Columbia Universtiy invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, to speak there yesterday. Mr. Ahmadinejad is a charming fellow who denies the existence of homosexuality in his country (and executes homosexuals), and supports Holocaust-denying freaks. He also denies that Al Qaeda had anything to do with Sept. 11. There is just a mass of riches to snark on here that I'm flash frozen in place. Columbia University president Lee Bollinger, perhaps responsing to criticism for having the Iranian president speak, called his ass out in his introduction.
But his first stab was at Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, who said in his introduction of Ahmadinejad: "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."Ahmadinejad said Bollinger's opening was "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."
Ahmadinejad is an engineer, by the way, who says he supports science and reason.
sasha says:
How can he execute something that does not exist.
Darth Paul says:
He's every bit as idiotic and deluded as George Bush. I say we put them both in a rocket and fly it to the center of the sun.
sasha says:
How can he execute something that does not exist.
Herman B says:
with so much propaganda coming from our own government against the people of the united states. whom do you really trust to tell you the truth?
when the answers are to difficult to understand, chances are it's all a lie. but when you take comfort in the truth, social change is imminent
green cardigan says:
They don't have the 'phenomenum' of homosexuality in Iran, and women are 'valued' as long as they are covered from head to toe, walk behind their husbands and look at the ground.
What an enlightened man.
Emmalee says:
Not to defend the man, but it is highly disrespectful to invite ANYONE to speak, just so you can ridicule them on stage in your introduction, no matter who they are.
T-Bone says:
Ahmadinejad is an anti-Israel, anti-western dictator. Bollinger is right.
green cardigan says:
Emmalee - that's true. Imagine if George Bush was invited to speak at a university and the Uni head said in his introduction "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."
It wouldn't go down well, I'd imagine.
T-Bone says:
Interesting article on this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR2007092401318.html
nona says:
yeah, and monkeyboy claims to be a disciple of christ with a direct line to god. not to mention that 'christian conservative' bullshit. and monkeyboy and his minions continue to imply that iran was complicit in 9/11.
nutbags come in all nationalities.
Emmalee says:
Green Cardigan- LOL I agree 100%. However, you would not hear a peep of disagreement from me on that one!!
Interloper says:
It amuses me that here in the U.S. you can be refused admission if you have a previous drug conviction or they don't like your story about why you're here, or if you don't have enough money on your person, or because you answer a question wrong on a visa waiver form, yet there's this guy who speaks out daily about his desire to treat women as second class citizens, who has a dubious past, who wants to wipe out the entire Jewish race, who is very vocal in his hatred for the United States and we not only ferry him in, we use millions of tax payers' dollars to provide him security and accommodation etc. so he can say these things on American soil. I mean you can't deny it, that's funny. And stupid.
Brenda says:
Freedom of Speech is dead in America
Bush goes to Iraq and gives out 'speechs' but that's ok. As soon as a someone else comes from a Country that Bush would love to Invade it's all portraid in a bad light...please.
Everyone is entitle to their opinions, including the President of Iran. I see no difference in him and your dictator of a President in the States.
A Canadian...
TS says:
Emilee and Green Cardigan: Agreed. Don't invite people to speak just to insult them. Though I suspect Ahmedenijad has dealt with worse.
Sheila says:
Ahmadinejad is not a dictator, he was elected. Watching his speeches, no wonder Bush won't debate with him, since he would talk circles around Bush and make him look like a total dumbass. I think it's ridiculous to invite someone to speak just so you can pursue your own agenda and insult the hell out of them.
melissa says:
Oh Poor Mr President of Iran. What the hell is wrong with you people this is sooooo Black and White. He is an Evil person that wants all the Jews dead! Don't you people get it!!!! If Hitler were alive today you would be defending him.
T-Bone says:
I'm with you, Melissa.
And, Ahmadinejad WAS given an opportunity to speak. He spoke, did he not? And Bollinger spoke as well, so fair is fair. Just because they invited the fool doesn't mean they can't oppose his views.
And some of you are going to be eating your words when you discover what this dictator is doing in his own country.
ugh says:
He should have never been allowed in the states, and had it not been for the UN being located in NYC, he'd not been here. What a low-life sorry ass piece of crap.
Jane says:
How many countries has Iran invaded in the last 50 years? How many has Israel and the U.S.?
How many bombs have the Iranian military dropped on children? How many bombs have been dropped on children by the the militaries of Israel and the U.S.?
How much foreign territory is currently being occupied by Iran? How much foreign territory is currently being occupied by Israel and the U.S.
Worst person on Earth, indeed!
Y'know, I come to this site to read silly hatchet jobs on celebrities -- not silly hatchet jobs on political figures that are part of a effort to get us into yet another TOTALLY UNNECESSARY war!
Jrez says:
"How many countries has Iran invaded in the last 50 years?"
Uh, Iraq? Remember?
LOL! I love how people are so instantly knee-jerk anti-american that they don't bother learning any history.
PS: Clinton killed plenty of people via enforcement of the "no-fly" zone in Iraq and by bombing the shit out of Serbia... Did you protest then?
Jane says:
The war began when Iraq invaded Iran on 22 September 1980....
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-iraq_war
The real anti-Americans these days are the people -- Republicans OR Democrats -- who think American money and lives should be spent on parts of the world other than America.
Xicana says:
Jrez-Iran invaded Iraq? Must of missed that one...
You're probably thinking of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980. It was Iraq who attacked Iran. Not the other way around. And it's really not anti-American to point out the fact that Iran has not invaded another country in any recent history. It's simply that persky little thing called history that you urge others to learn. Maybe you should take your own advice.
War Sucks says:
Please stop perpetuating this madness! The lunatic neocons are propping all of this up for another one of their insane wars and everyone is just eating it up with a spoon. Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war.
PLEASE STOP! Read this:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18453.htm
No winners in this says:
Who is Ahmadinejad? You might want to educate yourself. This is from a countryman who knows a bit more about it.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/09/who_is_mahmoud_ahmadinejad.html