Kamangir (Archer)

The Iranian blogsphere is experiencing a very important challenge. Recently, a short video started circulating in the web. At the first sight it is nothing different from the other half of the Internet in which nude people generously offer a long shot of their sexual pleasure. However, this video is one of a kind. Because, [...]

It is no mystery that “Google Bomb” can be used to carry messages. Like the famous “failure” which leads to the biography of George W. Bush (see). Less known are “Google Mines”, which may explode at any moment, right at the tip of your fingers.
I was finding out more and more people coming to Kamangir, [...]

A recent thread of discussions in Guardian Unlimited (see) shows another Israeli overreaction similar to what I was talking about before (see). I have had very similar experiences with Israeli friends, too (see). A few years ago, Brian Whitaker wrote a piece titled “Selective Memri” (see),

For some time now, I have been receiving [...]

Ahmadinejad is a big bogeyman for me. He is always captured talking about wipe-off and go-nuclear ideas. But, I have never thought of him as a “horrible man who is going to destroy the world”. That’s what makes him the bogeyman; he is more of the dumb person who thinks aloud.
Does this mean I [...]

Only for the record; women in some cultures have no problem with being beaten, in contrary, they consider it as an “expression of masculinity” (see). However, beating should be carried out in a special way which “must not cause bleeding” (see). This is what the “women’s manual” suggests and “we shouldn’t be ashamed before the [...]

Israeli flag with “peace” in Arabic at the middle, from Lisa (see).
I have a question for fellow Israelis, or whoever can provide a reasonable answer to it. And I am hoping that I will not be bombarded by Lisa (see) again. Why is Israel very frequently acting as a spoiled kid who is always [...]

“On April 2nd 2003, Kaveh Golestan was killed when he stepped on a landmine whilst working as part of a BBC news crew in Kifri, North Iraq” (see). Since then, an annual photojournalism award under his name has picked many of the best shots of the year. This year’s results were recently announced (see). many [...]

Frances Harrison writes about her experiences as the not-so-welcome BBC correspondent in Iran,

There is an expression in Persian - “Do you think I come from behind the mountain?” It is these “behind the mountain”, back of beyond places that Mr Ahmedinejad has made a point of visiting since his election….One year after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came [...]

Does anyone have any idea what is this boy doing in the first row of the magnificent Fetr Prayers in Tehran? It it amazing to see that these serious guys, including the supreme leader and Ahmadinejad, are not distracted by his orange bulldozer.

I admit that I am possessed with finding pictures of children in public religious/political events in the Islamic Republic. I have a very good reason for myself. Children are among the most vulnerable groups in the society. If parents do not learn to tolerate their kids’ way of living, who else is going to [...]

The “Faith Parade” was held in Freedom Square, Tehran. A news agency close to the municipality reports “the parade is for Tehrani girls who have just reached the “age of duty” (Persian: سن تکلیف)” (see). According to Islamic teachings, when girls become nine years old, they should practice all rituals including prayers and fasting. [...]

It is obvious that Religion, like many other human institutions, brings about its own politics. While the struggle for being divinity’s guy is continually happening here and there, the last days of Ramadan are the scene for a very naive war between top figures in the Islamic society.
Muslims know quite well what to do [...]

They say two children are enough [a famous slogan for controlling Iran's population growth in the last decade]. I oppose this. Our country has a huge capacity. It has the capacity to have many children grow in it. It has the capacity for 120 million people [currently the population is 70 million]. Westerners have this [...]

A few years after the revolution, and thanks to Khomeini’s fierce order, we started to celebrate Halloween in Iran, just like all other cool people. This is how we do it.
We wear costumes.

And make funny puppets,

Rainy days in Tehran always bring a sense humour. After all, it is not very common to have rain there. See more pictures here (see).

Ahmadinejad chose Islam Shahr as the scene for his last with-the-people show. Islam Shahr (Persian: اسلام شهر), literally meaning city of Islam, is an underdeveloped suburb of Tehran. While Ahmadinejad loves poor areas, he has also another very understandable reason for not going very far from Tehran. When a Muslim goes away from his hometown, [...]

Although, most Islamic Republic leaders live and operate in Tehran, the city has a fantastic not-very-Islamic culture of itself. Azadeh always loved the big giant at night; when the traffic doesn’t make you mad and street lights are on. This video is from Youtube (see), thanks to Balatarin for the link (see). It shows parts [...]

Exactly two years ago, I created an account in blogger and published my first post (see). The day after that, I wrote the first piece which mildly criticized the Islamic teachings (see). I then had to censor a part of that post because of concerns mentioned by close friends. That post also brought me the [...]

“Anonymous Martyr” is a very well known term in the Islamic Republic literature. This term is used for the hundreds of unidentifiable bodies found in the places were “light’s army” fought “Iraqi infidels”. In many other countries, a monument is built for the acknowledgment of the anonymous soldiers and paying gratitude to them. In Iran, [...]

The Iranian FCC announced recently that public places and households are not permitted to have access to the Internet at 128kbps or more (see). The writer of Free Keyboard, Jadi, says “this means there will be no access to online radios or video on the Internet” (see). The picture is also from his blog.

The holy month of Ramadan is in progress. Even forgetting that Muslims are invited to “Allah’s feast” during Ramadan, this month contains three of the most holiest occasions in the Islamic calendar, at least for Shias. The three nights of Ghadr (Persian: شبهای قدر, Arabic: لیالی قدر, literally means “value”), are depicted in Quran as [...]

Go to your desktop ands make a new text file (test.txt). Then, type “iran win via atoms”, save the file, and close it. Now, open it again. You will see this sentence “畢桳栠摩琠敨愠潴獭” written in the file. An Iranian blogger uses the title “Freedom of Speech, American Version” (see), to announce the new face of [...]

Ahmadinejad had another trip.

 
Denmark Embassy in Tehran was attacked (see).

A farmer in Babol, a northen city in Iran, picked a strange tomato. The one hundred-gram vegtable has two eyes and the farmer tells Fars reporter (see) “I think it is a sign of God’s power”. Hat trip to Balatarin for the link (see).