Let's get political for a moment, shall we? Now, if you were in Iran right now, you would probably run pretty far away, too. At least far enough away from the capital, Tehran, where riots and protests have broken out due to the presidential election held on June 12. According to The Boston Globe, this is the largest street protest and riot in Tehran and other cities since the 1979 Iranian Revolution...eep!
Here's the scoop.
So, there is the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was running for reelection against candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi was supported by many young voters because of his reformed views to loosen the country’s restrictions and to improve ties with the United States. Well, Ahmadinejad won the election, and many were not pleased. Nope, not one bit. Supporters of Mousavi are suspicious of fraud and a rigged election and set out to express their frustrations.
So far seven people have been killed while many other protestors have been wounded by baton beatings. You can view some of the pictures of the election and the protests here. They aren't horrific pictures; they are actually really great photographs that document this situation visually for the world to see.
Mousavi has appealed the election results and as of today Iran's Islamic leadership is prepared to conduct a limited recount.
This might be boring to you, but it was just a little break down of what is going on in the world. After working at a newspaper, I took a break from following current events, especially political events, but am slowly trying to get back into it without getting myself bummed out about the world. It's surprising how little knowledge people have about our own political system, let alone other countries. Take this political quiz to see how up-to-date you are on our nation’s office holders and current events. You might be sadly surprised.