When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right. -Victor Hugo 

Dorothy Canfield Fisher says: A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.

Today at 5:45 A.M. Denmark time my mother passed away.

What a black day it is for me mother.

I called Maman at 6.a.m. today. Dad took the phone and said she is in a coma now.

I do not see Iranian women and men as an illiterate bunch that must be lured into being civilized. I believe that the current generation is much smarter than that. We need clarity and transparency more than anything else. I believe the society's overwhelming desire is to move towards a secular democracy. We need thought leaders that would show us how, rather than tell us how.

Ms. Ebadi crossed that fine line between political and human rights activism when she started making disappointing political statements some of which are mentioned in my articles or others such as encouraging people to participate in the upcoming Majlis elections, discouraging anti-government demonstrations, praising the current pathetic Majlis for being the shining star and pride of our nation, and comments you usually don't hear from The Human Rights Activists' of the world. The Majlis she praised as the honor of our nation in recent history is the same Majlis that had to shut up and suspend its amendment of the "media bill" on the orders of Rahbare Moazam (the Supreme Leader). Whenever I read a new statement, speech, or interview from Ms. Ebadi, I whisper to myself "har dam az in bagh bari miresad, taz-e-tar az taz-e-tari miresad."

By the way Mr. Moini, what are exactly the issues that I am confusing? Where is the ambiguity when Ms. Ebadi says "I would have awarded the Nobel peace prize to Mr. Khatami"? For those who have forgotten, Mr. Khatami is the same man who praised Mr. Lajevardi and called Mr. Rafsanjani the identity of the revolution. All these fellows of course belong in the same "human rights activism" camp, which explains why they praise each other! And please stay away from putting people in the same category as it pleases you. For example, I have high regards for Mehrangiz Kar's work and her secular views.


I have to reiterate from my article that if Ms. Ebadi wants to remain a human rights activist no one can or should force her to become an opposition leader. But the truth is that she is throwing her weight behind a bunch of inept political charlatans (otherwise known as "Reformists") and their proven dissembling path. It is her participation in such deceptive political game, despite her public insistence on staying away from it that opens the door to criticism. Under these circumstances, I believe it is everyone's duty to challenge her. And by the way challenging is quite different from silencing, for example silencing through personal attacks. If you find a word in my two articles in which I have personally attacked Ms. Ebadi please point that out to me. On the other hand Ms. Izzadi's response, which you apparently praise and regard so highly, is nothing BUT personal attack. As if visiting nightclubs or not living in Iran strips one of the right to speak and voice his/her opinion. Such behavior may be acceptable from someone with little exposure to the civil discourse of exchanges like this (after all we are not in a neck to neck campaign on the same political office), but it becomes far more disappointing when it comes from people who have lived years and years in the so-called free world.

Finally a human with no FEAR is no human. Of course we all have fears and emotions, some have more some have less. This is a typical example of what I call "meaningless tarofs."

Iqbal Latif: "Throwing a gauntlet like what Bush did makes it harder but it takes a very big man to do it. History has put this burden on a Texan who looked quite ordinary -- and for the left even stupid -- but he has taken this burden better than many a Sagittarius!"

I just got a beautiful card from my little girl and my husband. It goes like this:

I want to let you know how much Baba and I are happy for having you in our lives. I love you so much even the first time you brushed my teeth. And between you and me, Baba said to me he loves you even when he is washing the dishes.

At the supermarket

My 20 months old baby girl: Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Sheema: You don't have to sing it so loud, love. I am standing right here.
Baby girl singing on top of her lungs: MamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAA MamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAA
Sheema singing the rest from Bohemian Rhapsody: Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry if I'm not back again this time tomorrow.
Baby girl: Carry... carry... Mamaaaaaa (Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.)
Mamaaaaaaa
Sheema: Bayad kharidam bekonim (We have to do some shopping too!)
Baby girl: Mamaaaa
Mamaaaa... oohooooo... Cary... Cary... Mamaaaa...

