Archive - Jul 2010 - Article

پیکار ما، و جنگ آنها

واقعیت آن است که ما (چه سبز و چه غیرسبز) نه بیشتر از دیگران متوهم هستیم، نه خرافاتی‌تر و نه جاهل. واقعیت آن است که ما به درستی دریافته‌ایم که پیکار ما و جنگ آنها دو چیز متفاوت است. و این، حتی اگر گاه و بیگاه مسیر پیکار ما برای آزادی و دموکراسی در ایران در نقاطی با نقشه راه دعوایی که غرب با جمهوری اسلامی بر سر غنی‌سازی اورانیوم دارد تلاقی کند>>>

Contemporary Iran

According to the back cover blurb, this book collects in one place the results of field work and insights of "both internationally renowned Iranian scholars and rising young Iranian academics ... As evident from the two chapters discussed in depth, the chapters in this volume vary greatly in their objectivity, completeness, and relevance. Nevertheless, this book is a head-and-shoulder above similar volumes published in recent years about the sociopolitical landscape in the twenty-first-century Iran. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about social and political issues in today's Iran>>>

این کافه چه می خواهد

این کافه به دستان من رشک می ورزد
غذای سوخته می دهد
آبجوی خوبی ندارد
صندلی هایش مرا لق می کنند
خرده های شکر روی میزهایش
تراشیده از مجسمه قهرمانی است ناکام >>>

The Case for Attacking

Israel has stated in the past that it will not wait indefinitely to respond - read unilateral military strike - to what it sees as Iran's hostile intent in developing illegal nuclear weapons capability. Israelis rightly see a nuclear Iran as an existential threat - a threat repeated over and over again by the Islamic Republic's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an avowed Holocaust-denier. The U.S. has also said that it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. The stage is therefore set for a confrontation>>>

کارنامه محمد رضا سوادکوهی

اگر رضا شاه به سلطنت نمی رسید و نام خانوادگی پهلوی را اختیار نمی کرد شهرتش احتمالاً سواد کوهی می بود و پسرش نیز محمد رضا سوادکوهی خوانده می شد. و شاید استفاده از این ترفند زبانی سرپناه مناسبی برای گریز از کولاک حب و بغضی باشد که هنوز نام و کارنامه شاه را دنبال می کند و امکان داوری محققانه در باره او را از ما می گیرد. تقارن حکومت آخرین سلسله پادشاهی در ایران با عصر ایدئولوژی نیز به دشواری کار می افزاید>>>

All The Shah's Men

Decades after Shah of Iran has been overthrown to accommodate implementation of certain policies in the region of Persian Gulf and Middle East to serve the interests of certain group of people in the world, we are still witness to the same propaganda nonsense that brought our nation to one of the lowest points in the history which is comparable to the times when Iran was overrun by Arab and Mongolian invaders centuries ago. To add more to this, one of the saddest issues of our time is glorification of ignorance under the guise of political correctness to justify and spread misinformation towards our history>>>

به یاد سه برادر

من در دهه اول پس از انقلاب، سه برادر را در مصاف مجاهدین با جمهوری اسلامی از دست داده‌ام، ولی کمتر در باره آن‌ها سخن گفته‌ام. این روزها، اما، دو نوشته مرا به یاد آنان انداخت. یکی درج متن «وصیتنامه» منسوب به برادر کوچکم محمد در رجا نیوز بود که به نقل از کتاب «قدرت، و دیگر هیچ» نوشته خواهرم طاهره در آن جا آمده است. و دیگری، یادداشت آقای هاشمی رفسنجانی به مناسبت سالگرد عملیات فروغ جاویدان/مرصاد در سال ۱۳۶۷ بود که بیش از هزار کشته از مجاهدین بر جای گذاشت>>>

Iranian Re-Revolution

On June 10, when the Iranian opposition movement cancelled its planned commemoration of the anniversary of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection, commentators assumed that the Green Movement was finally finished. For months, it had been criticized as lacking strong leadership and for being unable to seriously challenge Iran's entrenched regime. But the history of political turmoil in twentieth-century Iran suggests that the movement may yet survive. After all, movements propelled by similar social currents have succeeded in dramatically changing Iran in the past>>>

'Rational' Americans vs 'Irrational’ Iranians

Despite Limbert’s unquestionable mastery of the subject, commendable intentions and deep affection for Iranians, it should be recognized that this book is written by an American diplomat for (primarily) American readers, in the vernacular they are at ease with. Its goal is not to make waves, or to challenge their self-perception, worldview, or institutionalized narrative. For an astute Iranian-American reader however, "Negotiating with Iran," with its mild tint of Orientalism and a patronizing tone, is somewhat unsettling: not necessarily offensive, but more like an alarm clock going off in a hazy Sunday morning>>>

سرزمین مردم نیک (2)

شب به پایان می رسد. سپیده دم و دروازۀ شهری. مرد به شهر در آمد و تماشا گرفت. کوچه و بازار لخت و خالی و خاموش. از روبرو یک رهگذر سر را خراب از باده بسیار نوشیده نجوا کنان آهنگ بی رنگی قدم می زد. مرد گوش فرا داد. هر باده ای با بوسه ای، هر بوسه ای با باده ای. و چه زیر خندی بر لبهای مست نشسته بود. مرد راه خود گرفت؛ او چه می داند از آن ارزشهای زیبای زندگی>>>

Sunday in the Park

There were Iranians for as far as the eye could see, if those eyes were those of 13-year-old Bahman Sohrabi, and the first thing he felt when he arrived at the park was that he was a blank piece of paper, and in this place he could be what he showed himself to be, nobody had any expectations of him except for the expectations they had of themselves - to be a speaker of the language, an appreciator of the food and the music and of nature, and a general participator in the whole thing. At school he found the spaces for a guy who did not want to be a participator in the whole thing right away. He found them in himself and in the school>>>

اندر نوجوانی تا انقلاب

به تهران رسیــــــــــدند با خان و مان
بدیدنــــــــد آزاد شهـــــــری کـلان

یکی شاه باشد در آنجـــــــــــا به تخت
یکی همچـــو جمشیدِ کِی، نیکبخت

همه مردمــــــــــــان از پی روزی اند
همه دوستــــــــداران بهـروزی اند >>>

Saaleh Akhar

...>>>

The Maharajas’ Jaipur

Tourists are beckoned by the colors of Rajasthan. Splashed over gelatin or equivalents, these colors draw the magic of their aesthetics from contrasts. The women of Rajasthan defy the drab monotone of a semi arid environment by riots of red, green, blue, and orange in their garments. Colorful spices and dried fruit in the markets are the answer to the dearth of fresh, tasty produce and fruit. The wildly extravagant Maharajahs painted their whole capital city of Jaipur lipstick pink to impress their foreign guests. The colorful trash generated by their impoverished former subjects mock this folly>>>

Green Light

Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would green-light an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran. The resolution, H.Res. 1553, provides explicit support for military strikes against Iran, stating that Congress supports Israel's use of "all means necessary" against Iran "including the use of military force". US military leaders have warned that strikes could be catastrophic to US national security interests and could engulf the Middle East in a "calamitous" regional war>>>