Some good news from Iran

[Yerdaddy]

<p>Hopefully this is a sign that in the next elections we can change his name to Ahmnotgonnaworkhereanymore. </p><p><strong><font size="5"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/17/AR2006121700772.html" target="_blank">Results in Iranian Vote Seen as Setback for Ahmadinejad</a></font><br /></font></strong></p><p><font size="-1">By Edmund Blair<br />Reuters<br />Monday, December 18, 2006; A19<br /></font></p><p>TEHRAN, Dec 17 -- Allies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad failed to dominate elections for a powerful Iranian clerical body and local councils, according to early results Sunday, in what analysts said was a setback to the hard-line leader's standing.</p><p>Friday's elections for the clerical Assembly of Experts and for local councils, the first nationwide vote since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, will not directly impact policy.</p><p>But turnout of about 60 percent and Ahmadinejad's close identification with some candidates, particularly in Tehran, suggested a voter shift toward more moderate policies and away from the president's often-confrontational positions.</p><p>Although Ahmadinejad is not <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iran.html?nav=el">Iran's</a> most powerful figure, his anti-Western and anti-<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/israel.html?nav=el">Israel</a> statements have alarmed Western leaders who fear that Iran is building a secret nuclear weapons capability.</p><p>&quot;The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support . . . moderate figures,&quot; the independent daily newspaper Kargozaran said in an editorial.</p><p>Kargozaran is close to former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate cleric who was leading the count in Tehran for the Assembly of Experts, according to state-run media. Rafsanjani lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential race.</p><p></p>

[A.J.]

Is he going to fire Rumsfeld too?

[furie]

elections for a powerful Iranian clerical body


see, that's a problem

[EliSnow]

<p><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">I also read recently that some students interrupted a speech by the Iranian President with chants like &quot;Down with the dictator!&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; Showing that he has taken some spin classes, the president said that the students were talking about Bush.&nbsp; </font></p><p><font face="Arial" size="3">But it is&nbsp;a sign that there is a more moderate group of Iranians, who aren't happy with their President.</font></p>

[FUNKMAN]

the <font size="2" color="#0000ff"><strong>Ahmadinejadisms</strong> <font size="1" color="#000000">book is coming out next week</font></font>

[ChrisTheCop]

<p>He later stated, &quot;I hereby claim these elections to be my personal Holocaust... </p><p>They never happened. Do-over.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

[Earlshog]

<p>for all the differences between the US and Iran we have one constant $$$$$ if the economy is not doing well the man in charge gets the boot... </p>

[TheMojoPin]

The fact that Iran has an incredibly large segment of its population that's very young (between 15-40) and very westernized (relative to many of the other countries in the region) is something that's been tossed out for a while now as an argument against the so-called &quot;urgent&quot; need for military action against Iran.&nbsp; The segment of the population controling the government is definitely in a minority now and attempting to cling to power as much as they can, a la the white South African government.&nbsp; Iran is on the cusp of a classic &quot;velvet revolution&quot; (so sextacular) easily within the next 5-10 years.

[A.J.]

<p>What Mojo said.</p><p>To a lesser extent, I saw some of the same thing in Saudi Arabia.&nbsp; They too have a large population of kids/young adults -- most of whom are exposed to the west through satellite TV and the Internet.&nbsp; They're getting sick of a stodgy society with nothing for them to do economically or socially.</p><p>This is why we should be engaging countries like Iran, Cuba and Syria instead of shunning them.&nbsp; Give the kids a taste of our crappy movies and Western lifestyle!&nbsp; Don't cost nuthin'.</p>

[TheMojoPin]

It's ultimately what brought down the Soviet bloc.&nbsp; Our annoying and semi-retarded pop culture is inescapable and addictive.

[scottinnj]

<strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br />It's ultimately what brought down the Soviet bloc.&nbsp; Our annoying and semi-retarded pop culture is inescapable and addictive. <p>Please may I.....</p><p>Thank you.</p><p>&quot;We'll Bomb 'em with Britney till they drop to their knees in surrender!&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>