LIFE
Courage is not to hide your wounds but show them as soldier wears his medals
Courage is not the absence of fear.
Courage is when you shake in your underwear and still face the melody.
Courage is being numb of pain and still not surrender.
Courage is to see the last light of your aura being drained and
consumed by the invisible and faceless pain and still stand there and
smile.
Courage is to never let them make you a victim.
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THUGS
اگر دلیل مجازات رذالت و اوباشگری ست, کدام یک رذل تر و اوباش ترند ؟ آمران و عاملان طناب به گردن روشنفکران و روشنگران گرانقدری چون محمد مختاری و محمد جعفر پوینده انداحتن و آنها را خفه کردن , وبا قمه هنرمند گرانقدری چون فریدون فرخزاد را مثله کردن , و با چاقوی آشپزخانه سیاستمدار برجسته ای چون بختیار وهمکارش رابه قتل رساندن, و با دشنه پیکر فروهرها را دریدن و قلب کارون 9 ساله را برابر چشم پدر شاعرش حمید حاجی زاده دریدن پیش از آنکه شاعررا مثله کنند و........ , یا زور گیران و باج گیران ؟
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VACATION
A snatched break in France
by
Siamack >>>
VACATION
A snatched break in France
Last time we went was a planned camping holiday with my sister and brother in law. This time we booked a couple of B&B’s, one in Nancy (200 miles from where we live) and the other in Dijon (350 miles from where we live). Nancy has special significance for me because my maternal grandfather studied medicine there between the two world wars in the 1930’s. So it was a pilgrimage of sorts. I never met either of my grandfathers, but here at last I had the opportunity to follow in one of their footsteps. And what breath taking footsteps; this city could be the love child of Barcelona and Bath in the UK. The architecture is simply beautiful.
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28 MORDAD
28th Mordad has been turned into another Karbala
Yet another anniversary of 28th Mordad, and I can’t stand it! Like the 3rd of Esfand 1299 nothing shows the divisions amongst Iranian nationalists up as much as the anniversary of these events and the (mis-)treatment of history by all involved. There are many lessons that need to be learnt by Iranians from these episodes of their history but having learnt those lessons (long ago) they need to move on. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be able to do this judging by the idiotic emotion ridden pieces of tripe written every year by all sides.
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28 MORDAD
Maybe one day, this place will finally become the shrine that Iranians have been deprived of for nearly 50 years
by
Fariba Amini >>>
ART
War in Ala Ebtekar's art exhibit in San Francisco
As an American-born Iranian, who has lived and studied in Iran, Ebtekar’s war images are influenced by the Iran-Iraq war. “My earlier works borrow a lot from the Iran-Iraq war. If you look closely at my earlier works you will see jet-planes and tanks that are direct references to the ones used in the Iran-Iraq War.” But war does not stop there for the globe, nor for Ebtekar. He explains: “When 9/11 happened I stopped working on this manner and felt as though I couldn't continue in that political climate. However when current war was declared shortly after, I remember saying to myself I have to continue working, it’s actually more important to do it now that any other time. So I continued, and now the references are not solely from the Iran-Iraq war but from a larger body of sources and material that are coherent with contemporary geopolitical crises we are in.”
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VATICAN
Photo essay: Visitng the Holy See
by
Farah Ravon >>>
WOMEN
در کنفرانس بنیاد پژوهش های زنان
دوست عزیز، نه جمهوری اسلامی برای من آن کودک تبدار است و نه امریکا
هیولای بی شاخ و دم. امروز خطاست که چشم خود را به تقصیرات و
قدرتطلبیهای مسئلهساز جمهوری اسلامی در منطقه و جهان ببندیم و فقط با
سیاستهای منفعتطلبانه امریکا در خاورمیانه درگیر باشیم. جهان امروز دیگر
جهان 20 سال گذشته نیست. قرن بیست و یکم میطلبد که ما انسانها همراه با
رشد سریع تکنولوژی و بههم پیوستگی جهانی، به مفهوم نوینی از سیاست، قدرت،
دمکراسی و روابط کشورها با هم دست پیدا کنیم.،
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LIFE
Disclaimer: Not representative of all Iranian gentlemen
I am going to call him Dr. Baadazin. Even his email address says
drbaaddazin@yahoo.com. When you ask him what kind of doctor he is he
gets angry. He says once a lady whom he met online insisted to find out
what his field of study is and he hung up on her. Well, I guess it is
not something that makes or breaks a relationship, I agree. But it is
tittering on the brink of false pretence. He says he is one of the five
people in the world with this medical specialty so in all modesty he
doesn’t want to “give himself away”. Vali khoda Google ro az ma
nagireh. It acts like an instant lie detector
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HODER
Hossein Derakhshan's opponents should just “grow up” rather than resort to legal measures
You know, my favorite medium of communication has never been the English language. I much prefer to express myself in Farsi whenever I feel the urge to submit my thoughts or emotions to paper. This time, however, I chose to write in English because the article – if it could be called an article – that provoked this piece of writing was written in English. Though one may say that pleas against attempts to curb freedom of expression are legitimate regardless of the source of the plea, one would be entirely taken aback if such pleas came from, say, Chief Justice Ayatollah Shahroody of the Islamic Republic.
