Israel is a Trip (1)

Consul General Jacob Dayan is the senior representative of the State of Israel in Southwestern United States. He runs a busy consulate and I certainly hadn't expected to meet the top man when I contacted his office with questions about who was paying for my journalism trip to Israel. Yet, the charismatic diplomat whose youthfulness contrasts pleasantly with the responsibility of his office, graciously offered his time to answer some questions>>>

کار از کجا خراب شد؟

پذیرش این که اشکال کار جمهوری اسلامی نه از خرداد ۱۳۶۰ یا پس از مرگ خمینی و یا هر زمان دیگر، و بلکه دقیقا از روز اول استقرار این نظام شروع شده، به دلایلی که در بالا به آن‌ها اشاره شد کار ساده‌ای نیست. بسیاری از نیروهای سیاسی ما به گذشته خود تا حد زیادی برخورد انتقادی کرده‌اند (از فعالان چپ گرفته تا کسانی مانند آقای تاج‌زاده)، و این خود مایه تحسین است. ولی غالب این نیروها هنوز نتوانسته‌اند بپذیرند که پروژه جمهوری اسلامی از پایه ضد دموکراتیک و واپسگرا بوده،>>>

Separating Fact & Fiction

The new Sakineh confession broadcast on Press TV on Saturday, December 11, is the new episode of the strange "reality" show that the Iranian regime has staged around her case. Even though I have been following this case very closely, it has become difficult for me to keep track of all the new stories that the Iranian authorities have regularly added to it. It seems that they are trying to confuse the world, and I'm afraid that they have been very successful in doing just that>>>

Fars II

Under Omar Fars was captured by the Arabs, the Persians quickly gave in to the power of the Arab armies.Rashidun Empire stretched from West Africa to Central Asia. Fars became one of the major provinces of Rashidun Empire and cross roads between Central Asia and the Mediterranean. Fars contained vast industry just as it had during the Sassanian and Parthian eras. Uthman ibn Affan (579 –656) created the first Islamic navy and hired Persian marines, he also hired mercenaries from Iran namely the tough knight style “cataphracts” and professional infantry forces drawn from two provinces of Iran, Khorasan and Fars>>>

آلاله های دست خورده

وقتی نیستی همه جاده ها بسته می شوند و اتوبان های پیچ در پیچ در هم گم می شوند و طوفان! پایان روزهای آفتابی می شود. وقتی نیستی جزیره هوای بارانی اش را از دست میدهد. حتی نورهای گاه به گاه خوشی لحظه ها را بر نمی تابد. از راه جنگلی که بر می گشتم سنجاب های بازیگوش گردو های اندوخته شان را به سویم پرتاب می کردند و عجله ای برای زمستان نداشتند>>>

یکشنبه ای دیگر

نمی گریم
به خاطر نبودنم در اوین
زیر برجهای ولنجک و میان ستاره های لاستیکی
 و لای دندانهای کثافت بسیج
و آلودگی نود و هشت درصدی هوای مانده ی تهران! >>>

Poems for the Sea

...>>>

Ashnaye Gharib

...>>>

The American Gulf

In a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions in a region already pushed to the brink, the US Navy recently circulated an official directive to its personnel to refer to the Persian Gulf by the propaganda term "Arabian Gulf." The directive, appearing in the US Navy Style Guide, flies in the face of 2,500 years of acceptance of the term "Persian Gulf," and is viewed by many as means to divide the Middle East along ethnic fault lines. The Navy's controversial move reopens old wounds and engenders enmity that puts US service members in the region in danger>>>

Misinformation Times

The dominant theme that emerged in U.S. media coverage of the first round of Wikileaks diplomatic cables last week was that Arab regimes in the Gulf - led by Saudi Arabia - shared Israel's view that Iran's nuclear program had to be stopped by military force, if necessary. The New York Times generated that version with a front- page story featuring an alleged quote by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia urging the United States to "cut off the head of the snake", as well as other statements by Gulf Arab leaders suggesting support for military action>>>

Prized Women

The history of the Nobel Prizes shows how less the share of women has been compared to their male competitors. Excluding the number of times that the Noble Peace Prizes haven not been awarded mostly due to World War I and II, women have been honored 41 times since 1901. This is a little more than five percent of the total number of the Nobel Prizes awarded in a century. There are examples to indicate how the Nobel Peace Prize candidates were chosen in relevance to the existing Political era>>>

حافظ و طبل خوشباشی

در ایران، در بسیاری از خانه ها دو کتاب مقدس شمرده می شوند: مصحف و دیوان حافظ، با این تفاوت که اولی معمولاً سر رف خاک می خورد و دومی ورق ورق شده است. کلام حافظ چون ضرب المثل به کار می رود، با دیوانش فال می گیرند و بالاخره غزل هایش چه هنگام تنهایی و چیرگی غم و چه به وقت خوشی و شبچره به یکسان خوانده می شوند>>>

Shooting the Heart of the Monster

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy battles ghosts assassins, flees morality police, and has his thoughts crossed out by a writer trying to get his story past the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Welcome to Censoring an Iranian Love Story, Shahriar Mandanipour’s innovative novel that braids together the story of a writer attempting to pen a romance acceptable to the censors and the tale of two young lovers trying to connect in a country where being together could cost them their lives.>>>