Archive - Jul 6, 2011 - Article

Peace is War

Reflecting on the July 4th weekend, I'm struck by how we traditionally use the holiday to commemorate our war heroes. While I have tremendous respect for those who serve in the military, 21st century citizenship needs to reframe the meaning of nationalism and civic pride as a commemoration of Peace, not War. In the ecology of the new millennium, War is, more than ever, a zero-sum game for all involved. We are beginning to understand that there are no longer any winners in War. Instead, we must wage Peace>>>

سکوت= سهیم در جنایت

حال و روز بسیاری از زندانیان نگران کننده و وخیم است. انور خضری و کامران شيخه دو زندانی کرد در اعتصاب غذای طولانی به سر می‌برند و حال ايوب قنبر پوريان و حسین رونقی ملکی وخیم گزارش شده است. به اضافه نمونه‌های بسیار دیگری که در این مختصر نمی‌گنجد. و دردناک‌تر از همه این‌ها، خبر قتل عام‌های مخفی در زندان‌های ایران است که از مدت‌ها پیش شروع شده و هم‌چنان ادامه دارد>>>

Capturing Confinement

Internet: the megaphone of the people brought me the artwork of Tabriz-based photographer, Ghazale Ghazanfari. I first stumbled upon the dark textures and subtle emotions of her images on Iranian.com months ago, and the impression left was just as difficult to shake as tracking her down for an interview. The 24-years-old artist is completing her MA in Industrial Design in Tabriz: a kind and modest city in the far northwest corner of Iran near the borders of Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Her conceptual photos play on morbid backdrops of loneliness, abandonment, self-reflection >>>

If I shall rise...

Hamid Mosaddegh’s poem points to the fact that change may begin with one, but it will only lasts when a group joins hands. And I am grateful for a life-changing experience that came about through the help of a community. What began as a gift to my best friend, and later became a legacy to my three first generation children, is now the quest of a people. I am referring to my debut novel, Sky of Red Poppies, and to its recent nomination for the next "One Book, One San Diego">>>

Sonnet Ghazal

Hafez, the baker, could see what I mean;
If she were a spice, she’d be cinnamon.   
It’s both terrifying and exciting,
The idea that she’d see other men >>>