VIDEO BLOG

Diet & Stardom

You might see me on TV soon

by Siamack
24-May-2008 (7 comments)
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IDENTITY

Growing pains that accompany becoming part of society outside Iran

by hossein.hosseini
23-May-2008 (83 comments)
Are you Persian? Asked the lady bank teller with dyed blond hair and otherwise very Iranian complexion. I answered “Baale Khanoom, Haletoon Khoobeh?”. Other times I have been asked “Are you Iranian?” It kind of dawned on me that as Iranians living in America, we might be facing an ‘identity’ crisis. Are we Persians, Iranians, Iranian Americans, Persian Americans, or Americans? I have seen all variations used many times. With our beloved homeland country Iran being in the news so often and almost always negatively, perhaps we want to somehow disassociate our selves from anything Iranian thus referring to ourselves as Persians or Persian Americans>>>

IRI

دوقلوهای به هم چسبیده

نظامی كه باید به دو نیم كرد

by Ramin Kamran
23-May-2008 (9 comments)
از روزی كه اسلامگراها محض ارتقای خمینی به مقام بزرگترین مرجع سیاسی و مذهبی به وی لقب امام دادند تا به امروز كه جسته و گریخته صحبت از تغییر كاركرد مجلس خبرگان و تحدید اختیارات رهبر شده است، این نظام مشكلی اصلی و اساسی داشته كه هنوز موفق به حل آن نشده و هرگز هم نخواهد شد: یكی شمردن دو اقتدار سیاسی و مذهبی. در حقیقت ماهیت نظام اسلامی از این پیوند ناساز شكل گرفته است و روشن است كه جدایی اجتناب ناپذیر این دو رشتهٌ حیات آنرا خواهد گسیخت. تا آن زمان اصرار در یكی دانستن ، دو اقتداری كه یكی نیست دو پیامد داشته كه شاهدیم: تنش در رابطهٌ این دو قدرت ناسازگار و ابهامی كه این رابطه را احاطه كرده است. این مشکلات در مورد رهبر نظام به بارزترین شکل هویداست. >>>

NATIONALISM

Myths of Separatism

A primary type of mass paranoia

by Ben Madadi
23-May-2008 (44 comments)
Many Iranians fear separatism. They truly fear it and they act just like football fans, though their activities have so far been limited to talks and writings. An anonymous commentator in my previous article made a link to a video, and I clicked to watch it. I am sorry that I cannot call the guy on the video an idiot because (beside being also sorry for having used the word) I would be insulting idiots. Anyway, watching that video, and also many writings and talks on the Internet, I started to think that actually many Iranians have genuine fear that Iranian regions may some day separate from the rest (whatever would remain) of Iran. So, let's analyse the realities and see what is at stake beside football-like hooliganism and emotional wasteland>>>

RAIN

خبرت هست که از خویش خبر نیست مرا

هیچ وقت پیش نیامده که الفبای کتک خوردن از یادم برود

by hadi khojinian
23-May-2008 (6 comments)
روزهایی را به یاد می آورم که خیس از عرق بودم تمام دیوارهای اتاقم مملو از نم و آب بودند اتاقم را برای ساعتها می بستند تا روح و جسمم عرق کنند و آزارم دهند تا اعتراف کنم به همه آنچه که انجام نداده ام .سالهاست از هر چه اعتراف حالم به هم می خورد اعتراف به کرده ها و نکرده ها ، ولی از پس این همه سال این را به خوبی یاد گرفته ام که تنها اعتراف به عاشقی کنم اعتراف به سبکی تحمل ناپذیر هستی ام .اعتراف به اینکه تنها این قلب در هم فشرده از درد و اشتیاق برایم باقی مانده است . >>>

POINT

Seizing the moment

Historical accidents and collective learning in Iran

by Ahmad Sadri
22-May-2008 (10 comments)
The troubled history of the Islamic Republic is largely due to its flawed constitution, which privileges unelected theocrats over democratically elected leaders. The scion of genuine democratic sentiments, Iran's undemocratic constitution, is evidence of the importance of historical accidents in Iranian history. For all their complaining, Iranians are also good at seizing the moment on rare occasions when their stars do line up. It is well known that the political idealism of Ayatollah Khomeini was the reason Iranians continued to fight against Iraq years after it was clear that they could not prevail>>>

RESPONSE

The Obliterator

I remembered the innocent faces of our little nephews and nieces with a sparkle in their eyes

by Mostafa Rahbar
22-May-2008 (5 comments)
A while ago, the Hilarious Hillary “ate sugar” and threatened to obliterate Iran, the land that has given so much to the world. These contributions along with other images began to haunt my distressed head in seemingly endless spurts. I remembered the day when my friend Ali was driving me around in New York City and I had stopped him in front of the biggest post office in the world to proudly photograph the words of Cyrus the Great that adorns the building: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”>>>

INTERVENTION

Foreign interests

Britain, Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup D’Etat

by sadegh
22-May-2008 (26 comments)
This essay will attempt to determine as precisely as possible the reasons that motivated British hostility toward Mosaddeq’s government. Was there a genuine fear that Mosaddeq was incapable of acting as a bastion to Communist pressure threatening to envelope Iran? Was British diplomacy simply a consequence of American pressure? At what point and why did the British Government conclude that Mosaddeq was ‘unnegotiable’ i.e. that his overthrow was the only plausible alternative?... Although the intention is to focus on Anglo-Iranian relations, one cannot thereby obviate the pivotal role of the United States which profoundly affected the unfolding of events.>>>

FAN

I am a Spartan and Proud, Mostly!

