MEDIATION
Opportunity to end the nuclear conflict with Iran
Iran's insistence on enriching uranium in defiance of three UN Security Council resolutions, combined with a bevy of antagonistic threats aimed at Israel's existence has created an explosive recipe that may well precipitate a horrifying regional conflagration. For Iran's own best interests, its contentious leaders would be well advised to tone down their anti-Israeli threats, which have not been taken lightly thus far, and find a diplomatic solution to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. The recent Israeli air force exercises and American naval maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, which were countered by Iran's test-firing of a variety of missiles, have only heightened an already tense atmosphere.
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CYRUS
Spiegel article claims "first human rights charter" is a hoax!
First came the 300 Spartans; and now the Spiegel article! The 300 were bunch of good looking and brave guys who fought this vast army of nasty looking and savage Persians. Ok. I can take that; even though from that savagery not much is left in me. In fact I could've really used a bit of that when confronting my neighbors, kids, manager, lender, ..., and above all my wife! But all that looks a distant dream now :-) But what has kept me going in the last few decades is the fact that the first human rights charter has been attributed to Persians. The Cyrus Cylinder, which is a magnificent ancient piece if nothing else, is supposedly inscribed with the human rights charter as decreed by the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great
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ANTS
مورچه ها بخشی از زندگی ما شده اند. می بینی و نمی بینی شان، می شنوی یا نمی شنوی شان
همین که یکی دو روزی در حال و هوای این جزیره و میان مردم زندگی کنی و ... بی اختیار به یاد مورچه ی آرژانتینی "ایتالو کالوینو" می افتی. راوی داستان همراه همسر و فرزند خرد سالشان برای سکونت به شهری آمده اند که از پیش نمی شناخته اند. روز اول در آشپزخانه و بعد در ننوی بچه متوجه ی مورچه ها می شوند و کم کم در می یابند که مورچه ها در همه جای خانه حضوری پر رنگ دارند. راوی به خانه ی همسایه می رود تا برای دفع مورچه ها دوایی موقتی بگیرد. متوجه می شود که همسایه با وجود کار شبانه روزی و بکار بردن انواع و اقسام سم دفع مورچه از مایع و جامد و خوراکی های آلوده به انواع سم، به همین دلخوش است که در راهروها و اتاق ها و حیاط، میان انبوه مورچه ها مسیر باریکی برای رفت و آمد خود و همسرش داشته باشد!
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POETRY
I have become jobless, no longer
Distracted by the mundane chores,
“Stillness” has become a mistress
But I am too scared to indulge –
Had never seen the majesty of
Ocean under the skylight of stars.
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FORT
Photo essay: Ghaleh Roodkhan in Gilan
by
Mahvash Howell >>>
BATTLE
Comic Book & movie adaptation
by
Darius Kadivar >>>
BASE
The entire area feels like a military camp. Or maybe like an occupied territory
Maybe statistics would prove me wrong, but the economy feels like a military economy. The major things you see being manufactured and built are border walls and military facilities. You see battleships and carriers in the bay, bases and naval air stations along the freeways, soldiers in camouflage sitting in the backs of trucks or on gates in fences at freeway exits in the countryside with nothing around, tattoo parlors and strip joints on the main streets of National City, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, the immense retired officers community of Coronado, jeeps and Humvees and SUVs on the highways, black with tinted windows, driven by young men with buzz cuts
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QUESTIONS
Several questions and concerns must be put to rest for PAAIA to live up to its full potential
The founding of PAAIA, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian-Americans, is in many ways a milestone for the Iranian-American community. Seldom have Iranian-Americans of such diverse backgrounds come together and invested in an organization. For that alone, the organization should be applauded. Yet, in many ways, PAAIA has also been a major disappointment. Its less than open nature, its unwillingness to clarify its positions and reluctance to shed light on its decision making processes have left many potential Iranian-American supporters like myself skeptical.
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POETRY
Surrounded by two pillars of ivory
The gate is opening up
The path to her being is becoming visible
Her soul is calling
A crescent as bent as the moon
Occupies my vision form above
A crescent as white as the ivory pillars gently hugging my ears
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DIASPORA
Are virtual monsters comparable to real ones I read about in the news or to the real war my generation endured?
I forget my own exile that isn’t an exile, because I can return if I want to, and yet, I know I will never want to go back? Perhaps I am entitled to the pity I sometimes feel for myself, to the self-righteousness, to the sweet joy I taste in the bitterness of the news, to this feeling of being at the top, a place my father and grandfather never reached. But is it really true? How would I know whether they felt this enjoyment or not? Who am I to declare so baldly that they never stood at this same place where I am standing?
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ITALY
Photo essay: The bikes of Italy
by
bahmani >>>
SANCTIONS
Oil embargo can render the IRI more vulnerable
The fact is that Mullahs continue to ignore sanctions with little consequence for the regime even though Iran's economy is stagnating. What is the alternative? Will international sanctions produce the desired effect? Is there any chance to solve the dilemma with the IRI? Can the group of six results in a breakthrough? Is a military intervention a right solution? The answer to all of them remains negative. As long as the UN does not directly punish the plague of IRI, not people who already suffer from this totalitarian regime, a real solution is not available. The UN can consider various sanctions on the IRI:
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LEADERSHIP
If you were offered the grand task of running Iran, what would you do?
It is a fact that we Iranians always talk about politics in any public or private occasion. It is partly due to not having a voice in running our own affairs. I believe in democracy and as a researcher like to involve everyone to join in trying to run our own country. Remember big projects always start from drawing board and this is it. Let’s assume, for some reasons, the situation in Iran completely changed and mullahs decided to pack their bags and run (no government lasts forever)... I created a list of your chosen agenda in alphabetical order. Need to remember these are important issues to consider at least for a short while at the beginning:
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STORY
مجسمه ای در موزه لس انجلس
بچه که بودم در ذهنم کمترین تردیدی نداشتم که آن چیزی که آن وقت ها " چیز واقعی" می نامیدمش، بعدها وقتی بزرگ شدم، وقتی از دست مدرسه و رویا کُشی پر هیاهو آنجا نجات پیدا کردم، وقتی آرزوهایم را عملی کردم،(رفتن به دانشگاه، نقاش خوب شدن، عاشق شدن، شاعر شدن، سفر کردن...) خواهد آمد. امروز در سی و سه سالگی می بینم که " آن چیز واقعی" برای همیشه غیر قابل دسترس خواهد ماند. از خواب که پریدم حال عجیبی داشتم. چیزی بین رویا و واقعیت. تشخیص آنکه کدام یک واقعیت دارد سخت بود. در رویا همه جیز ساده است. یک عالمه کلمه به ذهنم هجوم می آورند که مثل شیطانک هایی رقصان در سرم می رقصند و می خواهند بیایند اینجا اما به محض اینکه پا در ثانیه می گذارم همگی مثل مهِ بلندیهای جاده کارپنتریا در سراشیبی آن طرف جاده و آفتاب محو می شوند.
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