Bumped, with updates.
How’s that working for you?
“This could serve as a vehicle for dialogue between the U.S. and Iran,” said Faiza Ali, speaking for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Chancellors of six Iranian universities and academic centers on Tuesday expressed indignation at aggressive tone and degrading behavior of head of Columbia University Lee Bollinger in hosting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
They forwarded a protest letter to Bollinger to voice outrage at his ignorance of the principle of hosting the president of Iran, a country of great civilization and a 7,000-year history.
“It is a shame for an academic center that such hateful and impolite words are uttered by its president. It is regretful that the media owners easily elicit what they want the president of a reputable university to say in his lecture,” they said in the letter.
“Your statement about Iran was full of undocumented charges brought by the media and some of which were the outcome of misunderstanding which needs dialogue and closer study,” it said.
Just like the holocaust!
Properly chastized, Ahmadinejad declares that “the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed,” asserting that his government would disregard calls by “arrogant powers” to end its uranium enrichment.” .. while… “The Columbia speech brought him derision in many Western circles, but it apparently delighted audiences back in his country, who have come to depend on the Iranian leader to deliver his fiery anti-American sentiments.”
Update – It’s Ahmadinejad Week at Cox & Forkum!
The American Left responds: Ahmadinejad ‘sounds entirely too reasonable’
“Chancellors of six Iranian universities and academic centers…expressed indignation…yadda yadda yadda.”
…man the stuff is piling high. Guess we should be happy they ‘expressed’ indignation rather than ‘exploded’ it…
Isn’t that lovely. The Columbia visit is apparantly being used as a precurser for Iran to “close the nuclear debate.”
Hmmm, I could have sworn Ahmadinwhatever was going to Columbia in a bona fide effort to participate in an open forum for the purpose of expressing ideas,
this whole “using the American visit for ulterior propoganda motives” comes as such a surprise.
It was rude and embarrassing. Everything he said could have been said with tact and class. Instead he came across like hippie who just had his bong stolen. ‘Not cool man. Not cool.’
There was an opportunity to put difficult questions to this guy and let him hang himself with his absurd nonsense like “we don’t got no gays”, which just begs the follow-up question, “why has your country killed so many of them?”
But instead we’ve got youtube video of the university president making just as big a fool of himself, the media as well, and somehow, making this nutjob president look good in comparison.
How bad do you have to f’up to make this guy look like the only guy in the room with class? It’s infuriating.
Arthur,
You thought Ahmdeadinajihad looked like he had class?
If he thought that was insulting then he really is living in a bubble. That was a mild dressing down which he could have answered.
Who cares if there was a follow up question, I think the statement that women have rights and that there are no gays in Iran spoke for themselves. And it about summarizes what you should believe about the “we dont seek the bomb” statement.
He has been measured and evaluated in a forum he sought. We dont need to hear from him again, and no apologies are necessary, he was treated just fine, way better than the guests that have been in Iran that have been arrested, like Ms Kazemei….
A was in over his head, thinking he would be treated like a king as opposed to having to answer tough questions (something he isnt used to)
I can only imagine what students who disagree with A face in his classes….well rouzbeh, your essay was well written but I cant agree with your conclusions….a D on your paper and 10 years in prison for disagreeing with me.
Academics…………freeking geniuses can’t figure out they’re propaganda tools!
This is what passes for leadership in Liberal circles.
It’s interesting that the Iranians try to wrap themselves in the mantle of Persian civilization. If the present regime were transplanted to the time of Xerxes I, they’d have everybody executed as idolaters and infidels.
Perhaps Dr Ahamadinejad should explain why Iran has turned away over 50 IAEA inspectors over the years.
If he believes that the nuclear issue is ‘closed’ then he is about to be introduced to super high temperatures in the neighbourhood of 10-100 million degrees.
No one in the rest of the world is going to go down that road without some profound consequences.
Suicidal self deception is usually bad for your nation. Just ask Adolf!
Unfortunately, Dr. Ahmadinejad has some difficulty accepting historical facts, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
In the end it will be his undoing.
I can only suggest that he check his ‘irrefutable calculations’. Politics is not an abstract science.
