In what some observers are calling an ominous sign for the future of despotism in the middle east, Iran has elected a new President. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a hardliner, so things aren't likely to change much. He claims to want to expand Iran's economy and modernize it, but if you're going to keep stoning adulterers to death in the streets, well, the rest of the world may be a little reluctant to do business with you.

Besides, the real power in Iran lies not with elected officials, but with the wacko mullahs who strictly interpret Islamic law.

In other words, it's kind of similar to the United States in that it's not the elected officials who make the laws, but the religious right.