HIGH TIMES
By Kari Milchman
The New York Times has been added to Iran’s Internet black list and Reporters Without Borders, an international organization devoted to freedom of the press, fears for the country’s future. YouTube has also been banned, as was the English version of Wikipedia from Dec. 1 to 3 of this year. At the end of October, Tehran enforced a ban on fast Internet connections above 128 kilobits per second—perhaps they figured few would sit through dial up just to see lonelygirl15. The British daily The Guardian quoted Iranian officials as saying that the prohibition was implemented to prevent the “undermining [of] Islamic culture among the younger generation,” which is totally understandable; after all, the whole respect your elders thing has been difficult since those Flash videos of a dancing Bush started popping up all over the Web.