Editor: Myself

Playing cat and mouse on the internet

Hardline conservatives -- with the cover of Judiciary, but actually related to unofficial security organization which is run by the Leader, Ayatollah Khamanei -- have started a terrible cat and mouse game with two reformist news websites: Emrooz and Rouydad.

First, about two weeks ago, they stormed the building where they thought the websites were being maintained and apparently arrested anyone who was there. Then they found people who had bought their domain names or had been hosting their WebPages on their servers and arrested them as well.

But none of the news sites have stopped operating; they are now transferred to free hosting services such as blogSpot etc. (Fortunately, they can't arrest Evan Williams and other Google/Blogger guys)

The great thing about these services, especially blogspot, is that you can constantly change your address (URL) so as soon as they filter your current address, you'll move it to another one instantly. Unless they block the whole blogger.com and blogspot.com which is not good for their international image, therefore they see it as final solutions.

Apparently, among the eight people who are still being kept in an undisclosed location and haven't been able to contact outside, is the son of Alireza Alavaitabar, a prominent reformist politician and journalist and one of the key members of Jebhe-ye Mosharekat (Participation Front)

I had met him in their office in Summer 2002 when he was working for the not-yet-banned Emrooz. He was a cool guy with a prominent mustache which had given him a sort of charisma. (I'm not still 100% sure that he is the one arrested.)

It strikes me that the stupid hardline security officials who are ordered to shut down the voices of these websites (and probably any other one which is not repeating their own bullshit soon) are unable to understand the difference between a website and a newspaper. So they think by shutting down offices, or servers, they can stop a decentralized network of unknown journalists and activists from raising their voices through the internet.

Although in this case, I'm sure they know who are writing for these news websites, but for any reason they can't arrest him now. I mean they know that prominent reformists (possibly Alavitabar himself, or Tajzadeh and Armin) are behind these sites, but they don't dare arresting them at the moment. Maybe they are trying to collect more evidence about their involvement and act against them soon.

By the way, I really wonder why not a single news source is reporting about these arrests? Aren't these newsworthy enough?

'Napoleon Dynamite's for Bush

Having watched the hilarious Napoleon Dynamite last night, I have to say that now I realize what kind of people think Bush is the God's gift to America.

How can you be so isolated from the world and so absurdly distant from the urban life and not vote for conservatives.

It's not just Saudis who need a total reform in their education system, America needs it more.

Khamenei or Kim Il-Sung

Rooydad.com reports that Iranian weightlifting champion, Hossein Rezazadeh, has been asked to shout the following before he successfully lift a weight and after calling for help from "Abol-fazl":

My life shall be sacrificed for the Leader

Phisically removing web servers

In latest developments, secret agents have detained several web technicians who have served or helped the popular reformist websites, Emrooz and Rooydad, in any way and apparently, by getting the hosting accounts' passwords, shut the servers down and deleted all the information on them.

Reza Khatami, chief of the major reformist party, Jebhe-ye Mosharekat, has protested to the new wave of pressure in a public letter to the vice-president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who is in charge of the legal and parliamentary relations and a is an Internet savvy user himself. The letter now appears on one of the remaining addresses, Rooydad.com, which is not under control of the agents.

Frustrating news is that no news agency or paper has reported on this in English. However, among the reliable Persian sources, BBC Persian has covered it.

Toronto's Metro Paper Covers Weblogs

Saleem Khan, has brought blogs to Toronto's popular free paper, Metro. Here is the PDF version of it (see page 14) and I've uploaded a screen shot of the same page here.

Rebecca MacKinnon, Jeff Jarvis, and Dan Gillmor are covered in it. There is also a brief mention of me, which is probably going to expand in their next week in another story.

Update: The text version (HTML) of the article is now available at Metro News website.

