Posted on 06/19/2009 7:29:52 PM PDT by nuconvert
NEW YORK — Google and Facebook have rushed out services in Farsi. Twitter users have changed their home cities to Tehran to provide cover for Internet users there. Others have configured their computers to serve as relay points to bypass Iranian censorship.
In the aftermath of the disputed Iranian election, Internet companies and individuals around the world have stepped in to help Iranians
Twitter delayed a scheduled maintenance shutdown so that people could continue to access the microblogging site while scores of Americans set up remote proxy servers so Iranians could access blocked Web sites from inside their country.
All week, Internet users in the U.S. and around the world fixed their eyes on the events unfolding in Iran, the way viewers might have been glued to their television sets 30 years ago. But unlike 30, or even five years ago, this time they could participate.
"Even if we can't help directly, this is a way of helping indirectly," said Ian Souter, 24, an unemployed computer animator in Lafayette, Ind.
He and other U.S. Web users set up ways for Iranians to access the Internet using Tor, a service that allows people use the Internet anonymously.
Even the file-sharing site Pirate Bay, best known for its run-ins with the law over copyright infringement, has jumped in with the launch of a network that helps Iranians surf anonymously.
Still, it was difficult to tell just how much of this information was accessible to people inside Iran. The government has restricted communications channels, and cell phone service has been spotty. Many sites were blocked and service has been much slower than normal. Even the use of proxies has grown more difficult as the government finds them, and the country's Revolutionary Guard has sternly warned people against posting objectionable content on Web sites.
(Excerpt) Read more at lubbockonline.com ...
Get out of the way, TOTUS - True Americans are stepping up to the plate to do what it takes to help our freedom loving Iranian brothers and sisters have the weapons they need to do the heavy lifting to suppress this tyranny in their country. May God be with them tomorrow. My prayers go out to them tonight.
May their spirit inspire our own countrymen soon to do likewise.
They might as well enjoy the good feelings that come with helping others because it is only a matter of time before the Iranian government destroys their businesses.
No, I’m Methodist and third generation English/Norwegian descent. But I have been following this train wreck for years and these people are so incredibly brave for finally saying ‘enough is enough’ and standing up against the Islamic regime which has been making their lives a living hell for more than thirty years, thanks to Jimmy Carter for his instrumental role in placing this evil regime in power. I wish the Iranian people success and pray for their safety.
Sadly, I honestly believe these people are truly faced with choosing between the lesser of two evils. But I also believe that by prevailing with having their legitimate votes counted and Mousavi rightly installed they will be one step closer to inching towards the democratic government they long for.
I agree. How many candidates were there though? Not two.
“True Americans are stepping up to the plate...”
I’m heartened by your post! There’s been too much cynicism in the posts around here lately. You’ve caught the heady spirit of liberty that our forefathers understood so well. Either “we believe these truths to be self-evident” or we don’t. And if we believe this, then a true patriot’s heart has to swell to see any people taking the first few hesitent, deeply, deeply uncertain steps towards freedom.
A tyrant’s fear should be like sweet music to a true daughter of liberty.
We are ALL endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. I’ve known many Iranians here in the states, worked side by side with them and these people get it as do their relatives in the old country.
This is where my uncle George went wrong when he wrote 1984.
The same technology that could be used to oppress the people could also be used to liberate them.
Frankly, you cannot make a revolution with “web support” from feel-good Westerners, who fancy themselves as “part of a revolution”, while Iranians are on the streets, fighting and dying.
They’ll need gun support, not web support.
Agreed. Are you listening, Bamster?????
Welcome to the 21st Iranian government, the whole world is an interconected villiage now!
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