Lee Bollinger rips Ahmadinejad a new one.

[corplinx]

He played into Mahmoud's hands by being a rude host. It really is that simple.

DR

I don't think there are any hands to be played into. I think that is the error you are making.

 

[plumjam]

Hmmm, some joke about toasted buns is appropriate here, but I can't get one that scans.
DR

He was the host,
But,
Now,
He's Toast.

(work for you?)

 

[gnome]

I loved it.

It is true that the dictates of courtesy would require a polite reception by his host... but the man speaks of peace with a silver tongue while his country murders homosexuals, women, and dissidents. For once it was good to see him unable to hide behind common courtesy.

 

[Matteo Martini]

Does anyone know if Bollinger's remarks were even broadcast in Iran, or reported in the media?

Here:
http://www.president.ir/en/

President Ahmadinejad addresses students at Columbia University

Despite entire US media objections, negative propagation and hue and cry in recent days over IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scheduled address at Colombia University, he gave his lecture and answered students questions here on Monday afternoon.

On second day of his entry in New York, and amid standing ovation of the audience that had attended the hall where the Iranian President was to give his lecture as of early hours of the day, Ahmadinejad said that Iran is not going to attack any country in the world.

Before President Ahamadinejad's address, Colombia University Chancellor in a brief address told the audience that they would have the chance to hear Iran's stands as the Iranian President would put them forth.

He said that the Iranians are a peace loving nation, they hate war, and all types of aggression.

Referring to the technological achievements of the Iranian nation in the course of recent years, the president considered them as a sign for the Iranians' resolute will for achieving sustainable development and rapid advancement.

The audience on repeated occasion applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.

At the end of his address President Ahmadinejad answered the students' questions on such issues as Israel, Palestine, Iran's nuclear program, the status of women in Iran and a number of other matters.


President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expounded on important international and regional issues in a speech given to academics at the prestigious University of Columbia in New York on Monday
The following is the full text og President's speech:
In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful...

The president recites verses from the holy Koran in Arabic.

"Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those to attest to his rightfulness."
Distinguished Dean, dear professors and students, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset I would like to extend my greetings to all of you. I am grateful to the almighty God for providing me with the opportunity to be in an academic environment, those seeking truth and striving for the promotion of science and knowledge.

At the outset I want to complain a bit from the person who read this political statement against me. In Iran tradition requires that when we demand a person to invite to be a speaker we actually respect our students and the professors by allowing them to make their own judgment and we don't think it's necessary before this speech is even given to come in with a series of claims and to attempt in a so-called manner to provide vaccination of some sort to our students and our faculty.

I think the text read by the dear gentleman here, more than addressing me, was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here. In a university environment we must allow people to speak their mind, to allow everyone to talk so that the truth is eventually revealed by all.

[..]

 

[Matteo Martini]

He played into Mahmoud's hands by being a rude host. It really is that simple.

DR

Maybe..

( next time be more friendly with your host )

TEHRAN: Many Iranians reacted angrily Tuesday to the combative introduction of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the president of Columbia University, calling it "shameful" and saying the harsh words only added to their image of the United States as a bully.

In a part of the world where the tradition of hospitality outweighs personal opinions toward a person, many here thought Lee Bollinger's aggressive tone before Ahmadinejad's appearance - including saying that he exhibited the signs of a "petty and cruel dictator" - was over the top.

An analyst on state-run radio said: "The surprising point of last night's meeting is the behavior of the university president. Before a speech by President Ahmadinejad the chancellor criticized President Ahmadinejad, resorting to a statement full of insult, which was mostly Zionists' propaganda against Iran."

The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter to Bollinger on Tuesday saying his statements were "deeply shameful" and inviting him to come to Iran. In the letter, they asked him to provide responses to 10 questions ranging from: "Why did the U.S. support the bloodthirsty dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran?" to "Why has the U.S. military failed to find Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment?"

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/25/africa/tehran.php

 

[RandFan]

"Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory and make us his followers and those to attest to his rightfulness."

There it is.

 

[Gurdur]

The Mahdi already arrived. Whipped the Brits (more or less) too, in 1883 and at Khartoum. Then died.

Kinda anticlimatic.

 

[steverino]

He played into Mahmoud's hands by being a rude host. It really is that simple.

DR

If I was in Bollinger's shoes, I would have been more polite to Ahmadinejad at the beginning, and, while he was smiling, I would have pulled out a gun and shot him between the eyes.

So, compared to what I would have done, I feel Bollinger exercised enormous restraint.