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غنچه

وقتی برادربزرگم ازدواج کرد، شانزده هفده سالش بود. این را از بزرگ تر ها که با هم حرف می زدند متوجه شدم. اما بزرگتر نشان می داد. "...عباس، این پسر شانزده هفده سالش بیشتر نیست، چطورداری زیر بارزن گرفتنش می روی؟ " و عباس که پدر من هم بود، بیشتر مواقع جوابی نمی داد. ولی یکی دو بار شنیدم که گفت" " ...چکار کنم، شاشش کف کرده...اگر برایش زن نگیرم می ترسم مریض بشود..." تا مدت ها نمی دانستم که چرا اگر زن نگیرد مریض میشود. یک بار دیگر که باز دراین مورد صحبت میکردند، حاج آقا صابونچی، گفت: " اوس عباس، مریض میشه چیه؟ مگه همه جوون هائی که زن ندارن مریض میشن؟ " و پدرم گفت تو شهر ما " دوب " اش پر از خانم هائی است که یک از یک خوشکل ترند و خیلیا شون هم مریضند...حاجی می ترسم سوزاک بگیرد " با اینکه شنیدم بیماری که پدر ازش می ترسد " سوزاک " است>>>

Shatranj

First of all, it’s not chess it’s shatranj. And yes the rules are different. In chess, the queen is the terror of the board. In shatranj nothing is more powerful than the rook. The humble piece that sits next to the king is the farzin, a wretched civil servant that can move only one square diagonally. There are more differences, but this isn’t about modern chess versus authentic shatranj, it’s a confession. We Iranians cheated in the very first game of shatranj ever played. In our defense, we didn’t start the whole affair, the Indians did>>>

روزمرّگی

می ترسم که روزی
روزمرّگی
ِجرمی شود بر دندان سفیدِ لذّت
و نتوانم حتی لقمه ای عشق هضم کنم
واگرجرعه ای احساس بنوشم
سرفه ام بگیرد >>>

The best way

We would like to congratulate you on your becoming the 44th President of the United States of America as such historic event of unprecedented proportion has now transpired. In your inaugural address, you eluded to extending a dialogue with Iran. Most Americans including many in the Iranian-American Community of nearly a million strong keenly welcome this noble idea. It is, therefore, in the spirit of supporting your bold leadership to reinvigorate the American credibility worldwide, including the Near East, albeit Iran, that we the undersigned scholars would take the opportunity a few key suggestions that we believe when implemented in our rapprochement should mutually benefit both nations:>>>

If Picasso could cook

Taxi drivers seem reluctant to make the 15 minute journey from the Nanjing business district to the infamous French Concession area of Shanghai where our destination ‘El Willy’ is discreetly tucked away. On arrival, we walk towards the faint glare of candle lit lanterns which become brighter and more visible as we approach. And then, all of a sudden, a very different Shanghai exposes itself to us. One that immediately makes you forget which corner of the earth you are in… Goodbye Shanghai, hello Europe! We arrive at the restaurant owned by Chef Patron Guillermo Tullera Moreno (hailing from Barcelona, Spain), affectionately known as “Willy”, after which he named his first restaurant>>>

Moral Victory

30 years ago, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the first female judge in Iranian history, was removed from her post when religious authorities in Iran declared that all women serving in the country as judges were “unfit” to perform their duties. She was then immediately demoted to a position as administrative clerk in the courtroom where she once presided. Dr. Ebadi was hit then by the inequities of women’s rights and inequality in Iran, but she did not let that stop her. During a time marked by political and religious upheaval, Shirin Ebadi found her path and continued her journey by becoming a human rights advocate and attorney serving the public as she helped those who looked to her to provide counsel on the interpretation of rights under Iranian law>>>

سركوب نواندیشان

كم نیستند شیعیان اندیشمندی كه صرفا به دلیل این كه قرائت دیگری از مذهب ارائه كرده‌اند مورد خشم و غضب مقامات حاكم قرار گرفته‌اند و حتا با خطر اعدام مواجه شده‌اند. در سال‌های اخیر كه یك قرائت قشری امام زمانی بر حكومت مسلط شده، دامنه این تعقیب‌ها و فشارها گسترش یافته است. از جمله، در روزهای اخیر سخنان هاشم آغاجری و محمد مجتهد شبستری باعث آن شده كه غوغاگران باز داد وا اسلاما سر دهند و چماق تكفیر و ارتداد را بر سر آنان بكوبند. یك بار آغاجری در گذشته به دلیل ابراز اندیشه‌هایش تا مرز خطر اعدام پیش رفته بود. اكنون نیز نباید این غوغاها را دست كم گرفت، و باید از آزادی‌ اندیشه در قالب‌های مذهبی‌ نیز، هم چون آزادی اندیشه در كل، دفاع كرد.>>>

