TARGET

Intellectual shield

David Barsamian, with Noam Chomsky, Ervand Abrahamian, and Nahid Mozaffari

by Danny Postel
15-Feb-2008 (17 comments)
"Targeting Iran" is a collection of three interviews conducted by Alternative Radio founder David Barsamian with the Iranian scholars Ervand Abrahamian and Nahid Mozaffari, and Barsamian's most frequent interlocutor over the years, Noam Chomsky. It is a valuable book in that it covers, in less than 200 pages, many of the essential questions regarding the geopolitics of the Islamic Republic and the ominous specter of a U.S. military attack on Iran>>>

LANGUAGE

Save Persian

Introduce a language more Iranian, modern, precise and easier to learn

by Jahanshah Rashidian
15-Feb-2008 (85 comments)
Today, our superseded Persian language still continues to be Arabo-Islamic (Farsi). Farsi is a hollow name; it does not fully represent our national identity or adapt to our future. Our culture along with our crippled Farsi is now constitutionally forced to take a further Arabo-Islamic allure, a project called “The Cultural Revolution”, planned since 1980 by the Mullahs’ regime. The long-term objective of The Cultural Revolution is to root out any aspect of non-Islamic identity from the society by introducing a greater portion of Arabo-islamisation in our culture and language. It is to promote the existing “Farsi” into a pure Arabo-Islamic language. >>>

ARABS

چه چيزی ديکتاتورهای عرب را واقعاً می ترساند

آزادی برای اينها مثل جن است

by ghalam-doon
15-Feb-2008 (10 comments)
اوايل انقلاب اسلامی که حرف از آزادی و صدور انقلاب بود همه سران عرب به وحشت افتاده بودند. بيش از هرچيز ديگر از اين واهمه داشتند که با صدور انقلاب، مردم کشورشان شروع به مطرح کردن خواسته هايی بکنند. بخواهند که از زير يوغ سران فاسد و دست نشانده شان بيرون آيند. اين موضوع به چند دليل تحقق پيدا نکرد. اولاً اين حکومت ها آنقدر جانی و قصی القلب هستند که از کشتار، شکنجه و حبس هزاران هزار شهروند مملکت خودشان ابايی ندارند. خودشان را مالکين اصلی سرزمين می دانند و مردم را به صورت گروهی برده می بينند که بايستی هميشه در حالت فقر کامل نگه داشته شوند تا به فکر موضوعاتی نيافتند که برای رژيم خطرناک است. چون تا زمانيکه گرسنه و محروم باشند، صدايشان در نمی آيد. ملت عرب هم به اين سيرت بردگی عادت کرده اند و به زندگی تحقيرآميزشان ادامه می دهند.>>>

POINT

And the winner is... Democracy!

The actual winner of US presidential elections has already been declared

by Shahriar Zangeneh
14-Feb-2008 (10 comments)
On the occasion of Valentine's Day, a day dedicated to verbalizing love for the object of affection, how about a story of a love in full bloom. No not another mushy personal story nor a vignette of one, rather a nonfictional snippet of an affair of the heart. It is the story of a dynamic love that as it ages it is rejuvenated, giddiness of love is reinforced by wisdom of thought, maturity brings youthful strength, intensity of passion begets clarity, and the more tender it becomes as time passes. It is the story of such potent desire that eventually it overcomes customs, deeply cherished religious beliefs and doctrines >>>

VIEW

Failure of a Doctrine

by Ardeshir Ommani
14-Feb-2008 (77 comments)
During the last year, especially since the U.S. decided to join the European dialogue with Iran on its nuclear program, and almost at the same time gave the signal to Iraq’s government to invite Iran to a tripartite discussion over Iraq’s security and finally the appearance of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report admitting that Iran had suspended its (non-existent) nuclear weapons program in Fall 2003, all in all made the overall atmosphere hostile for the political habitat of the U.S. and the European neo-conservatives. Therefore, this group of reactionary politicians had to either migrate or return to hibernation>>>

