The situation now (10am ET)

First off Exams have been cancelled, so don't kid yourself.
Second, you're saying my friends and family fighting for justice in iran are ALL lying and bad people? Are you saying that AN won votes in ALL of the home towns of the other candidates, that he got a LARGER margin than the 2005 election against a stronger and moer famous opponent?

Why don't you open your eyes and LOOK at who you're talking to. We're not all 2 year olds believing everything we hear. Don't TRY and bullshit us. We know what's going on, and an idiot like you with no facts and base will not change that idea. Just leave.

And 39 million votes

hand-written paper ballots, were counted in 12 HOURS.
Except of course, for the additional 14 million which disappeared.

"west media brain washed you....blah blah blah"

No one believes this. I'm sure you and your colleagues know that.

We value sources around here,

If you cannot provide sources for your claims, except other users not to believe you and do not take offense.

Western media is not really even covering this situation. I'm getting my information from the people. From youtube videos. From pictures on flickr. From Twitter. From here. It's called the internet, my friend. There are a million ways of getting information and completely bypassing the big news networks. That is what your government is afraid of. That is why they cut cell phone service. That is why they are trying to keep people from getting on twitter and face book and other social sites. They are trying to stop communication. But the internet is fighting back. In this modern age, a dictatorship becomes harder to maintain because the people cry out for freedom and reach out to a global community that has no borders. This is the revolution.

We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

I honestly could not have said it any better than this. You spared me 15 minutes of ranting.

Long live the green revolution.

It is faith influencing politics again. Theocracies typically have a tough row to hoe. Even democracies like the US have issues with devoutly religious people wanting to get the State involved with (their particular flavor of) Church.

People get passionate about faith-related issues.

Trying valiantly to preserve democracy while appeasing a powerful group of clerics with "missions from God" is NOT easy. The culture clash / political disagreements have reached a boiling point, it seems.

I remember Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1st Muslim leader to officially recognize the State of Israel; very slightly interested in improving women's rights while being rather dismissive of women in general (better than allowing nothing at all, though) but very pro-education for Iranian youth (without adequately providing for increased student body size / needs, which led to high unemployment rates among graduates); had cordial relations with the US which was considered a modernizing / corrupting influence on the Persian citizens, also unpopular for pushing a single party (Rastakhiz) political monopoly) and the strife that erupted in '79, which ended in Pahlavi being overthrown and exiled--the end of a 2,500 year long unbroken (iirc) chain of monarchy.

I do not, however, remember if the turmoil was on the same level as THIS, but it is important to recall that, although passions were high in '79, Iran survived this.

And, of course, we remember Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. (Imam K. would be about 182 years old by now!) We emember the Iran Hostage Crisis, also in '79.

And Iran survived this, too.

One of my close friends is the child of native-born Iranians, but he was born here. They've been here since the drama that occurred during the upheavals following the "Reza Shah" era.

When a country is deeply divided over ideology / religion / politics, transition is rarely peaceful. Tehran sounds like the equivalent of the US' "Blue States," while smaller cities / rural areas may be the equivalent of our "Red Sttes": more conservatve / religious / traditional. There's the only really similar-to-US-politics thing I can point to.

Access to outside influences via the news / Internet furthers the divide but also keeps info flowing; knowledge should be free.

I hope it can all be resolved with no more beatings / bloodshed. It's the average citizens who suffer the most, and deserve it the least, for demanding their freedoms and electoral fair play.

The people should be free to express themselves / have their viotes counted (if they weren't). I have no brilliant ideas to offer that would help Iran achieve that goal, alas, and as a non-historian, non-politician, non-pundit, non-Persian, it's not my place to even offer anything but concern / support for the people.

It is good to know that there are people like you out there who know what's going and what they're talking about.

Although a few questions, are you referring to Khomeini when you said Imam K.? Because I wouldn't call him anything close to an Imam.

Anyways, I have faith that Iran will survive this as well, and come out victorious as a result of a democratic movement for peace, rights, freedom, and justice.

/thread

It's a new day, continue on to the Wed. thread
http://iran.whyweprotest.net/showthread.php?p=1005

Actually, I made some mistakes, but in 1979, I was not even a teenager, and my memory kind of sucks.

Reza was not the guy who was the end of the monarchic line, and my post sort of implied that that was the case. But the 2,500-year-old monarchic line WAS severed at around that time, iirc. (Yes? No? Political science is not my strongest are of study by any means.)

I was making a bad joke with the "Imam K" thing. Sorry. Levity about such things is not really appropriate what with the very serious current events, and, as an outsider, not really my place right now...though I did not make the joke in order to offend anyone.

My friend with Iranian parents says, simply, that the Iranian people want to be heard, and to have the same basic freedoms that many other people get to take for granted.

Honestly, that's all I need to hear. People just want to be heard and understood, and to be autonomous and independent and free. To have your human rights respected: this is such a simple, but very important, wish in life.

I do not think it is the really US government's place to interfere in the political business of Iran. Maybe it is its place, however, as a country which claims to be supportive of basic human rights and freedoms, to help the people affected. I do believe that any US citizen who is moved by the Iranian people's troubles, however, should do what s/he can to extend a hand. Our governments have not always agreed; but if we, as people, met, face to face, we could be friends. If we were close friends offline, and were in need, I would get involved and help. So, as you are all potential online friends, I am concerned for the well-being of the protesters, and want them to be safe.

That goes beyond politics. Politics often divide. Care & concern for the individuals involved brings us together.