مرگ و زندگی

این نوشته مقایسه ایست بین چند شعر از پروین اعتصامی (۱۹٠۷ – ۱۹۴۱) و فروغ فرّخ زاد ( ۱۹۳۵- ۱۹۶۷) در بارۀ مرگ و زندگی. پروین و فروغ دو شاعر زن ایرانی هستند که اوّلی حدود ربع قرن زودتر از دوّمی می زیسته است. یعنی فروغ ۶ ساله بوده که پروین از این محنت گاه جان بدر می کند. ولی همین ربع قرن فاصله ، تحوّلاتی در اشعار فروغ بوجود آورده که آن را از جمیع جهات از شعر پروین متمایز و متفاوت کرده است. در زیر به این تفاوتها از دریچۀ چشم و برخورد آن دو به مرگ و زندگی می پردازیم. به این شعر از فروغ توجّه کنید:>>>

Another time, another world

I believe that the trip we took around Iran was a common itinerary for foreigners in Abadan like ourselves who had one two-week "annual leave" during which to see the rest of the country. There's probably no need to identify each photo. The itinerary and particular views are largely in this order: train to Tehran with views of Qom; Tehran railroad station, Majlis, street scenes, American embassy, bazaar, Darband, Golestan Palace, carpet cleaning at Cheshme-Ali, Rey, railroad to Babol, Babolsar, Ramsar, Rasht, bus to Tehran via Qazvin, Esfahan, Shiraz, Persepolis>>>

Like it or not

While the western media along with Israeli Security Forces continue to make all kinds of noises and objections about “successful tests” at the Bushehr nuclear reactor, Iran reiterated its right of peaceful pursuit of developing nuclear energy, being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and monitored under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The high degree of hypocrisy reflected in the outcries by officials in the United States and the European Union Trio (France, Germany and Britain) can be accurately measured with just a brief glance back into the history of nuclear technology in Iran>>>

We are not spies

Dear Number One, As ordered, I went to see the play We Are Not Spies in Berkeley this past weekend for the purpose of discovering the true identity and purpose of its Bahai author, Mansour Taeed. Disguised as a drama critic, I gained admission to this show despite the fact that the theater was sold out and people were being turned away at the gate. This report omits details regarding the beautiful agent I seduced in the line duty to get my ticket. First, my assessment of Bahai spy technology: it sucks. At the beginning of this one-man show, Taeed said the play would self-destruct soon after the performance ends. He even played the Mission Impossible theme. The play hasn’t self-destructed!>>>

بازی در بازی

به تاریخ زندگی ام که نگاه می کنم این زن را می بینم که "من را" — اگرچه نه هستی مرا — بازی کرده است. در یک صحنه او با یک سینی چای به اتاقی که پر از مهمان است وارد می شود و اول چای را جلوی مردها می گیرد و بعد جلوی زنها و بچه هایشان. این زن فکر می کند این جریان طبیعی بازی است چون همیشه اینطور بوده؛ زنهایی که او دیده ران مرغ را جدا کرده اند و اول توی بشقاب پدر گذاشته اند و عاشوراها و یا مراسم غدیری در خانه عمویش همیشه اول به مردها در اتاق دیگر غذا داده اند و بعد آورده اند این یکی سالن جایی که دختر بچه ها از گرسنگی بی تاب شده بودند و زنها از گرما هی خودشان را باد می زدند. و در صحنه ای دیگر این زن تا هنوز غذا تمام نشده و لقمه از گلویش پایین نرفته همراه دختربچه ها و زن های دیگر تند بلند می شود تا سفره را جمع کند در حالی که پسرها و مردها کون خیزه می روند و از سفره عقب می نشینند و منتظرند که چایی و میو ه شان را بیاورند.>>>

Cursing Bahais is cursing Islam

How interesting it is to see that contradictions are boiling in Iran in all matters. Bahais are the largest religious minority in Iran with an official population of 300,000 members and many many more who have become Bahais but, for their own safety, have not registered. In other words, any individual who believes Bahaullah is the Manifestation of God for today and believes in all the other past religions and believes that the teachings that Bahaullah has brought to humanity are the healing message to the world is actually a Bahai>>>

The Tyranny of Dead Ideas

We Iranians are obsessed with many things; the healthier obsession is with our kids. We often brag about them stridently. We take pride in their success particularly in education and in their careers. We claim, for instance, that they earn more than we do. But do they really? Not according to Matt Miller, the author of a very intriguing book entitled The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. In this book, he explains how the current economic crisis has changed our collective perception of many axiomatic ideas that we have believed in for so long, albeit erroneously>>>

از شب و جیرجیرک ها و....

هزاران هزار
جیرجیرک ِ خواننده
حجم شب را می درند
و پوست قیرین و برّاق ِ آنرا
با ارکستر ِ صداهای خود
تا بی نهایت
جر می دهند >>>