Iran has a conflicting relationship with the internet. On one side,
a large portion of the population are online, and even
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a well-publicized blog in 2006 (though it now seems to be offline). Then there was
Iran's internet revolution in 2009, when there were country-wide internet censorship that was countered
by use of web proxies. Later that same year, a company affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
purchased a majority share in the nation's telecommunications monopoly. The fact that IRGC was involved with a for-profit company was not news, as
IRGC has long been involved in Iran's economy, but their role in communications was more troubling. The latest news causing a stir is
a "halal" internet for Iran, "
an internet that conforms to Islamic principles, to improve its communication and trade links with the world," according to a quote from head of economic affairs with the Iranian presidency, Ali Aqamohammadi.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on May 31, 2011 -
32 comments
Misreading Tehran: Leading Iranian-American writers revisit a year of dreams and discouragement. "With a full 12 months now between us and the election, the time is ripe to start revisiting the hype and hope in a year of writing: which stories were overblown, what stories were missed entirely, and what can be gleaned about Iran's
annus horribilis from a more thorough understanding.
FP asked seven prominent Iranian-Americans, deeply immersed in both the English- and Persian-language media, to look through the fog of journalism at what actually happened in Tehran -- and why so many of us got it so wrong."
[Via]
posted by homunculus
on Jun 8, 2010 -
29 comments
For Neda. "
For Neda reveals the true story of
Neda Agha-Soltan, who became another tragic casualty of Iran's violent crackdown on post-election
protests on June 20, 2009. Unlike many unknown victims, however, she instantly became an international symbol of the struggle: Within hours of Agha-Soltan's death, cell phone photographs of her blood-stained face were held aloft by crowds protesting in Tehran and across the world. With exclusive access to her family inside Iran, the
documentary goes to the heart of who Neda was and what she stood for, illuminating the larger Iranian struggle for democratic freedoms through her powerful story."
[more inside]
posted by homunculus
on Jun 4, 2010 -
7 comments
Crap Detection 101 Howard Rheingold offers a fairly in-depth primer on media and internet BS detection.
Lots of links to resources for enabling critical analysis of various information sources included.
posted by telstar
on Jun 30, 2009 -
17 comments
In 2009,
a remarkably gifted politician, confronting a remarkably difficult set of challenges, will
have to learn to say "No we can't",
Guantánamo will prove a moral minefield,
economic recovery will be invisible to the naked eye,
governments must prepare for the day they stop financial guarantees,
we will judge our commitment to sustainability,
scientists should research the causes of religion,
we will all be potential online paparazzi,
English will have more words than any other language (but it's meaningless),
Afghanistan will see a surge of Western (read: American) troops,
Iran will continue its nuclear quest while
diplomacy lies in shambles,
the sea floor is the new frontier,
we should rethink aging,
(non-)voters will continue to thwart the European project --
but cheap travel will continue to buoy it --
though it has some unfinished business to attend to, and
a Nordic defence bond will blossom.
The Economist: The World in 2009.
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posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Nov 27, 2008 -
31 comments
Iran systematically filters political websites: In contrast with what the
Iranaian President had said in the UN summit on Information Technology last year, the
OpenNet Initiative, in its latest bulletin, concludes that "Iran is indeed engaged in extensive Internet content filtering beyond just pornography, including many political, religious, social, and blogging websites.
"Most of these censored websites are Iran-specific; very little non-pornographic, "global" content is filtered from Iranian users. "
posted by hoder
on Aug 19, 2004 -
8 comments
Blogging Festival in Iran: "Attempting to form a society of the web Persian content providers, this festival tries to improve the quality of the published information by the means of discussing sessions, roundtables and the exhibition. This festival, backed by the
PersianBlog team, as the greatest Farsi weblog provider, and the
National Youth Organization of Iran, is the first practical attempt for sponsoring the bloggers and internet magazines."
posted by hoder
on May 25, 2004 -
2 comments
WebWoman is a global, on-line community designed to promote professional development of Afghani and Iranian women.
posted by hoder
on Mar 10, 2004 -
1 comment
The Internet is now basically banned and controlled for all but the elite in Cuba.
In Iran, an unelected body has eliminated hundreds of reformist candidates from the general elections. That's what stiffling of dissent looks like. Stare it in the face, and ask your politicians and NGOs and friends to raise their voices against it as loud as they did against the war in Iraq. Promote freedom for people just like you around the world in a nonviolent way. (And I'm not talking about writing Bush to ask for Regime Change)
posted by swerdloff
on Jan 11, 2004 -
19 comments
Iran Online. Can the opening of a countires 'cyber-borders' contribute to the liberalisation (small 'l') of the society?
Iran has a rapidly
increasing population, as well as a rapidly increasing online percentage, they have
sports sites (they seem to like soccer),
portals and the
'IranMania' search engine.
Can un-censored access to the internet help build
tolerance?
posted by asok
on Feb 22, 2002 -
5 comments
