Current Events

There's nothing like it

I wish people would stop comparing Namjoo to Bob Dylan. As much as I love and enjoy Bob's music I do not find this a fair comparison. To start with, Namjoo has a great voice that poor Bob could only sound like in his dreams. Also, Bob followed a musical path that Woody Guthrie had paved before his death in 1931, and then entered Woodstock’s highway to fame. Namjoo has created his own style of music against all odds. He learned different styles of music, before fusing them in to what he presents to us today>>>

They can work

With the most recent round of UN-approved sanctions and seemingly more restrictive additional sanctions introduced by the European Union, Canada, Japan and Australia, there appears to be renewed interest in the effectiveness of sanctions in altering the behaviour of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the atomic energy programme of the regime and its real purpose. In this note, I try to explore some of the less often discussed but I hope not less appreciated possible effects of sanctions>>>

Psyche Spinner

My mother just returned to Iran. When she called this morning I thought she was just calling to inform me of her safe arrival. Instead, her voice was shaking. Fatemeh Khanoom, the woman who cleans my mother's house and whom I had written about for women's day, was there bearing the news that her husband had gone insane. "Why?" I asked my mother, she replied, "You know how he was an opium addict?" I answer yes. "Well," my mom continued, "he took a pill the dealer gave him called Ravangardan (psyche spinner) and he went insane>>>

Farsi or Persian? Again.

Within the past few years there has been a tendency to replace the adjective "Persian" by "Farsi" when it refers to the Persian language. The practice seems to have originated within the Iranian community in the United States and out of good will. However, the provenance and the initial intention are not important, as the practice has backfired and developed into a widespread usage that is detrimental to the status of Persian language and literature. Quite often we come across absurd combinations of the two alternatives, such as "BBC Persian Section broadcast this item of news in its Farsi programme">>>

فردوسی منتقد نه ناسیونالیست

فردوسی این باور رایج را كه شاه چون فره ایزدی دارد و به اصطلاح سایه یا نماینده‌ی خداست با انتقادگرائی روشنی كه در برابر مفاسد برخی پادشاهان بزرگ مانند كیكاووس و گشتاسب بكار می‌گیرد متزلزل می‌كند و از عمومیت می‌اندازد. انتقادگرائی شاهنامه نه تنها پرده‌ی ابهام را از روی خشونت‌ها و مفاسد برخی پادشاهان كنار می‌زند بلكه نقطه‌ ضعف‌های رستم را نیز برای خواننده برجسته می‌كند>>>

You asked for it

In short, with these sanctions ---- along with others ---- we are striking at the heart of the Iranian government's ability to fund and develop its nuclear program. We're showing the Iranian government that its actions have consequences. And if it persists, the pressure will continue to mount, and its isolation will continue to deepen. There should be no doubt ---- the United States and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons>>>

Jews for War

One hoped that the neoconservatives would have disappeared after George W. Bush left office and the Iraq War they worked so hard to engineer proved to be a disaster. All those dead, nothing accomplished except the establishment of Iran as the main player in Iraq. But they are still around and still pushing for a war with Iran, which they want even more than the last one. Everywhere you look there's Elliot Abrams, Richard Perle, John Bolton, John Podhoretz, Douglas Feith, Danielle Pletka, The Washington Post editorial page, Frank Gaffney, Charles Krauthammer...>>>

خود گویی و خود خندی

با پیروزی انقلاب سال ۵۷ و سلطه روحانیت بر همه شئون کشور، دادگستری بیش از هر نهاد دیگری دستخوش تغییر شد و ماهیت آن دگرگون گردید. حاکمیت، امر قضا را مختص روحانیان می‌دانست و با تصفیه عمیقی که در این نهاد انجام داد قاضیان حرفه‌ای و مجرب را یک سره از کار برکنار کرد و جای آنان را به روحانیانی داد که کمترین آشنایی با نظام مدرن دادگستری نداشتند. روحانیت در واقع شکست خود در انقلاب مشروطه را جبران می‌کرد >>>

انحراف از آغاز

جناب آقاى دكتر كديور، شما نيك مى‌دانيد وضعيت امروز ايران، بدون آنكه خواسته باشم نقش مردم و فرهنگ استبدادى را ناديده بگيرم، بدون هيچ ترديدى، خوب يا بد، محصول و منتجه سياست‌هاى آقاى خمينى است. آنچه امروز بر سر ملت ايران مى‌آيد، ارتباط مستقيم با انديشه فقهى و سياسى ايشان دارد. تجربه ولايت مطلقه فقيه كه تبلور تئورى آقاى خمينى است، هرچند كسانى را به قله قدرت و ثروت رسانده، اما نزد اكثريت ملت ايران آشكارا شكست خورده است.>>>

Live Generation

I was only a boy in 1979, but the events that occurred during the overthrow of the Shah would shape how I was educated and would change all our lives almost overnight. When you ask those who lived through the Revolution what it was like, they often will tell you that one day the country was under the Shah’s rule, and the next day we lived under Islamic rule. All bets were off and it was a completely new game. I am often asked by people who are not from the Middle East how the Islamic regime could have taken power, and how they have stayed in power. The answer isn’t a simple one, but one that has many factors involved>>>

Aftabehs vs. Toilet Paper

It is ironic to me that the recent political movement in Iran has been nicknamed the Green Revolution by the media. Yes, the same Iranians that invented everything from breathing air to toilet paper also invented environmentally friendly activities like recycling. In fact I have compiled a scientific list of 10 environmentally friendly activities that Iranians do naturally which proves not only that once again they are the best at everything but they are even the best for the environment>>>

The Real Race for Iran

Since Iran was thrust into internal turmoil by last year's election, the world has been moved by events that unfolded during the protests of the Green Movement. As we watched the violence of the agents of the Iranian government against peaceful demonstrators, most of us thought that it would be impossible to defend the regime's position amidst the bloodshed we witnessed on our TV screens. Not so. The Iranian Government, despite all the detentions, abuses, and unlawful killings since June 2009, still has support overseas in the guise of purportedly unbiased political analysts>>>

تحریم هوشمند؟

صحبت از تضعیف یا نابودی این نظام با تحریم بی جاست چون نظام های توتالیتر كه شوروی نمونۀ بزرگ آن بود و كرۀ شمالی و كوبا آخرین پسمانده های آن است، با تحریم اقتصادی تضعیف شدنی و كشتنی نیست. اگر بود تا به حال دیده بودیم و همه فهمیده بودند. اگر كشوری به فقر كرۀ شمالی علیرغم تحریم های چندین ساله از هیچ بخش سیاستش كه برای كشورهای غربی نامطبوع است صرف نظر نكرده است و تغییری در روش و منش خود نداده، كشوری مانند ایران كه از بابت امكانات انسانی و مادی در موقعیت بسیار بهتری قرار دارد، چنین نخواهد كرد>>>

Sweeping Sanctions

The House and Senate voted Thursday to impose sweeping new sanctions against Iran, sending the legislation to the President’s desk for approval. Proponents have called the legislation the “toughest Iran sanctions ever proposed,” while critics argue it will do nothing to halt the Iranian nuclear program and that Congress should have eased sanctions that punish innocent Iranians. The bill’s supporters have made it clear that their primary intention is to punish Iran’s nuclear activities, though human rights concerns have been added as a secondary consideration>>>