KONY 2012

In response to the Israelis who expressed their love for the Iranian people and opposed the possibility of war with Iran.... 
 

With awareness there comes choice. And so you are able to say: "I allow this moment to be as it is". And then, suddenly, where before there was irritation, there is now a sense of aliveness and peace. And out of that comes right action. 

your life story

If you speak to somebody at the level of the mind, then you will speak to their mind. If you speak to their heart, then you will speak to their heart. But if you speak through your life, and your life is the story, then you will change lives. - Deepak Chopra

A Separation

The director of the Iranian film "A Separation," which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film Sunday night, delivered a heartfelt plea for the people of Iran to be recognized for their contributions to culture and not just for the harsh words exchanged lately between political officials.

"At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy," said Asghar Farhadi, the writer and director of the film. "They are happy not just because of an important award or a film or a filmmaker, but because at the time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture."


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-oscars-aseparation-idUSTRE81Q06X20120227

Naked by Mana Neyestani

Naked by Mana Neyestani

Iran’s Next Generation

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2011/05/29/iranian-students-ziyah-gafic.html

توکا نیستانی

 توکا نیستانی (متولد ۱۳۳۹، شاهرود) معمار و کاریکاتوریست ایرانی است

توکا فرزند منوچهر نیستانی شاعر درگذشته و برادر مانا نیستانی کاریکاتوریست است. وی در سال ۱۳۶۶ از دانشگاه علم و صنعت ایران در رشتهٔ معماری فارغ‌التحصیل شده‌است. او فعالیت حرفه‌ای خود را از سال ۱۳۵۸ با هفته‌نامه «کتاب جمعه» به سردبیریاحمد شاملو آغاز کرد. توکا سابقهٔ همکاری با بیش از ۵۰ نشریه را در کارنامه‌اش دارد و تابه‌حال ۲ بار به‌عنوان بهترین کارتونیست در جشنوارهٔ مطبوعات ایران انتخاب شده‌است توکا در سال ۱۳۸۹ از ایران رفت و در تورنتو، کانادا سکنی گزید. او در وبلاگ شخصی اش علت رفتنش را چنین توضیح داد:

از زندگی مجرمانه خسته شده بودم... به چند پسر و دختر طراحی درس می‌دادم که مجاز نبود، برای طراحی از مدل زنده استفاده می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، سر کلاس صحبت‌هایی می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، بجای سریال‌های تلویزیون خودمان کانال‌هایی را تماشا می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، به موسیقی‌ای گوش می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، فیلم‌هایی را می‌دیدم و در خانه نگهداری می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، گاهی یواشکی سری به "فیس بوق" می‌زدم که مجاز نبود، در کامپیوترم کلی عکس از آدم‌های دوست‌داشتنی و زیبا داشتم که مجاز نبود، در مهمانی‌ها با غریبه‌هایی معاشرت می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، همه‌جا با صدای بلند می‌خندیدم که مجاز نبود، مواقعی که می‌بایست غمگین باشم شاد بودم که مجاز نبود، مواقعی که می‌بایست شاد باشم غمگین بودم که مجاز نبود، خوردن بعضی غذاها را دوست داشتم که مجاز نبود، نوشیدن پپسی را به دوغ ترجیح می‌دادم که مجاز نبود، کتاب‌ها و نویسنده‌های مورد علاقه‌ام هیچکدام مجاز نبود، در مجله‌ها و روزنامه‌هایی کار کرده بودم که مجاز نبود، به چیزهایی فکر می‌کردم که مجاز نبود، آرزوهایی داشتم که مجاز نبود و... درست است که هیچ‌وقت بابت این همه رفتار مجرمانه مجازات نشدم اما تضمینی وجود نداشت که روزی بابت تک‌تک آن‌ها مورد مؤاخذه قرار نگیرم و بدتر از همه فکر این‌که همیشه در حال ارتکاب جرم هستم و باید از دست قانون فرار کنم آزارم می‌داد

http://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D9%88%DA%A9%D8%A7_%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C

O'Keeffe

“I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.”

