Will we ever learn? via our brooding friend.

Please note: this is not an accusation. I am not asserting this story is "truth" or "fact." Rather, it is an important cautionary tale, which bears repeating each time our well-intentioned enthusiasms start to get out of hand. It is not an indictment of the enthusiasms but of the carelessness with which they are all too often exercised, or -- to my way of thinking even less forgivable -- of our woefully short attention span.

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{update Feb 27 1:10PM EST} by nadezhda

As one of the prime (and grateful) beneficiaries of the recent "dominant link hierarchy" subversion initiatives, we have many new visitors today for whom this story may be new -- so here's some background.

For sometime we've been following Iran's ever-growing assault on the internet generally, and blogging in particular, as a mode of expression and connection. We have been especially concerned with the fate of Iranian bloggers, and we have tried to showcase efforts to support them.

We were outraged and saddened to learn of the extremely lengthy prison sentence just imposed on one of them, referred to in the story above. How horrid If the severity of the sentence did indeed have much to do with the public disclosure of his identity on the American-funded radio station! And now we learn via Reporters without Bordersthat another Iranian blogger has been convicted.

We've added a Committee to Protect Bloggers sidebar, designed and kindly contributed to the blogosphere by SarahAnne. as an ongoing reminder. The Committee is insisting that it is truly international and will focus on the human rights dimensions, not push the agendas of specific groups or countries. On the broader issues of the future direction of the global information society, this site sponsored by Reporters without Borders is beginning to focus on cyberdissidents and bloggers specifically.

Regardless of your position on "regime change" (how or whether), we ought to be able to join with the work of grassroots organizations like these -- they're trying to make a difference for the individuals who are caught up in the repression of speech and for the principles of open societies and freedom of association everywhere that the blogosphere symbolizes.

Personally, I think the broader issue of blogging as a new means of freedom of association and expression will be, in the long run, far more important as a global social and political trend in the 21st century than any "competition" between blogging and the commercial news media. Just my 2 cents.