we must have struck a nerve somewhere they haven't openly attacked us verbally in a while.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's top leader gave a salty rebuke Friday to U.S. questions over the openness of the presidential contest in the Islamic Republic, telling Washington "the hell with you" after casting his ballot in a race widely criticized in the West as rigged in favor of Tehran's ruling system.
The vote — bringing an end to the eight-year era of the combativePresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — has taken unexpected turns in the past days as reform-minded Iranians surged behind the lone moderate left on the six-candidate ballot.A victory by former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani would be seen as a small setback for Iran's Islamic establishment, but not the type of overwhelming challenge posed four years ago by the reformist Green Movement, which was brutally crushed after mass protests claiming Ahmadinejad's 2009 re-election was the result of systematic fraud in the vote counting.If no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff pitting the two top finishers would take place June 21, so even a strong showing by Rowhani in Friday's voting could be overturned.Rowhani's backers, such as former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — who was blocked from running by Iran's ruling system — have urged reformists and others to cast ballots and abandon plans to boycott the election in protest over years of arrests and pressure.
you have to exercise that right to vote one vote not cast is a sure vote for the opposition. obstruction has become a right wing protcol around the world there is a definite danger that comes with that
Iran's security networks now appear to have blanket control, ranging from swift crackdowns on any public dissent to cybercops blocking opposition Internet websites and social media. Yet other cracks are evident.Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have pummeled the economy by shrinking vital oil sales and leaving the country isolated from international banking systems. New U.S. measures taking effect July 1 further target the country's currency, the rial, which has lost half its foreign exchange value in the past year, driving prices of food and consumer goods sharply higher.Such concerns could have a direct effect on the outcome of the election. Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, is widely viewed as a capable fiscal manager and could draw in votes, since economic affairs are among the direct responsibilities of Iran's president.
interesting to see if democracy wills out and tyranny dies on the steps of the voter polls.
