Six questions about parasites

The story of interference is not about yesterday or the day before yesterday; ever since satellite dishes were installed on the roofs and balconies of Iranian homes, the issue of interference has been a topic of discussion, and with the two London-based networks and their continued activity, it has become more prominent in the news and reports. However, at least what is seen and heard today has its roots in the serious efforts of the 11th government to address this issue.

It was Sunday, December 29, 2014, at the Chamber of Commerce's business breakfast; Mahmoud Vaezi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, among bites of bread, cheese, butter, and honey, announced news that many are still waiting for, that with the results, they will be blessed with a sweet taste like honey. The Minister informed four members of the cabinet of the President's special order regarding the investigation of interference waves and their dangers and threats to the health of citizens.

Tomorrow morning (December 1, 2014), a full-length photo of four cabinet members appeared on the front page of the Dolat newspaper, announcing a mission that had the order of the head of government behind it: Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mahmoud Vaezi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Seyyed Hassan Hashemi, Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, and Hossein Dehghan, Minister of Defense.

Let me say here that this order, this case, and this article do not deny the illegality of using satellites as approved by the parliament, nor do they deny the duty of the law enforcement forces to deal with and collect. But what should be done with this statement: "Now that collecting has not yielded the desired results and citizens, even though they are using satellites illegally, must pay the price for it with dangerous interference waves?!"

In tracing the origins of Dr. Rouhani's special order, two points were clear: first, that the government is not involved in sending the waves and is perhaps opposed to this event, and second, that we should not be ignorant of the background such as the warnings of Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of the Environmental Organization, and the warnings of health-related institutions about the increasing prevalence of cancer, the birth of defective babies, and the increasing headaches and migraines among citizens.

That order, that file, that news, and those photos on the cover of December 14, 14 remained in December 14, 14, and there was no news until the last month or two, when videos of Shiraz residents gathering in front of the Fars governor's office to protest against the jamming swept through mobile social networks, and comments from officials brought these waves to the news.

The most prominent comment, most recently, was made by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology during a trip to Bushehr province and in Bandar Genaveh (Tuesday, February 3, 2016), where he said regarding people's concerns about transmitting interference: "Studies have been conducted in this area and the results have been announced to the President. Also, a committee consisting of this ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization has been activated to monitor the presence of interference."

These statements were no different from what he had said 26 months earlier, except for one difference: “We assure the people that we will try to ensure that there is no interference anywhere in the country that exceeds the permitted level and endangers people’s health.” And of course, the message was conveyed to the people that the government still does not agree with interference and is even unable to prevent its transmission, and its power has reached the point where it controls its “limit,” not its presence or absence.

Now we are faced with two situations: first, the dishes are on the rooftops, albeit illegally, and second, the waves are in the air, albeit invisible and unofficial.

Parasitism can perhaps be seen from a similar angle to the filtering of some sites, which is also very good. In many countries that claim to be free, there are filters and audits; especially filters that prevent children and teenagers from accessing immoral sites.

Now that there are both dishes and interference, a few questions:

First) Why is the interference only during limited hours and not during the repetition of the same programs that had interference last night?! That is, there is a problem at certain hours and not at other hours?!

Second) Why does the interference only target the TV antenna, and the same programs, even at the same hours, can be viewed on the same networks' mobile apps, without filters?! That means there is a problem with watching on TV, but there is no problem with watching on a mobile phone?!

Third) Why is the jamming only for certain networks and does it not include networks that have similar content that is hostile to our system and territorial and value interests?!

Fourth) Why doesn't the Parasite include networks whose series target the foundations of morality, family, and people's religion and faith?! Don't we have a few divorce and infidelity cases in the judiciary, where the statements of the couples indicate the destructive impact of the vulgar content of those series and programs on their relationships and lives?!

Fifth) Why does interference only affect some cities and their residents, and there is no interference in small towns?! That is, is it problematic for residents of Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz to watch those programs, but not for residents of small towns?!

Sixth) Is the budget allocated for transmitting jamming equal to the budget allocated for the health of citizens to compensate for the destructive threats posed by those affected by the jamming?! I have seen, for example, that airport employees are given milk quotas to compensate for the harms of breathing the toxic air at airports due to the impact of aircraft fuel.

There are many questions and few answers. People have hopes for a government of wisdom and hope. No one is satisfied with lawlessness, just as no one is satisfied with the destruction of their own thoughts and morals and those of their family. So we hope for a wisdom that brings these two propositions together.

Source: Chekhabar