—  Georgia O'Keeffe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_O'Keeffe 

star-cross'd lovers

“Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Do with their death bury their parents' strife.” 
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Tarana Akbari, 12, screams in fear

http://www.poyi.org/69/04/index.php

Tarana Akbari, 12, screams in fear moments after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a crowd at the Abul Fazel Shrine in Kabul on December 06, 2011. "When I could stand up, I saw that everybody was around me on the ground, really bloody. I was really, really scared," said the Tarana, whose name means "melody" in English. Out of 17 women and children from her family who went to a riverside shrine in Kabul that day to mark the Shiite holy day of Ashura, seven died including her seven-year-old brother Shoaib.

Lost

“When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.” —  Eckhart Tolle

Optimism

     "From Martin Seligman’s perspective, optimism is *not* about whistling happy tunes to ourselves when life gets challenging. It’s about disciplining our minds to create more empowering explanations of what’s going on."

http://www.aphilosophersnotes.com/

http://tv.aphilosophersnotes.com/71/the-3-ps-of-optimism

If I Were President...

"One objective reality is that our government doesn’t work, not because we have dysfunctional politicians, but because we have dysfunctional voters. As a scientist and educator, my goal, then, is not to become President and lead a dysfunctional electorate, but to enlighten the electorate so they might choose the right leaders in the first place."

Neil deGrasse Tyson

New York, Aug. 21, 2011

Astrophysicist, Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, and host of NOVAScienceNOW

http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/

Iranian Youth Ditch Oppressive Islam

Vali Asr Ave By Maedeh Tavangar (Mehrad)

“The inward journey is about finding your own fullness, something that no one else can take away.”

—  Deepak Chopra

Teacher

“What is a teacher? I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.”

—  Paulo Coelho

Your time is limited...

Hushang Ebtehaj هوشنگ ابتهاج

Hushang Ebtehaj هوشنگ ابتهاج 

آزادی !
آزادی !
آزادی !
می گفتم :
روزی که تو بازآیی
من قلب ِ جوانم را
چون پرچم ِ پیروزی
بر خواهم داشت
وین بیرق ِ خونین را
بر بام ِ بلند ِ تو
خواهم افراشت

English translation will come soon.....

Farewell 2011

lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu

lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu

lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI

Wars

خانه سینما «غیر قانونی» اعلام شد

خانه سینما «غیر قانونی» اعلام شد

میهن – شهاب عموپور: «شورای فرهنگ عمومی کشور، با توجه به گزارشهای مسئولان ارشاد در مورد وضعیت “خانه سینما” داوری کرد و در نهایت این نهاد صنفی را “غیر قانونی” دانست». این نتیجه ی چند سال درگیری مسولان فعلی  وزارت ارشاد اسلامی با نهاد صنفی خانه سینما بود که در ماههای اخیر شدت بسیاری یافت و اکنون به نظر می رسد که با تازه ترین حکمِ صادره در این مورد، به تعطیلی این نهاد بیانجامد.

بیشتر از بیست سال پیش بود که  مسئولان وقت وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد در ایران، تشخیص دادند که بهتر است به جهت پیشبرد امور صنفی اهالی سینما، همچون بسیاری از دیگر مشاغل برای آن حرفه نیز نهادی صنفی تشکیل شود و این خود سینماگران باشند که برای اداره امور و بهبود اوضاع کاری و معیشتی خود، آیین نامه وضع کنند و به دنبال اجرایی کردن آنها و سامان دادن به اوضاع خود باشند.

تلاشها نتیجه داد و از سال ۱۳۷۲ خورشیدی، “خانه سینما” با عضویت تعدادی از خودِ هنرمندان در هیات مدیره ی آن و با در اختیار گرفتن مکانی در محدوده خیابان “بهار” در تهران؛ فعالیت رسمی خود را شروع کرد.

Existentialism

A quick reminder...." Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience."




wiki

Saudi Women To Vote Without Male Approval

Saudi Women To Vote Without Male Approval!!