I go to the porch and extend my fingers
Over the taut skin of night.
The lamps that link are dark, O so dark.
No one will introduce me to the sunlight
Or escort me
To the sparrows' gathering

Forough Farrokhzad

I sit here with my 10000 thoughts & blood starts drifting from one end of the keyboards to another. Suddenly the house is closing on me. Suddenly I can see the walls are chewing my bones. Suddenly all I want is to lose my memory and never know that of loosing my mother.

Great song by Outlandish: So sweet so beautiful.

Maman is still in hospital. We are leaving for Denmark in a few weeks. Hubby will return to the U.S. while the girl & I will stay behind for the spring.

Today on the phone

Sheema: Maman I look forward to seeing you.
Maman: I do too.

Every night before going to bed the little girl listens to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Tonight, while I was reading the news and blogs, one of the bloggers' became the center of my daughter's attention because they has posted a picture of Barney. She started calling for the Barney on his blogpost. The blogger's musical day almost turned into a musical nightmare for me until I finally found a Barney website with plenty of Barney music for her to listen to.

Maman... today is a foggy day...so foggy... that I can't see my heart's pieces hanging from my fingers. My thoughts are too loud to bear the grief... I want to make a deal with the gods...

Maman,

Ever since I opened my eyes into yours
my love for you has evenly spread in my body
like when spirits grow into humans
and become mothers and daughters...

Since my article Ayatollah Ebadi was published I received considerable number of responses. Most of them were encouraging. Some were critical of my point of view at the same time as providing well-reasoned arguments and factual references to historical events, and I value and appreciate such opposing views. There were also some angry notes and remarks published on Iranian.com. Some of those remarks are not worthy of response, for example that Ms. Ebadi was fighting in Iran while I was spending my time in nightclubs or as women we must stand behind Ms. Ebadi. Here I try to summarize and respond to some of the opposing views to the best of my ability. Am I not confusing Islamic Republic with Islam. Am I attacking Ms. Ebadi for her religious beliefs? The answer is no. As a matter of fact, the article was not an attack on Islam, Fegh, or even Islamic Republic or Ms. Ebadi's beliefs. It was an objection to Ms. Ebadi's approach to address profound social and cultural problems in Iran through reconciling Fegh with human rights. Compatibility of Islam with democracy and human rights is a hotly debated topic within religious circles. Ms. Ebadi and some renowned clerics believe Islam and human rights can be reconciled, many others don't share this view. If we listen to Friday sermons in Iran we find numerous examples of the latter group. Islamic theologians are welcome to spend years and years debating this issue and I will be very interested to follow this debate closely. While I am not in a position to participate in this debate, I have the right to demand that the fate of our nation shall not hinge upon the outcome of such debate. The history of mankind has shown that only through separation of religion and state, religion gets the dignity it deserves and the society gets the freedom it needs to foster and safeguard the so-called "marketplace of ideas." The odds that our nation suddenly discovers a new magical recipe that contradicts thousands of human experience is, realistically, slim to none. Ms. Ebadi is living and working in Iran. She cannot express her opinions freely. Am I not expecting too much? It is a rather tricky question, which also keeps me wondering. On the one hand I have to admit that she is already under so much pressure. After all she is a human being with all the emotions and fears. And in fairness to Ms. Ebadi, she didn't choose to become a Nobel Laureate. On the other hand, there are numerous examples of people shouting their conscience under much harsher conditions without enjoying a Nobel class protection. A few examples are Abbas Amir-Entezam, Akbar Ganji, Hashem Aghajari, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, Kianoush Sanjari, Ahmad Batebi, Mohammad Maleki, Manouchehr Mohammadi,... The list goes on. Each of these people has broken new grounds at the same time as having not shied away from speaking up. As a matter of fact I can point to some specific examples of people who have pursued a timid approach and have been punished more heavily (does Abdi and Poorzand ring a bell?) If Ms. Ebadi decides to continue helping women and children and represent victims, nobody can force her to do otherwise. But when she suggests a particular approach to solving Iran's profound problems, she opens the door to criticism. This is the responsibility of every one of us to challenge each other and to make the views transparent. One reader noted that my reference to Black civil rights movements was indeed an example of how change could come from within the legal system instead of being a counter-example by pointing to the role of the Warren Supreme Court. While this is certainly an interesting and productive discussion, my point was to warn against setting a discourse blindly without examining the alternatives from the wealth of experience provided by human history. Finally some readers found the title of the article provocative. This objection goes to Mr. Jahanshah Javid (Iranian.com editor) who picks the titles! All that is left to us by tradition is mere words. It is up to us to find out what they mean. -- ibn al-'Arabi, Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, in The Mystics of Islam, translated by Reynold A Nicholson Read Niloofar Beyzaie's latest article.

