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Iran Slows Internet Access Before Student Protests
RiffRafff writes "Iran is at it again, pre-emptively slowing or cutting Internet access before anticipated student protests." From the article: "Seeking to deny the protesters a chance to reassert their voice, authorities slowed Internet connections to a crawl in the capital, Tehran. For some periods on Sunday, Web access was completely shut down — a tactic that was also used before last month's demonstration. The government has not publicly acknowledged it is behind the outages, but Iran's Internet service providers say the problem is not on their end and is not a technical glitch."
Clearly if I'm getting a frist psot on /. then they've gotten to us to!
Anyone hosting tor ports to assist? I considered, but I'm nervous about having some /b/onehead abuse my address.
My debut novel AMITY now available: http://jeremydbrooks.c
How much will this really affect communication? If I recall, the last wave of protests mostly used Twitter, which doesn't exactly use a whole heap of bandwith? I could see this affecting Youtube, but it won't stop communication.
I hope the protest succeeds for many reasons, one of which is to show that regime change can be beneficial and effective without overt American influence. The Iranians are tough people with long memories, and they will be as resistant to American meddling as they are to the Ayatollah.
They're one of the few countries without McDonald's' and I'd like to see them stay that way.
How long do the authorities in Iran think they can keep this Internet slowdown going? Sooner or later, they'll have to let up, and when they do, there's going to be a flood of blog posts and website updates about the latest protests. Unless they cut off all Internet access forever, they can't stop it from happening, they can only delay it, and the longer they do, the worse it looks.
Good, inexpensive web hosting
Well, that really doesn't leave much. I give the Iranian government credit though, this is a much more subtle way of handling things and potentially more effective than more blatant crackdowns. However, I don't think this will matter much for certain types of channels. A lot of the channels used in previous protests to communicate (such as Twitter and text messages) have extremely low bandwiths. So slowing down the internet shouldn't do much. And large scale cutting will lose the more subtle element. Of course, this sort of repeated behavior should make it clear to anyone in doubt that the current Iranian government really isn't popular with the people. If they were genuinely popular, they'd have little need to try to control communication like this. The government probably remembers that the last time there was an extremely unpopular government was the Shah's regime and that was brought down by what started as student protests.
How long before the Iranian government lays all new fiber to a central military facility and then disable the now-current fiber links? The idea being total central control to turn off the internet connection entirely or by segments from one physical location.
Hey, if they have the money to build another 20 nuclear reprocessing sites, they damn well have the funds to pull something off like this!
Life is not for the lazy.
Bah,
Last death throws of a failing regime. I feel horrible for the Iranian people right now, but thank god they don't seem to be taking this lying down.
It's like the 1960's over there, a huge boom of 'youth' and a repressive establishment to fight. Here's hoping the result of this revolution is a bit more friendly then the last, but more importantly that it treats it's people better.
I would have been first but I'm posting from Iran.
If so, that would explain everything.
The same thing happens when China "cracks down." The media whines and opines for a while, but at the end of the day the rest of the world is powerless to stop these boneheads from abusing their own people. I feel for those affected, but at some point the people inside the Matrix need to do more to help themselves. Having the people outside complain really doesn't do a whole lot to make it better.
So if I'm a thug government, I know I can pretty much do what I want, especially if I have something the world wants (cheap labor/oil/etc).
If Iranian ISPs are anything like the ones here in the U.S., then that means they don't have access to usenet, unless they pay a subscription for it.
I got modded a troll yesterday (which I probably deserved for my dismissive tone) making a point similar to this.
The revolution will not be tweeted.
The "twitter revolution" that many people cheered about went no where, and the Iranian government used those tweets to put people in jail. If the Iranians are going to have a revolution, it isn't going to happen on social networking sites. They aren't even good to organize with, because the government can easily put out disinformation, and see where, and when, people are planning to demonstrate.
The same is true here in the U.S. if you are planning on organizing a demonstration on public property such as a park, or street. You have to get permits to do it.
Sorry to disappoint you, but the "revolutionaries" are mostly urban youth (a lot of students there, obviously, which is why you often see those). However, that's not what the majority of Iran's population is - that comes from the countryside, rural agrarian folk, and they're rather happy about mullahs and Ahmadinejad. So at worst this won't be a revolution, this will be a civil war, and if the "more democracy" side wins, it will do so against the will of the majority (can you count the bodies it takes, already?).
I very much wish for a democratic Iran, but at this point it looks as unlikely as ever.
They're doing it wrong.
they should encourage p2p software use, increase the bandwidth, then everyone will stay home watching lost or house.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Yea, but then what would you call a revolution? Putting down your teacup with a clatter, standing up abruptly, saying in a stern voice "Good DAY to you sir!" and storming out?
