RESPONSE
Iranians need no lessons in democracy from ill-informed foreign observers
by Behnam Khatibi
The execution of Shahla Jahed does not offer any special insight into the Iranian nation’s understanding of women, let alone any entrenched cultural or social misogynistic tendencies. Ms. Yazdani’s flawed premise draws a link between a murder conviction and the socio-cultural condition of a people. At best, the Jahed execution might offer insight into institutional misogyny in Iran, expressed in a possibly flawed legal judgment. However, to then take that judgment and draw from it conclusions about a nation’s democratic maturity and its understanding of women seems to me to be an unfounded and uninformed leap
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TORONTO
Photo essay: Postcards form Canada
by
Shahrokh Setoudeh >>>
OCCUPATION
Free speech and underground culture
Most people know that Iran is occupied by an Islamist regime but not all understand to what degree this occupation pervades. As an Iranian film-maker who was born and raised under the reign of the Islamic regime, I can show in my work the injustice and inequality of my society. Ahmadinejad pushed for militarization of the regime and reestablished the Islamic fundamentalism in Iran, censorship was imposed rapidly and film making and cinema were under complete restriction by the government
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ALARM
Concern over the imminent execution of a female Kurdish political prisoner
by Soraya Fallah
Zaynab Jalalian, a 27 years old Kurdish woman, was arrested in Kermanshah in early 2007. She was dispatched to the infamous Sanandaj prison soon after. This is the same prison which bears witness to Ehsan Fattahian’s execution, and the tragedy of two sisters Nasrin and Shahla Ka'bi who were violently annihilated. The same place which is plagued by the memory of Shahriar who was forced to carry on his back the tortured body of his brother Ahsan (Nahid) to an untimely and unjust death by the bullets of a firing squad
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SA'DI
سعدی زندگی و شادی های آنرا شایسته ی بهره جویی میداند و به مرگ اجازه نمیدهد که چون کابوسی بر زندگی سایه اندازد
در میان گویندگان قدیم و جدید فارسی کمتر کسی را به زندهدلی سعدی می شناسم. تخلص او "سعدی" و عنوان کتاب هایش "بوستان" و "گلستان" است. خدای او باغبان طبیعت و مذهبش آسانگیر است. نه چون مفتی در بند عبادات است و نه چون صوفی در قید ریاضت. نه چون بابا طاهر در سوگ رفتگان سوته دل است و نه چون خیام و حافظ از ترس مرگ خوش باش، بلکه دیوانی دربار شاهی است خودکامه و شادی کُش
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SHAH
Why a biography of the Shah now?
There have been at least a dozen books on his life. Most have been “commissioned,” written to lionize or demonize him. Even those that were dedicated to finding and reporting the truths of his life were stymied by the fact that much remained hidden in still-classified documents, mired in adulating or acrimonious whispers, or marred by conspiracy theories concocted by his friends and his foes, or by himself. He was one of the pivotal figures of the second half of the twentieth century, and certainly one of the most tragic
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NOVEL
Excerpt from "Azadi: protest in the streets of Tehran"
I know Pari has great connections but I still can’t believe it when we hear from her the very next day after our visit, with the time and place of our appointment with Karroubi. Pari tells us she will pick us up herself, not one to pass up a chance of establishing a connection with Karroubi as one never knows which way the tide may turn. Also, our dear relative always has to be center stage and as highly visible as possible. When she shows up, I see that out of deference to the high-ranking mullah we’re going to visit, she’s dressed in demure black—though in the expensive designer clothes she fills her suitcases with during the trips she takes every year to Europe
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FLIGHT
چشمانم را می بندم و سعی می کنم اخباری را که راجع به وجود هواپیما های از رده خارج شایع است را به یاد نیاورم
چشمانم را می بندم و سعی می کنم آرام چرتی بزنم. و اصلا اخباری را که راجع به وجود هواپیما های از رده خارج در سیستم حمل و نقل هوایی شایع است را به یاد نیاورم وهمچنین سوانح هوایی را که علت آن ها نقص فنی هواپیما های کهنه اعلام شده را اصلا ندید بگیرم و یک بار دیگر خوشحالم که روزنامه نمی خوانم واخبار گوش نمی کنم و از کمترین این آمار خبر دارم و می توانم به سادگی افکار منفی را از خودم دور کنم
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TRAVELER
Photo essay: Chichen Itza pyramids, Mexico
by
Jahanshah Javid >>>
HUMOR
by Sam Aman
Iranians, or Persians, as we often like to be called, are complicated people. Achieving the status of being Iranian is not an easy task, but with much dedication and a strong liver, it can be done. Also, let me say now that there are basically only two types of Iranians, the first generation, and the second generation, since there were no Iranians in this country prior to 1979 (citation needed). These two generations are very different in nature, and it seems that the second generation is determined to undo the good name the first generation has created for itself
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COMEDY
کمدی رومانتیک و مردم پسند و "میلیاردی" که در روز اول نمایش رکورد فروش گیشه را شکست
"فيلمنامهنويس و كارگردان فقط روي اين نكته زوم ميكنند كه مش ماشاالله به عنوان نماد يك مرد پايبند به اصول دينداري و محرم و نامحرم، مردي است ساده لوح، بداخلاق و تندخو، كمسواد، سنتگراي افراطي و بيگانه با تكنولوژي و تمامي مظاهر مدرنيته، ناتوان از ابراز احساسات عاطفي و كمبود اعتماد به نفس. همه اين كاستيها نيز فقط به خاطر اين است كه او به اصل محرم و نامحرم اعتقاد دارد
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BOOK
if you happen to pass through Cedarhurst, New York, stop by The Blue Door
Some people like to use the expression, “It’s a small world”, but I prefer the one that says, “The world is round, who knows when we’ll meet again?” I can’t decide why I like this better, maybe because of its indication to an active world rather than shrinking it in size. I recently came to experience this and am amazed at how connected the world is. Years ago, after I had I read Digging to America by Ann Tyler, I wrote a review for it in the Iranian
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WHY
Why did Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi kill himself?
