July 16, 2008
Columbia Won't Re-Invite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad This Fall
Officials at Columbia University say they will not invite Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on campus this fall. Spokesman Robert Hornsby told the Daily News, "It has not been the practice to have any repeat speakers among those who have already appeared at the university's World Leaders Forum series," but of course, it's unclear whether Ahmedinejad would even accept again, considering Columbia President Lee Bollinger called him a "petty and cruel dictator", which earned Bollinger the #1 "Awkward Moment" for 2007, per Time magazine.
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I still don't understand why he's persona non grata.
Please. Someone explain to me why.
He's never committed an act of war on the US, though we've been harassing their waterways and will continue to with H.Con Res 362.
He's never said that Jews should die, just that Israel is an illegitimate state. Some may feel that to be true as Britain and then the US has supported the Zionist movement. No matter your stance on Israel, that land was forcibly taken. There's no wriggle room in that statement.
They stopped working on a nuclear weapon in 2003, and have legally---through the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty---have used their facilities for energy only.
Any human rights violation is indirectly America's fault. In 1953 an elected leader was overthrown only the have a gestapo like regime implemented which led to the rise of the IRG. So our role in the police state crimes of Iran needs to be mentioned. And a mention of our own secret prisons and Gitmo should be included.
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only to then have a gestapo...
Bad grammah
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Chips really the answer is simple.. the American public needs a villain/scapegoat. We offed Saddam, Bush chose to ignore bin Laden, and Chavez just wasn't cutting it. With this guy, it taps into both the lingering bad feelings from the hostage crisis debacle, as well as anti-muslim/pro-Israel sentiment. And he came along just at the right time. It was kind of a perfect storm.
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And because there are no gays in Iran...
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Mmmm, holding Americans hostage for hundreds of days? Sponsoring terrorism in states like Lebanon and assassinating proponents of political liberalism, (sorry "freedom fighting"). Being an insane Holocaust denier. Acting as the president of a state that denies the existence of gays and condones their torture and murder while limiting the rights of women (not angsty Human Resources torture and oppression, the real Human Rights kind). You know, the usual stuff that'll rank you up there nuts like Mugabe.
I do like Hawkmahdinejad. That guy's a stone cold avian killing machine.
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Mmmm, holding Americans hostage for hundreds of days? Sponsoring terrorism in states like Lebanon and assassinating proponents of political liberalism, (sorry "freedom fighting"). Being an insane Holocaust denier. Acting as the president of a state that denies the existence of gays and condones their torture and murder while limiting the rights of women (not angsty Human Resources torture and oppression, the real Human Rights kind). You know, the usual stuff that'll rank you up there nuts like Mugabe.
1. We overthrew their parliamentary elected official. We got off easy with just hostages.
2. CIA > Hezbollah (in terms of assassinating political leaders, right?)
3. I've still never understood the big deal over denying or feeling pity for the Jews over the Holocaust. What about the Armenians? What about the Cambodians? What about the Sudanese? What about the Kurds? What about the Koreans? What about the Japanese we interned here, firebombed there and NUKED over there?
We turned our backs on each and everyone of those genocides. We empowered Saddam in his genocide; the gas and chemical weapons were provided by our CDC!
4. A nation that views gays collectively instead of seeing them as the individuals that they are? Hmm, sounds like a dark skinned group of people in this nation...
The point of this is to show that not every nation can be like USA c. 2008. Democracy and a capitalistic society can't happen overnight via the barrel of a gun. Sure, I don't agree with Ahmadinejad, but interfering with the affairs of other nations doesn't help bring democracy to other nations any faster than it does to let them handle their own affairs.
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The issue isn't Iran's poor governance of its people, the issue is their quest to build nuclear weapons. These idiots can have any political and social system they want but they cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot be trusted with such weapons and if they were to use them on us, or anyone else, the result for their people would be devastating. We read about suicide bombers all the time, but an entire suicide nation?
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The issue isn't Iran's poor governance of its people, the issue is their quest to build nuclear weapons. These idiots can have any political and social system they want but they cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot be trusted with such weapons and if they were to use them on us, or anyone else, the result for their people would be devastating. We read about suicide bombers all the time, but an entire suicide nation?
Well they haven't been trying for 5 years now. Our NIE said so. The IAEA has given them 9 surprise inspections and their nuclear facilities are just for energy. So why are we still threatening them, a nation without much of anything other than being part of OPEC.
But I disagree on the whole, they can't have nukes belief. I used to be in that corner, too. Sure, I'd rather a nation not have nukes; and they don't. But the Soviets had 20,000 or more nukes, and we stared them down.
The thing is, though, we need to look at the incentive we give these nations to raise nuclear weapons. Look at Pakistan. They get nukes, we start giving them millions more in aid and propping up an administration. The incentive is given to them partially by us.
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Fine, for all of you who think we need to once again invade another country for WMDs, No Problema! Re-instate the draft! Dave Hogarty & Nanny are first up. You're due to report to Camp Lejeune Monday AM. You want to speak such things? Take the step and back up your opinions with actions. Easy to espouse such opinions when it's just poor misguided youths who fall for recruiters that get killed/maimed etc. You're probably too young to remember (prob not even born yet) the VietNam Draft. I just missed it.
Sure it's a f-d up country. There are many. Ahmedinejad is a pisser. Ignore him. Put up or shut up. People don't die on blogs, they die in pieces or with a round to the head. And maybe they don't die, get brain-trashed & bag your stuff at Walmart. Then get trashed on Consumerist.
Drop ur PBR & grab ur socks.
And when you get to Camp Lejeune, may Bingo be your drill Sargeant.
Dadoc
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And, BTW, I'm not dissing anyone in the military. Just good people in a bad situation.
Best respect we can give them is not to send them into stupid situations, pull 'em out if they are, and take care of them if they get f-d.
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How can this be news? He spoke once, they haven't had a repeat, case closed.
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#9, There's a pretty big difference between the way the Soviet Union behaved and how Iran behaves. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a big beef with their nuclear overreaching.
#11, If I saw a clear and present threat to the U.S. from Iran or anyone else, you wouldn't have to draft me, I would volunteer. Iran is not yet at that stage so I don't think war with them is necessary, but if it were to become necessary, I know where I will be. Where will you be?