add more brick to our cultural castle with the birth of every single Iranian baby>>>