We, the Iranians, usually don't listen to each other. When we do we usually hear only what we want to hear. I am not sure if the crowd that praises Ms. Ebadi has ever listened to what she has to say, and if so, if they have actually heard her out. Let me make it clear that as an Iranian I am very proud to see an Iranian woman to become not only the first Iranian Nobel Laureate but also the first Muslim woman to receive this honor. But I have to admit that I am extremely disappointed by her views. In a round table with BBC, she made several disturbing remarks. First was her emphasis on the possibility of reconciling human rights with Islamic Fegh. She gave examples of the flexibility of Islamic Fegh to serve the specific needs of the society through the so-called "ahkam-e-sanaviyeh." This was given against the backdrop that "reason" is one of the sources of knowledge and wisdom in Islam. Make no mistake Ms. Ebadi. The Islamic establishment in Iran is very pragmatic in the way they handle Fegh. The only problem is that they use it as a flexible tool to serve their own goals and why not? After all they are the "supreme interpreters" of what Fegh should be about. Ms. Ebadi, what you are suggesting was institutionalized years ago through formation of the Expediency Council (which is now headed by Mr. Rafsanjani)? Recall that this council was established with the mandate to even abolish daily prayers as seen fit by the members. Somebody wrote on one of the Internet sites: "Ms. Ebadi please leave Fegh to Foghaha." Let them do their job you do yours. Second, Ms. Ebadi vehemently insists on abiding by the laws of the land. It is not clear though whether it is her belief, some sort of moral judgment, or just a convenient tactic. What if the "laws of the land" are inherently discriminatory, with no room for meaningful changes except by the approval of the discriminators (which in almost all practical situations would mean never)? Should they then be abided by? Is this Aristotelian view of the law the only alternative? Black Americans challenged Jim Crow by intentionally but peacefully breaking the segregation laws of the South. Does this make their struggle any less worthy? What about Gandhi's civil disobedience movement? What about American antiwar protesters who burned draft cards to refuse to serve in the Vietnam War? Weren't those people, speaking, or actually shouting their conscience? Isn't the over-emphasis on abiding by the law one of the biggest impediments of the reformist movement? Hasn't it been one of the leading causes of the current political stalemate? Laws that don't reflect the conscience of the society deserve no more respect than the rules set by a band of thieves. Without complete separation of religion and state we will be doomed to re-experience failures over and over. Ms. Ebadi seems to be far from acknowledging this, let alone taking any steps towards leading the society in such direction. Nevertheless, I still have some hope that the people of Iran could benefit from her standing as a Nobel Laureate but it all depends on us. Now that the honeymoon is over, we have to look at the hard facts and increase our level of expectations from her. Meaningless "tarofs" will do us no good, nor will it do justice to Ms. Ebadi. Ms. Ebadi needs our help to prove it to herself and to the world that she indeed deserved the honor. For this to happen, Ms. Ebadi should set an example of a Muslim who can be democrat and who can respect human rights not a preacher of Islamic democracy and Islamic human rights.

Conscious optimism 

The Iranian Noble Peace prizewinner, Ms. Shirin Ebadi may be an excellent choice for the future of Iran if only she uses her popularity to advocate genuine human rights and democracy for Iran as well as the Muslim world.

