Slashdot Mirror
Iran Shuts Down US Virtual Embassy
bonch writes "Less than 12 hours after the U.S. launched a virtual embassy for Iran, the Iranian government blocked access to the website, directing visitors to a government page proclaiming the site illegal. The White House condemned the move, calling Iran's internet policies 'an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship around its people.'"
The White House condemned the move, calling Iran's internet policies 'an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship around its people.
Really? REALLY? F*UCK YOU U.S. You are EVERYTHING that is wrong with the world. Go f*cking away and stop crying about people why just want to live their lifes peacefully. You worthless pieces of shit who attack other countries and everyone who doesn't like your limited religious views. You are the scumbag of earth. Go eat your shit. You want to know why we dont like you? BECAUSE YOU TRY TO TELL US WHAT TO DO TO, YOU STUPID SCUMBAGS.
Rather ironic considering that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to censor its _own_ people on the Internet.
Fuck Americans. 9/11 was justified as far as I'm concerned, ignorant, pig-headed, gun-toting shits got what they deserved.
Blocking websites like this is a bad thing; I wholeheartedly agree. Now, what was that about the Obama administration pushing for a Great Firewall of America?
Palm trees and 8
The Iranians must stand up, revolt, and kill the angry loud minority that are the religious Basijis and Clerics.
Then you will be free like we are. So we can invite you over to the United States and have you kill Perry, Bachmann, and all of the greedy, fattened Reaganite baby-boomers and neocon chickenhawks that were causing all of the problems in your country. Then we'd be free and prosperous together.
for political reasons.
Unless it wanted to, of course.
SOPA -> http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-11-17/news/30412322_1_ip-act-rogue-websites-sopa
Laundry list of past attempts -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_the_United_States
(CDA, COPA, DMCA, COPPA, CIPA, COICA, and my favorite named DOPA.)
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
Is the issue
Only any idiot would confuse that with censoring anything. EVERY govt will censor something. It is censoring political expression that is the problem
Everybody understands that right?
Right?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
We've gone from confronting an Iron Curtain to an Electronic Curtain!
In a US prison rots Javed Iqbal. Who is Javed Iqbal? He is a satellite dish installer who let people see Al-Manar television. Al-Manar is associated with Hezbollah (which as Shia, are associated with Iran, and the US government constantly links Hezbollah and Iran in statements). So how is the US throwing people getting news from Iranian, and Iranian-allied sources good, yet Iran doing the same thing is "an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship"?
Iran Blocks American Virtual Embassy Forthwith!
White House Cries Foul! Why Are Iran Such Meanies? !!1
Readers Vote, We Report:
[1] Iran Are Meanies
[2] This Response Was Obvious, And Iran Are Still Meanies
Those Iranians need to have their mouths washed out with SOPA.
All of this was perfectly predictable. Government is such a waste of time and money.
...one might say, "Well, that was quick?".
But I think in this case, it's more appropriate to say, "What took them so long?"
The young generation of Iran certainly doesn't have much of a beef with the US, and by all accounts, would just assume we got along with each other, each in our own respective neighborhoods.
But the older folks, both there and here, still remember that we hate each other, for good reasons, bad reasons and LOTS of lies.
[End Of Line]
"an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship around its people." ... Kind of like what the government is doing here in the States? The Patriot Act just kicked it into overdrive. Bill of Rights? Think you have those natural rights? Your government has taken them away and will do terrible things to you if you exercise those rights.
It amazing that a country who we keep threatening with sanctions would block a US Virtual Embassy website. Of course, censorship is a terrible thing. I guess if we borrowed money from them like we do from China, we could over look Internet censorship.
Deeply religious country censors internet!
This was by far the dumbest idea I've seen coming out of the state department so far. Virtual embassy sounds very nice, but end of the day it is just another website with pages upon pages of useless information (aside from visa forms lets say) which no one I reckon except a few read. I think the American's are just trying put a lot of hype into their website by calling it a virtual embassy. So what's next, a virtual embassy in Second Life? Come on people, get real. If the US government is serious about diplomacy they should stop beating around the bush and playing kiddy games and really engage the other side. I think the Iranian government did a good service to its people for blocking this virtual embassy -at least their action saves some bandwidth!
Like it wasn't obvious even to some silly AC.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
The funny thing about all of this is that Iran is just a place name to most people in the U.S. and about as real as Neverland or Hy-Brasil. They have a concept of Iran, but that's about it. If you're Iranian, you don't exist, in their heads, and so what happens to you *doesn't matter*.