LOVE

با عشق بودن، يا از عشق مردن

آيا عشق در فرهنگ ايرانی قبل از اسلام ما نيز کلامی زشت بوده است؟

by shokooh.pasargad
14-Feb-2008 (16 comments)
تا آنجا که مدارک موجود نشان می دهد، عشق در فرهنگ کهن ايرانی مورد توجه و احترام بسيار بوده است. «مهر» نام خدای بزرگ آريايی ها بوده و «مهر» و «خورشيد» نيز هموزن و گرامی و مقدس بوده اند. خود کلمه ی «عشق» هم، برخلاف تصور برخی، معرب شده ی کلمه ای کاملاً ايرانی است که در اصل به صورت «اشک» بکار می رفته است که البته ربطی به «گريه» ندارد به همين معنای عشق است. نام سلسله ی ايرانی اشکانيان نيز از همين عشق آمده است. يعنی، «عشقانيان» بوده اند در واقع! مهم تر اينکه عشق در سرزمين باستانی ما، در فرهنگ ايرانی ما، نه تنها زشت نبوده بلکه آن را همراه و همنشين «خرد» می دانسته اند. يعنی در انسان خردمند قدرت و ظرفيت عشق بيشتر است و انسان بی خرد از عشق دور تر و تهی تر به شمار می آيد.>>>

IRAN

Old Citizen of the World

Finding solutions rather than seeing only problems

by Nader
13-Feb-2008 (21 comments)
Iran is the old citizen of the world, if not the oldest. Yet, instead of respecting it, we are leaving its age old strength to weaken by the day. Nations have moved on, people have moved on, and what stays is the power of change. Those who can create change, a dramatic, sustaining, value-added change, are those that will prosper. And those who sit and just reminisce will forever be lost in the memories of time. Let's make a step change in our mentalities and evolve, for the time of relaxation must now end. Why have we become like this? Simple, here's how: A comfort zone is defined as a place or thinking style, in which the person involved is so comfortable in what he/she thinks is the right thing to follow in any situation, that they won't even bother to think differently>>>

IRAN

Exclusive elections

No need to vote in Iranian parliamentary elections

by Ben Madadi
12-Feb-2008 (19 comments)
I just saw the news that Khomeini's grandson, Ali Eshraghi, has not been allowed to participate in the March parliamentary elections in Iran. I was looking at the picture of the guy and I was almost feeling the TERROR of Khomeini in my body. You remember how he looked. I could almost feel how the old man was able to kill mercilessly for what he believed to be the cause of Shia Islam. This guy, Mr Eshraghi, looks so much like his mass-murderer grandfather. By the way, the grandfather was indeed a ruthless man who will in time, definitely, be exposed, but the fact of the matter is that Khomeini was adored by the vast majority of Iranians>>>

OBAMA

Five score and 45 years

What was ridiculous a year ago is very close to real now

by robertborden54
11-Feb-2008 (23 comments)
Realism is supposedly the ultimate virtue for any politician. Idealism gets you in trouble. Haven’t we seen some criticize Bush Jr.’s disaster in Iraq as fundamentally flawed based on it’s alleged excess of idealism! And was it not the idealism of a generation of Iranians that brought us the unmitigated evil of the Islamic Republic? Almost all revolutions and their ensuing rigns of terror and bloodbaths have roots in some type of ideal. What I am trying to say is that we are told idealism is the root of all evil. Down-to-earth realism is the way forward. And then I find myself watching Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech. When was the last time I actually searched for a speech by a politician anywhere?>>>

ELECTIONS

Military maneuvers

Two devastating news from Iran

by Rendd
11-Feb-2008 (6 comments)
General Jafari, the head of Islamic Republic Guardian Corps (IRGC), last Friday in a convention with the title of “Students, Elections, Maximum Participation, and National Unity” among the members of his militia, Bassij, after criticizing the content of the Human Sciences curriculum in Iranian universities, has clearly sided with the conservative front in coming Iranian parliamentary election and advised the Bassij to vote for an specific conservative alliance. This would be a fine statement from nonmilitary personnel, but it is devastating to the long tradition of Iranian military of not being affiliated with any type of political interaction>>>

