Iran Caps Net Access to Keep West Out 356
davidwr writes "The Guardian reports that Iran has banned high-speed internet access to attempt to curb the west's influence. In addition to seizing satellite dishes and filtering more websites than any country save China, Iran is now capping Internet speeds to 128kbps in order to keep out Western influences." From the article: "The latest step has drawn condemnation from MPs, internet service companies and academics, who say it will hamper Iran's progress. 'Every country in the world is moving towards modernization and a major element of this is high-speed internet access,' said Ramazan-ali Sedeghzadeh, chairman of the parliamentary telecommunications committee. 'The country needs it for development and access to contemporary science.'"
Can't stop the signal Mal... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Can't stop the signal Mal... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
As usual... (Score:2)
ed [gnu.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Can't stop the signal Mal... (Score:4, Funny)
uh oh (Score:2)
Why do I always get this message when I'm trying to view a story about censorship?
Silly Iranians (Score:2, Funny)
Silly Iranians, high-speed Internet is for Westerners!
But seriously, are they going to ban cars and television, too? We use those a lot in here in the west.
Re:Silly Iranians (Score:5, Funny)
It's just a modest proposal to save the world!
Re:Silly Iranians (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Silly Iranians... ALWAYS! (Score:5, Funny)
because the Farsi Side comic was just re-prints now.
Next, they came for the books, and I looked the other way
because the Death to America Book of the Month Club
was only recommending books to burn anyway.
Then, they came for the Satellite Dishes, and I said nothing
because I still had a year left on my Infidelphia Cable contract.
Finally, they came for my Internet Service, and no one was left
to hear my ululation!
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
*keeping my mouth shut about Bush administration and Fox News...
Seriously though, it will never be completely out of style, since the method works to keep a population fearful, ignorant, and in line with the incumbent government. It wouldn't matter if it were a Democrat in office, because they'd find some media outlet(s) to suck from their trough of pre-chewed drivel.
For those who marked this flamebait: (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
"I don't believe atheists should be considered patriots, nor should they be considered citizens. This is one nation under Zeus" - George Bush Sr.
"I believe that Poseidon has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom." - George Bush Jr.
"Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that Mithra is not neutral between them." - George Bush Jr.
Re:Silly Iranians (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Silly Iranians (Score:5, Insightful)
The evangelicals actually believe they're getting a lot of support. They have too much faith in the words of their leaders.
Sounds like David Kuo (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually the administration is merely pandering to the evangelicals. They aren't actually getting much of what they want. This group in office has their own agenda. They just convince the religious to support it.
Sounds like someone else watched 60 Minutes over the weekend and listened to David Kuo [amazon.com] lamenting the Bush administrations manipulation of the Christian Right, getting the backing they need for a few tokens and runs at legislation which would be unconstitutional anyway (some of the Faith-Based ini
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder what the citizens think about this? (Score:2)
Re:I wonder what the citizens think about this? (Score:4, Informative)
Of course, the intelligent citizens will know that they can just split the downloads amongst themselves, essentially bandwidth-pooling. Maybe we need to educate the government. [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Or in other cases... to see a movie that the **AA does want you to buy. Not that I think Iran was thinking about the **AA in the slightest, but here's hoping this is a fad that just doesn't catch on...
Re: (Score:2)
Iran is not a nation that cares about its citizens (Score:5, Informative)
"Freedom of expression is limited. The government directly controls all television and radio broadcasting. Satellite dishes are illegal, though widely tolerated, and the authorities have had some success in jamming broadcasts by dissident overseas satellite stations. The Ministry of Culture must approve publication of all books and inspects foreign books prior to domestic distribution. The Press Court has extensive procedural and jurisdictional power in prosecuting journalists, editors, and publishers for such vaguely worded offenses as "insulting Islam" and "damaging the foundations of the Islamic Republic." The authorities frequently issue ad hoc gag orders banning media coverage of specific topics and events. The government systematically censors internet content by forcing internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to a growing list of "immoral sites and political sites that insult the country's political and religious leaders.""
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
People will still download all the things they want,only that it takes a few hours longer.
Re: (Score:2)
Too bad. If the citizens don't like it, they should stop supporting their government and institute a new one.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Or limiting bookstores to only be open two hours a day, on weekdays, during typical work hours... and not overlapping the typical lunch hour.
