I AM PUZZLED!

I am not really puzzled by the atrocities of governments as it has always been the case one way or another, but by people’s apathy, oblivion, ignorance, and indifference. For instance, in the last election of November 2014, which was considered the most expensive midterm election ever, and with the lowest ratio of participation, Republicans won both houses. This statement by itself proves how vital it is for people to participate. There also were widespread forms of voter suppression, another indicator that if people decide to participate in the election process and vote for alternatives, there is a large chance that they elect right candidates.

The Petro-Dollar & Beat The Rich

The below link is a YouTube clip less than 15 minutes in length. It provides information as to why the funds used to create wars in the Middle-East, and military spending of the US government is called "petro-dollar":

The Petro-Dollar Explained

Another interesting YouTube clip is Michael Moore's Beat the Rich. He explains that most of the wealth of the world is concentrated in the hands of three people and he sets up a quiz like performance comparing the knowledge of the rich and the average person on the street. It is funny:

Beat The Rich

TODAY'S NEWS

We use our advanced military power to enforce our conditions and demands on other countries. We either threaten them with our military might, or install a puppet government (again by using our arm power) to deplete natural resources of the land. After their economic base is destroyed, they rush to safety and migrate to richer lands; to ours. We treat them as second hand citizens and make them clean our refuse and eat our leftovers. But it can go on for so long before it bites us back, as in the case of Ferguson. The war between the prosperous minority, backed by the government, and the underprivileged majority will reach its boiling point during the next two years when the Right has the full control of the government. The following four articles from today’s news reflect this analysis. Passages are excerpts from the full article, links of which can be checked by clicking on the title of each article.

در شگفتم!!

تحیر من واقعا از جنایات دولتها نیست، که البته این تاریخ‌ پیشینی دارد. شگفتی من از عدم مشارکت مردم در انتخابات، بی‌ تفاوتی‌، غفلت، و مجددا (مانند هر بار) آلت دست پول و زور قرار گرفتنِ آنان است. به عنوان مثال، در آخرین انتخابات نوامبر سال ۲۰۱۴ که تا کنون گران ترین انتخابات میان دوره‌ای و با حداقل نسبت مشارکت رأی دهندگان برآورد شده است، جمهوری خواهان هر دو مجلس را به دست آوردند. این بیانیه به خودی خود نشان میدهد تا چه اندازه شرکت مردم در انتخابات حیاتی است. سرکوب رای دهندگان بطور گسترده و با ترفندهای گوناگون در این انتخابات، شاخص دیگری است که اگر مردم تصمیم به شرکت بگیرند، پیروزی نامزد منتخب آنها شانس شایانی خواهد داشت.

Let's Hope Not....Does GOP Win Mean War With Iran? By DARYAN REZAZAD

Most likely the above question has crossed the minds of Iran watchers, and “Iran experts” – which of course needs to be asked, but rarely is, whose “Iran experts”; the warmongers, or the realists “Iran experts”?

ساوت پا (اصطلاحی در بُکس): نوشتهٔ جودیت ویورست

ریچارد عزیز،

لازم نیست مرا به جشن تولدت دعوت کنی‌ چون نخواهم آمد. و آن پولیور ورزشی مارک دیزنی را که گفتم میتوانی‌ بپوشی‌ پس بده. اگر من برای بازی در تیمت به درد نمیخورم، به درد دوستی‌ با تو هم نمیخورم.

دوست پیشینت،

جنت

در ضمن امیدوارم وقتی‌ که به مطب دندان پزشک میروی ۲۰ تا از دندانهایت فاسد باشند

Yes, It Makes One Think!

​

Whenever putting pressure on Iranian regime is needed by the US government and its European allies (to enforce Islamic regime's policies inline with the West, i.e. their policies on Syria and Russia), Zionist propagandists and Israeli regime's mouthpiece begin their efforts in creating an anti-Muslim/ anti-Arab/ anti-MIddleEastern, and of course anti-Iranian climate. Unfortunately, due to such regressive, corrupt, and callous nature of Iranian regime, it is not hard to create such an environment.  As such is the following statement e-mailed widely. The propaganda piece (in blue) is long, but the rebuttal (in green) is short, and only offers links for further readings to those interested (do not miss the statement in green following the blue):

شاعره جرالدین مور- نوشتهٔ تونی کیِد

جرالدین در گوشه‌ای ایستاد تا جورابش را بالا بکشد. کِش‌هائی را که به جورابش بسته بود تا آنها را نگه دارند باعث خراش پاهایش میشدند. کتابهایش را زمین گذاشت تا خوب پاهایش را بخاراند. موقعی که جوراب پای چپش را بالا می‌کشید، دو انگشتش داخل قسمت فوقانی آن شدند. در حالیکه کتابهایش را بر میداشت و بر خلاف جهت همه در پیاده رو میرفت با خودش زمزمه کرد: “سگ احمق. اول لباس ورزشی را جوید و باعث شد که به دردسر بیافتم، و اکنون این جورابها.”

