Just Say No

The Chinese dictators know very well that the IRI has lost its national based support and legitimacy and can not survive without foreign assistance. From their own experience they know well that this type of regimes are venerable and open to paying bribes, so they can strike any deal they want with them. That was why during the past few months the Chinese government have been selling anti-riot gears and assault weapons to IRI and specially Sepaah e Pasdaran. They are providing them with tear gas electric batons, pepper spray, helmets anti riot cars (one of which was used to kill an Iranian citizen during Ashoora), water canons and other suppression tools>>>

Wicked Wisdom

Year after year, when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program, the Israelis have threatened to attack while actually exercising restraint—whereas with Syria and Iraq, they attacked early on, without real warning, despite being faced with what arguably were lesser provocations. The reason the Israelis have held back is threefold: 1. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to stage such a long-range attack on their own. And even if they could get the planes there, the targets are heavily protected. And the Israelis may not even know where all the targets are>>>

Returning to Iran

Early last summer, the photographer whose work appears on the cover of this book was attacked on the streets in Tehran. He escaped serious injury and arrest but his cameras, including the one that shot this picture, were confiscated. He later emailed his friends a picture of what had remained of his cameras: a lens cover and a piece of chord. Those confiscated cameras had recorded a great deal over the years. The various accounts of these years, recorded from many perspectives, are crucial in understanding the recent events in Iran>>>

زمستان

زمستان خود را تنها طی می کنم
این روزهای کوتاه و شبهای بلند را

 در این سرمای سخت چیزی را نمی توان پنهان کرد
یکی یکی خاطره ها و فکرها آشکار می شوند >>>

Four scenarios and a nightmare

It is not possible to predict political developments in Iran, even over the short-term. It may be realistic to assume, though, that scenarios for Iran in 2010-11 will still be scenarios for the Islamic Republic of Iran – that, in other words, a replacement of the existing system by another is unlikely. True, changes within the Islamic Republic are to be expected. The precise depth and direction of such changes will depend on a variety of factors originating both within Iran and its external environment. A scenario is not a prediction; quite the contrary, it provides a picture or story of different possible outcomes>>>

Why does religion persist?

Throughout the history of humankind, we cannot find any phenomenon more enduring and more ubiquitous than religion. It has been with us ever since we started living in communities. While scientific investigations have not provided conclusive evidence regarding the origin of religion, many researchers believe that human beings have a natural inclination for religion because of their genetic makeup. In other words, believing in religion is rooted in our genes. We are predisposed to be spiritual beings and religion is the outward manifestation of our spirituality>>>

معنویت و پاکدینی روشنفکرانه

رویاروئی فکر روشنگری با جهانبینی دینی در سه جبهه بود. جنبه شناختی دیدگاه روشنگری کیهان شناسی جدیدی فارغ از پیشفرضهای متافیزیکی ارائه کرد، جنبه سیاسی آن به تفکیک دین از سایر حیطه ها منجمله سیاست انجامید و بالاخره در پهنه ذهنیت فکر روشنگر زیبائی شناسی و اخلاقی جدید را بارمغان آورد. این تقابل فقط در عالم فکر نبود. در عصر جدید با ظهور پروتستانتیزم و دولت- ملتها طومار سلطه کلیسای کاتولیک بر اروپا یکباره در هم پیچیده شد. >>>

The Man on the Street

I don't know what the American man on the street thinks of an Iranian who is trying to squeeze every drop of poetry out of their encounter, who doesn't know what else there is for him to squeeze, because he came at age six and began an American moment which always placed the man on the street at its center, which found that center more precisely the more the man wore how lost and trembling he was, before an Iranian had even walked by. Before an Iranian had even walked by, it was the world that had him looking like that, and I'd walk by and want to tell him - you can make a country out of that, you know>>>

سراب

ای پرده نشین بی‌ حجا بم
وی رمز سوال بی‌ جوابم
از خواب گران رهایی‌ام ده‌
چشمم بگشا که مست خوابم
در حیرتم از تصور خویش
وز باور خود در اضطرابم >>>

وقتش رسيده

دنيا بايد بداند که فقط يک نيرو در ايران می تواند حامل و زايندهء حکومتی بر اساس اعلاميه حقوق بشر و همهء کنوانسيون های بين المللی باشد و آن هم نيروئی سکولار است... ما نبايد ملتمسانه دنبال آن باشيم که رهبرانی همچون «او با ما» براستی «با ما» باشند و صدايمان را بشنوند. ما بايد آنها را مجبور کنيم که به صدای بخش سکولار جنبش سبز توجه کرده و دريابند که اين سبز گسترده بر سراسر ايران ـ که به زودی، با سرزدن بهار، همه چيز و همه جا را به رنگ خود در خواهد آورد ـ نه سبز سيدی است، نه سبز قمر بنی هاشم، و نه سبز اصلاح طلبان مذهبی؛ سبزی ملی است که نيازی به بند و بست های مخفی با آنان ندارد.>>>

The Green Wave

Iran’s “Green Wave” received much international interest and support, both with the Iranian diasporas and the international community. Even certain foreign politicians, like the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of European foreign policy Javier Solana, showed their support to the Iranian people and condemned their oppressive regime. The interesting and different characteristic of this green movement is that it is not limited to a certain political group or a part of the population>>>

Hope for Humanity

Today, less than two weeks after Haiti first trembled, I sit in wonder as I meditate on the phrase which has been stamped on the conscience of every soul: "Hope for Haiti". I hear the words over the radio and see them plastered over every programme on television and flashed repeatedly over my computer screen. But I wonder if it is really hope that we are purchasing with such generous donations or an ointment for the wounds of guilt?! Is the Haiti catastrophe really a natural disaster or the bitter truth of poverty?!>>>