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STAGE
Preview performance of "The Epic of Gilgamesh" in Berkeley's Ashby Theater
by
Jahanshah Javid >>>
EXPERIMENTAL
He is the man I had always wanted and he knows it
Conquering Kamran was my all consuming desire.
He asked whether I had a YAHOO id and soon we were sending IMs for eight hours or more at a time. We discussed life and the difficulties we had been through in life in general but also in our love lives. He also spoke about his upcoming book and how I would love the stories. It felt wonderful for a man to understand what I was talking about and it was easy to connect with him because we had both felt intense thoughts and emotions throughout our lives. This went on for so many hours and soon afterward he called me simply
to hear my voice. He said, “I need to hear that sexy voice.” I
responded, “How could you possibly know my voice was sexy.” He said,
“Because I get so excited every time you IM me.” I was shocked and
turned on.
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HOUSING
Are any of us close to losing our homes?
Lately, one cannot log on to the internet, turn on the television or open up the newspaper (people still read newspapers, don't they?) without being inundated with some kind of news, invariably bad, concerning the housing market, mortgage defaults and so on. It also seems that while the news entities focus on all of the losses, cable TV channels like TLC and Bravo are showing investors and speculators making healthy profits in less time than it takes to solve the latest crime on the newest CBS spinoff, CSI: Rasht.
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TERMS
How do you live with YOUR self?
Recently questioned whether the recent stoning of one person is backwards, when compared with the apparent progress made by the IRI since 1979. Yes, Dariush. It is by definition, backward. This is 2007 A.D., not 2007, B.C. Anyone who thinks this is acceptable in any society must be stoned (as in high) themselves. But let's not stop there. Let's address the rest, shall we?
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CRITIC
I'll give Jafar Panahi's "Offside" a tepid "Ehhh?"
One Sunday, I had the distinct hal-geery to attend a benefit screening of "Offside", the controversial and noted film by now-famed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (The White Balloon; The Circle, Crimson Gold). As advertised, the film is about 5 young women who try to sneak into the Azadi (Formerly Aryamehr) Stadium to watch the famous match between Iran and Bahrain that led to Iran qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. Resulting in a dismal first round elimination of Iran on the World Stage of Soccer, subsequently, summarily, forthwith, tout suite.
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CRITIC
All You Ever Wanted to Know About Pop Culture but Were Too Snooty to Ask -- A Column
by Afsaneh Rostamabadi
One of the many things you don’t know about me is this: Scott Baio was my first celebrity crush. Sure I have a very sophisticated list of male celebrity crushes today: from Jon Stewart to George Clooney to my latest delicious acquisition Jon Hamm (he of the excellent Mad Men on AMC), my fantasy life is filled with funny, good looking, and more importantly, highly talented celebrities. But I have to admit, it all started from Scott Baio. I do have an excuse for this seeming lapse of taste in my life: I was a newly arrived immigrant from Iran and had left a small nurturing school in Tehran for the large jungle otherwise known as the Los Angeles County Public School system.
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FASHION
Masih Zad turns Iranian words into art you can wear
Over the vast expanse of the universe, a vagrant seed of a concept drifts about and lands on fertile land and is nurtured into a tree by intense passion yet tender love. The ardent labor bears fruit that is satisfying not only to Masih, the creator, but also to those who share the great pleasure of savoring the delectable fruit of his exhilarating art. Masih comes from a family of highly-prized and respected tile artisans of Esfahan (Isfahan), whose magic creations of indigo, turquoise, and cobalt blues have adorned the mosques and historical monuments of the city of Esfahan for centuries. Holding a torch in hand and a palpitating hope in heart, he illuminates the path to mystical Persian calligraphy
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BAKHTIAR
با یاد دکتر شاپور بختیار در شانزدهمین سالروز قتل او بوسیله جمهوری اسلامی
در سالروز قتل دکتر شاپور بختیار، آخرین رییس دولت مشروطه ایران، برگردان های زیر ازانگلیسی از ترانه مشهور ((رویای ناممکن)) که بخش هایی از نمایش اپرای معروف ((مردی از لامانچا)) هستند، با یاد او، به همه جانباختگان و مبارزان داخل و بیرون از ایران که بیش از ٢٨سال است برای استقرار دموکراسی، حقوق بشرو جدایی دین از حکومت در ایرانی مستقل و مدرن تلاش می کنند، تقدیم می شود.
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