Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad walks among us

NYDailyNews.com, Monday, September 24th 2007, 4:00 AM

Hatemonger Mahmoud Ahmadinejad landed in a hornet’s nest of outrage yesterday as Columbia University prepared to welcome him with open arms today and stuck by a dean’s outrageous assertion that it would let Adolf Hitler speak, too.

The Holocaust-denying Iranian tyrant jetted into New York as students, faculty and political leaders protested Columbia’s decision to roll out the red carpet.

“It’s a stain on the university,” said sophomore Elizabeth Friess, 20. “You can’t have an open debate with someone who wants to wipe out Israel. There is no reasoning with someone like that.”

Emotions ran high on the Morningside Heights campus as students blew whistles to drown out a classmate who defended Ahmadinejad’s right to speak.

Columbia threw fuel on the fire of protest by refusing to disavow a dean who said the university would have gladly let the architect of the Holocaust speak.

“It was offensive to hear a dean, of all people, say they would invite Hitler,” said senior Lexi Khan, 21. “There aren’t too many educational qualities you can draw from a man who sent people to gas chambers.”

Ahmadinejad arrived at Kennedy Airport and was whisked away to InterContinental’s The Barclay hotel, where a dozen cars pulled up at 5:30 p.m. after cops closed off E. 49th St.

The Iranian despot will speak amid what is expected to be a massive protest today at 1:30 p.m. at Columbia’s Alfred Lerner Hall; he’ll also speak tomorrow at the UN General Assembly.

The moderator of the event, School of International and Public Affairs Acting Dean John Coatsworth, has sparked a furor by saying he would invite anyone for a little academic give-and-take – even the Fuhrer himself.

He stood his ground yesterday, telling the Daily News he was talking about the more palatable Hitler when he had “not started the war and the Holocaust hadn’t begun.”

“There’s never a good forum for a dictator,” said Coatsworth, “but the advantage of Columbia is he would have been challenged and criticized.”

Not everyone at the Ivy League school agreed.

“No legitimate American university should debate the existence of the Holocaust or even think of inviting someone like Hitler,” said Larry Amsel, a Columbia med school professor.

A spokesman for Columbia President Lee Bollinger said he backed Coatsworth’s comments.

Jewish leaders blasted Coatsworth and the university.

“Something is seriously askew when a dean at a respected university can just blithely say that he’d give a platform to the leader of Nazi Germany,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, head of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.

Columbia, in fact, invited Nazi Germany’s ambassador to a campus event and cocktail party in 1933, sparking protests from students who were derided by the university administration as nothing more than “ill-mannered children,” according to the Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies.

On the eve of his speech at Columbia, the Iranian leader received enthusiastic applause during an hour-long speech at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Ahmadinejad, addressing the crowd in his native Farsi, said Iran is developing technology and nuclear capability for peaceful purposes and is being treated unfairly for it by the United States, according to several people who heard the speech.

Mina Siegel, from Midwood, Brooklyn, who writes a blog on Iranian life and culture, said Ahmadinejad kept to the same themes of earlier speeches.

According to Siegel, the despot said, “What do we want a bomb for? Why should we have a bomb? It doesn’t help us. Why do we need a bomb? The Soviet Union is an example of a country that had the bomb and still fell apart.”

Several political leaders weighed in on the Hitler controversy.

Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, said that while “he would hardly want to dignify Hitler,” the mayor “also thinks it is a slippery slope in attacking academics whose views he might personally find to be ill-informed, offensive or just wrong.”

“This is about promoting hateful speech,” Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens) declared.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama said it was wrong to invite Ahmadinejad. At the same time, Obama added: “We should never be afraid to confront the lies and rantings of dictators with the power of truth and the strength of our own values and beliefs.”

The Iranian president riled up New Yorkers last week when he announced plans to visit Ground Zero but backed down when Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly vetoed the trip on security grounds.

