Op-Ed

Breaking away

Did anybody write on Iranian.com anything about Kosovo declaring its independence? It probably seemed of little significance. The country that will most probably be internationally accepted soon is indeed of very little relevance, with extremely little chances of appearing in the news any time soon, unless there would be some really serious humanitarian or catastrophic issues. And these things are quite rare for such small countries in Europe. However one thing that IS quite important is the fact that Kosovo created quite a unique precedence. I don't remember the last time when some portion of a country (Serbia in this case) unilaterally declared independence and was taken seriously by the US, the UK, Germany, France, Turkey and some other countries, immediately

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انديشيدن، بيرون از جعبه!

کسانی که در داخل جعبه فکر می کنند در کشتن ايده های نو مهارت خاصی دارند و ورد زبانشان آن است که «اين ايده تحقق ناپذير است» و يا «اقدام برای تحقق اش مخاطرات زيادی را در بر دارد و به امتحانش نمی ارزد». به عبارت ديگر، آنها در کشتن اشتياق و شور برآمده از نوآوری و بديع و نو انديشيدن تخصص دارند. آنگاه، برناکی، بر زمينهء اين نگاه، به معنای «بيرون جعبه فکر کردن» پرداخته و شرايط انجام آن را چنين ديده بود: آمادگی برای پذيرش نگاه های نو در زندگی روزمره، ذهن باز داشتن نسبت به آنچه متفاوت است، آماده بودن برای انجام کارهای روزمره بصورتی نو، اهميت دادن به ارزش يافتن راه های نو برای حل مسائل، گوش دادن به سخن ديگران بدون پيشداوری، ميدان دادن به ديگران تا نظراتی متفاوت را عرضه کنند و بالاخره آماده بودن برای آزمودن پيشنهادها و ايده های نو>>>

One and the same

Humanity is one race. As Sa'adi said in his famous poem, people are parts of one body. When one body part is in pain, the other body parts are in agony. The hardworking people in every grouping in our world have the same human needs, aspirations and hopes as others. The Arab people have the same pains and sufferings and hardships as the Iranians, the Jewish people, the Germans, the Turks, the Slavs or the Latins. They all want food, shelter, clothing, peace and prosperity for themselves, their families, their neighbors and their peers>>>

29 Years of Cantankerism

You'd think that Iranians who thrive on disagreeing, arguing, and disbelieving anyone trying to make the slightest point (as you will no doubt see in the comments after this piece), would have perfected some sort of logical process to distill it by now. Given the conditions these past 29 years, which have been riper than a honeydew (kharbozeh?) melon in the late-summer Esfahan sun, you'd think that by now, some sort of conclusive voice of the opposition, would have been heard, over all the praying and braying. But even after 29 years it's still eerily silent>>>

Islamic Democracy, indeed

This is not a regime for all Iranians. It doesn't even pretend to be one. But we need to acknowledge its merits too. It is a ystem that works so well. Don't be surprised to find the same old regime in power for decades to come! I won't be surprised. Especially knowing the FACT how irrational, emotional, disunited and weak the opposition is. We all know that the economy is doing poorly, because it is quite simple, the Islamists seem not to be good economists! They also know that having a good economy implies completely opening the doors to American and other democratic powers' investments inside Iran and this might create more sympathy among Iranians for the West, and its DEMOCRATIC values. Human rights record is horrible>>>

قدرت و شوق

چه ارتباطی میان حقوق زنان و ارگاسم وجود دارد؟ از نظر فیلمساز و فمینیست های کارکشته و موفقی مثل وندی اسلیک و امیکو امری، همه جور ارتباطی! داستان از کتاب "تکنولوژی ارگاسم" نوشته دکترریچل مینز شروع شد . این کتاب به تاریخ اختراع وایبریتورهای الکترو مغناطیسی می پردازد که از دهه 1880 برای درمان هیستری زنان به کار گرفته می شدند. این فیلم مستند Power and Passion در واقع داستان این کتاب را پی می گیرد که تاریخ این اختراع ساده و ارتباط آن با یکی از رفتارهای پیچیده انسان یعنی ارگاسم را بررسی می کند. دکتر مینز مسیر گاه شهوت انگیز و گاه خنده دار زنان "هیستریک" و تلاششان برای آرامش جنسی را از روزهای ریاکاری ویکتوریایی تا امروز نشان می دهد>>>

Stand up and be counted

Along with millions of Americans of Middle Eastern ancestry, the Iranian-Americans feel particularly singled out with the enduring and agonizing deterioration of their civil and constitutional rights, rights violations that have only been exacerbated after September 11 when the U.S. was despicably attacked by a group of fanatical terrorists from abroad. I tend to mainly focus herein on the particular plight of the nearly one million law abiding Americans of Iranian/Persian heritage, who make an annual contribution to the American economy approaching hundreds of billions of dollars and with educational achievements that are at least twice the national average>>>

