Columbia University Says It Cancelled Ahmadinejad's Appearance

[oberliner]

Source: Bloomberg

Columbia University in New York said it cancelled a planned speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after failing to reach agreement on the format of his scheduled appearance on Sept. 24.

Columbia wasn't able to ``establish a conversation with the Iranian embassy that would ensure to my satisfaction that the specific arrangements of any such program would reflect the academic values that are the hallmark of a university,'' college President Lee Bollinger said in a statement.

Bollinger earlier said he would introduce Ahmadinejad by challenging him on issues such as the Iranian leader's denial of the Holocaust, his vow to destroy Israel, support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions. Ahmadinejad also must ``divide his time evenly'' between a speech and questions, Bollinger said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070920/pl_bloomberg/ajfevvrdt288_1

[wtmusic]

1. As the president of a nation

he should be able to speak about whatever he pleases and the university should welcome him.

If he's an ignorant asshole I'm sure the bright students at Columbia will be able to discern that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. I wouldn't expect a non-American university to let Bush speak about whatever he wants

that's just opening yourselves up to be a propaganda outlet. Treat Bush and Ahmadinejad with the same suspicion, and it's a good starting point.

[still_one]

12. I have no problem with that... /nt

[wtmusic]

16. Propaganda has really only one essential ingredient

and that is a captive audience. Unless the speech is broadcast across the country, it doesn't qualify.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. No, you don't have to see something as it happens for it to be propaganda

If it is reported, and has the look of authority (and a speech given at a major university can have that), it achieves its purpose.

[wtmusic]

33. One person's opinion is not propaganda

The university has made, and will make, it clear that they do not endorse the opinion.

If every speech given at a university is assumed to have the imprimatur of the university itself, THAT'S propaganda. No assumption is warranted.

[still_one]

2. Good. They have every right to do so /nt

[wtmusic]

9. Of course they have the right. They're just stupid to exercise it. nt

[rocktivity]

3. I'll bet Jon would invite him to the Daily show

He served tea to the President of Pakistan, I believe.

:headbang:
rocknation

[antiimperialist]

4. How Ironic. Bollinger wrote a book titled "The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech...

and Extremism in America".


http://www.umich.edu/~bhlumrec/admin_unit/president/WEBSITE/03012001accession/pres/bollinger/index.html

[wtmusic]

10. Good catch. He's finding tolerance a bit hard to come by

under the strain of almost-certain faculty and political pressure.

[PittPoliSci]

22. what's so great about tolerating opinions that are ridiculous?

No holocaust? sure...sure...
Israel must be destroyed. Yeah, we should tolerate these types of views...

[wtmusic]

23. Of course. Just like neocons should tolerate yours.

Believe me, they find yours equally ridiculous.

[PittPoliSci]

34. please.

denying the holocaust and disagreeing about health care are two completely different things.

[TheUniverse]

5. I don't know what to think

Yeah this guy is scum, but he is the leader of a country and a symbol of a movement. There is certainly some academic knowledge to gained by listening to a speech of his.

[MikeNearMcChord]

6. He may be an A-hole, but he holds part of the

key to solving the problem of Iraq,as well as the rest of the Middle East. This AIPAC inspired disrespect of him is not doing us favors, and I am for one sick of this cartoonish display, just now Billo is jumping in. Hey UN move your HQ out of New York, it is not safe here.

[rayofreason]

18. UN out of NY???!!!

How would all those UN guys get good lattes, or be able to park without worrying about tickets?

The staff at the UN has a very vested interest in the UN staying just where it is. Nice diggs, don't cha know.

Regarding Offhismeds speaking at Columbia, I guess that any homophobe implementing the execution of gays under medieval religious law can speak there as long as he is a head of state, right?

[wtmusic]

24. Especially homophobes enforcing medieval religious law

Know thy enemy.

[Megahurtz]

7. And The Rest Of The World

thinks that Americans are ignorant.

Gee, I wonder why?:eyes:

:sarcasm:

[shadowknows69]

8. I'll step up to the tin foil plate for everyone

Suppose there was any pressure for Columbia U to drop this amazing opportunity? Luka Brazzi(read Dick Cheney)type pressure?

