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| quote: | Originally posted by otec
All Russians main air channels are strictly controlled by the government. You don't need to be an Einstein to see that, lol. |
I LIVED in Russia for years, so I know its not true what you say. Actually, we got sick of the Western propaganda, watching how Western businesses advertised how good they were, while poverty rates grew, unemployment exploded, yet BP got 25% share of its total oil from Russia, millionaires became billionaires ...
We had access to Western channels and we loved to watch in 1997 how they bragged how good Russia was. It made me angry, because they always saw it wrong. Back then life in Russia was almost unbearable. Now, when things are turning around for good, the media switched its tune ... how convenient.
Despite what you say, Iranian media is tightly controlled:
I hope this opens your eyes just a bit, from a RELIABLE source, I think your visit of Iran was sort of like a visit of a Western journalist into Soviet Union ... you tend to miss the actual picture because its distorted - and I perfectly understand how easily you fall for media, in fact, you fall for it so easily, you along with 95% of Westerners believe that Russia is far more authoritarian than Iran, LMAO!!!!! Check dis out:
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticl...4b051a5904.html
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WASHINGTON, October 2, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Iranian government efforts to steer public perceptions through media restrictions are not limited to mainstream newspapers in the capital. Provincial publications and journalists face mounting official pressure -- especially among those dealing with minority affairs. Official provincial television broadcasts are changing, too, in a campaign that coincides with a national campaign to curb access to foreign satellite broadcasts.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's administration is hardly an innovator in trying to limit Iranians' access to information.
During predecessor Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami's eight years in office, more than 100 press outlets were shut down; there were frequent complaints regarding the hard-line preferences of broadcast media; and, in 2003, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) used powerful transmitters in the capital to block shortwave signals. Events at that time were mostly connected with factional domestic disputes.
But these most recent developments could be part of an effort to direct reporting on the nuclear controversy and influence upcoming elections to the Assembly of Experts and municipal councils, scheduled for December 15.
The Periphery
Press closures and official persecution of journalists occurs in the outlying provinces as well as in the capital, Tehran.
Cases affecting minorities are a particular concern for the administration, which in the past year has seen increasing unrest in regions inhabited by ethnic Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, and others. Tehran often blames such incidents on foreign agitators, rather than trying to determine whether protesters have genuine grievances.
A September 13 statement by Intelligence and Security Minister Gholam Hussein Mohseni-Ejei is typical, in which he refers to enemy plots in the provinces.
In the northwestern city of Sanandaj in October 2005, the cases of three Iranian-Kurdish journalists -- Ejlal Qavami, Said Saedi, and Roya Tolui -- were referred to the Revolutionary Court on the charges of acting against national security. The three were arrested after criticizing violent state suppression of unrest that summer. Tolui, who was released on bail in early 2006, said she was tortured into confessing while in jail. She escaped to the United States in early 2006.
More recently, Mohammad Sadeq Kabudvand, managing editor of the banned weekly "Payam-i Mardom," was summoned in mid-September to begin a jail term after being charged with "publishing lies and articles aimed at creating racial and tribal tension and discord." Published in Kurdish and Persian, "Payam-i Mardom" was distributed in the Kurdish regions of Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan provinces.
In southwestern Khuzestan Province, which is home to many members of the ethnic Arab minority, the daily "Hamsayeha" was banned in February on the grounds that it contributed to ethnic discord and encouraged acts that were potentially harmful to the government.
A more recent incident occurred in the southwestern Bushehr Province. The weekly "Nasir-i Bushehr" reported on August 20 that the provincial governor-general had banned its correspondents from his office. The weekly accused political hard-liners of using any means at their disposable to criticize former President Khatami's pro-reform administration but being unable nowadays to "even tolerate a simple criticism made by their own party." The weekly accused the current administration of using "security, judicial, and media institutions" to block reforms.
Iranian men watching a soccer match in an electronics store (Fars)Six journalists were arrested in northwestern Iran in late May following demonstrations by ethnic Azeris. The arrested individuals include "Ava-yi Ardabil" Editor Vahid Daragahi, and Ali Hamed Iman, who was writing for local publications and was managing editor of the now-banned "Shams-i Tabriz" newspaper. Also detained were Ali Nazari and Reza Kazemi, editor and managing editor, respectively, of the weekly "Araz."
