Archive - Jun 27, 2009 - Article

Raw at Red Rock

I escaped. I left June gloom behind and took to the road, chasing the unknown into the desert. The music is at full blast; a feeble attempt to obliterate the sounds and the images of a world that has gone mad. And now on this balcony of a new fate I stand drowned and raw to the bone, staring at the Red Rock which is glowing in the afternoon Arizona sun. The iPod ear buds deliver the high and low decibels to my core, so that every cell, sinew and muscle is soaked in the music. I feel my hair stand on end. The heat, the rage and the utter helplessness join forces and pound at my heart; fistfuls of deep and dark guilt deliver explosions, one after another, to my soul. The dam opens; tears cascade down my cheeks, drenching my face, dripping on the steno pad where my thoughts scream out of my pen>>>

Optimism as Resistance

I am an Iranian citizen and I did not participate in the fraudulent June 12th presidential elections in Iran. This is the awkward position I find myself in now, having spent nearly three weeks watching millions protest the results of that election in the streets of Iran and around the world. This is the awkward position I find myself in, surrounded by a sea of protesters demanding “Where is my Vote?” at the solidarity rallies I’ve been attending in the city where I live. This is the decision I am reminded of every day, as I sift through the seemingly endless stream of information being disseminated on the mainstream news, YouTube, Facebook, and the blogosphere for hours every day. This is the decision I am reminded of as I try to find my way in the world of citizen journalism>>>

تشدید دوپارگی

از پی چندین روز پر تنش، سر انجام در نماز روز جمعه ۲۹ خرداد، رهبری نظام به سود بخشی از یک جناح، از مسوولیت "هدایت" تمامیت جمهوری اسلامی دست کشید؛ و به جای دعوت دو بخش جامعه ما به آشتی و همزیستی، اکثریت ناراضی و معترض جامعه را به مقابله و سرکوب تهدید کرد. روز بعد میلیون ها نفر در سراسر کشور به خیابان ها ریختند و خون ده ها معصوم بر آسفالت خیابان شتک زد. کدام عوامل سازمانگر نگاه و رفتار آقای خامنه ای در روند انتخابات دهمین دوره انتخابات ریاست جمهوری بوده است؟ آیا رفتار رهبری کشور به صلاح کشور و منافع ملی بوده است؟ واکنش رهبری کشور در قبال بحران موجود تا چه حد به ثبات سیاسی سیستم کمک می کند؟ آیا گزینه دیگری، با زیان های کمتری برای امنیت عامه و اعتبار کشور و وجود داشت؟ پختگی، انسجام، و دور اندیشی و درایت تا چه میزان با حرکت رهبری نظام در پروسه انتخابات در آمیخته بوده است؟ >>>

A downward spiral

Elections allowed the different factions of the clergy believing in the rule of the faqih to test out the legitimacy of their solutions, and by inference their position in the ruling hierarchy, by reverting to the popular vote. Thus the factions would fight over the popular vote and would use this to manoeuvre in the corridors of power. Hence the regime that Khomeini bestowed on the country was in no way democratic for the population of Iran but allowed a large amount of freedom, indeed a form of internal democracy, within the ruling clergy. Interestingly the people of Iran, deprived of any real voice in government, used the rivalry between the factions to manoeuvre and obtain some breathing space>>>

اینجا کجاست

اینجا کجاست
شهر من اینجا نیست
شهر من اینجا نیست
جمعیت سبز درخیا بانها وکوچه ها مرده است و سپیده صبح به سرخی میزند
من از تمام ادامها یی‌
که به اسم حقیقت،  عدالت، و انسانیت تمام انسانها را قربانی می کنند
و به این بیعدالتی
نام عشق داده ا‌ند
میترسم.
>>>

Dark Mythic Flames Of History

Dark Mythic Flames of history
Sweep far across an eastern sea
Seething through society
Destroying all tranquility
Chronicles from ancient lands
Gripped tautly by medieval hands
Black the red hearts which they fan
Turn the world back into sand >>>

Stay Neda

Stay Neda
The birds are singing
The forests are green
Flowers are blooming
It is Spring
Do not go Neda
Stay Neda
Sing with your people in the streets >>>