Life

The Most Fragile

The Glass House, competing in the World Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival, is a one of those rare films that make you forget that you are watching a documentary. Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard have given us a documentary that flows as easily as the tears of their young and troubled protagonists. The film, which Rahmanian shoots and directs, unravels the lives of downtrodden, runaway and distressed girls who have taken refuge in a private half-way house established by a benevolent Iranian expatriate, Marjaneh Halati>>>

In cold blood

In 1941, after the forceful abdication of Reza Shah, the angry British government, who saw Reza as a former ally turned into a treacherous enemy, seriously considered the restoration of Qajar dynasty. However, the lead Iranian intellectuals (like Foroughi) could only foresee a major political upheaval, with the return of arrogant Qajars. Although Foroughi was persecuted by Reza Shah, he reasoned that the country had truly democratic laws (constitution) and if the Pahlavi crown prince was ready to respect them, there was no reason for a regime change. That way, Mohammad Reza Shah came to be the new constitutional monarch of Iran, who for nearly a decade respected the democratic institutions of the country. >>>

آزادی جنسی نامحدود

صیغه بخشی از ساختار رابطه جنسی زن و مرد در ایران را تشكیل می‌دهد. برای ‌بررسی پدیده صیغه باید به شناخت و كالبدشكافی این ساختار كه سیاست جنسی‌ حاكم را بر اساس سنت/فقه/قانون تعریف كرده است پرداخت. در این ساختار به جنسیت زن و مرد دو نقش كاملا متمایز در رابطه جنسی‌ با یكدیگر داده شده است. نهاد ازدواج تعریف شده در این ساختار یك رابطه كاملا یك طرفه است، رابطه ای‌ كه از سوی زن بسته است و از سوی‌ مرد باز. در هر زمان ‌زن فقط با یك مرد می‌تواند رابطه داشته باشد ولی مرد می‌تواند با چند زن رابطه جنسی برقرار كند. تعدد زوجات یكی از لوازم این ساختار است. ولی‌ محدود كردن آن به عدد دلبخواهی «4»، اصل «باز بودن» رابطه جنسی از سوی‌ مرد را نقض می‌كند. صیغه یكی دیگر از لوازم این ساختار است كه تناقض اخیر را نیز رفع می‌كند. نهاد صیغه اصولا برای ‌تأمین آزادی جنسی نامحدود مرد تعبیه شده است و نمی‌توان از آن به عنوای وسیله‌ای محترمانه برای به قاعده درآوردن روابط جنسی خارج از ازدواج بین زن و مرد بهره گرفت>>>

The right to insult

Holiday seasons are excuses for gathering and parties and fun. As usual this Christmas night became a perfect pretext to gather with friends, play games, eat, drink and be asked, as in all parties: “got any new jokes?” or “ let me tell you a joke”. However, when the joke telling starts, before you know it, the red zone is trespassed and male’s mother and sisters become subjects to all types of verbal aggression with sexual tone.In the following lines, I would like only to state what went though my mind, hearing men sharing their rhetorical (!) gifts of jokes and friendly insults to each other, over a game of backgammon and even in discussing a point>>>

ضعیف‌ كشی

در روزهای اخیر خبر سنگسار سه نفر كه در هفته اول دی‌ماه در گورستان بهشت رضا در مشهد انجام شده منتشر گردیده است. سنگسار یا سایر مجازات‌های خشن و ناانسانی در جمهوری اسلامی ایران بی‌سابقه نیست. ولی مقامات ایران و از جمله سخنگویان قوه قضاییه بارها اجرای آن را تكذیب كرده‌اند. در واقع، رییس قوه قضاییه دست كم دو بار طی‌بخشنامه‌هایی در چند سال اخیر اجرای آن‌‌ها را منع كرده است. ولی ظاهرا این بخشنامه‌ها و اظهارات مقامات تنها برای ساكت كردن منتقدان و سازمان‌های حقوق بشری در سطح جهانی مصرف داشته است. كمپین قانون بدون سنگسار خبر داده است كه هم اكنون دست كم ده نفر دیگر در زندان‌های مختلف كشور «با خطر قطعی سنگسار» روبرو هستند و مشخصات نسبی این افراد را آورده است. >>>

عکس امام در ماه وطنز نبوی

چندی پیش دوستی برایم یک ایمیل فرستاد ونوشت :" متن ضمیمه طنزی است از سید ابراهیم نبوی بخوان! ازخنده می میری" طنز نبوی را خواندم ودریغ ازحتی یک لبخند چه رسد به مٌردن. محض اطمینان در اینترنت چند مطلب دیگر از نبوی پیدا کردم وخواندم وذره ای طنز در آن نیافتم. نمی دانم چه کسی برای اولین بار ادعا کرد که سید ابراهیم نبوی طنز نویس است ؟ خودش گفت یا رژیم اسلامی یا هردو؟ به هر حال حکایت ، حکایت عکس امام در ماه دیدن است که سال 57 شخصی ادعا کرد که عکس امام را در ماه دیده ودیگران هم دیدند. با وجود اینکه هیچ نوع دلیل علمی وعینی برای حضور شخص امام خمینی در ماه وجود نداشت وگرنه حتما فضانوردان روسی یا آمریکایی گزارش حضوراو در ماه را می دادند!>>>

