Iran

[loic]

From Robert Fisk today.
The footage of a brutal police force assaulting the political opposition on the streets of the capital has shocked the world. Rightly so, although no one has made comparison with police forces who batter demonstrators on the streets of Western Europe, who beat women with night-sticks, who have kicked over an innocent middle-

Comments

[ataxi]

That "double standard" argument neither holds no water, nor enough to be particularly compelling. As Fisk himself points out, there does appear to have been some rather significant diddling of the electoral figures.

(Whatever the "true" result - and how can an election result be "true" in the absence of any approximation of free availability of information? - would have been.)

Are you saying that these things happen on the million-vote scale in "our" countries?

The Twitter phenomenon that has accompanied the reporting is something new that warrants serious investigation - particularly the evident sock puppet / destabilising side of it.

[loic]

Clearly there are real questions about the legitimacy of the election. I think these largely exist because of the level of censorship that still exists in Iran.

The double standard I was referring is the way we look at state-on-citizen violence as a response to dissent or fear. That is sadly more widespread and common than we're comfortable admitting. We don't like our society compared to those we describe as "evil".

[ataxi]

"The double standard I was referring is the way we look at state-on-citizen violence as a response to dissent or fear. That is sadly more widespread and common than we're comfortable admitting

[ataxi]

Obviously I think that the Iranian government is overreacting and using unacceptable means to suppress protest. I also think that the result of the election is at best unclear - and the true result will probably never be known

[loic]

that last comment was me, apparently logged out of lj