"My God...it's full of trolls!"
Many seem upset that the table shave been turned, and this has become an opportunity to bash America for its limited censorship.
Censorship in a dictatorship or autocracy is expected, and required to ensure the "great leader" continues to be perceived as "great".
However, in a democracy it's the other way round.
Censorship means that the gubment believes the citizens (AKA voters) cannot think and decide for themselves.
Let's accept that for a moment.
Now consider who elected the gubment. The voters, who can't think and decide properly.
Therefore the gubment was elected by people incapable of making good and rational decisions.
Censorship in a democracy invalidates the government.
ANY censorship!
Stop with the anti-American propaganda you liar.
Javed Iqbal was arrested in New York in November 2001, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and fraud in relation to identification documents. He was plead guilty to fraud, went to jail, then later released and deported to Pakistan.
I refer you to my original comment: http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2561396&cid=38286062
Something is wrong with a country whereby something like the title sentence is universally familiar to pretty much anybody in the world.
Even counting the posts in this thread as a crude survey, most people hate American meddling (and for good reasons).
With SOPA looming over us, it makes sense to point out that SOPA will create a similar situation of internet censorship. You are viewing this comment within the narrow context of the story USA vs Iran, he is viewing this story within the wider context of censorship.
If Iran shuts down a site, it is evil. If the US shut down a site, it is good. Welcome to animal farm!
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
The "Electronic Embassy" was "gamed" to begin with.
If you want goodwill on the path to normalizing, you don't do it by sidelining diplomatic channels and messaging unilaterally. That's hostility - not diplomacy.
If the US State Dept wanted full relations with Iran, they could open up shop tomorrow. But everyone there knows that Israel would cut off their lobby-enslaved testicles. The barriers to entry are US and Israeli.
The "Electronic Embassy" was created TO BE BLOCKED
Now, the "evil Iranian government" can be used to generate a thousand obfuscating talking points - and to frame Iran for "blocking dialogue" - when in fact, it is the US which has PERPETUALLY refused relations and negotiation.
This is a ruse. Iran is not some Western Asian version of North Korea, propagandized with some false lampoon of the US that dominates popular imagination.
As I indicated in the earlier story, there is little or nothing that Iranians need to know about the US, that they don't already know, either by watching satellite TV (which every Iranian has) or by calling their cousin in LA, which half of all Iranians have.
Iranians tend to be the most Amerophilic people you will encounter - but the US has been able to do extensive damage to that impression in the past few years. They seem to be on the path of eliminating all good graces.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
The problem with this line of reasoning is that no critique seems right unless you're at the bottom of the pit.
Iran a bad an oppressive regime? Fuck, yeah,
USA's critique correct? Of course.
Better to live in USA than in Iran? You bet!
USA's government being fucking hypocrites in the way they critique Iran's government, at the same time doing SOPA? Definitely!
the US is just jealous they don't have censorship, but there working on it
I believe that the Civil War (American Civil War for those not from the US) was ultimately all about the unity of voice with which the United States speaks - which has blessed the rest of the globe when we screwed things up royally, and cursed the rest of the globe once we had your attention but didn't want ir. I'm not forgetting Emancipation, but let's not mix moral rectitude with ultimate effect. The Blacks fought for another hundred years more to get equality, but the United States spoke with one voice directly after Appomattox - and has ever since. Just for the record, all of the various Americans I have met have been cultured, kind, and intelligent - but with strange blind spots, mostly with regard to firearms and foreign policy. Few Americans are aware that the US has been found guilty of terrorism for example. I once asked an American to marry me. She knocked me back. She made a good wife when she did get married though.
I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
Agree Iran is wrong. But cant point a finger on others when Our own Policy for internet is screwed and with all new strange laws getting passed for free world. No more comments.
[citation needed.]
From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401461.html, is this:
You wouldn't be a(nother) pro-American propagandist liar, would you? Yes, it looks like you are. Couldn't even get the year right on your dissemination, could you?
