Ansari For President

You heard it here first: Anousheh Ansari is the true leader of Persian people. She represents the aspirations of women worldwide. When the history of regime change is written, her influence will be noted. She has advanced the cause of freedom as much as a squadron of B-52's.

Dozens of space travel enthusiasts, most of them women, burst into applause at dawn at an observatory near Tehran as the spacecraft carrying the first Iranian woman to travel into space appeared in the sky.

Anousheh Ansari, who began her journey into space Monday aboard a Soyuz TMA-9 capsule from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, has become an inspiration to women in male-dominated Iran.

The Soyuz spacecraft containing Ansari and Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin docked with the International Space Station on Wed. Sept. 20, two days after launch.

Space enthusiasts gathered Saturday at the Zaferanieh Observatory in Tehran were rapt as they followed the progress of the space station, visible to the naked eye for about two minutes, as it streaked across the sky.

"Anousheh is my hope," said teenager Delageh Dabdeh, watching the spacecraft as tears of joy rolled down her cheek. "She will shine in Iranian history as the woman who broke barriers and succeeded in conquering Space with her endeavour. Ansari has shown Iranian women the road to progress. We only need to believe in ourselves." (AP)

Ansari said she has received many messages from around the world, including Iran, particularly from girls and women. "I want to reach women and girls in remote parts of the world where women are not encouraged to go into science and technology jobs," she said, "They should believe in what they want and pursue it." (NY Times)

In the country where Ansari was born women are forced to wear headscarves, a man can have up to four wives, minorities are suppressed and protesters are jailed without trail. Her adopted country offers the opportunity to get rich, travel in Space and look great at 40. She has a bachelor's degree in EECS, a master's degree in EE, and is getting her next degree in Australia! Which system is right and which is an axis of evil?