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Lebanon: MP Antoine Ghanem Assassinated

by Moussa Bashir

Countries:

Lebanon

Topics:

Breaking News, Elections, War & Conflict, Politics

Member of the Lebanese Parliament Antoine Ghanem was assassinated today by a bomb that targeted his car in Beirut’s suburb of Sin el-Fil, Hursh Tabet area. Mr. Ghanem, 64, was a member of the Phalange Party which is led by ex–president Amine Gemayel. At least six other people were killed and 20 wounded in the attack. This terrorist act comes less than a week before Lebanese MPs are scheduled to meet to elect a new president. This incident was echoed by Lebanese bloggers who reported it, posted photos, videos and analysis:

Liliane heard and saw the explosion from her work:

At around 5:20pm, an explosion occurred in approximately of Horsh Tabet, near Rond Point Al Hayek, no news available yet. I heard and saw the explosion from my work, it seems it is in a residential area.

Cedarseed also heard the explosion and updated the incident in several posts:

Something just went boom. Very loud.

Photos and videos were posted by Blacksmiths of Lebanon and Ouwet Front

Abu Kais analyzes the background and motives behind the assassination and links it to the upcoming presidential elections:

Antoine Ghanem was reportedly a moderate well liked by MPs from both sides of the divide. With his murder, March 14 lost another vote, and may not feel safe anymore to stay in the country, let alone head to parliament on September 25th to elect a president. Many March 14 MPs are outside the country…

Bob sees it as the loss of another brave man of independence:

The brave men and women of the independence movement, threatened by death and assassination on every corner or those who are in league with the assassins, peacefully hiding…

After stating each political group’s analysis of the assassination and who each group blames for the murder, Eliedh concludes:

One thing is certain analysis are all we are going to have. The killer will never be caught and apparently, more people are going to die while Lebanese fight over who is going to control the country (or what’s left of it).

Finally Beirut Spring also mentions analyses and reasons that the opposing parties are giving for this assassination. He states that an opposition blog writes:

Go back to news archives and look at the events that took place before every single assassination. You will realise that in every case, the Lebanese drew nearer to a solution. A bomb goes off, spews hatred and sectarianism amongst the anti-Syrians, they start talking a lot of senseless bullshit and piss off the opposition. Then we’re back to square one. In this case, there is the Berri initiative. It was proposed by an opposition leader, and it came in the interest of the country. Syria had no problem with it and praised it and so did the rest of the opposition. This assassination took place today to break up this initiative, keep march 14 on it’s toes by accusing Syria again without even surely knowing who did it. Also, it serves as a popularity boost for March 14 by showing they are the poor victims of criminal activity by whoever they accuse.

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Article from: Global Voices Online, http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/19/lebanon-mp-antoine-ghanem-assassinated/

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Links from all over the world

There are a lot of changes in my site www.majorlinks.org . Here is the full list of all accessible categories, which will give you an idea about the structure of my site:

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As you can read in my previous post, site is updated everyday, also many subcategories are added, so visit it anytime if you want to know what’s new. I remind you that you can participate this project too by submmitting your favourite links.

My new website was launched

I am about to making the new web site, where I want to share with you all the good web links. You can visit this site here: www.majorlinks.org

I will let you know each time when the updates would be ready. Today I have finished 35th page, concerning basketball.

Hope, you would not be dissapointed. In any case you can take part of this project, by submitting your own good links!

United States, a detached view

Several american citizens think with a lot of critics about their country. Really, it is the good way to understand the world where you lives – with a little bit of scepticism, it is always more useful to think about the things around you. But, and it is impressionate,it always exist the party of the U.S.  population, which never accept their country as it is. The world, where we lives is very far from to be perfect, and looking on the american life, the american politics and other branches of counrty’s existence, it seems to not  to be the evil incarnation on the Earth.

To live inside the USA not seems to be insupportable too. But, as I said already, for some people it is not the case.

I have find one very interesting article in one of the blogs:

http://elliotlakenews.wordpress.com/2007/03/24/population-disaster/

And want to make some citations:

“The U.S. has the most expensive and inefficient health-care system in the world.”, “America’s educational system endured a new Dark Age”,”This week, Washington Post journalists reported that one third (33%) of the Washington, DC local population suffered functional illiteracy while one fifth of mainstream America can’t read, write or work simple math”,”Immigration is out of control” etc.