Time to nuke those sand monkeys
GP included a link to a NY Times article which supports his statement. Any proof it is untrue?
is Iran trying to get a /kickban?
irc.internets.earth is such a troubled place.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
How to use the sweater match the replica luxuries handbags with replica Louis Vuitton handbags
Do you want to make college with the wind of the sweater style? So you can try this collocation, sweater inside wearing a wind restoring ancient ways a pointed collar, on youth. The replica GUCCI handbags, let whole packet of simple but elegant is tonal many share bouncing feeling. If the dress is born for the summer, so the existence of the sweater seems to be in order to meet the cold winter. The old impression, sweater never exist in fashionable personage clad in a dictionary, but in 2011 the T stage of autumn winter, more and more of the knitting sweater became stylist hand indispensable sheet is tasted. Looking across the street fashion girl, almost each a sweater stance appeared in street in the shot, different colors and different styles of sweater makes people shine at the moment. The replica Louis Vuitton CABAS MM MONOGRAM SABBIA is a nice handbag , this replica Louis Vuitton handbags is capture retro chic with the Cabas MM , the cotton jacquard Monogram Sabbia fabric gives the iconic Monogram pattern a vintage charm , while bold contrasting leather trimings and floral details add a playful edge. This replica Louis Vuitton handbags is suitable for this style.
I am a time traveler from the future and where I come from people understand that the internet is a place to get information designed specifically for you by the people you pay taxes to. Other governments are all bad, and we don't dare cross IP borders... especially since they implemented IP v1984 and all networks only have access to their own IP segments and all traffic on said segments route through a connection direct to the government run 'packet enhancer'. It's fun and safe!
'Nough said DanO.
Just when has this President not, NOT, passed a secret executive order turning the Contiguous US into a Prison State with the citizens as prisoners.
The true function of the Northern and Southern security walls are to prevent citizens from leaving when President Obama declares Martial Law on the night of Nov. 6 2012 -- to prevent the popular vote results demonstrating his crushing ignominious defeat.
Yet it's the US which banned providing internet services for Iran, Cuba and others long time ago. And now when Iran blocks obvious US propaganda site, it's now evil. I have no love for Iran, but... US, shut the fuck up.
Americans are clueless. Iran has plenty of reason to hate the USA and it is justified. It will take time and a lot of old people dying off (oddly, it may take the USA longer to grow out of it than the victims.)
BTW, I'm one of the few informed Americans and I have no ties to Iran but that shouldn't need to be said to somebody who knows the history of the situation.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
It looks like Wikipedia has its dates wrong (it says 2001), since the New York Times supports your date as well, but that doesn't change the fact that he is not rotting in prison (he was released years ago) as the earlier comment claims. Furthermore, Iqbal's allegations against the government went on to be heard by the Supreme Court (see Ashcroft v. Iqbal).
Propaganda has no place on Slashdot. Stick to the facts (that's not directed at you, Maow, but is just a general statement regarding this whole discussion).
I particularly like iran.usembassy.gov's handling of media and the links to 'Play jpg' which when clicked displays an image. What next, 'See enlarged audio'?
And I don't blame Iran either. Iranian politics may range from backward through stupid to evil, but their jingoism is carefully stoked and fueled by the US, and this move is just the latest of that.
This wasn't diplomacy, and it wasn't an embassy, virtual or otherwise. An embassy's job is to interact and negotiate with the Iranian government on behalf of the US, not "inform" Iranian citizens of what the US government thinks about the Iranian government. Calling it an embassy is an insult.
Real diplomacy would require an actual conversation between US and Iranian leadership, with both sides coming to a table ready to make concessions and compromises. And setting up a real embassy would require sending a real ambassador to Iran. Doing either of these would require balls, both for the US and Iran. That'd be a courageous foreign policy. If the US were to propose this to Iran, it would likely be rejected (especially now), but making the offer at all would be radical progress.
Hear hear!
I looked at Wikipedia (as I agree the facts are important), and I'm wondering if there's a confluence of stories here.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcroft_v._Iqbal#Facts:
The Washington Post story I quoted said,
How close is Hicksville to Brooklyn? Here's what I found ( http://www.findlocalweather.com/forecast.php?forecast=pass&pass=distances&dpp=0&pands1x=Hicksville%2C+NY&pands2x=brooklyn%2C+ny&Find+distance=How+far+is+it%3F ):
It appears that Javed Iqbal is a rather common Pakistani name, so maybe the Wikipedia entry incorrectly conflates the two guys, only one being the satellite TV installer?
Fair enough, original post was incorrect, rotted in prison perhaps. However, original post was correct in the charges against some guy by that name. The guy hurling accusation of anti-American propaganda was wrong on that, and gave an example apparently of a different case.
Cheers
while s1867 gets passed and the military can detain any american citizen for any amount of time they want to quibble about Iran and it's policies?
So can any country just make an Embassy in any other country, or is permission needed?
This isn't surprising. I really doubt the US gov is stupid enough to think that Iran wouldn't censor it. They likely built it so Iran can censor it. It's just another PR stunt by the US to further alienate Iran from the rest of the world.
