A) Mr. Sergei Etonhurst or whatever his real name is have all his facts wrong. Sergei starts his attacks by first claiming that he is "hardly a supporter nor an apologist of the Islamic regime". Reading through his piece makes it evident though that he has decided to be untrue to his readers at the get-go: he seems to be both an apologist and a supporter of the Iranian regime. As silly as it is to get into the legalese of Iranian regime's actions as far as its nuclear ambitions are concerned (a path that Sergei has chosen), I should remind him that the Iranian regime had kept Natanz and Arak facilities hidden from international surveillance in direct defiance of the IAEA rules. The regime admitted to their existence only after revelations by an opposition group. Countries like Israel or India never signed the non-proliferation treaty. This means among others that they are not eligible to any help from other signatories of the treaty as far as developing nuclear infrastructure is concerned. Iran is a signatory. You cannot sign a treaty that makes you eligible to its benefits at the same time as hiding facilities such as Natanz and Arak, admitting that they exist only after you are busted! Please go and have your facts straight. Read Hasan Rohani's (regime's former chief nuclear negotiator) memoir. Your knowledge seems to be limited to what you hear from your drunk buddies during your weekend bar-hopping trips.

B) Sounds like that a tiny dose of facts has turned Mr. Etonhurst to Mr. Etonburst. Etonburst again chooses the path of stupid legalese to defend regime's "rights" (that Natanz and Arak were infractions not violations), missing the whole point in the process. Mr. burst may be an Iranian agent turning into a Sergei to hide his/her true identity. If he is indeed a Sergei (meaning that he is not an Iranian), I advise him to hold his breath when talking about apartheid at the same time as defending the "legal" rights of a regime which has established the biggest apartheid system in the world based on gender and adherence to its backward ideology. And again if he is a true Sergei he most likely doesn't understand that there are Iranians in this world who care about their country more than Sergei's of the world hate Bush or Israel. To me it is about well-being and security of the Iranian people who have to see their potentially rich and cultured nation impoverished, threatened, and oppressed as a bunch of mad men pursue nuclear ambitions. To Sergei's of this world, on the other hand, the rights of Iranian people are subordinate to hatred of US and Israel. Sergei's of the world have to silence all voices they suspect may play into the hands of the Bush administration or Israel. Go and play your stupid anti-American anti-Israeli game somewhere else.

  

 

More than five hundred Iranian Azaris have been arrested or disappeared in the past week.

اخبار روز: معترضین ترک آذربایجان در شهرهای تبریز، اورمیه، نقده، مرند، زنجان، اردبیل، میاندوآب در سالگرد اعتراضات خرداد ۱۳۸۵ بار دیگر توسط نیروهای از پیش آماده رژیم جمهوری اسلامی ایران به شدت مورد حمله قرار گرفتند. تعداد افراد بازداشت شده و همچنین فعالانی که ناپدید شده اند به بیش از ۵۰۰ نفر می رسد.

  

 

Down the memory lanes, on which
you've strolled since ages past
They will end if you walk farther a step or two
Where exits the turn towards the wilderness of forgetfulness
beyond which, there isn't any Me, nor any You
My eyes hold their breath, for any moment you
may turn back, move ahead, or at least turn to look back

-- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

  

 

اگر " رادیو و تلویزیون ایران" بخواهد/ بتواند تاریخچه ی تاسیس و پیشرفت خود را در داخل و خارج از کشور اززبان یک راوی که خود دانای کل این قصه است، بدون سانسور برای شما تعریف کند، و اگر شما بتوانید بخشی از این قصه باشید و در هر کجای قصه هر چه می خواهید از راوی بپرسید،بیشتر به چه سوال هایی فکر خواهید کرد؟ سوال ها می توانند درباره ی خود رسانه باشند یا برنامه ها و شخصیت های رسانه ای، تاثیر شرایط اجتماعی و سیاسی جامعه بر برنامه ها، سانسور حکومتی و غیر حکومتی، و یا هر آنچه که ممکن است برای شما مهم/جالب باشد. پروژه ای در حال شکل گیری است برای انتقال قدری حقیقت به بخشی از تاریخ فرهنگی سرزمینمان که شوربختانه دارد بدجوری تحریف می شود. شرکت شما در این مهم، می تواند از تعریف تاریخ این دوره از زندگی ما و سرزمینمان آنچنان که در روزنامه ی" کیهان " نوشته می شود، جلوگیری کند. لطفا سوال هایی را که به نظرتان می رسد، به این نشانی ایمیل کنید و در شکل گیری این طرح شریک باشید:
zandian@sbcglobal.net

