Life

Christmas biscuits

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Who are Iranian-Americans?

It seems that one of the trendiest things to do in the Iranian community nowadays, (other than avoiding any sort of action at all costs) is the perennial community Survey. Recently the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) in Washington, DC, the latest organization with the usual need to serve, announced the results of yet another survey, this time a Zogby phone survey! This implied secret-sauce of information and revelation of who we are, that will somehow explain our superiority, and cure all our ills, inspires and invites and begs deserved criticism. Just ask me how I know!>>>

توجيه تفکر ضد خردمداری

مهم ترين قدمی که امسال در بزرگداشت حقوق بشر برداشته شده، از سوی دو تن از فعالين حقوق بشر بود که به شکل مخالفتی علنی با نقض حقوق بشر به بهانه ی تئوری «نسبيت فرهنگی» صورت گرفت. اين دو فعال حقوق بشر، خانم شيرين عبادی و آقای وول سويينکا، برندگان جايزه ی صلح نوبل از دو کشور ايران و نيجريه، بودند؛ دو کشوری که هر دو بر اساس شريعت اسلامی اداره می شوند. در اين اعتراض، خانم شيرين عبادی، بعنوان يک حقوقدان، ساختار «شورای حقوق بشر» را از يکسو، و «نقض حقوق بشر« در کشورهای اسلامی را، از سوی ديگر، به پرسش گرفت؛ و آقای وول سويينکا، نويسنده ی انساندوست نيجريه ای نيز رسماً عليه ديدگاه «نسبيت فرهنگی» ايستاده و «وحشی گری» هایی را که کشورهاي مسلمان زير پوشش سنت و توجيه آن بوسيله ی اين تئوری انجام می دهند سخت مورد انتقاد قرار داد. >>>

Some answers

The results of this PAAIA/Zogby survey indicate that nearly all Iranian Americans are either citizens (81%) or permanent residents (15%) of the United States. While their ethnic heritage is important to the vast majority of Iranian Americans in defining their identity, they appear to be well-assimilated into American society, with only one in five indicating that they interact mostly with other Iranian Americans outside of work, and more than half indicating English as the language or one of two languages most often spoken at home. The survey paints the picture of a diverse and relatively affluent Iranian American community. While two-fifths of Iranian Americans identify themselves as Muslims, almost an equal percentage appear not to practice any particular religion>>>

A Saturday in May

The day starts innocently enough. Having gone out the night before, I sleep in a little, before setting off for my morning run. I feel victorious at having once again completed the 5 mile trail. I record a new personal best. For a mediocre runner such as I, that amounts to shaving off a second or two from the mile. Every personal best deserves to be celebrated. So, I promise myself a small piece of chocolate after dinner. I start on the usual Saturday morning chores – laundry, grocery shopping, a little cleaning here and there and lastly the hairdresser’s. I was to meet him at around noon. Dressed, made up and ready, I settle on my leather recliner – cherishing the moment. I slowly drift into a delicious slumber, only to be nudged awake by the ring of my phone>>>

Babak's Story

Maryam loved Babak and Azita. They were her best friends in the world. Babak had been her first friend in the US, when she had first arrived from Iran. She and Babak had gone through college together, had helped each other through some rough time, and had celebrated each other’s weddings. They had also helped each other through their divorces. They could talk about anything and everything, politics and arts and gossip, and they never grew tired of each other’s company. Luckily for both of them, the men and women who had entered each of their lives seldom felt threatened by their deep friendship. Maryam was so happy to see Babak’s life brighten up when Azita entered it. Mature adults and professionals, lovely and compatible together, they were a joy to watch and to have around>>>

تحمل دیگری

یك روز محمد مختاری (77ـ1321) را به عنوان انسان، شاعر و اندیشمند در نظر خواهم گرفت ولی امروز می‌خواهم تنها به نقش‏ او در مبارزه‌ی نویسندگان درون مرز برای تحقق آزادی بیان اشاره كنم. با این وجود نمی‌توانم از این اعلام موضع خودداری كنم كه او فرزانه‌ای فروتن، شاعری پیشتاز و شاهنامه‌‌شناسی توانا بود. در میان نویسندگانی كه از آن خطه به دیدار ما آمده‌اند كمتر كسی را به سلامت نفس‏ محمد مختاری دیده‌ام. در انقلاب 57 ـ 1356 مسئله‌ی تامین حقوق مدنی و ضرورت كسب آزادیهای فردی در غوغای شور انقلابی برای سرنگونی نظام سلطنتی گم شده بود. البته «ده شب شعر گوته» در پاییز 56 را داشتیم كه در آن بر خلع ید از دستگاه سانسور پای فشرده شد. همچنین گروههایی بودند كه تامین آزادیهای دمكراتیك را در برنامه‌های خود گنجانده بودند اما حنای آنها در مقابل جریانات انحصارطلب رنگی نداشت و به سرعت رنگ باخت. >>>

