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Iranian President partakes in tragicomic event at Columbia University.

21:43 / 26.09.07

The President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently spoke at Columbia University in the US. Having been invited by Columbia University to speak there, he was introduced to the crowd by University President Lee Bollinger as a "dictator", Mr. Bollinger obviously forgetting that Ahmadinejad was elected to office in a country where the greatest power lies with the religious authorities.

Mr. Ahmadinehad, given the opportunity to speak directly to Americans and ease any tensions and misconceptions, then went on to state that homosexuals did not exist in Iran, and that more research should be done on the Holocaust. He was booed.

Protests accompanied the Iranian President's visit, of course. Apparently, he should not be given a platform for hate...any sense of irony seeming to have fled those who held up some rather impolitely sloganed placards.

Tragedy, farce, what?

22:19 / 26.09.07

bollinger calling his invited guest speaker a petty and cruel dictator made me cringe, it was a globally watched affair, all i could think was maybe bollinger was confusing ahmadinejad with musharraf, either way, the global opinion of american university presidents' intelligence dropped a few points, and the fact that he was attacking him simply to ease the attacks on himself for inviting him to speak just made it all petty and cowardly, an ugly day for america, i was ashamed

(did you know there's no queers in iran?)

(it's true)

Jot Evil Rules During Weddings

02:53 / 27.09.07

I think that it was not very nice that Bollinger severely criticized his own guest. Then again, he was under a lot of pressure to outline the problems that are in Iran. I feel like Bollinger was right to invite the Iranian president, he is an important newsmaker and he is important in the international community. The Iranian President has the right to speak, that is what is great about America.

13:36 / 30.09.07

Jesus Christ.

22:49 / 30.09.07

Care to elaborate?

19:22 / 01.10.07

Me? Well for a start there's the careless use of the word queer.

23:57 / 01.10.07

What's wrong with the word Queer?

Ahmadinejad stated that there are no homosexuals in Iran. (although I dont know where he found the time to go and personally ask everyone what their orientation was)

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:41 / 02.10.07

Well, I don't personally think that it's the worst thing about this discussion, but "queer" used as a noun without conext has a generally pejorative sense. Perhaps this could be examined in further detail elsewhere, though - perhaps you could bump the "A question for the pride parade people" thread, Keggers? I think it could do with an update anyway.

15:15 / 02.10.07

and i originally planned to use the term "pillowbiters" glad i self-censored

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

15:31 / 02.10.07

Actually, staying the fuck away from the keyboard in the first place might be the smart move.

16:43 / 02.10.07

Rather than crucify someone:

bacon please don't use the word "queer" (or any other perjorative) in ironic context so early in a Switchboard thread. I'm unfamiliar with your suit or the views and biases you may or may not have.

While I can assume you were attempting a bit of humor, it's not welcome in a news and debate thread.

Moving on.

How did Iran's media receive the incident?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

16:52 / 02.10.07

Well, here's one report (not sure if it's specifically Iranian, might just be Arab):

However, the event quickly transformed into a play in which the president of Columbia [Lee Bollinger] brutally attacked and insulted the Iranian president whose frozen smile did not save him from embarrassment; while his only words were that he has respect for academics.

Those who raised questions showed no mercy towards Ahmadinejad; while he, in turn, mostly delivered catastrophic answers.

Glenn Close But No Cigar

20:43 / 02.10.07

Our Lady, it's usually pretty easy to tell whether something is specifically Iranian rather than just [...] Arab. Iranians are not Arabs.

It's kind of a big deal 'round that way...

All Acting Regiment

00:24 / 03.10.07

Oh, what's the point in having him speak if all they're going to do is accuse him of being a bad guy?

I mean "Ahmadinejad is homophobic" is a truth, an unpleasant truth, but hardly a shocking truth - it's something we all knew, and frankly what with the international tension right now, this is just a farce. Why don't they have the Saudi king up to explain his views on gay people, women, social services ... or several prominent European politicians I could name.

01:22 / 03.10.07

I think this is more fit to the "possible invasion of Iran" thread, but since this one is more on a roll...

I hadn't seen anything from fox news concerning America's stance on Iran, so I found this a bit wtf, even for fu%#(s) news standards...

The guy is a homophobic prick and a holocaust-denier asshole, but I feel as if this whole NY debacle is just being used to further invoke his image to push people's buttons almost like in the vein of the "he's like Hitler" spotlight they put on Saddam before the war.

You could almost imagine the press conference talking points of "bringing freedom" and "opression against homossexuals" as if they cared (like the talking points of "they are awful to women, that's a big reason why we were there in the first place! We care! You don't, obviously") if they weren't so densely homophobic themselves.

Would it be silly to imagine that something good could come out of this? Some type of "vibe" (for my own lack of a better word) around the news channels of teh-ehvil=homophobe -> homophobia=bad?

We're The Great Old Ones Now

06:19 / 03.10.07

I thought Bollinger was posturing, and I didn't find it attractive. Ahmadinejad, of course, isn't pleasant viewing either; he seems to represent pretty much everything I can do without.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

07:27 / 03.10.07

Glenn- Blame Google, I was searching specifically for Iranian news sources and they gave me that. Unfortunately I was then called away before I could then look for anything else.

Phex: Dorset Doom

10:53 / 03.10.07

You could almost imagine the press conference talking points of "bringing freedom" and "oppression against homosexuals"

Not if you live on this planet. If the U.S does ramp up for an invasion of Iran I doubt we'll see the regime's treatment of homosexuals mentioned outside of Christopher Hitchen's column on Slate.com. A war needs to be sold to potential recruits, and it's going to be a hard sell as it is with propensity to join the armed forces amongst 'millennials' currently at 3% as opposed to 26% in 2001. If you've ever played Halo death-matches you'll know how teenage boys with a capacity for violence feel about homosexuals- you think they'd be willing to die for them?

11:12 / 03.10.07

Well, "if they weren't so densely homophobic themselves" finished that sentence... But that was almost the point. They don't care, never did and were actively making people's lives hell for it. These same hard-line conservative who I'd imagine never gave a single thought about women's issues and started claiming their concern for middle-eastern women's treatment as one of the excuses invented after the war begun.

12:26 / 03.10.07

...and frankly what with the international tension right now, this is just a farce. Why don't they have the Saudi king up to explain his views on gay people, women, social services ... or several prominent European politicians I could name.

Indeed. Both sides seem to be consciously opening a divide. I'm not sure I understand what the Iranian President was thinking, for would it not have been more politically prudent to rein in some of his more controversial views in exchange for more tolerable statements?

If you've ever played Halo death-matches you'll know how teenage boys with a capacity for violence feel about homosexuals- you think they'd be willing to die for them?

I am unfamiliar with that game. Would you mind explaining that comment, please? Does the game encourage homophobia?

12:50 / 03.10.07

Not the game itself, but the competitive virtual environs ends up offering your usual internet type of anonymity that breeds stupid teenage (/manchild) homophobic troll-speak almost as if it's demandatory (in ways you easily find in most comics&games forums).

I'm still wondering why this guy is being put on a spotlight this much by mouthpieces of neocons in topics that their own representatives are clearly lacking.