Current Events

The eye of the tiger

This year's Cannes International Film Festival mesmerized viewers with a simple black & white animated French produced film by Iranian born Marjane Satrapi entitled Persepolis. Amidst an international selection of heavy weight feature films by such greats as Quentin Tarantino, Wong Kar Wai or Gus Van Sant, an outspoken cosmopolitan duo (Iranian Marjane Satrapi and French Vincent Paronnaud) of first time directors seduced not only the Cannes Jury but also the audience with their astonishing movie, the theme of which, resonated not only with our Post Sept 11th troubled times, but was also a historical reminder of a nation's struggle to survive.>>>

"نشر اکاذیب" در استان کهگیلویه و بویر احمد

یعقوب یادعلی پس از گذشتن از هفت خوان ارشاد و تایید کتابش و سپس چاپ آن و به دنبالش تقدیر و تشویق و جایزه و لوح ناگهان مورد تردید قرار گرفت و تخیلاتش بازبینی شد و داستانش نادرست تشخیص داده شد و در پایان به جرم نشر اکاذیب در استان کهگیلویه و بویر احمد به زندان و نوشتن چهار مقاله درباره شخصیتهای فرهنگی و هنری محکوم شد.>>>

Asieh’s eyes

When the Islamic Republic of Iran assured the western countries that stoning was not practiced anymore, Asieh Amini dared to defy the state by writing about the covert stoning of two people, Mahboubeh M. and Abbas H., for adultery in Mashhad, in 2006. This courageous act of defiance eventually led to launch of the Stop Stoning Forever campaign which has gained international attention and saved the lives of 4 people and halted the stoning of another 10. Asieh, a main organizer of the campaign, has identified, documented, and closely followed up many of the stoning cases; she is even providing shelter for one of them after her release from prison>>>

توطئه قتل ولادیمیر پوتین

عرض کنم به حضورتون که ما دیشب یک مقداری آلو خیس کردیم و امروز صبح سحر اومدیم کاسه آلورو بریم بالا که دیدیم تلویزیون داره خبر نقشه سوء قصد در ایران علیه جان آقای ولادیمیر یوتین رو میده! طبیعتاً خوب ما کمی جاخوردیم ولی نه آنقدر که فرض بفرمائید در خوردن آب آلو خللی ییش بیاد. البته معلوم شد که شایعه ای بیش نبود و هدف همان بالا نگاهداشتن قیمت نفت میباشد>>>

New and unexpected hope

A few months ago a group of 14 Iranians traveled around europe and the United-States by bicycle in order to bring the message of peace and friendship of the Iranian civil society to other nations, in a project called 'Miles for Peace'. This is a summary of their experiences after this intense trip and talking about their future projects. See video clips on Youtube and their own blog: milesforpeace.org/blog. People can also sign the petition support dialogue and peace between Iran and other nations.

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هم زیبا کرباسی، هم ساقی قهرمان

ساقی: - این جزو ذات همه مان است که نیاز جنسی داریم. به خاطر این که روابط جنسی تنها چیزی است که راجع بهش محکوم می شویم. من اگر بیایم بگم دلم برای کوچه های ایران تنگ است همه کف می زنید، تحسین می کنید و می روید و چیزی هم حل نمی شود. اما وقتی من راجع به روابط جنسی حرف می زنم بیمار جنسی شناخته می شوم. شما ناراحت می شوید که من از مشکل معاشقۀ خودم حرف بزنم. >>>

Marvelous Maz

“I’m Pehrzheean!” actor Maz Jobrani declares in one of his Axis of Evil stand up comedy routines. To find out how “Pehrzheean” Jobrani really is, I sent him an email asking if ever puts raw eggs on his rice. “What red-blooded Iranian doesn’t?” was his reply. Later I met Jobrani in person. He’d invited me to watch his performance at Punchline, the illustrious San Francisco comedy club that has also hosted Chris Rock, Ellen Degeneres, Dana Carvey, Margaret Cho, Dave Chapelle, Rosie O’Donnell, and Robin Williams. Afterwards, we met in a nearby pub. Jobrani was in a sprightly mood.>>>

Fine flicks

No ‘best’ lists can ever satisfy everyone. But Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris) forewords this best selection - where he muses about his discovery of ‘Kamerasutra’: the magic and sensuality of the moving camera! Moreover, it is 150 films, not the traditional 100. Perhaps that additional 50 allowed the inclusion of some Asian gems like Ozu’s ‘I Was Born, But…’; Guney’s ‘Yol’; Kiarostami’s ‘Close-Up’ (though many would have preferred Kiarostami’s sublime ‘Through The Olive Trees’); and Tian Z’s ‘Horse Thief’ >>>

Cutting the rope

There are a few courageous campaigners who oppose the death penalty in Iran but the campaign to see capital punishment ended is hampered by the lack of freedom of speech in the country. Since the death penalty is a government policy, it is hard for individuals to speak out. This lack of debate causes many people to be ignorant of the truth behind the death penalty, including its lack of value as a deterrent to violent crime or its imposition against those persons innocent of any crime who have been wrongly convicted, to name just two examples. >>>

"Marg bar dictator"

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