I want to give my opinion for all of this examples.
For first: the health insurance quotes seems to be expensives and the medical services are not at level of requirements. But, looking around, comparatively of what we can see in the whole world, the U.S. inside situation not really horrible . Yes, the prices are elevated, but, the services are incomaratively superiors.

Concerning situation in education, I must say that I am agree with this opinion cause this tendance have a planetary dimension. Several countries of the world have the same problems. We can see that in Europe and in Ex-USSR countries – in all this territories, where the level of the public education was always very high. At the same time, this level is still in the private institutions. Which can be the explanation of this phenomena? This seems to be unclear and in mere verbiage we can say that this kind of things produces generally from the side of the pupils, who went from the section of the population, where the education, erroneously, is not appreciated. It is another question – why this stratas of the population exists and for which reason they are not integrated in existing social structures completely. But it is a great error – to ignorate the signification of the education in actual world.

As concernes the immigration – I think it’s inevitable. Every highly developed country needs a lot of labour force, also coming from abroad. But, and it is sure, all immigration must be controlated. If it is the case – this is priority number one – immigration out of control  is a threat for the country’s existence.

All of these things are the signs of the postmodernity, the period, where we all lives now. You can like or to not to like this, but it is inevitable and we must understand this. It is normal, in simple words.

In conclusion, I must say that the U.S., looking from abroad, seems to be a very good country, the dream for someone. I’m speaking here about level of life and other things which you can have, living inside USA.

Concerning international relation - the politics is a politics and no one country can not be the example, each pursue their own objects.

One thing I can add – the postmodernity dictate their own rules, and it seems, that the states, the national countries will loose their signification. Another formations will play the key roles in future world, such as the corporations and other financial structures, who became more and more significant today. It is our nearest future, you want or you dont want this. But this is a very large theme to speaking about, may be another day?

   

The sixth president of the fifth republic was chosen

The French presidential elections are over. The new president is Nicolas Sarkozy, who was defeated his opponente, Segolene Royale, 53% to 47%.

Le Monde’s interactive election maps page

Photo: Mr Sarkozy’s triomphe

But Mr Sarkozy would not have the time for enjoy the life, cause he have a lot of things to do. The next five years of presidential he will struggle against the actual problems of the France – such a unemploiment, illegal immigration and a lot of others.

We wish good luck to Mr Sarkozy and we hope, his best hopes and the people’s expectations would not be dissapointed.

Is Darwin theory is an object of the political science?

NYTimes yesterday’s article “A Split Emerges as Conservatives Discuss Darwin ” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/us/politics/05darwin.html?ex=1336104000&en=d10ce084cc664e2d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink    concerne political discussion of the Darwin theory as a natural opposite of the creationist theory. OK. The problem is already here and noone can not say, without trying to refute one of the sides, that he has a reason. As for me, one side does not except other – I can not say that God does not exist, I can not say that the evolution is a fiction, and at the same time, I dont understand, why the both sides must be separated. If God exist (I do not speak here about my beliefs, or convictions) - why the evolution can not be one of those instruments which he use for reach their goals? If he does not exist – why the overwhelming majority of humans have an idea about His existence, of course in very various forms. OK. The field of this discussion is too large for can be stopped one beautiful day.:))))) This can not be stopped never, I think, I’m almost sure. This kind of discussions has a reason many years ago, exactly in scholastic period. )))) That’s why I prefere to say “stop”.

The most impressionate thing here is the discussion on the top political level. May be, it is important to definite the way of looking at things and to know what we must say the children in the schools – be sure this is not only the U.S. problem – to beleieve or to not believe in creationist theory, but so long as we dont know the response – they must know the both sides and they must make the conclusions themselfes.

May be, the impacts of Darwin conception are more global, until the questions about euthanasia, abortion or embryonic research, but I prefere to take the point of view of Mrs Andrew Ferguson and Carson Holloway: “jumping from evolutionary science to moral conclusions and policy proposals is absurd”.

And, for conclusion, I must say that the Darwin’s theory is far from to be perfect and Mr Charles Darwin always knows this. Because he was a great scientist and not a politician.