  

 

Mansour Osanlou, the public transport union chief is sentenced to five years in prison

اخبار روز: شعبه ۱۴ دادگاه انقلاب تهران، منصور اسالو، رییس هیأت مدیره سندیکای شرکت واحد را به تحمل پنج سال حبس تعزیری محکوم کرد. اسالو به اتهام «اقدام علیه امنیت ملی» به تحمل چهار سال حبس و بابت اتهام «تبلیغ علیه نظام» به تحمل یک سال حبس و در مجموع به تحمل پنج سال حبس تعزیری محکوم شده است.

  

 

IS CIA supporting Talibansists in IRAN?

abcnews: "As earlier reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the United States has supported and encouraged an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, that has conducted deadly raids inside Iran from bases on the rugged Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan "tri-border region." U.S. officials deny any "direct funding" of Jundullah groups but say the leader of Jundullah was in regular contact with U.S. officials."

CIA is on the verge of making another mistake. This time it’s called Jundullah. For those of you who don’t know the name let me tell you one thing. This name means Taleban! This is no way to support democracy in Iran!

آیا سی آی ای (سیا) در حال تکرار اشتباه تازه ایست؟ جندالله نام گروه مقاومت بلوچ است یا نام یک طالبان دیگر؟ برای تحت فشار قرار دادن رژیم جمهوری اسلامی نباید به هر حریه ای متوسل شد. این از چاله به چاه افتادن است. جندالله به ارمغان آورنده دمکراسی برای ایران نیست!!

  

 

مدتی پیش آقای علی مسعودی نیا مصاحبه ای با من انجام داد که اینجا قابل خواندن است.

علی مسعودی نیا: در صورت امکان قدری از جریان های غالب ادبی در شعر غرب صحبت کنید و بفرمایید که وضعیت شعر و مخاطب شعر در آن سوی آب ها و برای شاعران Native چگونه است؟

شیما کلباسی: جریان غالبی در شعر امروز غرب وجود ندارد. جریان های کوچکی هستند (همیشه بوده اند و خواهند بود) ولی جریان غالبی وجود ندارد. آخرین جریان بزرگ غالب سوررئالیسم بود. لتریسم که بعد آمد (و در همان فرانسه) جایگزینی محسوب نمی شد: نهضتی کوچک بود و در حد نخبه گان و نخبه گرایان. در آمریکا دهه ۶۰ و ۷۰ بود و جنبش بیت با امثال گینزبرگ و کرواک. اما آن هم تمام شد. پست مدرنیسم یا آن چه به اسم پست مدرنیسم مطرح شد هیچوقت جریان غالبی نشد (شاید به این علت که همه چیز می توانست پست مدرنیستی باشد و هیچ چیزی هم پست مدرنیستی نبود!). پست مدرنیسم بیشتر در کارهای تک و توک این و آن بود که جلوه کرد. مارتین امیس یک نمونه خوبش بود. حالا که دوره پست مدرنیسم هم تمام شده است و در غرب کسی از آن حرف نمی زند.

  

 

Dialogue Only Buys Them Time

After my recent blog post that was published on the Iranian Times I received e-mails some of which expressing their desire for a dialogue with the Iranian regime as a just cause. I am opposed to such dialogue on several grounds.

The supporters of dialogue between the US and the regime have never shown, articulated, or even tried to articulate how such dialogue would benefit the Iranian people. Attempts of this kind have been at best limited to vague references to change in countries where the US had diplomatic presence. Moreover, the crimes committed by the regime make any such dialogue unconscionable in my opinion.

I am opposed to dialogue with the regime because I find it incapable of addressing the fundamental issues that underlie the Iranian normalcy crisis in the past 28 years. The only thing that dialogue will accomplish is buying mullahs more time, especially giving them the best opportunity to pursue their nuclear ambitions. The futility of dialogue was once proved in early 90’s where EU’s “critical dialogue” with the regime was terminated following the Mikonos verdict in Germany. As a matter of fact regime took advantage of this “dialogue” to consolidate its power through mass assassination and jailing of dissidents, writers, and intellectuals inside and outside Iran. This period also coincided with growing divide between the rich and the poor which brought nearly half of the population below the poverty line. Inhumane punishments and human right abuses continued unabated. “Critical dialogue” turned out to be nothing but a code word for Europe’s shortsighted interests in dealing with a murderous regime in Tehran. Is this the type of dialogue that the supporters of dialogue between the US and the regime are looking for?

