Iran Closes Down 2 Opposition Newspapers

[ECH1969]

Iran closed down two opposition newspapers on Monday, one of which had recently poked fun at hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the way his government has handled nuclear talks with the West.

The rights group Reporters Without Borders voiced concern last week about harassment of Iranian journalists, including prison sentences and interrogations. Ahmadinejad has purged dozens of journalists, university professors and government officials seen as supporting warmer ties with the West.

Iran's most prominent reformist daily, Shargh, or East, ran a cartoon Thursday depicting a horse and donkey facing each other on a chess board. The donkey -- a symbol of ignorance in Iranian culture -- has his mouth open and light around him, while the horse shows no emotion. Iranian judiciary officials apparently took the donkey to represent Iran in nuclear negotiations with the West, journalists said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iran-newspapers-closed,1,4438493.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[BOSSHOG]

1. Exactly what "christians" would do in this country

If a paper prints the truth and pisses of a radical "christian" cleric then that paper should be shut down. That, my fellow citizens is part of the essence about their blathering on that there is no such thing as separation of church and state.

Let me offer a solution. There will be no separation of church and state in this country. The official state religion (because there is no separation of church and state) will be Islam. No other religion will be tolerated in this country.

Ignorant morons who call themselves "christians" have no concept of freedom or constitutional liberties.

Our country is not a christian country it is a free country and those who want it to be a christian country are enemies of freedom.

[stepnw1f]

4. They Already Do....

they buy up everything they can in the media to own and control it's message. They have been doing so for years.

[democratic]

2. No surprises

here. This while the President has given premission for that lying, deceptive Khatami to tour the US. His stay should be called '8 years of deceiving the Iranian people and the entire world'. What's interesting is he continues to lie over and over again, but people fall for his cunning garbage all the time. While President over 100 newspapers were shut, tens of thousands of pro-democracy students jailed, tortured and murdered.

[stepnw1f]

3. Sounds Like the Right Wing and Bush

Man the parallels of both authoritarians is astonishing!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. I bet bush is very proud of them

They're beginning to look like his mini-me.

[Tempest]

6. Just like Iraq did

November 24, 2003

The U.S.-appointed government raided the offices of Al-Arabiya television on Monday, banned its
broadcasts from Iraq and threatened to imprison its journalists.

----------------

Another station was forced to close the week before last.

[bamacrat]

7. Sounds like Bitches next move.

oh but wait, every national newspaper in Amrrka is owned by those shits that run this "country".

[samsingh]

8. they're following in our footsteps.