06-25-2009
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
Guest
|
Vanguard cats
(tl;dr: use mainstream websites to get the info out.)
Quote:
Of course Mouhavi is not a real reformer - if he was then he'd have never made it to become a candidate. The Iranian Guardian Council determines who make it to the shortlist of president-candidates; that filters out effectively. But I do not believe that all Iranian people expected salvation from Mousavi. They finally had a opportunity to vote against Ahmajinedad. Days before the elections started, there were celebrations in the streets.
And suddenly a series of events occured. It is a fascinating and frightening spectacle. Tens of thousands of people on the street, and suddenly we see it all happen live. I do not believe for a second that protests were organized through internet - word-of-mouth advertising and text messages are much more effective - but the Internet makes it so much easier to spread information. Suddenly, events which previously had only local witnesses, have a world audience.
The Iranian government is trying to close all Internet services, but did not succeed : foreigners begin proxies, listen and build up technical detours which they offer people in Iran.
But there are limits to what the regime is capable of. When they try to suppress a demonstration with too much force, they of course scare lot of people, but at the same time, they are crossing a line for many others: you simply don't shoot girls. 'Verelendung' in a nutshell.
The regime faces the same dilemma when it comes to the internet. Thry can black access to all blogs, all the news and all the twitter feeds, but the Internet is used for so many things that you'll also anger the people who use the same services for a-political things.
The only way to block all news from the Iranian opposition is to entirely ban and close Blogspot and Facebook , even for people who just exchange recipes or gossip. But that only creates more resistance, even in circles that are not inclined to resist. 'Why can't I chat with my friends? I say nothing about politics? Can't I just even talk? What... hello! "
Use a service for everything - for political news, to share funny pictures of kittens and weather - and thus such a service is untouchable. Revolt messages go along the same stream as the familiar daily chat. On the Internet, the phenomenon is known as the Cute Cat Theory, but it is the same rule as that guerrilla fighters draw upon: diving into the crowd, use the mainstream. Then you are no longer identifiable and the social cost to wipe you out are too much. IAny attempt to squeeze you touches so many outsiders, that more and more people get sick of the restrictions. So innocent kittens become the guardian angels of the resistance.
I read on the Internet and try to filter away the kittens because I want to know about Iran. What I read was that Nokia and Siemens had a contract with the Iranian government: they provide software that enables the regime to listen directly on the Internet. 'We act within the law, "said Nokia and Siemens. Perhaps. But they do help to separate kittens from insurgents. These two companies deserve a lifetime boycott.
|
source: Karin Spaink - Katjes in de voorhoede
discuss
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
