Iranian young people

Marjory of Iranian young are very well educated. Even though the rate of unemployment, crime, divorce, drug abuse and opium addiction have been increased, you can see many Iranian young people think about serious matters like freedom, democracy that is not usual for their age. Their western counterparts merely think about fashion, mobile phones, dancing... In fact, these days are the toughest time in history of Iran. If you look at the level of literacy (more than 90%), education, the proportion of young people, you will realize that Iranians have many difficulties in an ineffective system. The fact that makes me sad is that many smart young people in Iran cannot do whatever they like. Maybe westerners cannot understand how one can live with such restrictions.
You are free to think for yourself. You cannot express your thoughts. You can listen to music but in private. All the time you are concerned. It isn’t important whether you can do something or not. The problem is that you have to have a private life all the time. There is a wall between your private and your public life. If fact, you have two personalities. Even strong people cannot tolerate this situation. It certainly causes many psychological disorders. I think this is one the most important reasons of brain drain in Iran.
Couple days ago Reza one of Iranian gifted young blogger, put a poem by Shahyar Ghanbari at his weblog . He has done an interview with him and you can read it there.

Forbidden
By Shahyar Ghanbari
Blue of the sea is forbidden
The desire to see, is forbidden
The love between two fish is forbidden
Alone & together is forbidden
To have a new love, you should not ask permission
To have a new love, you should not ask permission
Whispering & murmuring is forbidden
Dancing of the shadows is forbidden
Discovering the stolen kisses,
In the middle of your dream is forbidden
To have a new dream, you should not ask permission
To have a new dream, you should not ask permission
In this homely exile
Write the simplest poems
Say what you have to say
Say long live life,
Say long live life
To write a new poem, you should not ask permission
To write a new poem, you should not ask permission
To write about you, is forbidden
Even to complain is forbidden
The fragrance of a woman, is forbidden
You are forbidden, I am forbidden!
To start a new day, you should not ask permission
To start a new day, you should not ask permission

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | 

This is what I wrote last year for my English class, but the
thought of it has existed for a much longer time in my head.
When I came to America, I thought I would see a much
different and more reseanoble method for testing, but
unfortunately, its the same thing or even worse than
what we had in Iran

Examinations Kill the Spirit of Learning

It’s a pity and at the same time a big surprise that despite all the developments in the science field and progresses made in different fields of study, the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability are primitive as ever they were. While there are much safer ways to test someone’s knowledge, educationists have still failed to replace exams with something more efficient and reliable. The current testing method is stressful, can harm the learning process severely and isn’t a measure of student’s true abilities.
Examinations are second to none in making anxiety. Knowing that the grade will remain forever in the student’s academic record, being the one and only way for passing the course, its limited time and the necessity to take it on a certain day and time are all factors that together make the current method of testing stressful. The fact that the grade will stay forever with the student as a reminder of his level of achievement can be a real cause of distress. Even if the student learns the material better than all of his peers at that time in the class, it will always show that at a certain time he was not as good as he should have been. Being the last chance for the student to show his merits can give rise to an overwhelming amount of stress, while the mere knowing that this is not the last opportunity can reduce the level of anxiety to a great extent.
They are especially stressful for slower students because of their limited time. Determining the illegibility for scholarship is another thing that causes stress.
Examinations can severely harm the learning process. For some students the grade itself can become the main reason for learning. This is somewhat because of their parents’ or friends’ expectations but more is a product of testing method itself. The level of student’s success and understanding of the material is represented by the grade; scholarship is offered on this basis and it is the main factor for universities to accept students. When so much depends on them, the main focus of the student will be on the grades he gets. As a result instead of trying to learn more, they will only learn to get higher grades. In this way exams don’t encourage them to read widely, but in fact restrict it. On the other hand they can give the wrong impression of knowing the material to the student who has gotten a good grade; this false confidence is an empty feeling that can prove to be really harmful later. When the graduate finally enters the real world outside, he can only be in for a shock. The funny thing is that the teachers themselves are judged by exam results, so they teach their students in exam techniques rather than their subjects. Lastly, they can create a vicious competition among students that kills the spirit of learning by inflaming jealousy and enmity feelings.
Examinations are not a measure of a student’s knowledge and ability because of some very obvious reasons. Each instructor has his own way of testing; some are hard and some are easy in their exams. Test itself is more a measure of one’s memory or the knack of working under pressure in short time or cramming more in the nights before exams than a person’s true aptitude. The stress caused by the exam doesn’t let the student use all his abilities .No one can perform normally in terror or after a sleepless night.
Exams don’t take into consideration your psychological condition. If you are badly sick or you’ve just gotten a driving ticket or somebody you loved has died they won’t take them into account. These minor things cannot bother them. Teachers can exert their own personal taste in grading and this is where prejudice or personal likes and dislikes can play their discriminating roles.
Maybe the biggest argument put forward against all this is that we don’t have something to replace exams. That it is not a practical proposition to abolish them and that we will never be able to do without them; how can we evaluate students after all? My answer to this would be, yes, we have to evaluate students, but we don’t have to put them in a position to dread exams and yearn for the moment they are over with it. My objection is to exams in their current form; it’s true that we cannot move from where we are directly to obliterating them, but we can take steps and every step taken makes us able to see more of the path we have to go. We can standardize exams, remove the necessity to take them in a certain day and hour, give the students at least three chances to take them before they pass them and don’t give them a grade for it. They also can be made more realistic in a sense that they reflect more of the problems the student will encounter in life.
Considering all these, the question is that why we still have to put up with exams as the method of assessing abilities. There hasn’t been much development in this area or they have been so lukewarm. Some of the reasons that they still exist are conceivable: teachers are in good company, they use it as a way to control students,
it’s easier for them because in case they cannot cover the material they will make the exam easier and they don’t have to adjust to a standard way of teaching, since they have their own exams. The truth is that we would be much better off without them.
(posted by Farid)


Posted:Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | 

Children
(by Kahlil Gibran)

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,
"Speak to us of Children."


And he said: Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.


You may give them your love ~ but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies ~ but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them ~ but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.


You are the bows from which your children as living arrows
are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | 

Christians' world

I have entered to the Christians' world. I hope that I can learn more about it. I have started with Catholicism. It seems there are so many similarities among Abraham religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism)

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Tuesday, April 29, 2003 | 

Ignorance and Freedom

Dave asked me In the U.S., with our freedom of religion, we have people who worship the devil. Why should other countries be different?

I believe that human beings are free creatures. However, this freedom is limited. We cannot do whatever we like. In case of Iraq, we should know all the story. As you know in most part of Iraq there is a tribal system and sheikhs play important role in this country. In a tribal system, people are ready do to every thing for their tribe. They die for their tribe. In contrast to the modern thought, as we see in the west, people are not important. In fact, in this system nobody cares who you are but rather your tribe and family. So it is not important that a monster like Saddam is a criminal. He is (maybe was) Tikriti. So Tikritis celebrate his birthday. I do not think that none of us think like this. I am sure that David won’t support his president if he knows he is criminal. Does he? Not of course. This is a big difference. Do you remember when the US attacked on Iraq, many Arabs were against war? Why? Many of them were saying that Saddam is Arab and Muslim and we should support him!! Such a though is a real threat for world peace. Just look at the people who support Osama. This is another disappointing fact.
Anyway, let me know what is the meaning of freedom in an underdeveloped society. Freedom, Chaos, looting, revenge and...
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Tuesday, April 29, 2003 | 

Ignorance


Do you know the meaning of ignorance? People who live in a tribal system and merely think about their tribe and Sheikhs. See how Tikritis celebrate Saddam's 66th birthday!!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Monday, April 28, 2003 | 

Tea and Health

Usually I drink 5-6 big cups of tea every day. Many people have asked me about its benefits or hazards!. I believed that one day I would prove TEA is a useful thing . Now I can say: Yes it is! As Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports

Drinking tea appears to boost the immune system, perhaps helping people fight off or blunt the effect of infections. Non-tea drinkers who downed five to six small cups of black tea per day for two weeks appeared to be better able to fight off bacterial infections. As an explanation for tea's benefits, experiments in the lab revealed that an ingredient found in black, green, oolong and pekoe teas boosted the ability of immune system cells to attack a bacterial invader. The experiments used ethylamine, which is produced when the tea ingredient L-theanine is broken down in the liver. Previous research suggests that ethylamine, which is also found in vegetables and wine, may target other pathogens as well, including parasites, viruses, and perhaps tumors.
And in experiments with people, the researchers found that after drinking about 20 ounces of tea a day for two weeks, people's gamma delta T cells produced a wealth of anti-bacterial chemicals when exposed to bacteria. In contrast, people who drank coffee instead of tea during the study produced no disease-fighting proteins in response to bacteria.