Ballad of Tara by Bahram Bayzayi

Tara

چریکه ی تارا ساخته بهرام بیضایی اولین فیلم توقیف شده ی بعد از انقلاب 1357 


است که هیچگاه اجازه اکران به آن داده نشد

Bahram Beizai's "The Ballad of Tara"

"Cherikeh ye Tara" (1979) starring Soosan Taslimi

IMDB: Tara, the young beautiful widow, returns with her two little kids from country to her village. In her way home, she finds out that her grandfather has passed away. She distributes grandpa's belongings among her neighbours. But there remains an old sword that no one accepts it. One day on the road, she meets an old-time warrior. He claims that his clan have sent him to present time to take the old sword back. Tara finally submits the sword to him, but he comes back saying that he has fallen in her love.

fanny-and-alexander

FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982) Lynch

FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982)

On the thirty-first and final Lynchian day of Christmas, we present Ingmar Bergman's semi-autobiographical family drama Fanny and Alexander (1982). We saved the best for last. Christmas films do not get more powerful or Lynchian than Bergman's last feature film and final masterpiece. Choosing to go out on the strongest note he could, Bergman planned his retirement from feature film direction at the height of his cinematic power and ended on what is arguably his best film. Although Bergman would make a number of simple-to-shoot TV movies in his latter years, Fanny and Alexander is Bergman's cinematic swan song.

FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982) Lynch

Ron Paul: Iran Sanctions = Act of War

Wasteland

"I have all the time in the world to waste....for a wasted life. Did you know he who did not waste his entire time of his wholesome life?"

on Presence

"All that I’ve read and known I have forgotten:
     Only awareness of the Friend now remains constant."

Has War With Iran Already Begun?

Are Thoughts The Source of Ego?

realm of consciousnessis

"The realm of consciousness is much vaster than thought can grasp. When you no longer believe everything you think, you step out of thought and see clearly that the thinker is not who you are."

In my stand-up, I try to give men insight on why women are, as you say, "crazy".
Well, every morning we douse ourselves with an insane amount of chemicals to
look pretty, we have wires in our bras stabbing us in the heart, and a polyester
string in our butt all day, and accordning to society we basically expire at 35. 
For what we go through, I actually think we're pretty sane. - Whitney Cummings

Lifestyle

For some weird reason, I feel strongly that my lifestyle does not reflect my intellectual capacity.

Salar Aghili, Vatanam, "سالار عقیلی، وطنم"

THE BEATLES - YELLOW SUBMARINE

Mara Beboos - Handan Golnaraghi

Victor Jara - El derecho de vivir en paz - Full Version

Victor jara - In sarzamin male mast این سرزمین مال ماست

طاقت بیار رفیق

Bella ciao, Iran

United For Neda

Amazing Video From Iranian Artists

Who\'s Fighting Who in Iran\'s Struggle?

Who\'s Fighting Who in Iran\'s Struggle?

We're told that a young and restless Facebook generation has arisen in Iran, text-messaging and Twittering away at the fabric of a conservative clerical rule that it is no longer willing to accept. Ranged against it are the dogged defenders of a decrepit regime that has outlived its purpose, surviving only through brute force and its ability to convince the unsophisticated, mostly rural poor folk in their ragged suits and black chadors that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is their champion against corrupt politicians and the treacherous intellectuals and amoral rich kids who support them......

Who\'s Fighting Who in Iran\'s Struggle?

Who\'s Fighting Who in Iran\'s Struggle?

Graphic Picture of Someone Shot in Tehran Iran #IranElection

رسیدگی به شکایت میرحسین

مردم در تهران - یکشنبه 24 خرداد - 14 می

صحبتها و راهنمایهای ابراهیم نبوی......مهم مهم مهم برای همه بفرستین

صحبتها و راهنمایهای ابراهیم نبوی......مهم مهم مهم برای همه بفرستین

این مطلب فردای روزآنلاین است. به دلیل اهمیت ویژه و ضرورت اطلاع رسانی سریع آن را زودتر منتشر می کنم.

می خواستم طنز بنویسم، اما امروز روز طنزنوشتن نیست. روزهایی در زندگی یک ملت وجود دارد که نمی توانی با دل آرام و بدون نگرانی و بی اعتنا به خشم و رنج مردم تصویری شاد و شیرین از مردمان نشان بدهی و امروز یکی از همان روزهاست. رای مردم را جلوی چشم شان دزدیده اند و جشن پیروزی ما را به عزای ملی تبدیل کرده اند.