Is it possible that Ali Reza Pahlavi was forced to take his own life in protest? Is it possible that he was so psychologically tormented by the human rights violations and atrocities he saw in Islamic Republic and the unjust and unfounded accusations and bullying against his father, the King, that he took his own life as other young Iranians in Iran who have been tortured, imprisoned, and blocked from education and work? Prince Ali Reza's suicide note clearly expresses these feelings
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TRAGEDY
در مرگ علیرضا افسردگی و نومیدی عظیمی نسبت به عدم تغییر در شرایط سیاسی است
آنچه مرگ علیرضا را هولناک و غم انگیز می کند وضعیت ایرانیان در شرایط فعلی است. نومیدی و خراب شدن همه پل ها در پشت سر و از سوی دیگر عشق بیکران به ایران. سالهایی که ایرانشناسی می خواندم را به یاد آوردم، کمبود وطن را می خواستم با پژوهش و بیشتر دانستن در مورد تاریخ و فرهنگ ایران پر کنم آن استاد ابله که نمی فهمید و با من سر و کله می زد که جای تو اینجا نیست و مگر نمی دانست در دو دانشکده هم زمان ثبت نام کرده ام و ایران شناسی را برای روح سرگردانم می خوانم و ادبیات را برای بیان دل شوریده ام؟ مگر نمی دانست و مگر دانست؟ و مگر فهمید؟
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WOMEN
این روزی ست که در آن زنان توانستند حکومتی قادر و قدرتمند را قانع کنند که خواسته های آن ها را قانونی و رسمی کند
من، مثل هر انسان عدالت طلب و آزادی خواه، طبعا رضاشاه را به عنوان یک دیکتاتور می شناسم، حتی روش های تحمیل گرایانه ی او را برای برداشتن چادر از سرزنان عملی دیکتاتورمآبانه می دانم، و تحقق نیافتن بسیاری از خواست های انقلاب مشروطیت ، مثل آزادی های بیان و انتخاب و احزاب و غیره را، نتیجه ی مستقیم عملیات نادرست او می دانم اما، به اعتقاد من، هر حرکتی که به آزادی انسان از بندهایی که سنت ها به دست و پای او بسته بیانجامد حرکتی قابل تعمق و توجه و ارج گذاری است
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TRAVELER
Photo essay: Travel Literature
by
Keyvan Tabari >>>
TRAVELER
The venerable method of historiography
The use of travel writing to inform the audience at home about the world abroad is not new. The History by Herodotus offers an ancient example. Written some 2,500 years ago, this was history based on what the author personally saw and heard as he traveled throughout his world (which was essentially the region around the Mediterranean), as well as what he had read. Herodotus is noteworthy for two other reasons. He was a storyteller whose narrative was not limited only to military and political happenings
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HISTORY
Prelude to the Battle of Marathon
By the reign of Darius I of Persia (522-486BC) the Persian Empire was colossal stretching from Asia Minor and Thrace in the west, to India in the east. In the province of Ionia in western Asia Minor, Greeks were subjected by the Persians since the reign of Cyrus the Great. The ruler of the city of Miletus, Aristagoras decided to rebel against Darius and Persian rule. He led an army on a rampage throughout the coast of the Aegean, attacking the major Persian naval bases. Soon however Darius began to prepare an army to strike back against the Greek rebellion
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FASHION
کت و شلوار و کراوات ۱۵۰ ساله شد
هیپیهای دهه ۶۰ میلادی در قرن بیستم، بزرگترین ضربه حیثیتی را بر «کت و شلوار» وارد آوردند و بعد آز آنها میلیاردرهای «سیلیکان ولی» نظیر روسای آپل، گوگل، و فیسبوک نیز به تقلید از آنها روی خوشی به کت و شلوار نشان ندادند. ولی بیتردید کسی نمیتواند منکر شود که این مدل لباس از جمله دستاوردهای است که توسط بریتانیای کبیر! به پدیدهای جهانی و ماندگار تبدیل شده است
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