This is Medicine.You can find supportive documents to show whatever you do is not harmful rather necessaray and recommendable!! Can we find any certain thing in Medicine? So never trust doctors who talk about certain facts about diseases. I think doctors only can suggest somethng but they cannot order anything.
(posted by Iman)
Posted:Monday, April 28, 2003 | 

Any fool can know. The point is to understand.
(Albert Einstein)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Sunday, April 27, 2003 | 

From Canada





This is my first post from Canada. It seems that I become addicted to blogging since I had withdrawal symptoms! All the time I thought what is going on the web and there were so many things to write about. Because of 3 hours delay, my 22-hour flight was boring though I was excited. A talkative Frenchman sat beside me and talked about every thing. He thought 11/9 was a conspiracy and all these things are a game. If an Iranian believed conspiracy theory about such a thing, because if their history it would be understandable. However, a westerner! OK never mind. I think he was not a good representative of French people. He claimed that he was musician and had written a1000 page unpublished book about 72 subjects including, history, religion, politics, philosophy …. Is it possible? He did not know that he was talking to an uncertain guy!!

Anyway, here all the people and media talk about SARS and 18 patients have died in canada.

(posted by Iman)



Posted:Sunday, April 27, 2003 | 

Few people think more than two or three times a year;
I have made an international reputation for myself by
thinking once or twice a week.
(George Bernard Shaw)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Saturday, April 26, 2003 | 

God
No I never drink my poison
No I never let you see
No I never drink my poison unless it's good for me

No I never ponder confusion no
Or sit around and wait to see
Or watch the outcome of a certain situation
I had in mind for eternity

Yeah, it's up to me
What will be is up to me
No I never make a choice unless it's up to me
and I never give a reason

No I never sink my teeth in
No, I never take a bite
No I never sink my teeth in unless I feel the right
No I never play the jokerman
Sit around and wait to see
Or watch the outcome of a certain situation I've had in mind for eternity
Yeah it's up to me
What will be is up to me
No I never make a choice unless it's got to be
and I never give a reason

It's up to me
It's up to me
What will be
Is up to me
No I never make a choice unless it's got to be
and I never give a reason
(by Seven Nations)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Saturday, April 26, 2003 | 

Maybe your ancestors were apes, but mine certainly were not.
(Ramark made to Darwin by a guest at a dinner party)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Saturday, April 26, 2003 | 

One possible answer is that God chose the initial configuration of the universe for reasons that we cannot hope to understand. This would certainly have been within the power of an omnipotent being, but if he has started it off in such an incomprehensible way, why did he choose to let it evolve, according to laws that we could understand?
(Stephen Hawking)
One of my friends asked me a while ago that if we are made in such a manner that we are unable to understand what God is and what the reason of our creation is, then why did he made this strong desire in us to find out the answer.
(Posted by Farid)

Posted:Thursday, April 24, 2003 | 

Twisted
- written by Stevie Nicks
- duet recorded with Lindsey Buckingham
- appears on the Twister soundtrack (1996); The Enchanted boxed set

(demo without L.B.) (1998)

You think you hear demons
I think you are the demon
In this place where the images are born
You remember your childhood
Oh, in fiery sequences


The sun goes down
Filling the air with color and winds
that lift you up to God


You fall to your knees
You embrace the storm
You no longer care
If it's cold or if it's warm
You live for the danger
Like your passion and your anger


You don't let go
You like to be twisted by the force
You like to be shaken by the wind
In this game that you play with God
You've been warned to retreat

You take it to the limit
When the winds come up
Crazy men, crazy women
Crying out for love
You like to save her
But you just can't give it up


You'd rather be wrapped up
In the arms of a storm
Crazy men and crazy women
In the storm


And the sun goes down
Chasing down the demons
You think you hear demons
Chasing down the demons
Crying out for love


You'd rather be wrapped up
In the arms of the storm
Chasing down the the demons
(posted by Farid)

Posted:Thursday, April 24, 2003 | 

I have never been the best in something, in all the areas that I’m good at,
I find many others around me who are much better than me, and I find it
so humbling and also pleasing, how could I learn more if it wasn’t this way?
Isn’t it the only thing that matters? (posted by Farid)
Posted:Thursday, April 24, 2003 | 

Too much of a good thing is wonderful!
(Laberace)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 

My last post from Iran

This is my last post from Iran. It is not the first time that I leave my home. 23 years ago when Saddam attacked on Iran, I started my journey! I hope that I can find new friends and get familiar with westerners and their culture. It is said that Canada is interesting country and Canadians are nice people!

I hope Farid keeps blogging. I will get back as soon as possible.

(posted by Iman)




Posted:Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 

Arba'een in Iraq after 34 years!!



Today is Arba'een or the 40th day after martyrdom of Imam Hossein, the third Imam of Shia.
Many Iraqi shias walk rather than ride any vehicle. Many are barefoot as a mark of respect for the Chief of Martyrs. They hit themselves as an expression they are willing to suffer in his honour. I wish I could write more about these customs. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time. Read more here . Also Pedram has written a worth reading post .
(posted by Iman)


Posted:Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 

Iran and the new Iraq

Bijan Khajepour is an Iranian political consultant. In his recent article he raises many important points regarding new Iraq.

As one of the largest and most populous countries in the Middle East, Iran has a big stake in regional stability. Any sense of instability undermines Iran’s political and economic development and aggravates both internal and international tensions. From that perspective, Iran can only benefit from a new Iraqi regime if Iraq maintains its territorial integrity. Any fragmentation of Iraq will lead to new regional tensions which would be seen as irritants at best from an Iranian perspective.

American military presence, pro-American regime in Baghdad, internal power structures, Shiite presence in Iraqis’ political and local affairs and other important issues. Read more
(posted by Iman)
Posted:Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 

Assassination of Abdol-Majid Khoei


Masoud Behnoud, my favourite Iranian journalist who lives in London tries to answer Who assassinated Abdol-Majid Khoei? He says

The murder of Abdol-Majid Khoei in the religious city of Najaf, south of Iraq, in the early days of the fall of Baghdad, reminded many of Ahmad Shah Masoud's terror, the popular Afghan leader who was similarly murdered by some suicide group of Al Quadeh at the threshold of the invasion of Afghanistan by coalition forces.

Abdol-Majid Khoei, too, was a main candidate for Shiite leadership in a post—Hussein Iraq government, when the search had already begun for one who would be both popular among Shiites and familiar with laws and regulations in a democratic society.

Abdol-Majid Khoei, the 41 year-old Shiite clergy whose father was the worldwide Shiite leader until his death 10 years ago, was a good alternative, at least from the point of view of the British who is now running the southern cities of Iraq; an apropos candidate for calming Iraqi Shiites after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Having lived in Europe for a long time, he believed—in contrast to the majority of Shiite ecclesiastics—that the clergy should not have any role in Iraq's future regime. He believed in keeping religion away from politics. Did he lose his life for his belief?.Read more..

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Tuesday, April 22, 2003 | 

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
(Albert Einstein )
(posted by Farid)

Posted:Tuesday, April 22, 2003 | 

The beauties of the body are nothing to the beauties of the soul, so that wherever
one meets with spiritual loveliness, even it the husk of an unlovely body, he will find it
beautiful enough to fall in love with and to cherish.
( by Plato)
(posted by Farid)

Posted:Monday, April 21, 2003 | 

We say, “Have fun,” or we say , “Take it easy.” … Is this why we are alive today- to have fun? Or “Take it easy”? I do not want to take it easy. I want to be concerned. I want to know, and I want to share my knowledge. The third expression is even worse. It is “Relax.”
(Elie Wiesel)
(posted by Farid)


Posted:Monday, April 21, 2003 | 

Protest the arrest of Sina Mottalebi, Iranian Blogger



Sina Mottalebi an Iranian journalist and blogger was arrested on Sunday. As I said on Friday, April 18, Iran is the country in the world with the most journalists in prison!!.

A petition has been created by Iranian blogging community and written by dear Pedram to protest the arrest of Sina. Please sign the following petition.








