Archive - Oct 2009 - Article

Stuck in Bush

Barack Obama has not drawn the right conclusion from his predecessor's failed Iran policy. A paradigm of sticks-and-carrots simply is not going to work in the case of the Islamic Republic. Here, a lesson is readily available, if only the Obama White House were willing to consider Iran's recent history. It is unrealistic to expect that a regime which fought Saddam Hussein's Iraq (then backed by the United States) to a standstill in a bloody eight-year war in the 1980s, unaided by any foreign power, and has for 30 years withstood the consequences of U.S.-imposed economic sanctions will be alarmed by Washington's fresh threats of "crippling sanctions.">>>

کدام «راه راست»؟

پيدايش هر مذهبی (در داخل دين ها) نشان از پيدايش نيايشگاه (بعنوان سازمان مرکزی) و دينکاران (بعنوان کارکنان آن سازمان) دارد و اين مجموعه خود را حاملان و نگاهبانان «راه درست» می دانند، و تا آنجا که زورشان برسد ديگران را وادار می کنند که فراروايت ايشان از «راه راست» را بپذيرند و هرکس هم که نپذيرد «کافر» محسوب می شود و آنکه از روايت سرپيچی کند «مرتد» و، در همه حال، مستوجب عقوبت مرگ. هم اکنون در زندان های ايران کسانی به انتظار مرگ نشسته اند که گناه شان خروج از اسلام و پيوستن به دين مسيحی است!>>>

Safe Haven

The Glass House (Fictionville, 2009) is an amazing movie reveals what goes on at Omid-e-Mehr center in Tehran, Iran. Founded by Marjaneh Halati, Omid-e-Mehr, or “Hope for Kindness”, is a non-profit organization helping disadvantaged young women of Iran to get back on their feet and learn the right skills to independently function in the society. As painful as it may sound, this movie was not about the pain these young women go through, although the story evolves around their problems and challenges>>>

The Manchurian Candidate

A young man with little known accomplishment or track record other than voting no to Iraq war as a jr. senator of Illinois, becomes U.S. president ‘against all odds’. He was supported by the richest in the U.S. and around the world, morally and financially. Was a superstar long before getting elected and a megastar afterwards. He is smart and talented for sure with immense self confidence, 'charisma', and the world's largest known fan club to booth. He inherited a cluster from the little Bush for sure but has spent several trillions of tax dollars and overwhelmingly to key players of Wall Street and Corporate world in an effort 'to revive the U.S economy'>>>

گروگانگیری در ایندولند

سالها قبل، پدرو خیلی از سرودهای انقلابی را با حرارت می خواند و باعث جلب جوانان روستائی به ارتش چریکی تازه تاسیس ما می شد که با دولت مرکزی می جنگیدیم و قصد داشتیم حکومت طرفدار آمریکا را سرنگون و ایندولند رابه بهشتی در آمریکای لاتین و حوزه دریای کارائیب تبدیل کنیم. ما می خواستیم ملت ما "مثل" مردم شوروی در رفاه و آزادی باشند (آن موقع نمی دانستیم که آنها چقدر بدبخت و فلک زده اند). حالا اوضاع کلی فرق کرده است. پدرو دچار فراموشی شده و تا یک سطر از سرودی را می خواند دیگر بقیه را از یاد می برد. وقتی مرادر حال تفکر می بیند، زود می فهمد که نگران آینده انقلاب ایندولند هستم>>>

چنين گفت زرتشت

اوستا اين كتاب كهنه ديروز
پر از آموزه هاي روزگار آتش افروزي است
و اكنون اين سكوتش
خواب آرامش
نيرنگ فراموشي است
شرنگ عهد خاموشي است >>>

Target Russia

"The Russians are microwaving our brains." The comment of my corner-shopkeeper in Tehran reflects a widely-held view about the state's use of powerful jamming signals to block foreign media. The blocking of key communication links has played a big part in the violent crackdown that followed Iran's election. The possible health risks of these newly installed devices have even been raised inside Iran's majlis (parliament); Zohreh Elahian, a member of the national-security and foreign-policy committee, responded to reporters' questions about a possible increase in miscarriages by promising that the figures would be examined>>>