ما پای صندوق های رأی رفتیم تا بیزاریمان را از خشونت اعلام کنیم و امید های سبزمان را به فرداهای در پیش در کنار هم به امیدی بزرگ تبدیل کنیم. ما که بیزاریمان را از دروغ در خیابان های شهرمان یک هفته تمام در کنار هم با شادی و یک صدا اعلام کرده بودیم، حالا در مقابل دروغی بزرگتر از همه آمارهای مرد دروغگوی شهر قرار گرفته ایم
ما می خواهیم اعتراض خود را از تمامی راههای ممکن پی گیری کنیم و هدفمان پس گرفتن این حق ضایع شده است. ما اصلاح طلبان، اعم از حامیان میرحسین موسوی و مهدی کروبی و طرفداران خاتمی و همه کسانی که مخالف این رفتار غیرعادلانه هستند برای پس گرفتن رای مان به خیابان می رویم.

ما نمی خواهیم حکومت را تغییر بدهیم یا به کسی حمله کنیم یا شهر را به هم بریزیم. تجمع فردا با هدایت و رهبری میرحسین موسوی و حمایت سید محمد خاتمی اعتراضی است که خواستار باطل شدن نتیجه انتخابات است. ما بر این هدف تاکید می کنیم و از همگان می خواهیم تنها با لباس سیاه و نشانه های سبز در خیابان حاضر شوند و از هر گونه رفتار خشونت آمیز که ممکن است مورد سوء استفاده پلیس ضدشورش قرار بگیرد اجتناب کنیم. نکاتی چند برای برنامه فردا ضروری است.


اول، به هر کسی که می شناسیم خبر بدهیم که در تظاهرات فردا حضور پیدا کند. جمعیت ما اگر بی شمار و بسیار باشد، پلیس یا نیروهای لباس شخصی نمی توانند با جمعیتی عظیم مقابله کنند. ما باید به همان عظمتی که در انتخابات حاضر شدیم، در تظاهرات فردا شرکت کنیم.
دوم، پلیس ضدشورش و نیروی انتظامی نیز مثل ما هستند، تنها تفاوت این است که آنان لباس خشونت پوشیده اند و چکمه به پا کرده اند، زیر آن لباس خشن و پشت آن ماسک ها برادران ما هستند که آنان نیز نمی خواهند علیه برادر و خواهر خودشان خشونت اعمال کنند. باید فضایی فراهم کنیم تا پلیس نتواند دست به اسلحه ببرد و باید از نیروی انتظامی بخواهیم با مردم همراهی کنند

سوم، محمود احمدی نژاد صاحب تمام قدرت در ایران نیست. او حتی کودتایی را که به راه انداخت نتوانست به انتها برساند و وحشت زده و عجولانه از تمام قوای خود برای سرکوب استفاده می کند. این سرکوب به همه دنیا مخابره شده است و بعد از دو روز از انتخابات هیچ کس او را به رسمیت نمی شناسد
نه در داخل ایران و نه در خارج از ایران هیچ کسی نتیجه دروغین انتخابات را نپذیرفته است. رئیس جمهوری که 24 میلیون رای دارد که در روز برگزاری انتخاباتش نیازی به دستگیری مردم و حمله به معترضان و قطع کلیه ارتباطات با جهان ندارد. رئیس جمهوری که 24 میلیون رای دارد که سه رقیبش علیه برگزاری انتخاباتش اعتراض نمی کنند. رئیس جمهوری که 24 میلیون رای دارد که برای نشان دادن جمعیت حامیانش نیاز به فوتوشاپ و سیب زمینی و پول نقد ندارد. نه در ایران و نه در جهان کسی ادعای موهوم وزارت کشور را باور نمی کند
چهارم، مهم ترین موضوع در حضور خیابانی فردا که باید تا زمان ابطال انتخابات هر روز تکرار شود، پرهیز از خشونت است. ما باید با پرهیز از هر نوع تندروی چنان شعار بدهیم و چنان حرکت کنیم که بیشترین تعداد مردم بتوانند با سرعتی معادل ما در کنارمان قرار بگیرند. شعارهای نرم و ملایم در مورد انتخابات، نشانه های سبز، پلاکاردهای دست نویس نشانه های تظاهرات فرداست
پنجم، ما همان مردمی هستیم که چهار روز قبل خنده و شادمانی و جشن سبزمان حتی به نیروی انتظامی سرایت کرد و آنان را با ما همراه ساخت. ما دوباره همراه می شویم. نه با نفرت که با امید. ما خشم را رها می کنیم تا آنان نیز خشونت را کنار بگذارند، امید ما دزدیدنی نیست. ما با همین امید میرحسین موسوی را به عنوان رئیس جمهور انتخاب کردیم و او نیز چنان که گفته بود، پای حق ما ایستاده است و دیروز در برابر تمام فشار ها تسلیم نشد. ما نیز به او برای فردا اعتماد می کنیم و حق او و خودمان را می گیریم.