Link via Pedram Moallemian






Posted:Monday, April 21, 2003 | 

I resist everything except temptation.
(Oscar Wilde)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Sunday, April 20, 2003 | 

Islam as a prefix

I do not know why many Muslims try to find Islamic version of every thing. Islamic sociology, Islamic philosophy, Islamic Medicine and even Islamic economy. The most interesting one is Islamic democracy! As far as I know after revolution, government tried to define new curriculums for universities!! I think after 24 years many Iranian muslim scholars who supported these meaningless combinations do not stick to it anymore. However, it is still the prominent doctrine in Islamic world.
(posted by Iman)


Posted:Sunday, April 20, 2003 | 

Study without thinking, and you are blind, think without studying and you are in danger.
(confucius)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Saturday, April 19, 2003 | 

Guesses vs. statistics

In Iran, there is not any independent and reliable statistics about people’s attitude toward other nations and governments. So whatever many Iranians say about Iranians’ attitudes is their own guesses rather than any documents on the basis of scientific survey. However, there is more agreement on some of them. Here is one of them. Let me know what you think?
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Saturday, April 19, 2003 | 

The more I read him , the less I wonder that they poisoned him.
(Thomas Macauley on Socrates)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Friday, April 18, 2003 | 

The country in the world with the most journalists in prison

Do you know where it is? Read this . We do not forget what is going on here. After 100 years, Iranians are hopeful that their country becomes the first democratic state in the region.
(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, April 18, 2003 | 

Some questions

Cowboy Kahlil is debating on why the US attacked Iraq. Also why they hate US.He says

What irritates me about this is the way the Bush administration tiptoes around the key issue here. We heard about WMDs and ties with Bin Laden. But the Dreyfuss article gets to the roots with the Likud/neocon ties, which go back to where the neocons originated, as aides to the staunchly pro-Israel Henry Scoop Jackson. The clear message to the Middle East is the long record of anti-Semitic propaganda and anti-Semitic terrorism that gets promoted throughout Arab and Iranian countries will not be tolerated anymore..It appears that Bush will push Sharon to surrender the settlements in return, at least that's what the early signals indicate. The practice of Arab governments talking peace while privately provoking Jewish hatred is what's being challenged, and not just in the Arab nations hostile to us, but the ones we've created alliances with.

This is a very difficult and also political matter to talk about in this weblog. It seems many Arabs are disappointed. Some believed that he was in front of Arabs- Israel battle, even though Saddam was a brutal dictator. They say he was the only Arab leader who defended Arabic world. Meanwhile many Arabs are angry since cheap dictators run their government and they can survive by US support. In fact, a democratic country is a complex system in compare to a non-democratic one. This war was a good example. Regimens in Qatar and Kuwait offered all they had. Do you know why? Because in these countries only one person decides what the other should do. However, even in a semi-democratic country like Turkey, there is a parliament and they discuss for the best option. A dictator is concerned about his benefits but in a democratic state the national interests and security is more important!! . Which one is better for US?
Kahlil wonders why Bush doesn't tell the truth

What I'm opposed to is the fact that Bush won't say it right up front that this may be the major point of our overthrow of the government of Iraq.

He remarks other points about the neocons and pro-Israel schemes.
But I would like to pinpoint very important issue. Kahlil continues:

The wars with Israel, the suicide bombers, the long record of hijackings and murders at least as far back as the 72 Munich Olympics, the dream of Hossein [Saddam] to become a modern Saladin uniting all the Arab states - these are not found in the Quran. They are found in the hearts of many Arabs, who seek to drive the Jews into the sea. They are tribal impulses, not religious. Many Arab clerics have lifted parts of the Quran to provide cover for the tribalism, but the hate does not originate in those sacred texts.

I do agree. If you basically think that there is something right or wrong and think every right is good and every wrong is evil or bad, It is easy to draw this conclusion that if I am right and good, so the bad and evil side is a threat. In this case, it would be easy to find documents showing the bad side is doing evil!.Yes you cannot find anything about fascism, racism and nationalism in Quran. In the beginning of every Surah (chapter) in Quran, you read “ In the name of God, the merciful and compassionate”. But extremists usually look for those parts about War and killing other people. In fact, they are trying to find justification for their inhuman actions.
Tolerance, pluralism, human rights and democracy are modern thoughts. I do not think there is such a thing in any Abraham religions. All of them and many other religions and ideologies say the same thing: We are right and the rest are on the wrong track. So I think violence, terrorism and many other things have other reasons. As Kahlil quotes

After 9/11, many folks asked, "why do they hate us?" Folks advanced many reasons. They are poor, they envy us. Islam is evil.

As a Middle East inhabitant, I think this concept is not right. All humans like to live in a free country and have a comfortable life without any restriction. You can find many of these things in a developed country. This is the reasons why many people who live in the third world, like to immigrate to the developed world!. Indeed, living in a country run by dictator is not interesting.
Why do many Muslims hate western governments? Good question. Do they hate west because of development? Or Muslims envy them? Or because westerners do not respect Islamic rules? This is a very fact that development in the west has brought Muslims misery and war. If you add other facts like censorship and oppression, low level of education, tribal system, overambitious leaders, you can draw a clearer picture. Kahlil says

This is blowback from our government's past policies. These and other rationales have been advanced. But the major reason they hate us is because of our defense and support of Israel.

Whether this thought is right or wrong, I would like to draw your attention to a simple fact: I think all ordinary people in the world are similar. They don’t like thinking but rather they prefer other people think and they just follow whatever they say. However, there is a difference between westerners and people who live in the third world. The first group has taught to respect rules and follow exactly what their governments tell them. In other cases, however, they are the same. They do not like to think about anything but their personal life. All of them think they are right, they have the best country, best religion and ….
Americans are good example. many of them trust their media and politicians. I saw many Americans denounced Mr. Blix because he couldn’t prove what they believed!. Many think that Saddam backed the 9/11. Why? Because media say. Many think that US invaded Iraq to liberate Iraqis. Why? Because their politicians say.
Look at the opposite side: I asked an extremist Muslim why he supported suicide bombers since they kill many innocent people as well. He said, this is the responsibility of victims’ parents. They should leave Israel. No matter how many innocent are killed!!.. I received a similar reply from an American Jew. He believed there is only one solution: Palestinians should leave the region otherwise they should be killed!! . Both of them were ordinary person. I recall I talked to a European guy. We were talking about ways that governments can prevent the crime in the society. He believed that we should kill all offenders!!. You may say these are extreme cases. Unfortunately, many ordinary people think like this. Even if they themselves do not kill or punish any body, they support people who do these. OK. Now let’s find a simple answer for all problems in the Middle East. Many Arabs and Muslims are told that US and Israel are the main cause of their misery. This is simple answer and they can find many evidences supporting this idea. They do not care about this fact that we cannot find a simple answer for a complicated case.
I think there are many reasons why many Muslims hate America. Look at the past history of this region. Us supported and still support many dictators in the region. Shah before revolution in Iran, Saddam during Iran- Iraq war. Saudi royal family. Do the dictators in the region survive without US support? Of course not. There are other alternatives in these countries. But they may cause some problems in future. If US let Muslims run their countries through a democratic way, it may be problematic. They certainly won’t follow US. They do according to their national interest, which may be inconsistent with US foreign policy. It is possible that they will not support the doctrine of independent Israel state!! I think this is the main question. What is the meaning of democracy?

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, April 18, 2003 | 

The Holy Shroud of Jesus

"The Holy Shroud is the burial cloth in which the sacred Body of Jesus Christ was wrapped when laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Upon its surface, it bears the Image of our crucified God and the indelible marks of His Precious Blood. Truly, the Shroud is the oldest and most precious relic in the world; a corporal relic left, in the Providence of God, to an unbelieving world to be a "silent witness" to the infinite love of God to man, to an unbelieving world, of the Divinity of Our Lord, and to memorialize the sacrificial victory of the Son of God over sin, death, and Satan.

The significance of the Holy Shroud is inseparable from the significance of Him Whose image is so brutally manifested upon the cloth; for the Shroud is a divine constituent in the immense cycle represented in the Sacrifice of the Cross, prepared before the creation of the world: the Old Testament reaching forth to Calvary, and Calvary, through the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament, lifting man up, on the merits of the Sacrifice of Redemption, to eternal beatitude in Heaven.