Somebody Blew Up America by Amiri Baraka

Somebody Blew Up America by Amiri Baraka

They say its some terrorist, some barbaric A Rab, in Afghanistan It wasn't our American terrorists It wasn't the Klan or the Skin heads Or the them that blows up nigger Churches, or reincarnates us on Death Row It wasn't Trent Lott Or David Duke or Giuliani Or Schundler, Helms retiring

Water Scare

There is a drought in California and almost all Californians know it by now. We have to expect more of such natural phenomena in coming years as global warning, which has been repeatedly hollered since late 1970s, is still ignored by policy makers as a scientific hoax. The problem with lack of attention to and acknowledgement of human-caused tragedies is that, the same catastrophes are bound to be repeated and even exasperated. The positive aspect of paying attention to warnings and acknowledging the cause of a cataclysm is preventive measures that the government could take, or at least it could ease the complexities. Although generally speaking, governments have been in the pocket of the big business who only considers present benefits and ignores future damages as a result of their environmental destruction. For example, if governments (city, state, federal) paid more attention to scientists’ forewarning of global warming, they would have thought of a method to increase the amount of water without relying merely on annual rainfall, and/or would have increased water storage in the years when there was excess water. In fact, some municipalities were more thoughtful and they had adopted a water conservation policy as an ongoing remedy in order to expand their water storage. Educating the public in water conservation would be another tactic. However, as it always happens, resolutions to solve a problem are mandated when the catastrophe has already occurred, and as it is the recurring instance, it falls on the public to foot the bill.

ریشه های زن ستیزی در ادبیات کلاسیک فارسی- نوشته مریم حسینی‌

ریشه های زن ستیزی به سالیان دراز و ورای مرزهای ایران برمیگردد و می‌توان در صفحات تاریخ رد پای آنرا یافت. رژیم‌های اقتدارگرا و دیسپُت بیش از سایر رژیمها و به منظور تسلط بیشتر بر جامعه حاکم، تضادهای آن جامعه از جمله تضادهای قومی، مذهبی‌، و جنسی‌ را پر رنگ تر و به اختلافات ناشی‌ از آن دامن میزنند. زمانی‌که رژیم بطور علنی و با شمشیر برهنه به یکی‌ از این گروهها حمله می‌کند، عکس‌العمل گروهِ آسیب دیده مبارزهٔ آرام و فرسایشی، و در عین حال ممتد است. زنانی که برای نزدیک به چهار دهه با وجود قوانین متعدد و به انحائ گوناگون از طرف رژیم تحقیر شده ا‌ند، با مبارزه و تلاش پیگیر سعی‌ در آن دارند که بتوانند از طرق دیگر جبران مافات کنند. یکی‌ از این طرق ارتقائ از نردبان ترقی‌ در کلیه امور سیاسی، حقوقی، فرهنگی‌، ورزشی و علمی‌ است. نمونه های آن بسیار و پراکنده است. معدودی از این زنان، مثل شیرین عبادی، به مقامی از پیروزی جهانی‌ میرسند که باعث افتخار زنان سرزمین خود، و شرمساری رژیم زن ستیز میشوند. آخرین نمونه درخشش زنان پیشتاز سرزمین ما مریم میرزاخانی است که در چنین رژیمی‌ رشد یافته، و نخستین زنی‌ است که مدال علمی‌ فیلدز را نصیب خود کرده است.

