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LOVE
05-Feb-2009 (27 comments)
These days when we find a rock with the imprint of a seashell we know it’s a common fossil. But in the days when Science hadn’t already imagined our world for us, the question of how the sea creature got so far inland, inspired stories. The ancient Iranians had seen rocks fall from the sky, so they imagined monsters called deevs who could throw rocks all the way from the bottom of the oceans to the tops of mountains. There is a well-known story in which a deev called Akvan battles the Iranian supreme champion Rostam. But that episode doesn’t say anything about Akvan throwing rocks from the sea. Why did Akvan toss rocks to dry land? Was he fighting another monster, was he building a home for himself? We don’t know. Obviously large parts of Akvan’s story are lost to us>>>
APOLOGY
04-Feb-2009 (149 comments)
As Iranian human beings, we are ashamed for what has been perpetrated upon the Baha’is in the last century and a half in Iran. We firmly believe that every Iranian, “without distinction of any kind, such as, race, color, sex, language, religion, politics or other opinions,” and also without regard to ethnic background, “social origin, property, birth or other status,” is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, from the very inception of the Baha’i Faith, the followers of this religion in Iran have been deprived of many provisions of human rights solely on account of their religious convictions>>>
SEXES
04-Feb-2009 (9 comments)
Something interesting happened in the city of Tehran on January 20th. For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran an all-female soccer club played a match against an all-male team comprised of players between 15 to 18 years of age. As expected, the event did not sit well with Islamic authorities and coaches of both teams were fined and suspended. The managers of Estegllal soccer club who organized the match were hoping that the incident will quickly blow over... not a chance>>>
IDEAS
04-Feb-2009 (23 comments)
After the rise of so called Islamic fundamentalism and the perceived threat against the west, Islam has been subject to scrutiny, interpretation, and critical analysis by Muslims as well as non-Muslims in the United States. Countless numbers of books have been published. "The Muslim Next Door" is one of the best. It is a very fascinating book that offers a refreshing departure from the ordinary presentations of Islam by others. It examines a wide variety of issues pivotal to the religion of Islam. The author, Ms. Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a Western educated Muslim woman, offers her own views concerning these pivotal issues, especially those related to Muslim women, their role, and their rights under Islamic law>>>
POETRY
04-Feb-2009 (4 comments)
روز پونزده آبان ماه هزارو سیصدو هر چی که بود
مثل هر روز دگر برخاستم
ناگهان به یادم آمد که من امروز متولد شده ام
پس شتافتم سوی آینه تا ببینم صورت سی ساله‌ام را
توی آینه محو خود گشتم و گشتم
آینه باز شد من به داخل رفتم آنگاه
سی سال عمر گذشته روبرویم شد نمایان >>>
مثل هر روز دگر برخاستم
ناگهان به یادم آمد که من امروز متولد شده ام
پس شتافتم سوی آینه تا ببینم صورت سی ساله‌ام را
توی آینه محو خود گشتم و گشتم
آینه باز شد من به داخل رفتم آنگاه
سی سال عمر گذشته روبرویم شد نمایان >>>
VIEW
02-Feb-2009 (41 comments)
A common narrative concerning the Shah and the Pahlavi legacy unites much of Iran’s intelligentsia with liberal-left opinion in the West. According to this narrative, Mohammad Reza Shah’s father, Reza Shah, was an absolutist dictator who attempted to modernize Iran at the point of the gun and an entirely unacceptable pace. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is depicted as a corrupt stooge and a “westoxicated” lapdog of American imperialism who, by squashing the authentic democratic urges of his people, ultimately empowered the fundamentalist scourge now raging in his homeland. As the 30th anniversary of the late Shah’s departure from Iran approached, I had the opportunity to read Gholam Reza Afkhami’s magisterial biography of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi>>>
SMELL
02-Feb-2009 (2 comments)