The Holy Shroud is an integral part of the divine story of Him Who "spangled the heavens with the jewels of night;" of Him Who created heaven and earth, and every living creature; of Him Who lavished the sky in azure blue and bequeathed loveliness to the verdant landscape; of Him Who devised the beauty and fragrance of the littlest flower; of Him Who breathes life and wonder into the smallest child; of Him Who was born of a Virgin Mother and Who reigns as King of kings, and Lord of lords; of Him Who beneath the crown of thorns wore the imperishable aureole of Divine Majesty; of Him Who within Whose Body, all torn and disfigured, there abided infinite power, infinite justice, infinite mercy, and infinite love; of Him in place of Whom the modem world blasphemously cries aloud, "Give us Barabbas! Crucify Christ!"; of Him Who said, "Without Me you can do nothing"; the palpable truth of which contemporary society is a standing proof. It is the eternal story of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word made Flesh, without Whom there is no Christianity, no redemption, no salvation, and no slightest hope for mankind."find more here and here
(posted by Farid)


Posted:Friday, April 18, 2003 | 

The world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.
(Horace walpole)
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Thursday, April 17, 2003 | 

America's war of 'liberation' vs. Iraq's war of liberation

I know many Americans hate Robert Fisk. Some call him an idiot. However, I follow his reports. I think he is an independent journalist. He may be pessimistic or sometimes exaggerate some facts. But his reposts and predictions are worth reading. If you searching for independent sources, he is a good choice at least for his challenging questions. In his recent report from Baghdad, he gives us good picture of this occupied or librated city.

It's going wrong, faster than anyone could have imagined. The army of "liberation" has already turned into the army of occupation. The Shias are threatening to fight the Americans, to create their own war of "liberation"…Everywhere are the signs of collapse. And everywhere the signs that America's promises of freedom and democracy are not to be honoured Why, Iraqis are asking, did the United States allow the entire Iraqi cabinet to escape? And they're right.

Couple of days ago Jazz told me that there is a rumour in Britain right now that Saddam and Bush collaborated and Saddam said his resistance would be small. They say that Saddam and America have always been in league and some agreement has been made. It was on the radio the other day and she was suspicious. Dave an American blogger believes that this thought is ridiculous and thinks it is another cheap Conspiracy hypothesis. Though I think such an agreement between Saddam and US is unlikely, these questions should be answered. This is the battle for hearts and minds of Iraq and such a concept is deep rooted in their culture!!.

Here's what Baghdadis are noticing and what Iraqis are noticing in all the main cities of the country. Take the vast security apparatus with which Saddam surrounded himself, the torture chambers and the huge bureaucracy that was its foundation. President Bush promised that America was campaigning for human rights in Iraq, that the guilty, the war criminals, would be brought to trial. The 60 secret police headquarters in Baghdad are empty, even the three-square-mile compound headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. I have been to many of them. But there is no evidence even that a single British or US forensic officer has visited the sites to sift the wealth of documents lying there or talk to the ex-prisoners returning to their former places of torment. Is this idleness? Or is this willful?

He also remarks a very important point about looting and Arsons.

The official US line on all this is that the looting is revenge an explanation that is growing very thin and that the fires are started by "remnants of Saddam's regime", the same "criminal elements", no doubt, who feature in the marines' curfew orders. But people in Baghdad don't believe Saddam's former supporters are starting these fires. And neither do I.The looters make money from their rampages but the arsonists have to be paid. The passengers in those buses are clearly being directed to their targets. If Saddam had pre-paid them, they wouldn't start the fires. The moment he disappeared, they would have pocketed the money and forgotten the whole project.

He finishes his report with an awful prediction,
That America's war of "liberation" is over. Iraq's war of liberation from the Americans is about to begin. In other words, the real and frightening story starts now.


Update:

Hooman discuses this subjects.

While we were surprised to see such a turnaround and I for one argued how smart the US military strategy was, it seems things are not exactly the same we see them. Did the Pentagon officials fluke the deal in the last minute, and would the war have fought differently otherwise?

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Thursday, April 17, 2003 | 

The Country Next Door

I read an interesting report in CBC news website regarding Iran. I think it has many worth reading points.

Even today, for Iran, America is still officially the Great Satan. And to the United States, Iran is officially in the Axis of Evil. One reality that is seared into the Iranian psyche is the brutal eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. Reminders are everywhere in Tehran. In the city's hospitals, the realities of Saddam Hussein's chemical attacks are everywhere in the men who returned home blinded, lungs burned, tethered for life to respirators. Victims stare out from every street corner. They are buried by the tens of thousands in cemeteries that have become places of pilgrimage in a country that vows never again to be a victim.

They were gassed for years by Saddam Hussein. We said nothing. The international community said nothing, says Kemp. In fact, we imposed a very stringent arms embargo on Iran at the same time we were helping Iraq re-arm, and they have not forgiven us for that. Nevertheless, beyond the obvious state propaganda, there are no overt signs of anti-Americanism.

The result: stagnation and a welter of social problems. Streets are filled with runaway children. There's an epidemic of drug addiction, depression and suicide. Prostitution is rampant. This is hardly the paradise that the revolution promised. Iran is a messy, confused, semi-democratic, semi-authoritarian Islamic country that is struggling to find its ways, says Kemp.

Iran, if it sets its mind to it, could be a truly great power in the region. And what we have to hope is that we, the United States, have a good relationship with it when that date happens.For that to happen, the social revolution that is taking place here must succeed. Sixty percent of Iran's people are under 25, an exploding population connecting itself with the wider world. Women are beginning to defiantly let the veils slip from their heads. And youth must be served with American style burgers and fries.

...We [Iranians] have 4.2 million unemployed people. Nearly one million of them are university educated. You can't find jobs for them here. I'm sorry to tell that, but here is not Iraq, is not Pakistan, is not Afghanistan, says Raisdana. The people are full of culture. They know many things. They are aware. They want real democracy. They want to participate. They want to build a future.

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | 

Iran's new neighbor
Pedram is an Iranian blogger who lives in the US. One of his readers asked him:
Q: Where about are you based?
He replied: I'm "based" in the country neighboring Iran to both East and West: The 52 United States of America.
(posted by Iman)



Posted:Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | 

What's Going On

Mother, mother
There's to many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Yah

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today


Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

(Background music and conversation)
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me,
So you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
I’ll tell you Ya, what's going on - Uh
Ah, what's going on
Right on baby
Right on baby

(bye Marvin Gaye)
(Posed by Farid)

Posted:Tuesday, April 15, 2003 | 

Comments on My Essay on Homosexuality


These are two emails I received from Pouya who was kind enough to read my essay and write his comments about it, after receiving the first one, I asked him for some clarification on how I have done what he called sophistry , so he answered my email the same day and I publish both of them here, I will gradually write my views as I get the time.
( Pouye's First email)

Hi Farid / Iman,

Just visited your site today and read your essays on homosexuality and wanted to leave a longer piece of feedback than the site allowed. So here it is by mail.
I admire you for tackling the correctness of homosexuality in a logical manner and your acknowledgement of the weaknesses of the divine argument against it given the fallibility of other such "divine" judgements. Whilst have no criticism of your moral argument, based on the code you seem to subscribe to, I find your reasoning on the subject somewhat weak when it comes to justifying why you believe homosexuality is wrong. Your argument seems to be tied to a very narrow perception of the biological and social imperatives that contribute to a well-functioning society or species. I find that particularly flawed because this belief is not only unproven but there is some interesting philosophical arguments to disprove it.

For one thing, you assume that all activities must be suitable for everybody and then through some sophistry you then propose that the inverse is true. This is predicate logic of the worst sort. Just because an activity is not suitable for everybody to do doesn't make the activity wrong. It seems too simplistic an argument to make given every indicator of a well behaved social system suggests that in fact specialisation and diversity within these systems guarantees far better functioning societies.
The second questionable proposition you make is that by virtue of the biological imperative to reproduce, relationships which are not contributing to this drive are deterimental on a macro scale. There is much evidence to suggest that this is not the case. There is some scientific research which illustrate there are more important factors in the control of birth rates and there are some philosophical arguments to be made that homosexuality is a natural phenomona which has some merit in large natural groupings.
Homosexuals may be a necessary part of the diversity that enables human societies to manage themselves once they are past the point where essential survival is assured.
I think the assumption that every aspect of a society should be geared towards the same purpose is a misnomer that derives from taking a dogmatic approach to social and biological organisation. It is my biggest criticism of all religions that they apply such macros in its management of ethical and social issues without either the proper scientific evidence nor the necessary experience required to understand them. If it was God's intent to do this I see no reason why he also gifted us with a well-functioning brain and the instruments to understand the world around us better.
Whilst I find the acts of homosexuality foreign and not to my taste, I firmly believe this is a factor of social conditioning rather than a biological reaction. Whether homosexuality is itself a biological or social or psychological characteristic is beyond me and I have yet to see much evidence either way on the subject. However, the logical arguments you propose are contrary to the increased pools of knowledge that illustrate that as far as biological imperative or social organisation goes, Islam has very little to teach us anymore.