Cheers
You would think that with the obviously absurd answers he gave(i.e. Iran has no homos) students would realize the truth about Iran and islamists.
But I doubt it!!
“…a country of great civilization and a 7,000-year history.”
The fact is Islam acknowledges, nor tolerates any civilization before Islam takes control. In other words, there was nothing in that part of the world prior to Islamification. Most of Persia’s history was destroyed.
The sentence should accurately read:
…a country of retrograde civilization and a 1000-year history.
Ahmadinejad on 60 minutes:
“I’m a Muslim. I cannot tell a lie.”
Ahmadinejad at Columbia:
“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”
Iran is using nuclear arms as cover for their support of terrorism. That’s my new theory. Iran’s leadership knows they will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, but it’s a useful ruse to cover their support of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq and Afghan insurgencies, and likely AQ (along with Syria). BTW, spare me the “where’s the proof” crap. This is not a court of law where doubt beyond a reasonable doubt is required. The Holocaust was fully documented by the Germans, yet Imamadmanjihad still insists there is doubt. The proponderance of evidence is clear here, Iran supports Islamist terror in their attempt to be the hegemonic power in the ME, and the Holocaust really did happen.
Arthur A – Bollinger is a big fool. Anyone with commonsense could have predicted the outcome of this absolutely gratuitous, attention grabbing invitation to Ahmdeadinajihad. Did you notice that the fools put up a black backdrop behind him rather then Columbia’s standard blue “World Leaders Forum” backdrop with their name all over it. The weasels were on defensive from the beginning.
Bollinger did his tough guy performance only after being hit between the eyes with the huge volley of public indignation that he brought upon himself. Otherwise, like every other little lefty academic weasel he would have sat demurely while Ahmdeadinajihad spewed his Naziesque garbage as he and his ilk have done with every “controversial” vileness spewing freak that has been invited to grace that campus for years.
Hofstra University’s Law School has invited convicted felon, pro-terrorist Lynne Stewart to an Ethics Forum, how sick is that. Yale only dropped their Taliban scholarship student after it created an outrage. The morally challenged mindless lefties that won the 60’s cultural war entrenched on our campuses aren’t rehabilitable. Thanks to the internet they have nowhere to hide anymore.
Well said Penny. Bollinger was doing nothing more than CYA.
Syncro
“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”
Now that sounds like an invitation doesn’t it?
Now that sounds like an invitation doesn’t it?
Great idea! Now where do all the homosexuals in the US and Canada sign up to become “human shields?”
The Iranian disident who should have debated Ahmadinejad at Columbia, on ahmadinejad’s mindset and sole objective:
americanthinker.com/2007/09/who_is_mahmoud_ahmadinejad.html
For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to document the fact that Ahmadinejad is not mentally disturbed; there is no display of contradictory thoughts and behavior. There is a full internal consistency in Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad’s words, deeds and beliefs show a fully hinged person.
Below are a few examples of his sayings, beliefs and actions. Whether one agrees or disagrees with them, they all fit perfectly into a consistent pattern.
_ He literally believes in the imminent emergence of the Mahdi – the Shiites’ promised one who is expected to appear to set aright a decadent and wretched world.
_ He views himself as the vassal of Mahdi, working for him and being accountable to him.
_ His main task is to prepare the world so to hasten the Mahdi’s coming. If this preparation requires much destruction and bloodshed, so be it.
_ As a former mayor of Tehran, he developed elaborate detailed plans preparing the city for the arrival of the Mahdi.
_ He allocated generous sums for extensive road improvement to a mosque at Jamkaaraan near the city of Qum where it is believed the promised Mahdi is hiding in a well since the age of nine, over 1100 years ago.
_ He reportedly visits the well frequently and drops his written supplications into the well for the hidden Mahdi to act upon them.
_ He has said in private that it was he who asked the Mahdi to inflict the massive stroke on Ariel Sharon.
_ He sees the Jews as the sworn enemies of Islam. The hostility dates back to the time of Muhammad’s own treatment of the Jews in Medina. At first, expediently, Muhammad called the Jews “people of the book,” and accorded them a measure of tolerance until he gained enough power to unleash his devastating wrath on them.