I hate printers.
Actually, the Iranian regime is Shia, not mainstream Muslim. Shia represent a minority (estimates vary from 5% to 15%) of the worldwide Muslim population that the Western media lumps together. Mainstream Islam (Sunni, counting for between 805 to 90%) is hugely different from Shia, although the Shia people are allowed into Sunni countries freely and without incident (roughly 100,000 enter Saudi Arabia annually to perform the Hajj to Mecca, without incident).
In Iran, Shia are a majority, the only country in which this is the case. They are going after the traditional Muslims, who are contending that the brutality of the regime is not consistent with Sharia law, which has very clear principles. Ironically, the Western media is pointing to the Iranian regime and blaming its adherence to Sharia as the cause for the unrest there.
Sharia law is not counter to human rights, Sharia law resulted in a 1,400 year long reign over the middle east which was described by Jewish historian Bernard Lewis as the only time man has achieved true social harmony. It's a pity that the Western media has absolutely no idea what Sharia is, but bashes it based on a few clips from some village of some woman being whipped, regardless of the fact that Sharia had no part in such instances and does not condone violence against anyone, man, woman, Muslim or otherwise. Sharia law worked for 1,400 years in the middle east, and only fell when World War 1, a European war, spilled over into the region.
Sharia law causing global instability indeed.
I hate printers.
he was an exile, an expatriot. he gathered financial support and philosophical encouragement from ideas outside china. he spent a lot of time in hawaii, finding inspiration in things like lincoln's gettysburg address. then he went home to china, and helped overthrow the backwards qing dynasty. he is revered by both the mainland communists and the nationalists on taiwan as the father of modern china
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen
my point?
national borders are artificial constructs, and the seeds of revolution often come from outside a country, not from within it. ideology is ideology ideology: if it works in one country, it can work in another. its not like you go over the border of china or iran and suddenly you are in a magical land where human nature is fundamentally different. no: human beings are human beings. an idea that inspires someone in rio de janiero can just as easily inspire someone in hamburg. you give far too much power to something as flimsy as a tribal, arbitrary dividing line
my point is: there is very much we can do to help an angry and energized rich iranian expat community to give birth to the iranian sun yat-sen
its not just people outside the country whining and complaining. that's not all they are doing, you can be sure of that. and the iranian government knows this: they jail relatives of iranian expats they perceive as being active in fighting the illegitimate iranian military dictatorship (the ayatollah is only a pawn now):
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/12/05/2044243
the iranian government certainly recognizes what you do not: its not the cia, or mi-6 that is there most potent foreign enemy. it is the iranian diaspora: raising funds, keeping alive hope, influencing opinion at home
the iranian regime has heard of sun yat-sen, and they are on guard against the iranian one
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
but don't take my word for it: allow an actual iranian to complain about ill-informed american armchair analysts who spout stupidity based on crap assumptions like yourself:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/opinion/19shane.html
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
And those of us with memories don't need a reminder.
Remember when we sent weapons to Iraq and trained their army to fight Iran? I mean, remember when we allowed them to gas the Kurds and Saddam Hussein was a secular Islamic leader stemming the tide against the Iranian Revolution and their Russian backers?
Wait, I forgot. Iraq is Evil and Saddam Hussein is Evil. They let Kuwaiti babies die in the floor in the hospital! Well, that turned out to by a lie by a diplomat's daughter. But anyway, we never did anything like that to Iraqi babies, I mean, besides starve them with an embargo for 10 years.
Remember when we invaded Iraq because they helped al Qaeda with plotting 9/11? I mean, remember when we invaded Iraq because they had WMD? I mean, remember when we invaded Iraq to liberate it's people?
Wait, what's the story again?
After all, when you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.
You don't need laws when the biggest media are eating whatever they are fed by your administration.
Where were their doubts about the justification for invading Iraq, voiced at the time freely in other countries?
Hey, it's beneficial I guess when media conglomerates are one of the biggest campaign contributors...on both "sides".
One that hath name thou can not otter
*nod* Generally speaking, the instances of Sharia law that get the Western world into a tizzy are either ones that have been blended with local or tribal customs OR have been applied by fundamentalist Muslims, and therefore give as true a representation of Sharia law as the WBC gives of Christian principles. (Here's a hint... that means "not at all".)
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
Comment: A large percentage of the people support the government
Answer: Yes, 15%-18%. In every single poll on the internet I have seen almost the same number. And no, they (people) won't kill each other for it. People in Iran do not have gun and it is illegal to have it. Besides Iranian society is considered an educated community (3.5 million are in universities from which 60% are women).