In the end, when reasoned properly it is evident that homosexuality is merely a social bond like any other and the acts of homosexuality are merely an expression of these bonds in both the physical and mental state. In the sense that one must be ultimately free to pursue a path of their own choosing providing their actions do not negatively impact on others it is unreasonable to criticise homosexuality. It is not a disease, it is not contagious and the openness of those who are homosexuals those not discourage others from pursuing their own biological imperatives. When disabused of these fallacies about the negative impact of homosexuality, it would seem we are left with a lot of evidence that homosexuals contribute greatly to society whether due to or despite of their sexual preferences. Think of the art, literature, science and more that homosexual individuals have contributed. It seems no handicap to their worth within a social context. I firmly believe that if we are to be free of the irrational prejudices against us we must examine our own and question them more thoroughly than I believe you have done.

Cheers,

Seyed Razavi

( Pouya's second email):

Farid

Sophistry means "A plausible but misleading or fallacious argument". In the context of my email, I was dismayed by your use of predicate logic in turning a statement into a priori of another. Here is a simple example of what I mean:
"It rained on Sunday. Today is Sunday. Therefore, it will rain."

Or

"A man and a women are required to have children. Having children is a natural and a necessary function of human beings. Therefore, not having children is bad and relationships that are not a man with a women are bad."

The weakness in the argument is assuming that one set of facts (priori) can be inversed based on their combination with another set of facts.

The other criticisms I have of the essay are that:
a) You emphasise that the genetics and environmental factors are well understood. I believe they are not and the assumption that you can cite examples to the contrary as proof they are incomplete is flawed.
b) You note that some degenerative diseases are genetic and hence not all genetical traits are acceptable. I find that questionable reasoning because the sophistry here is that there is a connection between degenerative diseases and homosexuality, i.e. they are both potential genetic failings.
c) You view homosexuality as a problem but with the exception of your emphasis on natural imperatives such as breeding you don't clearly illustrate why homosexuality is a problem, which needs help. The comparisons with psychological and physical disorders are misleading.
d) You cite AIDS as indicative of the problems of homosexuality. For example, you cite the reduced life spans of homosexuals due to the virus. By that logic black Africans or Chinese are also a problem because they suffer from the virus (on a much larger scale one might add). Therefore, the allegation is flawed. You seem to be confusing poor hygiene control (which is fundamentally at the root of the spread of AIDS) and the emotional needs of individuals in same sex relationships.
e) You cite dubious references such as your comments on gay spirituality.
As an essay I would reject it completely because you offer numerous reasons but only back each one up with one secondary source (a secondary source being the books you cite as opposed to a primary source which is imperical or subjective evidence from a direct source, e.g. your experience with homosexuals or a scientific study). When presenting a case as sophisticated as yours you need to focus on fewer points with better / more evidence for each.
f) You don't acknowledge biases. Not just your own but also those of your sources. What was the motive of the writers of the books you cite? What was yours?

My previous email discussed in more detail what I believe may be philosophical arguments which counter your own. I haven't researched the imperical evidence you present but in the case you present I would expect you to take a more balanced and wider approach. It is telling you don't really acknowledge any positive benefits from homosexuals, for the individual or for society.
I have no idea what time or other limitations you had when writing your essay but I hope you find these comments helpful. I'm not criticizing you or your intelligence, just the methodology of the essay you wrote.

Cheers,

Seyed Razavi

(posted by Farid)



Posted:Tuesday, April 15, 2003 | 

Hollow force!

The Iraqi military was essentially a hollow force, weakened by years of sanctions. The regime it served was equally hollow; most Iraqis seem to have shed few tears at its passing. But even by its own standards the Iraqi military put up a very bad fight.Jonathan Marcus reports
(posted by Iman)


Posted:Monday, April 14, 2003 | 

Democracy in Iraq, fundamental questions

It is said that this war is for establishing a democratic state in Iraq or Iraqis should choose their government freely. Is it possible? Or it is another factious politicians’ slogan!. This is challenging issue and we need more information before any judgment. For me, at the present situation, it is next to impossible!!. I think a temporary colonization is the most probable option, though they may call it with other names!. Why? I have some reasons for it.
I have read an interesting interview with Agha Khan, the leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims. He remarks very important points

Iraq lies on a fault line between two parts of the Arab world, between the Arab Muslim world and the non-Arab Muslim world; between Shia Muslims and Sunnis; between Wahhabi Muslims and Shias. The conflict has opened a series of fundamental questions which it will be necessary to manage with great prudence. It has touched the area's religious equilibrium. In Iraq, you had a Sunni-minority government in a majority-Shia country. In Syria, it's the opposite. As for Saudi Arabia, its positions on a number of points are absolutely and totally rejected by other countries of the same geographical area.

In this context, one must ask oneself the question as to what one wishes to achieve in a post-Saddam Hussain Iraq. Whether the United Nations will agree to become the principal authority for the rebuilding of Iraq? Whether we are moving towards a temporary colonization by the English and the Americans? Will elections in Iraq lead to Shia power? Will this Shia majority ally itself with Iran, with Yemen? Will there be stronger empathy between Shia Arabs and Shia non-Arabs or between Arab Shias and Arab Sunnis? These are fundamental questions. On the military and economic planes, an Iran-Iraq axis would be extremely powerful. How will Saudi Arabia and its partners react to this redistribution of cards?

Democracy in Iraq has not been applied for a very long time. Putting in place a credible system will take time and will be very difficult to organize.Afghanistan proves it. And then, we must be prepared to accept the verdict of democracy. This democracy should be applied over time and in [a climate of] stability. In many countries, the democratic experiment has failed. If you wish to set up a democratic process in a Third World country, it is imperative to reflect, not only on the process, but also its effects; its results. Iraq is an educated country, with a grand tradition. But, it is not more pluralistic in its way of thinking than is Afghanistan. Democracy, if it is established in Iraq, must legitimate pluralism. That is not easy to achieve. The bottom line is to have a successful democracy. And for that, it is imperative to seek out elites with competence in governing. Read more

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Monday, April 14, 2003 | 

Homosexuality(this is the ramaining part of the essay that I forgot to include)
It was not that long ago that homosexuals were afraid to talk about their issue; now those who criticize them have the same position. They become convicted of being "homophobiacs”, as if now they are those who should keep their feelings hidden. Parents suddenly saw themselves in a position that they couldn’t give sufficient reasons that it is wrong to their teens, simply because they hadn’t any . They have been inculcated in this way from childhood and had taken it for granted due to their own religious beliefs. But today with religious beliefs so undermined, it more sounds a dogma to say that it’s wrong because of what Scriptures say. No wonder those few who oppose it are mostly religious speakers. Every scientific discovery can have both good and bad sides; it all depends on how we will use them. Scientific findings about homosexuality can bring with them two wonderful results: providing us with tools to help homosexual medically, and giving us a better understanding of their problem together with more willingness to help them.
Posted:Sunday, April 13, 2003 | 

American’s turn!

Mojtaba in his letter from London writes

History of Bagdad is an amazing one; an old city which has seen Abbasid Caliphes, Persians, Mongols ,Ottomans, British and now Americans. Once Abu Moslem Khorasani , who was Persian, entered the city victoriously with his army in the eight century. In the thirteenth century, Halaku Khan, who was Mongol, occupied it. In the 17th century Persians were defeated by Ottomans and lost the city; then British came. And now it is the Americans' turn!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Sunday, April 13, 2003 | 

Homosexuality( some points about my essay)

Jazz, I read your comments, I can tell that you are in the right track! I’m sure it has been my bad choice of words or unclear sentences that caused some confusion, one of them was the word “equal”, that as I felt made you angry with me more than confused , and I apologize for that.
It can be interesting for you to know that Iman and I had a similar discussion on morality a while ago. I will come back to this, but first I want to talk about how we usually use the word “morality”. The meaning that we understand from words are mostly determined form their time or place of use .I think when people from different cultures or from different religious perspectives use this term, they are talking about the correctness or wrongness of a special thing. This is the common use of this term as far as I understand. When me and Iman were discussing about a certain issue, Iman asked me how I defined morality, and I said instead of morality I prefer to use “correctness” of an act, since morality needs a code, so my main point is that : if we are not discussing based on an agreed moral code , we should know whenever we use the word “moral”, it means a correct or advisable way of acting. So when I saw that you are considering the morality in its specific sense, I said that this is not what I mean by it ( by saying that I used it in a subjective way) and the focus is something else. As you see I have used logical reasons to say that homosexuality is not correct, especially in the last part of my essay. So here being immoral is equal to being “wrong”. This is the common use of the word. Let me give you an example: In Islam eating pig’s meat and shaving your beard with a blade is forbidden, and so considered immoral acts, now if somebody has accepted Islam as his moral code , he will consider doing them immoral. Now someone may argue that as far as science and experience tells us, there’s nothing wrong in doing them today . But they are still considered immoral in Muslin world, this is a case that correctness of an act can be different from its morality; muslin clergies have never abolished these laws, and one of their reasons is that there may always be some ulterior reason that we don’t know of.
I 'll try to explain another side of this later.
(posted by Farid)



Posted:Sunday, April 13, 2003 | 

Tango to Evora

Loreena McKennitt is my favourite singer. I love all her works especially this wonderful masterpiece .
Does anybody know anything about interpretation music of the song "Tango to Evora"?