_ He says that the Holocaust is a myth. He is, in this respect, in good company with a number of other revisionist fanatics.
_ In his speech at the UN general assembly, he implored the Mahdi to come and save the world. He claimed that during his speech of some twenty odd minutes, a powerful light enveloped him and all participants were held transfixed, unable to move their eyes.
_ He believes that the earth is Allah’s and all people must either become believers of his brand of Islam or must perish as infidels najis (unclean) who by their very presence defile Allah’s earth.
_ He believes that this earthly life is passing and worthless in comparison to the afterlife awaiting a devoted and faithful believer. Hence, he holds to the old belief that if a faithful kills an infidel, he goes to Allah’s paradise; and, if the faithful gets killed in the process of serving the faith, again he goes to Allah’s paradise. Hence, it is a win-win proposition for the faithful.
He knows who he is, what he believes, and what his own mission in life is: serving as the instrument for the revered Mahdi. Allah will make him emerge from the well as soon as the world’s conditions hit absolute hopeless bottom. Ahmadinejad sees himself as a driver who can play a critical role in doing just that, driving the world to the very bottom. And he plans on having an arsenal of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.
There is nothing really “unhinged” about Ahamadinejad’s thinking, statements and actions. They are internally consistent. He is simply a fanatic who is wedded to an extremely dangerous exclusionary system of belief. Humanity must learn that dismissing him as alunatic will result in great suffering, as it did with Hitler.
Tragically, Ahmadinejad is the embodiment of several million people who are hinged exactly like him and who are willing to give their lives, and take with them as many lives as required in the service of their belief. In this age of Weapons of Mass Destruction a man with huge sums of petrodollars can serve as the catalyst of total annihilation.
Prudence would err on the side of being an alarmist than a complacent dismissive.
Ahmadinejad and his ilk are not interested in any negotiation, any compromise or any live-and-let-live final solution. They are determined to be the soldiers of Mahdi come-what-may. They have no problem with the total destruction of the world. They are headed for a life of eternal bliss in Allah’s paradise. They hardly care, even rejoice, if the rest of humanity is subjected to a tragic death in the nuclear, biological and chemical wasteland of planet earth.
Humanity cannot afford and must not ignore the emergence of the final threat to its very existence on this planet.
Amil Imani is an Iranian-born American citizen and pro-democracy activist residing in the United States of America. He maintains a website at Amil Imani
———————————
If the above is true, there seems to be a simple solution. Bomb the well.
There are soooooooo many points that have been missed here!!! In any event, if anyone OR anything is going to stop (or change) Mahmoud’s plans,, obviously, it won’t be diplomacy!! Roll out the tanks!!!!
The president of Columbia acted with disgrace and brought dishonour to the presidency of Columbia University.
He should either have had someone else make the introduction or shown some respect for a visiting dignitary.
Any Columbia alumni should reconsider any further funding to their alma mater until the president acts with contrition and asks forgiveness of the Iranian president.
Yes, very well said penny!
My story: looks like 40+ year friendship has ended. Here’s how: dude asked me to watch the Bollinger speech. I said I’d pass — that Bollinger was a useful idiot. Dude was extremely angry — said it confirmed his opinion that I was closed-minded.
NOW: Bollinger (for the reason penny states) has beat up on Ahmadinejad. I’ve been beating up on A’jad (as well as the evil Saudi Royal Family, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islam) over a 3-year e-mail correspondence and have expressed my bewilderment at dude’s refusal to be alarmed about A’jad — who has promised the destruction of Israel — getting the nuke. I was a racist.
THEN IT HIM ME. Dude is probably secretly pleased that Bollinger has invited a guest speaker and done the most uncivil thing you can imagine: viciously insulted said guest before the whole wide world, raising (as per John Podhoretz’s observation at The Corner) the spectre of the Ugly American. It should go without saying that’s it’s better to NOT invite a guest than to insult a invited guest!
BRILLIANT. Oh, it so hurts to hear their laughter. Migawd, what mirth the mullahs most be enjoying.