رنگین کمان سبز

تضعیف یا نفی ولایت فقیه هدف «فعلی» جنبش سبز بشمار می‌رود. قید «فعلی» در این جا مهم است. یعنی اولا جنبش سبز از هنگام تشکیل تا کنون رادیکالیزه شده و از هدف تجدید انتخابات به تضعیف یا نفی ولایت فقیه ارتقا یافته است. به همین صورت، جنبش می‌تواند در تحولات بعدی و در واکنش به عملکرد حاکمیت باز تغییر یابد و هدف‌های دیگری را در پیش گیرد. ثانیا، فرض پیروزی جنبش و دستیابی به این هدف، به معنای پایان آن نیست، و در شرایط تغییر یافته دیگر، نیروی آزاد شده جنبش می‌تواند به صورت‌های دیگری شکل بگیرد و هدف‌های جدیدی را دنبال کند>>>

The Orange 'n Torange Girl (6)

When I left the Prince's palace carrying a bag of silver coins from the Queen, I shifted back to the shape of the Luminous Old Woman and headed home to my beloved daughter, Torange. The Queen and her consort were puzzled as to who could make an amulet mirror chain and where they could find such a person. They sent the town crier to the snowy streets and alleys and tea-houses to announce that whoever knew how to make a pure mirror chain was invited to make one for the Prince and receive a generous reward>>>

Nightmare number 2

As I braked, I saw a lion
jump into that window.
Just like a car wash scene,
its mane pressed on the glass.
It was both agile and mad.
With an unbelievable power
It shook the car from side to side >>>

خاکستری زدگی

هزاران هزار رنگ
صدها سبز
صدها قرمز
صدها زرد
و تو و کوری رنگ!
از قرمز گفت چه سود
ای چشمهایت آشنا به خاکستری >>>

A Culture of Death

Thirty-one years ago, a few months after the 1979 Revolution, the generals and close associates of the Shah, including his long time PM Amir Abbas Hoveyda, were shot to death without trial. The crowds cheered. When the father of the Rezai brothers, was asked to fire the shots, he refused. He was not a killer even though three of his own sons, members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq, had been killed under the Shah. One of those generals was Hassan Pakravan who had long been retired at the time of his execution>>>

I am not a pomegranate

I started writing plays and doing theatre long before I had heard the term Diaspora. To me, the most important motivation for doing theatre was being part of the efforts to build a community in Berkeley. A few years after the revolution, many of us in the Iranian community were politically active. We all met on a weekly basis to discuss political issues. Typically, close to 40 of us gathered in one of UC Berkeley’s classrooms to discuss an abstract subject, like how many stages the future Iranian revolution would have or what mode of production was dominant in the Soviet Union>>>

تلفن زدم

برای یک دورهء آموزشی یک ماه در شهر دیگری سکونت داشتم. یکی از همکلاسی هام یک زن لاغر و قد بلند و زیبا بود. اسمش زو بود. از روز اولی که دورهء ما شروع شد باهم دوست شدیم. خیلی شوخ طبع و با مزه بود و خیلی با هم می خندیدیم. صبح ها از هتل محل اقامتمان تا ساختمان شرکتی که کلاسها در آن تشکیل می شد پیاده میرفتیم و غروب ها با سایر هم کلاسی ها به شام می رفتیم. وقتی هفتهء سوم دورهء ما آغاز شد، اتفاق عجیبی افتاد>>>

The Orange 'n Torange Girl (5)

"Yes!" The wicked girl shouted and threw herself into his arms. A stench of blood rising from her skin pierced his bones and sent a chill down his spine. The Prince shook his head vigorously to clear his mind of this horrid sensation. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve and took a deep breath, brushed imaginary dust off his shirt and smothered a sigh of frustration. Then he picked up the girl and set her on his horse. Turning back and glancing around, he saw the slim torange sapling leaning towards the sun. He pulled it out of the ground and tied it to his horse>>>