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US Calls On Iran To Unblock Social Media Sites Amid Protests (go.com)
The Trump administration is calling on the government of Iran to stop blocking Instagram and other social media sites while encouraging Iranians to use special software to circumvent controls. "The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years," President Trump tweeted yesterday. "They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. Time for change!" ABC News reports: Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein, in charge of public diplomacy, said the U.S. wants Iran's government to "open these sites" including the photo-sharing platform Instagram and the messaging app Telegram. "They are legitimate avenues for communication," Goldstein said. "People in Iran should be able to access those sites." Iranians seeking to evade the blocks can use virtual private networks, Goldstein said. Known as VPNs, the services create encrypted data "tunnels" between computers and are used in many countries to access overseas websites blocked by the local government. Despite the blocks, the United States is working to maintain communication with Iranians in the Farsi language, including through official accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. The State Department also was to distribute videos of top U.S. officials encouraging the protesters through those and other sites.
... as it took only one day of the new censorship tool "Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz" until the first Tweets with government-critical content were deleted based on it (under the allegation they would be hate speech, the new one-fits-all word to criminalize public dissent).
When we say the same thing to the Saudies. Until then this is just another example of an unpopular administration trying to start a preemptive war with a nation that posses little or no threat to the nation.
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Your post provides good support of my original comment. You have no idea about Iran, yet strong feelings. You are probably unaware, for example, that the USA actively supported Iraq in the war against Iran in which over a million people were killed, many by Iraqi poison gas. The point being that while those demonstrators want change, you can be sure that none of them see the USA as a beacon of light and democracy, instead, vitriol from Trump really helps the religious reactionary's cause.
As to North Korea, yes, should be dealt with far more forcefully, which means dealing with the USA's banker, China. But you are also probably unaware that N Korea was actually under control under Clinton. It was when Bush went to Iraq that the N Koreans saw their opportunity. And then, of course, Obama did nothing. And Trump will do nothing either except bluster, which may ultimately end up with a very bad result.
The current president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, is a moderate reformer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... How the fuck is a revolution going to make that situation better for the people of Iran or the stability of that region? This is clearly about the US working with the Saudis (who bombed the world trade center, which was used as a pretext to invade Iraq) and the geopolitical advantage the US has if they are allies with the Saudis, rather than allies of Iran (their protestant/catholic style enemy). It all boils down to the US worrying more about Russian influence in Iran, and countries closer to Russia, and trying to calm down the nutjob Saudis, while also keeping Israel happy so they don't have to stockpile more nuclear bombs. Isn't it about time we show countries like Russia that we can be more functional if we focus on fixing our democracies? Civil discourse, civil engagement rather than this individualistic meltdown that our society is currently experiencing. Maybe then we can show that the world that you don't need a strongman to run a country. Short answer.. fuck this world, fuck its leaders and its uninformed self-centered public.
I'll be more impressed when the US starts calling out Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Or apologizes for the military dictatorships it sponsored in Latin America for decades.