Ahmadinejad....?

Question

What are your thoughts on him speaking at Columbia and wanting to make a speech @ ground zero?

Answer 1

Completely unacceptable. He is a torturer, war criminal, and dictator. We would not have invited Hitler or Stalin to speak in the United States in 1944, although clearly the idiot president of Columbia University would have.
I listened to some of the audio of his speech at Columbia. Simply amazing. One questioner asks him about the fact that they torture and exterminate gays in his country. Not only does he make the silly "we don't have homosexuals" remark, he proceeds to then completely dodge the question and go into a rambling diatribe about corruption, morality, and the right to punish criminals.

And the moron students in the audience let themselves be hoodwinked by this answer. The next thing you know, they are applauding him.

Oh... but wait a minute, he still exterminates gays, and they're applauding him.

He is simply a carnival huckster, a snake oil salesman in a wagon on the edge of town. He is not "brilliant." Unfortunately, our media, students, and universities are beyond stupid, so they suck right up to him.

It's only a matter of time. He is the next Adolph Hitler. He knows how to twist words, exploit soft-hearted masses, and ingrain himself into society, while all the while building up an arsenal and exterminating opponents.

God, people. WAKE UP.

Answer 2

That was GREAT! We live up to what we supposedly believe in, and Ahmadinejad himself provides all the material necessary to discredit him . My first reaction was to wish Bollinger( Pres. of Columbia U) had been more polite .Upon further reflection, though, his comments make it even better . Even though Bollinger obviously detests Ahmadinejad, he let him speak , showing how much valued is free speech . (I know- he was also throwing a bone to the critics , but still .....) The best thing about all this , is that it WILL be seen in Iran,(& elsewhere?) somehow, some way .It might just inpire a "Why not here too? Why not us?" response . In that, it might do more to start a Middle East democracy "Domino Effect" , than the Iraq War ever will .

Watching the freedom-loving(supposedly) would-be speech stiflers get all hysterical over it , was as entertaing as the main event . (What exactly are they afraid of , anyway?). While listening to the parade of critics on FOX news( a great source of unintentional comedy!) , I momentarily forgot which president they were talking about . I've long thought Bush and Ahmadinejad were much alike, but never realized how much .

A partial list from Newt , et, al:

)Imprisons people indefinitely, without charges :check
)Tortures said persons : check
)"Meddles" in Iraq : check
)Has caused much violent mayhem & misery in other countries: check
)Ignores history and facts, and just believes what he wants to believe : check
) Goes into an unfriedly venue, gives a speech, and does an unscripted Q&A session. :Nope. Black mark on Ahmadinejad alone . Bush would never stoop to that .

All in all, a great day


ps : I'd have let him visit the WTC site , just like any other person , with no fanfare . The act of prohibiting his visit , is what will give him some rhetorical fodder . The main objection ( besides the idiots with the Iran- Al Qaeda conspiracy theories) was that he'd use it for political purposes . (Duh!) Like all the other politicians that go there ? ;D

Answer 3

At first i was against his speaking at Columbia, because of the human rights violations, but i commend the introduction of Ahmadinejad! As a University should they should bring to light the hypocrisy and truth most of all. The students at Columbia and the nation were able to see what Iran and Ahmadinejad represent. He is merely a spokesman for the Imams.
It is a mockery to even begin to think about him visiting ground zero!
As a student I heard about a teacher that was having his students visit Al-Jazeera's English publication on the Internet, I told his students to research a movie called "The Lizard". The movie depicts a man who mistakenly ends up wearing the garb of a cleric. It is designed as a comedy and showed extremely well at the Box office in Iran, but it's life was cut short. I haven't checked recently but i would bet you couldn't access the first review that stated it was showing well. However, i am positive you cant access ANY article that talks about the movie after it was closed.
PS nurse Kathy, I agree

Answer 4

I had no problem with Ahmadinejad choosing to speak there. He is a president of a country, for better or for worse. Though, if I were associated with the university, I do not know if I would have invited him given it provides legitimacy to his views by association.

BUT, if I were associated with the university, I would have the university president fired. I feel embarrased for Columbia University for his lack of professionalism and grace, especially considering it was HIS guest.

We're left wondering who is crazier: the president of Iran or Columbia University. Though, I guess Columbia can be given credit for not taking Ahmadinejad hostage.

Answer 5

The Art of War says you must know your enemy for increased chance of success. Also, let the fool speak, and he digs a deeper hole from himself.

I think opening dialogue with those we in the West view as "evil" can be beneficial to understanding them and arriving to peace. We'll have a more informed perspective about how to either defeat them in war or how to globally coexist.

Remember two things: It is in our government's interest to portray someone as an enemy, and Evil is a matter of perspective. Beware of not only Ahmadinejad's propaganda, but propaganda at home, too.

I don't think a speech at Ground Zero is necessary, but I wouldn't mind him going there -- otherwise he might say it didn't happen!!

Answer 6

I thought they should have let him go to ground zero. Anyone who wants to pay their respects to our dead is more than welcome to do so as far as I'm concerned. Iran is not our enemy, and Ahmadinejad is their president. If he wants to honor the lives we lost on 9-11, he should be able to. He wanted to lay a wreath, and I had no objections. Still dont.

As far as his Columbia visit goes, I was happy to see someone invite him to speak, but I was shocked by how the president of Columbia treated him. Attacking Ahmadinejad personally was completely uncalled for, stupid and something he wouldnt have done with any other head of state.

Answer 7

Forget about ground zero, but I have no problem with his speaking at Columbia. I loved the way Bollinger (the Colombia President) buried him before he even said one word, and illuminated the fact that this clown acts like a petty dictator who has a penchant for blaming just about everything on Israel and/or the Jews.

Answer 8

Why did Columbia University decide to let this guy come and speak in the first place? And whose brilliant idea was it anyway?

Answer 9

I love how a leftist university gave this clown a platform to speak. I loved it when Admadinejad claimed that there are no homosexuals in Iran, and there was a roar of laughter. He looked like such a fool. It chips away credibility.

Is he going to ground zero to pay tribute to any Iranians that died on 9/11? If not, he is there for a political stunt; it's disrespectful and it's disgusting.

Answer 10

I think Americans believe the media and our own government too much. We gave Saddam money and weapons to fight Iran with during the 80s... then we say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.(WHERE ARE THEY AT? WHAT DID IRAQ HAVE TO DO WITH 9/11? NOTHING!).. so, we take down the US ex-funded Dictator... and then occupy Iraq for years on end... why? Because of FALSE INFORMATION!...
Now the PROPAGANDA engine is up and running again....
You people will believe anything..... Sheep.

Con or Lib... it doesn't matter. The US has only ONE party. The Corporate Agenda. Wake the **** up.