Iranian Government Shutting Down CyberCafes

dertx writes: "Just found a wire article about a recent crackdown on 400 CyberCafes in Tehran by the Iranian government. Apparently now anything enabling internet access in Iran must be 'registered' with an obviously state-run trade union. I guess this is cheaper to implement than China's site filtering system."

WRONG!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

...are so strongly Western in thought that they have not been duplicated by any non-Western culture.

Yeah, non-western cultures didn't duplicate such concepts of freedom, THEY CREATED IT!

I am a white USA citizen who votes Libertarian, so don't think that I have some bias for Iran. However, I do try to see through anti-knowledge posts such as the parent post. Freedom is not a western concept, and I know of a man that disproves your claim that freedom is western. Let me quote an English translation of a great Persian (Iranian) person who formalized the first ever Bill of Rights around 570 BC:

"I ordered that no one is permitted to abuse anybody or to damage the cities. I ordered that no house should be damaged and no one's property should be violated and ransacked. I ordered that everybody should keep to his/her belief system and be

free to worship his/her own God. I ordered that all the people should be free in their thoughts, choosing the place of their residence and no one should violate the rights of others."

Cyrus united warring nations in the middle east, he freed slaves (mostly Jews) from Babylon and then instated his "Bill of Rights" over all of these nations which he united and freed.

Persia and other parts of the middle east used to be as free, open, and prosperous as the USA is now. Their freedom brought them great acheivements in sciences, arts, medicine, mathematics, etc... The west repaid such a people with war, political sabotage, ignorance, and genocide (Truman's approval and assisting of the taking of the homes and lives of the Palestinians around 50 years ago).

Here is a link for you to start your education on the history of Cyrus. [google.com]

The people aren't stupid. Just because fanatic rulers do stupid things doesn't mean that the people agree.

The USA should first correct the errors that it made in the middle east. We should protect the Palestinians which are modern victims of genocide, and we should respect Arabs, Iranians, etc, as fellow humans. Sorry if this post is a bit hot, but I get pissed at how it seems to be "common knowledge" that Arabs and Iranians are terrorists idiot savages that don't know their head from their ass. It seems like the frickin crusades never ended.

Freedom is Western Concept

[Anonymous Coward]

I realise that you Americans have cultural difficulty thinking outside of your homogenized culture, but consider that the rights and freedoms espoused in your Bill of Rights, and in your Constitution, are so strongly Western in thought that they have not been duplicated by any non-Western culture.

Considering that you Americans have the highest prison rate, highest murder rate, and a corrupt government (the recently "fixed" national election), you can't claim that you're the world's greatest.

On the other hand, no other country comes close to your freedoms to make money, and the freedom to exist and work outside your "Caste" (to borrow an Indian term).

So it boils down to a choice. Financial success and stability in the U.S., or a lower crime rate, better health care, and better education anywhere else.

You might well consider this a flame, but it's not. It's Freedom of Speech, which you so violently advocate -- so long as you approve of and agree with what's being said. Those who disagree with me will surely moderate this post down as Troll or Flamebait.

Lower crime rate in Iran? Not.

[Apuleius]

Iran is currently awash with Afghani heroin.
Things are not going well, and that is part of
why the crackdown is happening. Iranians
are using these cybercafes to communicate
their discontent to the world and to themselves,
and crime is one of the thigns causing it.

Re:Freedom is Western Concept

[scotpurl]

The real shame here is that the U.S. ever felt the need to interfere in Iranian politics. Given the number of countries that my country (America) has interfered with, I'm surprised that there haven't been widespread arrests and convictions of Federal employees. Of course, I'm cynical enough to beleive that Rights are the right of only U.S. citizens, and not of folks overseas, or of non-citizens on U.S. soil.

The fact that extremist governments must use dictatorial power to enforce order (Cuba, which is leftist, and Iran, which is conservative) shows just how much the average citizen of that country differs in opinion from their own government. If it were not for the stranglehold the Mullahs have on Iran now, I think the country would be about as liberal as Turkey, which is still not that liberal and open.

I do agree that it's a relatively new concept that the citizens of a country agree to give the government the right to rule. Many countries exist on the idea that someone (not you) rules. The question of liking it, or wanting to change it never culturally enters the argument.