Stoking A Fire?
In a recent report for The Century Foundation, a public-policy research group that focuses on challenges facing the United States, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner asserts that unrest involving Iranian minorities should be seen in the context of U.S. military plans. The author -- who has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College and elsewhere -- writes that the United States is "trying to establish contacts with ethnic minorities" in Iran. He takes at face value an Iranian ambassador's claim that militants captured in the southeast confessed to working with the United States. The author also suggests that "the United States is...directly involved in supporting groups inside the Kurdish area of Iran," although he does not source that allegation, and he repeats Tehran's claim that the United States shot down Iranian military aircraft on two separate occasions in 2006.
Recent statements by Iranian Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister Hussein Safar-Harandi suggested that the Iranian government harbors similar fears -- and could exploit them to justify repressive measures against minorities, according to "Kayhan" on September 4. Safar-Harandi claimed that Iran's enemies "have on their agenda the creation of tension and introduction of ethnic issues." He argued that "the ballyhoo on ethnic issues" was "partly supported by foreign intelligence service." Safar-Harandi concluded that the press "would follow the enemy's plans unwontedly" if it was "not alert."
Provincial Television
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has 27 provincial television networks. Minority groups occasionally decry both the quality of the programs, which sometimes use disparaging ethnic stereotypes, and their quantity, saying there is insufficient use of minority languages.
In an apparent effort to address such criticism, Khuzestan provincial television announced in mid-July that it would increase its Arabic-language programming. The station's managing director (identified as Mr. Assefi) said programs were under review and audience reaction would be gauged, provincial television reported on July 15.
In August, the director-general of state broadcasting's provincial news and information department (identified as Mr. Elmolhoda) vowed that reporting from the provinces would be improved, Khuzestan provincial television reported on August 24. He said there should be greater commentary and reporting from provincial news centers.
Limiting TV Access
Television has significant reach in Iran. In a recent poll, more than 90 percent of the population said it watched television the previous day -- that compared with just 30 percent who listened to radio and 31 percent who read a newspaper. More than 90 percent identified local television stations as one of their top three news sources.
Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister Mohammad Hussein Safar-Harandi (Fars)There is no private television in Iran. State television has seven channels that broadcast domestically, and Network 3 -- the Youth Network -- is believed to be the most popular because it provides sports and light entertainment.
To get more entertainment and access something other than the official news, many Iranians enjoy watching satellite broadcasts -- although possession of the equipment has been illegal since the mid-1990s.
Iran's legislature began consideration of a new bill on satellite-reception equipment in the spring. The draft would make producing, importing, or distributing such equipment illegal. It would also authorize the police and the IRGC's Basij to confiscate the equipment, and allow the creation of a domestic cable network that would rebroadcast satellite programs that do not contravene what authorities regard as "the values and principles of the Islamic and national culture."
Confiscation of dishes in Tehran got under way in August, and there were reports of confiscations in provincial cities -- including Isfahan, Rasht, Sanandaj, and Shiraz -- in July. On September 7 in the southern city of Abadan, police announced that they had confiscated more than 100 sets of satellite-receiving equipment, Fars News Agency reported.
In conjunction with these steps, the Iranian government has made it illegal to cooperate with any Persian-language satellite channel. The Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry announced that ban in late August -- proscribing interviews, advertisements, or any other form of participation and warning that violators will be prosecuted.
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Edit: time for some focking smackdown, bitchez!
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/09/e6ed377e-7618-479d-8e0e-b2917d6f9f92.html
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Iran: Government Strengthens Its Control Of The Internet
Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders announced on September 28 that Advar News, a website connected with the Office for Strengthening Unity student group, has been closed since a raid on its offices by security personnel on September 19. The raid occurred a little more than a week after an Iranian official announced that the government is filtering public access to more than 10 million websites.
WASHINGTON, September 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the presidential press adviser, said in a recent interview that government agencies are setting up websites because of shortcomings with traditional news outlets, "Farhang-i Ashti" reported on August 26. "The existing mass media organs, particularly the current newspapers, are not able to meet [state agencies'] needs and demands for the dissemination of news and information to the public," he said.
