LUV IT

Just so people don't start defending him in this thread too, I'm going to get this in on the top...

Iranian teenagers hung for being gay. Government execution.

Stewart and Colbert are the best....

Very funny....

The art of diplomacy is pointless if the scope of your dialogue is limited to only persons or countries you get along with....

He does the best impression of a jew , I've ever heard ...ooops and if they fear the new " hitler" so much , why don't NY jews get on a plane, go to Israel and join the IDF or better yet , American armed forces, after all he's "Hitler" right?

Only Jews can do impressions of Jews?

I've heard this segment a couple of times already. I wonder still exactly what Pres. Ahmadinejad meant, or rather, what his interpreter meant. Did he mean that Iran has no homosexuals, or Iran does not have homosexuals like we do, or perhaps Iran does not have the homosexual culture we do?

[deleted-troll bait]

Voltron if you're not joking, you probably have the IQ of dog shit.

BagLady Says,
Exactly!
He came in peace and was disrespected!
Ahmadinejad was a great man for calling for peace and love!
He's in the mold of Ghandi!
He's a peacful man and as Progressives, we must support him!

BagLady @ 17:

Wasn't this man INVITED here? Why invite people to your home, then treat them so discourteously and so rudely? I'd hope that any time the president of the USA is invited to another country that the hosts would be more courteous and gracious.

No, you don't. Don't be intellectually dishonest. Just like me you would love it if Bush got blasted or made fun of in another country. We laughed about it when the South Korean Prez made fun of him at the APEC meeting, didn't we?

Ahmadinejad is a hero!

Being "rude" appears to be the scam of the day -- particularly since the ones bringing it up have never shown themselves particularly inclined to deference -- at least up to now.

Apparently the presence of a political monster like Ahmadinejad puts them on their highest manners in a way, one suspects, that they would never require, say for George Bush.

Wonderful. I hope some of these windbags feel a bit a lot embarrassed now. They made America look like a bunch of "juvenile deliquents" run amok. Hey, wait a minute...
Jon Stewart was right on with this segment.

[deleted--Guess what, Alf? We can see IP numbers. Posting under multiple identities to troll bait this thread is grounds for banning.]

Voltron, you are possibly the greatest satirist on this board. Kudos.

pissed canuck @ 29:

Andrew C @ 4:

Just so people don't start defending him in this thread too, I'm going to get this in on the top...

Iranian teenagers hung for being gay. Government execution.

And Bushes Republican crime family backs Iran's gay policies.
And what exactly is your message?

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/25/iran12535.htm

No, the question is what's YOUR message?

Sorry, I'm a liberal. I don't support Bush and you can't use that strawman argument to make it sound like I do. Here's a SHOCK... I hate Bush AND Ahmadinejad! That's right! I think they're both rightwing mass-murderers who should go to the Hague. My message is that self-described liberals should be ashamed when they defend someone who is that much of a fascist. Is that clear enough for you?

[troll bait]

Please remember that the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend. That type of thinking has gotten the US in trouble many times. What I mean is that because the Iranian prez doesn't like Bush, similar to myself and most other rational and sentient beings, doesn't imply that we have to support him.

BagLady @ 17:

Wasn't this man INVITED here? Why invite people to your home, then treat them so discourteously and so rudely? I'd hope that any time the president of the USA is invited to another country that the hosts would be more courteous and gracious.

YES. I agree. 100%. Right on. Love you BagLady.

PS That's my plan "B"; to become a bag lady, once I'm so down and out that there's nothing left. Wanna walk to somewhere warm with me?

[deleted--troll bait]

Andrew C @ 33:

pissed canuck @ 29:

Andrew C @ 4:

Just so people don't start defending him in this thread too, I'm going to get this in on the top...

Iranian teenagers hung for being gay. Government execution.

And Bushes Republican crime family backs Iran's gay policies.
And what exactly is your message?

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/25/iran12535.htm

No, the question is what's YOUR message?

Sorry, I'm a liberal. I don't support Bush and you can't use that strawman argument to make it sound like I do. Here's a SHOCK... I hate Bush AND Ahmadinejad! That's right! I think they're both rightwing mass-murderers who should go to the Hague. My message is that self-described liberals should be ashamed when they defend someone who is that much of a fascist. Is that clear enough for you?

I agree whole heartedly. I think Olmert and Sharon belong in that same category too. Don't you think so? You know, since you're a liberal?

