Monday, February 28, 2005


جان اگر جان است تقدیمش چه آسان باشدی
روح اگر روح است درمانش چه درمان باشدی؟
آسمان همرنگ آن گوهر ضمیر آشناست
زانهمه دلداگی باشد که درمانش چه آسان باشدی

شیما کلباسی

Sunday, February 27, 2005


من بار غم دل را با تو به صفا گفتم
اما ز چه دانی تو این بار کجا باشد

شیما کلباسی

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Dr. Farzad Hamidi, Iranian political prisoner is in hunger strike, in Rajaii shahr prison, for 35 days.

His life is in danger and needs your urgent action.

Dr. Hamidi were arrested last June in front of the United Nations building in Tehran during a protest against human rights violations in Iran. You can see more background info in Human Rights Watch web site.

(via Sayeh Sirjani)

Thursday, February 24, 2005

To: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

CC: Amnesty International, Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch

Arash Sigarchi, the outspoken Iranian newspaper editor and blogger, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on blatantly false accusations. Amongst the offences fabricated by the country’s judiciary authorities are "disrespect towards the spiritual leader" and "espionage" – both of which are pure fiction and without any factual basis whatsoever.

His is amongst a recent wave of arrests of journalists and bloggers in which all detainees are accused of espionage amongst other made up crimes. These journalists and bloggers all have one thing in common which is their objection to and speaking up about the atrocious way the Islamic regime in Iran treats its citizens.

By falsely accusing Arash of serious crimes, the judiciary has enabled itself to sentence him to a savage sentence. All Mr. Sigarchi has done is to express his opinions, yet he shares the same sentence as serial offenders, who genuinely have committed atrocious acts.

We, the undersigned, demand Mr. Sigarchi's immediate release and urge you to take a firm stand against this and other unlawful arrests made by the Iranian authorities - all in clear violation of article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Please Sign the Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/arsi/petition.html
* Which children of the revolution?

Thursday night (25 Feb) Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) -- a UK charity -- is hosting an event on the future of Iran's "children of the revolution" at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Stars of the show are the Islamic Republic-friendly English writer Christopher de Bellaigue and Ali Ansari, an Islamic Repubic-friendly political scientist (one foreigner, one Iranian Brit, both with questionable connection to under-25s. The future looks bright!).

IHF is after all an Islamic Republic-friendly charity, run by the super-rich. It is unlikely that tonight that there will be any mention of Arash Cigarchi. As of this week, Cigarchi can look forward to 14 years in prison, for writing a weblog. The Islamic killers who run our country are threatened by a lad who if Google serves me right was born in 1979, the year of the revolution. At 25 or 26 he's around eight years younger than me. When he leaves he will be six years older than I am now. By that time he will have had his youth demolished. The youth whose discontent the Islamic-terrorist system has nourished for 25 years, is locked up for expressing it.

If Bellaigue and Ansari tonight mention the issue of imprisonment and torture of dissenting youth, and slam the Islamic government I might apologise for doubting their integrity. But if as I suspect they will not, at their next outing Chris and Ali wear your turbans.

-- Peyvand Khorsandi / Iranian Times

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Iran: Blogger Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

" The Iranian government is sending a message to its critics: keep silent or face years in prison. "
Widney Brown,
deputy program director of Human Rights Watch

Monday, February 21, 2005

I like to apologize for not replying to your e-mails. My dad was in hospital and I can’t concentrate.



از دوستان و خوانندگانی که ای-میل میدهند ممنونم ولی در حال حاضر نمی تونم جواب بدم. پدرم بیمارستان بستری بوده و من تمرکز نوشتن ندارم.

مثل شیشه ترک خورده هر آن درترس ریختنم.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

President Clinton Tells Some Useful Truths... I wonder... what truth is he telling us this time around?

Why I lost my respect for President Clinton? Well it all happened when he publicly acknowledged that the United States had actively overthrown Mossadegh and apologized to Mr. Khatami. He should/could have apologized to "the people of Iran" not the oppressive regime of mullahs. Besides, his analysis of the situation in Iran and distinction between reformers and hardliners is boring, shallow, and plain stupid.

Sheema Kalbasi
Is The Iranian Regime Totalitarian?

February 16, 2005
Iran va Jahan
Shaheen Fatemi



On February 10, 2005, in an op-ed column entitled 'Condi's French Twist,' Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist, finds fault with Secretary Rice's characterization of the Iranian regime as "totalitarian." Quoting another Times correspondent as a source she writes:

"As Elaine Sciolino wrote in The Times, the new secretary of state sent a frisson through the American ambassador's residence yesterday at breakfast with six French intellectuals when she referred to Iran as a "totalitarian state," rather than an "authoritarian" one - since totalitarian is a term ordinarily reserved for violent regimes like Nazi Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union.

"It was scary," said one guest, François Heisbourg, and it inflamed French fears that the U.S. is eyeing regime change in Iran next."

As someone who has had more experience with the present Iranian regime than either Ms. Dowd or Ms. Sciolino, I beg to differ with their generous attitude toward the Iranian regime. Their nit-picking criticism of the new Secretary of State and the Bush administration is a matter not uncommon to what one would expect from the Times. But denying the "totalitarian" nature of the regime in Tehran in order to score points against what Ms. Dowd likes to call the "Bushies" is something which can not go unchallenged.