Comment: The Iranians created this horrible society. It is none of our business unless they attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
Answer: No they didn't. US did a coup in Iran 40-50 years ago and overthrow their national democratic government and returned the dictator "Shah" to power. people were forced to act more aggressive to put the Shah away. An aggressive act of revolution caused more aggressive opinions.
Then a war was exposed to Iran by Iraq (Sadam) which killed almost 1million Iranians. The war was supported by most Arab countries + Europeans + USA. Arabs paid Iraq by oil and cash (around 200 billion) and Europeans and US gave them weapons etc (including chemicals for illegal chemical warfare). 50,000 Iranians are effected by chemicals provided by Europeans to Sadam.
The same Sadam used those weapons against same Arab countries a few years later.
About your comment on Nukes I should say, USA is the only country which has both built and used nukes. US has started around 50 wars in recent history. Iran has never started any war in last150 years or more.
You want to condemn the 7000 years old culture of Iran which has the oldest history of Human rights and has been one of the cultural roots of the human being and then support your own culture and people which have started almost 50 wars (in which more than 10 million are killed) ??? have you looked at the mirror recently???
Thank you for this intriguing and informative post. Sadly my first thought is that you are most likely not an American... More and more of the people who live in the 'real' world are starting to see the Americans as the most brain-washed fundamentalists in the world. It's so ironic that everything America accuses 'the enemy' of doing is something they do best themselves.
What goes for people on a personal level also counts for a country as a whole. Change starts by looking at yourself and trying to better yourself, not by yelling at others that they are wrong and need to change. Especially when you accuse the others of things you do best yourself it makes you look like a puppet and hypocrite. I wish more Americans would put as much effort into changing their own as they are wasting in trying to change the rest of the world... it would be a better world for it.
People who try to think for themselves can fight in this 'war' of disinformation by doing exactly what the parent poster does: counter the disinformation with factual information. To the parent poster, and anyone else who is about 'the truth and nothing else but the truth': Thank you for doing this (at the risk of being labeled with 'teh terrorists' by the aforementioned puppets) and trying to make people think for themselves.
People judge Islam by current practice, not ancient times.
Ancient times, it bears repeating, are over, past, kaput, done, no longer applicable.
There are zero Muslim countries where one has the freedoms we expect in the secular West. Not even Turkey, praise be to Kemal Ataturk for trying, qualifies.
I've seen the best Islam can do with an unlimited budget while deployed there (before GWoT) on a friendly basis. KSA, Turkey (limited budget but more Euro influence) Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi are all places no freedom-loving person would go unless deployed or making fat contractor money. The locals are friendly (bring social skills and a smile), but Islam sucks. Imagine the US taken over by Evangelical Christians of the Fred Phelps variety. If you are like them they like you. If not...
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
The Iranians are responsible for their current regime, trying to blame that on the U.S. is great rhetoric but wrong. Islam has always groped for power. The tyrants who now run Iran have finally gotten their chance to show Islam's true colors. Read about what they did to the Ba'Hai after the revolution.
Current Iran does start wars, the last Israeli-Lebanon war started because their dogs in Lebanon decided to listen to their Iranian masters.
Bringing up the the fact the U.S. used nukes is entirely out of context. The result of not using them would have been many more thousands of American and Japanese deaths. The U.S. has never used them since nor has threatened to use them. On the other hand, the current Iranian regime has threatened that if they get them, they will nuke Israel.
Whitewashing the Iranian regime is nice academic play, but that is all it is.
Wrong. There were maybe a handful of Americans within Iran during the revolution. The Iranians did all that to each other.
Did what to each other during the revolution? Khomeini was not known by 95% of the people in Iran 2 years before revolution until he went to France and western media started to cover him and bring his voice to Iranian. When the airports during the revolution were closed it was France government which allowed Khomeini to embark the airplane and forced Shah's regime to allow it to land in Tehran airport. In my opinion, shah was replaced by Khomeini because it was believed islam can counter communism better than Shah. The same strategy was used in Afghanistan. Taliban was trained by the US to counter communists in Afghanistan.
Did you opposed the overthrow of Saddam? Which presidents did all this? Did you know that the US changes presidents from time to time?
No I didn't. I know the president changes but I also know it does not remove the wrong doings of previous presidents.
Wrong. The US hasn't started ANY wars in living memory. Not one. We've joined two after being attacked. But we didn't start either of those and we tried to stay out of them. Since then we learned that isolationism and cruel indifference don't work.
World believes you!
Don't worry, i'll tell the girl at the campus bookstore how multiculti you are. She'll be impressed.
Girls in the Campus already know. Both those in my lectures and outside. You do not need to bother yourself. And you are not as funny as you think.