[syberyenta]

15. pressure on columbia

Believe me, tinfoil aside, you don't need a Weatherman to see that this appearance could become too hot to handle.

Mr. A is persona non grata in NYC and it would be impossible to guarantee his safety.

Anything outside the UN speech is, and has always been, a complete non-starter.

[Skip Intro]

13. I'm sorry but that just smacks of cowawrdice

wtf is he going to do, pull out his bat-nukes?


There was little to lose, and who knows what might have been gained. Dialog and discussion could well be our best weapon against bombs and slaughter. Maybe our only weapon.

[nealmhughes]

14. "The academic values, etc." ha-ha : the President of Iran is a PhD!

He may be a hotheaded blowhard braggart with a passion for drama: witness his "We have achieved nuclear enrichment" dance routine that was straight out of the choreography of Evita with the dancing fascists. . . but evidently some large number of Iranians thought they wanted their own buffoon -- why should the US be the only one with one as a head of state?

Will he be allowed to dine in NYC or will he have to have take out sent in to the hotel suite -- under an assumed indentity, some innocuous country such as Luxembourg or Malta? We could put a Mets cap on him and he would be able to slip right thru security, hang out at taxi driver diners and have a hoot with "real Americans". Maybe we could have him learn some Russian and pass himself off as Azeri and dine on blintzes and blinis in Brithton Beach . . . since he can't talk or go to Ground Zero, maybe a nice ferry ride to Staten Island would be acceptable for him?

Gee, what a way to build bridges!

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. Ironically, his PhD would mean the Staten Island ferry, or building bridges, would be his topic

Mr Ahmadinejad was born in Garmsar, near Tehran, in 1956, the son of a blacksmith, and holds a PhD in traffic and transport from Tehran's University of Science and Technology, where he was a lecturer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4107270.stm

[TomClash]

28. That's like saying Carter would have to speak on Nuclear Physics

or Bush would have to speak on . . . ur, "My Pet Goat."

[pingzing58]

17. I"m all for giving every person evil or not a chance to speak and defend themselves in an academic

setting. But I agree that security would have been hard to handle what with students being tazed at speaker forums.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Will Columbia University invite a leader from the apartheid state of Israel?

Just trying to determine how freedom of speech is being applied in what's left of the Amerikan republic.

[TomClash]

29. They would and should

No reason why Olmert should not be invited to speak.

[jmm]

20. At best this is sloppy planning on Columbia's part.

First they invite then then abruptly cancel because of logistics then a year later they invite him but cancel less than a week before his scheduled appearance because they hadn't worked out the format. They may have high "academic values" but they don't know much about planning an event.

[NaturalHigh]

21. BFD

Do we really need a detestable human being like Ahmadinejad speaking at one of our universities? I can think of much better candidates for invitation than a rabid anti-semite who can't wait to get his finger on a nuclear button.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

30. Umm.. We have a rabid anti Muslim

Who *already* has his finger on the nuclear button as President.

[EFerrari]

25. Are we liking our propaganda?

I hope so.

[Eugene]

31. AP: Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech

Source: Associated Press

Columbia won't cancel Ahmadinejad speech

33 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Columbia University said it does not plan
to call off a speech by Iran's president despite pressure
from critics including the City Council speaker, who said
the Ivy League school was providing a forum for "hate-
mongering vitriol."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is traveling to New York to address
the United Nations' General Assembly. He was scheduled to
appear Monday at a question-and-answer session with
Columbia faculty and students as part of the school's
World Leaders Forum.

-snip-

Columbia spokesman Robert Hornsby said Thursday there
was no plan to cancel the appearance, though the
university dropped plans for an Ahmadinejad speech last
year because of security and logistical problems. The
decision came after a Jewish activist group expressed
outrage over the invitation.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_re_us/ahmadinejad_columbia

[bemildred]

32. I'm getting a headache.

What the hell is Bollinger babbling about then?

[sniffa]

35. Lame

[damntexdem]

36. If the academy does not exercise its academic freedom, it will lose it.

How many rightwing dictators have spoken at U.S. colleges?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Bush speaks at commencements every year.