KansasCityFaGt @ 41:

Voltron, go back to WoldNet or NewsMax please.

Yeah, you're making me dizzy.

And here are the TOP TEN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BUSH AND AHMADINEJAD

Voltron,

You're being too obvious. Better luck next time.

Andrew C @ 42:

pissed canuck @ 38:

pissed canuck @ 29:

Andrew C @ 4:

And Bushes Republican crime family backs Iran's gay policies.
And what exactly is your message?

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/25/iran12535.htm

Thank the lord you live in the U.S.
In Iran, you would be hanged for raping a 13 year old.

You can always tell when someone's desperate to make a point when they cherry-pick the 1 sentence they like, and dismiss everything else in the article:

The UK-based gay rights group, Outrage! claims the report issued later by the government of Iran is a "smokescreen" to justify killing homosexuals. And one media outlet, Direland, has blasted the media holdings of Rupert Murdoch that includes Fox News Channel and The Times newspaper for publishing the subsequent Iranian government issued allegation of rape as matter of fact without mention of the previous stories before international condemnation bearing no such accusations.

Once again, you have no ground to stand on. Unless you believe the same lies from a government that denies the Holocaust ever happened.

What!
A government creating a smokescreen? And supported by Faux?
Tell me it isn't so.

Andrew C @ 42:

.... Once again, you have no ground to stand on. Unless you believe the same lies from a government that denies the Holocaust ever happened.

As Israel denies the Armenian Genocide? Perhaps an Israeli ambassador should be treated rudely, demagogued, and shouted down. After all, it's easier than countering with valid rhetoric. To hell with free speech and reasoned argument.

BTW, I'm trying to find out when Ahmadinejad hung anybody (gay or otherwise).

loser

Civility is the cornerstone of diplomacy. Once diplomacy fails, generally, the bombs start dropping. Given the stakes, presently, would it be so much to ask to treat the head of state of another country civilly? You may still disagree, and say so, nicely. He was taking all questions.

If someone approaches you as, "Mr. or Mrs.", you are prone listen to what comes next. If they say, "Hey shithead", are you prone to listen? Probably not. Americans still rail over Krushchev banging his shoe in the UN. That was discourteous, and unbecoming: so was Bollinger (amongst others).

fiver @ 52:

Andrew C @ 42:

.... Once again, you have no ground to stand on. Unless you believe the same lies from a government that denies the Holocaust ever happened.

As Israel denies the Armenian Genocide? Perhaps an Israeli ambassador should be treated rudely, demagogued, and shouted down. After all, it's easier than countering with valid rhetoric. To hell with free speech and reasoned argument.

BTW, I'm trying to find out when Ahmadinejad hung anybody (gay or otherwise).

By your same logic (or lack thereof) when did Hitler ever actually kill someone? You imply that unless it was his hand pulling the lever then he is completely innocent. That is not a valid arguement and you know it because you refuse to explicitly state it.

[deleted--don't feed the troll]

Peoples Front of Judea @ 55:

fiver @ 52:

Andrew C @ 42:

.... Once again, you have no ground to stand on. Unless you believe the same lies from a government that denies the Holocaust ever happened.

As Israel denies the Armenian Genocide? Perhaps an Israeli ambassador should be treated rudely, demagogued, and shouted down. After all, it's easier than countering with valid rhetoric. To hell with free speech and reasoned argument.

BTW, I'm trying to find out when Ahmadinejad hung anybody (gay or otherwise).

By your same logic (or lack thereof) when did Hitler ever actually kill someone? You imply that unless it was his hand pulling the lever then he is completely innocent. That is not a valid arguement and you know it because you refuse to explicitly state it.

Hitler ordered the killing of millions. Who did Ahmadinejad have killed? Who did he advocate should be killed. Or does a figurehead with no real power become a scapegoat for the crimes of a nation?

Glenn Greenwald destroys the crocodile tears shed by the right for gay victims in Iran. Ahmadinejad has said things the neocons and State of Israel do not like, therefore the right (and those on the left foolish enough to fall for it) demonize one man in the hopes of continuing to provoke a war.

Nicole Belle @ 58:

Andrew, I'm loathe to say this, lest I look like I'm defending Ahmadinejad, because I think that he is the Muslim equivalent of Bush and not deserving of defense.

However, much of the demonization of Ahmadinejad is simply American ignorance of the way things are done in other countries.