ششم، در دزدیدن رای مان تنها مرد دروغگوی شهر نیست که تاثیر و تقصیر داشته است. آنها که تصویر او را بزرگتر از آنچه هست نشان می دهند، و تلاش می کنند واقعیت را پنهان کنند، نیز مقصر سرقت بزرگ آرای ملت هستند. کارکنان صدا و سیمای جمهوری اسلامی، خبرنگارانی که در مقابل حجم وقیح دروغی به نام احمدی نژاد سکوت می کنند، مدیریت تلویزیون بی بی سی فارسی که بخاطر مصالح سیاسی دولت انگلیس، بی طرفی سیاسی را کنار می گذا
و حتی حیثیت خبرنگاران خوب بی بی سی را خدشه دار می کنند، باید پاسخگوی همراهی در این دروغ بزرگ باشند. ما، قصد حمله به صدا و سیما و تسخیر ساختمان آن را نداریم، ما باید همراهان دروغگویان را در خانه های مان مورد سووال قرار بدهیم. کارکنان صدا و سیمای دروغ را وادار باید بکنیم که با شرافت حرفه ای و بی طرفی رفتار کنند یا خودشان را از معرض این وضع کنار بکشندما بی شماریم، ما با جمعیتی بی مثال در انتخابات شرکت کردیم و میرحسین موسوی را به عنوان رئیس جمهورمان را انتخاب کردیم. او رئیس جمهور ماست. ما رای مان را می خواهیم پس بگیریم و برای این کار مدنی ترین راه را انتخاب کرده ایم. ما به خیابان می رویم و در خیابان می مانیم تا حق مان را بگیریم.

ابراهیم نبوی
بیست و چهارم خرداد 1388

Iranian "Elections": President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Vs Presidential Candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi

ضرب و شتم معترضان به نتیجه انتخابات دهم

Ahmadinejad Re-elected,Demonstrators, Police Clash in Tehran 2009

MIRO KOVACEVICH INTERVIEWED BY BILL DUPUY: KSFR SANTA FE

Vivilux: The Path to New Life

Buddy Rich (sings!) with the Muppets - Who Needs Drums

Challenging The Stereotypes Of Modern Iran

Noor Film Festival Public Service Announcement - VOTE 2008

McCain and Obama go head to head...

McCain and Obama go head to head...


http://www.hulu.com/watch/36866/saturday-night-live-presidential-debate

Michael Jackson in Bahrain

Bravest woman in the Arab world!

The Beatles - Revolution

Windmills of your Mind - Movie Version HQ

My favorite song of my childhood:)

Leonard Cohen - A Thousand kisses deep

David Bowie - Heroes (live)

my life

FYI I'm living the hardest and best years of my life...

PACS 164A - Lecture 01

Pink - Dear Mr. President (with eng. subtitles)

About Amnesty International

Amnesty International: Signature spot commercial ad

Tales Of Mere Existence

Tales Of Mere Existence

This is great!!

Tales Of Mere Existence

Why is Iraq in Chaos? NO END IN SIGHT

Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon

Two, one, two, three, four
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism,
Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, That-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m
All we are saying is give peace a chance,
All we are saying is give peace a chance
C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about ministers,
Sinister, Banisters
And canisters, Bishops, Fishops,
Rabbis, and Pop eyes, Bye, bye, bye byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance,
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Revoluton, evolution, masturbation,
Flagellation, regulation, integrations,
Meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations
Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan,
Tommy Copper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Allen Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare
Krishna

Imagine

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

یاد و خاطره‌ سهراب سپهری گرامی. م شکیب

Sohrab Sepehri

Bodhi

There was a special moment,
All doors were open.
No leaves, no branches,
The garden of annihilation had appeard.