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Referendum for resumption of ties with US

This is good news for Iranians. Do you know the meaning of politics in Iran? Here it is

"Our ideology is flexible. We can choose our expediency on the basis of Islam. Still, to put the country in jeopardy on the ground that we are acting on an Islamic basis is not at all Islamic"

PS: Our kind readers! In this weblog we do not talk about politics.

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Looting and Iraqis’s feeling

'We've been wanting to kill Saddam Hussein for 20 years but we couldn't. So we are grateful to the Americans, but they are letting thieves take everything from the Iraqi people. It is their responsibility to maintain security but they let the thieves do whatever they want. Peter Beaumont in Baghdad reports .

Of course, they pledges to control.

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Greatest rebuilding show on earth!


I would like to be optimistic but... Anyway read this


(posted by Iman)


Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Hypocrisy!


Syria insists on the Iraqis being allowed to "choose their government freely away from foreign intervention”. Ridiculus! Syria does not have free elections!! (posted by Iman)


Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931

Poet, philosopher, and artist, Kahlil Gibran was born in Lebanon, a land that has produced many prophets. The millions of Arabic-speaking peoples familiar with his writings in that language consider him the genius of his age.But he was a man whose fame and influence spread far beyond the Near East. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages.
In the United States, where he made his home during the last twenty years of his life, he began to write in English. The Prophet and his other books of poetry, illustrated with his mystical drawings, are known and loved by innumerable Americans who find in them an expression of the deepest impulses of man's heart and mind.
"Few writings have stirred me like that of Gibran's. Along with Shakespeare and Mark Twain, he is one of my heros of literature. More than a year ago I searched the web and revisited The Prophet to gain inspiration for my own writings, and for a site I was creating.But I found myself instead re-enchanted by the words of a true poet. Gibran, like no other, has penned my heart and deepest emotions and beliefs. And so I decided that I would pay tribute to my favorite writer by building a site dedicated to my favorite epic ~ The Prophet.
Being an artist himself, I don't know how Gibran would react to my task of setting his masterpiece to music and gracing his pages with the paintings of another artist ~ William Whitaker. But I couldn't resist. How could I not combine the works of my favorite author and favorite artist?"
(find more here)

(posted by Farid)



Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

Homosexuality(last part)

Homosexuals have never had more reasons to prove that homosexuality is not a matter of choice than today. In fact today they don’t have to do it themselves; almost everyone is somehow influenced by biological findings and acts as their spokesman. I gave my own opinion about why these findings are not a basis for their claim. What looks more important to me is that they seem truly convinced that they are created this way and that they cannot change it. They reject all opposition against it on the basis of their tendency .My question to this argument is that why should we think that every kind of tendency and feeling is harmless and correct? If I am a bad-tempered person, I cannot claim that others have to tolerate me because this is my nature. What actually has happened is that not only they argue that others should tolerate them, but that their behavior is quite normal. They say that many gay people stay together for a long time and it shows that their feeling is real. Again this doesn’t show anything. Nobody says that their tendency is a superficial or temporary one. The opposition to this tendency is that it is not the correct way of living because of its consequences. Homosexuals cannot have kids so they cannot have true families. This is not a minor thing to ignore. Children are the continuation and fruit of their parent’s lives. Any moral act should be advisable to everyone, but where would the world head to if all the people on earth become homosexual? Nothing but complete annihilation will come out of it. They may attempt to raise children but never a man can play the role of a mother in a child’s life. As Worden mentions, life expectancy of gay people is about 40% less than heterosexual; he goes on to give Dr. Paul Cameron report that:
For heterosexual, the average man lives to be 73;women 77.For homosexual, the average non-AID- caused death is at the remarkably advance age of 42! For lesbians, the average age of death is 44 because AIDS is not a significant factor among lesbians, However the fact that lesbians (who are not particularly subject to AIDS) can still expect to lose 30 years of life indicates that the homosexual “lifestyle” is beset by a host of lethal pathologies other than AIDS such as drug addiction alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and parasites, domestic violence, and suicide.
He also mentions that death and injury caused by domestic violence is at least five times larger in homosexuals than straights and that it “goes right off the scale” in lesbians. All these facts and many others show that never having homosexual feelings can justify its correctness. What really perplexes those who have always abhorred homosexuality is some of the new areas homosexuals are exploring these days. As an example, Christian de la Huerta, the founder of Q-Spirit, talks in his book about a new outlook on gay spirituality. Many gay people claim that they have personal relationship with Jesus, and they question the notion that God deprives them from his grace. My answer to this is that God’s grace reaches to everybody in different arenas of life based on how they act in those arenas. So a gay person can receive God’s grace in all the parts of his life that he is acting correctly in, but they cannot claim that they are receiving all that they are supposed to, and I believe that they are losing the major part of it. Forming families and having children is so important that life would be meaningless without it.
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

The shock and the awe may not be over yet!!

Jonathan Freedland

Iran in particular has reason to feel jumpy: it's all but encircled, with a US presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and all along the Persian Gulf waterway.
That logic - what one former Clinton official calls "pre-empting the pre-emption" - might appeal to Iran and the newest member of the axis club, Syria. Both countries can now feel America's hot breath on their necks, with US forces right on their borders. Iran in particular has reason to feel jumpy: it's all but encircled, with a US presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and all along the Persian Gulf waterway.
So will Tehran take the Pyongyang remedy, seeking a nuclear buffer to protect it from US might? There are grounds for that suspicion. Iran has shown an unusually active interest in nuclear energy for a country with the second largest natural gas reserves in the world. Since gas is cheaper and more efficient than nuclear power, it is rather suspicious that Tehran is so keen on building nuclear generators. And it has hardly been open about its plans.

But all this forgets a basic fact about the Islamic republic: it has two governments. The conservative old guard may well be stuck in a confrontational posture with the US, but reformers around President Mohammed Khatami are not keen to provoke Washington.

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Saturday, April 12, 2003 | 

A message
Saddam overthrow is a clear message for some Arabs and Muslims who supported Saddam because of religious reasons or nationalisim and thought this monster is a Hero! as they think Osama is. I think many of them are confused and disappointed how this cheap and coward dictator escaped and did not resist. I remember when Saddam invaded Iran in 1980, Iranians soldier in Khoramshahar resisted more than 35 days. They were only 400 soldiers!!
It is also a message, say warning, for all dictators in the world.This is all dictators’ fate. Your people will celebrate your death. Alas! Dictators are always blind and deaf!
Update:
Frank Gardner reports : Men stare, glassy-eyed, at wall-mounted television sets, stirring their sweet tea and slowly shaking their heads. They never really expected Saddam's forces to win. But they did expect them to put up more of a fight…. Bin Laden always warned that the West was out to colonise the Arab world ... many will now agree!!!


(posted by Iman)
Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

Give Iraqis real justice

HRW -Saddam Hussein and his henchmen have been responsible for murdering or "disappearing" some 225,000 Iraqis. Now that his dictatorship is crumbling, what is the best way to bring to justice the surviving members of his government who are responsible for these atrocities?

