Archive - Feb 2008 - Article

The hell with Valentine's Day

I believe in all seriousness that Valentine’s Day is a complete and utter sham masquerading as the alpha and omega of lovers' days. Rather than a day of heart-fluttering and butterflies, for many it is one of gut wrenching disappointment and the utmost dejection. Those not strong enough to resist the ineluctable desire for conformity and anonymity become pariahs even by their own evaluation. And if that wasn't bad enough the Übermenschen and Überfrauen amongst us who choose to rebel against the wave of mediocrity poised to engulf and eviscerate us at any moment, are pretty much assured marginalization and to be ostracised by society’s sheep as heartless, selfish misogynists and misanthropes respectively>>>

جمهوری اسلامی یک حکومت مدرن و غیرارتجاعی است

مقاله دکتر اسماعیل نوریعلا "آتش ارتجاع" را خواندم که غیر مستقیم ( یا شاید هم مستقیم، خدا می داند) در جواب صحبت های جنجالی اکبر گنجی در دانشگاه تورنتو نوشته شده بود. بعد از خواندن مقاله احساس کردم که اکبر گنجی در این نوشته مظلوم واقع شده است. گر چه مطمئنم آقای گنجی نیازی به امثال من برای دفاع از خود ندارند، اما پررویی را به حد تمام رساندم و تصمیم گرفتم روبروی این دو استاد بزرگ بایستم و حرف بزنم. پس اساسا نوشته من جواب به صحبت های نوریعلا نیست که من در حد جواب دادن به او نیستم، بلکه دفاع از گنجی یا "پوپر ایران" است. >>>

Both terrorists

All trilateral parts of conflicts, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Zionism, reject constantly peaceful solutions. All of them believe that Palestine is a consecrated land for their future generations and only so it must exist until Judgement Day. If all of them are at the height of their radicalism, they will gender an eternally vicious spiral of war and violence. The two antagonistic poles have different charges and sacred altars. Neither Zionism’s sacred expansionism nor Islamism’s God’s state can guarantee peace and co-existence in this region>>>

عمو سیروس

عمو سیروس همکلاسی دایی ها بود ولی درسش که تموم شده بود با یکی از همکلاسی هاش عروسی کرده بود و رفته بود شمال یک باغچه خریده بود تو یک مدرسه درس می داد سبزی می کاشت و مرغ و خروس و بوقلمون نگه می داشت
بابا می گفت چه آدم لطیفی
دایی جون بزرگه می گفت عجب خری
دایی جون کوچیکه هیچی نمی گفت
>>>

The human league

There you are, sideways
as you've never been before,
in front of the window, white
and bare in this lush decor.
You're half smiling, half surprised
at the irony of your fate,
not sure anymore of waiting
for a sign full of wonder.

>>>

Here's your chance

Barack Obama, this improbable son of immigrant has done something that it was thought impossible. To bring people from both side of isles, ardent republicans the likes of the Susan Eisenhower who recently pledged in a Washington Post op-ed to step outside of her party, "this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected". To pass gender issues and have 100 of the top feminist leaders in the country to support him over Clinton. He has the ability to united people of all creeds>>>

به روز واقعه تابوت ما ز سرو کنید

احمد بورقانی که خود با موج اصلاحات ،به معاونت مطبوعاتی ارشاد رسیده بود، تعریف دیگری ازنقش قدرت در جامعه از یکسو و کارکرد مطبوعات از سوی دیگر داشت . پافشاری بورقانی بر درستی دیدگاهش در باره ی مطبوعات هرچند "بهار" دیگری برای اهل قلم به ارمغان آورد اما "تنهایی" ، او را در برابر موجهای پی در پی ای که از سوی کانونهای قدرت ایجاد می شد، شکننده کرد و نهایتا با سخنانی فراموش نشدنی از این سمت استعفا داد و رفت. البته رفتن بورقانی ، "خزان" دیگری را برای مطبوعات ایران به دنبال آورد که هنوز هم ادامه دارد. >>>

