Iran election protest shows importance of a free press

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's goons crack down on citizens protesting his questionable re-election, we can see once more why an independent and aggressive press (which includes the electronic versions) is crucial. The first thing dictators do is shut down the independent media. They fear the truth more than they fear a violent reaction by their citizenry.

So after Ahmadinejad shut down the Iranian media, protesters began organizing their events in Tehran using Twitter and other social networking sites. Now Iranian authorities are shutting down the social networking sites.

Dictators only want one side of events ot be heard -- there's. But Iranian citizens know they need independent voices. Read this from today's Wall Street Journal:

"Iranians have shared online images, video, emails and "tweets" about the protests and spreading violence -- circumventing state-controlled media. But as the public uprising has intensified, so has the government's attempt to control the flow of information. Internet speed is reduced and cellphone service interrupted."

This is why it's important to have a free press.

Protests organized in Iran through Twitter

This is one way to get around a closed society. Use the latest technology to beat the government censors. That's what protesters are doing in Iran as they draw attention to the rigged election results that have returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office.

The Associated Press is reporting that protesters are spreading the word of upcoming protests in Tehran using Twitter.

Here's a paragraph from an AP story from Cairo: "As Iran’s government cracks down on traditional media after the country’s disputed presidential election, tech-savvy Iranians have turned to the microblogging site Twitter."

I like this turn of events a lot. But make no mistake, the Ahmadinejad administration doesn't and we could see a terrible over-reaction from the government.

Things are getting dicey in Iran

Things are so worrisome in Iran right now that even President Barack Obama is talking about the contested election results. The president would normally remain silent, and let our diplomats do the talking. But Obama's comments Monday shows just how bad the situation really is in Iran.

The president said it's up to Iran to determine its own leaders, accoding to the Associated Press. (That's diplomatic talk). But he also said he’s troubled by the situation in Iran and that it would be wrong to stay silent. (That's not diplomatic talk).

The president also said any investigation into Iranian election results must not result in bloodshed, according to the AP. (Wow. That's really not diplomatic).

This was Obama's first comments following the disputed election in Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, an outcome that set off protests over election fraud.