(posted by Iman)



Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

Homosexuality(part3)

As a historic evidence Carl F Worden mentions three cases that Anna Freud, Sigmund’s daughter, reported of recovery of gay persons in 1940; he also mentions many gays and lesbian who have decided and succeeded in changing their sexual orientation and many of them have married with each other and are raising families; then he asks “if homosexuality is so natural and people are born into it, why can this “recovery” be possible?” It has always been claimed by those who oppose homosexuality that a special kind of event in gay persons’ lives or the way they have been brought up has played the major role for them to go this way. Eric Marcus talks about how he became the target of labeling with the word faggot one summer (2). Later in the same page he talks about a handsome and confident student who “did [. . .] help dispel all the myths [he] had grown up with[…]”, which shows the role of an unpleasant event and education in forming his sexuality at the same time. There is no doubt that education is a major factor in forming person’s sexual orientation. Alfred Kinsey developed a seven-point rating for sexual orientation. Every body is placed in one point of this scale with zero for completely heterosexuals and seven for completely homosexuals (Marcus 5). Considering this scale we can easily see how education can play a crucial role in determining the sexuality of those who are somewhere in the middle of the scale. In fact what is happening today is quite the opposite. Those who are in the middle of the scale find it hard to decide which way to go, because they are left to themselves to decide. They are oscillating between two extremes without knowing which one to choose. Biological factors or nature and psychological environment or nurture combine to influence our actions, thoughts and feelings. We are the most genetically indeterminate of all animals. The decisive role of education has been shown in training identical twins who are literally the same biologically. Education can yield unbelievable results when used properly from childhood. When we don’t agree ourselves on what is wrong and what is right, we cannot have a consistent education and any kind of training loses most of its credibility this way. This is what is happening today .My point here is that we cannot go where we are going with this excuse that education hasn’t done much in this area. What has happened for years has had a confusing effect on homosexuals instead of helping them. We should be honest with others and ourselves. The first step in treating an illness is recognizing it ; if we don’t truly believe something as an illness, we will never do our best to cure it. What has happened for centuries was to reject homosexuals and treat them as untouchables. They were regarded so corrupt to deal with. Now we have the same attitude but only from a different kind. We are not helping them, but this time because we don’t look at it as a problem. The feelings of disgust and abhorrence towards gay people should change to sympathy and help. This will have the effect of allowing them to talk about their problem and seek help and makes others willing to help them instead of rejecting them. We cannot expect them to change without giving them their due social and medical helps.
(posted by Farid)
Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

One

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame

You say
One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late
Tonight
To drag tha past out
Into the light
We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One

Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come tor raise the dead
Havew you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt

One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should

One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers

One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other

One

One. (by U2)

(posted by Farid)





Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

Human clones: Next to impossible!!

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh reported in the journal Science that attempts to clone monkeys have ended in failure. They have discovered a biochemical obstacle that would make the cloning of human embryos very difficult, if not impossible, using current cloning technology. They found that as each embryo divided, the tight bundles of DNA known, as chromosomes weren't being passed on to new cells in an orderly fashion. Cells end up with too much, or too little DNA, and cannot survive. The correct balance of genes is crucial for development. The group also discovered a possible source of the problem. At the very first step in cloning, when the egg's genetic material is removed, two proteins known as HSET and NuMA also are sucked out of the egg cell. The job of these two proteins is to pull the chromosomes to the right places during cell division so each new cell inherits a complete set of genes. Read more

(posted by Iman)


Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

The Day of Looter!

Robert Fisk in his recent report from Baghdad says

It was the day of the looter. The Americans may think they have "liberated" Baghdad but the tens of thousands of thieves – they came in families and cruised the city in trucks and cars searching for booty – seem to have a different idea what liberation means. As the occupying power, America is responsible for protecting embassies and UN offices in their area of control but, yesterday, its troops were driving past the German embassy even as looters carted desks and chairs out of the front gate……It is a scandal, a kind of disease, a mass form of kleptomania that American troops are blithely ignoring.

To all this, the Americans have turned a blind eye, indeed stated specifically that they had no intention of preventing the "liberation" of this property. One can hardly be moralistic about the spoils of Saddam's henchmen but how is the government of America's so-called "New Iraq" supposed to operate now that the state's property has been so comprehensively looted?…Yesterday..I found the owner of a grain silo and factory ordering his armed guards to fire on the looters who were trying to steal his lorries. Understandably, the poor and the oppressed took their revenge on the homes of the men of Saddam's regime who have impoverished and destroyed their lives, sometimes quite literally, for more than two decades….

And already America's army of "liberation" is beginning to seem an army of occupation. I watched hundreds of Iraqi civilians queuing to cross a motorway bridge at Daura yesterday morning, each man ordered by US soldiers to raise his shirt and lower his trousers – in front of other civilians, including women – to prove they were not suicide bombers.

Mr Fisk!! Do not worry! They have already sorted out this puzzle. In comnig days, they will say that we must stay here to control these barbarous people!!. They need time to show the world that they have to stay there. Librators should complete their job!!.
(posted by Iman)



Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

Iraqis storm embassy in Tehran

IRNA reports

Some 60 Iraqis residing in Iran on Friday stormed the Iraqi Embassy in Tehran and smashed furniture in the compound. Chanting slogans such as "Death to Saddam", "No to Colonialism, No to Baath Party". They then started destroying Saddam's pictures, and smashing the windows of the compound.

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

The happiest people

These days Iraqis and Iranians are the happiest people in the world. They got rid of Saddam. Though I mourn for innocent Iraqis who died in this war, I feel joy because Saddam fled. A bloodthirsty monster who demolished my home and beloved city 23 years ago. Meanwhile, I think if West did not support Saddam in the past, Iraqis could remove Saddam without such a bloody war. Alas!

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Friday, April 11, 2003 | 

Homosexuality(part 2)


Not knowing what to do with their problem and finding the change so hard or almost impossible, homosexuals have welcomed recent biological findings about the biological roots of their problem and this has become their main point in arguing about the normality of their sexual orientation. Unfortunately this conclusion is too hasty and incautious. As we all know scientific findings are constantly changing; with every new discovery, previous convictions can be proven totally wrong. After explaining what the latest researches have found, William Byne, a psychiatrist and neuroanatomist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City states: “These speculations reemphasize how far researchers must go before they understand the factors--both biological and experiential-- that contribute to sexual orientation” and then he warns us about the wrong use of such findings: “While attempts to replicate these preliminary findings continue, researchers and the public must resist the temptation to consider them in any but the most tentative fashion.” The fallibility of science has been proven all through the history, and maybe the tentative measure would be not to act upon any scientific product unless it passes the test of time
The entire conclusion that homosexuality is in the right path like heterosexuality drawn from scientific findings is flawed. I don’t think anyone can ignore or totally object to these scientific findings. For a long time only psychological origins were given as the reasons for mental states and it was mainly due to our lack of knowledge in biology. Today we know that any human behavior is influenced by two factors: environment and genetics, so it has both psychological and biological origins. One of the assumptions that this is based on is that if something is genetic or innate then it is normal as anything else. If this is true, we have to accept those with Down syndrome as normal human beings and blinds as equal to everyone else. We all know that some children show some characteristics from the very childhood that we don’t approve of; some are bad-tempered, some are more envious than others, and some are lazier . All these traits of behavior are influenced to some extent by genetics, but it doesn’t mean that they are equal to those that we approve in morality or worth. Fred G. Zaspel is talking exactly about the same thing when he states:
The most recent explanation is that people are just "born that way." Let's think about that. Let's say a man is born a kleptomaniac. Should society give him the freedom to steal? What if a man has a natural tendency toward adultery? Should it be approved? You see, the question is not that of psychological predisposition.
One of the attempts made is to show that homosexuality is natural because animals engage in such a behavior. Though there are many opposite arguments to this fact, even if we accept it, it won’t have the implication claimed. First of all, being natural among animals isn’t equal to being natural among humans. We can think of countless things that happen naturally in nature but are not considered natural for humans at all. But have we chosen animals to be our role model after all? I think this argument boils down to the one I explained earlier in this paragraph about the difference between naturality of a behavior and it’s moral correctness.
(posted by Farid)

Posted:Thursday, April 10, 2003 | 

Beauty, Modesty and natural matters





David an American blogger writes

Yesterday I read an article about veiling in Iran. Hat Tip to Uncertainty Religious Vs Culture kind of article. It concluded by asking, "don't you find modesty attractive?" I thought about that, and I'll give you an older mans view. Too many modern women worry about their appearances. Guys get tired of someone asking if their outfit makes their butt look fat. What if you really liked me (sorry, I'm married, but this is all hypothetical anyway) but you found out I was blind. Now you still like me, but you can't rely on your appearance or your clothing to appeal to me. How do you attract me to you? Perfume? OK, if you smell nice it's better than smelling all sweaty, but what about your tone of voice, your choice of words, your attitude towards yourself, the world, and of course me. How about a gentle touch. Would you like to discuss something that interests me? Give this all some thought, because this is how I would discover someone's true inner beauty. Now I'm not blind, and I'm biased against certain physical characteristics, but you would never guess which ones. The veiling thing though, the modesty, not from a religious standpoint but from a social or cultural one, maybee that makes sense. Maybee it ensures that a man can choose a woman based on the most important qualities, and not just the one with the cutest belly button. What do you think? Maybee a westerner could learn something from the Muslim culture, even if it has nothing to do with religion.