POINT

Neo-Con asset

Reza Pahlavi not mindful that bringing death and destruction to innocent civilians is the ultimate in terror

by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
10-Feb-2008 (296 comments)
Once again the neo-cons have given Reza Pahlavi a platform, but it is not clear who the intended audience is. The feigned altruistic appeal in his speech bears an eerie resemblance to the rehearsed Iraqi appeals before that country was invaded. Those appeals cost over one million Iraqi lives. This is a well-written speech, disguised as it may be, to convince. Whether the speech was delivered to persuade the American public of the necessity of intervention and war or the purpose of it was the alienation of Iran’s Arab neighbors, much like his father had in favor of Israel, one can be certain that Norman Podhoretz has given it his blessings, if indeed he has not been the writer himself>>>

UAE

Gulf Française

France’s red carpet into the Persian Gulf region

by iranican
10-Feb-2008 (11 comments)
Ever since President Sarkozy took power in France, the French foreign policy has been undergoing a great deal of revival and revolution. Sarkozy, who sees himself the modern-time Napoleon and savior of the French Republic, has been trying hard to re-impose France back onto the world stage as a major power and actor, and do away with his predecessor’s more laissez-faire approach. Therefore, it is not surprising to see how the French are out to find any kind of opening and welcoming around the world, and coincidentally to exploit them in order to achieve this foreign policy objective>>>

MOSSADEGH

Academic coup

When "great" scholars play a deadly role

by Fariba Amini
08-Feb-2008 (63 comments)
Most of the key players of the 1953 coup have since died, but Ann (Nancy) Lambton is still living in the English countryside. Although she is now very old, she has never publicly acknowledged her role in the 1953 coup. Maybe she is just too ashamed. Ann played a decisive role in the affair. She was the expert and the foreign analyst who advised the British government, worked in high circles and recommended that no compromise with Mossadegh was to take place under any circumstances. She saw Mossadegh as a danger! Yes, indeed he was dangerous to their plans of bloody greed and power. >>>

WOMEN

Beyond elite demands

Grass-root efforts to change discriminatory laws

by Maryam Hossienkhah
08-Feb-2008 (9 comments)
One of the main criticisms against the Iranian women’s movement is that it advocates for the demands of elite groups and disregards the demands and needs of women at the grassroots. Critics claim that the Iranian women’s movement is an elite movement rather than a grassroots movement, and given the fact that the discourse of elite classes differ from that of the masses, ordinary women cannot participate in this movement. Women’s rights activists in recent years too have heard criticisms that claim that the demands of the women’s movement are in reality the demands of a group of Tehran-based and educated women>>>

MODERNITY

«مدرن شدن» بدون «سکولار بودن»

امروزه «مدرن شدن» مهمترين مسئلهء روز جوامع است

by Esmail Nooriala
08-Feb-2008 (7 comments)
چگونگی «مدرن شدن» بدون «سکولار بودن» جراحی سکولاريسم و خارج کردن آن از بدن مدرنيته به منکران ضرورت جدائی مذهب از حکومت کمک می کند تا بتوانند توضيح دهند که نه تنها جوامع دارای حکومت های مذهبی دارای قابليت مدرن شدن هستند بلکه اساساً، با توجه به «رستاخيز مذهبی» کنونی و رفتن جوامع بشری به سوی دوران جديدی از گرايشات مذهبی، خود مذهب می تواند در مدرن سازی جوامع نقش بازی کند و بخصوص جوامع کهن و سنت زده را کمک نمايد تا عقب ماندگی های خود را مرتفع ساخته و راحت تر مدرن شوند.>>>
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