I feel closest to and consider myself a follower of Sparta

by Sasan Seifikar
22-May-2008 (5 comments)
I came to the Netherlands with my wife, Kirsten, in 2000. Even before I came here, I was looking forward to going to football matches and watching a lot of football. Here in Rotterdam where I have settled, there are three professional football teams that play in the Dutch first division (Eredivisie). The most well-known of these is Feyenoord which is one of the three top clubs along with Ajax of Amsterdam and PSV from Eindhoven. Then there is Sparta and Excelsior. Since I have been here, I have on many occasions seen all three Rotterdam teams play in their home stadiums. I have also had season cards and followed closely Sparta for three years and Excelsior for a year>>>

FOOD

The Summer Squeeze

I’m going to focus on light and refreshing meals and snacks

by Shabnam_Ghayour
21-May-2008 (14 comments)
In a vain attempt to get in shape for summer…(and not just summer, I may add) I have shocked my loved ones and done what I promised I would never do. I have gone on a diet. I always believed that if you eat sensibly and make small sacrifices (swapping butter for olive spread, swapping white rice and bread for brown and white potatoes for sweet potatoes etc…) you would manage to strike a balance between ying and yang and create equilibrium in your diet. Indeed this is still true… But for example how do you deal with break-ups or job stress and the like? Well a lot of us are emotional eaters and I would also fall into this category…>>>

OBSERVER

برای آیندگان

به بهانه سفر به ایران

by Mahvash Nasehi
21-May-2008 (12 comments)
نگارنده طی دو سال گذشته دو سفر به ایران جمعا" به مدت سه ماه داشته است . بر همین مبنا لازم دانستم مشاهدات خود را با علاقمندان به اوضاع ایران در خارج از کشور و از طرف دیگر جنبش فعال عدالتخواهی در ایران در میان بگذارم تا شاید بتوان با تبادل نظر و بررسی دیدگاه های مختلف نسبت به شرائط ایران ، در راه مقابله و خنثی کردن نقشه های دشمنان داخلی وخارجی قدمی برداشت . وظیفه عدالتخواهان ایرانی است که در این شرایط بحرانی به دور از هرگونه تعصب وتنگ نظری غیر علمی و با توجه به منافع ملی ومصلحت مردم ایران ورق های تاریخ را برای آیندگان با صفحات زرین حقیقت پر کنند . >>>

STORY

نتيجه نهاييِ زندگيِ آن زن

تقديم به كلاريس ليپسكتور

by Ezzat Goushegir
21-May-2008 (one comment)
همان روز بود، آخرين روز، كه وقتي آن زن به چشمهاي مردي كه دوستش مي داشت نگاه كرد، تصميم گرفت كه خودش را بفروشد. نه به او ... خريدارش را خودش مي بايست انتخاب كند. مردي براي تمامي سالهاي باقيمانده عمرش ... در نگاهش، ــ در نگاه همان مردي كه دوستش مي داشت ــ ديگر نه عشق بود، نه تمنايي براي لمس وجودش . . . وقتي زن مي گفت "وجود"، منظورش فقط جسمش نبود، بلكه چيزي ماوراء جسم. چيزي نامريي و لمس نشدني . . . در خيرگي نگاهِ مرد، تنش ناگهان يخ كرد. خيلي سعي كرد كه گرمي را به تنش بازگرداند، آن چشمها، آن چشمها كه او را نمي ديد، از پشت چشم هاي بسته اش به او زل مي زد. >>>

WAR

Why Republicans Might Attack Iran Before General Elections?

If an attack occurs, democratic nominees will be framed as weaker potential commanders-in-chief

by Omid Memarian
20-May-2008 (16 comments)
"Do you think that the Bush administration will attack Iran before the general elections in November?" I asked Congressman Henry A. Waxman(D-Calif.) in his office in Washington. He said this is impossible, and explained that Congress will not support the administration due to the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also mentioned that since the release of the National Intelligence Estimate, which clarified that the hardliner government in Tehran had halted Iran's nuclear weapon program in 2003, the possibility of going to war with Iran has decreased dramatically.>>>

GEOGRAPHY

What Do Google and Saddam Have in Common?

Google has turned itself into an enabler of those who would use name disputes to fuel conflict

by Trita Parsi
20-May-2008 (63 comments)
Google has a funny way of doing business -- one that involves muddying politics in the Middle East. In recent months, the organization has taken the unprecedented step to rename internationally recognized bodies of water. Google Earth has begun using the controversial term "Arabian Gulf" to the body of water traditionally and internationally identified as the "Persian Gulf." Now many may think: What's in a name? Why would this even be an issue? >>>

STORY

Sick of Goodbyes

I didn’t need to see this sorrow

by Azarin Sadegh
20-May-2008 (8 comments)
I woke up by the morning light. It was still too early, everyone else was sleeping. I panted in silence. Our new cell had long windows with a view of the prison backyard. A view to the sky. I looked at grey clouds and didn’t worry about the rain. The shadows of the night slowly disappeared and I distinguished shapes and objects, brightened by a timid blue sunrise. On the dirty wall by the bed, I recognized handwritten messages of old prisoners>>>
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