This suggests a grudging foray into governmental transparency, but the administration of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is not about to let the Internet become an open forum, and it got involved filtering the Internet in late 2005. Forty-eight legislators wrote to Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister Mohammad Hussein Safar-Harandi in mid-December to complain about the increased blocking of websites, and 12 legislators wrote to Ahmadinejad to request the removal of filters on "permitted" websites. At the end of the month, legislators called on Communication and Information Technology Minister Mohammad Suleimani to explain the legal grounds for blocking access to some sites.
The government's closure of websites in Iran and its blocking access to websites outside the country reveal how much it seeks to control public perceptions.Government Filtering
Ramazanali Sadeqzadeh, a legislator from the northern city of Rasht, explained that a small committee in the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council monitors the filtering of websites, "Etemad-i Melli" reported on January 26. The committee consists of personnel from the Intelligence and Security Ministry, the Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry, and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and its decision to filter a site is relayed to the Communication and Information Technology Ministry.
Ahmadinejad's fundamentalist administration did not initiate efforts to filter the Internet, which in fact got under way during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005). At that time, however, control of Internet activities was initially connected with the state's effort to reverse losses in revenues, and only later was it related to control of information and expression.
Control Or Cash?
In May 2001, many Internet cafes in Tehran were closed on the grounds that they did not have permits. The authorities claimed that the cafes were immoral, but it became apparent that the closures were connected with Iranians' use of the Internet to make low-cost international telephone calls. Some Internet cafes were offering long-distance calls at 350-500 rials ($0.20-0.29 at the official rate at the time; $0.04-0.06 at the unofficial rate) per minute, which meant that the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone was losing significant revenues.
In June 2003, the creation of an official filtering committee was announced and, within a month, there were complaints that hosting sites for Persian language weblogs (blogs) were being blocked. Forty deputies said in August 2003 that the post, telegraph, and telephone minister must answer their questions about the filtering of certain websites, which they claimed was being done selectively and is a factional problem.
Communication and Information Technology Minister Mohammad Suleimani (Fars)The Communication and Information Technology Ministry announced in May 2006 the creation of a central filtering site. According to initial reports, this facility would block access to unauthorized websites, identify Internet users, and keep a record of the sites they visit. The system administrator would have access to this information.
The ministry subsequently denied that the filtering facility could identify users and track their browsing habits, and it stressed that it only wants to block access to pornography. There also were acknowledgements that the previous methodology was imperfect, and a "filtering databank" would be more precise and make fewer mistakes.
Improving Public Access
Ismail Radkani, the director-general for management and technical support at the state Information Technology Company, announced on September 11 that more than 10 million websites are being filtered, the Iranian Communication and Information Technology News Agency website reported. The majority of filtered sites either contain immoral material or are proxy servers used to bypass filtering, Radkani said, adding that the filtering software database is updated automatically on a daily basis.
The Iranian government cannot refute the popularity of the Internet. Therefore, the government is setting up Internet kiosks in Isfahan and other cities. Each kiosk has a monitor and an industrial keyboard, and people use them with a prepaid calling card at a cost of 100 rials (less than $0.02) per minute. Communications and Information Technology Minister Suleimani announced on April 19, furthermore, that a "national" Internet will be established this year, state television reported.
Nevertheless, the government's closure of websites in Iran and its blocking access to websites outside the country reveal how much it seeks to control public perceptions. This could be because the government wants to shape how people attribute responsibility as Iran sinks into isolation because of the nuclear issue, or it could be because the fundamentalist administration wants like-minded candidates to fare well in elections scheduled for December.
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/09/84fd8a4e-23b8-400d-b688-2be1226e11fd.html
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Iran: Bishop Concerned About Human Rights After Visit
PRAGUE, September 14, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As a former dissident, Vaclav Maly was once a victim of political repression. Under the Czechoslovak communist regime, he spent several months in prison and his license to work as a Catholic priest was revoked. He was then forced to work odd jobs, including as a heating mechanic.
