Life

It’s Your Business and No One Else’s!

Those who care to know about your objection to the 22 Khordad 1388/12 June 2009 presidential election results outside of Iran are well aware of the situation. They also know the response that you have received since it is well reported by all media outlets and video clips you post on-line. As an Iranian-born, child of the revolution, historian, teacher, and defender of freedom I ask you to look only within yourselves to help find the necessary remedies to solve your issue... Neither I nor any other person, irrespective of their genuine desire, can ask foreign powers to meddle into your affairs at this very sensitive time in history. Power to the People and Remember the Past! >>>

The Blank Shenasnameh

The first memories I recall of my life are snapshots of our home with the lights out after dusk, loud protests and demonstrations heard from the streets of Tehran, and the huddling around a light bulb with a makeshift cardboard shade plugged into the wall. These were the days that culminated in the 1979 revolution in Iran. The streets were unsafe for children due to violence and there was a relative period of lawlessness at the time of transition. As children, my sister and I sat in the glow of the small light bulb and heard the reassurances of our parents. I remember vividly the conversation that my father had with his childhood friend who was an assistant professor in a university in Isfahan>>>

خاطرات اکبر شاه

در ایران جنجالی برپاست. مکتوب ها و مرقومه های متعددی رد و بدل شده و نقل است که در بلاد دیگر شب نامه هایی در این خصوص بر منازل مردم افکنده می شود. من که الان نزدیک به هفتاد سال است در کالبد اکبر حلول کرده ام، ایشان را تا این حد مضطرب و پریشان ندیده بودم. سایت ها و روزنامه ها و شبکه های تلویزیونی اجانب موضوع را بیش از حد بزرگ کرده و روغن داغش را زیاد می کنند. من که در این مدت اکبر را به خوبی شناخته ام ، گمانم ایشان در فکر لوس کردن خویش و تعزیز مجددش در پیش مقامات رده بالای کشور است. البته در غیر اهل بودن اولادش هم که هیچ جای تردید نیست. چرا راه دور برویم طبق اسنادی که شما همین الان به راحتی می توانید در اینترنت پیدا کنید، فرزند ناخلف من یعنی جهانگیر شاه، با انگلیسی ها در آمیخت و نرد غلامی باخت>>>

Let there be Education!

The canvas upon which history is painted; the mirror in which one reflects upon the past; the stones on which marks of civilisation are engraved; and the books in which truths are told; all speak of the glory of ancient Persia. The splendour of her past reflects the beauty and elegance with which she has adorned herself in rearing such seers, poets and literary giants as Sa’di, Hafez, Khayyam, Mawlana and more. Surely a civilisation that prided itself with raising such poets and philosophers who touched the entire world with their insight, thoughts and literary prowess, would not have flourished without education. Education is the force behind advancement and the fuel to intellectual empowerment>>>

انتخاب در بیابان

در سال ۱۱۴۸ قمری نادرشاه کلیهٔ حکمرانان و کدخدایان ایران را در دشت مغان جمع کرد (بالغ بر ۲۰٬۰۰۰ نفر). او در شورای دشت مغان اعلام کرد که وظایف خود را انجام داده و تصمیم به‌استراحت و کناره‌گیری از کارها دارد. بزرگان کشور که می‌دانستند او باطناً مایل به سلطنت است، وی را به سلطنت پذیرفتند. بدین ترتیب شاه عباس سوم صفوی از شاهی برکنار شده و حکومت سلسلهٔ افشار با پادشاهی نادر آغاز شد. نادر اندکی بعد در ۱۱۴۸ ه.ق. تاجگذاری نمود. شاعری به نام قوام الدین، ماده تاریخ تاجگذاری وی را «الخیر فی ماوقع» سرود که بر روی سکه‌های دوره افشاریه نیز منقوش گردید. >>>

A look at my two countries

Earlier that day the BBC reported that a “far right, anti-immigrant” party in the UK – a Nazi party in all but name – had won two seats in the European parliament – there were pictures of its fascist leader laughing in victory, not unlike King Cockroach in my apartment. Then there was news of elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its president – as outspoken as he is reactionary – has been locking horns (or antennae) with an ever-so-slightly less reactionary leader whose wife, dubbed the Michelle Obama of Iran, a veiled version, of course, has been helping him along in his campaign>>>

مادرم معذرتم را بپذیـــــــــــــر

ای مردِ پُر از باد وُ غرور
باید اینک بپذیری در ذهن
عصرِ روشندلی وُ جلوۀ فرهنگ به آغاز شدست
مردوُ زن زوجِ برابر هستند
وَ زنان خالقِ تو تویِ جهانی هستند
که تو در پهنــــۀ آن سینــۀ خود گستردی:
"منم این طاوُسِ عِلیّن منم"
>>>

Hanging president

The sharp rise in the number of death penalties in Iran must be viewed in the context of other radical efforts of the last four years, all of which have been articulated an d justified as calls for “decisiveness in treating criminals”, “no retreat to satisfy the West”, or, adopting “revolutionary measures inside the country.” Responsible for this hard-line approach have of course been no other than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his administration. This uncompromising stand has not been confined to the executive branch. Over the last four years, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has publicly supported this line>>>

Final stretch

The Lebanese will go to the polls on Sunday, June 7, to elect 128 members of parliament, divided equally between the country’s Christian and Moslem communities, each of which include a variety of sects. The Speaker of Parliament is a Shia Moslem, while the President is a Christian and the Prime Minister a Sunni Moslem. The cabinet is also meant to reflect the country’s diversity, which may appear to be religious, but is in fact based on a more complex set of factors, including ethnicity, geographic location, local economy and ties with other countries in the region and beyond. This year, for the first time, elections will be held on one day>>>