All birds are my friends!

Most days, during late mornings or early afternoons when I just have gotten up, with my hair still in a mess and dressed in my morning robe, a cup of black coffee in my hand and a lit cigarette standing in the balcony, I get a visit by a sparrow. He comes and sits very close to me on the edge and talks to me. He brings me news and briefings form the previous night’s adventures in the other realm, which I visited during the night in my sleep.>>>

Aim high

A prince, a hero
a healer, a rebel,
what they had in common
was need.
The prince wanted
a world to see,
the hero his people
to finally free, >>>

Lebanon's media diversity

I first came to Lebanon in 1972 to study at the American University of Beirut and left in 1978. Other than the traumas of the Civil War - which are still on the minds of all of us, even those who did not experience them directly - I have three abiding memories of my first encounter with Lebanon: smelling the scent of the Mediterranean as soon as the airplane's door had been opened; hearing the voice of Fairuz, which always filled the air then, and still comes back today to comfort us when things are going very badly; and an open press, representing a wide range of opinion.>>>

My Very First Bus Ride

Among the students in my elementary school, there were many whose family could not afford to have an automobile. Therefore, they did not have the privilege of riding in one. Unluckily, I was one of them. For the kids like me, riding in a car was a luxury that existed only in our dreams, waiting to become a reality. A very few kids whose families had an automobile often made us envious by telling us stories about the pleasure of their joyrides. In those days, of course, there was no sign of Paykan, Peugeot, Patrol, or Pride, especially in smaller cities. Only horse-driven carriages served as the primary means of public transportation. The ones powered by two horses were equivalent to the deluxe models>>>

What next?

If, as seems likely, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO, MEK, PMOI) is de-proscribed in the UK, this ought to be good news for the group's 3,300 members in Iraq. I reported on the situation there back in February and concluded that since the Iraqi Government is adamant that the MKO be expelled from the country as a foreign terrorist entity, the only practical solution was for a western government (most probably the UK) to de-proscribe the group so that the members currently trapped in Camp Ashraf could gain safe refuge there. I am looking to see whether the MKO's western backers will now push for this solution>>>

بيداری ملی ايرانيان

از مدت ها پيش، تقويم های رسمی چاپ ايران از يازدهم ارديبهشت به عنوان «روز ملی خليج فارس» ياد می کردند و سايت های دولتی حتی مطالبی دربارهء اين روز داشتند، بی آنکه معلوم شود چه کسی در اين روز «ملی» قرار است چه بکند. اما تا فرا رسيدن اين روز چند حادثه مهم پيش آمد: نخست سفر احمدی نژاد بود به اجلاسيه ای که «کنفرانس کشورهای حاشيهء خليج عربی» خوانده می شد و نشستن او، بعنوان رئيس جمهور ايران، و وزير خارجه اش، منوچهر متکی، در زير تابلوئی که همين نام را اعلام می داشت. اگرچه، پس از روياروئی با جنجال ناشی از اين عمل زشت، سخنگوی دولت اعلام کرد که ترجمهء درست نام اين اجلاس «کنفرانس کشورهای عرب حاشيهء خليج» است و نه «کنفرانس کشورهای حاشيهء خليج عربی»>>>

Let there be light

The dominant political theories of the European Dark Ages and the premises of Iran’s present ruling establishment are more or less the same. As the so-called divine rulers helped to destroy the Roman Empire and plunge the Western world into the Dark Ages, Iranian so-called divine rulers are doing the same with the Iranian nation. During the Dark Ages in Europe, there was complete rule by the church and warrior elite, no human rights to speak of, and degenerate, and inhuman behavior. For human liberty, the period was indeed dark>>>

Iran’s response

For the past several weeks the Pentagon has rolled out a justification for the upcoming attack through allegations that have yet to be supported by any solid evidence. Let’s skip over the issue of if the Pentagon is right or if all this is just another case of aluminum tubes or yellowcake or being 45 minutes away from witnessing a mushroom cloud over some American city. Let’s instead jump to the immediate moment after the camps have been bombed. The question is; how will Iran respond?>>>

The Spider Killings: Conclusion

Roxanne had just finished emailing her story to the newspaper office in Tehran. “The Spider Killer Dead in His Own Web!”, the headline of the newspaper would read in the special evening edition. They had found the remnants of seven bodies buried in Sharif’s garden, and they suspected that the oldest one was that of his wife, Azam. Along with the more recent victims found scattered inside and in the outskirts of the city of Mashad, the body count totaled sixteen. There was no doubt that Sharif was the Spider Killer as each corpse found interred in his backyard had the telltale signs of having been strangled to death>>>

The last TV tycoon

Born April 17th 1930 in Tehran Iran, Reza Badiyi moved to the United States in the 1960s to pursue a film career. He was educated at Syracuse University. He has Over 40 years of industry experience which include over 400 hours of primetime television, four feature films, and more than 60 documentaries. His directing credits include episodes of Mission Impossible, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky and Hutch, Cagney & Lacey, Falcon Crest, Baywatch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, La Femme Nikita and dozens more. He received the Gold Medal of Art from the hands of the Shah of Iran in the mid 70's. >>>