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پنج و پنجاه بار

پنج و پنجاه بار
گِردِ خورشید گشته ام.
نمی دانم
ماه چند بار
گِردِ من گشته است،
اما می دانم
نیآموختم
اعجازِ آفتاب را، >>>

We take a stand

We, the undersigned scholars and academic specialists in the fields of Middle Eastern and Iranian studies, call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to put an end to human rights abuses against Bahais in Iran, which have been greatly escalating in recent months, and grant them full civil rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, to which Iran is a signatory. We note with great concern evidence of an ongoing campaign to deprive the Bahais of Iran of their fundamental human rights>>>

Neo-con agenda is dead? Really?

In an article titled, "Blueprints for a Police State", Marjorie Cohn, sets out clearly the role of two key figures in the drafting of a set of memoranda that overturned the most basic protections American citizens had against arbitrary state harassment and violence, effectively turning the U.S. into a police state. Cohn has consistently recorded former administration of George W. Bush's violations of some of the most fundamental laws protecting civil liberties. So, we must ask: What is law? And is the U.S. a country based on laws? Clearly, 'law' has many aspects, and there are different kinds of laws. There is contract law, property law, trust law, tort law, and criminal law>>>

History for youth

When the idea of producing high quality books for young readers about Iranian history and culture was conceived, one of the first and most important goals was to get these books into public and school libraries in North America. For many reasons beyond the scope of discussion here and despite the importance of Iran in the world stage for centuries, Iranian history does not have its rightful place amongst the history of civilizations. When the book was first published, my daughter sent a copy of “Ancient Iran” to her Professor of Ancient Near Eastern studies at our local University. The response was “Great, I did not know Iran was this fascinating, maybe I should include some topics from Iran in my course”.>>>

مستضعفان! دوباره با شما کار دارند

کاملاً معلوم است که اوضاع کشور، بخاطر بی لياقتی ها، فساد فراگير و ماجراجوئی های ابلهانهء کابينهء محمود احمدی نژاد، رفته رفته شکل اوضاع دوران جنگ را بخود گرفته و فقر و بینوائی به سرعت جامعه را در خود می کشد، بی آنکه از آن درآمد باد آوردهء دوران خاتمی و بخصوص احمدی نژاد چيزی باقی مانده باشد. ميرحسين موسوی، بعنوان متخصص ادارهء دوران عسرت، خود را آماده می کند تا در خرداد ماه آينده، با بوسيدن دست رهبر و ولی فقيه، ناخدای کشتی در گل فرو رفتهء حکومت اسلامی شود. در اين ميان، و بعنوان «دشت اول»، نکتهء جالب آن است که او، در همين اعلاميهء اعلام نامزدی خود، می کوشد تا به مضامين اوليهء آنچه «انقلاب اسلامی» ناميده می شود برگردد و خود را ناجی مستضعفانی نشان دهد که تعدادشان اکنون ده ها برابر بيش از دوران رژيم سابق شده و هر لحظه نيز بر شمارشان افزوده تر می شود. >>>

خیال

کود نوشته هایم را
بر ریشهء باورها میریزم
و در اطاقکی گسترده به جنگل
نقب می زنم از گذشته تا حال

آه که کرم عمر
چه بی رحمانه آرزوهایم را پوسانده است! >>>

Old-age love-making

Mystery of wisdom
Turns on,

Beauty of logic
Just adds on,

This thread woven in heart,
But matured in time >>>

Merchant of Chaarmahal

A Jew lends someone money, the borrower can’t pay it back so the Jew demands a chunk of flesh in payment. This isn’t Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice; it is a story from Iran’s Chaahaarmahal and Bakhtiaari province. The subtleties of this anti-Semitic characterization are explored reasonably well in Shakespeare’s work, so we’ll move on to the legal adventures of the protagonist: the idiot who borrowed the money. He was simple man who at an old age resolved to improve his lot in life. The Jew was a neighbor who according to the story had amassed his wealth in “many different ways.” >>>