Making such a gross error can only be attributed to either lack of full familiarity with the definition of the word "totalitarian" or limited real knowledge of the nature of the regime that rules Iran. May be we should begin with the word and what it means.

The Sixth Edition of Columbia Encyclopedia provides the following definition for "totalitarianism:"

"A modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens. A totalitarian government seeks to control not only all economic and political matters but the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population, erasing the distinction between state and society. The citizen's duty to the state becomes the primary concern of the community, and the goal of the state is the replacement of existing society with a perfect society.


With the exception of the word "modern," one could hardly find a better fit for this definition than the current theocratic regime imposed upon the Iranian people by sheer force and brutality. Ever since its inception it has dominated every facet of peoples life from education to nutrition and from workplace to the bedroom. It dominates more than eighty-five percent of the country's GDP. As far as role of the State in the economy is concerned, Article 44 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic is the closest thing you can find today to the defunct Constitution of the late Soviet Union:

"The economy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to consist of three sectors: state, cooperative, and private, and is to be based on systematic and sound planning. The state sector is to include all large-scale and mother industries, foreign trade, major minerals, banking, insurance, power generation, dams and large-scale irrigation networks, radio and television, post, telegraph and telephone services, aviation, shipping, roads, railroads and the like; all these will be publicly owned and administered by the State. The cooperative sector is to include cooperative companies and enterprises concerned with production and distribution, in urban and rural areas, in accordance with Islamic criteria. The private sector consists of those activities concerned with agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, trade, and services that supplement the economic activities of the state and cooperative sectors. Ownership in each of these three sectors is protected by the laws of the Islamic Republic, in so far as this ownership is in conformity with the other articles of this chapter, does not go beyond the bounds of Islamic law, contributes to the economic growth and progress of the country, and does not harm society. The [precise] scope of each of these sectors, as well as the regulations and conditions governing their operation, will be specified by law. "

In the same Constitution it is repeated over and over again that the goal of the state is the replacement of existing society with a perfect 'Islamic' society.

Another encyclopedic source is more specific:


"Under a totalitarian regime, the state controls nearly every aspect of the individual's life. Totalitarian governments do not tolerate activities by individuals or groups such as labor unions that are not directed by the state's goals. Totalitarian regimes maintain themselves in power through secret police, propaganda disseminated through the media, the elimination of open criticism of the regime, and use of terror tactics. Internal and external threats are created to foster unity through fear."(emphasis is mine)


Let us just concentrate on the last few characteristics:

Totalitarian regimes maintain themselves in power through:


1. Secret police
2. Propaganda desseminated through the media
3. The elimination of open criticism of the regime
4. Use of terror tactics, and finally,
5. Internal and external threats are created to foster unity through fear



For the benefit of the staff of the New York Times and other careless journalists, one can cover each of these categories with ample documentation based on 26 years of carefully investigated evidence produced by major international organizations such as the Amnesty International, the United Nations General Assemby 's frequent resolutions on violations of basic human rights in Iran, the Reports of Human Rights Watch organization and many other international agencies and organizations in Europe and the United States.

Iran is the only country in which the Secret Plice (Ministry of Intelligence) has been caught red-handed in the murder of its dissident citizens. The following is a report from the Amnesty International:

"Amnesty International has been alarmed by the recent killings of two prominent government critics -- as well as by other recent events -- in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The human rights organization calls upon the Iranian authorities to undertake immediate, independent investigations into these events, in accordance with United Nations "Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal Arbitrary and Summary Executions", and to make public the findings of any such investigations. Attacks against critics of the government within Iran have rarely been subject to impartial and open investigation in the past.

Amnesty International has been dismayed by the killings of Dariyush Foruhar, a prominent critic of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his wife, Parvaneh Foruhar, at their home in Tehran on 22 November 1998."

To this date the government has refused to allow public hearing and proper judicial investigation of these crimes. The long arms of the Ministry of Intelligence have been extended far beyond the borders of Iran. Assassination of opposition leaders in Europe and the Middle East has been well documented. Many of the current leaders of the Islamic Republic are under indictment by proper judicial authorities in Europe. The following is such one example of such murderous behavior:

"AI INDEX: MDE 13/15/97
10 APRIL 1997
IRAN: "MYKONOS" TRIAL PROVIDES FURTHER EVIDENCE OF IRANIAN POLICY OF UNLAWFUL STATE KILLINGS


Today's verdict from a German court in the trial of five men for the September 1992 killings of three leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and an interpreter in Berlin yet again indicates a coordinated policy by the Iranian state to kill Iranian dissidents, Amnesty International said today.

The five men -- four Lebanese and one Iranian -- had been charged with carrying out the killing in the Mykonos Restaurant, in Berlin. Four were convicted of the killings, while the fifth -- a Lebanese -- was acquitted. Kazem Darabi, an Iranian said to have organized the killings for the Iranian secret service, and Abbas Rhayel, accused of firing the fatal shots, were given life sentences. The two other Lebanese were given prison sentences of 11 years and five years, three months."