Iran: Chinese or North Korean style of ruling

A prominent group, Sazman-e Mojahedin-e Enghelab-e Eslami, which is quite an influential group in the reformist camp, has said that contrary to their expectations about conservatives adopting a Chinese-style of development (expand socio-economic freedoms and limiting political activities), so far they've shown that they are interested in a North Korean style of running the country in which all sort of freedoms would be pushed to minimum.

As a matter of fact, almost everybody was predicting that, because in the past couple of years, the conservatives have talked about it all the time. But how and why they suddenly changed their path? I think part of the answer is the pressure on Nuclear programs which has benefited the military men at Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Many disagree with Iran's policy towards Israel

Recent controversy around the Iranian Judo champion's refusal to compete with his Israeli rival in Olympic 2004 games, has sparked an unprecedented anger among Iranians.

Based on the comments people have left in a BBC Persian story (which I hope somebody could translate some of it to English), and a small poll (online polls are not reliable, I know) I've put in my Persian blog, I have to say that I've never seen Iranians more frustrated by the irrational policy of Iranian government against Israel. More than 82 percent of all my readers disagree or strongly disagree with Arash Miresmalili's decision.

So I guess this is the best time to start a grassroots campaign to bring the two nations together, in any way we can. (As I wrote before, I guess getting an Iranian to blog about his or her life in Israel and the Iranians who live there would be very effective.)

Some analysts say that the remaining legitimacy of the increasingly fundamentalist regime of Iran, is based on a few taboos such as Islamic Hijab (or dress code), and Israel. I presonally feel I can have an impact on breaking the second taboo only by using the Internet.

Beliveing that one of the biggest problems of the Iranian people, both internally and internationaly, steming from the Israel issue, I guess I'm ready to take the risk and start something about it. This is what any patriotic Iranian should do, I think.

By the way, if you happen to any Iranian who lives in Israel, or a none who knows such person, please show her my recent posts and let me know about it.

My upcoming projects

Just as a sort of note for myself, and maybe for people who are interested to help, here are some ideas that I'll hopefully be working on over the next few months:

Blogging the old diaries

The new generation of Iranian, those who were born after the revolution, are more after individual and social freedoms, and economic well-being, rather than political openness. But since they've never seen Iran in the mid 1970s when Iranians have the highest amount of social freedom and economic well-being, they have low expectations and as a result no will or effort to change the status quo, and thus, the political apathy.

I'll try to find some diaries written by the young Iranians at the time (1970s) which would illustrate the way Iranians used to live and think, and get them published in a few blogs, day by day, entry by entry.

Dialogue between American and Persian blogs

A small team can search for similar themes in Persian and American blogs, translate the Persian posts to English, and post them in a blog with two opposing columns: one for posts in English by American blogs, and one for posts in Persian about the similar issue or piece of news.

Project Iran-Israel friendship

In an article in Persian, a few months ago, I explained why in the long-run Iran and Israel could -- and perhaps should -- be the best allies in the Arab-dominated region of middle east. Now to back it up, Given the total lack of information that the two side have about one another -- especially Iranians about Israelis, I'll to try to find some Iranian-Israelis who can blog in Persian from Israel about their ordinary lives and observations.

This could only be a start which could later be followed by a number of similar Internet-based projects to provide a better understanding about the two societies and to eventually bring them closer.

Wiki-powered textbooks for Iranian high school students

The enormous power of Wikis could be exploited in providing some independently and collectively produced textbooks for high school students in Iran. Those books can later be printed and used by parents, who do not agree with the content of the official ministry of education textbooks, as alternatives in a couple of sensitive subjects such as History, Social Studies, etc.

Blogging Awards

Most of blogging awards have been about blogs in different categories. But since the Iranian blogosphere more or less suffers from quality posts on different areas, I believe a competition in which different posts from different blogs would be evaluated in various categories such as socio-political commentary, art and entertainment, literature, reporting and investigative, independent journalism, satire, etc. would be a big encouragement to more serious bloggers and could attract new talented writers.

