Insulting ...

Mrs. F and I talked about this yesterday afternoon, after seeing the CNN coverage of Ahmedinejad's speech at Columbia. What the fuck is the deal with Columbia's president?

I mean, I feel the same way about the Iranian; he's an uneducated, lying little fundamentalist shit. But if you're going to invite him to speak at your school, it seems bad form to insult him before he speaks. I could understand a rebuttal afterward, but I'm just confused about what this supposedly educated twit was trying to do. Why'd he bother inviting Ahmedinejad in the first place? Were I the Iranian, I'd have got up and walked out.

I see Nicole got the same message I did.

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However, like him or not (and I don’t), Ahmadinejad IS the head of a foreign state invited here to speak. That’s why Columbia’s Dean Lee Bollinger’s scathing opening statement was so shocking in its rudeness. Can you imagine the outcry if Bush had been invited to give a speech at a foreign university and gotten that kind of reception? Can you imagine how this looks to other countries?

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Can you imagine the wingnut heads exploding? Heh ...