Iran clamps down on bloggers, and tries to control the Internet

Clamping down on bloggers? This sounds a lot like what's happening in San Diego.


Iran.ir: an ominous sign
by Saeed Kamali Dehghan
guardian.co.uk
4 February 2010

As Iranian protesters gear up online again, the state is clamping down with a new state service replacing foreign email accounts.

Since the disputed election last June, Ahmadinejad's government has sought different ways to further crack down on the internet in Iran. Now, access to almost all reformist websites is blocked, including those of the reformist candidates, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi.

Last week Iran launched a national webmail service via iran.ir, intended to replace free foreign webmail services with a domestic one that is easier to control...

Recently, officials have blocked access to Google Translate, which has provided English to Persian, Persian to English service since June. But, as has happened in China, is filtering Google the next step?...

Most learned ayatollah in Iran, Hossein Ali Montazeri, mourned by protesters

Mourners Of Iranian Cleric Protest During Funeral
by The Associated Press
December 21, 2009

Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners turned the funeral procession of the country's most senior dissident cleric into an anti-government protest Monday, chanting "death to the dictator" and slogans in support of the opposition amid heavy security.

Witnesses said security forces clamped down in Iran's holy city of Qom where massive crowds streamed in for the funeral rites for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died Sunday at age 87.

One opposition Web site reported clashes outside Montazeri's home between security forces and mourners, who threw stones. Iranian authorities have barred foreign media from covering the rites, and witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest.

Montazeri's death pushed Iranian authorities into a difficult spot. They were obliged to pay respects to one of the patriarchs of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the one-time heir apparent to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. But officials also worried that Montazeri's memorials could become new rallying points for opposition demonstrations. The ayatollah broke with Iran's clerical leadership and became a vehement critic, denouncing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling the postelection crackdown the work of a dictatorship.