Archive - May 2008

Not ALL speak Persian

The funny thing I have always found is that the same nationalistic Iranians talk about how big and glorious Iran was, and they long for those days of imperial and majestic oriental triumphalism. What the hell people! Wasn't the same blood-thirsty Agha Mohammad Khan, a barbaric Turk, who united this same old bloody empire you talk about? Didn't the same mass-murderer unite and re-create Iran? Then you say he was an uncivilised Turk who killed the ethnic Persian people of Kerman? Big, really big, smell of hypocrisy here! Nationalists must make their minds! What about Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar who subdued all of Iran except Azerbaijan, whose actions caused famine in Tabriz?>>>

Peace pipe

Iran-India political relations have been parallel to economic relations of these two countries. The policies of the Indian government to acquire ever more energy resources to feed her rising needs in the coming years have created many challenges for the Indian government. India has always been looking to gain access to additional oil and gas imports. Iran’s export of oil to India, and India’s export of diesel to Iran have been on the rise. Based on current predictions, India shall need about 400 million cubic meters of gas per day (which currently stands at 90 million cubic meters.) >>>

Arabization of Iran hasn't worked

Why this difference? they used more distinctively Persian names: Khusraw, Shapur, Mehyar and other names rather than Arabic Ahmad or Omar derived from a Persian past-a recent Persian past>>>

درس جغرافیا

مریم دانش آموز کلاس پنج ابتدایی ست و در تنها مدرسه ی دخترانه ی ماسوله مشغول تحصیل است.
مریم در اوقات فراغت عروسک های کوچولو می بافد.
او بافتن عروسک را در مدرسه فراگرفته است.
مریم عروسک هایش را روی تکه مقوایی سنجاق می کند.
بعد از ظهرها که مریم از مدرسه به خانه می آید، عروسک ها را کنار در خانه می گذارد و تا هنگام نماز مغرب و عشاء، روی سکوی پیش روی در، کنار عروسک هایش می نشیند.
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A geography lesson

In a rather warm June morning, I buy a poppet from Maryam for 400 toomans. Maryam looks at me and the notes surprisingly. She smiles and let me take some photos of her. As I want to leave, she sends her greetings to my wife. “I don’t have any” I say. Maryam looks at me wondering, asking me: “How do you live then?” I don’t know what to say to Maryam whom in her 12 years’ life hasn’t been out of Masoule at all. Up til this moment I haven’t thought either how I could live without a wife! >>>

Camping in Big Sur

My tent is small
I put my boots outside
When I put them on in the morning
My socks become all wet
I look at my neighbor's huge tent
and his dog behind the screen door
Grinning at me
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در اردوی «بیگ سِر»*

چادرخواب من کوچک است
چکمه هایم را بیرون می گذارم
صبح که آنها را به پا می کنم
جورابهایم خیس می شوند
به سراپرده ی همسایه نگاه می کنم
و سگی که از پسِ درِ توری
به من پوزخند می زند
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CANNES PREMIER FOR BOBBY SANDS

British movie Hunger has opened at the Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews >>>