What would Ms. Ebadi's Nobel peace prize mean for Iran and the Iranian people struggle for democracy? It is still too early to say. So far one may understand Ms. Ebadi's position in two different ways. One is a more humane interpretation of Islam. The other is a secular interpretation; one that asserts Muslims can remain Muslims at the same time as being modern, tolerant, and democratic. The dividing line between these two interpretations is fine and delicate. The former conditions the acceptance of human rights and democracy on compatibility with Islamic law by trying to create Islamic human rights, Islamic democracy and so on; a sort of "modernity light" if you will. The latter advocates genuine human rights and democracy for the Muslim world. The former is what Soroush and the reformist camp have tried to establish for many years with absolutely no success whatsoever. The latter can bring about radical changes not only in Iran but also in the whole Middle East. Only time will show what camp Ms. Ebadi really belongs to and how she would use her influence as a Nobel laureate to shape the future of Iran and the Middle East. No matter what, now is the time for celebration. Congratulations to Ms. Ebadi for this great achievement. What would the mullahs do if the US launched an air strike at a nuclear plant in Iran? What would the Iranian people think about it? The key point in this debate is that we are dealing with an irresponsible government in Iran. The international community and the Iranian people have every right to be concerned about nuclear ambitions of the regime. This includes not only military use of nuclear technology but also peaceful use such as power production. Personally I don't want to be living anywhere near Bushehr nuclear power plant should it ever become operational because I seriously doubt that safety concerns keep mullahs and their Russian contractors awake at night! And God help us if these people ever get their hands on nuclear trigger. In the event of air strikes, I don't think Mullahs can do much other than making some noise and throwing some people in jail to consolidate their rule. People may act in many different unpredictable ways. Everything and anything is conceivable so I don't know What would the Iranian people think about it!

Parenting

There are a few rules that the baby has to follow and one of them is sleeping at 8:00 p.m. but we had pacifier-crises last night! The baby is not allowed to have her pacifier anywhere but in the bed. The baby's one and only pacifier was out of sight and her dad decided to go and buy the-baby's-exact-pacifier. He spent some $18 on it but she rejected it and refused to sleep. Around 11:30 I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and decided to retire to bed. As I walked up the stairs I heard my husband's voice pleading: Don't leave me with the baby, pleaszzz ... the little girl was running around the house and didn't seem to be sleepy... 

It was a difficult-night at parenting a baby and one to remember for years to come.

Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country where a rapist has more rights than a woman. Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a country where defending yourself from an aggressor is a crime and punishable by death under Sharia.

On July 27th, I had received an invitation to attend a Middle Eastern Studies conference at Harvard. The plan was for my husband (P), the baby and I to go for the weekend (P and the baby to spend the weekend sightseeing Boston.) This was the plan made three months ago...for last weekend... but what happened were an exam (Sheema having an exam) and a cold (Sheema having fever and cold!) We ended up staying home with a cranky Sheema (myself) and a husband who was discussing Iran's current political events while trying to assemble the baby's first vehicle (a green, yellow and navy blue, German-made tricycle.)

Invocation

We are busy with the luxury of things.
Their number and multiple faces bring
To us confusion we call knowledge. Say:
God created the world, pinned night to day,
Made mountains to weigh it down, seas
To wash its face, living creatures with pleas
(The ancestors of prayers) seeking a place
In this mystery that floats in endless space.

God set the earth on the back of a bull,
The bull on a fish dancing on a spool
Of silver light so fine it is like air;
That in turn rests on nothing there
But nothing that nothing can share.
All things are but masks at God's beck and call,
They are symbols that instruct us that God is all.

Farīd ud-Dīn Attar Abū Hamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm

No to Nukes for Iran! An oppressive regime such as one in the present Iran is a threat to the Iranians as well as to other nations.

