Archive - Jun 9, 2009

Dispatch from Tehran

Night is falling again on Tehran, and like each night for the last week, hundreds of people are gathering in the streets of the city in a sort of election fervor. Presidential elections are to take place in a week, with the first round of voting set for next Friday, June 12. From my apartment, I can hear the crowd forming in my neighborhood; we are located just one block away from the national television headquarters, which has become a sort of symbolic hub for these growing demonstrations. Sitting here right now and trying to write is almost surreal, as I can hear the chanting, yelling and sirens below while I try to concentrate and gather my thoughts. I can't help but imagine how tonight's action might build on last night's energy and move further away from these elections and towards something else, something bigger... but what?>>>

Back from the cold

President Obama has spoken with conviction of the US’s reformed thinking on ‘democracy promotion’. Turkey, Morocco and Indonesia are Muslim states where democracy has yielded significant fruit in the form of moderation to political behaviour and the consolidation of democracy. In today's Iran in contrast, the right to freedom of expression is curtailed; thus no one can engage directly with critical political issues. In addition, general disillusionment with politics means political literature is now largely unfashionable in Iran. Iranians are trapped in a spiral of political alienation. Having said that, our attention should remain fixed not on the identities of the protagonists, but on the part they play in strengthening or weakening democracy in Iran>>>

رشوه و رستگاری

در اداره ای که کار میکنم همه به خوبی می دانند که من اهل رشوه و حق و حساب گرفتن هستم. راستش تا حالا کلی مقاله و پژوهش های میدانی و خیابانی و میلانی در خصوص غیر قابل اجتناب بودن رشوه گیری انجام داده و حقانیت آن را به همه آدم و عالم ثابت کرده ام. رساله معروف بنده به نام " رشوه و ادبیات ایران" به چندین زبان زنده و مرده و نیمه جان دنیا ترجمه شده و هر روز از طریق تلفن و ایمیل سئوالات فراوانی در این خصوص به ویژه از هم میهنان مقیم خارج دریافت می کنم که خواستار توضیح این فن ظریف و تعمیم آن به همه ممالکی هستند که در حال حاضر به حضور رعایای ممالک محروسه ایران مزین شده است. سایتی نیز دراین مورد راه انداخته ام با عنوان : زیرمیزی.پول چایی دات کام که در خدمت همه علاقمندان است>>>

Secret of the River

Every day we go along the river
And your body
Takes on the smell of the water.
Seeing us, the wild geese
Tune up their battle horns,
And a cat behind its green hideout
Lifts its tail in triumph. >>>

Google's Omid Kordestani Speaks Candidly: "Life is Messy!"

Six of the most accomplished Iranian Americans in the world gathered at UCLA's Royce Hall on Mother’s Day to share the trials and tribulations of their lives with the next generation>>>

Lotfan.org

Website www.lotfan.org was launched yesterday to promote voting on Friday's presidential election>>>

VOTE. It is made easy for all!

Large number of Iranian Americans want to participate in the election this year, in particular after hearing the presidential deba. This has prompted the embassy to make the voting process easy by establishing many voting sites throughout the US>>>

بیانیه گروهی از فعالین ضد جنگ درباره انتخابات ریاست جمهوری

The legitimate demands raised in the statement would be placed on whoever is elected as President in Iran in order to best defend the national interests of the country against the pressures and threats by the international community>>>