VOICES

Let all tongues speak

Freedom of Expression: Commentary on a poem

by Majid Naficy
22-Nov-2007 (7 comments)

[PERSIAN TEXT] On November 22, 1998 after hearing of the murder of two Iranian dissidents Dariush and Parvaneh Foroohar, who were stabbed to death by the secret police at their home in Tehran, I wrote this poem:

O dagger
I wish you had rebelled
Against that hand!...

Why does the poet address the dagger? Why not the murderer? And more importantly, why not the murdered?

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NUCLEAR

شیرین عبادی و حمایت از ظالم

عبادی نمی‌فهمد که اهمیت غنی ‌سازی برای ایران درست به اندازه‌ی اهمیت تامین آب و تلفن و نان شب مردم است

by hoder
21-Nov-2007 (124 comments)
اولین مشکل استدلال عبادی آن است که در خدمت قدرت است، نه در خدمت قربانی. یعنی درست به همان روشی که مردسالاران وقتی مثلا زنی مورد تجاوز قرار می‌گیرد بجای ملامت مرد متجاوز، زن قربانی را سرزنش می‌کنند که چرا مثلا با زن بودنش (که طبیعتا حق اوست)‌ باعث تحریک مرد متجاوز شده است، عبادی هم ایران را سرزنش می‌کند که چرا با استفاده از حق‌اش بر اساس قوانین جهانی آمریکا را به تجاوز تحریک می‌کند. >>>

GLOBALIZATION

حدود جهانی شدن ما

چاره ای نداريم که هم جهانی فکر کنيم و هم در ساختن جهان امروز و فردا شرکتی فعال داشته باشيم

by shokooh.pasargad
21-Nov-2007 (5 comments)
در مسير مطرح شدن مفهومی به نام «جهانی شدن»، ما ايرانی ها نيز، چه آن ها که در داخل ايران و چه آن ها که به صورت پراکنده در سراسر جهان زندگی می کنيم، خواسته و ناخواسته به اين ميدان وارد شده ايم و، به اين ترتيب، مدتی است که، سخن گفتن از «جهانی شدن» در بين ما هم متداول شده است و به نظر می رسد که هر چه پيش می رويم بيش از پيش به بحث درباره ی اين روند و به حضور داشتن در آن تمايل پيدا می کنيم. >>>

USA

East-West bridge

Prof. Davood Rahni's perspectives on Iran-U.S. relations and Iranian-Americans

by Johanna Sterbin
21-Nov-2007 (15 comments)
I love the U.S. with its many opportunities and the can-do, pioneering and optimistic attitude to life and remain a staunch advocate for the integration of many of the good aspects of western culture with selective reformed aspects of Eastern, particularly the Iranian culture. American culture nurtures individual rights and freedoms of choice, aspiration to excellence and industry, and predictability in one’s life. In comparison, Iranian culture is family-centered, enhances one’s state of mind and spirit with its long history, esthetic literature, and a sense of belonging to one of the oldest and richest civilizations>>>

BANNED

At least his whores are melancholy

Lucky for Iranians, they’re protected from stories of sad prostitutes and old men by vigilant censors

by tinoush
20-Nov-2007 (10 comments)
At least, his whores are melancholy. Ours are beaten, underpaid, overworked, anguished, and subjected to all forms of torture on a daily basis. Ours passed the melancholy state long ago. I’m referring to a book by the Colombian novelist, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, entitled “Memories of My Melancholy Whores.” It was banned in Iran, after selling out, because the censors discovered that the title was sanitized. The word “whores” was replaced with “sweethearts.” The prostitute in the book is a fourteen year old girl who is the object of a ninety year old mans lust, and then love. Iranians will not be offended by either the title or the 76 year age difference. We know of far worse. We have known far younger whores being the object of madness, for the lack of a better term, not just lust and love.>>>

RIGHTS

Let us back into the universe

Evading the fact that no nation or culture or state can claim to have its own hyphenated version of human rights

by Reza Bayegan
20-Nov-2007 (14 comments)
As Iranian human rights activists we are fighting to restore to our nation those rights that are universal and inalienable. These rights are founded on the incontrovertible truth that all human beings are born free and equal. The constitution of the Islamic Republic is incompatible with this omnipresent reality. It is riddled with inconsistencies and discrimination. It stands contrary to all those hard won liberties secured by human beings throughout the ages. Human rights are not a product of the West. Neither are they the inheritance of one race or culture. They are the upshot of the accumulated experience and collective enlightenment of mankind as a whole.>>>

PAKISTAN

Now what?

