Iran Blocks Facebook Access

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Iran Blocks Facebook Access


Iran has blocked access to the social networking site Facebook, just ahead of the country's presidential elections.

Facebook; to some it's a fad, to others it's a way of life, but to Tehran it is apparently a threat. Iran blocked access to the site yesterday, with users being greeted with a message in Farsi saying "Access to this site is not possible." The ban was lifted for a few hours, but then re-instated with no reason given. This comes just ahead of the countries presidential elections on June 12th.

The general consensus seems to be that the site has been blocked to prevent the rivals of current President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad from using it to reach their supporters, especially ex-prime minister Mir Hossein Mousav (pictured), who is seen as a particular threat to Ahmedinejad's presidency. Mousav's Facebook page has more than 5000 supporters.

A Facebook spokesperson gave this statement: "We are disappointed to learn of reports that users in Iran may not have access to Facebook, especially at a time when voters are turning to the Internet as a source of information about election candidates and their positions ... It is always a shame when a country's cultural and political concerns lead to limits being placed on the opportunity for sharing and expression that the Internet provides."

Source: BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8065578.stm]

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not a zaar

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Dec 16, 2008
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And this is the same country that is working towards a nuclear weapons program. Fuck that noise.
 

Erana

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Feb 28, 2008
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The_Oracle said:
Erana said:
I blame the US and Britian, in the big picture.
This is their/our fault how, exactly?
This. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Shah's_Men]
They would prolly have had a lot more freedom if we hadn't stamped out their earlier attempts at democracy...
That book makes me crave waffles.
 

Arrers

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Mar 4, 2009
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Restricing people's freedoms just before elections is a great way to make them hate you. Is he trying to lose this election, or is he trying too hard to win?
 

Frank_Sinatra_

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Dec 30, 2008
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Erana said:
I blame the US and Britain, in the big picture.
It more of the entire Allied forces fault for some of the Middle East crises going on. At the end of WWII we just drew lines on a map for countries in the Middle East, now if we would have taken the time to research the area some of the problems most likely would not be present.

On Topic: Sounds like President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is a tad bit concerned about him keeping his political power.

Arrers said:
Restricing people's freedoms just before elections is a great way to make them hate you. Is he trying to lose this election, or is he trying too hard to win?
The answer to that is; yes.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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Erana said:
The_Oracle said:
Erana said:
I blame the US and Britian, in the big picture.
This is their/our fault how, exactly?
This. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Shah's_Men]
They would prolly have had a lot more freedom if we hadn't stamped out their earlier attempts at democracy...
That book makes me crave waffles.
Agreed. If our grandparents/parents generation hadn't decided to fuck around with Iran to try and get oil, Iran would be probably still a democracy state.
 

Mariena

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Sep 25, 2008
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bue519 said:
Psychosocial said:
Who needs Facebook anyways? :p
But where can we take the What Falafel are you QuiZ? WHERE!
Nooo! Now I'll never find out what my real Pirate name is!

Ontopic: This is hardly surprising, isn't it?
 

bue519

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Oct 3, 2007
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Mariena said:
bue519 said:
Psychosocial said:
Who needs Facebook anyways? :p
But where can we take the What Falafel are you QuiZ? WHERE!
Nooo! Now I'll never find out what my real Pirate name is!

Ontopic: This is hardly surprising, isn't it?
Well no since Friends on the the list of banned shows in that country. But it also could be interpreted as a good sign that young people are being more rebellious.
 

TsunamiWombat

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Sep 6, 2008
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The current president is more of a free willed puppet, then anything else. He has his taste of power and doesn't want to let it go.
 

Ashbax

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Jan 7, 2009
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Erana said:
The_Oracle said:
Erana said:
I blame the US and Britian, in the big picture.
This is their/our fault how, exactly?
This. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Shah's_Men]
They would prolly have had a lot more freedom if we hadn't stamped out their earlier attempts at democracy...
That book makes me crave waffles.
/sigh. Blame our GOVERNMENT. most US citizens have nothing to do with it >.>
 

Beetlejooce

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Dec 26, 2008
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Maybe now the Iranians will.. I don't know.. read a newspaper or something?

My parents tell me legends of how they used to do things like that before computers were all-powerful like today.

If they want to learn about the elections I'm sure there are other ways to go about it.
 

cobrausn

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Dec 10, 2008
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Erana said:
I blame the US and Britian, in the big picture.
Perhaps this simple fact slips past you - The people who were alive to fuck the mideast up back then are not really in government, being old and for the most part dead.

So you can blame the US and UK all you want, but that would be like blaming today's Germany for WWII.