Perhaps the correspondent of the New York Times sitting in Paris and exchanging niceties with the so called " six French intellectuals" sees the Islamic regime very differently from those young women and men who feel the pressures of this totalitarian regime on their daily wasted lives. Let us recall that the same Times correspondents and their "French intellectual" friends defended the Soviet Union and the oppressive communist regimes in Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War and until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Monday, February 14, 2005


به ماشین جلویی می گم: برو دیگه بابا!
صدای ظریف دختر کوچولو از پشت صندلیم میگه: بابا اداره س مانی.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Happy Birthday to my lovely Baba (Dad).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the anniversary of the Iranian revolution


No to Superman-Mullah!

The Mullahs have to be persecuted for their crimes against the humanity, for the mass murdering of the Bahais, the Mojahids, the kurds, the intelligence officers, the army officers, the communists, the royalists and thousands of innocent lives that are still in the prisons. If people tend to forget or forgive the Mullahs and want nuclear power for Iran, I for one will never forget or forgive. Even if it makes me the last person standing... I will continue voicing my concern about the Superman-Mullah!


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پوکی

به صبرهای چهارگوشه چشم میدوزی
و دنیای سکوت
آهسته در تو بزرگ می شود
بعد از سالها شب خوری
روی صندلی
چاق می افتی
و ماسه های ساعت زمان
زیر دندانهایت می شکنند
نک پایت را به زور در کفشی می کنی
که از سرخی گذشت کودکی تنگ شده

اما تو همچنان...


شیما کلباسی

Wednesday, February 09, 2005


٢٢ بهمن


I

عقربه ساعت در جا می چرخد

دروازه بهشت: سياه پوش



تن لا مذهبِ سياسي

ديرش شده



II

بهايي،

کمونيست،

مجاهد،

ساواکي



تلنگر ميخورد...



سنگ قبر های شکسته


III

بهاران خجسته باد



آزادي


شیما کلباسی


Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Political Prisoners are on hunger strike in Iran.

Jaafar Eghdami, Mehrdad Lohrasbi, Farzad Hamidi, Bina Darab Zand, Hojjat Zamani and Arjang Davoudi are on hunger strike since January 24th calling on officials to observe prison rules and separate political prisoners from others. All were arrested in connection with the recent student movements in Iran and have been sentenced to long prison sentences.

for more please go to http://www.iranian.com/BTW/2005/February/HungerStrike.pdf

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روز جمعه دانشگاه ی یل تو مراسم افتتاحیه سازمانی که توسط دکتر رامین احمدی و خانم رویا حکاکیان و آقای اخوان پایه گذاری شده و به موارد نقض حقوق بشر رسیدگی میکند، دعوت داشتم. با اینکه خیلی دلم میخواست شرکت کنم به علت تب و بیماری نتونستم.

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دختر کوچولو با دهن پر از غذا: ا ا ا ا ام

شیما: چی میگی؟؟

دختر کوچولو هنوز با دهن پر از غذا: اااااااام

شیما: غذا تو بخور بعد بگو چی میگی

دختر کوچولو غذا شو قورت میده: میگم عاشگتم مانی


همونطور که معرف حضور شما هست "پ"، همسر عزیزم علاقه وافری به جارو کردن داره و روز به روز به تعداد جاروهای خونه ما اضافه میشه... توی فروشگاه از قسمت لوازم خونه که رد می شویم چنان به جاروها به چشم خریداری نگاه می کنه که مجبورم دستشو بگیرم و به زور از اون قسمت دور کنم...

قبلا گفته بودم که "پ" دارای دکترای ریاضی کاربردی، فوق لیسانس رشته الکترونیک ودارای مدرک ام.بی.ای (فکر کنم می شه فوق لیسانس مدیریت بازرگانی) از دانشگاه های دانمارک و آمریکاست و در حال حاضر به عنوان محقق روی یک سری پروژه های ... اینجا کار میکنه... ولی علاقه اش به هوش مصنوعی، ریاضی و جارو اونو به فکر انداخته که شاید بد نباشه یه جارویی درست کنه که از همه جاروهای تو بازار بهتر، کاملتر، سبکتر و باهوشتر باشه...


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خیلی دلم برات تنگ شده، زن... کجا رفتی... خسته نشدی از اینهمه دوری؟ 14 ماه کم نیست مردن؟


مادرم
لوند نبود
ناخنهایش را لاک نمی زد
لبهایش قرمزنبود
منتطر شاهزاده اسب سوار نشد
و مثل زنهای همسالش 20 سالگی شوهر نکرد

مادرم
درسخوان بود
مستقل بود
محتاج مردش
و سیاست باز نبود


مادرم اما... مرد

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

امروز تبم 39 درجه هست و در حال خوردن آنتی بیوتیکم. پ عزیزم زودتر آمد خونه تا مواظبم باشه به در و دیوار نخورم. دختر شیطونم هم هی میاد سراغم... میگم مانی مریضه عزیزم... میره تو بغل باباش گریه می کنه... دختر کوچولو تا حالا ندیده مانیش اونو از خودش دور کنه...