Oh no you did not say that!

I am pretty certain that most of you know the Boys of the Republic are at their wits’ end with brave Iranian women fighting for equality so the boys are trying to turn the clock back to Khomeini era. If you are too young to remember or you are a senior citizen but don’t care to know, up until before Khatami’s presidency music was banned, women had to either wear full chador or black scarves and loose back manteaus (long sleeve shirt dress)>>>

Dancing Alone

Dancing alone in your kitchen
Why do you do it, ma belle?
Why so alone, all alonely?
You move with the music so well.
Up to the sink
Back to the stove
Spoon in the pot, stir, stir >>>

وطنم ، دخترم

قلب من می دهد گواهی ها
می رود این همه سیاهی ها

می رسد صبح سبز وروشن، باز
می شود روزِ نازنین،آغاز >>>

Why should we care?

When we visited the Iranian Interest Section in Washington, D.C., as part of a delegation with spokespersons from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to protest the arrest and illegal imprisonment of an Iranian-Canadian scholar, one of the Iranian officials -- a Khatami supporter -- thanked us for taking on the noble cause of defending political prisoners. As I left the premises, I told him, “God forbid, if you end up in jail one day, we will defend you as well.” He smiled. I smiled too. But I meant it.>>>

Let Sakineh Go Free!

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is 43 years old. A prisoner in Tabriz, she has been sentenced to death by lapidation (stoning) for the crime of zena mohassaneh. What the fuck is that, do you ask? Well, as far I can figure out it means that she had sex with a married woman! If that is true, then Mahmood the Motor-Mouth may want to revisit his statement at Columbia University a few years ago as to the absence of homosexuality in the Islamic Republic! But seriously, folks - I do know if zena is good or bad – I suppose that depends on the cuntext! >>>

شرمندگی با صدای بلند

از بهایی‌ها چندان چیزی نمی‌دانم و برخورد زیادی هم با آنها نداشته‌ام. شاید بارزترین آنها مربوط به پژمان باشد. پسری که در کوچه پشتی ما زندگی می‌کرد و بر خلاف اکثر ما مشهدی‌ها لهجه “تهرونی” داشت. قصه‌گوی نمایش بود. بعد از چندی او و چند تا از بچه‌ها از گروه کنار گذاشته شدند و نقش قصه‌گو را به من دادند. حذف پژمان دلیلی نداشت جز آنچه که سال‌ها بعد فهمیدم: پژمان “بهایی” بود>>>

First Knights

Cataphracts or cataphracti were a form of very heavy cavalry that served as an elite they also served as an assault force, primarily used for impetuous charges to break through infantry and some forms of light cavalry formations. Some historians refer to them as the first knights because they wore heavy shining amour and were made up of the aristocracy. Iranians used cataphract cavalry for almost 1,200 years from antiquity to medieval era>>>

Half and Half

There is a dark cloud
Looming over you
Fair weather is out of sight
But I won’t forget you
Not even for a moment >>>

All Smiles

If any issue hovered over the Obama-Netanyahu tete-a-tete, it was the question of prioritization. For Netanyahu, the issue seems clear: as he said at the outset of his public remarks at the White House, "The greatest new threat on the horizon, the single most dominant issue for many of us, is the prospect that Iran would acquire nuclear weapons," and the rest of his comments flowed from that opening statement. These words suggest that Iran is, without doubt, the most important issue for Israeli security, though not necessarily the most urgent; Netanyahu did not imply that decisions on assessing the efficacy of sanctions need to be made very soon, nor that decisions on preventive military action are imminent>>>

The fight continues

This time of year, every year, I remember. On the evening of July 8, 1999, I slept in the dormitories of Tehran University when it was attacked. We woke to the sounds of the Basiji as they screamed at us in the name of a god who was merciless. They beat us to a pulp. The sounds of that night have never faded from my memory. Students were battered, their bones literally broken like branches pulled from a tree. There were shots fired and the sound of breaking glass filled the night air. Students screamed in disbelief and horror as their sense of security was forever shaken>>>

جدال بر سر دانشگاه آزاد

کشمکش برسر تصاحب و کنترل دانشگاه آزاد و ارزش افسانه‌ای مایملک آن که طرفداران احمدی‌نژاد آن را ۲۵۰ هزار میلیارد تومان برآورد می‌کنند، در هفته‌های اخیر شدت گرفت و سرانجام با دخالت شخص خامنه‌ای موقتا آرام شد. طرفداران احمدی‌نژاد عزم کرده بودند به هر بهایی شده این دانشگاه را از چنگ هاشمی رفسنجانی و عوامل او بیرون بکشند و در این راه از همه اهرم‌های ممکن کمک گرفتند>>>