Birds of places were silent,
This silent, that silent,
The silence itself was utterance.

What was that area?
Seems an ewe and a wolf,
Standing side by side. (1)
The shape of the sound, pale
The voice of the shape, weak
Was the curtain folded?

I was gone, he was gone,
We had lost us.
The beauty was alone.
Every river had become a sea,
Every being had become a Buddha.

(1) Refers to dawn

shamlo poems 1

Peace Conference Quotes

Peace Conference Quotes


• We aren’t genetically required to be violent; it’s a culture requirement.
• Cooperation allows us to survive.
• What happens in the mind that transforms the intention to dominate…into
something else?
• The culture of war is baggage that we all carry. At what point do we withdraw
energy from supporting that?
• Separation is an illusion.
• Let the wisdom of who you are be present. That’s what peace work is.
• Our prayerful intention changes, even disarms, the aggressor.
• We as peacemakers energize the potential.
• Love casts out fear.
• Peace is a connection.
• There are no strangers anywhere; there are just relatives you haven’t met.
• The medicine of our time is the medicine of the heart.
• When we have equal rights, then we can talk about peace.
• Peace has to be us knowing that we do not live alone.
• When we leave this world, where are we at…still arguing about what peace is, or
being in that peace?
• We need an economic culture that is socially conscious.
• Turn the anti-war movement to a pro-peace movement.
• To convert to a peace economy…starts with a new culture of values.
• Envision business enterprise as community, not company.
• It doesn’t matter how you get to Unity consciousness.
• I, too, am my neighbor.
• Understand that those who resort to violence think they have no other choice.
• Reach out and listen to those who disagree.
• I think you should find something to commit to.
• Mediation gets anger into facilitated problem-solving.
• Conflict resolution should be a class in every school.
• Support parents in their commitment to bring forth a child in a peaceful,
conscious way.
• Teach children to respect all living creatures, big and small.
• Create peace from the inside out.
• We are all connected.
• Forgive ourselves and each other.
• Empathy, empathy, empathy.
• Kids need personal attention, not electronic devices.
• Children need honest information about what is happening around the world.
• You cannot have peace when focusing on survival.
• Inundate the media with positive images.
• Could we have video games where people ‘save’ instead of ‘kill’ others?
• Look deep in the eyes of people and recognize the human like me inside the other.
• Love in action is a deep discipline.
• We are an instrument in the world orchestra.
• Self-righteousness hinders connection.
• Your ‘enemy’ can teach you.
• Give dignity to your ‘opponent’ and the outcome will be better.
• Respect begins in the family.
• Creating inner peace affects the consciousness of the whole.
• Peace begins with opening our hearts.
• Make peacefulness contagious.
• Think about future generations.
• Art is a healing power.
• Ask Nature to be our partner.
• Be a conduit for peace through creative expression.
• Your contribution does not need to be earth-shaking to make a difference.
• It is essential to balance activism with inner peace.
• Work to not add a single spark of additional violence to the world.
• The stars are kissing our faces.
• Be so happy that others get happy when they see you.
• What we do to another we do to ourselves.
• We are the leaders and the time for action is now.
• The enemy is someone whose story I haven’t heard.
• Peace is a process and a way of approaching life.
• Deeply-rooted spirituality is a foundation for peace.
• There is more than one road to peace and more than one type of peacemaker.
• People of peace are everywhere and doing some incredible things!

Taliban and women

Some of the restrictions imposed by Taliban on women in Afghanistan

The following list offers only an abbreviated glimpse of the hellish lives Afghan women are forced to lead under the Taliban, and can not begin to reflect the depth of female deprivations and sufferings. Taliban treat women worse than they treat animals. In fact, even as Taliban declare the keeping of caged birds and animals illegal, they imprison Afghan women within the four walls of their own houses. Women have no importance in Taliban eyes unless they are occupied producing children, satisfying male sexual needs or attending to the drudgery of daily housework. Jehadi fundamentalists such as Gulbaddin, Rabbani, Masood, Sayyaf, Khalili, Akbari, Mazari and their co-criminal Dostum have committed the most treacherous and filthy crimes against Afghan women. And as more areas come under Taliban control, even if the number of rapes and murders perpetrated against women falls, Taliban restrictions --comparable to those from the middle ages-- will continue to kill the spirit of our people while depriving them of a humane existence. We consider Taliban more treacherous and ignorant than Jehadis. According to our people, "Jehadis were killing us with guns and swords but Taliban are killing us with cotton."

