US ISP Terminates Iranian News Website

grcumb writes "BBC News Online is reporting that the 'semi-official' Iranian Student News Agency has had its contract arbitrarily terminated by the US hosting service The Planet. Quoted in the Central Asian & Southern Caucasian Freedom of Expression Network, an ISNA spokesman said, "Eliminating the site of ISNA, a media outlet widely accessed around the world, is against informatics laws and runs counter to the rhetoric about the free flow of information and the principle of freedom to access information and news,". The BBC Reports that Iranian government officials were quick to accuse the US administration of pressuring The Planet to terminate the contract. So what should we make of this? Government conspiracy, corporate arrogance, or the proper sanctioning of the mouthpiece of an oppressive regime? " As the submittor says, details are virtually unknown about this - my research shows some calling the ISNA a 'bastion of freedom' to other saying it's run by flunkies of the old men of Iran; definitely not cut and dried one way or another.

Comments

USEFUL Link

[saintp]

Link to actual story from the BBC

Re:ISNA has well-known links to terror

[kbahey]

You say you are Arab American. This web site is in Persian, as you can see from Archive.org . So how come you know all this about them?

You seem to be confusing ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency, the subject of this Slashdot article) with ISNA (Islamic Society of North America)?

The latter ISNA is a well reputed Muslim organization in America and not related to promoting terrorism nor fake charities.

An Arab American would most likely spelled it as Quran and not Koran too.

You being an Anonymous Coward tells me that are trolling, and not just confused.

Re:ISNA has well-known links to terror

[Jagasian]

I think you mean "Farsi" instead of "Persian", and yes Farsi is not the same language as Arabic. Knowing one does not help you understand the other.

It's illegal

[grahamsz]

The US Government requires a specific license to provide any goods or services to anyone in iran.

It's probably the case that the ISP realized they should have asked for this permit first, but to cover their asses they pulled the site asap.

I'm sure the newspaper can host their site in a country with less restrictive export controls - i'm sure they can find somewhere in europe.

Re:+5, Funny

[Spark00]

Hey bub, I ain't the one who brought up Bush & the US. You did. I'm not saying you can't open up a can of whup-ass on some dictator and free people. I took issue with the idea of 'enforcing' freedom. As in a long term kind of thing. you free a people and then let them be free.

But since you do bring up Bush and the US let's remember that there are lots of examples of very un-free places in the world that are left well enough alone by the US because of any number of reasons - not the least of which is that the regime in power are friends of the US government. And just for FULL disclosure here let me say that I am NOT any US. I love the US, it's quite frankly an amazing, beautiful, wonderful place filled with many fantastic people. I hate to trot out the old 'some of my best friends are..." cliché but well it's true. I AM absolutely, positively, categorically ANTI-BUSH. I think that he and his cronies have done more damage to the country than we have even begun to realise. When we're all dust and our great-great-grandkids are paying off debts that this 'fiscal conservative' ran up history will judge him.

But back to my original point. you can't 'enforce' freedom. you protect it, nurture it, and sometimes, yes, impose it by removing corrupt regimes. But you can't force a people to behave a certain way forever, because when you try, you're enforcing your view of how freedom should be enjoyed, and you are at that point as corrupt as the regime you replaced.

The reason that France and Germany are now free, is because the Allies kicked a little Nazi ass, provided the seeds of democracy and the money to set it up, and then got the hell out.

Re:Just business

[Rei]

99% of the active terrorists in the world espouse [a bastardized version of] Islam?

Hmm, I better inform the 3rd October Organization (ASALA), the 17 November Revolutionary Organization, the Albanian National Arma, the Alex Boncayao Brigade, the Alliance of Eritrean National Force, the Algeti Wolves, the Alliance pour la resistance democratique (ARD) (Mayi-Mayi), the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), AMAL, Japanese Red Army (JRA) Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB), the Anti-Imperialist Territorial Nuclei (NTA), the Arewa People's Congress, Fuerzas Armadas Liberacion Nacional Puertoriquena (FALN) (the "Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation", aka Popular Boricua Army, Ejercito Popular Boricua, Macheteros), the Armed Nuclei for Proletarian Autonomy, Armed Revolutionary Nuclei (ARN) (Ordine Nuovo), and Aum Shinrikyo (the folks responsible for the Tokyo Sarin gas attack, of which a few are still at large). And those are just the "A"'s and earlier. By the way, all of our local terroristic militias like McVeigh's gang, and the appallingly ignored May 2003 plot by white supremacists in Texas (led by Krar) who had enough weaponry and cyanide to take out an arms depot or small city, are not included in the list.