Persicus Maximus

Let us, for the last time discuss the issue of the Shia/Sunni branches of Islam (since friends and foes constantly ask me about It.) what the differences are, and how could they be told apart in every day life. In fact, any descent and pious Moslem would not give a toss about whom and what branch of Islam one follows, furthermore the same group do not give a toss over whether one is Christian, Jewish or a Moslem, as long as they believe in the oneness of God . However, politics of any era always left its marks, shades and traces on all religions. Islam was no exception. It has been almost 1400 years since the emergence of Islam as a religion, and as soon as “Mohammad” passed away, the question of his successor became the cornerstone of this division. As “Ali” the prophet’s cousin (a candidate) was busy with the burial, some older, richer and more influential members of “Mohammad’s insider circle chose one of theirs instead. Shia means (Party of Ali) and Sunni means (Traditionalists).

It has been described by some , and to a certain extend one tends to agree that this meeting in Copenhagen is one of the most important meetings since the end of World War II.. The official title is “United Nations Copenhagen Climate Conference” and there are supposed to be representatives from every country in the World present, trying to make an important leap forward in de facto saving the planet. They are supposed to find answers to 4 important issues, which should reflect an international consensus on tackling the issue and subsequently complete a protocol that would replace the “Kyoto Protocol“ since USA would not sign it. The four questions are; 1.How much are the industrialized countries willing to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases? 2. How much are major developing countries such as China and India willing to do to limit the growth of their emissions? 3. How is the help needed by developing countries to engage in reducing their emissions and adapting to the impacts of

It was the end of November in 486 BC, the 64 years old King of Kings "Shah" of Persia "Dariush the Great" after suffering a month of ill health, passed away. Dariush had 18 children from which his successor was to be chosen from, "Xerxes" was his oldest son from "Atoosa" daughter of "Cyrus the great" that became King as it was long prepared before hand by Darius himself, this farsightedness was perhaps one reason why the passage of power took place without any calamities. The body of Dariush the Great was transfered to "Naghsh-e-Rostam" where other Achaemenid Kings were to be buried. His tomb was in preparation years ahead of his death,according to some account 7 years in advance, therefore enough time for inscriptions and epitaphs worthy of Kings. Dariush did not leave it to his successors to grant him the honor he had earned. Some inscriptions are as follows: "Ahuramazda, when he saw this earth in commotion, thereafter

A.A.Dehkhoda, was born in 1879 in Tehran. He was considered by todays standard multilingual and later in life became one of the best known linguists in Iran. Before prominence, he studied political science and was voted into Parliament as a representative of the people of Tehran, later joining the foreign office cadre and serving as an embassy employee . Dehkhoda returned to Iran in 1905 and joined the "Constitutional revolutionaries",at the same time publishing a political column in the "Sur-Esrafil" newspaper . The Ghajar Shah did resist the constitutional movement, mainly relying on the Russians, but the British were promoting the revolutionaries in order to agitate the Russians. However in 1908 the Parliament was dissolved by the Shah so Dehkhoda left Iran and did not return until 1911 when the despotic Shah had left Iran and the Parliament was reinstated, immediately joining the Parliament until the start of the first World War in 1914. In 1914, Dehkhoda left

I doubt anyone needs any introduction on what the terminus "Loose Change" is a synonym of. I embedded the 2nd edition, I am sure that as time goes by and more is discovered, we shall be surprised with more editions and upgrades, if interested please Google the term I am sure you'll be hooked.

Every year, over 2 Million people die of Malaria, something that could be avoided by a simple mosquito-net. Every year, another 2 Million people (mainly children) die of diarrhea, something that could be avoided by a simple saline solution that costs less than a dollar. There are more common diseases, like "Measles" or "Pneumonia", that without any exaggeration, kills over 10 Million people worldwide every single year, yet the western media establishments, above all the Rupert Murdoch club refuses to even report it. One looks at the self-righteous attitudes of these modern serial journalists, without the slightest sign of intellectual individualism, not to mention the ridiculous cowardice in which they report an event, manipulating it to make sure it complies the outlets political visions, lacking the courage necessary in even writing down the shocking facts of our times, that might have led us to the truth!? No wonder, a limited influential individuals, can make su

"Art" is generally considered, the reflection of life. "Culture" is generally considered, the understanding of life. Should we accept these definitions, then "Literature" should inevitably be defined as a combination of art and culture.In some of the older cultures like that of Iran, Greece, Rome, Egypt and the Chinese, where an ancient entity makes a documented history of any factual historical chain of events, impossible to uphold, the element of "Myth" is added. The word "Myth" is usually a definition for a false story and in many older cultures, the mixture of legends and folktales of different magnitudes are mixed with a romantic fairytale to give us a, what is known as "Mythology". When the Iranian Mythology is mentioned, the name of the Iranian poet "Ferdowsi"(935-1020 AD) becomes indispensable, his grand work the "Shah-Nameh" brings up the pre-Islamic cultural characteristics of Iran along with the