I am also opposed to dialogue with the regime because I find it unconscionable. The “moral equivalence” camp on the other hand argues that since the sum of the evil around the world is equal to the evil of the regime, this regime is only as bad as the rest of the world. This makes the dialogue morally unobjectionable in their eyes. The moral equivalence argument typically goes by breaking down regime’s crimes into pieces, finding a match (close or remote) to each piece somewhere in the world to draw its absurd conclusion. Let me sum up some of the crimes of this regime for those who need to be reminded.

One warm summer day in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini who at the time was the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic wrote a letter to three of his confidants (the so-called committee of three) ordering them to "clean up" the Iranian prisons as the war between Iran and Iraq was drawing to an end. In plain words, Khomeini left it to the discretion of the three clerics to order the execution of any political prisoner who was not "converted". The committee ordered execution of prisoners based on their answers to a couple of questions such as whether the person did his/her daily prayers or whether they still believed in their cause. Meat trucks carried the bodies of the executed prisoners at dawn to a place that was later named "the cursed-land" by regime thugs. The bodies of the executed prisoners were buried in mass graves in the "cursed-land". Thousands are believed to have been executed in this way. Many of those prisoners had done their sentences and were awaiting release.

It is not clear how many people have been stoned to death in Iran because the regime is particularly tight lipped about this style of execution. The number is large, at least tens, and according to some accounts, the regime judiciary has ordered and carried out the stoning of more than 1000 people. The "crimes" that justify this cruel and barbaric punishment under the regime's "justice" code range from acting in home-made porno movies to accusation of adultery. Soraya M. whose hours before stoning has been portrayed in a book entitled "The Stoning of Soraya M." was accused of adultery because she was cooking for a male family friend. The punishment is carried out by first giving the inmate a "dead wash" (ghosl-e-meyet) in early morning hours before being taken him/her to the killing field where he/she is buried up to the neck/chest. The size of stones is DELIBERATELY chosen in such a way that they don't kill the inmate immediately but rather prolong the suffering for at least 15 minutes, delivering an excruciating death. It is very common that the condemned is alive and aware when their eyes pop out as the mob is carrying out the execution. Stoning is typically overseen by the ordering cleric. Although the barbaric act of stoning may rarely happen elsewhere in the world, this form of punishment is specifically sanctioned by regime's "justice" code, unlike in other places where the act is more of a mob-revenge nature.

Atefeh was only 16 years old when she was arrested because of immoral acts. According to some accounts, she had an affair with some members of the moral police and they asked for her execution to preserve their "honor" and "reputation". During the hearings, Atefeh became momentarily upset and took off her clothes in protest. Shortly after, her execution was ordered and carried out personally by the mullah judge in public. Even the executioner refused to carry out the sentence and plead for reversal.

Several years ago a woman was accused of looking at nude males. Her blinding was ordered by a mullah judge. The wrists and fingers of people accused of theft are cut IN PUBLIC. Hundreds of people are executed by hanging IN PUBLIC every year.

In 2005, a cleric shot and killed a young man in broad daylight in Tehran-Karaj metro. The young man was apparently "hitting on" a girl in the metro. According to regime's laws, clerics can be tried only by a special tribunal, which of and by its own is a clear example of an apartheid judicial system. The cleric was later acquitted and released.

Hundreds of dissidents were killed in exile by regime's agents. The preferred method of killing was slashing throats. Some of these dissidents were lured to meeting with regime's agents by the promise of finding a peaceful political settlement. In 1997, a German court named regimes' top leaders in ordering the assassination of several Kurdish dissidents in Mykonos restaurant in Germany. In addition to all these human right abuses, the regime has brought economic misery on a massive scale to the Iranian population. Nearly half of Iranians live under the poverty line. It is estimated that one in every 18 Iranians is addicted to illicit drugs. Scores of young Iranian women are sold in Pakistan and the Persian Gulf states as sex slaves. Despite its oil riches, Iran imports nearly 40% of its gasoline domestic consumption.

Finally, in regards to Dr. Haleh Esfandiari it should be noted that I was one of the first Iranian bloggers who posted a piece and brought attention to the danger of her being accused of apostasy in an article published by Keyhan. Despite my opposition to what Dr. Esfandiari has been working hard to promote, I believe we should all join forces to seek safe return not only for her but for all those detained against their will by the regime. My piece tried to show the futility of calls for dialogue with a regime which cannot even tolerate Dr. Esfandiari’s of this world.