The Columbia University President was wrong twice: first to invite this truly appalling man, and then to insult his own guest. It is not possible to give him any positive marks for any of this.
Not a smart move to invite him to begin with anyways. But what do you expect when people are quick to invite someone over ‘free speech’ so they can hear how much someone hates Bush and America and all that wonderful drivel?
On a side note, is anyone surprised he didn’t name drop Noam Chomsky? I mean, Hugo Chavez did it. Osama Bin Laden did it. Why couldn’t Ahmandinejad? The far-left anti-war hippies in the crowd would’ve orgasmed.
… A little much in that last sentence, mm?
visiting dignitary
You mean like Pol Pot, Joesf Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, those kind of murdering digintaries?
Or did you mean like George W. Bush kind of dignitary?
The only thing that the pedophile worshiping moron deserves is a round in the back of his skull. F!@# Iran, let’s get this air-war going, and going soon. We cannot allow this madman to detonate a nuclear weapon.
One more ditto for Penny’s analysis at 11:58.
Ahmadinejad is merely a kind of figurehead spokesman for the mullahs. Bollinger, in his gratuitous and counterproductive efforts to cover his own backside, gave Ahmadinejad far too much credit. Dictator? Hardly.
Doug: “dignitary” doesn’t mean nice. It just means a high government official. Iran has a government and the dwarf is quite high up!
You know like The Honourable Jean Chretien. Er, that’s Right Honourable, eh? Newfoundland expression meaning “more”.
This has been a stupendously effective propaganda coup.
Please stop showing that picture. I need dry pants here at work!
Thank you for that reference Irwin Daisy.
I agree 100% with your observation/conclusion.
These are extremely dangerous individuals we are dealing with, and indeed the future safety and survival of civilization is threatened by this cult.
Joe Canuck,
Ahmadinejad reminds me even more of Hitler after reading that piece. Hitler, of course, was deluded as well. Into a lot of occult stuff, from which he acquired his concepts of an arian superior race based originally in Thule, the swaztica, ss skull and crossbones, acquiring the spear of destiny for its mystical powers, his devotion to theosophy, etc.
The most dangerous thing the world did at that time was disregard him simply as a nutjob. Nutjob yes, but a meglomaniac who was genocidally determined.
‘David E Toronto’ = albatross, or some other recurring wanker.
Arthur A, is completely wrong. Bollinger came across correctly, his introduction was exactly what should have been said. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a fanatic, true believer, as Irwin Daisy has very eloquently wrote above. He is completely comfortable in his reptilian skin. Regardless of Columbia University having this person speak at their forum, the introduction and his subsequent rambling “religion is science” reply. Further showed him as utterly,and completely dedicated to the destruction of all. As Irwin writes again.
There is nothing really “unhinged” about Ahamadinejad’s thinking, statements and actions. They are internally consistent. He is simply a fanatic who is wedded to an extremely dangerous exclusionary system of belief. Humanity must learn that dismissing him as a lunatic will result in great suffering, as it did with Hitler.
Exactly.
This is rather interesting:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD172707
Re: Mahmoud. Let’s see now. A:He dislikes Americans. B: He isn’t Christian. C: He has certain reservations about homos. D: He spoke at a University. Gotta be one them Commies!. Let’s go get ‘um boys!!!
Personally, I would like to see Bollinger answer those 10 questions by the Scholars from Iran.
You know, kindof like, one Comrade to another Comrade.
,
Watched Glenn Beck last night, he reiterated what has been said here.
Columbia, 60 Minutes or americans in general were NEVER his target audience. Kos can say whatever it wants, he doesn’t give a rats a**. He was given legitimacy by Mr Bollinger, his introduction only exacerbated the situation.
GB also challenged NOW and GLAAD on their lack of response. In typical fashion their silence is deafening. Too busy dealing with important issues like how Rosie is treated differently now that she is an admitted Lesbian or that TV does not reflect the 10% homosexual population or that women are not properly reflected in Corporate America. Never mind that Iran by amiracle of miracles is the only country with 0% population of homosexuals and we ahve yet to see any waoman with any authority speaking on behalf of the regime.