Tonight hubby is frustrated with everything including his favorite TV host Chris Matthews who literally turned his show Hardball into Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign headquarters. He is fed up with iran-emrooz and similar sites that are full of irrelevant articles about Republic versus Monarchy written by people who apparently lack the slightest understanding about the extent of the tragedy that religious tyranny has brought upon Iran.

a few nights ago... We (P, the baby and I) were driving to Barnes & Noble to check some books and I heard Salam Pax on the NPR. P's hand goes to change the station. Sheema: No, let us hear. It's Salam Pax's interview. P: Who is Salam Pax? Sheema: The Baghdad Bloger P: That guy! Okay, sure let us hear what he says. ...after a while... P: Why these radios don't interview Iranian bloggers? What was the name of that Journalist bloger? Wasn't it Sina? Why don't they interview Sina Mottalebi? Or you? Between the baby's constant request to sing her Barney's song and P talking about the Iranian students in the prisions of the regime, I only heard something like: I will not leave Iraq. It is a historic time and I don't want to miss it (...You can hear his interview on the Fresh Air and here is G's blog. Last May, I let my readers know that Salam Pax was back on line...so he already is part of the zaneirani-readers-family...) Last night I put the little girl in her bed and went to open the window...and as hours passed, the images waltzed their way into the "Good Night Baby Girl" and so I gave birth to a new poem.

"Good Night Baby Girl" 

 I open the window so that 

she can hear the sound of the night,

so that she can smell the fresh scent, 

and when the rain starts she will hear 

her mama again walking quietly 

as a breeze of air to cover her 

from the cool of the storm. 

Watch her gently as she stirs slightly, 

amazed by the face, so small and innocent, 

that reflects the generations back 

through untold time, that moves 

toward a future shaped and molded 

by who we are, by from where we came, 

by the question mark of where we are today. 

Notice the little hand that clutches the blanket, 

so perfectly formed, sculpted by love 

and the grace of God, the hand which 

someday perhaps will cover 

with a blanket her own baby girl 

and remember the moments 

when she was young and knew 

even in her sleep that mama was there. 

Reach down and the fingers so tiny, 

so fragile yet so strong in their quiet 

slumbered love unconsciously 

wrap around mine and transmit pulse 

through my body, circling, snaking, dancing 

through me with a warmth that runs 

from my heart to my womb, and reminds me

of the bond that will connect us as long as she lives. 

Tip-toe from her room and return to mine, 

slip between the blankets lest I rouse him 

from his rest, although I wouldn't mind, 

for at this moment it would be wonderful 

to disappear into a small nested universe 

where twined beneath the lullaby of the rain 

we would remember the miracle 

 from which she came.

Iran: An Unfit Mother

Iranian Children do not have rights. The 9-year-old Narges is the latest victim I know of. She is been physically abused and injured by a family member. If you know of/are an attorneyNarges may be a/the case for you. She is one of many abused children in Iran.

My little girl has learned a) to clean up after eating and b) hand me her dishes & cups.

Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.

Rumi

Sad things are happening around the world.

P: Is this the type of wisdom you want our child to have/learn from?

Sheema: Is it really what I want her to remember me by? Is it how I want her to treat her surrounding? Is there a right way to live?

What is it to you if I am a Jew, a Muslim, a Shinto, a Christian, or a Hindu! What is it to you if I am an Iranian, an Arab or a Mongol, a homosexual, a transsexual or a hetero! What is to you where I am from or what faith do I have! I am a Human first and last.

I am on the phone with my mom and I tell her I am tired because I have been painting the baby's room over the past three days.

Mom: Take care of yourself first. Make sure you don't exhaust yourself over painting a room. 

My husband checks the room: It looks great but maybe you should have had read a guidebook to how to be a skilled painter.

Mother-in-law who is visiting us from another state: The room looks good even when the lights aren't on. The baby walks in and looks around and wants to touch and taste the new lemon color. 