مردمی كردن درآمدهای نفت

آقای احمدی‌نژاد البته در طرح شعارهای عوامفریبانه اقتصادی تجربه دارد. در دوره پیش، او قرار بود كه «نفت را به پای ‌سفره مردم» ببرد، ولی در دوره چهارساله حكومتش نه فقط از تحقق این وعده خبری‌ نشد و بلكه درآمدهای ‌سرسام‌آور نفت كشور در این دوره برای مردم نتیجه‌ای جز فقر و تورم بر جای نگذاشته است. آقای ‌كروبی نیز در دوره گذشته با شعار عوام‌پسند مشابهی یعنی پرداخت ماهی‌ پنجاه هزارتومان به هر خانواده ایرانی به صحنه آمد. این شعار گرچه ظاهرا توانسته بود آرایی را برای او كسب كند ولی به دلایلی برای موفقیت او در رأی‌گیری كافی نبود. علاوه بر این، هیچ‌گاه معلوم نشد كه او چگونه می‌خواسته یا می‌توانسته است این شعار را متحقق كند. احمدی‌نژاد و كروبی هر دو در رأی‌گیری پیشین شعارهای اقتصادی فریبنده‌ای را مطرح كردند - شعارهایی كه هیچ پایه اقتصادی و عملیاتی نداشتند از این رو چیزی جز صرفا شعارهای عوامفریبانه نبودند>>>

Culprit by Default

Working in a restaurant when I was a student in the early 1970s wasn’t officially authorized under my student visa, but it provided me with a badly needed income. Earning a salary by the hour was something unheard of for me since there was no payment system like that back home in Iran. Even though the minimum wage rate in those days was not all that high in nominal terms, it was a considerable amount of money for me since I use to live on a very small stipend. In addition to its monetary reward, the job had non-monetary benefits. I was able to take home the restaurant’s unsold leftover baked potatoes every night because I believe that health department regulations did not allow the potatoes to be saved>>>

زندگی های نزیسته

من پر از این زندگی های نزیسته ام: زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست موهایش را به آفتاب بنمایاند، زندگی آن دختر ده ساله ای که دلش می خواست روسری بپوشد و دست پدر به زور و با خشونت آنرا از سرش می کشید و بهش می گفت کلاغ سیاه، زندگی آن نوجوانی که نمی توانست در دریا کنار پدرش شنا کند، زندگی آن دختر یازده ساله ای که نمی توانست در کوچه ها کنار پسر های همسالش دوچرخه سواری کند، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست احساساتش را به دوستان دخترش نشان بدهد، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست دوست پسر داشته باشد، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست فعالیت سیاسی داشته باشد، زندگی آن دختری که نمی خواست دوستانش در زندانها بمیرند، زندگی آن دختری که می خواست با معلم دینی بحث کند و نمی توانست، >>>

Promise

The last time I heard you say
Oh, the last words I heard
in the dark, almost a dream
the words I thought you said:

"If you hear me coming
through these four empty walls
If I won't bring you flowers,
I'll get you something red. >>>

A Bold Roadmap

The ongoing promotion of coercive diplomacy, based on a “carrots and sticks” framework, and the continuing threats of military action against Iran – “all options remain on the table” -- have failed to achieve their stated objectives, which is to change Iran’s behavior in areas such as uranium enrichment, support for “terrorism,” opposition to Middle East peace and human rights violation. These policy approaches are based on false assumptions about Iran, an incomplete understanding of the Islamic Republic, and a problematic definition of issues standing between the two governments>>>

The New Day

The Persian Prefix “no-“, as in NoRooz, is the equivalent of “new” and “now” in English since both languages are rooted in Indo-European origins. Iran has, by and large, remained quite diverse since antiquity. Norooz, which celebrates the divine creation of Zoroastrian Lord of Wisdom-Ahura Mazda who created the Universe, the Guardian Angels (Forouhars) and the holy fire-is the most cherished of all Iranian festivals. The ancient practice of observing the commencement of the spring season was not necessarily reserved to Iranians (Persians); many neighboring nations have and continue observing it>>>

Marla and Me

One night after work around 3.30 in the morning I just missed talking to her so much, when I got home, I called and left her a message “Marla, I miss you and Doug so much, I miss our Thursday-night dinners in your garden, I miss our deep conversations, I miss helping you trim those beautiful Roses. I realized that I never told you how much I love you and how valuable you have been in my life. I just want to tell you that I appreciate your being in my life, I appreciate all you have done for me, I should have said it every time we talked but I didn’t know then that friends like you are rare to find. Thanks for being there for me all those lonely years.”>>>