Now auxiliary bishop of Prague and a respected human rights defender who played an important role in the 1989 Velvet Revolution, Maly travels to countries where people face similar conditions to what he faced and show them his support. "I was told that the regime is more repressive now, any larger demonstration or gathering of people is being dispersed and some protesters always end up in detention."
In recent years he has been to places such as Belarus and Chechnya to inform the public about human rights violations there. His recent trip to Iran was also an attempt to bring attention to the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic.
'Helplessness' Of Political Prisoners
The charismatic Bishop Maly spent some days in the capital, Tehran, and the cities of Shiraz and Isfahan during his two-week trip. He says he was "discreetly" watched by security agents.
He told RFE/RL that he was informed about a clampdown on activists, discrimination against women, and the plight of political prisoners. "I was told that the regime is more repressive now, any larger demonstration or gathering of people is being dispersed and some protesters always end up in detention," he says. "I was also told that there is brutality in these interventions."
There are no exact figures about the number of political prisoners in Iran. Estimates vary from 200 to several hundred. In the past two months, two have died in prison following a hunger strike. Maly says many of them face difficult conditions in jail.
"The conditions, as I was told, are very cruel; there is a lack of medical care and a lack of hygiene," Maly says. "There is also psychological harassment [and] sometimes detainees spend more than a year in solitary confinement. There is helplessness, the families have very rare contacts with the detainees, they don't have access to a lawyer, and sometimes the judiciary doesn't even tell [family members] where their relative is being detained."
Christians Leaving Iran
During his stay in Iran, Bishop Maly was also informed about the situation for Christians.
Christians are, in general, free to practice their faith in Iran. However, those who convert from Islam to Christianity can face the death penalty. Such conversions are reportedly increasing and the government has taken measures to curb proselytizing by Christians.
Maly says he was told that some protesters are always detained at demonstrations (epa file photo)Maly says many of the estimated 200,000 Christians are leaving Iran because of social, cultural, and religious restrictions.
"[They are leaving] mainly because they live in an environment where they cannot fully live their lives as Christians," he says. "They are not prosecuted for being Christians but in certain issues they are not considered equal; sometimes they are treated as second-class citizens, for example they cannot be in commanding positions in the army."
Maly describes the immigration of Christians as a serious problem that could result in a great loss for Iran. "There is a danger that Christians could completely disappear from Iran, which would be a great spiritual and cultural pity because Christians were on Iranian territory before Islam was and there are very old churches there whose history goes back to the first century of Christianity," he says.
Differences In Iran
One of the highlights of the Prague bishop's visit was a meeting with reformist cleric Mohsen Kadivar, who in 1999 was jailed for 18 months because of his ideas.
Kadivar had been critical of the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih (the rule of the supreme jurisprudence), which gives nearly absolute power to clerics. He has also written about the need for religion to be adapted to modern times.
Maly says it was important for him to hear that such issues are being debated within Iran's religious circles. "I was very happy to hear from Mr. Kadivar that human rights do not contradict the Koran's teachings and that the Koran needs an interpretation that is free of ideological thoughts; Islam should react to modernity, it doesn't mean it should adapt itself to all trends but they should be taken seriously and ways should be found to present it in this changing society," he says.
Maly was also addressed by ordinary citizens curious about the outside world. Several asked Maly about life in "Czechoslovakia."
He says some Iranians expressed concern about possible UN sanctions as a result of Tehran's refusal to give up sensitive nuclear work.
"Some talked about it themselves with the fear that sanctions could further isolate [Iran] so [the sanctions] should be really carefully considered," he says. "At the same time, I didn't have the impression that all are united in their support for the nuclear program, that it is the central point of life in Iran. So it is important to leave a door open and not to limit the life of a society based on the comments of some officials."
Bishop Maly says Iranians surprised him with their friendliness, openness, and pride in their ancient history.
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/4/39BB154C-649D-4E2B-9950-75D00ABD4AC4.html
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Iran: Tehran Police Renew Campaign To Combat 'Un-Islamic' Dress
Authorities in Iran have announced a crackdown against citizens who offend the country's strict Islamic dress code. Police chief Morteza Talaei said on April 18 that officers will deal harshly with offenders, beginning on April 21. Such announcements frequently accompany the onset of warmer weather. Will this effort prove more successful than conservative-led crackdowns in the past?