Reviving the Iranian revolt

Twenty nine winters later, the Islamic Republic of Iran is more independent, stable, confident and technologically advanced than ever, while it has remained as the most serious and continuous challenge to the U.S. hegemony in the world. But what can explain the survival of the outcome of such revolt? What will the future look like for Iran, whose most of its young population now have no first-hand experience of that revolt? The rise of the first non-cleric president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, can point to some answers.>>>

The High School Theory

We all know that we physiologically stop growing around the age of eighteen. This is a scientific fact but based on my observation, many of us also stop maturing psychologically around the same time. It seems regardless of all the experiences we have gained after the age of eighteen and we should have come across them as a valuable lesson, we still mange to end up saying, “I should’ve learned that the first time around”. To make you feel good I should say you are not in it alone. There are many of us doing the same thing everyday. Another reason that shouldn’t have felt bad about it is that you can’t even start reading the history without seeing that it repeats itself over and over>>>

Winning without popularity

The Guardian Council and the military have been working under Khamenei's direct supervision to paralyze and manipulate the upcoming elections, all in an effort to make Khamenei the undisputed winner. The council has until now been the Supreme Leader's main instrument for controlling electoral outcomes. In recent years, however, the military has increased its role in the voting process tremendously. The Interior Ministry, which administers the elections, is in the hands of military and intelligence officers. The interior minister himself, Mostafa Poor-Muhammdai, was deputy minister of intelligence under Rafsanjani and is widely thought to have had a role in killing dozens of intellectuals and political activists>>>

Missing the point

Perhaps Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury thought his statement about Sharia Law will be received enthusiastically as well-intended and an effort to reduce racial tensions in the society. However, his proposal got him into trouble. He was attacked from right and left. Those who saw their “white Christian culture” under threat asked for his resignation. Women rights activists, secularists and such like attacked him for the negative effects of Sharia Law on human rights, particularly the disastrous effects of such a practice on women in so-called Muslim communities. In response to harsh criticism he tried to qualify his proposal by stating that he did not mean the whole Sharia Law, but in family matters. He has just missed the point>>>

Impossible not be very concerned

Some could claim that the building of Sivand dam in the Iranian province of Fars is necessary and has nothing to do with destroying Iran's history and pre-Islamic monuments. Many others, however, including 47 organizations in Iran itself, the UNESCO and many scholars and Iranians citizens claim otherwise. The building of this dam in the Pasargad plains can cause irreversible damage to the most valuable treasures and historical monuments in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has embarked on the final stages of a dam construction in the south of Iran>>>

The threat is still there

How likely do you think war is with Iran? KINZER: I fear that this prospect is still very real. The recent National Intelligence Estimate makes it impossible for the US to hope for broad support for new sanctions on Iran. This could mean that some people consider a military strike the only remaining alternative. People in the White House might decide that Iran is a looming threat that must be contained before it can rise. Manufacturing an incident, either in Iran, Iraq or the Gulf, would be easy, and it could become a pretext for war.>>>

Who killed Mughniyah?

Imad Mughniyah, one of the world’s foremost terrorists, was reportedly killed late Tuesday night February 12, 2008 Damascus time. No one has yet claimed responsibility. In this article, we discuss who might have eliminated Mughniyah. We look at motives, capabilities, and a history of similar actions. We see seven possibilities: 1- Israeli government; 2- Syrian government; 3- U.S. government; 4- the fundamentalist regime ruling Iran; 5- professional assassin; 6- Mughniyah’s rivals inside the Hezbollah; and 7- Mughniyah faked his death>>>

حکومت بدون شريعت

دکتر سروش و همگنانش هرگز نخواهند توانست بدون توسل به سکولاريسم (آن هم نه تنها در معنای جدا کردن مسجد و کليسا از دولت، که در معنای جدا کردن دين و مذهب و شريعت از حکومت) تحولی بنيادين در زندگی مذهبی مردم ما ايجاد کنند و جريانی همچون پروتستانتيزم را در داخل باورمندی های امامی ايجاد نمايند. اين وظيفه بر عهدهء خود روحانيون (همچون لوتر و کالون در غرب و شيخ احمد احسائی و سيد محمدعلی باب در ايران) گذاشته شده است، هرچند که اين تجربه ها نيز چندان بدون خونريزی متحقق نشده اند. به عبارت ديگر، در مسير نوانديشی دينی، دينکارانی همچون مجتهد شبستری يا محسن کديور می توانند بسا بيشتر از دکتر سروش و دکتر عليرضا علوی تبار مؤثر و مفيد باشند.>>>