King’s Cross

After the tunnel of darkness, there was finally light as the train pulled into the station. A sudden jolt thrust the passengers forward and inertia pulled them back once the carriage came to a complete stop. I was convinced we were lost. I had explained to him on the way how we were headed in the wrong direction. Now that the train had stopped I was not so sure. There were too many different color tracks meeting at this very stop. I was confused. So I said we needed to disembark and reset the course. He nodded. I took the gesture as assent. The doors slid open. A rush of bodies spilled out of the carriage and with it so did I. Terra Firma. I expected to find him right behind me. I looked over my shoulder, to the left and then to my right. I turned around and was aghast to find that he had remained behind on the train>>>

Iranian Soldier-Bear Coming Home?

Richard Lucas has a dream. He would like to see a statue of Voytek, the Iranian Soldier–Bear of Monte Cassino, built in Iran. And the successful British entrepreneur, based in Krakow, is doing everything he can to make the dream become reality. The story of Voytek the 6-foot, brown Iranian bear, who marched in rank, drank beer, wrestled with his fellow soldiers and distinguished himself during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, is one of the most remarkable stories in military History. Found orphaned in 1942 on the road between Hamadan and Kangavar, the baby bear was adopted by Polish soldiers and taken away with them to Lebanon the join the Allied 8th Army>>>

شباهت سکس و مذهب

حرف روحانیّت همیشه این بوده که زن و مرد مثل آتش و پنبه هستند و آنی که در کنار هم قرار بگیرند در هم افتاده و شعله ور میشوند. بنابراین واجب شرعیست که به هر وسیله که شده این دو جنس را ازهم دور و جدا نگاهداشت تا اسباب معصیت و گناه فراهم نیاید. بهمین جهت آنها دائماً در تلاش نگاهداری از ناموس و عترت و عورت و عصمت و در یک کلام قایم کردن سکس امّت اسلامی هستند. چه خوب میشد اگر رهبران مذهبی همین حسّاسیّت را در مورد خودِ مذهب هم نشان میدادند و آنرا مانند سکس از صحنهَ عریان دولت و جامعه به پشت درهای بسته میبردند. چرا؟ به این دلیل که سکس و مذهب از بسیاری جهات شبیه به هم هستند. بعنوان مثال: >>>

It's not stealing...

The Palestinians have been suffering for over 50 years. Their experiences if nothing else, proves one thing. If you are going to get mugged, get mugged when you are alone. That way, when the guy grabs your wallet provoking you to knee him in the groin and he recoils in pain so you're able to grab your wallet back, no one is going to think the worst of you. From Beijing to Portland, from Brazil to Alaska, every lawful society acknowledges the in-alienable right of self-defense. The mugger is the aggressor and the one being mugged is the victim. Case closed>>>

Circled the world 3 times over

I feel like Marco Polo
I’m circling the world solo
Then I met u
An hour turned into a day, a day turned into a mid summer nights dream
The future I’ve already seen
There’s no white picket fence
Things are very tense >>>

British, Persian or German?

Reza Shah truly instigated the wide ranging modernization of Iran from a filthy, backward and lawless shell-of-an-state, to a functioning and advancing society. With the new roads and trucks, the all too frequent famines of the earlier twentieth century disappeared. Under the new army’s watchful eyes, bandits and tribes could no longer rob the caravans or invade towns and villages. The new schools and colleges gave hope and purpose to many youths for a better future and the flourishing of their talents. Emancipation of women encouraged that half of the population to play a more active role in public life. Municipal modernizations, public health initiatives and vaccinations, lowered the infant and general mortality rates and provided a brighter outlook for young families. >>>

Sunday in Copenhagen

Copenhagen always had a special place in my imagination. It was the first city I saw in the Western world. My visit was brief; several hours between flights gave us an opportunity just to see Tivoli and the City Hall square. That was decades ago. Going there for the second time this summer, I found myself looking for more than what I remembered. My observations were framed by curiosity about several Danish phenomena. What accounts for the Danes’ reputation as the happiest people in the world? Why are they at the epicenter of the bunker mentality against immigration? What happens to a country when it is no longer an empire? What could a nation of five and a half million contribute to global civilization which is also shaped by others with vastly larger populations and resources?>>>