"A Revolution Within the Revolution"

Katherine Mangu-Ward | February 5, 2009

IRAN: A Nation Of Bloggers from ayrakus on Vimeo.

This is a great illustration of Clay Shirky's point that online tools which seem frivolous in America can be used for deadly serious purposes abroad. Remember the ice cream eating flash mob freedom fighters in oppressive Belarus?

There's not a ton of new data here, but this video on Iranian bloggers has a really sharp look—check out the way the phrase "the final shah modernized Iran but also crushed any political opposition" is illustrated at the 19 second mark.

Comments

Old Bull Lee|2.5.09 @ 2:49PM|#

Yeah, yeah, these bloggers are great but not nearly as exciting as Iranian metal bands.

TallDave|2.5.09 @ 2:55PM|#

Not too popular in Iraq, either.

Iraq elections a setback for Iran
By ROBERT H. REID - 1 day ago

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iran appears to have suffered a setback in last weekend's Iraqi elections, with Tehran's closest allies losing key races in what suggests a public backlash to what many Iraqis see as undue Iranian influence in their country.

And every year huge numbers of Iranians on pilgrimage will cross the border into a country that holds free elections.

zoltan|2.5.09 @ 2:56PM|#

American taxpayers should not be accountable for other countries' freedom. Do it on your own damn private dime.

TallDave|2.5.09 @ 3:01PM|#

zoltan,

I'll mention that to Europe sometime.

zoltan|2.5.09 @ 3:03PM|#

Please do so. I'm not going to be a "what's good for me and not for thee" type.

shecky|2.5.09 @ 3:23PM|#

Kinda reminded me of Persepolis.

|2.5.09 @ 3:34PM|#

That was a pretty slick video.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iran appears to have suffered a setback in last weekend's Iraqi elections, with Tehran's closest allies losing key races in what suggests a public backlash to what many Iraqis see as undue Iranian influence in their country.

Amazing how people who align themselves with our nastiest enemies when we're mucking about in their country change their minds when we stop. Sort of like Daniel Ortega winning the Nicaraguan elections by a landslide when we were backing a terrorist war in that country, and voting him out of office when we stopped.

TofuSushi|2.5.09 @ 3:43PM|#

Soymilk is making great inroads in Iran. Veganry cannot be far behind.

Lester Hunt|2.5.09 @ 4:03PM|#

The Wikipedia article on Iranian blogs is short but contains interesting information: eg., Ahmedinejad is a blogger.

BlueBook|2.5.09 @ 4:11PM|#

Cool vid; good music.

JB|2.5.09 @ 4:11PM|#

This gives me hope...unlike the socialist garbage that comes out of Obama's mouth.

|2.5.09 @ 4:31PM|#

Amazing how people who align themselves with our nastiest enemies when we're mucking about in their country change their minds when we stop.

Almost as amazing as the way people in foreign countries manage to arrange their lives in ways that are completely centered on and reactive to the US.

Sort of like Daniel Ortega winning the Nicaraguan elections by a landslide when we were backing a terrorist war in that country, and voting him out of office when we stopped.

There's no possiblity, of course, that the Marxist revolutionary Sandanistas would rig an election when they were in power, and that cleaner elections would be run after armed opposition had forced them back to the ballot box on different terms. Just speaking hypothetically, here, is all.

Nope. Its all about the US, everywhere, all the time, at least when things are going wrong.

|2.5.09 @ 4:42PM|#

Almost as amazing as the way people in foreign countries manage to arrange their lives in ways that are completely centered on and reactive to the US.

Arab Spring! The Surge Worked! Purple Fingers! A bit late for that canard, I'm afraid. At least from you.

There's no possiblity, of course, that the Marxist revolutionary Sandanistas would rig an election when they were in power... No, there isn't. The elections were certified as fair and free by international monitors - except for the terrorist attacks our cat's paws carried out in a failed effort to derail the vote.

Nope. Its all about the US, everywhere, all the time, at least when things are going wrong. Too funny, to see this line being used by someone who endorsed a war for the specific purpose of the effect it would have on the politics of other countries.

torpid|2.5.09 @ 4:56PM|#

I thought it was spelled rLOVEution

jtuf|2.5.09 @ 10:54PM|#

Awesome video.

|2.6.09 @ 10:31AM|#

Arab Spring!

The Arab Spring is fine example of what I am arguing for, joe, which is some restraint on attributing every twitch in the body politic of foreign nations to the US.

The Surge Worked!

The surge was a US military operation that achieved its goals. That's a bit different from claiming that the major reason for the "popularity" of a repressive regime is the fact that the US opposed it.

Purple Fingers!

That would have been an election held under US supervision. Again, a bit different, etc.