New Iranian Revolution

I don't care if you dropped off the face of the earth the last month, you probably have some knowledge of some kind of disturbance going on in the country of Iran. Here's the run-down of what's happening there.

Couple of weeks ago, Iran held a presidential election. The two major candidates were current hardline President (and everyone's favorite Holocaust denier) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and political reformer Mir-Hossein Mousavi. The election was held on June 12th, and Ahmadinejad was declared the winner, and shortly thereafter, massive protests erupted. Most of this you are probably aware of. Now, to be fair, it's entirely possible that Ahmadinejad DID win the election. He is extremely popular in the rural parts of the country, where that whole "I think Jews should be wiped off the face of the earth" campaign slogan is very popular. However, what everyone is upset about is that they're pretty sure that, if he did win, he rigged the election anyway. And considering that several parts of the country had more than 100% voter turnout, and several candidates actually LOST during the counting period, yeah, he definitely rigged the election. Hence the protests. And Iran responded to the protests as everyone thought they would....with bullets. At least 150 people have died, with numerous more arrested. One of those killed was a young woman named Neda Agha-Soltan, an aspiring musician who was shot by pro-Ahmadinejad forces. Graphic cell phone video of her death quickly shot around the world, on sites like YouTube and Twitter. Thousands of been arrested.

The question now is, what happens next? Since the crackdown, there have been fewer public protests. However, Mousavi is calling for a general boycott, similar to what Gandhi did in India in order to gain Indian independence. In addition, we are now hearing that some of the leading Islamic clerics in Iran are siding with the protesters. This is big news, because the religious leaders of Iran have always tried to deliver a united voice. With divisions now appearing in that group, Ahmadinejad is going to have a much harder time trying to hold onto power. Unfortunately, he will not give up power without more bloodshed.