Duet

Move through the past,
through the legends, beyond the history,
through the poetry, through the old stories,
beyond the gates of Sheba, beyond
Solomon and the fabled talking bird
to where I hear your voice,
distant, far across the Sea of Despair,
pleading with the Gods and the Fates:

I am searching and searching to find
constant reminders of-to where do I belong . . .

I listen quietly although I can never truly know
the depths of these passions that drive you
along the paths of quiet desperation.
My exiles are those of my own choosing.

Why do I not understand the language they speak,
the ideology they believe, and the life they live?

Their belief is covered with thick black ice
and I'm a tiny little one, melting away . . .

There is a distant stream that flows from the mountains,
through the uncharted wilderness, and grows in strength
and power as it moves homeward to the sea. Along the way
it encounters the stone cruelty of the rocks that in the end
ebb in defeat over generations to the inevitability of the water.

They have enslaved me
with the direct connection to their God/s,
with the enslavement of my dreams,
with the exile of my hope.

And they make me feel ugly to my bones . . .

The rose stands alone cold in the garden before
the withering frost. It must be patient and await
the gentle fingers of spring where true beauty lies
when it blossoms burst forth in a splendor that cannot be denied.

To them I am a whore
walking on the streets of my life,
condemned to the Babylon of their wrath . . .

Within you lies the true strength of woman,
the ability to create, the ability to nurture,
the ability to withstand the torrents of oppression,
for you think in generations and not in moments.

Within your words are the sky and the wind
and the mountains and the trees and the dreams
where others will realize that such hatred
can only consume if one allows it to do so.

That is why they fear you.

They have their Iran,
I have mine . . .

Sheema Kalbasi and Roger Humes

My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.

 A.A. Milne

This Thursday is mom's night out. Mothers in my baby's playgroup have decided to go to a Japanese restaurant. My baby sleeps at eight and I want to be home when she goes to bed. As much as I need to go out and do some female bonding, I will not be able to not see my baby when she goes to bed.

I received an e-mail asking me if the United States should legalize the same sex marriages. 
I wrote back: yes.

Nine of the university students are sentenced to 21 years in prison. Saeed Mortazavi, the Prosecutor General of Tehran, has told one Amery's parents, one of the arrested students, to get ready for their son's funeral.

Michael Totten: Sheema blogs about Iran, and it is well worth your time to read what she has to say.

Maman: I don't want them to open me up. Can you do some research and see what are the latest treatments for this and fax it to your brother or dad?
I: Sure. I will do the research and fax it!
Maman: I didn't want to take a bath in the hospital. I don't like it.
I: Why don't you stay at the hospital?
Maman: I can't. I can't let my life stop.
I: I love you.

Maman is in hospital. 

The baby had her fifteen months vaccination a few days ago.

Shahrzad Sepanlou's Azadi (Freedom) is a great song.

Some Iranians are worrying about a repeat of 1953 coup? How? Why? Mullahs are not the late Shah, there is no Mossadegh in our political scene, people are different, the generation is different, we have no US-British backed army, it is a different time, it is a different century! The analogy of 1953 coup in the present time may very well be Rafsanjani's conspiracy to sweep power, not US staging a coup or invading Iran. Furthermore, the only people who really talk about US invasion of Iran are Iranians! No US administration official has ever indicated such desire. US media have only weakly entertained such possibility on slow news days when they have absolutely nothing else to talk about. When we say Iranians would have loved Bush had it not been for the imminent US military invasion of Iran, what we are really saying is that those Iranians have largely made up a reason to hate US otherwise they would have loved not only US but George Bush! I know the claim I am going to make may provoke a lot of anger but I say it anyways. Putting some State Department statements aside, US has pursued a very idealistic policy towards Iran, a policy well in line with what US would like to be known for and stand for. And that ideal is spreading revolutionary liberal values of freedom and pursuit of happiness in a region of the world where tyranny and indulging in sadness has become a way of life. If Iranians would really like to love the US and embrace western democratic values, now is the time to cast aside conspiracy theories and seize the opportunity, because US idealism, whatever the cause is, may not last long.