You can take my high speed internet access! (Score:2)
Tell me again why China=Good but Iran=Bad? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Tell me again why China=Good but Iran=Bad? (Score:5, Insightful)
That is why, it is pretty simple.
Why do we trade with them? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Oh and China may be pretty bad, but in comparison to NK, they are not even on the same scale.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
In the US, drug dealers end up incarcerated. In the others, I'm willing to bet drug trafficking has a much steeper penalty.
Re: (Score:2)
Plus, China is less of a state sponsor of radical Islamic terrorists. They also spout less rhetoric about annihilating first-world democracies. And their leaders are 20% less psychopathic.
Re: (Score:2)
You don't kick the dog that owns you.
Re: (Score:2)
China will be declared bad as soon as the powers that be think they've figured out a way to pummel them.
Re:Tell me again why China=Good but Iran=Bad? (Score:5, Insightful)
- China hasn't threatenned to "wipe Israel off the map."
- China doesn't refer to the US as the "Great Satan."
- China doesn't support Hizbullah, a terrorist group which killed 241 Americans in a bombing in Beirut.
- China didn't ship thousands upon thousands of rockets to terrorist group Hizbullah.
- China didn't storm the US embassy and hold 66 diplomats and US citizens hostage for over a year.
- China didn't use terrorists to bomb the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires.
- China doesn't try to actively sabotage the peace process in the Middle East.
Oh.... but Iran did.China has nuclear weapons, but not many people are worried that China would provide a terrorist group with a nuclear weapon. There is great uncertainty over what Iran would do with nuclear weapons and nuclear technology.
China is far from perfect, but the general direction they are moving is towards a more open society and a market economy.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you think the current state of Israel has a right to exist? I do think they have that right.
Re: (Score:2)
No wars have ever been fought on Antarctica. Antarctica is considered a neutral territory
Whew! Betcha didn't think anyone could name one.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
*On this subject, particularly, I don't know
Re: (Score:2)
1. He doesn't want Israel wiped off the map.
2. He thinks Israel should be wiped off the map.
ERROR: DOES NOT COMPUTE
I know a movie you'd probably enjoy [amazon.com].
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Given the choice to live in a Secular Fascist nation and a Religious Theocracy... I would choose the Secular Fascist mostly because they tend to be more concerned about keeping power and making themselves wealthy than what I am up to as long as I'm not planning to overthrow them.
Doesn't mean they might get paranoid one night and haul me away to a gulag because my name happened to match someone on a dissenter list, but I don't have to worry about them enf
Priorities (Score:5, Insightful)
(Interestingly, the same comparison can be made for overprotective parents, who would prefer keeping their children...well, children, rather than prepare them to become adults.)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Heck, the US didn't learn anything from Prohibition -- we still have a Holy War on Some Drugs (alcohol and nicotine are OK), and we have a new Holy War on Online Gambling. It's for the children, of course.
Re: (Score:2)
It is not "the better way", it is "the only way"... Western's culture is dominant, because it is better — West's substantial wealth allows a lot more people to be involved in "cultural" pursuits, and our liberties allow them the required freedom to do so.
On contrast, the best-known writer of Iranian origin is Salman Rushdie
Re: (Score:2)
Is it dominant? It certainly dominates the English speaking world, but that's not what we're talking about here...
On contrast, the best-known writer of Iranian origin is Salman Rushdie -- an expatriate with a credible death threat against him from an Iranian mullah.
I would submit that the latter has a great bearing on the former; I'd certainly not have heard of him if it hadn't been for the fuss about The Satanic Verses. Which, of course, I'd almost certain
Re:Priorities (Score:4, Insightful)
The only thing, that could make an action between countries "illegal" is a UN Security Council's (or some other recognized international organization's) resolution condemning the action as such. Would you be able to refer me to a resolution condeming our resumption of hostilities against Iraq after 12 years of Iraq's violations of cease fire? Oh, wait, you were simply engaged in flamebaiting, never mind.
Gee, start holding your breath now, then, would you, please? Please, please, please — with a strawberry on top?.. Thank you!
