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10/02/2007
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s "Narrow Stance"
Barry Blitt presents a nice conflux of the men from Idaho and Iran for The New Yorker.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 9:05 AM EST by Andy in Idaho, Iran, Larry Craig, News | Permalink
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Anyone want to take a stab at what happens next in this scenario?
Posted by: John | Oct 2, 2007 9:44:06 AM
this is CLASSIC! This one goes in a frame! HAHAHA!!!!!!
Posted by: dc-20008 | Oct 2, 2007 10:36:16 AM
Socks with sandals? It's clearly a setup, Mahmoud...
Posted by: Matt | Oct 2, 2007 11:08:31 AM
What's with the open toed sandals? And socks?? Who is that supposed to be? Larry Craig?
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Oct 2, 2007 11:08:52 AM
...the point, here, is that there is homosexuality in Iran. Who it's supposed to be is one of the homosexuals that supposedly doesn't exist, there....
Posted by: kile Ozier | Oct 2, 2007 11:56:39 AM
these pranks (the Columbia roast, SNL's short) only grease Bush's warpath.
Posted by: A.J | Oct 2, 2007 12:10:34 PM
Ok, so I get the reaction to Ahmadinejad's "there are no gays in Iran" statement, but when will you (Americans) just let it go?
How about some intelligent debate on the issue? What did you expect him to say, given that homosexuality is illegal in Iran?
It's pretty disappointing that no-one has responded to the pretty serious points made by Ahmadinejad about Iraq, supression of civil rights in the US (and by the US overseas), etc? All the US media seems to be interested in doing is creating a puppet show. Maybe that was the whole point of inviting him?
Whatever the intent, the effect beyond the United States is quite astounding. This childish "he said" carry-on does little more than confirm the already widely held belief that any form of intelligent discourse with the US is pointless, it diminishes the US's integrity and, worse, it alienates the Iranian leadership. Whatever you may think about Iran, sensible discourse with its government is a pre-requisite to getting anywhere with issues such as Iraq or the nuclear energy stand-off. What's the option? Start another war?
Sorry for the rant, but the whole "there are no gays in Iran" thing is getting really tired.
Posted by: Brett | Oct 2, 2007 9:32:10 PM
"these pranks (the Columbia roast, SNL's short) only grease Bush's warpath.
Posted by: A.J | Oct 2, 2007 12:10:34 PM"
I think that's a little simplistic. There are two strains going on here. One requires a little critical thought, the other requires a sense of humor.
The drumbeats are being fired up by the usual suspects, from Bush/Cheney to Lieberman and the rest of the deluded neocons. Sadly, the Columbia introduction went way over the top and played into these hands, rather than allowing him to spout his nonsense and be judged accordingly and questioned critically by students. The point is to demonize Ahmadinejad and create the next in a long line of scary monsters (remember Saddam?), when in fact the actual importance and power of the Iranian president has been totally blown out of proportion. I'm perfectly willing to grant that he's a nut job (holocaust deniers don‘t deserve respect), but the whole push is to create a climate of fear and hatred regarding anything Iran. It's a red herring, and it's even more tired than dredging up the "no gays in Iran" line again and again. Cultural relativism aside, I regard all theocratic/extremist regimes as dangerous (including the Bush regime), and the crazies leading Iran right now are not to be ignored, but yet another unilateral war is not the answer.
However, the SNL short and that cartoon are lampooning a guy who is just not as important or truly dangerous as the morons in the White House want us to think he is. Laughter can be a powerful antidote to fear, and having a laugh at his expense is not going to do any lasting damage. If anything, this type of thing can help diffuse the insane warpath.
Posted by: So Left I'm Right | Oct 3, 2007 12:35:55 AM