The "Treaty of Lisbon" is the last of a series of a so called completive treaties that is supposed to simplify and eventually decrease the burden of bureaucracy already congesting the European political apparatus. As a reminder, it started in 1948 in Brussels, then further treaties and agreements in 1953,1958,1967,1987 and 1993 of Maastricht, 1999 of Amsterdam, 2003 of Nice were to be completed with the now 2009 of Lisbon. Some of the important features of the Lisbon treaty are : a/The President of the European council will be chosen for a period of 30 Months (instead of 6 months)....b/ the position of Foreign representative (minister) will be combined with that of the foreign commissioner (meaning less bureaucracy)....c/The charter of human rights will be binding (best part of it all)....d/ as of now, any petition or proposal signed with more than one million people, has to be considered...e/ All national parliaments get 8 weeks to object to any law passed by the EU...f/ As

Fateme Bahreini, better known as "Rosa Montazami" was born in 1921 in Tehran-Iran, the exact date of which is not registered, however she was known to have been very diligent at school and remembered affectionately for her lively personality. Roza Montazami, published her first cookbook "The art of cooking" in 1964 at the age of 43 which included 600 different meals, she often explained that it took her 2 years to collect and write the book. Her book rapidly became a must have in every Iranian household. The book has been republished 41 times since its first edition and the latest edition is known to have over 1700 recipes. It is known that during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the western embargo on Iran, also resulted in a scarcity of paper, her books were still considered a household necessity and distributed to newlyweds next to washing machines and dishwashers upon request. Roza Montazami passed away on Friday October 23, 2009 in Tehran, she was 87 years o

From Top left... 1- George W. Bush, was an ex drug and alcohol addict,who became the US president from 2001-2009, due to his utter lack of intelligence, he missed the chance to greatness and decided to go on a revenge spree for the 9/11 attacks, despite knowing the names and whereabouts of those responsible. Thus bearing responsibility for at least 1 Million deaths so far and rising. He is alive and waiting to face his creator. 2-Ariel Sharon, was an Israeli Prime minister and after losing one of his testicles and half his penis in a battle in the 1950s against a Jordanian unit, he became obsessed with killing "Arabs", He never let an opportunity out to start wars and kill off a peace initiative. His official biographies are mostly edited to his benefit, but that does not change what he was. He went into a Coma in 2006 and awaits his death. 3-Saddam Hussein,was an Iraqi dictator, and his complex riddled Arab nationalism caused him to commit many war crimes, the west delivere

Naomi Wolf, was born in 1962 into a Jewish family, and did her BA in English literature at the Yale University , she is known as an awkward "third-wave feminist" author. Understandably she is not everyones darling, but her theories regarding the deterioration of the US democratic institutions, which was reflected in her 2007 published book "The end of America" struck a cord. In this very interesting book, which I personally recommend all Americans to read, she warns of historical parallels,comparing some well established and documented historical Dictatorships that aroused from well established democracies, by following a so called "Blue Print" of a list of 10 steps. The 10 steps are; 1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy. 2. Create secret prisons where torture takes place. 3. Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens. 4. Set up an internal surveillance system. 5. Harass citizens' groups. 6. E

In November 2008, I wrote an article " here " about Backwater the US militia army that was doing much of the dirty work seemed necessary for the neo-conservative establishment of the Bush regime in the what is now known as the "notorious Bush era". They have now renamed themselves into "Xe" pronounced "Ze", and are still very much active not only in Iraq and Afghanistan but as claimed also in Honduras and other hot spots throughout the world, maintaining and implementing the required pressure for promoting an agenda which can only be declared as the new world order, whilst the neo-conservatives are out of the White House. For the sake of fairness, one has to differentiate between the "New World Order" as is known, and the policies of the "Xe" organization. I have to emphasize without defending the new order, that "Xe" is only a tool, and these mercenaries whose ideology of Christian supremacy,other words religious fa

A few days ago, we all witnessed the start of the annual United nations general assembly, which kick starts with a big tam-tam in September and usually lasts a couple of months, though as it progresses it becomes more and more inconspicuous. However this assembly is one of the main organs of the United Nations, and is considered a rare opportunity for all heads of states to be present as equals and declare, hold speeches, meet delegates of whom they usually would never meet, coordinate future policies and above all settle scores openly and partly live on world television. We have seen some exceptional and historical appearances in the last half a century,of leaders whose speeches made their names immortal, and their causes spread and understood by their listeners. In the 20 Century, the world order was clear, the "First world" were the Capitalists, the "Second world" were the Communists, and the "Third world" were the ones who declared to be neutral and in

Born 1949 in Isfahan into a well to do family, his father a jeweler supported his art and even profited from his sons talent in designing new pieces for his work. As time went by, he became quite well known in Isfahan, for his distinctive fine style in combining the traditional miniature with his personal touch. In 1967, he went to Tehran and joined the Faculty of fine arts at the Tehran University where he mastered "Visual Arts". He then went on to Europe and stayed in different cities like Paris, Rome and Venice where he not only introduced his work but absorbed much of the collected art in these places.His loyalty to Iranian art brought him back to Iran and in 1978 became a professor at the University of Isfahan.His studies and research in Iranian traditional art and architecture are considered phenomenal. Underneath I have embedded some of his work for you to get an idea.. .