Only reinforces what I have said many times; those on the far right – Fanatics(not in agood sense); on the far left – Hypocrites.
Irwin daisy and Penny – thank-you for your well reasoned comments – and others here too.
I went to Fox News and read the entire speech. I did not read all of Boolinger’s speech but I heard enough of it to be amazed and disgusted. I was incredulous that anyone remained in the room after that egregous introduction. What Boolinger said (in code?) is truly alarming – he stated that Ahmadinejad was a ‘guest’ but he told the audience that the ‘guest’ was a piece of garbage (in the opinion of the ‘host’)! This defies all decency.
The Iranian ‘news’ will not need any ‘spin’ to make hay on that fool Boolinger’s statements. I can write it myself – “United States treats Iranian ‘guests’ like trash (the worst insult possible in the Iranian world!); so we will treat Americans like trash in our country. Americans have no honor and are Godless – eg. they were concerned only about homosexuals and blaming Palestine for the problems in the Middle East – they are racist and hungry for Iranian oil .”
Ahmadinejad looked like the cultured, ‘reasonable man’ in the room!
Even Iranians who oppose the rhetoric of Ahmadinejad will decry the ‘setting up’ of any guest but they will interpret the actions and words of Columbia U. directed at Ahamadinejad ( an official representative from Iran) as an insult to all Iranian people.
Hitler used ‘useful idiots’ in the same manner prior to WWII. Insulting Amadinejad appeared “staged” to me. It was too blatant – did anyone else here have that ‘something is rotten in Denmark’ perception?
Bollinger is simply a fool.
There is nothing else to it.
A fool to make the invitation.
A fool to repeat the invitation.
A fool to set the stage for a SOB like this.
A fool for putting himself on that stage.
Proof positive that an educated fool is still a fool.
I don’t see the point here. Lee Bollinger is the fool? Lee Bollinger is the villian? His introduction defies decency? Sure…that’s what it is. Lets completely forget there was the Holocaust deniers conference in Iran. The ongoing “No Holocaust” comments, or, perhaps the so called Holocaust that may or may not have happened needs study from a different perspective.The calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. The arming of Hizbollah, Hamas and the on going killing of United States and British military in Iraq. The we have no Gay’s in Iran. We don’t have this phenomenon like your country has. What, he has a secret vaccine? and women, women are completely free to do what they want. Oh, ya how about the on going pursuit of nuclear “power” gotta fire up the barbie with that one. Ahmadinejad, appears exactly as he is. A rubbish spewing, jackass fanatic, wearing ill fitting suits in search of nuclear weapons. Being a “Guest” at Columbia University has nothing to do with it. Ahmadinejad and his ilk are the issue, not Bollinger.
I agree with others here, Bollinger really did look like a fool.
When someone asks me for a reference for a job, and I cannot give a good one, I politely decline. I don’t accept and then stab the person.
The whole thing was rather surreal really, but then nothing surprises me any more.
With idiots like Bollinger running the show it’s hard to believe the West will survive the challenges that lie ahead. The forces that want to drag it down, both inside and out, seem to be getting stronger than those that want to keep it alive.
Columbia University’s President made history. He goes down as the first in line for the 21st century “useful idiot” for the theocrats in Iran.
Congratuations, Mr. President, first prize is either a goat of your choice or a wall to be dropped on your head at your convenience.
Jema54 – the measure of Bollinger’s panic stricken mindframe was the total inappropriateness of his pre-emptively denouncing Ahmadinejad with his introduction. Ahmadinejad’s vile comments to come weren’t even a matter of record at that point. It says to me that Bollinger being a craven fool still had a few neurons left to figure out the mess he had put himself in and what was to follow.
This nugget on a MSM news site caught my eye…“Ahmadinejad ended his appearance by accepting Bollinger’s request to allow students and professors from Columbia to visit an Iranian university to discuss free speech”. What in the name of God would be gained by that? I guess the freak still clings to the misplaced idea that dialogue solves everything.
You’ve got to love the continued follies of academic moonbats. Bollinger and his ilk learned nothing from this experience. Nothing. Only Shakespeare could have crafted a comedy as well as this.
