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Absolutely. This piece tremendously downplays the access that Iranians have to outside information. I spent a wonderful three months in Tehran, and I'd wager a

Absolutely. This piece tremendously downplays the access that Iranians have to outside information. I spent a wonderful three months in Tehran, and I'd wager a majority of Iranians have bypassed internet and television access controls put in place by the Government.

TomOfTTB 17y ago
I have no first hand knowledge of the Satellite dishes so I'll defer. But I still find it unlikely that people in Iran have Satellite internet connections that (in the U.S.) cost more per month than average iranian makes in a month. Beyond that I think the Government is aware of Satellite Internet and clearly Ahmadinejad had a plan in place to block communication yesterday. So don't you think it's reasonable to assume there was a crack down sometime directly before the election? (I admit it's speculation but I just can't imagine them blocking every other type of Internet access and leaving Satellite up for the heck of it) As for your 3 months in Tehran that's great but Yesterday wasn't an average day. The government was specifically blocking any sites that could distribute news (something it normally doesn't do). So your first hand experience isn't terribly relevant. Can you (or anyone) point me to an Iranian source that was getting information out of Iran yesterday? If the general public has so widely circumvented such measures you'd think we'd have tons of first hand accounts.
- GavinB 17y ago
  "All over the world people are monitoring unfolding events in Iran via the internet, where an apparently decisive election victory by the ruling party is being challenged on the streets." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099579.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099579.stm It's not necessary to declare your thoughts as "Fact, Fact, Fact" when your facts are speculation, comments about "fairness" and generalizing about motives of "the tech blogosphere." "Fact: CNN is being maligned unfairly." - your view of what is and isn't fair isn't some fact that people are forgetting. Cable news organizations don't require video of the events to talk about them and besides that there's plenty of video on youtube and photos on flickr. The BBC link above shows video, and there's plenty more on youtube.
  - TomOfTTB 17y ago
    Yes but what is at issue is a specific timeframe. Now even CNN is covering it as Iran has opened the floodgates for his own victory parade. But what's at issue is yestereday As far as calling things a fact I did not, anywhere, speculate on the motive behind the tech blogosphere's actions. Only what they did (malign CNN unfairly) and the effect it had (to slam CNN while bolstering Twitter). The fact I referred to is the twisting of facts in reporting and that did in fact happen (and I linked several times to back myself up on that)

TomOfTTB 17y ago

I have no first hand knowledge of the Satellite dishes so I'll defer. But I still find it unlikely that people in Iran have Satellite internet connections that (in the U.S.) cost more per month than average iranian makes in a month. Beyond that I think the Government is aware of Satellite Internet and clearly Ahmadinejad had a plan in place to block communication yesterday. So don't you think it's reasonable to assume there was a crack down sometime directly before the election? (I admit it's speculation but I just can't imagine them blocking every other type of Internet access and leaving Satellite up for the heck of it) As for your 3 months in Tehran that's great but Yesterday wasn't an average day. The government was specifically blocking any sites that could distribute news (something it normally doesn't do). So your first hand experience isn't terribly relevant. Can you (or anyone) point me to an Iranian source that was getting information out of Iran yesterday? If the general public has so widely circumvented such measures you'd think we'd have tons of first hand accounts.

GavinB 17y ago
"All over the world people are monitoring unfolding events in Iran via the internet, where an apparently decisive election victory by the ruling party is being challenged on the streets." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099579.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099579.stm It's not necessary to declare your thoughts as "Fact, Fact, Fact" when your facts are speculation, comments about "fairness" and generalizing about motives of "the tech blogosphere." "Fact: CNN is being maligned unfairly." - your view of what is and isn't fair isn't some fact that people are forgetting. Cable news organizations don't require video of the events to talk about them and besides that there's plenty of video on youtube and photos on flickr. The BBC link above shows video, and there's plenty more on youtube.
- TomOfTTB 17y ago
  Yes but what is at issue is a specific timeframe. Now even CNN is covering it as Iran has opened the floodgates for his own victory parade. But what's at issue is yestereday As far as calling things a fact I did not, anywhere, speculate on the motive behind the tech blogosphere's actions. Only what they did (malign CNN unfairly) and the effect it had (to slam CNN while bolstering Twitter). The fact I referred to is the twisting of facts in reporting and that did in fact happen (and I linked several times to back myself up on that)