The gentle giant

I still can't believe he's gone, forever. Ahmad Bourghani Farahani died in Tehran on Saturday at the age of 48, from a heart attack. He is best known as a former liberal member of parliament from Tehran and one of the most open-minded deputy culture ministers in charge of media affairs during Mohammad Khatami's first presidential term. I met Ahmad years before his brief political career. He was a senior editor at the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) when I joined the English section in March 1980. I still remember his friendly, playful, welcoming smile the first time we met... >>>

Ey Sareban

Music video>>>

Fear and Hope

The occasion for this reflection is, of course, the Barak Obama phenomenon -the novelty of which, incidentally, is demonstrated by the fact that my word processing program does not recognize either name. To be more precise, it is the conundrum that the phenomenon poses for the American electorate in the 2008 Presidential campaign. The audacity of Obama’s hope has become contagious. The Democratic Party establishment’s iconic Ted Kennedy has endorsed him, and more than 70% of Move-On respondents have chosen him over Hillary Clinton.>>>

Simply Irresistible

The singletons amongst us are cruelly reminded that, once again, despite our best efforts, there will be no romance on this cruellest-of-cruel days… the dreaded Valentine’s Day. Yes folks, Valentine’s Day is just over a week away and there is no escaping it! My personal belief has always been that this special day was a well thought out scam created by the greeting card companies and florists of this world, to cash in on our hard earned monies…. Jerks. But single or not, Valentine’s Day is a strange affair at the best of times. Happy couples seem to appear from nowhere and the City is suddenly awash with red roses, shop windows are crammed with chocolate, perfume and lingerie>>>

Achilles' heel

Few days ago the official spokesman of the Islamic Republicís judiciary reported a directive banning any further execution in public has been issued by the head of the judiciary. The said directive also disallows any further dissemination of pictures of hangings by Iranian mass media except in cases that exclusive exceptions are made by the judiciary. Interested observers who are seasoned in the IRI's public announcements have come to expect denials and clarifications on the heel of most officially announced declarations. And since it has been a few days and none has been made it should be safe to opine on repercussion of the judiciaryís latest directive>>>

وطن، دوچرخه ای روی جک

دلم بیسکوییت مادری می خواهد
با چای شیرین
هوای وطن دارد دلم
سرد است و هوای دربند به سرم زده
و به سرم زده که با خیال تخت
بنشینم با تو
که بی خیال آسمانی که بالاست
و زمینی که زیر تخت است
به کودکیم برگردم
>>>

Sean Penn's Last Frontier

The very first film I ever saw with Hollywood's angry man Sean Penn goes back to some 20 years ago in unusual circumstances. I had to reluctantly do my military service in France and during a three day long selection process during which I had to pass several I.Q. and medical exams to judge if I was apt for a year long stay in Army barracks and for all sorts of maneuvers in the cold snow covered hills of Eastern France. Now some 20 years later I get to meet the real guy at the screening of a film Into the Wild in which he did not act but directed >>>

غیاب انسانیت

فرضأ کمک های مالیی که از جانب ایران به فلسطین می شود بیشتر از پولهای مالیاتی که از جیب ایرانی ها به جیب دولتهای کشورهای غربی می رود٬ صرف ساخت سلاحهایی می شود که برای تهدید جان خانواده های خودشان در ایران به کار می رود. ولی حق طلبی و آزادیخواهی ما چه می شود؟! موضع گیری قاطع ما در برابر ظلم و ضعیف کشی کدام است؟ آیا میزان پایبندی ما به آرمانهای انسانی مشروط به روابط تاریخیمان با ملت های مختلف است (آن هم در چارچوب ساختارهای موجود روابط بین الملل)؟ و یا آنکه همدردی و همدلی میان انسانها و مبارزه با بی عدالتی و زورگویی فرا تر از این مسائل است؟ >>>