Iran bans Western music, page 1

Ruling takes country back to Khomeini days

I don't know how many of you saw it, but there was a great article in The New Yorker a few weeks back about the failures of the progressive movement in Iran since the election.

Some youths in Iran have embraced hip hop and rap music. They identify with the underdog angle in a lot of the songs, as well as much of the anger at authority.

I'm looking for Iran to shut down satellite television soon, too. A lot of Iranians have them and use them to watch western movies.

It should be interesting to see how this government handles Iran's play in the World Cup next year. In the past, success by the Iranian team has led to mass public displays of exhilaration. Men and women celebrated together on the streets, upsetting some of the hardliners. But, they couldn't stop them.

Not only were there just too many revelers, but some on the police force were celebrating the victory, too. If they were to have a good showing or even win just one big game, it should be interesting to see how the people react and how this Ahmadinejad reacts to them.

I once again feel so badly for the people of Iran. A lot of the progressive types didn't vote in the last election as a form of protest, shooting themselves in the foot to allow this creep Ahmadinejad to win. Now, a country which had been gradually shifting toward more freedoms is being yanked back to a hardline theocracy. The average Iranian citizen deserves better.