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| Axis of Evil |
| Iran Lifts Satellite Dish Restrictions |
| 2002-12-17 |
| Iran's reformist-dominated parliament approved a bill Tuesday to lift restrictions on the public's access to most satellite television channels. While the proposal reflects a majority of Iranians' wishes for a more open society, it still must be approved by the hard-line Guardian Council before becoming law. Dead on arrival The measure was approved after a heated debate broadcast live on Tehran radio in which the measure's opponents said it would "legalize sin." "Lifting the ban on satellite dishes allows people to watch anti-Islamic films," said Mohammad Razavi, a member of the hard-line minority. "Many corrupt deeds take place in secret. There is no reason for us to make it easy for people to sin," "There's a whole lot of sinning going on!" Another hard-line lawmaker, Hasan Sobhani, said the bill would place Iran under "the control of media and satellite channels that routinely propagate capitalism through its advanced technology and break all cultural resistance to it." He borrowed this line from our Justice departments rejection of the Echostar - DirecTV merger, I think. But reformist Davoud Soleimani said the measure represented Iran's last, best chance to regulate the inevitable encroachment of broadcasts from the West. "In the next few years, people will be allowed to tune in to satellite channels without a dish," he noted. "...We can't close our eyes to realities." Without a dish? Oh, he must mean that 3G wireless streaming video over the cell phone stuff. I wondered where all those WorldCom people had gone to. The bill prohibits channels that are anti-Iranian or those that carry pornographic material. But it reverses the outright ban on all satellite dishes passed by a previous parliament in 1995 in an effort to purge the Islamic republic of Western influences. That law is largely ineffective. Rooftops and balconies throughout the Iranian capital have satellite dishes despite threats by the authorities of fines or confiscation. Many residents in Tehran hide satellite dishes under tarps or disguise them as air conditioning units. Sounds like a lot of the condos in the states. Those homeowners associations could teach the Guardian Council a thing or two about oppression. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. |
| Posted by: Steve 2002-12-17 20:40:15 |
| #1 That last bit was laugh out loud funny. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2002-12-17 16:59:02 |