I am glad that such a socio-cultural issue in my country is interesting to a westerner. Anyway, in my post about Modesty in Islam and Iran, I tried to explain its cultural roots and historical background and whether this is an Islamic mandate or not. Hijab, which means to hide from view, is the long dress and veil worn by many Muslim women with the function of distinguishing them from non-Muslims, reminding them of their Islamic faith, and concealing them from the public view of males. I remarked that there is not any crystal clear definition about code of dressing in Quran. However, in Islamic society there are two schools of thought concerning this way of dressing. One says (like Taliban) the whole of the woman's body should be covered including the eyes. In this school women are totally covered and segregated from all men except their husbands. Another states that, the face can be seen because that was the case of ordinary Muslim women at that time of the prophet.
So it seems that mostly is a cultural custom. Many non-Muslims particularly westerners even who convert to Islam think that Arabic dressing is Islamic and whatever Arabs do is Islamic or whatever Muslims do is Islamic. You see modesty in the Catholic nuns and Orthodox Jewish women as well. Indeed, it is said that hijab is originated as a Persian (Iranian) elitist fashion to distinguish aristocracy from the common masses. In fact, in ancient Iran men, not women, donned the veil. Moreover, Muslim caliphs and kings sat behind a curtain (hijab) to avoid the gaze of members of their court.
Therefore, I think modesty is not an Islamic mandatory and its styles vary according to the cultures like Iranian Chador, the Saudi Abayya the Pakistani Salwar, the Senegalese, the Jalaabs and other various other designs.
Dave gives us several interesting comments about modesty. Those are his personal experience. He says Modesty can be attractive but to truly be attracted to someone you have to know the person. Physical beauty can get your attention, but you can't really develop an attachment to someone until you get to know them. . For a long time, I have thought about this question whether attractiveness merely has sexual meaning. Is BEAUTY a sexual matter? Some Muslim women say when they are covered not only they are freed from concerns about painting their faces for male approval, they are hidden from the often oppressive intrusion of the male gaze. Some Muslim scholars say that Hijab is not oppressive but liberating! and hijab frees women from being perceived primarily as sex objects. In other word, they believe that hijab is a form of dressing that liberates a Muslim woman from the corrupting oppression of the society.
But I think we can look at this issue from completely different point of view. I think in such a society they just look at women as a sex object because they believe that women are sexually attractive and society should put them in a veil. We can discuss whether women are sexually objects or not. However, we cannot draw this conclusion that women should wear veil since men are exited when see a women. I think, though I cannot prove it, many men who are always turned on by seeing every woman are mentally sick. I have seen men who said that even little girls can be attractive!!
Some say behind the veil the woman is a mystery (David gives us a good example, Blind woman). Behind the veil the woman need not concern herself with her hair or makeup before she goes out. Underneath her hijab she can remain if she so wishes, simply herself: All this without having to worry about what others think of her. As Dave says in this way, women’s physical part plays no role in social interaction. Because the appearance is not subjected to public scrutiny, her beauty, or perhaps lack of it is not matter.
OK. Every body is free to think and do whatever he or she likes, but if we try to force other people to follow what we think is problematic. My question is that why Hijab should be liberating and why we should ask women to wear veil because men are sexually exited or they cannot control their gaze.

Women as human beings have the right to choose this kind of dressing. Personally, I think that we should look at women as human beings who like to enjoy the real life. Women should struggle to control men instead of avoiding real social interactions. I cannot communicate with a faceless person. I remember a reporter called Iranian veiled women as UMO (Undefined Moving Object)!!.
Though I respect many above reasons, which are mostly personal beliefs and attitudes, what I see in my society is that Hijab has caused many problems including lower social interaction, low self-confidence, psychological and physical disorders. If you assume these thoughts as facts, you may try to ask people to follow them as what we see in Iran.
Meanwhile, I cannot ignore reasons about the necessity of modesty. Regarding my experience in Europe,. I saw everywhere that women’s beauty was sued as a commercial tool. So many big pictures of a naked or semi-naked women every where, in shops, metro, Airport and… I would like to know what western women think about this sexual atmosphere in their countries and what their feminists say in this regard.

As a personal idea, I think modesty can be beautiful. Beauty is beauty and it does not necessarily mean sexually attractive. I think this is a natural feeling that women or men enjoy their beauty. There is no doubt that fitness is more beautiful than overweight. Many westerners may think that Iranian women (and other Muslim women) do not use cosmetics. However, Iran and many other Arabic countries are main costumers of these materials in the world!!.


(posted by Iman)


Posted:Wednesday, April 09, 2003 | 

Since I am very busy these days, I decided to post an essay I wrote some months ago, hopefully we can have some good discussions soon and I can finish what I started on animal liberation too .Sorry for all the delays.I post it in three parts; being a bad reader , long materials seem too formiable for me to start.

Homosexuality(part 1)

Homosexuality has been stigmatized for centuries. Considering the homosexuality an aberration from the right path and treating it as an abomination mainly because of religious instructions, have forced homosexuals to hide their sexual orientation for centuries. Even when they finally felt they could let others know about it, they were troubled by others expecting them to change . It is annoying for most of them when people including their parents and psychiatrists look at their sexual orientation as a temporary aberration or as a phase they are going through. Peter Tatchell explains:
Some people do find that homosexuality is restricted to a limited period of their lives, such as in teenage experimentation or a brief mid-life affair. For these men and women, queer sex is a genuinely transient encounter.
But that is not the experience of most lesbians and gays whose same sex attraction feels eternal and lasts a lifetime. (35)
Society in this way has made it hard for them to deal with their problem. As we can clearly feel in this quotation, at least there is a certain group of gay people who has the conviction that any kind of change is impossible and I believe it is mostly the result of the way they have been treated all the time. No wonder they have embraced biological findings of the recent years. These findings try to tell us that there is a biological reason behind homosexuality. As discussed in The Biological Basis of Homosexuality, evidence has been found that shows the differences between brain, fingerprints and genes of homosexuals and straight people and the article emphasizes at the end that “ research has shown that sexual orientation certainly has biological links”. If homosexual behavior is an innate characteristic and not a choice, why homosexuals should be ashamed of telling everybody about it and why should they do anything to change it? These findings have resulted in homosexuality being what these people are as it was how they were acting before. My feeling is that we are too confused about the whole issue that we don’t know what we are doing; we draw hasty conclusions from scientific findings and don’t have a consistent approach in educating gay people. I believe there are some certain facts that are totally neglected here. There are things that can be wrong about the validity of these findings, and I will try to show some of them, but my focal point is to explain that we cannot draw the conclusion that being gay is a moral thing because of these findings and that we are doing a big disservice to ourselves by doing so. Though I have my own religious views about it, I will try to avoid any religious opinion as the basis of my argument, but since religion is intermingled with our lives, this can never be done completely.(posted by Farid)




Posted:Tuesday, April 08, 2003 | 

A proposal to honor those in pain

Cowboy Kahlil writes

Is our society so reduced in its reverence for humanity that some will dance in the streets and shoot off fireworks at the death of [Saddam] Hossein and his family, overlooking the collateral damage (again)?
And now, with the Al Jazeerah guy killed, and one wounded, it puts all Western journalists at risk, now and in the future. We have POWs at risk yet, too. For all we know, the war's not over.
And when the war does end, it does not end for some. I worked the streets with homeless vets from several wars and know well the nightmares that some of them carry for years after, perhaps forever. Do you think the guys who took out that fleeing Iraqi family a few days ago will be dancing? Not a chance.
A sigh of relief makes more sense. Perhaps some donations to the aid organizations who will patch and repair the human damage. The wounds, both physical and mental, will linger in many of the civilians, too. Can't we restore some decency to our behavior, some sign of deep reverence for all lives?
I'd like to propose something else to bloggers who respect life, I don't care what your political persuasion. For the innocent of Iraq, for the journalists who've died, for all the dead soldiers, I propose that we make Thursday a day of silence in the blogosphere. No posts. No comments. Perhaps a memorial message to whoever you wish, posted as a final post the night before.
There are thousands hurting, thousands mourning and thousands still at risk. Can't we demonstrate something else important to the world about us besides our capacity to war well?

I think this is the only thing we can do. In a world that politicians cheat their citizens for their overambitions and kill innocent people for factitious democracy and freedom!

Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?~Kahlil Gibran

(posted by Iman)

Posted:Tuesday, April 08, 2003 |