J O N A T H A N JK . C O M

I came across this article (Iran Paranoid or under Siege?) from Al Jazeera. Recently I’ve wanted a less western perspective on issues that are happening around the world.

With tighter sanctions, talk of Iran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and the assassination of yet another nuclear scientist in Iran, tensions are building on multiple fronts as a coalition of countries tries to stop Iran’s nuclear programme.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, told the IRNA news agency on Thursday that UN nuclear inspectors would be welcome in the country and that issues with the nuclear programme can be resolved via negotiations. The path to diplomacy is, however, obscured by decades of ill will between Iran and the West.

It has been the west that has caused most of the problems in the Middle East, so I’m not surprised that Iran doesn’t trust the US or Europe. Sanctions are just amount to poking Iran in the eye.

So I don’t want to see war (I will protest any action against Iran [I live in the UK]). I would prefer it if Iran proved everybody wrong as towards their intentions and embarrass the US/Europe. They are the greater threat, inflicting greater injustice on the world than many countries combined with rendition, Guantanamo, supporting Israel no matter what and the killing of millions of civilians since the end of the Second War World. It’s sad the argument has shifted towards what Iran is supposedly doing vs what the US has been doing.

Quite a big update for news, new information isn’t as regular these days so I’m finding larger updates are a better use of my time as opposed to posting near daily shorter posts. At least that way nobody has to fear that they are missing out on anything. So with that, it’s welcoming to see the first raw converter for the big two image editors has been released. People can start migrating away from shooting solely jpeg or using the joys of Silkypix.

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What’s happening to Wikileaks is disgusting.  Rather than go on a massive rant.  Here are a few choice quotes from what I’ve read on the subject that I agree with.

• The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen. - Tommy Smothers
• If you’ve got nothing to hide you’ve got nothing to worry about.
• “Wikileaks allows more or less unfiltered access to the source material. Ask yourself: do you really want someone else selecting what’s fit for you to read?” - lexidation
• It doesn’t matter what your personal view is on the wisdom of exposing the day-to-day minutiae of realpolitik. Free speech — and your right as citizens to live under an open government — are under attack. - lexidation
• Censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself.  It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.  ~ Potter Stewart
• The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.  ~ David Ben-Gurion
• It’s funny that the government – by abridging one of our most fundamental freedoms – is claiming to protect our freedom.

To those who say Wikileaks has put peoples lives in danger.  It hasn’t been proven that Wikileaks has, even the US government themselves have admitted as such.  To those pointing fingers, they should remember two things.  First the US government has put lives in danger with a certain illegal war to begin with (ignoring for the moment everything else they’ve done, rendition anyone?). Second, nobody should be shooting the messenger, in this case, Wikileaks.  Anger should be laid squarely at those people who are unfit to serve in government (not just the US government).

But since the US government has been caught with its pants down; trying to persuade everyone to look away while pulling them back up.  What they should do instead is man up and accept the responsibility of its actions.

EDIT: Added a link to the petition to stop the crackdown on wikileaks here.