So here we are in the late 1930’s of the WOT as decent and intelligent people realizing that we’ve got homegrown idiots that are as life threatening to us as Hitlers’s militarized fascism. I despise the Bollingers more.
Bollinger, the enemy within!!!!
President Mockme Ambeinganutjob is little more than a sock puppet for the mad mullahs of Tehran. I’m sure they picked him because of his religious views and ferver. His presence acts as a lighting rod for the dissadents anger and keeps the mad mullahs out of direct line of fire.
For many years I have been developing a picture of western academe as being a place of intellectual desolation. The actions of Columbia University and its president only bring that picture into sharper focus.
Bollinger was certainly the most useful idiot conceivable for ahmanutjob.
But, interestingly, if you go over his speech, his main talking points mimic those of the democratic party. More interesting, still, is there is no outrage on the part of the dems that one of the world’s biggest sponsors of terrorism parrots their main talking points.
I guess as long as he hates Bush, he can’t be all that bad, eh?
Most ironic of all: these idiotic leftists at Columbia crow about their obeisance to “free speech” in inviting this maniac to speak, while at the same time banning the US military from campus so as not to negatively impact or influence the student body. Nice double standard.
And, too: nobody has seen fit to note that “free speech” isn’t the same as “the right to be heard”. And, if ahmawhaddyawant wants the “right” to free speech in America, how about granting a little of it back home?
mhb23re
at gmail d0t calm
Congressman Duncan Hunter is introducing a bill that would cut federal funding off for Columbia University.
This is a good idea, particularly when you consider that alumni from Columbia have been injured and killed in Iraq. And of course family members of people at Columbia have likewise suffered there.
Tomorrow I will be talking with my Congressman about this, and even if it does not come to pass, I hope Columbia will feel the heat.
There can be no justifiable reason for providing taxpayer funding to an institution that aids and abets an enemy to the United States in a time of war.
Greg
This is exactly why Bollinger came out fighting against Aj. As Penny has more eloquently stated, he needed to cover his ass. Nothing converts a champagne socialist into a beer swilling conservative like the threat of losing his place in the academic aristocracy.
That is an undeniable fact that permeates the hallowed halls of higher thought. The stench of sacrificed principles wafts through the air when personal privilege is on the line.
The only thing more ironic than Aj’s assertion that there are no gay folk in Iran was Bollinger’s request that Penny posted:
“Ahmadinejad ended his appearance by accepting Bollinger’s request to allow students and professors from Columbia to visit an Iranian university to discuss free speech”
The audacity of the academic is only surpassed by the idiocy if the Imam.
Or was it a draw?
Syncro
We don’t need no stinkin faggots here we have central heating…we’re talking about bundles of sticks right?…am I on the wrong durn thread again?
someone off his meds today.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/23/83652/6735
John Gibson had that leftist Jewish lesbian with the crush on Mahmoud, and everything stupid she said is to blamed entirely on “satire”. Every tough question about the policies of the Iranian government vs the Bush administration was answered “Look, you obviously don’t get the satire”.
Ironically it was the most satirical anti-leftist talk radio segment ever.
“Ahmadinejad ended his appearance by accepting Bollinger’s request to allow students and professors from Columbia to visit an Iranian university to discuss free speech”
Whooooeeee!!!
Bollinger sure knows how to step in every cowpie out there. IMO, he and his bevy of moonbat followers should get over to Iran ASAP. There perhaps the radical (and now greatly offended) Iranian elements can ‘detain’ them indefinitely for further ‘exchanges of ideas’. 🙂
I wish people would stop holding up Aj’s comments about there being no gays in Iran as an indicator of character or of the repressive nature of the Iranian regime. Like most Muslim countries they are far behind in matters of gay rights and therefore understanding of homosexuality. As a brit I find some US state laws attaining to homosexuality draconian. We have only just allowed gay marraige in UK.
If you asked Winston Churchill about gay people in the UK circa 1950, he probably would have blushed and denied to even know what one is.
We’re only playing up AJ’s shortcomings because he’s a threat to US hegemony in the region.
Facts are facts regardless of your political ideology
Johnny Miller – did you miss the delicious irony of the situation?