Tag: Iran

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Pumps for Trump

Something’s not right when your local, normally reasonably-priced filling station sells gasoline above the statewide average. According to AAA, as of today, the national average gas price per gallon is $4.446. We pay more than any other state, $6.101, which as you can see from the Featured Image is about 10 cents higher. The station is located at El Cajon and Texas on the North Park side of the street. The Arco on the University Heights side of Texas is a dime less per gallon.

As the conflict, let’s call it war, with Iran continues, the long-term consequences are all guesswork, and plenty of pundits try to do just that. I suspect the immediate impact will be diminished in the United States because of domestic energy production and what the Trump administration can siphon off from Venezuela.

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Who Mourns for the Fourth Estate? (Part 2)

June 2009, the future of 21st Century journalism moves with protestors across Iran’s capital. In an area somewhat removed from the commotion, philosophy student Neda Salehi reportedly steps from a car and is soon shot by a sniper. A bystander videos her death and uploads it to YouTube. The moment becomes the rallying point for demonstrators in the country and for spectators from around the globe. It is a seminal moment of change for the news media.

The next night, June 21, I write

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Iran and the Internet Democracy

This week’s turmoil on the streets of Tehran is but a metaphor for another turmoil: How the Internet is tearing down monopolies of power and empowering individuals and smaller groups. The Internet is the new democracy, which can be seen from pictures and videos coming from protests in Iran.

The Iranian protests are capturing the world’s attention in part because of fairly new tools that make it easy for most anyone to be a broadcaster, a real-time journalist. These tools punctuate change sweeping through the news industry and destabilizing others.