Giving the benefit of doubt has always been my shining light. I want to believe that the supporters of dialogue are truly fearful of an imminent attack on Iran. Let me tell you what I am fearful of. As the game of cat and mouse is being played; as the mullahs take advantage of diplomatic signals and flirtations to buy time pursuing the bomb; and as the US fails to stabilize Iraq, an unholy alliance of regional Arab powers begin investing heavily in creating local insurgencies among ethnic minorities with tacit or direct support from the US. The regime has time and time proved its strategic foolishness and tactical genius. This time strategic foolishness may lead to Iran’s disintegration.

  

 

IRAN





via this blog

  

 

روشنگری: اما "نجات" هيچ نگفت، گريه نکرد، التماس نکرد، پرخاش نکرد، تقاضای بخشش نکرد. او آرام نگاه کرد تا پدر گورش را بکند، آرام در گور فرو رفت تا پدر بر او آنقدر خاک بريزد که ديگر نفس نکشد، نگاه نکند، حس نکند، فکر نکند، "شرمنده" نباشد، لکه ای بر "ناموس" پدر نباشد، نيست شود، نابود شود، ديگر نباشد...

Nejat was buried alive by her father. She didn't cry or scream but asked her father (her killer) to take care of her child.

  

 

Iran is an ethnically diverse state and I don’t see with every thing that is happening under the current Iranian regime how it will survive as a nation within the next three to four years! Just today more than 15 Iranian Azeri have been arrested in Tabriz.

  

 

The security forces of the Iranian regime have commited yet another crime. The photo and link was sent by a friend in Europe.

درگيري خونين پليس با زنان

  

 

اصغر آقا: حضور با شکوه ابراهيم گلستان در دانشگاه استنفورد آمريکا (همانجائي که من هم سه ماه پيش حضور داشتم ولي به اين باشکوهي نبود!) فرصتي بود تا بخشي از دوستاران اين اعجوبه فيلمسازي و قصه‌نويسي ايران، او را از نزديک ببينند.آنچه حاضران مجلس متفقاً تشنه‌ي شنيدنش بودند نکاتي درباره‌ي زندگي فروغ فرخزاد بود اما گلستان با اين عذر که فروغ «شاعر» است و اين جلسه راجع به شعر نيست، بار ديگر از حرف زدن درباره‌ي فروغ طفره رفت.ياد شاعري افتادم که چندسال پيش در همين لندن با شاعره‌اي روي‌هم ريخته بود و چيزي نمانده بود که رختخوابش را بياورد وسط خيابان آکسفورد پهن کند که ايهاالناس، بدانيد و آگاه باشيد که من با اين خانم رابطه دارم، شاهدش اين شعري که ديشب گفته‌ام و اين‌هم شعري که امروز صبح گفته‌ام و امشب هم حدود ساعت يازده‌و نيم که دستم خالي شود يک شعر ديگر ميگويم!لابد اگر يارو هم در اين جلسه‌ي دانشگاهي حضور ميداشت، دست بلند ميکرد که حالا که آقاي گلستان از فروغ نميگويد اجازه بدهيد من در باره‌ي آخرين شبي که ......گلستان را که آدم مي‌بيند، حقارت اين آدم و لچري اينجور آدم‌ها بيشتر توي ذوقش ميزند. گلستان فروغ را «بزرگ» کرد و تولدي ديگرش داد .... اما هرگز حرفي از فروغ نزد تا مبادا از دوستي‌اش با فروغ نقلي به ميان آورد. بي‌انصاف هي!

  

 

After several days and a mammogram that left me anxiously waiting for the result... I finally have received the good news that I am fine. The radiologist had told me something is showing in my breasts and I have to wait for 10-14 days before I know but they called and said everything is fine. Anyway... the little girl had another reading at home and this time she said it’s a story and not a poem.

Today’s story

I really love you mom. You are pretty and thoughtful. I really want to kiss you and hug you a lot. Ah, thank you mom… put your hands up and touch the sky… I love my mom.You are the kisses of my life. Your heart is beautiful… daddy I really love you… you are so much kissing me that I can’t hug you… This last story is my love of my mom. I really want to have you forever mom.

  

 

Iraq Stoning Death Investigation

CNN's Brian Todd looks at what's being done to investigate the stoning death of a 17-year old Iraqi girl in an apparent 'honor killing'. This is Middle East.

چهار نفر از قاتلین دعا دستگیر شده اند.