Not only are you flamebaiting, you are also widely off-topic — whatever is going to happen to our wealth "real soon now", and whatever the reasons for it happening, is irrelevant.
What matters is that we are rich now, which allows us to spend so much on entertnainment and, consequently, keeps so many different entertainers around and well fed — from Barbara Streissand to Sean Hanity.
Again, whatever your hate-filled heart predicts for US, we are wealthy now and thus can afford "culture", that spills over much to the annoyance of those, who — unable to speed up themselves — are trying to slow us down.
Re: (Score:2)
Iran is an Islamic Republic run by religious fundamentalists.
The nature of their culture is to keep out "Western" influences.
The Iranian revolution was a direct result of dissatisfaction with the U.S./British imposed Shah.
Prohibition was the result of Xtian fundies making noise for dec
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Priorities (Score:5, Informative)
Iran:
Literacy: Definition Field Listing definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.4%
male: 85.6%
female: 73% (2003 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$561.6 billion (2005 est.)
United States:
Literacy: Definition Field Listing definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$12.36 trillion (2005 est.)
Re:Priorities (Score:5, Informative)
GDP per capita
US $41,800 (2005 est.)
Iran $8,300 (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate
US 5.1% (now less then 5%)
Iran 11.2%
Population below the poverty level
US 12%
Iran 40%
Inflation rate
US 3.2%
Iran 13.5%
Many other numbers are not published, as Iran doesn't want them public. Iran sells lots of oil, but the citizens don't see much of the money. Too much is being sent to Siria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other places to support their biggest export, their religious philosophy.
Make no mistake about it, Iran has more poverty than they want you to know about. Then again, if you live in Iran, what are you going to do, protest? BANG! One less person in poverty.
Where does it go? (Score:4, Insightful)
That said, based on some articles that I've read, life there for the average person isn't too bad in the physical sense; it's not poverty-stricken in the same way that parts of Africa or even South-east Asia are. The government uses oil revenues to heavily subsidize some consumer goods in order to keep the people happy (the price of gas there is ridiculous, I want to say around $0.30 a gallon), but there's very little investment in anything that's going to help them once the oil runs out, like education or scientific research (no, building a bomb-factory nuclear reactor that would have been obsolete in 1975 doesn't count) or communications infrastructure.
The government's plan seems to be "hold on to as much as we can, for as long as we can, by any means necessary."
Re:Priorities Indeed (Score:2)
1. They are simply attempting to control their citizenry. It's done everywhere in the world. I would argue their solution is more obvious than the more complicated, but no less influential methods used in Western countries like the U.S.
2. Declaring this is the fast path to poverty is a little too careless. It doesn't mean they can't use computers/networks to run the country more ef
Interesting point (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
too bad they can't give it away (Score:2)
Of course the bandwidth cap will make it difficult to download gigs of porn. Maybe the "influence" they are concerned about is the western porn, Iranians should only look at pornography of Iranian women and not western women.
Priorities (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
They should probably be more worried about their roads than their pipes.
Don't you know, the Internet is not a truck it's a series of tubes.
Trucks use roads, and tubes do not require either roads or pipes.
Technical solutions? (Score:5, Interesting)
Suppose you and 5 or 6 of your neighbours had 128K each. How would you go about it?
Bad Ping (Score:5, Funny)
Really scared (Score:4, Insightful)
Iran Is Trying To Improve Tech For the Rest of Us! (Score:5, Funny)
Bittorrent (Score:2)
The only thing they curb... (Score:2)
Give it another 10 years and that whole country will be torn apart from internal forces.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Bush will meddle in their affairs and piss off the whole country.
Iran, Thanks to bush, will suddenly have common cause to unite under.
And it starts all over again.
You should rent Syriana (http://imdb.com/title/tt0365737/)
Then you'll understand.
OMG! Teh horror! (Score:2, Funny)
I guess Iran really is in the Axis of Evil! (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
This seems to me to be plenty of bandwidth for messages like "totalitarian dictatorships suck!". That's only 32 characters. You could send this out 500 times per second at 128kbps.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I didn't know comcast was in charge of Iran
Capping at 128kbps should work great (Score:2)
A foolproof plan.