Sophi City (3)

New Horizon

There is always a cool breeze blowing from the ocean, which is especially refreshing to those who enjoy colder climate. However, some find the weather cold and they despise the rain and mist which are present most of the year in this island. In a small room, the window facing the water is cracked open. A moist breeze is pushing itself through the crack and makes the heavy load of blankets covering Julie more appropriate. The rapidly brightening dim light brings her back from a wild dream to an unconscious reality, which makes her bewildered for a few minutes. She opens her eyes to see the light, and by scanning the room she gets lost as to where the strange place she is surrounded with is. Right in front of her and outside the window, is the vast ocean with a red and clean globe rising out of the water, gently and with certain grace. A soft cloud of mist and fog is evaporating from the ocean and covering parts of the sun momentarily. She looks at the globe as the light emitting from it glows brighter, to the point that it starts stinging her eyes. After a moment of adjustment, her eyes are diverted to the room and some of the objects in it. The aluminum window is old and dirty. A half broken half hanged set of horizontal blinds are covering a small top portion of the window. The walls with no paint, or what she considers to be whitewash, are short and surround the small room, the window and the door. There is nothing in the room but two beds and several blankets mostly on the beds, with a few of them fallen on the damp and untidy floor.

نقد فیلم پزشک Medico

بازیگران این فیلم نقشهای خود را به شایستگی بازی میکنند، به خصوص پسر انگلیسی‌ شاگرد ابن سینا. صحنه آرائی فیلم نیز بی‌ نظیر است. از اینکه تمدن ایران آن زمان را مطابق معمول فرنگیان تمدن اسلامی نمی‌ نامند باعث خوشحالی‌ است. بطور کلی‌ آنچه که به آن سینماتوگرافی یا هنر فیلمبرداری می‌گویند به طرز شایانی در این فیلم به کار گرفته شده است. در سایر جهات فیلمسازی، از دکور تا لباس تا موقعیت بومی و سرزمینی به طرز شایسته‌ای استفاده شده است.

When Great Trees Fall- Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928- May 28, 2014)

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly.  Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed.  They existed.
We can be.  Be and be
better.  For they existed.

Cinco de Mayo- سینکو دِ مایو یا پنجم ماه مِه

جشنِ روز پنجم ماه مِه در مکزیک و ایالات جنوب غربی آمریکا (کالیفرنیا، آریزونا، نیو مکزیکو، تکزاس) هر ساله بر پاست. عده‌ای تصور میکنند که این جشن به مناسبت روز استقلال مکزیک است. گرچه مکزیک، که از نظر مساحت سیزدهمین کشور بزرگ دنیا و از نظر نفوس بزرگترین کشور اسپانیائی زبان محسوب میشود، از زمان تهاجم و استعمار اسپانیا در سال ۱۵۲۱ هیچگاه نتوانست استقلال کامل خود را حفظ کند. با این وجود روز دیگری را به منظور جشن استقلال اختصاص داده است که  در ۱۶ سپتامبر (گِریتو د دولورِس؛ به مناسبت واقعهٔ ۱۶ سپتامبر ۱۸۱۰) می‌باشد.

اول ماه مه، روز جهانی کارگر

پیش از سقوط اتحاد جماهیر شوروی،  روز اول ماه مه، یا  روز جهانی کارگر مشخصه تفاوت بین اردوگاه غرب و اردوگاه شرق بود؛ بدین معنا که دولتهائی که طرفدار اردوگاه شرق و جامعه‌ای‌ با تساوی اقتصادی بودند این روز را جشن میگرفتند. از آنطرف، آنها که به غرب تمایل داشتند این روز را به رسمیت نمی شناختند و روز دیگری را به عنوان روز کارگر در گاهشمار خود می‌گُنجاندند. به عنوان نمونه، اولین دوشنبه ماه سپتامبر به عنوان روز کارگر در آمریکا شناخته شده است. جالب توجه است که روز اول ماه مِه به دلیل واقعه‌ای که به عنوان “فاجعه هی مارکت” شناخته شد و در شیکاگو در ۴ مِه سال ۱۸۸۶ رخ داد، که در ادامه تظاهرات مسالمت آمیز اول ماه مِه کارگران برای کوتاه کردن ساعات کار به هشت ساعت در روز برگذار شده بود، بدین روز اطلاق گردید. در ۱۴ ژوئیه سال ۱۸۸۹ در انترناسیونال دوم در پاریس، هیئت نمایندگی‌ بیست کشور شرکت کننده به چنین روزی رأی دادند. علاوه بر این، هشتمین روز از ماه مارس را به عنوان روز بین‌ا‌لمللی زنان (در ادامه انترناسیونال در سال ۱۹۱۰)، و تصویب هشت ساعت کار در روز ، در میان سایر خواسته های خود عنوان کردند. مطالب مربوط به روز جهانی‌ کارگر و واقعه “هی مارکت” و انترناسیونال دوم در ویکیپدیا دانشنامه آزاد، تشریح شده‌اند.