From top left.. 1-Chairman Mao / 2- Marilyn Monroe /3- Michael Jackson /4-Sharon Tate /5- Rasputin /6-Saddam Hussain /7-Nicolae Ceausescu /8- Pol Pot /9-Vladimir Lenin /10-John F. Kennedy /11- Stalin /12-John Dillinger /13- Jesse James /14- Herman Goering /15-Evita Peron /16-Edgar Allan Poe /17-Che GueVara /18- Benito Mussolini /19-Beningo Aquino / 20-Abraham Lincoln .

It was late summer in the year 1514, and Iran had a new dynasty in power(The Safavid 1501-1722). The distinctive difference here was the fact that the Safavids were the first "Shia" dynasty that used all methods in the book to convert all Iranians into a homogeneous religion, since the "Iranshahr" factor (which was the name that Iranians used for their country) did not seem enough to mobilize a sense of national unity to refute new national threats, mainly the Afghans and the Turks. The Safavid used issues like the marriage of "BiBi-Shahrbanu" (sister of the last Sassanid King) with "Imam Hussain" and the fact that the fourth Shia "Imam Zein-Ol-Abedin" had not only prophet blood, but also Iranian Royal blood, which stimulated nationalistic feelings of even the most fanatic Sunni Iranians to convert. Furthermore the most convincing argument, was the sword and the famous sentence attributed to the founder of this dynasty was "Either

With regard to 9/11, one is not sure, since when these indispensable doubts started to take hold, maybe it is because one is so used to being lied to, that one starts to assume automatically the official explanations as a prefabricated lie. May be its all the corruption, or the fact that its almost always the same names and characters, whose names and faces appear when something goes wrong. When Bush cheated his way into the White House in Jan. 2000, a wise man called him (Bush) as the "Forrest Gump" of the Republican party, whose intellectual reputation was simply too insulting for most Americans to call him their President, so they took refuge in the thought of Dick Cheney to be the actual puppeteer, but fact is, the Bush administration was actually a war cabinet. They were moving in to change and implement the new world order and it did not matter the least, who the "face" of it all was. Facts, does not always lead to the truth, and one must learn to distinguish

Ali Shariati, was born in Sabzevar/Iran in November 1933. His father was the founder of an Islamic center in Mashhad/Iran and was heavily involved with the Iranian National Front movement for the Nationalization of Iran's Oil industry. That probably laid the cornerstone of Ali Shariati's political activism, he became a teacher in the early 50's and experienced his first arrest in 1953 for joining the National Front and taking part in a demonstration objecting to the overthrow of Dr Mossadegh. He graduated in 1955 and moved to France, where he studied Sociology at the University of Paris. Dr Ali Shariati was by all definitions, a political activist and judging from his biography, a humanist with strong "Shia" Islamic tendencies. His unprejudiced approach towards different, distinguished philosophical directions, combined with his social and cultural background gave him an explicit view of how Iran could be, should the people of his country decide to live up to t

The Qajar dynasty, was apart from some exceptions perhaps a phase in the Iranian history that not many wish to pass in review. It was a period in Iranian history, in which apart from the founder of the dynasty (Agha Mohammad, photo of his Wax figure)all kings were weak and manipulable. Looking back we could unequivocally claim that the 19th century certainly did not belong to any Iranians favorite period in Iranian history. In 1906, the fifth Qajar king called "Mozafar-e-Din" Shah accepted a suggestion for the creation of a Parliament and drafting of a constitution. This Shah (King), ruled Iran from 1896 till 1907 and was known prior to becoming Shah, to have been a party boy, mainly to fight off the boredom he had to endure waiting 35 years as the crown prince, since his father the fourth king "Nasser-e-Din" Shah ruled Iran for almost 50 years. Nevertheless, "Mozafar-e-Din" Shah, introduced Cinematography into Iran, and at some stage a sound technician fr