Pakistan of 2007 looks a lot like Iran of 1978-79

by Guive Mirfendereski
19-Nov-2007 (33 comments)
It is now some 28 years from Huyser’s mission to Tehran. On Friday, November 16, President Bush’s emissary, John Negroponte, arrived in Pakistan to tell Mr. Musharraf what to do in order to save his country from turmoil. Déjà vu allover again! The 1979 Huyser mission in Tehran was to get the Iranian army to stay in one piece by standing down. The fear at the time was that the sophisticated weaponry in the hands of the Iranian forces would find its way into the hands of “enemy” elements (read Palestinians). In Islamabad, Negroponte probably sought to ensure that the Pakistani army stays in one piece so the country’s nuclear arsenal does not end up in “enemy” hands (read, a militant Islamic regime). >>>

THANKSGIVING

Let's talk Turkey

A full thanksgiving spread, set to impress anyone who feasts alongside you on the big day

by Shabnam_Ghayour
19-Nov-2007 (9 comments)
I must admit, i am not a huge fan of all things turkey, to be honest. I don’t mind it, but the American obsession with turkey on rye, turkey pot pie, turkey sausages and turkey bacon, is just one step beyond insanity for my purist ways. Furthermore (I believe) sausages and bacon should be made of pork! If our little porky pals weren’t so damn tasty, then why would we try and make alternatives to these products, at every opportunity? I know, I know it’s a health thing, and of course, there are two sides to every argument. For the “My-body- is- a- temple” types amongst you, I will gladly point out that turkey is one of the lowest fat meats around>>>

POINT

No excuse

Human rights crisis in Iran

by Sohrab_Ferdows
19-Nov-2007 (10 comments)
Canadian government has recently initiated a motion to censure Iranian government over its human rights record in United Nations after its successful work in same direction during last few years since the death of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Ms. Zahra Kazemi in year 2003. More that 28 years after establishment of Islamic Republic in Iran, human rights continue to be number one victim of this theocratic government which still remains in revolutionary state to justify the unlawful punishments and human rights abuses even against those who never saw the revolution in their lifetime and did not have any role in it>>>

ACTIVISM

Something better to do

Is Ghorme Sabzi more important than bombing of Iran?

by fereydoun taslimi
18-Nov-2007 (22 comments)
For those of you who don't know what Ghorme Sabzi is, it's a popular Iranian stew made of beans, chopped vegetables, dried lime and minced meat cooked in a certain order, mixed together and cooked again to be served with white rice. You may ask what does this stew have to do with bombing Iran other that the fact that eating too much of it feels like being bombed from the inside? A few years ago a friend in England sent me an email expressing his concern about the possibility of a preemptive American attack against Iran and thought this would be a disaster for both countries>>>

SECESSIONISM

«ايالات متحدهء ايران»

منطق درهمريختهء جدائی طلبی

by Esmail Nooriala
18-Nov-2007 (22 comments)
بنظر من، اصرار مدام بر وجود «ملت های مختلف» در برابر «ملت فارس» و، در همان حال، زير فرش کردن مفهومی به نام «ملت ايران»، نشانگر اين واقعيت است که جدائی طلبان اتفاقاً مشکلی واقعی با آنچه که «ملت فارس» می خوانند ندارند و مشکل اصلی آنها با وجود گسترده و فراگيری به نام «ملت ايران» است.>>>

IRAQ

Meet the resistance

Divide and conquer! The West has perfected this strategy.

by tinoush
18-Nov-2007 (65 comments)
The idea that US and UK would like to see Iraq break apart has valid historical precedence. In fact, this has been their standard strategy around the world and especially in the Middle East. All one has to do is to perform a simple experiment. Find maps of Middle Eastern natural resources and ethnic population distribution from the WWI era, and then superimpose them on top of a map of the current boundaries. When the era of independence came, the Western colonial powers did their best to divide up the resources as much as possible amongst nations with weak governments, which will always have to depend on external support for their existence.>>>

IDEAS

God

God

It is difficult to imagine a small perfect world, and I am sure it is impossible to create an eternal perfect universe

by Azarin Sadegh
16-Nov-2007 (22 comments)
Who is perfect? My software code is never immaculate. Its flaws confuse my users. Its flaws shatter their belief in who I am. Its flaws start a kind of suspicion in the justness of my design. They name it their suffering and failure. I name it my “bug”, almost like a bad infection. Anyone who is part of this small world feels the agony of my mistakes. If my users had chosen to follow only the pre-defined paths I had imagined in my handy software manual, without going beyond my mindset, they would have never felt desperate or lost.>>>

MOJAHEDIN

مَردُم! خودتان قضاوت کنيد!

در ارتباط با دشنامباران اخير من از سوی مجاهدين

by Mohammad Ali Esfahani
15-Nov-2007 (51 comments)
اين روز ها مجاهدين خلق، در پی اوجگيری هرچه بيشتر تلاششان برای فراهم آوردن زمينه ی حمله ی نظامی آمريکا به ايران، و در آستانه ی ورود به مرحله ی اقرار صريح آقای رجوی به اين که تهديد جهان نه جنگ، بلکه «نه جنگ» است، به صورت سيستماتيک، حمله به کسانی را که هرکدام به اندازه ی وسع خود خطرات جنگ و حمله ی نظامی به ايران را افشا می کنند در دستور کار خود قرار داده اند.>>>

TURKEY

Showdown for Ataturk’s Republic

United States must balance its desire for regional stability with steadfast support for and cooperation with the Turkish government

by Slater Bakhtavar
15-Nov-2007 (18 comments)
Turkey’s ethnic Kurds, the majority of who recently voted for the Justice and Development Party, oppose PKK’s agenda. The Kurdish people recognize that the guerrilla fastidious escapades have promoted regional and international political upheaval. Once, isolated and prone to factionalism, the guerrilla movement is on the rise due to the dire situation in northern Iraq. The Turkish government, which believes Turkish citizens should have no loyalty outside of the state, has responded. On October 17th, the Turkish parliament voted 507-19 to authorize cross-border raids into northern Iraq to root out the PKK. >>>
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