06-16-2009, 06:23 PM

The whole world is proud of you guys! Fight for your freedom!! Don't give up until Ahmadinejad is out! RIP to everyone who has perished fighting for their their rights!

YouTube - Thousands protest riot - fake elections tehran iran - voter fraud - fight for freedom 6-13-09 PEACE

06-16-2009, 06:27 PM

I've been following some updates from folks inside Iran via Twitter posts, that has been incredibly interesting and eye opening. Finally found a use for Twitter

06-16-2009, 06:30 PM

yeah same here! I joined twitter 3 months ago and yesterday was the only time i actually needed it for something...thanks CNN...you are useless!!!

06-16-2009, 08:31 PM

This will be an interesting thread...

06-16-2009, 09:01 PM

Isn't the president relatively powerless in a theocracy like Iran?

06-16-2009, 10:23 PM

I don't think he's that powerless. Otherwise, they wouldn't be protesting.

06-16-2009, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by fleurya

Isn't the president relatively powerless in a theocracy like Iran?

Relatively, yes. The main areas of control that the President does have is over the economy and Iran's world image. Mousavi supporters are angry with Ahmadinejad's handling of the economy (double digit inflation despite abundant natural resources), and the hostile image of Iran that he's fostered. Stuff like nuclear policy and the military remain in the hands of the Ayatollah, however.

06-17-2009, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by Kash

Relatively, yes. The main areas of control that the President does have is over the economy and Iran's world image. Mousavi supporters are angry with Ahmadinejad's handling of the economy (double digit inflation despite abundant natural resources), and the hostile image of Iran that he's fostered. Stuff like nuclear policy and the military remain in the hands of the Ayatollah, however.

But the president could try and talk sense into them or enact change. Actually, that's the people's responsibility. There's only how many ruling "politicians" and how many citizens in Iran? They're slightly outnumber.

Anyways, this is politics, it's bound to go South.

06-17-2009, 10:17 AM

Political discussion doesn't always have to go south but usually does. I would like to say that most people will keep their cool and being rational and polite contributors to this thread but I doubt it. I can see Godwin's Law popping it's head up here.

That said, I don't think too many people are going to disagree with protests about the rights of individuals to decide who their democratically elected leader should be. I could be wrong though. With that, I'm likely going to leave this one alone. Enjoy.

06-17-2009, 11:01 AM

I love politics!

06-17-2009, 11:29 AM

FYI... though they hold elections for some positions, Iran does not have a democratically elected leader. Iran is an Islamic Republic led by a Supreme Leader. For that matter, the U.S.A. is not a democracy either but rather, a Republic which is not officially intended to be aligned with a particular religious sect.

06-17-2009, 11:40 AM

Of course the USA is a democracy

06-17-2009, 12:17 PM

To be fair though, the council in charge of overseeing the supreme leader is democratically elected much like Parliament is democratically elected to oversee the actions of the Prime Minister (and the governing party) here in Canada. To be fair to your point though, the list of candidates is screened by the government.

See here for more info.

06-17-2009, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by bungy

Of course the USA is a democracy

It's more semantic than anything, but you could describe the US as a representative democracy, as opposed to a direct democracy. But it's worth noting that word republic is used to describe the US in the Pledge of Allegiance and the constitution. I always think of a republic as a nation ruled indirectly by its citizens, through elected officials for example.

06-17-2009, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by fleurya

It's more semantic than anything...

Indeed it is. Democracy is more of an umbrella term, catching quite a few styles of governments with it. Canada is a parliamentary democracy/federation, the United States is a "Constitution-based federal republic", the United Kingdom is a "constitutional monarchy" and Russia is a federation but they are all democratic in the sense that each individual (if they meet particular criteria such as age and citizenship rules) have a right to determine the individuals who constitute the government.