Op-Ed

3D Iranians

Imagine this. While President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad practically calls for Israel's destruction and relentlessly campaigns against the United States, ordinary young Iranians are fascinated by American music, love Hollywood films. Moreover compared to Persian characters (kings, poets, social activists, politicians ... ) Barbie dolls, Spiderman, Batman, All-Star shoes, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Bill Gates and many other American characters, signs and icons are more familiar with them. [Although many western journalists and commentators have pointed to these facts especially since the advent of Iran's 1997 reform movement, it is still worthwhile to underline them to set the stage for any original analysis].>>>

The devil's genius

With censorship abound, we must dodge the bullet of stupor and learn to recognize that Dick Cheney, this Yale drop-out who wore the color of cowardice during the Vietnam War, was chosen to be the devil’s instrument in order to influence George Bush on his destructive path. While the electronic highways are jammed with petitions to impeach Bush and Cheney, we must not fail to hold to account those who have held our highest office hostage and ax the root of evil. The destructive forces have already made their way into our future and the sparks alone are more threatening that the blaze we are currently engulfed in>>>

First step toward direct democracy

A majority of the U.S. citizens get zero political representation for the taxes they pay. Of the 49 percent of the population that does vote in the general elections (with the advisory that as low as 20-25 percent may vote in mid-term elections, and less in local elections), another significant majority only remotely, and in highly mediated form, may see a hint of representation. Time permitting, of course; the Senators’ and Representatives’ time is exceptionally precious and by necessity only a small minority of it shall be spent on lesser voters. Only a small minority of the total population has any real political representation, and of that minority a tiny segment, as we all know, owns the politicians.>>>

Blood money

I should give a little background information. The US government basically wrote a draft law for Iraq’s government to pass setting up the rules and regulations for awarding contracts on Iraq’s oil and gas resources and industry. This law basically opens up Iraq for the taking. It puts in legal framework for rape of Iraq. The passage of this law has been included as one of the benchmarks for Iraq government to achieve in order to show progress in Iraq. This subcommittee was reviewing progress on passing this law. One could say this law is the Holy Grail of the Iraq invasion for Bush administration and the very symbol of the War for Oil>>>

Unpleasant truth?

Contextually, this important admission by the British Foreign Minister of absence of any evidence linking Iran to the violence and instability in Iraq was preceded by the discussion about Iran’s nuclear programme and Britain’s readiness to impose another set of punishing sanctions on Iranian people, for Iran’s non-compliance with the security council’s resolutions which have no basis in international law, imposed on supposed suspicions for which again THERE IS NO EVIDENCE>>>

Must-see TV

The very first time that I saw a confessional show on IRIB, I was captivated. True, in the beginning it was crude, the interviewer was always out of camera range barking out the “questions” and the subject’s physical pose was unnaturally rigid for someone who was unburdening himself... Our beloved IRIB has just announced the two episode long confessional show to be broadcast on its channel one on this coming tonight and tomorrow night (Wednesday and Thursday) at 21:45. The stars are to be one Haleh Esfandiari, a sixty something grandmother and Kian Tajbakhsh, a father of a spanking new baby>>>

Crocodile tears

On a short trip near Caspian Sea in 1979 I stopped at an art and craft store that mostly sold wooden bowls, straw hats and dried garlic on strings. But I also noticed an out of place object there; a stuffed body of a baby Persian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) now completely extinct, thank god. The taxidermy job on the baby tiger was done so badly with pieces of fur missing and looked like a homeless outside McDonald's that have not had a shower for six years and of all things the baby tiger had a smile on his face!>>>