  

 

صنم دولتشاهی: "بعد از خوندن و دیدن و شنیدن درباره اون دهه و جنایت های مشابه، حداقل می تونم درک کنم این حس ها از کجا می یاد. نه اینکه قبول کنم، که همونطوری که گفتم حتی یک روز زندانی کشیدن به ناحق غیر انسانی هست و باید بهش اعتراض کرد و هیچ هم مسخره نیست، اما فقط حالا می تونم درک کنم که ریشه این نفرت ها و تمسخرها و عصبانیت ها تو چیه. و خب اون شکاف بین نسل ها، بین فعالان داخل ایران و بعضی از اعضای اپوزسیون خارج از ایران به خاطر این تاریخچه هینطور عمیق و عمیق تر می شه. دیگه تعجبی نداره برام که چرا خیلی از فعالان سیاسی خارج از ایران انتخابات رو تحریم کردن و اونقدر از دست ماهایی که طرفدار شرکت در انتخاباتیم عصبانی بودن (هر چند که هنوز اعتقاد دارم تحریم انتخابات کار خیلی اشتباهی بود.) دیگه برام تعجبی نداره اگه خیلی از این افراد حرف از اصلاحات درون سیستم ایران رو اینقدر بد می دونن و استدلال می کنن که تو "رژیم جانی ها" اصلاحات غیر ممکنه."

برای صنم نوشتم این مطلب اخیرش برام خیلی جالبه اما عجیبه از این نظر که مگه ضروریه که به نسل گذشته تعلق داشته باشیم تا جنایات رژیم رو ببینیم... بعد دیدم دختر همسایه یادآوری کرده که: "من هنوز هم از این نوشته ها تعجب میکنم انگار که این همه خاطرات از زندانیها و کسانی که تعدادشون هم کم نیست رو تا بحال سرسری خونده باشی و ازشون آسون گذشته باشی من نمیفهمم .....شاید به دلیل اینکه سالها از این جریان گذشته شاید همونطور که من به جریان سالهای مصدق نگاه میکنم (خیلی مبهم و اینکه دیگر باید از این سالها گذشت ....نه زمان زمان مصدق است و نه دیگر بدرد میخورد که آدم وقت بذاره) تو هم به جریانات سالهای ۶۰ نگاه میکنی اما تعجب من این است که این حکومت هنوز که هنوزه مشغول به کارهاش هست زهرا کاظمی رو میشناسی اکبر محمدی و تمام کسانی که در ذهن من اسمشون الان نیست اما یادشون هست "

  

 

چشمان بیدار: جامعه ای تا به این حد مردپسند و مردسالار، عمیقاً همجنسگرا هم هست و واقعیت دیگر این که چنین جامعه ای زن را فقط برای خدمات منزل و تولید مثل می خواهد و گفت و شنود و نشست و برخاست و تصمیم گیری ها همه توسط مردان و برای مردان است. در چنین فضایی نمایش و تظاهر به اوج می رسد و مردان برای تظاهر به مردانگی و نمایش رجولیت خود نمایش زنباره بودن را در می آورند و چون نمایش است و هیچ انتخاب و کشش واقعی و انسانی یی وجود ندارد از هیچ موجود ماده ای نمی گذرند. در این فضاست که هموفوبیا یا ترس از همجنسگرایی باعث می شود فرهنگ مردسالار با همجنسگرایان واقعی رفتاری تحقیرآمیز و خشونت آمیز داشته باشد. گاهی همجنسگرایان را چه زن و چه مرد مورد تجاوز قرار می دهند چرا که گمان می برند اگر...

  

 

گزارشگران: يك دختر 12 ساله بلوچ به نام رويا ساراني كه از محل امتحانات براي مدرسه راهنمايي عازم منزلش بود توسط رگبار گلوله هاي عمدي و ناجوانمردانه مامورين انتظامي در مقابل منزلش بطرز فجيعي كشته شد. مامورین انتظامی رژیم در زاهدان که جهت تیراندازی به سوی بلوچها "تام الااختیار" هستند.

َA 12 year old Iranian Baluch girl, Roya Sarani, was shot and killed by the security forces of the Iranian regime.

  

 

Why is it that we only hear of peace loving Iranians --who apparently don’t believe in a democracy where an actual peace can prosper-- when Israeli tanks are responsible for killing of innocent Palestinians yet the same group of Iranians, and the so called Liberal media are mute about the civil war that is going on right now in Palestine, but this time they are killing each-other and there is no coverage of that... just yesterday 8 people died.

