Middle East: as delicious as the fresh baked bread is to the hungry eyes

• Tonight while watching Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses, I thought regardless of the hardship I have experienced because of being an Iranian ... I am happy to have the word "Iran" stamped as my birthplace, to be able to speak Persian. There is something majestic and magical in being from the Middle East something like when the heart trembles with desire or love, something unknown to the rest of the world, something as delicious as the fresh baked bread is to the hungry eyes.

• A new opinion poll in Afghanistan is very revealing. 83% of Afghans say their country is moving in the right direction. 81% of Afghans view the US favorably, with 83% approving of US troop presence in-country. Meanwhile 88% have an unfavorable view of the Taliban, 82% think overthrowing them was a good thing, and (drum roll) 90% view Osama bin Laden unfavorably, with 75% of that total being "very unfavorable."

Protesting against the mistreatment of political prisoners in Iran

"Political prisoners in Iran live in the worst of conditions. Many of them have lost function in parts of their bodies as a result of the medieval tortures. The prisoners are constantly harassed, their cells raided and their belongings are looted regularly. Many political prisoners are kept in solitary confinements for prolonged periods. The Iranian government accepts no responsibility to provide food, medical care and even security for the lives of the political prisoners. Political prisoners Afshin Baimani, Valiyollah Feyz-Mahdavi, Amir Hossein Heshmat Saran, Arjan g Davoodi, Yaser Majidi, Heydar Noroozi, Hojjat Zamani, Asad Shaghaghi, Behrooz Javid Tehrani, Mehrdad Lohrasbi and Alireza Karam Kheyrabadi have gone on hunger strike to protest the inhumane treatment of the political prisoners in Iran and demand an inspection of the prisons in Iran by an International Committee."

Please sign this petition.

مادرانه ها

دختر جون بیا اسباب بازیهات رو جمع کن. کتابهات رو بگذار سر جاشون که ببرمت مهدکودک
دختر کوچولو: ببخش مانی! اما من الان دارم مگزین نگاه می کنم.
شیما: به فارسی می شه مجله. مجله ات رو نگاه کن بیا کمک کن وسایلت رو بگذاریم سرجاشون
دختر کوچولو: تا پنج دقیقه دیگه...
ورق... ورق... ورق... من این کتاب رو دارم. خوب مانی حالا اومدم.
این ساعت من شکسته باید بندازم دور
شیما: نه عزیزم بنداز تو این جعبه. چیزایی که سالمند ولی نمی خوای رو بنداز اینجا تا جمع بشن بعد یک فکری واسه اشون می کنیم. این رو هم بگذار اونجا (اشاره به یکی از هزار کتاب سیندرلا و شاهزاده خانوم و اسب بالدار)
دختر: ولی مانی، ببخش این برای من سنگینه من نمی تونم بگذارم سرجاش.

چند دقیقه بعد دختر کوچولو دوچرخه اش را کشان کشان داره می کشه و می بره
شیما: جل الخالق!