tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378628809250211427.post4278068202991447765..comments2023-04-14T06:22:39.957-04:00Comments on Talk Monkey - Renewing Political Debate: No Homosexuals in Irandrdwalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17299831256602419261noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5378628809250211427.post-88981854565327297072007-09-27T01:16:00.000-04:002007-09-27T01:16:00.000-04:00You beat me to my blog about this! But since you w...You beat me to my blog about this! But since you wrote a topic that is worth discussing I'll be sure to throw in my two cents. <BR/><BR/>The first point that I would like to address is the hospitality toward Iranian president, Ahmadinejad Mahmoud. Columbia University (CU) President Bollinger made extremely bold, yet rude comments to the guest he invited to his University. While the accusations that he made toward Mahmoud are up for debate, they were still offensive and uncalled for. I would understand if the CU president made these comments as follow up to Mahmoud responses, but instead he started off on the wrong foot. <BR/><BR/>By insulting a foreign leader in such a public fashion presents the notion that the United States can’t accept unpopular points of view. While numerous individuals do not agree with his views and actions, it’s inappropriate to start a “discussion” in such a negative manner. This offends the speaker and damages the reputation of the University and more importantly the image of the United States as a free and democratic nation. I’m not saying that the president needed to give him a bouquet of flowers, but introducing him in the manner in which he did was wrong. Remember, Columbia University requested that Ahmadinejad Mahmoud speak on their campus. <BR/><BR/>I also wanted to kick-off the discussion of Iranian homosexuality – or the “non-existence of homosexuality” according to Ahmadinejad Mahmoud. I’m sure you have all seen a clip similar to this one but I felt that it deserved a re-cap. <BR/><BR/>http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/09/25/todd.iran.homosexuality.cnn<BR/><BR/>I caught myself chuckling at his statement in the video. Aside from the giggles, I was extremely surprised the degree of confidence Mahmoud had of such a “phenomenon.” He was so certain that homosexuality did not exist in his country, and reiterated himself as Columbia University students laughed and booed. After all – homosexual activity is illegal in Iran and engaging in such behavior has lead to countless executions, no wonder homosexuality doesn’t “exist.”alexthemanzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915705307726017377noreply@blogger.com