An Affordable Holiday

My bank statement sits on the table, unopened. If there’s any holiday cheer left, it sure won’t be found in there. They say we’re in a recession, but I have no idea who they are or what difference saying it makes. For the past year, I’ve driven less, needed fewer things, rarely ate out and my only vacation involved a weekend at Big Bear. So I’ve known about the so called “recession” long before they detected it and I resent their announcements just as I’m getting ready to spend a bit more. Always a sucker for making the best of the situation, I need to plan, cut a few invisible corners and give this Christmas the needed facelift>>>

دمکراسی و مخترعین آن

دمکراسی های غربی، ما ایرانیان سکولار و طرفدار دمکراسی را جدی نمی گیرند. کمک رسانی شان به ما به تاًیید های لفظی و اخلاقی محدود میشود... این رفتار مرددانه اروپائی ها و آمریکائی ها ناشی از چیست که نه فقط از کمک به تلاش هائی که ازطرف جامعه مدنی ایران صورت می گیرد خودداری میکنند بلکه عملا از آن نیروهائی حمایت می کنند که دمکراسی غربی را ماموریتی شیطانی از طرف کافران می دانند. کنکاش برای پیدا کردن جوابی قابل قبول مرا به طرف کتابی سوق داد با عنوان «تاریخ مختصر دمکراسی» به قلم یک استاد ایتالیائی بنام «لوچیانو کانفورا» که در دانشگاه شهر «باری» (در ایتالیا) زبان شناسی و ادبیات (فیلولوژی) تدریس می کند، تدوین شده است. وی در این کتاب تلاش می کند برای رفتار ضد دمکراسی دمکرات های غربی جوابی پیدا کند.>>>

ستیز با سانسور2

آیت الله خمینی بنیانگذارحکومت اسلامی ایران چند ماه پیش از به قدرت رسیدن اش در سخنرانی ای در پاریس (17 و 29 مهرماه 1357) خطاب به رژیم شاه گفت: «... مرتب دم از آزادی می زنند. مردم آزادی قلم دارند؟ آزادی بیان دارند؟ مردم کجا آزادی دارند که ایشان دم از آزادی می زنند... از اساس دمکراسی این است که مردم آزاد باشند... کدام یک از این روزنامه هایی که ما داریم آزاد بوده است؟...." زمستان سال 1357 تعدادی از اعضای کانون به دیدار آیت الله و امامی که وعده " آزادی " داده بود , رفتند تا به قول غلامحسین ساعدی به او بگویند " دایی ما هم هستیم ها", وبرادامه مبارزه درراه آزادی اندیشه , بیان و قلم , ومبارزه با سانسور تاکید کنند. باقر پرهام , که سخنگوی جمع بود می نویسد:>>>

The Foghorns at Night

There are nights in San Francisco when I wake up in the middle of the night and hear the foghorns out in the bay, and I have lain in bed and felt the beauty of where I live, listening to the different sounds at their different intervals, and the whole idea of a horn sounding over the land and the sea has been one that has made the night and the city feel like my own. It has sounded like a horn that is watching over everyone sleeping, and those who are awake and coming to rest after crossing an ocean, and listening to it purposefully feels like it gives me a little access to all it sees. I have tried to think about places where a horn sounding at night does not carry any of the beauty of a city, places like Baghdad, where those horns carry an ugliness instead>>>

Sketches from Italy

Italy is deceptively familiar. We have seen it in the movies, heard its songs, tasted its food, and read about it. Yet Italy’s history is so old and its culture so complex that my grasp will always remain inadequate. This much I knew as I embarked on my seventh visit to that land. All I could hope for was to scratch the surface a bit deeper. These sketches are meant to pull together my fleeting impressions of the place and its people as I looked for the whole by experiencing its diversity>>>

Keeping balance

Truthfully, wrestling is not one of my favorite sports, it is a little messy for my taste, and the idea of two semi-naked, sweaty men twisting around each other never appealed to me. To make it worse, I should admit that my technical knowledge of this sport does not go further than some generalities. However, I know its cultural value, its place in Iranian culture, and its relevance to Iranian life. But while reviewing Marcello Di Cintio Poets and Pahlevans, I learned a lot more about this sport, its technique as well as its social and cultural value. The author, a young Canadian poet and a semi-professional wrestler, makes two tripsto Iran to record various local techniques of wrestling. In this quest, he stumbles over a poet’s grave next to almost every wrestling pit, in remote villages of Iran, which functions as a shrine>>>

Downhill since

The new Khan of the united Mongol tribes (Genghis) was rapidly expanding eastward into the Chinese territories, but apparently; he was considering Iran more as a potential trade partner towards Europe, rather than an immediate target. Therefore, Genghis was astonished when the riches of a Mongol caravan were confiscated by the border guards of Iran, and all the 200 merchants and guards were executed. He sent another group of emissaries directly to Khwarizm Shah’s court with a plea for retribution, but they too were killed! In response, the angered Mongol chief sent a massive army of 200,000 murderers into Iran.The first wave of Mongol invasion (1220 to 1224) destroyed most of the Khorasan cities (the cradle of Farsi civilization), killing millions and enslaving millions more! All eastern centers of Iranian culture, agriculture and business were irrevocably destroyed or devastated>>>