While the hangings are true and are an abomination to anyone who values human rights, they are not something for which we can blame Ahmadinejad. As President, his responsibility lies almost exclusively in the economic realm for Iran. The mullahs control everything else and as an Islamic theocracy (something they don't try to hide), they ordered the hanging.

The denial of the Holocaust is a long debunked statement that never seems to die as well. See Juan Cole. Ahmadinejad's point was that whatever happened during the Holocaust happened to more than just Jews and that to invoke that tragedy to displace the Palestinians was ridiculous.

nicole...you can rewrite history any way you want, but ahmadinejad invited the likes of the neturei karta and david duke to that conference

it was filled with holocaust deniers and those who would like to see the state of israel be destroyed

there was no other point than to play to the hatred of jews

and why is it that every fucking liberal on this blog and others neglects historical fact when discussing the creation of the state of israel

there was a partition created by the un....immediatly the state was attacked by the arab league....

and as for the poor palestinians....what have they done since getting back gaza??

do you have any pics of the bustling metropolis it has become? any pics of vacationers taking advantage of beautiful beach front property...of palestinians surfing the waves???

oops, my bad

they have used the return of the land to setup rocket launchers to bombard southern israel daily....cant use the beach, cuz its a war zone

enuf with the spin

Thanks for the movie Andrew.
As you are aware, we in Canada don't believe in or practice capital punishment.

Is that the same way you hang people in Texas?
Or is it gas you use?

yah think many of thoes chickenshits will join the marines if bush attacks iran ? nah theyll stay home and watch reruns of sienfeld!

uncle joe mccarthy @ 63:

Nicole Belle @ 58:

Andrew, I'm loathe to say this, lest I look like I'm defending Ahmadinejad, because I think that he is the Muslim equivalent of Bush and not deserving of defense.

However, much of the demonization of Ahmadinejad is simply American ignorance of the way things are done in other countries.

While the hangings are true and are an abomination to anyone who values human rights, they are not something for which we can blame Ahmadinejad. As President, his responsibility lies almost exclusively in the economic realm for Iran. The mullahs control everything else and as an Islamic theocracy (something they don't try to hide), they ordered the hanging.

The denial of the Holocaust is a long debunked statement that never seems to die as well. See Juan Cole. Ahmadinejad's point was that whatever happened during the Holocaust happened to more than just Jews and that to invoke that tragedy to displace the Palestinians was ridiculous.

nicole...you can rewrite history any way you want, but ahmadinejad invited the likes of the neturei karta and david duke to that conference

it was filled with holocaust deniers and those who would like to see the state of israel be destroyed

there was no other point than to play to the hatred of jews

and why is it that every fucking liberal on this blog and others neglects historical fact when discussing the creation of the state of israel

there was a partition created by the un....immediatly the state was attacked by the arab league....

and as for the poor palestinians....what have they done since getting back gaza??

do you have any pics of the bustling metropolis it has become? any pics of vacationers taking advantage of beautiful beach front property...of palestinians surfing the waves???

oops, my bad

they have used the return of the land to setup rocket launchers to bombard southern israel daily....cant use the beach, cuz its a war zone

enuf with the spin

Time for Palestine / Israel 101.

The only thing that is not mentioned in this clip is the role, U.S. President, Harry Truman, played in promoting the
Jewish cause at the U.N. For his Zionist buddies.

Below are quotes from http://www.mideastweb.org/zionism.htm which covers Truman's involvement.

'Despite his plainspoken ways, Harry S. Truman had a sweeping grasp of geopolitical realities. He was also a friend of the Jews who had made clear his support for the Zionist cause before WWII. He was strengthened in his resolve to help the Jews following the revelations of Nazi atrocities'.

'Truman was inexperienced in foreign affairs and initially felt he was out of his league and crushed by the burden of his new office and responsibilities. Nonetheless, he did not forget the Palestine question as soon as World War II was over'.

Americans in 1945-47, helped create the bed we all now lay in.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1300690147358876696&pr=goog-sl

uncle joe mccarthy @ 64:

wanna explain to me what israel has ever done to the nation of iran?

What has Iran ever done to Israel?

Holocaust denial? Israel still denies the Armenian Genocide.

Illegally attempting to produce a nuclear weapon? Is there any Israeli official that could make that charge with a straight face?

Hezbollah? I think Israel might bear some responsibility for conducting two brutal wars against the civilian population of Lebanon.

