And Iran... Iran's So Far Away

Last week, Iran held national elections with newcomer Mir Hossein Mousavi taking on incumbent funny man Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad defeated Mousavi amid outcries of scandal and wrongdoing. Critics point to the fact that Mousavi didn't even carry his own home town, and that Ahmadinejad got more votes this time than he did in the last election, despite this being a hotly contested battle. And one prominent website in Iran purports that some 10 million votes were missing national identification numbers.



In the days since the election, Mousavi's supporters, feeling disenfranchised and cheated, have taken to the streets in what seems to be verging on the edge of anarchy. Ahmadinejad claims this is a product of the Western media ginning up trouble as usual. And hell, that could be true. But there certainly seem to be a lot of people in those pictures.



Oh and here's the other thing. These protests are illegal in Iran. It is suspected that as many as 8 people have died in the aftermath of the election. And what's really crazy is that even with 8 dead, the government has not really even begun to crack down on the protests. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the guy who actually runs the country, has for the most part turned a blind eye to the protest while he "reviewed" the election results.



That was until today. In his first public response to days of protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned the protesters to stay off the streets and denied opposition claims that last week’s disputed election was rigged, praising the ballot as an "epic moment that became a historic moment." He went on to say, that the opposition leaders would be "held responsible for chaos."



Hey, good for you, Iran! You showed a glimmer of democratic reform and then let old beardo Khamenei stomp it out. You had a moment to defy the world's perceptions of you and instead crumbled under the weight of your own stereotype. Oh and another thing, Iran. Don't give us a hard time for meddling, ok? If anybody knows a thing or two about religious fanatics stealing elections, it's us, ok?