What we all have seen from the 1979 revolutionary generation points to anything but tolerance. How many really cared about prosecution of the Bahá'í community in Iran? Didn't MKO and communists applaud execution of army and intelligence officers? Didn't communists applaud execution of MKO? And didn't everybody else applaud oppression of communists? What would we have thought about a nation, say in Africa, with such a dark contemporary history? Would we call those people tolerant?

Islamic vigilantes seized three student leaders. There have been many small groups of pro-democracy students around Ferdosi University in Mashehad.

My husband and I took the baby for her first swim. She is 15 months now. I know my parents took me for my first skiing lessons when I was 3 years old and maybe younger than my baby when I was taken for my first swim. I loved being on my dad's shoulders, jumping in the waters of the Caspian sea. I was 2. My husband says our daughter may not remember her first swim but she will cherish her mom to the end of universe and back.

Iranian youth are on hunger strike, some 8000 students are arrested and unknown numbers are kidnapped in broad day light.

Students still on hunger strike. More than 8,000 students have been arrested during demonstrations against the ruling clerics.

Baby girl watches her favorite program on PTV: Barney. My sister-in-law has send her a big barney for her birthday. It has become the latest addition to our family!

If you live in Iran and know students who have disappeared in the recent years or not been heard from you can help by filling this form. Write their names, the name of the university, when the student was accepted at the university, the last place they were seen, where were they from and so on. You do not have to write your own name.

She writes zaneirani's blog is soothing on the eyes and the mind. Thank you SuddenNothing.

There are plenty of music channels that baby and I enjoy listening to. I love my baby girl but I think her dad loves her even more. He says no one's love and nothing has ever come close to the love he feels for her.

Please support students' demonstrations against the ruling clerics (here).

I had a meeting yesterday and baby was outside with my hubby waiting. She kept coming to the door with her Teddy and a big pretty smile.

Another bloger is arrested in Iran.


And your tears will flow like a river
And at the close of your life
You will find that since your beloved
Has no land, no home, no address
You have been pursuing only a trace of smoke
How difficult it is, my son
To love a woman
Who has neither land, nor home.

Nizar Qabbani

Lady Sun describes her frustration, anger and sadness over the current situation in Iran. Dictators, the extremist group, the reformist government, wishful monarchists, and the Iranian students are among many she despises. She is one of many who live under the cruel Iranian regime where persecutions, prison, executions, sudden deaths, stoning are not just a few scary words.


Persiannote: To learn more about the current situation in Iran you can go to this English blog.

The student protest turned into a larger demonstration against the clerics ruling the country.

A few days ago a friend sent me this. What I read on this blog was extremely disturbing. The bloger writes about a mentally challenged 16-year-old Iranian woman who was raped by two men. The men threatened the girl's parents and therefore the family refused to charge any complains. Few mounts later the 16-year-old gave birth to a baby. Today she -a rape victim- is convicted of prostitution!

Our friend Brian is leaving for Lebanon soon. Today is one of those days that I wish I were the one traveling. Of course I would love for my husband and baby to come along as long as I'm not changing the diapers.

P looks at our Baby and says if only Iran was a free and democratic nation...

Last night we were invited to some artist friend. Her work is very playful. We came back with hubby complaining from fever and coughs. Fever. Shiver. Fever. Shiver. Coughs. Soon we'll move to a new home where my computer, books, and plants will all have their very own happy-cheerful-spot.

 Sina Motalebi, blogger, is released from prison. 

Happy Birthday Tagore 

As an old man he was visiting poor villages in rural India & heard a young boy singing one of his songs as he herded his family's cattle. Rabindranath Tagore asked the boy who wrote that song & the boy told him "Nobody wrote it; it's just a song the people sing." Tagore told his companion it was the greatest honor he'd ever received.