It isn't a coincidence that Spies are outed in the US at very politically expedient times. The Russian spies were "found" during the peak of anti-missile talks , an Iranian spy was "found" recently just when Iran's Nuclear issues were reemerging. A Syrian spy was found recently as well. It seems clear that the US gov knows and tolerates these people, until they can score an advantage out of them. Monitoring known spies is better than kicking them out and giving foreign intelligence a chance to refine their skills.
Propaganda has no place on slashdot but this whole story is about propaganda. A foreign embassy or diplomatic mission http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy is about maintaining relations between governments and providing resources for legally visiting citizens.
The virtual embassy is a total failure in that it is nothing more that marketing, public relations and propaganda tool of the US Government.
It would not be accepted for real foreign embassies to produce anti-government marketing campaigns in the country they are being hosted by, so why would it be accepted by virtual ones and really who would be arrogant and stupid enough to do it in that manner, gees Hillary go play with some cigars instead and stop embarrassing your country ie take out anything that would not appear in a normal embassy web site.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
On that note: http://boingboing.net/2011/03/08/passport-ownership-p.html
Correlation, causation and all that but somewhat interesting.
The main thing to think about is that if one consider the surface area of USA, a person living there can travel from winter to summer and back again without ever showing a passport, encountering someone not speaking english, or accepting payment in dollars.
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
And all that whining about how it was insensitive because the TWIN TOWERS were blown up?
They have a concept of Iran, but that's about it. If you're Iranian, you don't exist, in their heads, and so what happens to you *doesn't matter*.
This is pretty much true of any remote population. To the people of {A}, {B} is just a place name. To the people of {B}, {A} is just a place name. Lines in the sand and the flags we plant near them.
The difference between comedy and tragedy is ones proximity to the situation.
The US isn't totally uncaring about the Iranian regime's human rights abuses or weapons of mass destruction. They do have oil, after all.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
The US does this, IRAN does that, CHINA does this other....
When the hell are people gonna wake up and realize these are not countries they are governments which are a great deal smaller than the number of people living in a bordered land mass.
When you remove the soldier pawns and any other pawns what you have left is something less than 1%.
I find it very insulting to know that stories are being written insinuating I'\m part of some psychopathic collective.
I am not part of that crap and I'm certain I share this sentiment with a large majority of people on this planet.
did i understand your argument correctly?
Freedom == Self Control. Literally. Go look it up and generalize it yourself if you don't believe me.
If you have a head on your shoulders you'd quickly see self control is what holds being smart from being crazy.
You're all fucking goddamn batshit insane. Snap out of it man. Life is beautiful.
I just hope to hell they're running this scheme on an isolated server and the REST of our infrastructure is SAFE.
You just KNOW every clown in the world is gonna try to bust it.
Further case in point, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Blitz_(American_football).
Yes, it appears that an American football team, based in London, named themselves after the 76 nights of consecutive bombing.
How'd America like a European-style football (soccer) team based in NY naming itself the New York Nine Elevens? Boggles the mind.
You know that old saying "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity?" It could be good old fashioned American ignorance at work here. I'm American and I can tell you that a really large number of Americans operate under the principle that "If it didn't happen here, it didn't happen". It's worth mentioning that "blitz" is an American football term for a play where the defense sends more rushers after the quarterback than normal (normal is 3 or 4 depending on the defense). Blitzing is a high risk, high reward kind of play. If it works, the quarterback may be tackled ("sacked") for a loss, throw the ball away for an incomplete pass or be intercepted on a rushed pass. If it fails and the quarterback gets off a successful pass, the receiver may get a bigger gain than normal due to few defenders being available in coverage. I suspect someone on the team thought that London Blitz sounded like a cool, footbally name for a team and was just completely ignorant of the London Blitz in WWII. After all, we're living in a country where people under 30 actually believe that "prolly" is a real word, so I certainly would tend to blame ignorance here as the main cause.
At least the parent was considerate, thoughful and thought provoking. I know what f*ck means, but seeing f*uck, I know instantly that the parent poster has a much more defined vocabulary, and therefore smarter, than myself. I can't imagine why they weren't instantly set to +1 insightful.
The White House condemned the move, calling Iran's internet policies 'an electronic curtain of surveillance and censorship around its people.
Really? REALLY? F*UCK YOU U.S. You are EVERYTHING that is wrong with the world. Go f*cking away and stop crying about people why just want to live their lifes peacefully. You worthless pieces of shit who attack other countries and everyone who doesn't like your limited religious views. You are the scumbag of earth. Go eat your shit. You want to know why we dont like you? BECAUSE YOU TRY TO TELL US WHAT TO DO TO, YOU STUPID SCUMBAGS.