Why are Israel, and its neocon agents/partners in the U.S., attempting to begin a war with Iran?

r @ 54:

Andrew C @ 51:

I honestly don't know who does more damage... plants like Voltron, or apologists like Baglady.

voltron

Is that a satire, or a parody?

liberalMinded @ 32:

Andrew C @ 20:

This business about being "rude" is the biggest joke I've ever seen on a supposedly lefty blog. It's borderline being an apologist for tyranny.

Because hypocrisy and intellectual laziness seem to be the only bipartisan things that affect both liberals and conservatives in this country, this is the point that flies at supersonic speeds over the heads of most Americans: This country -America- has invaded two countries and killed tens to hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Among which I am sure there was a particular percentage of homosexuals (since homosexuality and its prosecution seems to be the latest canard force fed into our discourse). So it takes a significant amount of balls for any American to invite the Iranian president and lecture him about civility and human rights. If this country had any sort of moral standing left, then yeah I could see that being rude to that jackass would be commendable. But since we are no better than the regime he represents that rudeness just reeks of immaturity and lack of class.

What the rest of the world saw this week is just two assholes -- the US and Iranian regimes -- accusing each for the smell of shit in the room.

One would think that after shooting down an Iranian jet liner full of innocent civilians, that this country would at least have the decency of being civil to any Iranian president visiting and trying to at least maintain a dialog --regardless of whether we agree or not with the policies of the Iranian government. But this country seem to be full to the seams of pity petulant little pricks that wouldn't know class if it kicked their collective asses. And then we all act shocked, shocked I tell you! When we are on the receiving end of our same standards.

And before any one uses a straw man accusing me of being an apologist for Iran's president: cram it. OK? I don't regard in high esteem the current Iranian regime, I am however tired of seeing tall tales about Iran and its president from people who could not even locate the country on a world map.

So I guess the next talking point is that this little prick Ahmadinejad eats new born Jew babies for breakfast. I mean he is a bad guy so anything goes, right? Our national discourse has devolved all the way down to junior high recess levels. Seeing the supposedly intellectual vanguard of this country -- as represented by the Ivy league -- act like a complete and utter prick to the premier of another country that is giving a guest lecture, shows that at the end of the day we are no better than that little bearded jackass and that we are most definitively circling the drain....

Andrew C @ 72:

pissed canuck @ 65:

Thanks for the movie Andrew.
As you are aware, we in Canada don't believe in or practice capital punishment.

Is that the same way you hang people in Texas?
Or is it gas you use?

Do you even read over what you write or are you really that--... oh, never mind. I have no idea how Canada's been brought into this now. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. It was of an Iranian woman being strangled of life for the crime of adultery.

Btw, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Massachusetts.... y'know... the most liberal state in the US.

Sorry Andrew.

Can't read. I'm from Canada.
Just trying to show the similarities between the good ole USA and Iran.
Your country kills people just like Iran.
I guess your rant about the hanging of a convicted person in Iran is wee bit hypocritical.
Wouldn't you say?

Andrew C @ 73:

Nicole,

I appreciate the more rational debate you've presented over some of the other talkbackers here, but whatever "uncle Joe"s politics are, he brings up an important point about David Duke and other holocaust deniers being at that conference. And I'd like to see other sources besides that Juan Cole article. I clicked on the link and I didn't see him discuss anything about Ahmadinejad's holocaust denial, only his comments about Israel being wiped off the map.

My bad. I copied the wrong link. This is the one I meant to do:
Iran's farce of a "conference" on the Holocaust is a way of underlining its government's complete rejection of a two state solution and of a Zionist state in the Middle East. Iran's leaders support a maximalist Hamas vision of a fundamentalist Muslim Palestinian state in all of historical Palestine, which requires the dissolution of the Israeli state. Since Israelis tend to justify their state project with reference to the Holocaust, the Ahmadinejad faction in Iran is replying with Holocaust denial as a counter to this argument. Note that other prominent Iranians, such as former President Mohammad Khatami, accept the Holocaust and have lambasted Ahmadinejad for questioning it.

Also I admit I don't know how the power-sharing quid-pro-quid is between the President and the Mullahs, but he is the figurehead of Iran more than the Ayatollah even is I would argue. Certainly more recognizable right now. And all his statements seem to align with their practices and beliefs as well.