Promoting photoblogs

Many Iranians can not read or write in English very well. Thus the best way they can show the world how they live their lives, in a direct and unmediated way, is by using photoblogs. The rapidly growing market for digital cameras in Iran and the rise of free photo hosting services could pave the way, as well as particular projects and awards.

Hoder on NPR

Joi Ito has kindly mentioned my weblog among his Summer reads on a NPR show abuot books. He's also said nice things about the Persian blogosphere.

Filtering effect: Losing 1,500 visitor in a night

After writing a couple of posts about the nuclear issue in Iran and urging Iranian citizens to talk and think about it despite the strong control of the regime on this issue, my Persian weblog has apparently blocked in more ISPs.

I've received several emails and comments, mostly from outside Tehran, that they can't access Editor: Myself anymore since yesterday.

As a result, I've lost some 1,500 visitors per day. However, alternative domains, which is one of the most effective ways to beat censorship, are still available, such as editormyself.com. But every alternative domain name costs up to $10 and I'm not sure how long I can continue to pay for it by my own.

60 Minutes' scandal in Iran

Watching The Insider (1999) for the first time, reminded me of a strong rumor that the same CBS show, 60 Minutes, had pulled off a show about Iran's former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and his family's wealth and business activities which is widely seen inside Iran as result of vast corruption, especially in the oil industry.

I don't remember anyone in the States was aware of that and might've investigated it at the time. But these sort of things will never be too late.

Surprise: Georgia university brings blogs to Toronto

The best thing about the conference for me was that I finally met Jeff Jarvis, who, like an older brother, has always supported me, despite our political differences. It was also very great to meet Rebecca MacKinnon, Jay Rosen and Jim Elve in person. (I had met Dan Gilmore in Vienna last summer)

So, aside from these personal aspects, I am glad that some of the high-profile Canadian bloggers finally got a chance to meet and share their thoughts -- and get some local press.

As I said last night and David Akin confirmed it, blogs are not as known -- never mind popular -- in Canada as they are in the States and part of it could be because the majority of mainstream Canadian journalists have not been able to understand this new medium and how they can use it for their own journalistic purposes. Therefore they see it as an unreliable, teenage-oriented hobby, same as chat rooms, instant messenger, etc.

We Canadian bloggers should think of creative ways to talk more about blogs and its socio-political implications, so the public could gradually understand why blogs are important and how they can use them for their own purposes.

One of the greatest ways to start, I think, is to quote from Canadian blogs -- and also introduce them this way -- in hip weekly magazines such as Now and Eye. Now, for example, has a technology page every week which could be great starting point for such thing.

P.S: I forgot to say that the five minute time for each of the Global Aspects panelists in the latest possible panel, while everyone was having dinner, was probably not a good idea. However, in such conference, that was even a big success: Who else in Georgia would even care about the outside world, let alone international blogs. So, special thanks to Leonard Witt, for his brilliant idea to bring blogs to traditional journalists, and then both of them to Toronto, which one might guess, due to its diverse society, would embrace blogs more than others.

Blogging conference in Toronto

Today, at 6:30 PM, I'll be speaking about blogs in Iran at a conference about Public and Participatory Journalism in Toronto. The one-day conference starts from 12 PM and its program is available on their website.

Dan Gillmor, Jay Rosen, Jeff Jarvis, David Akin, Rebecca MacKinnon and Warren Kinsella wil be speaking too.

By the way, Globe and Mail has published an article about blogging in its Saturday's issue. (When they started this stupid free registration?)

Totally unaware

No one in Iran seems to be really understanding how critical is the situation of the country these days. The complete media control by the hard-line conservatives have left average Iranians totally unaware of the threat that Iranian leaders' arrogance is causing to Iran's national security -- as a sovereign nation.

We, in absence of any free media, should inform Iranians about these threats and try to explain for them why their silence is really dangerous to their own fate in Iran. Especially if it's perceived by the Western world as Iranian's 'Ok' to the nuclear programs, threats twoards Israel and its consequences.