I8-D
Oh? Shall we talk about how "Conspiracy of Silence" regarding the Franklin Scandal was pulled off the air here in the US? Or how about the initial but thankfully failed efforts to block "Atomic Cafe" from being shown in the US? Or the successful attempt to keep "The Crimes of Mena" out of the Washington Post?
Bit of the ol' pot and kettle going on here!
Why is Iran the problem, if they did that for Egypt or Syria, or China, you would have the same response, yet Iran are the bad guys now???
Come on.....I understand that as a person I see this as a very censored government keeping its people uninformed and stupid on purpose in order to control them easily...but it is THEIR country.....next time when you invade, do it properly and assimilate them into the US population and constitution....end of story.....
You can not cry over another countries policies (and only that one yet others are just as bad....) and then figure you can push them into what you want them to do....
I have lost some respect for the US government now....
I have this idea that someday the US will grow up to be the Nation it should be...the father of them all, and start offering assimilation packages to all countries out there...if the other country wants to join up, they get special privileges no other country has, a massive backbone....but all they r belongs to US....
they become another state that has to follow the constitution and the laws of the US. This would grow until there would be very few countries left (3rd world)
and only the big ones would be left, and by that time the US population would be so massive that it could dictate better living conditions for all states(countries) within it....and also make it officially a world union.
Let it happen naturally by offering this to others (instead of Hitler's way by taking that country over) and you will get down to one world nation with one set of rules, and those set of rules defined by the people....instead of dictators in other countries that tell the people what they want them to do....!!!
Ok, that's it! I'm firing up battlefield and invading Tehran! Too bad no Iranians can stop me! Muahahahaha!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I am outraged or something like that.
Do you base this straw man on anything, or is it something you just cooked up in your mom's basement? I've known Iran quite well, ever since they took our people hostage in 1979. I know exactly what kind of people they are-- including the wonderful ones I've had a chance to meet and work with. Those are the intelligent, ambitious ones who left that disgusting mess of a failed state.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
The "Virtual Embassy" nonsense was a political stunt from the start. Did anybody seriously think it would not be blocked by the Iranian government? Politicians aren't known for being very clever, but even they must have seen this coming.
I think if a whole fucking country just dissapeared, you would have bigger issues than foreign policy and censorship.
Yes, I'm sure that if another country overthrew our democratically-elected government and installed a dictator, our subsequent revolutionaries wouldn't storm that country's embassy and take hostages. No, sir. I wager we'd probably simply kill them all.
This move was condemned by the same government who recently tried to push the SOPA act... So they bad-mouth Iran, after they tried pulling the same thing here at home?!?! I guess the U.S. brass is irony impaired
in the history of the U.S. wars, the only country that we still don't have diplomatic relations with is North Korea, I feel the same shall be true for Iran
Master hypocrits.
how is babby formed?
Hahahahaha - this is so funny - Dear White House, if you substitute USA for Iran, and Gambling Site for Virtual Embassy; this is identical to your own actions..... Don't complain when others do unto you, as you do unto others.
Pointing fingers is fine.
What's wrong is using a machete to chop off other people's fingers when they point back at you.
Just because the pot's black doesn't mean its opinion on the kettle is null and void.
If we did things that way then the pot would be put to shame and everyone's so focused on the pot's hypocrisy that the kettle slinks away unscathed.
Honestly the comments modded +5 insightful are quite scary. I'm not from the U.S. but what I'm reading here is frightening.
It seems a lot of americans here do hate their own government and do think there's no issue at all letting Iran research nuclear weapons. Do you realize being jewish (I'm not btw) is enough for these people to hate you to the point of dreaming of one thing: nuking Israel out of the map.
Yes, in Europe (where I'm from) and in the U.S. there are SNAFUs. Yes, there are a lot of corrupted official and there are people gaming the system. But at least we have the right to talk, to express ideas, etc.
And what do you use this right for? To constantly take on Iran's side. You guys are disgusting me.
If you take Iran and the U.S. and ask me who are the less worst guy, I choose the U.S. (and this comes from a european).
hello ms hillary clinton.
can you help me?
please i need your help,you said that you can help us to provide us visa and resident from your country usa
im waiting for that.please help me,i need your help,my name is maziyar kazemzadeh-im from iran_shiraz
my email address is maziyar.kazemzadeh@yahoo.com
im still waiting for your forward answer.
please get me out of this country as soon as possible.thank you so much