Hollow Soul

There's darkness in your candle
And the inviting words you express,
Conceals the coward in you.

The senseless hollow notes you sing
In your song of whatever journey
Feeds the ego who is in charge
The Fear of death of the only "I" you know
Only a warrior can resolve >>>

You and the Bear

Sitting in a room, feeling cavalier
There came to life an ornament
From the ceiling like a chandelier
A bear, reaching for me from the rear

Struggling to escape the brown bear
Calmly I begged him with eyes in despair
To spare me his strength and unintentional harm
He reached for me with all his might and charm
Spectators were terrified, screaming
The bear’s lower body stuck in the ceiling >>>

To vote or not to vote?

As a citizen in a democracy everyone is supposed to have the same opportunity and same rights. The level of truth in that statement depends on how well the democracy is run. One function for the democracy to be run well is how educated its people are. With education I do not mean that people have to hold a bachelor or masters degree in university. I mean that people should be active in learning about their environment and the world around it, that they read newspaper and follow the news. Another way to be educated is to be a member in an association. The association does not need to be political parties, it could be a membership in sports club. This teaches people democracy in practice, to argue for their ideas and listen to other peoples ideas and vote for the best one>>>

Ideology versus Realities

There is no shortage of bad news when it comes to the U. S. economy. Just when you thought economic turmoil was tamed, the government discloses another piece of discouraging economic news. The latest unemployment rate, for instance, which was released yesterday, shows that the U. S. economy has been shedding more jobs than ever before, almost 600,000 jobs per month. The current unemployment rate stands at 8.9%, translated roughly to 13.8 million people officially unemployed. Add to this number those jobless people who are not officially counted as unemployed, then the extent of joblessness will be even far greater than what official data shows. Given the fact that unemployment rate is a lagging economic indicator; there is no improvement in the employment situation in sight>>>

مسئولیت شهروندی

مسجد جمکران که در روستايی به همين نام در نزديکی شهر قم قرار دارد بر پايه خواب يکی از اهالی اين روستا ساخته شده است. در این مسجد چاهی وجود دارد که برخی مردم با طّی مراحلی، عريضه خود را به امام زمان به درون چاه می فرستند، به اين اميد که وی آنها را بخواند و حاجت آنانرا برآورده کند." آنچه پیرامون این مسجد و چاه می گذرد خبر از بروز و گسترش فاجعه ای دردناک در جامعه ما دارد. در قرن بیست و یکم، قرن کامپیوتر و اینترنِت، قرن آگاهی، انتخاب و مسئولیت، تعداد قابل ملاحظه ای از هموطنان ما هنوز غرق خُرافات، منتظر معجزه و دست غیب هستند. آیا لیاقت مردم میهن ما غلطیدن در چنین ورطه ای است؟ و چه کسانی مسئول بروز این فاجعه هستند؟ >>>

To the Children of Prison and Exile

After the silence of firing squads
Still it burns in our hearts
And we carry their corpses
On our broken backs.
I want to turn this death into life.
How many companions,
Who in these years of defeat and execution
Created life from an embryo? >>>

زنی می آید

زنی می آید
که روزی" ویرجینیا ولف" از او پا گرفته است
و زنی که راز مریم و مسیح را خوب می داند
و زنانی می آیند که با دختران هیتلر به بازار رفته اند
آه جهان کوچک است و ما تکرار می شویم
و دختری بنام لیلا مدام زاده می شود
با شاخه ی گل سرخی بر بلندای گیسوان ملتهبش
>>>

Joint lesson

The importance of education is stressed from a young age in Iran and the United States. However, in both systems it is the pursuit of a degree rather than education that is often considered as significant. It is more important to have proof of a college education rather than the ability to apply what was learned. With the exception of certain trade oriented fields of study, such as education or medicine, many students from both nations do not necessarily pursue careers directly related to their degrees. Iranian and American students alike have grown frustrated with this disregard for process and dominant focus on end results. Many students are entering fields of study based on what they see as financial security, rather than passion>>>

Happiness in Uncertain Times

When I was an intern completing myPh.D. in Clinical Psychology, I worked in a large general hospital in the Psychiatry ward for the most indigent populations. Almost every patient struggled with chronic medical illnesses, grief, chronic pain, depression,anxiety and some form of post traumatic stress. Many of the patients had been homeless at some point in their lives. It was hard for many of the interns to take on the suffering of people day after day and not internalize it and bring it home to our own families. One patient I encountered, we will call her Patty, seemed to defy all expectations>>>

بايکوت

از آنجا که دليل اصلی حکومت برای اجرای نمايش انتخابات نشان دادن حقانيت (مشروعيت) و پايه های مردمی خويش است، خودبخود، شرکت نکردن در انتخابات عملی برای مخدوش ساختن اين «حقانيت» بشمار می آيد و اگر اکثريتی از مردم دست به بايکوت انتخابات بزنند، رژيم ديگر نخواهد توانست بعنوان نمايندهء برآمده از ارادهء مردم عمل کند و سخن بگويد و موقعيت اش در چشم حاميان خارجی اش نيز متزلزل می شود و افکار عمومی بين المللی هم خواهد توانست با قدرت بيشتری روی رژيم فشار آورد تا، مثلاً، حقوق بشر را رعايت کند، دست به کشتار وسيع نزند، شکنجه نکند، و يا در تقويت تروريسم بين المللی نکوشد. بايکوت کنندگان لازم می بينند تا کسانی را که ساده لوحانه برای شرکت خود در انتخابات شرط می گذراند، به شرکت در بايکوت انتخابات قانع کنند تا بخش توهم آفرين رژيم کنار رفته و کارکرد منحوس بخش واقعی اما اغلب پنهان آن نمايان شود>>>

فیس بوک

رو فیس بوک بودم. جمعه بود و خوشحال از اینکه بالاخره دختره جواب داد. "چه دختر ناز و مامانی است." با خودم زمزمه کردم و دستهایم را به هم مالیدم. ناخودآگاه یاد ویدئو کلیپ نوری زاده افتادم که پشت مانیتور نشسته بود و با شادمانی می گفت: "خوشگلم اومد. به به." از کار خودم خنده ام گرفت. دخترک را ده دوازده باری تو مترو دیده بودم. قد بلندی درحدود شش فوت داشت و اندامی قلمی. موهای قهوه ای روشن و چشمان عسلی اش از بقیه متمایزش می کرد. لبخند ملیحی رو صورتش داشت که می شد با نگاه کردن بهش همه بدهی ها و صورتحسابهای آب و برق و اجاره و تلفن آخر ماه را فراموش کرد>>>