Taliban restrictions and mistreatment of women include the:

1- Complete ban on women's work outside the home, which also applies to female teachers, engineers and most professionals. Only a few female doctors and nurses are allowed to work in some hospitals in Kabul.

2- Complete ban on women's activity outside the home unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative such as a father, brother or husband).

3- Ban on women dealing with male shopkeepers.

4- Ban on women being treated by male doctors.

5- Ban on women studying at schools, universities or any other educational institution. (Taliban have converted girls' schools into religious seminaries.)

6- Requirement that women wear a long veil (Burqa), which covers them from head to toe.

7- Whipping, beating and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules, or of women unaccompanied by a mahram.

8- Whipping of women in public for having non-covered ankles.

9- Public stoning of women accused of having sex outside marriage. (A number of lovers are stoned to death under this rule).

10- Ban on the use of cosmetics. (Many women with painted nails have had fingers cut off).

11- Ban on women talking or shaking hands with non-mahram males.

12- Ban on women laughing loudly. (No stranger should hear a woman's voice).

13- Ban on women wearing high heel shoes, which would produce sound while walking. (A man must not hear a woman's footsteps.)

14- Ban on women riding in a taxi without a mahram.

15- Ban on women's presence in radio, television or public gatherings of any kind.

16- Ban on women playing sports or entering a sport center or club.

17- Ban on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams.

18- Ban on women's wearing brightly colored clothes. In Taliban terms, these are "sexually attracting colors."

19- Ban on women gathering for festive occasions such as the Eids, or for any recreational purpose.

20- Ban on women washing clothes next to rivers or in a public place.

21- Modification of all place names including the word "women." For example, "women's garden" has been renamed "spring garden".

22- Ban on women appearing on the balconies of their apartments or houses.

23- Compulsory painting of all windows, so women can not be seen from outside their homes.

24- Ban on male tailors taking women's measurements or sewing women's clothes.

25- Ban on female public baths.

26- Ban on males and females traveling on the same bus. Public buses have now been designated "males only" (or "females only").

27- Ban on flared (wide) pant-legs, even under a burqa.

28- Ban on the photographing or filming of women.

29- Ban on women's pictures printed in newspapers and books, or hung on the walls of houses and shops.

Apart from the above restrictions on women, the Taliban has:

- Banned listening to music, not only for women but men as well.

- Banned the watching of movies, television and videos, for everyone.

- Banned celebrating the traditional new year (Nowroz) on March 21. The Taliban has proclaimed the holiday un-Islamic.

- Disavowed Labor Day (May 1st), because it is deemed a "communist" holiday.

- Ordered that all people with non-Islamic names change them to Islamic ones.

- Forced haircuts upon Afghan youth.

- Ordered that men wear Islamic clothes and a cap.

- Ordered that men not shave or trim their beards, which should grow long enough to protrude from a fist clasped at the point of the chin.

- Ordered that all people attend prayers in mosques five times daily.

- Banned the keeping of pigeons and playing with the birds, describing it as un-Islamic. The violators will be imprisoned and the birds shall be killed. The kite flying has also been stopped.

- Ordered all onlookers, while encouraging the sportsmen, to chant Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) and refrain from clapping.

- Ban on certain games including kite flying which is "un-Islamic" according to Taliban.

- Anyone who carries objectionable literature will be executed.

- Anyone who converts from Islam to any other religion will be executed.

- All boy students must wear turbans. They say "No turban, no education".

- Non-Muslim minorities must distinct badge or stitch a yellow cloth onto their dress to be differentiated from the majority Muslim population. Just like what did Nazis with Jews.

- Banned the use of the internet by both ordinary Afghans and foreigners.

And so on...



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