And the consequences of this? (Score:3, Insightful)
Long answer: What makes this restriction really useful to the Iranian government is that it will help curb attempts to get around their filtering. Countries which censor (such as China) have had flourishing peer-to-peer anonymous darknets spring up as a result of technologies such as Tor [eff.org] and Freenet [wikipedia.org] (link to wp article, as the site appears to be down currently). By capping the bandwidth at 128kbps, it's much more difficult to have faster supernodes on such networks, and fewer Iranians will be willing to dedicate bandwidth to running a p2p web server. Between a combination of web censorship, and an added (though not insurmountable) barrier to darknets, this will help Iran rather effectively cut off its citizens from what the government doesn't want them to see.
The other main consequence is to servers; besides the comical bad ping for Iran counter-strike server which a commenter mentioned earlier, this will affect anyone trying to spread subversive material over their connection; on the other hand, this will cripple anyone trying to serve anything over their connection. I wouldn't be surprised if Iran soon gives exemptions to various research and commercial groups to help stem the latter conquences.
ObPython (Score:2)
COMMANDER: Ve are the Judean People's Front, crack suicide squad. Suicide squad... attack!!!
The soldiers all draw their swords, stab themselves, and fall over.
COMMANDER: That showed 'em, huh?
--Life of Brian
128k isn't THAT slow... (Score:4, Insightful)
How exactly will capping connection speeds at 128k per second stop someone from uploading 1k worth of text to 'put the information out' about a gathering? It's not like you need flashy banners and embedded movies... if someone wants to attend your protest rally (and you're serious about organizing one), waiting a few seconds instead of half of a second isn't really going to get in the way.
In related news, Ford caps F-150 Top Speed... (Score:2)
Good, That much less competition for us (Score:2)
Is wanting to preserve your culture so bad? (Score:2)
I'm iranian (Score:5, Interesting)
First every US based company (virtually %90 of software companies) reject to work with us. Few weeks ago I just lost a $4000 consulting contract just because I'm Iranian (I'm a java programmer and $4000 is a big money here). Commonly I pretend I'm Turkish or other country just to use very basic things in internet like paypal or activating a web hosting. we say half of the web sites are blocked by USA (iee, sun download section,
Regarding music and movie it's not a big problem as most of contents are either from satellite or cd or dvd. Sometimes I think western music groups will be surprised when they know how many fans they have in Islamic Iran and specially in Tehran (my favorites are dire straits and Shania twain among others). Here most of the people have dishes and I think it's between 70%-80%.
Maybe you think we are happy with creating nuclear bomb and this government But I can say must of us are sick of these things. We just want to live a little better like any body else and have some kind of freedom, unlike what this government pretend, we have no kind of problem with outer world.
In Iran young people call the "ali khameneii" (supreme leader) as "ali Galile" because like galile he look at stars (for creating Islamic rules).
The biggest use of internet in Iran is for chatting with yahoo. Girls looking for boys and boys looking for girls (talking in public can result in prison or forced marriage if government arrests). So this will not affect the biggest use of internet in Iran. If you take a look at asia rooms in yahoo messenger and if you know farsi you will see almost every body is Iranian. Other things like orkut are already blocked. You may wonder but this fool (president) already forced coffeenets (small shops which let you connect to internet in the shop) in specified days don't let boys use internet and the same for girls meaning avoid both boys and girls be at the coffeenet at the same time. Some people wish USA drop a bomb and kill this government and if we die, it's not a big problem.
It's funny but this kind of governments fear from virtually every thing. Like high speed internet, dishes, and even yahoo messenger.
Also we are not Arab we are persian, some people hate arabs for what they have done to our country (including me).
Some times I think life is a little tough with us but maybe it's our predecessors fault.
128K??? (Score:2)
Nukes (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Beware Fundementalists of all Types (Score:4, Informative)
completely opposed to religion in any way, shape, or form. one of the basic idea is that belief in any form of religion is a sign of mental illness requiring treatment.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not the poster you're replying to, but since I agree with him, and since you labeled yourself
Re: (Score:2)
Erm, what? (Score:2)
So ... the rest of the world is going to run off of this cliff, leaving glorious countries like Iran, that have opted out of Life In The 21st Century, to claim the world and put it back together?
Have you been smoking hash with
Re: (Score:2)