Manufactured smells that permeate in public used to be limited to occasional wafts of smoke, industrial fumes and/or fragrances. That’s changed. Nowadays, if it isn't burning incense, it's aromatic baths, scented candles, air-fresheners and God only knows what else. Even the “new and improved” household cleaners are like a cheap perfume that while failing to mask the stink, they can bring tears to your eyes. While it’s good to be considerate of others, sometimes the attempt to mask a pungent odor can exacerbate the situation. Personally, I’d rather smell tobacco than put up with the stink of a cab driver's extinguished cigarette added to the strong scent of that fake pine tree cutout dangling from his rearview mirror>>>
TEMPORARY
01-Feb-2009 (54 comments)
وقتی شبی با مردی آشنا شدم که به شدت برایم جذاب بود، تا صبح کلافه بودم و خوابم نمی برد. وقتی بار دوم در منزل همان دوست دوباره دیدمش و ازش بیشتر خوشم آمد، لابلای حرفها معلوم شد که در حال طلاق از همسرش است. شب خوبی بود، سرهامان گرم شده بود و کمی علف هم کشیدیم. در گوشه ای از اتاق صاحبخانه پیش هم نشسته بودیم. سرش را آورد دم گوشم و گفت: امشب چه خوشگل شدی. برای من تعریف یک مرد غریبه از زیباییم که ممکن است راست باشد و ممکن است دروغ، هرگز راضی کننده نیست. اگر کسی که دوستش بدارم به من بگوید امشب چه خوشگل شدی، چرا، اما نه یک غریبه که بار دومش بود مرا می دید. اما پیغام او جای دیگری در ذهن و در وسط بدنم ثبت شد. او مرا می خواهد.>>>
IRAN-U.S.
31-Jan-2009 (22 comments)
President Obama has promised to restore the United States' moral authority in the world. In order to do so, the new administration should revise U.S. foreign policy that has proved a political failure and undermined respect for international human rights. Topping the list is the U.S. policy of regime-change toward Iran. The policy has failed to bring any tangible changes in the Iranian regime's behavior. Instead, the policy has harmed the Iranian people's demands for the rule of law and respect for human rights. Since December, Shirin Ebadi, the only Muslim woman ever to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, has been suffering at the hands of radical Islamists>>>
MEDIA
31-Jan-2009 (5 comments)
تلویزیون فارسی بیبیسی سرانجام پس از دو سال تدارک گسترده، دو هفته پیش برنامه های خود را برای مخاطبان فارسی زبان آغاز کرد. این شبکه که از پشتیبانی نزدیک به 150 کارمند و روزنامه نگار در لندن و برخی دیگر از نقاط جهان برخوردار است، به دلایل مختلف از اهمیت و اولویت بسیاری برای نقد و تحلیل های رسانه ای برخوردار است زیرا به نظر می رسد پس از نزدیک به دو دهه از آغاز به کار تلویزیون های فارسی زبان در خارج از کشور مهم ترین و حرفه ای ترین شبکه تلویزیونی فارسی زبان مستقر در خارج از کشور باشد. >>>
LIFE
29-Jan-2009 (16 comments)
The day had arrived. I was both excited and scared. An elaborate meal was being prepared in our huge kitchen. Our “receiving room” (otaagh pazeeraee) had been swept and dusted and the doors to that wing of the house, usually closed during our daily life, had been left open, so I could see the beautiful red carpets and the elaborate furniture from where I was sitting. I could also see all the fruits and pastries arranged on the coffee tables, knowing full well that no one was to touch anything until the guests had arrived. Though this was one of my mother’s usual lunches with the women of our family, this was also a special day for me>>>
LIFE
29-Jan-2009 (4 comments)
Amidst the madness around us, the joys and the sorrows, sometimes it is soothing to read or write about something that is very personal and light. Two weeks ago, I was at the Philadelphia indoor food market where many vendors bring their produce and sell them at relatively low prices. Walking around I lost my Kafia, or let’s say someone picked it up after I dropped it. I felt really bad because I had had it for nearly thirty years; I had bought it in Iran and would wear it when going to meetings at Tehran University or around the corner at the many street gatherings, during the now long gone spring of freedom of 1979>>>
IRAN
29-Jan-2009 (114 comments)
I have a dream that IRI officials apologize to the Iranian people and surrender themselves to justice for the crimes against humanity they have been committing in Iran for the last 30 years. Apologizing for destroying Iran’s infrastructure, ruining its economy, isolating it, oppressing its people, imprisoning and murdering them, exiling them, taking their freedoms away, taking them hostage in order to promote their own brand of Islam, for making the entire world an enemy of our country, for destroying Iran’s image and reputation, for abolishing the values it once stood for, for taking Iran back to the 7th century, for applying barbaric laws and for leading the world in stupidity and savagery>>>