Ahmadinejad is recognizable to you because the White House has made a concerted effort to make him a bogeyman. Iran is an Islamic theocratic republic. By definition, it is ruled by the mullahs. Just because American press doesn't highlight them with the same zeal that they go after Ahmadinejad doesn't make it less true. Demonization based on ignorance of the cultural and political stratifications of another country is a little like Ahmadinejad blaming Schwarzeneggar for the occupation in Iraq. Sure he's in government in charge over a discreet area, but is he the guy in charge of what you're blaming him for? In truth, most Iranians don't like Ahmadinejad and find his gadfly-ness problematic. But they will stand up against the Great White Satan if we go after him.

I'm glad we can agree he's a detestable human being. I just wish we could also agree that whatever he recieved at that Columbia forum, he rightly deserved and more. Courteous? Maybe not. But those were words that Ahmadinejad needed to hear and wasn't going to in a country where there's no such thing as freedom of speech.

He could have heard them from those asking questions. It's not an issue (for me) of whether Ahmadinejad is detestable. It's an issue for me of how Americans are viewed throughout the world. I do a lot of travelling and I'm often described by my ex-pat friends to their neighbors and friends in various countries as the good kind of American, meaning that I don't agree with America's actions in the last 7 years. Until recently, other nations haven't had trouble compartmentalizing Americans from their elected officials. Acting so petulantly and rudely to a person you've invited to speak makes average Americans look bad (an educated ones, at a respected university on top of that), not just our elected officials. If questioners had been that tough, I wouldn't have thought anything of it.

And like it or not, civility should not be a lost art. Society is founded on treating people the way we want to be treated. I think it's very sad to think that people no longer find that important. Maybe that explains how divisive everything is now.

Lol, can i say something before Andrews turns "Ahmadinejadic" on me ?....

pissed canuck @ 76:

Andrew C @ 72:

pissed canuck @ 65:

Thanks for the movie Andrew.
As you are aware, we in Canada don't believe in or practice capital punishment.

Is that the same way you hang people in Texas?
Or is it gas you use?

Do you even read over what you write or are you really that--... oh, never mind. I have no idea how Canada's been brought into this now. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. It was of an Iranian woman being strangled of life for the crime of adultery.

Btw, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Massachusetts.... y'know... the most liberal state in the US.

Sorry Andrew.

Can't read. I'm from Canada.
Just trying to show the similarities between the good ole USA and Iran.
Your country kills people just like Iran.
I guess your rant about the hanging of a convicted person in Iran is wee bit hypocritical.
Wouldn't you say?

Do you have some victim complex? I never said anything about Canada. I have no idea why you keep bringing it up. I never defended the US either. I don't think saying the US Government and the Iranian Government are both corrupt and murder-happy have to be mutually exclusive ideas. And certainly nothing I said has been hypocritical as far as I can see. So no, I wouldn't say. If you want to start making some sense, instead of twisting in the wind making weird ad-hominem attacks and changing the issue, then I'd be glad to have a debate with you. But right now you're making as much sense as Bush at an APEC conference.

Doctor Who @ 77:

I don't know about Israel's position on the Armenian genocide. However, Turkey -- who are the ones who conducted most of the killings -- are yet to even discuss whether or not they may have wipped out almost one million people. But since they are our allies, it is OK.

Actually Doc, you know pretty well. Turkey is possibly the closest ally Israel has in the region - a practical reason for a morally bankrupt stance.

Further, the Genocide is not discussed in Turkey because you can be prosecuted and/or killed for discussing it.

liberalMinded @ 24:

Being "rude" appears to be the scam of the day -- particularly since the ones bringing it up have never shown themselves particularly inclined to deference -- at least up to now.

Go ahead. Try to prove your claim.

I'd wager that most of those who are outspoken on this issue are outspoken on many other issues as well, but that's just me.

It's unfortunate that we live in such polarizing times that even liberals are looking at things in stark black and white. Ahmadinejad has some crazy ideas. He has said some fairly heinous things. No one is disputing this, so stop using Republican-esque tactics by attempting to argue that liberals mad at the Bollinger for being a partisan ass want to give Ahmadinejad little kisses. You might as well argue that they are giving him Aid And Comfort, that they don't Support The Troops, and that they're Anti-American as well. You might as well bust out the Colbert line: "Pick a side. We're at war!"