I was walking down the hallway where they have all the selected paintings. I noticed two women standing and discussing my friend's art work and how incredibly the painting is and so on. The painting was of a naked man standing facing a famous Biblical phrase! Once they saw the title "The Fagged Shepard" their whole facial expression changed into a grim and ugly one!

I hope there comes a day when our people respect the differences & elect their representatives in a peaceful manner.

...and if you want to know who killed daniel pearl, read this.

Pain is only a problem, according to C. S. Lewis, if we fear it. Often pain is less "painful" than agonizing about it.

I've been painting all day.

CBS is showing a program on Mr. Rafsanjani's wealth. How many more years we have to suffer before we can finally be free of the Iranian regime?

Do American politicians see that the physical devastation and economic disorder could make Iraq vulnerable to Islamic extremists' influence?

Free Sina Motalebi (go to PetitionOnline.)

Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking.

John Wain

In my view, oil cannot be separated from the geopolitical equations of the Middle East. At the same time, however, I believe it is misleading to attribute the roots of this conflict to oil alone. In order to defeat communism or the so called evil empire, the U.S. found strange bedfellows among Islamic fundamentalists and stayed ambivalent about them for almost a decade after the old adversary was defeated. The tragic events of September 11, or in Professor Fred Halliday's words the two hours that shook the world, changed the paradigm of international relations forever.

The world of the 21st century will not be one in which tyrants and fanatics are supported and appeased by democracies. It will be a world built on alliance of democracies, which together deal the final blow to fundamentalism and terrorism. I see Iraq's liberation as the first step towards that end. Although this may take more than a decade. The U.S. has come to realize the importance of security in the region and the inseparable relationship between security and democracy in that region and will work toward that through next decades.

I truly hope that this leads to democratization of the region and peace for everyone just as U.S. intervention in Europe brought prosperity to the continent.

It is such a crazy day. The news are insanely mind blowing.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. If you want to be happy, be. Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them. 

Leo Tolstoy

Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria:

1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and amenable ... They do not create scenes over a hammer or a mislaid eraser; they do not make you feel they are conferring a great benefit on you when they live with you, and they don't make a scandal when they leave. (...)

2) They have compassion for other people besides beggars and cats. Their hearts suffer the pain of what is hidden to the naked eye. (...)

3) They respect other people's property, and therefore pay their debts.

4) They are not devious, and they fear lies as they fear fire. They don't tell lies even in the most trivial matters. To lie to someone is to insult them, and the liar is diminished in the eyes of the person he lies to. Civilized people don't put on airs; they behave in the street as they would at home, they don't show off to impress their juniors. (...)

5) They don't run themselves down in order to provoke the sympathy of others. They don't play on other people's heartstrings to be sighed over and cosseted ... that sort of thing is just cheap striving for effects, it's vulgar, old hat and false. (...)

6) They are not vain. They don't waste time with the fake jewellery of hobnobbing with celebrities, being permitted to shake the hand of a drunken [judicial orator], the exaggerated bonhomie of the first person they meet at the Salon, being the life and soul of the bar ... They regard prases like 'I am a representative of the Press!!' -- the sort of thing one only hears from [very minor journalists] -- as absurd. If they have done a brass farthing's work they don't pass it off as if it were 100 roubles' by swanking about with their portfolios, and they don't boast of being able to gain admission to places other people aren't allowed in (...) True talent always sits in the shade, mingles with the crowd, avoids the limelight ... As Krylov said, the empty barrel makes more noise than the full one. (...)

7) If they do possess talent, they value it ... They take pride in it ... they know they have a responsibility to exert a civilizing influence on [others] rather than aimlessly hanging out with them. And they are fastidious in their habits. (...)

8) They work at developing their aesthetic sensibility ... Civilized people don't simply obey their baser instincts ... they require mens sana in corpore sano.

And so on. That's what civilized people are like ... Reading Pickwick and learning a speech from Faust by heart is not enough if your aim is to become a truly civilized person and not to sink below the level of your surroundings.


Anton Chekhov

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. Leo Tolstoy
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. Leo Tolstoy
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war.html