Not to sound like an old man, but I do have to have some respect for "the Twitter". They postponed a scheduled maintenance in order to not interfere with dissidents' communications in Iran.
If only other internet technology firms were more interested in promoting freedom, rather than supporting censorship (I'm of course thinking )of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in China.
16 Jun 2009
Quick Rant About Attitudes Towards Events in Iran...
This post from Commentary correspondent Michael Totten sums up a lot of the frustration that I have been feeling towards certain quarters of the American commentariat (both professional and otherwise).
The argument by this segment runs along something of the following:
"Well, we don't know that the Iranian election was really fraudulent. Those people saying so are just pissed off because the more pro-Western candidate didn't win. The elections probably do represent the will of the Iranian people - they just want different things than Westerners do. All the people protesting are just spoiled rich kids. [Insert some comment about American imperialism and the hypocrisy of American foreign policy here]."
The argument from the other side runs along the lines of:
"Well, Iran never has free elections. It's just a theocratic dictatorship, as its been since 1979. It's just a matter of choosing one candidate vetted by the establishment over another. Besides, having regime change does not necessarily serve American strategic interests [Insert some comment about nuclear weapons and Israel here]."
The fallacy of both arguments is that they ignore the deep upsurge in political action by the Iranian people. What's happening there cannot be defined simply in terms of socioeconomic class, or anti-imperialism, or even pro-imperialism for that matter. Thousands, potentially millions of people are day-after-day acting in unison in direct contravenion to the authorities' commands and wishes. This could lead to something big. What happens will lie in the hands of the Iranian people and the reactions by the establishment (which is showing some signs of cracking).
American observers should be skeptical of unfiltered information coming out of the country, but they should not be so skeptical or self-centered, lest they be left on the sidelines of history.
The argument by this segment runs along something of the following:
"Well, we don't know that the Iranian election was really fraudulent. Those people saying so are just pissed off because the more pro-Western candidate didn't win. The elections probably do represent the will of the Iranian people - they just want different things than Westerners do. All the people protesting are just spoiled rich kids. [Insert some comment about American imperialism and the hypocrisy of American foreign policy here]."
The argument from the other side runs along the lines of:
"Well, Iran never has free elections. It's just a theocratic dictatorship, as its been since 1979. It's just a matter of choosing one candidate vetted by the establishment over another. Besides, having regime change does not necessarily serve American strategic interests [Insert some comment about nuclear weapons and Israel here]."
The fallacy of both arguments is that they ignore the deep upsurge in political action by the Iranian people. What's happening there cannot be defined simply in terms of socioeconomic class, or anti-imperialism, or even pro-imperialism for that matter. Thousands, potentially millions of people are day-after-day acting in unison in direct contravenion to the authorities' commands and wishes. This could lead to something big. What happens will lie in the hands of the Iranian people and the reactions by the establishment (which is showing some signs of cracking).
American observers should be skeptical of unfiltered information coming out of the country, but they should not be so skeptical or self-centered, lest they be left on the sidelines of history.
Cyber-Assistance to Iranian Pro-Democracy Demonstrations
If anyone is interested in helping the protesters in Iran, this seems to be a quick and relatively painless method. This blog has instructions on how you can allow your computer to be used as a proxy server to allow Iranians to work around web censorship and report on what is going on.
Needless to say, if you think anyone else would be interested, pass the link on.
Needless to say, if you think anyone else would be interested, pass the link on.
Random Fact for the Day
Apparently the last battle in the US Indian Wars was not Wounded Knee, but a battle in 1898 in Minnesota. The result was an Ojibway victory over the US army. Go figure.
14 Jun 2009
Election in Iran
Friday saw the conclusion of the first round of voting in Iran's presidential election. And for the time being, it looks like the last round: election authorities (after some conflicting signals) declared an overwhelming victory for the reactionary and millenial Mahmoud Ahmedinejad over the reformist Mir Hossein Moussavi.
The returns are highly suspicious, to say the least, and Iranians have taken to the streets in numbers not seen since the Shah's overthrow in 1979. It is hard to see how this will end: either the ruling elites will crack, or the military and Interior Ministry will crack down.
One can only hope and pray for the best for the people of Iran. I recommend seeing Andrew Sullivan's blog, as it has the most complete coverage of the uprising that I can find so far.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