  

 

Tinoush Moulaei completely misses the point I try to raise. My argument is as much about futility of engaging the Iranian regime as much it is about questioning the morality of such engagement. Almost half of Mr. Moulaei’s response circles around the old argument that since the sum of the evil around the world is equal to the evil of the regime, this regime is only as bad as the rest of the world! This is absurd.

The people who encourage dialogue with the regime have never cared to explain clearly and specifically what exactly such dialogue will accomplish and why. It seems as if dialogue with the regime is an end by itself. This is another absurd argument. As a matter of fact, the recent history has shown that engaging the Islamic regime in dialogue has had dire consequences for the Iranian people. Under the presidency of Rafsanjani, the era that led to widespread poverty and corruption, unprecedented rich-poor divide, and killings of dissidents, Europe was busy calling its shortsighted trade deals with mullahs “critical dialogue”. On the contrary, the regime responded to the crisis in its ties with EU following Mikonos trial by bringing Khatami to the stage.

There is no evidence to suggest that engaging the regime diplomatically will even achieve specific foreign policy goals let alone helping Iranian people find their place among civilized nations again. As a matter of fact everything points to the contrary. The regime does indeed respond to the threat of force and the reason for its recent defiant moves is that no one takes US threat of force seriously anymore because of the Iraq quagmire.

Dr. Houshang Amirahmadi, a prominent advocate of Iran-US relations, once wrote Iran’s biggest crisis in the past 30 years has been the “crisis of normalcy”. I agree. He then goes on to suggest that resumption of ties with US somehow magically solves Iran’s normalcy crisis. I disagree. The proposed “solution” of this group has its roots in exactly what they criticize about some Iranian exile groups because of their US-centric outlook. Iran’s “crisis of normalcy” was not originated by the US and will not be terminated by US. You can’t be talking about normalcy in a country ruled by a regime that is anything but normal.

  

 

Mass executions in Baluchistan by the Islamic Republic of Iran

Balochistan Peoples Front: "Following the Amnesty International's appeal for saving the lives of 700 Baluch who had received death sentences from the Supreme Court of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran decided to transfer the innocent Baluch people to other cities of Iran and execute them without releasing their identities."

  

 

Islamberg

canadafreepress: Islamberg is a branch of Muslims of the Americas Inc., a tax-exempt organization formed in 1980 by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, who refers to himself as "the sixth Sultan Ul Faqr," Gilani, has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra or "community of the impoverished," an organization that seeks to "purify" Islam through violence.

  

 

Save Dr. Haleh Esfandiari
The difference between some one like Haleh Esfandiari and I, Sheema Kalbasi, is that I see the Iranian regime as a group of people who have committed and continue to commit horrendous crimes against humanity. People like Dr. Esfandiari -- who I hope will return to the U.S. safe and sound especially since Keyhan has accused her of apostasy-- do support a dialogue with the Iranian regime. I like to know why Ms. Esfandiari’s husband is devastated over his wife’s arrest and why he doesn’t try to engage in a dialogue with the Iranian regime. Why Shaul Bakhash goes on BBC to confirm that Esfandiari is still a Muslim. After all Ms. Esfandiari and people like her insist on engaging in a dialogue with the Iranian regime. So what if she is accused of apostasy! So what if women and men are stoned to death in Iran! So what if political activists and Bahaies are arrested and executed and the Bahai graveyards are destroyed, and they are not even allowed to bury their dead in adherence to their religious tradition. So what if Kurds are murdered and their dead body are shown throughout the town to teach a lesson! So what if Iranian women have no right to their children after divorce! So what if Iranian women don’t have equal opportunities, and so what if women activists, workers, and teachers are arrested! So what if intellectuals have been murdered and bloggers are arrested! So what if minors are hanged or are on death row in Iran. So what if homosexuals and bisexuals are arrested and sometimes executed. Iranian regime is a regime that one can engage in a dialogue with. I am sure once Dr. Esfandiari is back in the U.S. she will continue to work with her boss and this time her words and work will have more legitimacy since she will be that victim of the Iranian regime her self!! For people who have lost nothing and/or their countrymen and women’s arrests and executions has not influenced and effected their lives the Iranian regime is surly legitimize enough to engage in a talk with. They tend to show Ahmadinejad is the worst case Iran has ever had during the years Iran has been occupied by the regime. Let us not forget the Iranian regime is not a product of president Ahmadinejad. The Iranian regime has been in power for almost thirty years and Ahmadinejad is the product of this regime. I may be buying a lot of junk and a lot of junk may sit on my figure but this junk regarding Ahmadinejad just doesn’t fit and sit right with me!! And let us thank the democratic candidate Ms. Clinton for bringing attention to Haleh’s case! I hope she will not forget the Iranian regime’s problem with Dr. Esfandiari is not her duel citizenship!