REMINDER
29-Jan-2009 (8 comments)
Every Martin Luther King Day over the last few years, plus as many days as possible during February (Black History Month,) I have been wearing the shirt above and this year was no exception. Mine is actually black, in some ways more fitting, but I wish I had seen the version above in wine-red first. I bought it from the wonderful people at UrbanProfile.com, who also offer a wide range of other African-American themed t-shirts. This particular shirt gets some of the strangest looks, not to mention some interesting reactions. This morning while lying down on my chiropractor’s adjustment bed, I noticed him reading the back out loud. He later insisted on reading the front before discussing my ever ongoing need for additional treatment.>>>
MEMORIES
29-Jan-2009 (9 comments)
با یکی از کارمندان ارشد وزارت خارجه حرف میزدم .برای ماموریت جدیدی به تهران می رود .چمدان اش را دیشب با هم مرتب کردیم .چند دست لباس زنانه و وسایل روزمره و پنج روسری رنگی که یکی اش را خودم برایش خریده ام و خرت و پرت های دیگه. نقشه ی بزرگ تهران را جلویش گذاشتم و همه جاهایی را که با پوست و خون و قلبم دوست دارم نشانش دادم و بی اختیار اشک همه ی صورتم را پر کرد .بی آنکه نگاهم کند گذاشت با دستمال کاغذی پاکش کنم .از دربند و خیابان شریعتی و قلهک و نیاوران و میرداماد و میدان محسنی برایش گفتم .توپخانه را نشانش دادم و از هوای مسموم تهران برایش حرف زدم. آنقدر از تهران گفتم که بی اختیار گقت: می خواهی با مسئولیت خودم ببرمت تا این همه غم غربت از پا نیاندازد ترا هادی جان!>>>
OPIUM
29-Jan-2009 (4 comments)
فکرش رفت تو خاطرات اروپا رفتن بچه محل ها زمان شاه. یادش اومد که برو بچه ها میرفتن آلمان بنز میاوردن!آخه بنده خدا نمیدونست که اولین قدم در راه حج پاک کردن مال و اموالشه! ملاهه بهش حکم کرد که اول باید همه قرض و قوله هاتو بدی. بعدش باید مالتو پاک کنی! یعنی مالیات شرعی ات رو به خدا بدی! ترجمه اش این بود که باید خمس و ذکاتت رو بدی به من (یعنی آقا پیش نماز محله)! خلاصه اینکه شاطر علی بخت برگشته اول رفت یه چرتکه خرید و شروع کرد به حساب و کتاب.سه، چهار هفته بعدش شاطر بلیط و پاسپورتش حاضر بود و روز شمار پرواز به جده بود. در نتیجه ملای محل چندین میلیون تومن ثروتمند تر شده بود!با نزدیک شدن سفر طولانی خارج از کشور، شاطر روز به روز فکرش مشوش تر و مشغول تر مشگل اصلی اش میشد!>>>
SACKED
27-Jan-2009 (8 comments)
n Monday, corporate America announced that they are laying off 50,000 people. As this gloomy day progressed, this number got even bigger... Although losing my job was hard, tough, emotionally as well as financially, I can't deny the big positive impact it had on me. It made me think about myself. What I've been doing?... Where do I stand?...Is this what I wanted? How far am I from where I want to be? And that was fabulous. To stop. To take a break from the life of a mechanical cockroach that I was. To observe this mechanical cockroach and wonder why it was programmed the way it was. >>>
THANKS
27-Jan-2009 (10 comments)
To all who were kind enough to take pleasure in my recent selection as a lawyer of the year in Massachusetts, at first, I thought to write each of the well-wishers individually and thank them for their kind words, encouragement and the reminder about some fruity object not falling far from the tree. I owe much to father and there is not a day that I do not think of him. I do not miss him in a sad way: I miss him as a player in my life’s situational comedies, who is no longer there to deliver the lines that only he would or could. I am working on my son, the wise ass, to take up where father left off. In time, I will report on the progress of that venture>>>
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IRANIANS OF THE DAY
| Person | About | Day |
|---|---|---|
| نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
| Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
| Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
| احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
| Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
| Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
| گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
| Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
| محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
| Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |