The Men of the Islamic Republic

I was one of the thousands of protestors who gathered in front of the United Nations on September 23 to say NO to Ahmadinejad and yes to democracy in Iran. We were not 400 people as CNN claimed. There were thousands of us, from different groups that had gathered at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, from the Mojahedin and the royalists to the green movement supporting Mir Hossein Mousavi and Karroubi and independents like me, who came together or rather, appeared at different stages to show our support for a righteous cause, to support our people’s quest and struggle for democracy>>>

Starstruck

Since they were children in Iran, the sisters Shirin and Nasrin Asgari dreamt of becoming opera singers. They spent their playtime pretending be Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Later they made friends with Kamelia Dara, who had also been training to sing since early childhood, and practiced together. Yet hard work and ambition could only take the aspiring artists so far. They quickly realized they needed better training than they could find in Iran. Opera is rooted in Europe; you can’t perfect it in Tehran any more than you can perfect the Persian radif of music in Vienna. So the three came to Austria on tourist visas, hoping they could pass the auditions to be admitted as students>>>

The Earth Will Be Pawing

The words are pealing
on a moist Tuesday morning
to be a reminder of the mortality
of all. The pain, a burning ocean causes
while it pours through the fist,
and the fist pushes through the heart. >>>

In Praise of Big Noses

I am the only one of four sisters
who hasn’t gone under the knife.
I resisted the pleas of my aunt and sisters
to become “more beautiful,” “more you.”
I’ve kept my stately proboscis
in-tact—choosing not to excise its grandeur.
It suits me, I suppose—evidence of my father,
those people who live in the dryer, hotter climes >>>

Balance of deterrence, or a catastrophe?

After several years of IAEA inspections, accusations of a clandestine production of nuclear arms, UN security council sanctions and even threats of preemptive strikes, Iran continues its nuclear program. The question remains whether the possibility of Iran joining the Middle East nuclear arms family would destabilize the region. Or would it stabilize the balance of deterrence and with that only empower Iran’s position without causing a security threat to Israel and the US interests in the region? This review essay focuses on these questions and provides a critical analysis on these issues>>>

Is democracy a relic of the past?

Liberal democracy has long since been pronounced dead by many, correctly or not. The reality in the post Soviet, post U.S. world entering BRIC (Br, In, China) and G-XX era is that there is little room for ideology or rights. Indeed if you look at the latest G-20 press release, it is a listing that has very little to do with ideology or rights issues. It stands out for its blandness, lack of creativity and any material substance for that matter. The only noticeable item is the one we did not need any G-20 show. That they will do their utmost (wink wink) to ensure global recovery is supported or continued>>>

چرا به جمهوری اسلامی میگوییم نه؟

برای اینکه خواهان آزادی بیان، آزادی پوشش و تمامی آزادی های فردی هستیم و این نظام بر اساس قوانین شرعی اش، ابتدایی ترین آزادی های انسانی ما را با زور و سرکوب از ما دریغ داشته. برای اینکه برای ساختن ایرانی آباد و ساختن آینده ای بهتر برای خود و فرزتدانمان محتاج آزادی مطبوعات، آزادی تجمع، آزادی احزاب وسازمانهای مستقل هستیم و این نظام در 30 سال گذشته، با نفی ابتدایی ترین آزادی های سیاسی باعث عقب ماندگی اجتماعی و اقتصادی کشورمان شده. >>>

پارک استقلال

من به عنوان یک تریاکی قدیمی و متعصب در اعتیاد خود، هرگز حاضر نیستم رفاهی را که در این شهر کویری جنوب شرقی ایران و نزدیک به مرزهای افغانستان دارم، با هیچ جای دیگری در دنیا عوض کنم. وقتی به دوستانم می گویم که من از دود و دم و آلودگی هوای تهران بدم می آید، اغلب به من می خندند و می گویند: تو که همیشه تو دودی، حالا چه فرقی می کند؟ یکی دو روزی هم دود تهران رابخور. البته من از صحبت با کسانی که واقعاً فواید کشیدن تریاک را درک نمی کنند و آن رابا دود اتومبیل و اتوبوس مقایسه می کنند، دیگر چه صنمی دارم و اتلاف وقت با این قشر، مثال انداختن جواهرات گرانبها در آب است و پیمودن بادیه جهالت با شتری چلاق و همراهی ناباب. >>>

Let’s not forget our beautiful brave children

Do you remember how one day
In trying to fly to the green meadows
Of love, liberty, and laughter,
To heal their wounded wings and broken souls,
To breathe the cool soothing air
Of peace and munificence,
And to wash their naked bodies
In the green seas of purity
They decided to break the walls of their cages? >>>

Who should lead?

The Mojahedin (MEK), Saltanat Talab monarchists, the Tudeh Party, etc. — would like to believe that they are the ones who after thirty years of impatiently waiting, now finally have a chance to go back and rule. They have lived in foreign lands and witnessed the Western democracy in action, and have access to foreign capital as well as free media which can be beamed to Iran—so they are the ones, they hope, who are best positioned to win power after the Akhoonda. In my opinion, none of them are fit for this purpose>>>

Support the people

Tomorrow, the five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (known as the P5+1), will sit down with Iran in the latest attempt to ease increasing global anxiety over the country's nuclear programme. The threat of new sanctions hangs in the air. We have been here before: deadline after deadline, sanction after sanction, we return to the same old dance, the only real difference being that the Islamic Republic is inching ever closer to the Bomb. So perhaps now is the time to try something new. In anticipation of the October 1 meeting, the P5+1 must embrace their greatest ally in the war on nuclear proliferation: the people of Iran>>>

فقدان اقتدار حاکمیت و مذاکرات اول اکتبر

حکومت احمدی‌نژاد که در سطح ملی مشروعیت و اعتبار، و در نتیجه اقتدار، خود را از دست داده است اکنون در صحنه بین‌المللی نیز با موقعیتی مشابه با نمایندگان ۵+۱ روبرو می‌شود. اگر کشورهای غربی خرده اعتمادی نسبت به جمهوری اسلامی داشتند حال با اعلام/کشف تأسیسات غنی‌سازی هسته‌ای در کوه‌های نزدیک قم این اعتماد نیز بر باد رفته است. نمایندگان جمهوری اسلامی در روز اول اکتبر در شرایطی با کشورهای غربی (به اضافه روسیه و چین) روبرو می‌شوند که انگشت اتهام به سوی رژیم ایران نشانه رفته است و به قول و قرارهای آن اعتمادی نمی‌توان کرد>>>