  

 

Abbas Marufi the renowned Iranian author has written the most absurd comments about homosexuals. Sadly he seems to belong to the group of people who find homosexuals a threat to the family pyramid. Probably the penguins, the recent favorite topic in the Iranian media and amongst homophobic people, will lead us to our next cultural revolution.

  

 

Happy Mother’s Day

The little girl has bought me the biggest orange ring one can find in a Target store and I love it. Interestingly and ever since I have taken the little girl to my readings her poetry has grown past her drawing lines. Now she has readings at home. She said her first poem when she was two and a half or three but here is her latest:

Once upon a time there was a moon and a sun
The sun came up and the noon was high
Then the moon came up and the cat said bye.

The trees are high but wait a minute
The kids dancing around the apple tree are hungry
Then to have a treat they called their mommy
The kids laugh and cheered and then they had apple and had no more tear
Daam daraam daaraam hey hey…

After each of her pretend poetry readings and so that she will not end up only a poet her dad tells her go bring your math book to teach her probability.

  

 

Haleh Esfandiari is a case to watch and read closely. Apostasy in Islam is punishable by death. According to a recent article Haleh Esfandiari is an ex-Muslim. Keyhan claims she converted to Judaism after marring Shaul Bakhash, a Zionist. This means the Iranian regime can put Haleh Esfandiari to death because of converting. On a side note Shariatmadari himself is a Jewish converter to Islam and it is commonly reported that his siblings in France are strong supporters of the Zionist movement.

  

 

به هاجر سليمي نمين

مهرانگیز کار:" راستي که دنياي عجيبي است. چرا قرعه به نام تو افتاد؟ چرا تو سوژه رنج نامه من شدي؟ تو که گناهي نکرده اي. اما نام خودت و پدرت مثل نيشتر بر زخم هاي من و دخترانم فرو رفت. جراحات بيرون آمد. از خود بي خود شديم و من به آنها قول دادم برايت بنويسم که خشت کج را معمار کج انديش نهاده است. پدر بزرگوارت و همکاران او چيزي به نام آبرو و حيثيت براي اهل هنر و عمل اين کشور باقي نگذاشته اند. اينک تو را بهانه کرده اند و مي خواهند زير پوشش طرفداري از تو جمع بزرگي از اساتيد فرهيخته دانشگاه و دانشجويان غيور ايراني را تار و مار کنند.اي کاش آنقدر در خود توانايي سراغ داشته باشي که مغلوب شان نشوي. شريک معصيتشان نشوي. همدردي آنها را باور نکن. کساني که به جمع بزرگ ايرانيان درس خوانده رحم نکرده اند، دربند حقوق تو نيستند."

  

 

a friend sent me this last night... and this one was sent by another friend... let us not forget how women are treated by the Iranian regime...

the photo's sent by this blogger friend.

  

 

O poverty, thou hast made me great.
Thou hast made me honoured like Christ
With his crown of thorns. Thou hast given me
Courage to reveal all. To thee I owe
My insolent, naked eyes and sharp tongue.
Thy curse has turned my violin to a sword...
O proud saint, thy terrible fire
Has rendered my heaven barren.
O my child, my darling one
I could not give thee even a drop of milk
No right have I to rejoice.
Poverty weeps within my doors forever
As my spouse and my child.
Who will play the flute?

Kazi Nazrul Islam ( Bengali poet)

  

 

نانا: متاسفانه هنگامی که انسان در لوای یک دیکتاتوری زندگی میکندآن هم از نوعی که شما را اسیر کرده ...اغلب تصور درستی از مردمان اطرافش ندارد و نا امید است.

  

 

IRAN: Tehran Jails Iranian American Scholar After Long House Arrest

Esfandiari, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen who has lived in the United States for more than a quarter-century, has been under virtual house arrest since December, when the government refused to allow her to leave Iran after visiting her 93-year-old mother. Since then, she has been summoned repeatedly for interrogations by intelligence officials about U.S. programs on Iran. In particular, she was questioned about Iran programs at the Wilson Center, one of Washington's most prominent foreign policy think tanks.