France has been the oldest and most traditional host to Iranians compared to other nations. The number of Iranians living in France is surprisingly low, it does not exceed 25,000 of which perhaps 50% have French citizenships. The first Iranian flux to France started in the early stages of the 20 century, where scientific and social developments in Iran resulted in state sponsored scholarships, dispatching the first waves of students to France. The second wave of Iranian emigrants to France, was a direct result of the revolution of 1979, which like all revolutions brings displacements and emigrations with itself. This second wave consists almost entirely of political or cultural emigrants and they form up almost 90% of the Iranian immigrants in France of today. Iranians in France are generally very happy people, since almost all are above average educated, they also have little difficulty in assimilating in the French society. The French Judicial system is almost equal in its bureaucrac

Behjat Sadr, was perhaps one of the most gifted Iranian contemporary artists, her modern paintings were last exhibited in Tehran 2007. She passed away,Tuesday August 11 in southern France at the age of 85. Behjat Sadr, was born in Arak/Iran in 1924 and studied at Tehran University, then Rom at the Napels Academy of Fine arts. Her first significant exhibition took place in 1956, just before her return to Iran and joining the Tehran University cadre. Behjat Sadr survived Breast cancer in the 90's, and is known to have continued work. She was married and had a daughter. Underneath I leave a link to some of her work. Behjat Sadr Gallery .

Iranians in Germany, are perhaps the best educated Iranians throughout Europe, They number around 120,000 of which about 30% are second generation. Iranians in Germany are renowned for their flexibility and adaptability. There are certainly a few "No Go" zones in Germany for foreigners generally (former East-German states) and Iranians are no exception, apart from that Iranians in Germany are some of the most successful immigrants in a country struggling to overcome their catastrophic demographic statistics. The adaptability of Iranians, should not be misunderstood as a mean to differentiate between the groups of Iranians scattered across Europe,but as a certain cultural compatibility between the Iranians and Germans. They simply like each other. The geographical centricity of Germany, facilitates constant travel opportunities and cultural exchanges and (unlike the British isolation)gives the German society an elasticity that absorbs new ideas and cultures which in return ra

The number of Iranians in the Scandinavian Peninsula, which consists of Norway, Denmark and Sweden is actually an enigma. Sweden is the one country amongst them that houses the most Iranians but by far not even close to the number of Iranians in other countries. The main reason for this uncertainty is the mainly Kurdish proportion of the foreign residents in Sweden. As we know the ethnic Kurdish population, spreads throughout 4-5 countries, and depending on current political,social and military developments in their regions, many of them moved to the Scandinavian countries , especially Sweden. The reason for the statistical uncertainty lies in the fact for instance that once Iraq was in havoc, many Kurds moved there regardless of their country of origin and claimed to be from Iraq. Another occasion, the war in Turkey that caused the immigration of thousands to Sweden claiming to be from there, regardless of the fact that many of them were from Iran or even Syria,or even Iraq by that ma

Iranians in the UK amount perhaps to no more than 80,000 (half of them second generation)of which a large number of them consider themselves as Armenians,Arabs or Baha'i depending on the current international affairs and how the Tabloid newspapers of Britain educate the public opinion on how negative it is to be thought of Iran. The Iranian mentality however is an ever thriving element in their everyday life. Most Iranians who moved to the UK before the revolution for educational reasons that did not return, have long moved on to the USA or other destinations, furthermore those who came to the UK after 1980, having experienced the classic bureaucratic resistance of the British establishment towards their natural aspirations, moved on to settle elsewhere where they would be considered as majority rather than some ethnic minority group living on an island. Those Iranians who were an ethnic or religous minority in Iran, like the above mentioned groups are the ones who felt and feel ho

I would like to move away from the events blinding my general objectivity, and not concentrate on what the systematic bombardment of information wants me to believe,like stepping a few steps aback to consider the whole picture and not just the segment with the spotlight. The refreshing phenomenon of being able to avoid having to take sides over a political issue, is only known in the least populated areas of Scandinavian countries, but one learns to establish this mental situation everywhere, simply by avoiding daily news coverage of the established international news agencies, which quite honestly, all tastes and sounds identical, as if the whole food(news) has been cooked by the same chef, but served by different waiters and waitresses. Furthermore, one has to move on and not stand idle, one should look for historical similarities considering recent historical developments, of which one is genuinely convinced of its authenticity. With regard to Iran and its recent developments, I fou

Shirin Neshat a modern visual artist, was born in Qazvin/Iran in 1957, a few years before the revolution moved to the US and did her Masters in Berkeley in 1982, then moved to New york. Her first encounter with post revolution Iran, took place in 1990.One can imagine the cultural shock she must have endured, but usually , these are the kind of surreal experiences that stimulates an artistic soul to be creative. She has done much and should anyone be interested in her works, she is a google away! My point of interest in her,is her interesting filming of S.Parsipour's novel "Women Without Men" not to be confused with Ernest Hemingway's short stories from 1927 called "Men Without Women". I embed the trailer of her work underneath alongside an interview of her should you be interested. . .