Meanwhile, those of us who appreciate that real life is a complicated and multi-faceted beast will continue to treat Ahmadinejad with a sceptical eye - the same sceptical eye we turn against the U.S. government and individuals like Bollinger who cowtow to right-wing pressure. You don't invite a man into a supposedly-open forum to kick him in the nuts and splash water in his face as the masses applaud ignorantly. What shocks me is that the government is pulling the exact same stunt they did in the build-up to invading Iraq, and people are falling for it - even supposed liberals. They say he's bad! They say he has nukes and he wants to use nukes and is going to kill all Israelis! He is personally responsible for the repressive culture he was born into, even though the Ayatollah runs the nation and his government authority is greatly limited at best!

We were always at war with Europa!

I'm sorry you missed my sarcasm Andrew.

Before you go out of your way to condone arrogant and ignorant behavior displayed by the 'educated' members of your society, you should look at yourselves.
The very things you despise about Ahmadinejad are flourishing in your own backyard.
You can claim all you want, that you disagree with the criminal, neo-con direction your country is heading, but do nothing.
Instead, you focus on discrediting and cheerleading against a country you know nothing about.
If you spent this much effort trying to fix your fucked up, mafia government, you just might be able to force change.

As for me being Canadian, unfortunately, your Bushwacked fuck-ups do effect us up here.
We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but our southern neighbors are really stinking up the neighbohood.

pissed canuck @ 90:

I'm sorry you missed my sarcasm Andrew.

Sarcasm? It sounded like some weird kind of tourettes. I'm still trying to make sense of your previous rants.

Before you go out of your way to condone arrogant and ignorant behavior displayed by the 'educated' members of your society, you should look at yourselves.
The very things you despise about Ahmadinejad are flourishing in your own backyard.
You can claim all you want, that you disagree with the criminal, neo-con direction your country is heading, but do nothing.

Sorry, but what are you doing? It's funny you claim I'm doing nothing when you know nothing about me. I could tell you that I've interned for a Democratic state-rep in New Hampshire, freelance and write political editorials for the Boston Phoenix and was President of the Democratic club at my college, but would that even matter to you? No, you would insult me regardless.

Instead, you focus on discrediting and cheerleading against a country you know nothing about.

No. I know plenty about it. How much do you know?

If you spent this much effort trying to fix your fucked up, mafia government, you just might be able to force change.

As for me being Canadian, unfortunately, your Bushwacked fuck-ups do effect us up here.
We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but our southern neighbors are really stinking up the neighbohood.

Canada is pretty neoconnish right now, too. Stephan Harper is your PM, isn't he? Looks like your country's shit stinks too.

Oh, and don't give me some self-righteous lecture about "my" Bushwhacked fuck-ups, you pissy canuck. I've never voted for Bush or any Republican for that matter. And I would say there are parts of Massachusetts that are alot more liberal than parts of Canada.

Full text of Bollinger's opening remarks http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/07/09/lcbopeningremarks.html. And his defense of his verbal attack here http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/bollinger-defends-columbias....

Jon Stewart documents the uniquely New York welcome given to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Not certain if you can lump comments made by those not wanting Ahmadinejad to speak at all with someone willing to; but still strongly disagreeing with him.

Nicole Belle @ 61:

Andrew, I'm loathe to say this, lest I look like I'm defending Ahmadinejad, because I think that he is the Muslim equivalent of Bush and not deserving of defense.

Nicole, can you please point to where you've objected to "rudeness" to other heads of government or does your protest only apply to a misogynist madmen from Iran?

liberalMinded @ 96:

Nicole Belle @ 61:

Andrew, I'm loathe to say this, lest I look like I'm defending Ahmadinejad, because I think that he is the Muslim equivalent of Bush and not deserving of defense.

Nicole, can you please point to where you've objected to "rudeness" to other heads of government or does your protest only apply to a misogynist madmen from Iran?

Seriously? Are you that completely missing of the forest?

Fine. If you do a site search, I did a post on Bush touching the German chancellor and slammed him for that. I also slammed George Stephanopoulis for his rudeness to Dennis Kucinich when he told him bluntly that he can't win. That's off the top of my head. There's probably more, but it's hardly the point.

Let me put this as clearly as I can: I. AM. NOT. DEFENDING. AHMADINEJAD. Need it repeated? It is possible to be put off by the behavior of one person without it meaning that I endorsed the beliefs or actions of another.

Or is your life that binary?

Ignoring the everyday New Yorker I think the question comes down to if Bollinger rude to Ahmadinejad in his opening remarks (here's the link again, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/07/09/lcbopeningremarks.htm, messed it up on my prior post) when he question Ahmadinejad on Iran's crackdown on academics and saying he appears to be a petty and cruel dictator.

