China Lite

Following in China's footsteps, the Iranian government is cracking down on their people's ability to communicate on the internet. The government has drastically throttled the internet, slowing it to a crawl, and it has blocked e-mail service from Google and Yahoo.

This internet slowdown comes in anticipation of the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. The government of Iran is looking to avoid a PR nightmare like the one they had during last June's election, when citizens used services such as Twitter and YouTube to transmit their protest globally.

Some communications experts believe that the authorities’ efforts to block Gmail could be related to Google encryption, which prevents the government from reading e-mail. Yahoo and Hotmail have not been similarly affected, one monitor said.

Whatever its motivation, the government described its e-mail disruptions as well intentioned. Saeed Mahdyun, a telecommunications official, told the semiofficial ILNA news agency that Gmail would be blocked to encourage users to switch to local e-mail services.

The government announced last week that it was starting a national e-mail service to replace foreign ones, as a way to build “trust” with the people. But the opposition says most people use Gmail and Yahoo precisely because they are suspicious of local e-mail services, which they strongly suspect are monitored by the government.

Iran is maintaining 6.5% GDP growth, but suffers from 15% inflation and 12.5% unemployment. Iran echos China's authoritarian internet policy, but without China's strong economic growth.

The situation in Iran is deteriorating. Many of the people seem resolved to change their government, but the government shows no signs of backing down. More blood will be shed before this is over.

[NYTimes via HuffPo via Kevin]

Iran: The Camera Phone is Mightier than the Sword

Iran is hurtling toward civil war, with the general populace finally fed up with the incompetent and often violent leadership. During the many protests, dissidents are being imprisoned, beaten, and tortured.

In the past, we would likely not learn of the government putting down the uprisings until months or years after the fact. However, in today's constantly connected world, we are learning about these events as they happen, through picture messaging and services like Twitter.

Watching your continuing coverage of the people of Iran continuing their fight for freedom I was struck, and touched, by the presence, in every picture, in every piece of footage, by the universal presence of cellphones and cameras. No matter how chaotic, no matter how frightened they may be, the protesters held their phones high. Not a brave few but a brave many pressed into the violence, stood right next to the regimes thugs and pointed their cameras. It seems like the ultimate act of defiance; no matter how you try to shut us down or shut us up, we will expose you. You can kill us, but the world will know that we never stopped fighting.

I urge you to continue to use your platform to show us this incredible fight. Before this started, the people of Iran seemed alien and vaguely threatening. Now, I see a young woman, veil shoved back and cellphone in the air, and this lefty atheist woman sees a sister clear across the world.

The government of Iran cannot brutalize its citizens without the entire world knowing about it in real time, thanks to information technology. I always knew the Internet was a game-changer, but I had no idea it could actually save lives.

The Web empowers people in a way never possible before. Keep snapping those pictures, people of Iran, we are behind you.

On Engaging Iran

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian and a real Nobel Peace laureate, offers her take on Iran:

So it was startling this week to hear Ms. Ebadi say bluntly that the Obama administration has gotten some things backward when it comes to Iran. It's not that engaging with the government is a mistake, she said during a visit to The Post. But paying so much more attention to Iran's nuclear ambitions than to its trampling of democracy and freedom is a mistake both tactical and moral.


Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "is at the lowest level of popularity one can imagine," Ms. Ebadi said. "If the West focuses exclusively on the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad can tell his people that the West is against Iran's national interest and rally people to his cause. But if the West presses also on its human rights record, he will find himself in a position where his popular base is getting weaker and weaker by the day."

No argument here. We must engage Iran where they are most receptive, not where they are most combative.