Archive - Jan 9, 2009 - Article

Voting in the Dark

In a few months Iran will hold presidential elections, which most likely will result in Ahmadinejad remaining as president. This will not be due to an expression of what the majority of Iranians want but due to the fact that there still remains a slight chance that Iran will be attacked. After America invaded Iraq preparations were made within the Iranian power structure for war, and this included installing Revolutionary Guard hardliners throughout government organizations, with Ahmadinejad being the most visible. Essentially a shadow military junta has been created so as to back up the theocracy in the event Iran has to go on a war footing>>>

Welcome new source

We finally had some good news: BBC Persian TV, the second professional news and television program, is slated to launch by the end of this month. Many of the journalists and editors of PTV -- as the BBC refers to it -- are my old friends and colleagues and most of them have no TV background. But there is no need for panic, the BBC always offers the best (or one of the best) training programs. Almost all of the 140 PTV employees have now completed their courses on TV journalism. BBC PTV has only one rival: VOA Persian, news and feature programs run by VOA out of Washington. DC, but many experts believe the quality and content of the VOA programs do not meet BBC standards>>>

British, Persian or German?

Reza Shah truly instigated the wide ranging modernization of Iran from a filthy, backward and lawless shell-of-an-state, to a functioning and advancing society. With the new roads and trucks, the all too frequent famines of the earlier twentieth century disappeared. Under the new army’s watchful eyes, bandits and tribes could no longer rob the caravans or invade towns and villages. The new schools and colleges gave hope and purpose to many youths for a better future and the flourishing of their talents. Emancipation of women encouraged that half of the population to play a more active role in public life. Municipal modernizations, public health initiatives and vaccinations, lowered the infant and general mortality rates and provided a brighter outlook for young families. >>>

غوغا

زنجیری که به پای من است
عشق نوباوگان وطن است.
مگر تو نمیدانی
قلبی که در سینه اِشان میرقصد
طبل جنگ گیلان من است.
خونی که در رگشان میجوشد
انتقام مام وطن است.
این ابریشم نتابیده
حرف حساب من است. >>>

Lost in a Dream

I dreamt of you last night
lost, I could see the end near
on the road I walked to reach you
trees of apple tall, flowering in the hands of the wind
drinking from my heart
and I wished you
like the moment gone... >>>