If Ahmadinjad did have control over the Revolutionary Guard I'd say no. If he did then, even though invited, I think it would've been fair to make these comments and the comparison. But Ahmadinjad is more a president of parliment than a prime minister. A Tony Snow than a muslim Bush.

The comments weren't rude. But the comparison was out of line. Ahmadinjad doesn't dictate Iran's policy.

The time Bollinger's spent on his opening remarks may also have been rude. But I don't know if his opening remarks in this case were of greater length than in other World Leader forums. If it was then again I'd say Bollinger was also rude in that case.

The final rudeness may be having Ahmadinjad speak at all. I don't see him so much a world leader than as troll bait for American jingoism.

And he does his job very well.

Damn, link only seems to work from an anchor tag lcbopeningremarks.html. This one worked in preview.

If you don't even get the truth from your own government, how can anyone rely on reports of what goes on in Iran, the de facto enemy. Like, here's today's the non-propagandized news from Iran??? People are quoting it like they were there in person. YOUR OWN GOV'T LIES. Think about it.

bettestreep @ 105:

I think i have fallen in love with Jon Stewart!

cute and says ALL the right things.

XXXX

Me too.

Doctor Who @ 81:

pissed canuck @ 76:

Andrew C @ 72:

pissed canuck @ 65:

Do you even read over what you write or are you really that--... oh, never mind. I have no idea how Canada's been brought into this now. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. It was of an Iranian woman being strangled of life for the crime of adultery.

Btw, I'm not from Texas. I'm from Massachusetts.... y'know... the most liberal state in the US.

Sorry Andrew.

Can't read. I'm from Canada.
Just trying to show the similarities between the good ole USA and Iran.
Your country kills people just like Iran.
I guess your rant about the hanging of a convicted person in Iran is wee bit hypocritical.
Wouldn't you say?

No because, the US of A gets to say "oooops our bad" when we execute innocent people. And we even get to make movies about it, and sometimes the actors get to win an Oscar. Ergo it makes it alright. So it is not the same.

Now if Iran was able to get a decent movie industry and generate significant profit from works of mea culpa with significant artistic licenses that enhances their collective state of denial, then maaaaaybe. But doubtful because Iran does not have as many big boobed blonds, so we still win. USA USA USA USA #1, Land of the free, yeah motherfucker!

Hey wasn't it all those tits that got us into this mess? Instead of monitoring the Oval Office we had full frontal Pamela, Anna Nicole, Britney, etc., etc. No one was minding the shop.

Thing Fish @ 107:

Edwin @ 104:
Yin has a little yang in it. Yang has a little yin in it. Think about it.

Yes. Right. The "truth" is in the centre; the Tao. Tomorrow we can blow our tops anew. (How we torture ourselves.) The guys really running things have already decided. It's for us to read about later. Enjoy the show??? That's what much of it is. Still, keep trying!!! Never stop!!!

Ahmadinejad got the Bronx-cheer.

BagLady @ 17:

Wasn't this man INVITED here? Why invite people to your home, then treat them so discourteously and so rudely? I'd hope that any time the president of the USA is invited to
another country that the hosts would be more courteous and gracious.

BagLady is 200% accurate. I have never seen such rude treatment toward someone that–whether we like them or not is not the point–is the elected leader of their nation (and seeing how many tyrants and–let's be honest here–murderers the United States has at one time or another called friend that's saying something). Besides, he was invited (I believe under the auspices of the UN).

I am simply talking about courtesy for a visiting dignitary, pure and simple.

Besides, if we were going to treat him like crap we should have said so right off the bat, so that he could, like Bush, favor audiences that tow his line and have drank deep of the Kool-Aid.

Remember when Hugo Chavez, during his speech at the United Nations, called Bush "Satan"? Even people like Charlie Rangel, who last time that I checked was no friend of Bush, was up in arms, despite the fact that he himself has alluded from time to time that the President was not exactly a Rhodes scholar. How dare this man come to our country and talk about our esteemed (yet somewhat slow) President in such a manner! If Calvin Klein could capture the entire episode in a fragrance it would be called "Indignity", and everyone would wear it, despite the stink.

Even Americans that under normal circumstances have called Bush much worse are suddenly ready to bomb Iran over it (for some, literally BOMB Iran). I guess it's important to keep in mind that, though George Bush is a court jester, he's our court jester.