OXFORD

Short-Termist Iranians

Controversy over Dr Katouzian and Rafsanjani's son

10-Apr-2011 (18 comments)
For the past week, I have watched with bewilderment and sorrow the onslaught on my friend and teacher, Dr Homa Katouzian, in connection with the admission to Oxford University of a son of the former Iranian President, Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. By now, Dr Katouzian has clarified his academic involvement in the process of admission of Mr Mehdi Hashemi. Oxford University too has announced that its investigation has found no basis for the allegations of impropriety in Mr Hashemi’s admission. From a formal point of view, therefore, the matter must be considered closed>>>

IDEAS

Which Road to Iran?

Before democracy can be ushered in, a culture of democracy must be developed

08-Apr-2011 (8 comments)
As revolutionary spirit is gaining momentum in the Middle East, it is only a matter of time before we see millions of Iranians take to the street demanding democratic change. The question is whether the US should seize the opportunity, at a time when Iran’s central government becomes vulnerable, to effect regime change militarily, through a coup, or other coercive methods? The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution drafted in 2009 nine different policy options for deal­ing with Iran>>>

WOMEN

Searching for Meaning

Choreographing of Iranian women’s migration

08-Apr-2011 (2 comments)
Much is written about Iranian women, Iranian films and Iranian women in Iranian film. But, the lives of Iranian immigrants in their new Western homes are rarely projected. In her debut film, The Neighbor, The New Yorker film editor, Naghmeh Shirkhan, takes a brave leap to make an elliptical narrative film about the rarely mentioned reality of Iranian women’s lives in ‘exile’. A dance instructor, struggling with memories of her mother and grandmother encounters her enigmatic neighbor Leila and her young daughter>>>

AGE

A Matter of Mind

I can’t imagine living with a man who’d then look old enough to be my father

05-Apr-2011 (7 comments)
A nice anecdote says, “Age is a matter of mind, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” The youngest in my family, I don’t mind my age, but it sure does matter. My first “age alarm” came as a huge surprise. At a lecture in Chicago, I ended up in the balcony with a group of youngsters. With the program delayed Iranian style, they became restless and started making paper airplanes. Unskilled, I noticed none of their missiles made it to their pals sitting in the lower level. Finally, I picked up one that had landed at my feet, unraveled it, and showed them how it’s done>>>

SUPER BAND

A mood of their own

A mood of their own

Photo essay: Dang Show arrives in San Francisco

by Nazy Kaviani
01-Apr-2011 (5 comments)

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BOOK

Democracy by Other Means

The fact that the US did not attack Iran militarily does not change the equation

01-Apr-2011 (17 comments)
The President of Carnegie Corporation, Vartan Gregorian (an Iranian-American), suggested in 2009 that President Obama should send a letter of friendship to Tehran. About the American response to the 1979–1980 hostage crisis he proposed that President Obama should write that “[n]o country, certainly no country in posses­sion of the vast power of the United States, would have failed to act under such circumstances. But we restrained our response, because the powerful have the option not to exercise their power…out of a sense of responsibility.” >>>

HAPPENING

اصفهان در جاز  و شیراز در ناپا

دنگ شو در سانفرانسیسکو

01-Apr-2011 (one comment)
در حدود یک سال پیش بود که به کمک اینترنت و جادوی یوتیوب چند قطعه موسیقی جدید شنیدم. کارها مخلوطی بود از موسیقی کلاسیک ایرانی با کمی موسیقی جاز. از یکی از این کارها خیلی خوشم آمد. تنظیم و ورسیون جدیدی بود برشعرمشهوروقدیمی" خوابم یا بیدارم " ایرج جنتی عطایی که سالها پیش توسط گوگوش اجرا شده بود. بعدتر کارهایی بیشتری از این گروه شنیدیم>>>

VIDEO

Eshgh e Aasemaani

From Eendo's debut album, "Bord o Baakht"

31-Mar-2011 (12 comments)
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HALLAJ

عطار و شوق حلاج به مرگ

حلاج چه کرده که باید کشته شود؟

28-Mar-2011 (16 comments)
هیچ کس شک ندارد که حسینبن منصور حلاج (309ــ 244 هـ . ق) اولا در دورهی معینی از زندگی خود شروع به گفتن این جمله کرد: "اناالحق" و ثانیاً توسط مقتدر عباسی در بغداد به دار آویخته شد. جز این دو مورد، بر سر دیگر مسائل مربوط به زندگی این شخصیت نیمه افسانه ای مابین گذشتگان و امروزیان به یک نسبت اختلاف وجود دارد. علی شریعتی او را دیوانه میخوانَد و علی میرفطروس کم مانده تا او را مارکسیست بخواند. از قدما نیز گروهی او را موحد و برخی ملحد می خواندند>>>

SHAHYAD

A Monument of Many Faces

Waiting for her people to return to her

25-Mar-2011 (4 comments)
Shahyad stands tall, proud and clad in white, as if she were the Bride of Iran. When conceptualized, she was to represent the grandeur of Iranian civilization and also provide a gateway welcoming visitors into the capital. Iranians, known for their obsessive hospitality, created an “arch of triumph,” or taq-e nosrat, located adjacent to the airport to greet every visitor. Like many historic Iranian monuments, the expansive grounds surrounding the tower were intended as a venue for celebrations, parades and other cultural events and activities>>>

HAFT SEEN

S x Seven

S x Seven

Photo essay

by shahireh sharif
23-Mar-2011 (20 comments)

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EYDI

Norooz Blues

Arman and Arvin Hosseini sing and play New Year blues

21-Mar-2011 (4 comments)
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WISHES

Health, Love, Prosperity, and Joy

Health, Love, Prosperity, and Joy

Phtoto essay: Sharing my Nowruz ritual haft-seen

by Nazy Kaviani
21-Mar-2011 (32 comments)

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QUESTIONS

Bushehr? Earthquake? Disaster?

Japan tsunami and Iran’s quest for nuclear energy

16-Mar-2011 (41 comments)
It is time for Iran too to revisit its nuclear ambitions. Unlike Japan, Iran is immune to devastating tsunamis, as Iran possesses no oceanfront. But like Japan, Iran has proven to be an earthquake prone country. An earthquake of a similar magnitude as experienced near the cost of Japan can potentially threaten Iran’s nuclear reactors. Furthermore, Iran’s oil and gas and other industrial sectors have historically suffered from under-investment, grave negligence, and lack of overhaul. If anything, this history raises concerns about the safety of the Iranian nuclear reactors in the long run>>>

IRANIANS

Do we need hemayat?

Please stop absurdly expecting outside help as a concerted effort

14-Mar-2011 (12 comments)
It might be worth our while to pay closer and for once unbiased attention to the United States and its policy toward Iran. We’d see that as with the Mossadeq episode, as with the pre- and post-Islamic Revolution of 1979, as with the turmoil following the fraudulent presidential elections of June 2009, this policy, when it exists at all, is muddled and pulling in different directions. The White House, State Department, CIA, experts and analysts inside and outside the government, all come up with different and contradictory conclusions>>>