As for moderating you up or down, I think your post deserves at least a one-point mod up. However, it's the decision of the /. authors to equate flamebait and trolls as "speech that must be squelched," hence the whole -1 to +5 moderation and filtering system. If you have issues, take it up with the ./ royalty. *grin*

Re:the Rights of Non-Americans

[scotpurl]

I mean that the rights granted in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and any subsequent ramblings of Congress and the Supremes, apply only to U.S. citizens. Since our CIA can, quite legally, kill anyone overseas that they wish, and they cannot kill any U.S. citizen that they want (at least not on U.S. soil), then there is definitely a double standard.

As everything gets more global, it's going to be interesting to see how the different countries deal with this issue. Since this showed up in the Your Rights Online section, I guess this means that Americans feel that Iranians don't have enough rights. I know that my British friends feel that the number of gun-related crimes here indicates that we have too many rights. However, given that their Bobbies are just starting to carry guns, and that they're just starting to get the "madman with a gun" crimes, I imagine public sentiment may shift. I think the whole British camera-surveillance thing is a bit much.

I think that V-chip TVs did finally hit the market. I don't know if all the programming that's being broadcast carries the necessary coding.

Only illegal if you're caught

[scotpurl]

The blunt truth of The Law is that it's The Law only if The Authorities catch you. Otherwise, you needn't change your modus operandi.

While it may be illegal in the local country to do what the U.S. has, and does, do, who will stand up to the U.S.? Or for that matter, what country will stand up to the bigger bully? (I'm lumping the French and their hidden trials and executions of terrorists in there, as well as the historical Brits, because modern Brits are much less imperialist lately.)

It's not the USA!

[www.sorehands.com]

This is not suprising given that it is Iran.

But, there is similar to things in the USA. In Santa Monica, CA one must get a permit from the city to vend on the prominade. You can't get one, unless you are renting a cart from a specific group. One must wonder if there are payoffs being made to the right officials. This might be the same for Iran.

Re:Freedom is Western Concept

[Yunzil]

highest prison rate, highest murder rate, and a corrupt government

At least the people in our prisons have generally broken some law, rather than, for example, saying something nasty about Saddam Hussein. And 'corrupt government' is practically a tautology everywhere.

Financial success and stability in the U.S., or a lower crime rate, better health care

Better health care?
Average life expectancy in the United States: 77.12 years
Average life expectancy in Iran: 69.66 years
(Source) [bartleby.com]

, and better education anywhere else

Better education... unless you're a woman, or follow another religion, or...

Re:Just wondering..

[core10k]

Would that be their democratically elected government you're referring to? Dumbass.

Iran is about to revolt again.

[Big Torque]

Iran is going though some hard times. The contry is run by the religous class but the verterans of the Iran Iraq war are now coming into power and are really angery at the way the system is being run now. War Veterans are very respected and cary a very large abount of say in IRAN. I see this as a desprat mesure by a desprat leadership trying to hang on.

Karma whore reply...

[grammar nazi]

This sux since the first cybercafe in Tehran was only opened 3 years ago [iranian.com]. It is still the only cybercafe at net cafe guide [netcafeguide.com]. Of course, from nmit at Georgetown [georgetown.edu], there doesn't appear to be much internet access available besides the internet cafes. Of course, this is why the government [president.ir] is restricting it, because it is a stranglehold. Don't fear, because there are many other reasons [lycos.com] to visit Tehran if you are interested in a vacation.

Heh, Please mod me up!!

Re:Lower crime rate in Iran? Not.

[Alatar]

Nice try, but the months ago the Taliban discontinued poppy production in Afghaninstan, and this was confirmed by the UN and satellite photography.

How long before it happens here?

[the real jeezus]

It's the old liberal vs. conservative battle played out in a different venue. The conservative Muslims in Iran are very tenacious. After their GOP-financed overthrow of Pavlivi, they took away many freedoms from Iranians. In my life I have met many Iranians whose parents fleed the Ayatollah's brand of totalitarian Islam. Khatami was supposed to prevent that from happening again. One plus for Khatami: one of the cybercafe employees quoted is actually female! That would have never been allowed under the Ayatollah. Now that Khatami is losing power against the conservatives, expect a new wave of Iranian immigrants.

To all Americans: remember that incidents such as this crackdown always begin with some self-styled "Conservative" claiming that a thing or idea is dangerous to the moral value of the Nation.

Ewige Blumenkraft!