Archive - Apr 1, 2009 - Article

Expect major catfights

The Obama administration's recent overtures for a reconciliation with Iran have come in the form of sweet talk of opening up of fisted hands, accompanied with a quotation from the wily and clever Sa'di, one of our more popular poets (1184-1283?). The initial Iranian responses to these Obama overtures are starting to resemble the coy Iranian bride's ladylike silence upon first being asked if she would take the man. Initial reactions from the Iranian government were predictable rebukes and denunciations to the effect that nothing has changed in reality, that the Americans should draw some lessons from their past and present behavior if they really want better relations with Iran>>>

The contender

Sometimes news takes time to get out of Iran - particularly when it comes to internal strife in the upper political echelons. But eventually, major clashes leak out. This week the news emerged that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the mayor of Tehran and Ahmadinejad's main rival in the Osulgarayn (Principalist) movement, resigned from his post just before the end of the previous Persian calendar year - approximately March 18 or 19. A number of days later, he was reinstated to his job after his resignation was rejected by senior officials, most likely the supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei.>>>

What is happening to us?

Whenever the victim(s) is Muslim and the aggressor not, the probability of Muslim outrage is exponentially far greater than when both are Muslims. When there is a role reversal that is the aggressor is Muslim and victim is not this observation does not hold. For example lets take the case of the eight year war the late Saddam Hussein started and imposed on Iran. Although no reliable statistics exists, the number of victims are put at anywhere between one to two million. That is one to two million victims with zest for life, beloved families and unfulfilled dreams who overwhelmingly were Muslim>>>

«قانون جرایم رایانه‌ای»

در هفته‌های اخیر موج وسیعی از سركوب وبلاگ‌نویسان به راه افتاده است. در روزهای آخر سال گذشته، اطلاعیه شدید اللحنی از سوی «مرکز بررسی جرائم سازمان یافته اینترنتی» وابسته به سپاه پاسداران منتشر شد كه از برخورد سازمان یافته و با بهره‌گیری از پیش‌رفته‌ترین فن‌آوری‌ها برای كنترل نشر اینترنتی حكایت می‌كرد. در این اطلاعیه گفته شده بود كه ده‌ها سایت و وبلاگ «ضد دینی» و «ضد اخلاقی» بسته شده و ۱۸ نفر بازداشت شده‌اند. در همان روزها خبر فوت مشكوك وبلاگ‌نویس امیررضا میر صیافی در زندان اوین منتشر شد و گزارش‌های بعدی شائبه قتل او در زندان را تقویت كرد. و اكنون «معاونت مبارزه با جرایم خاص و رایانه ای» در نیروی انتظامی، وبلاگ ‌نویسان را با ارسال یك «هشدار» بی‌سابقه مورد تهدید قرار داده است>>>

Nowruz in exile

I stitch
my skirt
to the spring
of the hostess city,
my skin to the
reminiscence
of springs past
in my city of birth,
and I celebrate
the new year's feast,
Nowruz, on Cyberspace! >>>

Flint to Flint

I am on a train.
Heading towards London.
In between two worlds,
my head bouncing against the Window.
The train reaches Kings Cross station,
I zigzag the crowd,
a sea of rushing suites,
and in my empty seat,
a half read newspaper >>>