Five hundred years of arrogation

On September 25, 1507, a six-ship, 400-man strong Portuguese force under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque appeared off the island of Hormuz. In what transpired in the next three days they overcame the town’s thirty thousand fighting men, demanded and received an annual tribute of fifteen thousand gold Xeraphins, and placed the governor of Hormuz under the protection of King Manual I of Portugal (see a brief history here). In no time, shockwaves of this incidence reached the court of Shah Ismail I (ruled 1501-1524 AD), the young founder of Safavid dynasty (1501 – 1722 AD). The rise of new expansionist powers in Europe, and their far-reaching ambitions, was deeply felt. >>>

Revolution of the heart

What do you fear most when lying in your bed at night, just before sleep takes you away from your worldly worries? What secrets have you hidden deep inside your heart, hoping against hope that no one ever discovers that which you have hidden from plain view, but that which causes you so much anguish in the still, black, hours of the night. What demons torment the furthest recesses of your soul, your mind, and your heart, and make you long for some way to unburden yourself without risking your standing in the community, your reputation amongst colleagues, your self-inflated sense of importance in the eyes of friends and family, and without having to face the cold, hard, painful truth that all of us, you and me included, are flawed, fallible, and imperfect and because of this our lives are filled with many little and not-so-little fears.>>>

Consider all the consequences

In each war there are always winners and losers. The winners are those who make money and gather more power to themselves while all the others are the losers. It doesn’t matter if one has been on this side or that side; chances are that in the end the majority end up losing far more than they thought they will gain. Ask any parent that has lost a child in a war if he or she can in any way be compensated for that loss and you’ll have the answer. One can expect the push for war from those who will gain from it, but not from those who lose. But the sad fact is that those who gain from war use all the communication means at their disposal to persuade the losers to support and even participate in the war.>>>

Father & son

“MY DAD WAS an ironmonger,” said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Tehran Radio’s studio 4, during a preelection interview. “He worked very hard so I could go to the University of Science and Technology and study civil engineering. But in 1993 Father passed away due to an accident.” A year later Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, helped lower his father’s coffin into the grave. Ahmad Ahmadinejad died in 2006 from heart complications, not in an accident in 1993 as his son had claimed in 2005. No one is quite sure why Ahmadinejad told such a palpable lie so publicly. Perhaps he thought he could shield his family from the public spotlight. Or perhaps he was trying to hide something. >>>

Nether-Persians

Why do so few Moroccans, Turks, Muslims from Surinam make themselves heard? Where are the Iraqis, the Afghans? In the current debate on Islam in the Netherlands, Iranians dominate. This became especially obvious when the discussion was given fresh impetus by the apostate Muslim, Ehsan Jami—of Iranian background. Yesterday, Jami presented his Committee of Ex-Muslims. The only other member is Damon Golriz, a representative of the VVD, the Dutch liberal [conservative] party, and professor of mechanical engineering at a technical college, whose chief adviser is columnist and university professor Afshin Ellian. Both are from Iran. Similar committees in England and France, which served as a template for Jami, were founded by Iranians as well.>>>

Feelin' hot hot hot!

Chilli is a great way to instantly transform a simple dish into something a lot more special. To create a delicious and quick Oriental dish, simply start by lightly frying off some garlic, ginger and chilli in some vegetable oil, add your chosen meat or seafood and stir fry (increasing to a high heat) until the meat/fish is cooked. This won’t take more than 5-8 minutes if your meat is cut into thin strips and seafood takes no time to cook at all. You can add vegetables if you like, perhaps broccoli, peppers or green beans, and finish off with either some soy sauce or some oyster sauce and serve with rice or noodles. See? Simple!>>>

بیماری خود شیفتگی

جذابیت در معنای زیبایی و خوش تیپی در نظرهای گونه گون متفاوت است . برای نمونه برخی از مردان و زنان حزب الهی آقای احمدی نژاد را مردی جذاب , یعنی زیبا و خوش تیپ, می پندارند. چنین تفاوت نگاهی را در خانواده و جامعه, بسیاری از ما شاهد بوده ایم . برای نمونه آخوندها و شبه آخوند ها زنانی را جذاب می پندارند , می پسندند و دوست می دارند, که ویژگی ها ی ظاهری این زنان از نظر بسیارانی دیگر جذابیت تلقی نمی شود. در نگاه حزب الله زیبایی و جذابیت , و مظاهر آن ها گونه ای دیگر اند.>>>

وجه المقابلهً رژيم ايران با آمريکا

اگر تندروهاي حاکم در کاخ سفيد و اسرائيل بدنبال حملهً نظامي به ايران هستند، تندروهاي حاکم بر تهران بهانه ها را يکي بعد از ديگري مي تراشند. بدرستي حکومت پادگاني ولي فقيه هيچ راهي جز سر شاخ شدن با مردم ايران، و قدرت هاي منطقه اي و بين المللي ندارد. بنظر مي رسد تنها روزنه اي که براي رژيم اخيراً باز شده همان انتخاب هاشمي رفسنجاني به رياست مجلس خبرگان رهبري، در عين حفظ سمت رياست مجمع تشخيص مصلحت نظام باشد. اکنون رژيم ايران عملاً تحت مسئوليت مشترک خامنه اي و رفسنجاني است و هردوي آنها در قبال سرنوشت کشور و مردم ايران مسئولند.>>>

زايشگاه يا آسايشگاه؟

فکر می کنم کوششی در کار است که اگر «تشکيلات تهران» تصميم به ارسال پيام به «کنگره» ی در آستانهء تشکيل جبههء ملی در اروپا داشته و بصورتی تلويحی وجود آن را برسميت بشناسد، از قبل ـ با تراشيدن يک «عنصر نفوذی» که همهء خرابکاری ها و انحراف ها زير سر اوست ـ اقدام مزبور خنثی شده و از اعتبار بيافتد.>>>

Relentless Hope

Time keeps passing by and

Nothing changes

But the core of my being

Chipping away at the crap

That has accumulated on

My soul

>>>

When I need you

When I was young
As an English learner
I loved a song

I remember yet

When I need you,
Just close my eyes
Then I’m with you

>>>