Don't Let It Go To Your Heads, Boys

Sina Motallebi, an Iranian reporter recently imprisoned for 23 days, is giving the weblog world credit for compelling Tehran to release him.

Comments

[bigbigslacker]

"Now if our government can just back off the saber rattling and "axis of evil" talk it will quit harming the efforts of reformers there."

Or they might be dead already were it not for saber-rattling and the international attention it has brought.

[Rick Barton]

bigbigslacker,

The reformer themselves, say that pressure from Washington has only hurt the cause of Iran's moderates:
http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news_en.pl?l=en&y=2002&m=12&d=16&a=4

[Rick Barton]

Make that: "The reformers themselves..."

note to self: the "Preview Button" is your friend..

[Jason Ligon]

UNRELATED HEADS UP FOR ALL YOU MATH GEEKS OUT THERE:

Tyler Cowen at marginalrevolution links a story about Russian mathematician Grisha Perelman, who has published a solution to the Poincare Conjecture!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107701,00.html

[Jarod]

ANOTHER UNRELATED HEADS UP FOR ALL YOU MATH GEEKS OUT THERE:

You're dorks.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. (Maybe if I was any good at math I wouldn't harbor such resentment.)

[Jean Bart]

Jason Ligon,

Wasn't this announced several weeks ago?

[Jean Bart]

Or even months?

[Jason Ligon]

Don't get me wrong, I know just enough math to know how difficult this problem is. Many folks thought that this problem was literally unsolvable. An interesting side bar is that there has been a $1 million "bounty" on a proof of Poincare's Conjecture that, like the X Prize, has spurred all sorts of creative thinking.

[Jason Ligon]

JB:

I am apparently out of the loop. He published almost two years ago, but his proof has passed several milestones that no one else has sniffed.

Sorry 'bout the stale info ...

[Jason Ligon]

JB:

BTW: Pinker's book is available in French under the title: L?instinct du langage. Odile Jacob.

[Jean Bart]

Jason Ligon,

I see. French mathematicians do create difficult problems. 🙂

[Jean Bart]

Jason Ligon,

http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140175296/reasonmagazinea-20/

Here is the listing for the text.

[Chuck]

JB wrote:

"I see. French mathematicians do create difficult problems. :)"

Yes, and they create some interesting mathematics too. 🙂

Seriously, though, when I was in grad school in the mid '80s there was a purported proof of the Poincare conjecture going around. It eventually fell apart, though. My understanding is that Perelman has only "published" his proof on his web site, so it has not been completely verified by peer review--although according to CNN, those who are currently reviewing it say it looks pretty good so far. I believe the rules for the $1M Clay Institute prize include a stipulation that the proof has to be published in a *scientific journal* to be eligible for the prize.

[Jean Bart]

Chuck,

I appreciate the information. Thank you.

[Jason Ligon]

And, er, bloggers should continue to exert their influence on Tehran ...

[Rick Barton]

The Poincare Conjecture solution "news" does appear to be dated. It's not being carried on any of the science news sites today.

Oh well; the aricle for this thread on blog pressure springing this guy from jail in Iran looks interesting.

[Jean Bart]

Jason Ligon,

Absolutely. I'm wondering if Amnesty International has attempted something like this.

[Rick Barton]

...the Islamic government has had to back down on attempts to block many sites. The reformists who have some power in government actually appear to be embracing bloggers...

This is a great story! A technology from a freer world infiltrates and influences a less free one and springs this guy with the pressure of blogging.

Iran is different from much of the Islamic Mid-East. Not just the obvious the ethnic/language differences (predominantly non Arab/Semitic.) Iran appears to be undergoing liberalizing changes and seems to be susceptible to liberalizing influences such as the WEB.

Now if our government can just back off the saber rattling and "axis of evil" talk it will quit harming the efforts of reformers there.

[Will Spencer]

Rick:

1. Behzad Nabavi is *one* voice. He does not represent "reformers", he represents himself and his own political ambitions.

2. Only in the twisted world of Iranian Muslim politics would Behzad Nabavi be called a "reformer." Nabavi is the Deputy Speaker of parliament. Nabavi isn't against the system, Mabavi *is* the system. Of course Nabavi doesn't want foreign disapproval of the system!

3. Reform usually requires a carrot AND a stick. A carrot alone may make you feel good, but it won't cause reform.

[Will Spencer]

Concerning the comment "Don't let it go to your heads."

Wait a moment.

The Internet, the web, and blogs are not just technologies, they are potent democratizing forces which have improved life in countries across the globe.

They have reduced the iron grip of state media and the cultural grip of broadcast media. They are slowly augmenting one-to-many communications with many-to-many communications.

They empower people to communicate with people. Government has long been able to communicate with people. This technological shift has put people in a much better power position vis a vis government.

So, please do pat yourselves on the back, boys _and_ girls.

[Rick Barton]

Will,

As the Glaser piece pointed out; the reformists have some power in government. In Iran, being in the parliament and being a reformer are clearly not mutually exclusive.

The neocons, who lied us into the Iraq war have designs on Iran and in general getting us into wars that are not in this nation's interest. For Iran, if we let the neos, their plans will cost us money, possibly blood and get in the way of the changes that are going on there presently.

Note:
From:A H.D.S. GREENWAY piece:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/jul03/157859.asp

As for Iran, the struggle between reformers and hard-line clerics continues, and the outcome has not been decided. But it is clear that the revolutionary zeal that followed the fall of the shah in 1979 is now a spent force. Things are changing fast. A Tehran professor told me that 15 years ago, most members of his class considered themselves religiously inspired; now, no more than three out of 50 do.

August will mark the 50th anniversary of the last time we changed a regime in Iran - the Anglo-American-inspired coup against Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, which Iranians have never forgotten or forgiven. The current talk out of Washington in support of covert action to destabilize Iran can only stir up these memories. Whatever emerges in Iran has to be an Iranian solution, not an American solution.

Former CIA agent Kenneth Pollack, who supported war with Iraq, said the "axis of evil" speech has made American diplomacy "a lot harder, and it has reinforced the sentiment that these are a bunch of cowboys who don't pay a whole lot of attention to nuances."