PRAGUE, April 19, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Each of the past two days, roughly 100 women have gathered in front of the Iranian parliament to protest "bad hejabi" -- or noncompliance with the country's dress code. They complain that lax adherence to Islamic dress is spreading in Iranian society, and they accuse offenders of "propagating corruption and prostitution."
The demonstration came on the heels of a pledge by Tehran's police chief of "firm confrontation" targeting people who disrespect "religious sanctities and social values." Even taxi services that transport "improperly" clad women will be punished, he says.
Periodic Pressure
It appears to be part of a broader initiative aimed particularly at young people ahead of the hot days of summer.
But one young Tehran resident who spoke with Radio Farda, Akbar, predicted this government initiative will be futile.
"Whenever the government changes because they want to say that, 'We [are in charge],' they put some pressure [on young people]," Akbar said. "When [President Mohammad] Khatami's government came to power, they also put the youth under pressure; but later there was absolute freedom, young people were going out in public anyway they wanted. It's the same now, but later there will be freedom again."
Police chief Talaei said that under the new plan, 50 new police squads that include female officers will help enforce Islamic dress.
He warned that women and girls wearing Capri pants, short or tight-fitting coats, loose scarves, or failing to wear socks in public will be "confronted."
Conspicuous Targets
The decency crackdown ostensibly targets men, as well, but it is women and young girls who are likely to bear the brunt of enforcement in this cleric-dominated Islamic republic.
A strict dress code has been in effect since the country's Islamic Revolution in 1979. Men are forbidden from wearing shorts. But women cannot expose their hair or ankles, for instance, and must don loose-fitting clothes that conceal the shape of their bodies.
Enforcement efforts have varied for decades. But one look around the capital, Tehran, suggests that many Iranians flout the strictest Islamic interpretations of propriety. And more women and girls defy the code by wearing tighter, shorter, and more colorful clothing -- or head scarves that barely cover their hair.
The new campaign follows recent calls by the conservative-dominated parliament for government action against the practitioners of "bad hejabi."
Lawmakers have also proposed a national dress that would "redefine Iranian identity while respecting religious and cultural identities."
Could It Backfire
But the clampdown could backfire in a country with such a sizable population of young people. One resident of Tehran, a young woman named Azar, complained to Radio Farda about the effect of such strictures on her generation:
"These actions are useless," Azar said. "It will only cause stress and anxiety for the young generation. For example, they'll think, 'If I go out, I'll get arrested, [so] I'd better not go out.' It's a bit depressing."
Dr. Amanollah Gharayi Moghadam, a professor of sociology in Tehran, told RFE/RL that tighter enforcement of the dress code could lead to trouble in the longer term.
"In fact it will lead [the youth] toward confrontation. Young people don't accept it," he said. "Even tougher past restrictions were fruitless. So today we see that these behaviors among girls and the youth are increasing -- not only in the northern part of the city but also in the southern [poorer and generally more conservative] parts, we can more or less see it. I think that not only it will bring no results, but it will actually have a reverse effect."
But authorities appear determined to fight what they consider "social corruption." Today, Tehran deputy prosecutor Mahmud Salarkia said the police should deal with those who break the rules and fail to respect Islamic principles.
Salarkia noted that, under the law, the punishment for such offenders is as long as two months in prison, a lashing, or a fine equal to about $50.
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WOW, AMAZING, just AMAZING human rights / democracy / free media / etc. in Iran. Just super super!!! Better than in Russia I suppose? ROFL ...
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Last edited by Magnetonium on Mar-28-2008 at 02:30
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. Also, most Russian media is regulated by senior officials who self censor their own work. it is part of the Soviet mentality that still exists for older people in Russia. Most, and I mean most, young people in Russia are just like any other metropolitan city. Ignorant of current events. Unforutuanately I have had the great honor or bad honor of having been to Iran and Russia and I have to say I found the Iranians to be much more hospitable than Russians. And I mean WAY more. No one is really saying it's an authocratic regime in Russia what they are saying is that it's pointless to argue with a Russian because they are so narrow-minded.