May Day

Before the fall of the Soviet Union, International Workers’ Day or Labor Day or May Day,

marked the distinction between the Western and the Eastern camps. Governments which were followers of the Eastern camp, or those who were socialist in nature or in appearance, celebrated May 1 as the day to recognize labor and its struggles towards an equitable society. On the other hand, governments which were pro-West, did not mark this day as the day of the labor and consider other days in their calendars, such as first Monday in September as in the US. Interestingly, May first was selected in the Second International in Paris on 14^th of July 1889 by delegations from 20 countries, after the event of Haymarket Massacre in Chicago on May 4 1886 following the March that started on May 1 demanding an eight hour workday. In addition to declaration of Workers’ Day in 1889, March 8 was declared as International Women’s Day (1910) by the Second International, and 8-hour working day was demanded, among many other declarations. Articles about Haymarket, Second International, and May Day can be found in Wikipedia.

HUMANITY

We call ourselves human being, a specie that branched out from other mammals in a significant manner about 2.3 million years ago. Those who moved out of Africa million years later were even more developed and acquired more physical resemblance to our present features. Throughout centuries, we human beings continued on a different evolutionary progression than other species by transforming the nature to fashion it more suitable to our well-being. We have created technological schemes to reduce direct effects of nature, while other species have been unable of making such changes. In short, we have made life more comfortable through such innovations, and lengthier through treatments for diseases and ailments. In spite of all the successes we have made in enhancing our living standard and broadening our lifespan, we have caused calamities which have harmed many lives and precipitated extinction of many species. This pattern may cause our own annihilation along with all life forms, considering rapid environmental changes and destructive force of our weaponry in a mass scale:

نامه به خدا- نوشته گریگوریو لوپز ای فوئنتس

کلبه- که در امتدادِ آن وادیِ منحصر به فرد قرار گرفته بود- بر ستیغ یک تپه کوتاه قرار داشت. از این بلندی فرد میتوانست رودخانه را همراه با زمینِ پوشیده از ذرت که با گلهای لوبیا قرمز گُله به گُله تزئین شده بود، و از برداشتِ خوبی‌ حاکی میکرد، در آن سوی حصار مشاهده کند.

تنها چیزی که در حال حاضر زمین احتیاج داشت بارش، و یا حداقل یک رگبار بود. لنچو که با زمین زراعتی خود کاملا مانوس بود، تمام صبح نشسته بود و خیره شدن به سمت شمالِ باختریِ آسمان برای بررسی وضع هوا تنها کاری بود که میتوانست بکند: “میگم خانم، به نظر میاد که بالاخره می‌خواد یه بارونی‌ بزنه.” خانم که مشغول آشپزی بود جواب داد “آره، به امید خدا.”

Sophi City (2)

New Arrivals

People living in Sophi City use resources equally. Whether we call them inhabitants or inmates, they are residents of an island where they will eventually be buried. Streets, shops, and places don’t have names. There is an untold and unwritten code of conduct that everyone, or almost everyone, obeys; and since there is no contact with outside, necessity of a government body has not been envisioned. The more optimist citizens of the island philosophize that up to the recent times, people have been bound to the land where they were born, for the remaining of their lives. They think of the same circumstance, exasperated by the fact that they are denied of the modern technology, and their life style mimics those of their forefathers. At least, optimists reason, their living conditions are much better than those living in the US prisons or clinics; especially those who lose their lives to capital punishment. On The other side, there are pessimists who do not appreciate their life sentence in the island, and they condone their conditions. Some miss their former family members, relatives, and friends. However, it does not take long for the pessimists to join the optimists’ camp, due to the positive attitudes spread out among the islanders. There are people with talents and professions of diverse sorts, and they are free to express themselves. The large room or salon where new arrivals are led to, comprises of two doors; one near the waterfront wharf, and one at the other end leading to the longest street in the island. Above this door, there is a wooden arch-shaped tableau covered with various figures designed by straws and rocks, and a statement made of seashells that reads: “It is not my decision to start life here. It is not my decision to leave this life. It is my decision to enjoy the best life while I am here.” The population of the island is constantly increasing, as there is a new shipment almost every month. When they arrive in the island, they look confused as they are not given much information about their destination after they are sentenced to life to Sophi City. New arrivals enter a large room and stand by the wall looking at the people in the room, whom are dispersed around the room. Some are sitting by themselves, indifferent of the new faces. Some are talking to each other and some are just staring at the new condemned. For the new arrivals, the large room seems small and stifling.