  

 

I am in love with light and do not fear the dark;
If I don't regret sin, I don't boast of sinning either.
Yesterday a seed, today a flower, tomorrow I'll turn to dust;
I am a gust of wind blowing over the desert garden –
Now, a breeze, now rain, at times I sear in flames,
But I move ever onwards –
I'll be lost if I stand still...

Ghani Khan (Pashto poet)

  

 

weforchange: Zeinab Peyqambarzadeh Remains in Prison, Courts Refuse to Accept Bail

  

 

PRISONER OF TEHRAN


Marina Nemat was arrested on January 15, 1982, at about nine o'clock at night. She was sixteen. A prison guard named Ali had fallen in love with Nemat and used his father's connection to the Ayatollah to commute her sentence to life in prison. Threatening to harm her family and friends, he forced Nemat — a Christian — to marry him and convert to Islam."

  

 

P (my hubby): if something happens that concerns you... call 911. Do you know how to call them?
Our little girl: Yes. Mom has shown me how to dial 911. Dad? The flush in my toilet doesn't work. It concerns me. Should I call them?
P: NOO! Only if there is danger or there is been an accident or fire or things like that you should call them.

  

 

Iranian People's Blood Money

I read this: “Mianeh aims to fully respect and support the identity, national sovereignty and the constitution of the Islamic Republic throughout” and my immediate reaction is well I guess what they mean is they fully support Iranian political activists being executed, they fully support Iranian women being treated as second citizens, they fully support the religious apartheid in Iran. I e-mailed and told them what I think of them!

  

 

Wake! And arrive, O darling,

I have the Tavern prepared within.

A cup of wine and a feast

And for you I have clad in bliss

This many I have crafted

From my heart and my dream.

Mahasti Ganjavi (XIth century)
The Seven Valleys of Love, the Bilingual Anthology of Women Poets from the Middle Ages Persia to the Present Time Iran

  

 

Du’a Khalil Aswad, aged about 17, who was stoned to death

دعا دختر 17 ساله ای که در کردستان عراق سنگسار و لگد کوب شد تا جان داد و مرد

شادی امین: راستی هنوز جوابم را ندادید، مادر و خواهرانم، خاله و عمه و زنان همسایه کجا بودند؟ قابله ای که 17 سال پیش مرا به جهان راهنمایی کرد و دعا نام نهاد، کجا بود؟ مگر اینان نمیدانستند که آنروز قرار است من به خاطر عشقی که از نظر این مردان ممنوع بود، سنگسار و لگد کوب شوم تا مبادا دیگران هم یاد بگیرند و کم کم قدرت مطلق اینان شکاف بردارد؟
اما خواهر و مادر و ... آنها کجا بودند؟

  

 

خبرگزاری میراث فرهنگی: از ديگر مزاياي كتاب شيما كلباسي مي توان به تصميم او در آوردن اشعار شاعران كمتر شناخته شده در جهان در كنار اشعار شاعران مشهوري نظير "فروغ فرخزاد"، "سيمين بهبهاني" و "پروين اعتصامي" اشاره كرد. اين تصميم، تصميمي آرمان گرايانه و شجاعانه است. كلباسي با معرفي شاعران جديد يا كمتر شناخته شده به خوانندگان بين المللي يكي از خفقان آورترين تابوها در آنتولوژي هاي شعر را شكسته است – كه در آنها تنها شاعران مشهور و كلاسيك محبوب معرفي مي شدند – و در نتيجه افق جديدي را در معرفي صداي زنان هنرمندي كه اغلب بي هيچ عذري با تبعيض گذاري جنسيتي يا فرهنگ نخبه گراي ايران و همچنين جهان انگليسي زبان مردود دانسته مي شدند، گشوده است.

  

 

Middle East: Stop “honour” killings, Stop Stoning

I have been meaning to post this on my blog for the past several days. It shows the stoning of Doa, the Iraqi girl. She is said to have been a Muslim and in love with a devil worshiper (or the other way around). After I watched it I couldn't move. I wrote to my friend Parham who had send me the link that I don't know what to do and how to react. He had felt the same after watching it.

Related: Amnesty International is appalled by the killing of Du’a Khalil Aswad, aged about 17, who was stoned to death on or around 7 April 2007 for a so-called honour crime. A member of Iraq’s Yezidi religious minority from the village of Bahzan in northern Iraq, she was killed by a group of eight or nine men and in the presence of a large crowd in the town of Bashika, near the city of Mosul. Some of her relatives are said to have participated in the killing.