As a patriotic Iranian and despite my resentment with the establishment in Iran and its nuclear ambitions, I can't simply accept that a foreign state attacks Iran for any reason. At the same time I accept the right of another state to stop a real threat posed by another state who owns nukes.

What would you do, if you were us?

Too sensetive

This Yahoo mail page is filtered by the Iranian government because it has the word 'sex'in its URL.

Entrance Exam on 18 Tir

Seems as if one of the reasons that Iran was quite calm yesterday in the anniversary of student protests (18 Tir) is that the second biggest nation-wide entrance exam for Azad (open) university was scheduled on the same day. (About a million participants take part in it every year)

So not only many potential protestors had to take the exam, but all the educational space is also dedicated to the exams and all schools were effectively closed from a few days eralier to facilitate the exams.

As ruthless and agressive as the hard-line conservatives are, sometimes they come up with creative and non-violent ways to achieve their golas

Filtering Photoblogs

It's confirmed now that the bastards at TCI (Telecom Iran) have filtered my photoblog. I first got suspicious when I saw a major decline in its visitors. This is really amazing! How far they are going to go?

Iranians Third in Orkut

To my surprise, Iranians are now the thrid biggest community in Orkut, after Brazil and the United States. Given the low ratio of Internet users in Iran (some 3m out of 70m of population) and the poor quality of their access (56Kbps is still the fastest), this is really interesting.

How can you explain it? Couldn't it be weblogs?

Rogers PVR's Issues

After getting the Rogers PVR yesterday and playing with it, now I see why everybody is so fascinated by TiVo in the States.

But I've come across two issues so far:

1. The re-runs are also scheduled to be recorded when choosing ALL EPISODE option. So you may want to record the Daily Show on 11:00 PM but it also records the re-run at 3:00 AM. However if you want to record a re-run, it ignores its time and automatically schedule it for the first run. Guess it's because of the Rogers TV Guide.
2. I can't see the program listing of many channels, especially the digital ones such as BBC World, for the weekend if I check it today, on Tuesday. Isn't it supposed to have the full seven day schedule available?

Forget TiVO, Rogers Now Offers PVR in Canada Too

For a long time, many Canadians have wondered why TiVO has not operating in Canada. But now Rogers offers PVR (Persoanl Video Recorder) service, integrated with the regular digital box, for either a monthly rent of $19.95 per month, or a one-time purchase of it for $588.

According to the Rogers website, its PVR has these rare features:

• Record two shows at once
• Record one show while watching a different channel
• Pause, rewind, and instant-replay "LIVE TV"
• Record up to 50 hours of programming
• Automatically record "ALL EPISODES" of your favourite shows
• All-in-one Digital Terminal & Digital Recorder
• Get Picture-In-Picture on any TV

HUB magazine has more detail about Rogers PVRs and their advantages over some similar services like from Bell ExpressVU.

There is also a report by a user experience studio, called Teehan+Lax, in which Bell and Roger's PVRs have been compared(PDF) in terms of user experience.

As for the recorder machine itself, which seems to be Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000, PVR Blog reports a wierd bug related to the leap year. It has also pointed to an interesting blog in which, Joe Clark, a technician, keeps track of his own Explorer 8000.

Some features of the Explorer 80000 include:

• 80GB Hard Drive
• Pauses Live TV For Up To One Hour
• Supports Alternative Languages
• Built-In Dolby Digital Technology
• Channel Favourites List
• Supports Closed Captioning
• On-Screen Channel And Program Banner
• On-Screen Pay-Per-View Purchase Summary
• S-Video Output Jack
• One Set Of RCA Type A/V And Output Jacks
• Coaxial Digital Audio (Dolby Digital) Output
• Software Upgrades

After I get my PVR tomorrow morning, the question for me would be whether to rent it or purchase it. I guess I'm going to rent it until an stable model comes out with minimum bugs.

Additional links:
- FutureShop sells three types of PVRs
- Explorer 8000 on Scientific Atlanta's official website